Altered thalamocortical tract trajectory growth with undisrupted thalamic parcellation pattern in human lissencephaly brain at mid-gestational stage.

Proper topographically organized neural connections between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex are mandatory for thalamus function. Thalamocortical (TC) fiber growth begins during the embryonic period and completes by the third trimester of gestation, so that human neonates at birth have a thalamus with a near-facsimile of adult functional parcellation. Whether congenital neocortical anomaly (e.

White and gray matter integrity evaluated by MRI-DTI can serve as noninvasive and reliable indicators of structural and functional alterations in chronic neurotrauma.

We aimed to evaluate whether white and gray matter microstructure changes observed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to reflect the progression of chronic brain trauma. The MRI-DTI parameters, neuropathologic changes, and behavioral performance of adult male Wistar rats that underwent moderate (2.1 atm on day "0") or repeated mild (1.

Involvement of a BH3-only apoptosis sensitizer gene Blm-s in hippocampus-mediated mood control.

Mood disorders are an important public health issue and recent advances in genomic studies have indicated that molecules involved in neurodevelopment are causally related to mood disorders. BLM-s (BCL-2-like molecule, small transcript isoform), a BH3-only proapoptotic BCL-2 family member, mediates apoptosis of postmitotic immature neurons during embryonic cortical development, but its role in the adult brain is unknown. To better understand the physiological role of Blm-s gene in vivo, we generated a Blm-s-knockout (Blm-s) mouse.

White matter pathology in alzheimer's transgenic mice with chronic exposure to low-level ambient fine particulate matter.

Background: Air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM), can cause brain damage, cognitive decline, and an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease, especially alzheimer's disease (AD). Typical pathological findings of amyloid and tau protein accumulation have been detected in the brain after exposure in animal studies. However, these observations were based on high levels of PM exposure, which were far from the WHO guidelines and those present in our environment.

Self-pinning of silica suspension droplets on hydrophobic surfaces.

Hypothesis: Self-pinning induced by the aggregation of particles at the edge of a pinned drop is a pre-requisite for the coffee ring formation. The edge (three-phase contact line) of a suspension drop on a hydrophobic surface would depin and shrink in the early stage of evaporation process. It is plausible to conjecture that the self-pinning of silica suspension drops depends on the particle size and surface property.

Development, integration and use of an ultra-high-strength gradient system on a human-size 3 T magnet for small animal MRI.

This study aims to integrate an ultra-high-strength gradient coil system on a clinical 3 T magnet and demonstrate its preclinical imaging capabilities. Dedicated phantoms were used to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the performance of the gradient system. Advanced MR imaging sequences, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), were implemented and executed on an ex vivo specimen as well as in vivo rats.

Effects of signal averaging, gradient encoding scheme, and spatial resolution on diffusion kurtosis imaging: An empirical study using 7T MRI.

Background: Although diffusion gradient directions and b-values have been optimized for diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), little is known about the effect of signal averaging on DKI reliability.

Purpose: To evaluate how signal averaging influences the reliability of DKI indices using two gradient encoding schemes with three spatial resolutions.

Study Type: Prospective.

Application of amniotic fluid stem cells in repairing sciatic nerve injury in minipigs.

Many studies have demonstrated that combining nerve conduits with neural stem cells or growth factors can repair peripheral nerve injury in rodents. However, nerve damage does occur with longer gaps in human than in rodents, thus findings from rodent studies are difficult to translate to clinical practice. Minipigs have a longer gap that is more closely applicable to the challenge of human nerve grafting in extensive traumatic nerve damage.

Functional evaluation of therapeutic response of HCC827 lung cancer to bevacizumab and erlotinib targeted therapy using dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MRI.

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic responses of lung cancer mice models with adenocarcinoma HCC827 (gefitinib sensitive) and HCC827R (gefitinib resistant) to the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib alone and in combination with the anti-angiogenesis agent bevacizumab using dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) and diffusion-weighted MRI. In the HCC827 model, temporal changes in DCE-MRI derived parameters (Ktrans, kep, and iAUC90) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were significantly correlated with tumor size. Ktrans and iAUC90 significantly decreased at week 2 in the groups receiving erlotinib alone and in combination with bevacizumab, whereas kep decreased at week 1 and 2 in both treatment groups.

Neonatal Death and Heart Failure in Mouse with Transgenic HSP60 Expression.

Mitochondrial heat shock proteins, such as HSP60, are chaperones responsible for the folding, transport, and quality control of mitochondrial matrix proteins and are essential for maintaining life. Both prosurvival and proapoptotic roles have been proposed for HSP60, and HSP60 is reportedly involved in the initiation of autoimmune, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. The role of HSP60 in pathogenesis of these diseases remains unclear, partly because of the lack of mouse models expressing HSP60.

Observation of the rose petal effect over single- and dual-scale roughness surfaces.

