Usefulness of four-dimensional noise reduction filtering using a similarity algorithm in low-dose dynamic computed tomography for the evaluation of breast cancer: a preliminary study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of four-dimensional noise reduction filtering using a similarity algorithm (4D-SF) on the image quality and tumor visibility of low-dose dynamic computed tomography (CT) in evaluating breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-four patients with 38 lesions who underwent low-dose dynamic breast CT and were pathologically diagnosed with breast cancer were enrolled. Dynamic CT images were reconstructed using iterative reconstruction alone or in combination with 4D-SF.

Introduction of acetyl-phosphate bypass and increased culture temperatures enhanced growth-coupled poly-hydroxybutyrate production in the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC7002.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is an attractive bio-degradable plastic alternative to petrochemical plastics. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria accumulate biomass by fixing atmospheric CO, making them promising hosts for sustainable PHA production. Conventional PHA production in cyanobacteria requires prolonged cultivation under nutrient limitation to accumulate cellular PHA.

Live imaging of paracrine signaling: Advances in visualization and tracking techniques.

Live imaging techniques have revolutionized our understanding of paracrine signaling, a crucial form of cell-to-cell communication in biological processes. This review examines recent advances in visualizing and tracking paracrine factors through four key stages: secretion from producing cells, diffusion through extracellular space, binding to target cells, and activation of intracellular signaling within target cells. Paracrine factor secretion can be directly visualized by fluorescent protein tagging to ligand, or indirectly by visualizing the cleavage of the transmembrane pro-ligands or plasma membrane fusion of endosomes comprising the paracrine factors.

Metabolic activities are selective modulators for individual segmentation clock processes.

Numerous cellular and molecular processes during embryonic development prompt the fundamental question of how their tempos are coordinated and whether a common global modulator exists. While the segmentation clock tempo scales with the kinetics of gene expression and degradation processes of the core clock gene Hes7 across mammals, the coordination of these processes remains unclear. This study examines whether metabolic activities serve as a global modulator for the segmentation clock, finding them to be selective instead.

Preoperative Vascular and Cranial Nerve Imaging in Skull Base Tumors.

Skull base tumors such as meningiomas and schwannomas are often pathologically benign. However, surgery for these tumors poses significant challenges because of their proximity to critical structures such as the brainstem, cerebral arteries, veins, and cranial nerves. These structures are compressed or encased by the tumor as they grow, increasing the risk of unintended injury to these structures, which can potentially lead to severe neurological deficits.