Detecting changes in ultrasound backscattered statistics by using Nakagami parameters: Comparisons of moment-based and maximum likelihood estimators.

The Nakagami distribution is an approximation useful to the statistics of ultrasound backscattered signals for tissue characterization. Various estimators may affect the Nakagami parameter in the detection of changes in backscattered statistics. In particular, the moment-based estimator (MBE) and maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) are two primary methods used to estimate the Nakagami parameters of ultrasound signals.

Cultural issues in post-disaster reconstruction: the case of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.

Most members of Taiwan's indigenous communities live in areas that are prone to natural disasters. Yet, due to their marginalised cultural, economic and political status, each time such calamities strike, any assistance they receive is usually provided without considering their actual needs. The areas hardest hit by Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 were the indigenous villages in the southern and eastern parts of the island.

Changes in backscattered ultrasonic envelope statistics as a function of thrombus age: an in vitro study.

It is necessary to determine the age of thrombi in planning clinical treatment for thrombolysis. Ultrasound imaging can potentially be used to evaluate thrombus age in real time. The backscattered signals from thrombi may contain useful information regarding their age.

Optical coherence tomography: a new strategy to image planarian regeneration.

The planarian is widely used as a model for studying tissue regeneration. In this study, we used optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the real-time, high-resolution imaging of planarian tissue regeneration. Five planaria were sliced transversely to produce 5 head and 5 tail fragments.

Early detection of liver fibrosis in rats using 3-D ultrasound Nakagami imaging: a feasibility evaluation.

We investigated the feasibility of using 3-D ultrasound Nakagami imaging to detect the early stages of liver fibrosis in rats. Fibrosis was induced in livers of rats (n = 60) by intraperitoneal injection of 0.5% dimethylnitrosamine (DMN).

Using ultrasound Nakagami imaging to assess liver fibrosis in rats.

This study explored the feasibility of using the ultrasound Nakagami image to assess the degree of liver fibrosis in rats. The rat has been widely used as a model in investigations of liver fibrosis. Ultrasound grayscale imaging makes it possible to observe fibrotic rat livers in real time.

Three-dimensional ultrasonic Nakagami imaging for tissue characterization.

The two-dimensional (2D) Nakagami image complements the ultrasound B-scan image when attempting to visualize the scatterer properties of tissues. The resolution of the Nakagami image is lower than that of the B-scan image, since the former is produced by processing the raw envelope data using a 2D sliding window with side lengths typically corresponding to three times the pulse length of the incident ultrasound. This paper proposes using three-dimensional (3D) Nakagami imaging for improving the resolution of the obtained Nakagami image and providing more complete information of scatterers for a better tissue characterization.

Association between color doppler vascularity index, angiogenesis-related molecules, and clinical outcomes in gastric cancer.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the correlation between color Doppler vascularity index (CDVI), clinical outcomes and five angiogenesis-related molecules including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placenta growth factor (PlGF), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and calreticulin (CRT) in gastric cancer, and to develop an effective model selected from these five molecules to predict patient survival.

Patients And Methods: CDVI could be obtained preoperatively by transabdominal ultrasound from 30 patients. Enzyme immunoassay was adopted to determine protein level of VEGF and PlGF, and immunohistochemistry was used to detect COX-2, iNOS and CRT expression.

Aggregation of human serum albumin during a thermal viral inactivation step.

A terminal pasteurization step has been used for some plasma-derived protein products such as human serum albumin (HSA), which consists of heating the protein in solution at 60 degrees C for 10 h. Native and denaturing SDS-PAGE and dynamic light scattering were used to follow the stability of HSA during this process. It appears that a thermally unstable fraction, comprised primarily of haptoglobin, is involved in the formation of soluble aggregates of HSA.

Arterial pulse waveform analysis by the probability distribution of amplitude.

Augmentation index (AIx) calculated from the pressure waveform of an artery is widely used to quantify the arterial stiffness and evaluate the cardiovascular risk. The key for calculating AIx is to locate the inflection point on the waveform signal, which is caused by the wave reflection. This study applies the probability distribution of the pressure waveform to identify the inflection point for estimating AIx.

The interactions between GPR30 and the major biomarkers in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast in an Asian population.

Objective: G-protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) has been reported to be a novel estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in vitro. Therefore, the interactions among GPR30, ERalpha, progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2/neu), and their prognostic utilities in the infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast were evaluated.

Materials And Methods: Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of GPR30, ERalpha, PR and HER-2/neu in the tumor samples of 118 Taiwanese IDC patients and 27 non-tumor mammary tissues were measured via quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses.

A gene expression profile for vascular invasion can predict the recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma: a microarray approach.

Background: Recurrence after hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) resection is the major obstacle to improved survival. The presence of vascular invasion (VI) in pathology specimens is a well-known unfavorable prognostic factor for HCC recurrence. Though some VI-related genes have been reported, their association with recurrence-free survival is not known.

Gene expression profile predicts patient survival of gastric cancer after surgical resection.

Purpose: This study was conducted to characterize gene expression profile of survival in patients with surgically curable gastric cancer by using an in-house membrane microarray and developing a survival prediction model.

Materials And Methods: Data of cDNA microarrays were obtained from 18 pairs of cancerous and noncancerous gastric tissues. Nine patients who survived > 30 months were identified as good survival, and the other nine, who survived < 12 months, were identified as poor survival.

Phylogenetic relationships and biochemical properties of the duplicated cytosolic and mitochondrial isoforms of malate dehydrogenase from a teleost fish, Sphyraena idiastes.

Unlike birds and mammals, teleost fish express two paralogous isoforms (paralogues) of cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (cMDH; EC 1.1.1.