Rose petals exhibit superhydrophobicity with strong adhesion to pin water drops, known as the 'petal effect.' It is generally believed that the petal effect is attributed to dual-scale roughness, that is, the surface possesses both a nanostructure and a microstructure (Feng et al 2008 Langmuir 24 4114). In this study, we demonstrate that the dual-scale roughness is not a necessary condition for a surface of the petal effect.

Investigating the effects of streamline-based fiber tractography on matrix scaling in brain connective network.

Investigating the brain connective network using the modern graph theory has been widely applied in cognitive and clinical neuroscience research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of streamline-based fiber tractography on the change of network properties and established a systematic framework to understand how an adequate network matrix scaling can be determined. The network properties, including degree, efficiency and betweenness centrality, show similar tendency in both left and right hemispheres.

Estimation of fiber orientation by filtered q-ball imaging*.

We proposed a filtered q-ball imaging (fQBI) method for the reconstruction of fiber orientation distribution function (ODF) together with the quantitative comparison to unfiltered QBI. The filter kernel increases the high angular frequency content that is beneficial for the angular resolution in resolving crossing fibers. Through a series of simulations using Monte-Carlo model, the angular resolution of fQBI was demonstrated better than traditional QBI but the deviation of fiber orientation estimate also becomes larger.

Early detection of Lewis lung carcinoma tumor control by irradiation using diffusion-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between diffusion-weighted (DW) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived parameters and radioresponsiveness of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor.

Materials And Methods: LLC tumor growth in C57BL/6 mouse limb was used for the experiment. The tumors were irradiated with 10 Gy×5, or 30 Gy×2 vs.

Improving DTI tractography by including diagonal tract propagation.

Tractography algorithms have been developed to reconstruct likely WM pathways in the brain from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data. In this study, an elegant and simple means for improving existing tractography algorithms is proposed by allowing tracts to propagate through diagonal trajectories between voxels, instead of only rectilinearly to their facewise neighbors. A series of tests (using both real and simulated data sets) are utilized to show several benefits of this new approach.

Variations in connectivity in the sensorimotor and default-mode networks during the first nocturnal sleep cycle.

The function of sleep in humans has been investigated using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging recordings to provide accurate sleep scores with spatial precision. Recent studies have demonstrated that spontaneous brain oscillations and functional connectivity dissociate during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep; this leads to spontaneous cognitive processes, such as memory consolidation and emotional modulation. However, variations in network connectivity across the sleep stages or between sleep/wake transitions require further elucidation.

Impaired small-world network efficiency and dynamic functional distribution in patients with cirrhosis.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome and a major complication of liver cirrhosis. Dysmetabolism of the brain, related to elevated ammonia levels, interferes with intercortical connectivity and cognitive function. For evaluation of network efficiency, a 'small-world' network model can quantify the effectiveness of information transfer within brain networks.

Fabrication of sticky and slippery superhydrophobic surfaces via spin-coating silica nanoparticles onto flat/patterned substrates.

Silica nanoparticles were spin-coated onto a flat/patterned (regular pillar-like) substrate to enhance the surface roughness. The surface was further modified by a self-assembled fluorosilanated monolayer. The advancing/receding contact angle and sliding angle measurements were performed to determine the wetting behavior of a water droplet on the surface.

Elevated expression of TDP-43 in the forebrain of mice is sufficient to cause neurological and pathological phenotypes mimicking FTLD-U.

TDP-43 is a multifunctional DNA/RNA-binding factor that has been implicated in the regulation of neuronal plasticity. TDP-43 has also been identified as the major constituent of the neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs) that are characteristic of a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including the frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin(+) inclusions (FTLD-U) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We have generated a FTLD-U mouse model (CaMKII-TDP-43 Tg) in which TDP-43 is transgenically overexpressed in the forebrain resulting in phenotypic characteristics mimicking those of FTLD-U.

Preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces of hierarchical structure of hybrid from nanoparticles and regular pillar-like pattern.

The hierarchical structure silica surface of inlaying silica nanoparticles along a regular pillar-like pattern is fabricated by embossing silica sol-gel precursor mixed with silica nanoparticles on glass substrates with an elastomeric mold. The substrate is further modified by a self-assembled fluorosilanated monolayer to reduce its surface energy. The advancing/receding contact angle measurements are performed to demonstrate that a water droplet on these surfaces can exhibit a transition from the Wenzel state to the Cassie state due to the addition of silica nanoparticles to enhance its surface roughness.

The effect of finite diffusion gradient pulse duration on fibre orientation estimation in diffusion MRI.

An essential step for fibre-tracking is the accurate estimation of neuronal fibre orientations within each imaging voxel, and a number of methods have been proposed to reconstruct the orientation distribution function based on sampling three-dimensional q-space. In the q-space formalism, very short (infinitesimal) gradient pulses are the basic requirement to obtain the true spin displacement probability density function. On current clinical MR systems however, the diffusion gradient pulse duration (delta) is inevitably finite due to the limit on the achievable gradient intensity.