The advertisement calls of (Ahl, 1930) (Anura: Dicroglossidae).

The genus Quasipaa (Family Dicroglossidae) is currently composed of 11 species distributed in China and Southeast Asia: Quasipaa acanthophora (Dubois & Ohler 2009), Q. boulengeri (Günther 1889), Q. courtoisi (Angel 1922), Q.

cDNA cloning and functional characterisation of four antimicrobial peptides from Paa spinosa.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptides found in many organisms defending themselves against pathogens. AMPs form the first line of host defence against pathogenic infections and are key components of the innate immune system of amphibians. In the current study, cDNAs of precursors of four novel antimicrobial peptides in the skin of Paa spinosa were cloned and sequenced using the 3'-RACE technique.

Diagnostic accuracy of imaging for liver cirrhosis compared to histologically proven liver cirrhosis. A multicenter collaborative study.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of liver cirrhosis by imaging modalities, including CT, MRI and US, compared to results obtained from histopathological diagnoses of resected specimens.

Materials And Methods: CT, MRI and US examinations of 142 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent surgery for complicated hepatocellular carcinoma (<3 cm in diameter) in 10 institutions were blindly reviewed in a multicenter study by three radiologists experienced in CT, MRI and US. The images were evaluated for five imaging parameters (irregular or nodular liver surface, blunt liver edge, liver parenchymal abnormalities, liver morphological changes and manifestations of portal hypertension) using a severity scale.

Imaging findings of biliary hamartomas (von Meyenburg complexes).

To evaluate the imaging findings of biliary hamartomas (von Meyenburg complexes, vMCs) and discuss their differential diagnosis from other related diseases, imaging findings of biliary hamartomas on ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and hepatobiliary scintigraphy were prospectively analyzed in six patients. On ultrasound images, five of the six cases showed multiple small hyper- and hypoechoic lesions with comet-tail echoes, especially when magnified using the zoom function. In all six cases, multiple tiny hypodense lesions less than 10 mm in diameter were scattered throughout the liver with no enhancement on CT.

Hemodynamic and morphologic changes of peripheral hepatic vasculature in chronic liver disease: a preliminary study by contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic sonography.

To investigate whether observing the morphology of the peripheral hepatic vasculature and the hemodynamics of microbubble arrival time in these vessels can provide useful information for the diagnosis of liver disease, Five normal volunteers and 16 patients were studied by contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic sonography. Vessel images of the peripheral vessels were observed in real time after intravenous injection of Levovist. The time when the microbubbles appeared in the peripheral vessels was measured.

Hepatic angiomyolipoma: identification of an efferent vessel as a hepatic vein by contrast-enhanced harmonic sonography.

Two cases of hepatic angiomyolipoma were studied by contrast-enhanced harmonic sonography. The special tumor hemodynamics, namely the efferent blood flow of the hepatic angiomyolipoma draining into the hepatic vein, were clearly shown on harmonic imaging, and they corresponded well with those seen on angiography and computed tomography during angiography. Benign hepatic tumors were diagnosed preoperatively in both cases according to the hemodynamic findings.

Hepatocellular carcinoma with nodule-in-nodule appearance: demonstration by contrast-enhanced coded phase inversion harmonic imaging.

Objective: A nodule-in-nodule hemodynamic pattern, namely a vascular spot in a hypovascular nodule, is specific for the diagnosis of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this study was to assess whether this unique hemodynamic pattern can be detected by contrast-enhanced coded phase inversion harmonic imaging (PIHI).

Methods: 159 consecutive patients with HCC who underwent contrast-enhanced coded PIHI were retrospectively reviewed.

Characterization of hepatic tumors: value of contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic angio.

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic imaging in showing the characteristic intranodular hemodynamics of hepatic tumors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Using a microbubble contrast agent we performed coded harmonic angio in 163 patients with 192 hepatic tumor nodules: 153 hepatocellular carcinomas, 13 metastases, 14 hemangiomas, eight dysplastic nodules, and four focal nodular hyperplasias.

Radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma: therapeutic response using contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic sonography.

Objective: This study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of contrast-enhanced coded phase-inversion harmonic sonography in assessing the therapeutic response of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Subjects And Methods: Sixty-seven patients with a total of 107 examinations on 91 hepatocellular carcinoma nodules underwent coded harmonic angio, a technique of coded phase-inversion harmonic sonography, using the IV microbubble contrast agent Levovist before and after percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. The intratumoral blood vessels and tumor parenchymal stain were detected in the early arterial phase and the late vascular phase, respectively.

Spontaneous regurgitation of portal blood flow normalized by meal intake in a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

We report a case with spontaneous regurgitation of portal blood flow (SRPBF) that was normalized by meal intake. A 41-year-old man with long-term alcohol abuse was admitted with a chief complaint of general fatigue. He was diagnosed as having alcoholic liver cirrhosis since his laboratory tests showed the abnormal liver function.