A Quantile General Index Derived from the Maximum Entropy Principle.

We propose a linear separation method of multivariate quantitative data in such a way that the average of each variable in the positive group is larger than that of the negative group. Here, the coefficients of the separating hyperplane are restricted to be positive. Our method is derived from the maximum entropy principle.

Synthesis of titanosilicate nanoparticles with high titanium content from a silsesquioxane-based precursor for a model epoxidation reaction.

In conventional hydrothermal synthesis of porous titanosilicate materials, undesired aggregation of TiO species during the synthesis limits the content of active four-coordinated Ti to an Si/Ti ratio of about 40. Aiming to increase the content of active four-coordinated Ti species, we report a bottom-up synthesis of titanosilicate nanoparticles using a Ti-incorporated cubic silsesquioxane cage as a precursor, which allowed incorporating a larger number of four-coordinated Ti species in the silica matrix to reach an Si/Ti ratio of 19. Even at this relatively high Ti concentration, the catalytic activity in the epoxidation of cyclohexene over the titanosilicate nanoparticles was comparable to that of a conventional reference Ti catalyst, Ti-MCM-41, with an Si/Ti ratio of 60.

Preoperative graft volume assessment with 3D-CT volumetry in living-donor lobar lung transplantations.

To determine the effectiveness of living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT), it is necessary to predict the recipient's postoperative lung function. Traditionally, Date's formula, also called the segmental ratio, has used the number of lung segments to estimate the forced vital capacity (FVC) of grafts in LDLLT. To provide a more precise estimate of graft FVC, we calculated the volumes of the lower lobe and total lung using three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) and the volume ratio between them.

A new phantom using polyethylene glycol as an apparent diffusion coefficient standard for MR imaging.

In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has seen wide clinical use, such as for early detection of cerebrovascular diseases and whole body screening for tumors. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) standard phantom, which mimics the ADC values of several lesions in the body, is indispensable for the development of new pulse sequences for DWI, such as diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body-signal suppression (DWIBS). However, information on the ADC values of the previously reported ADC standard phantoms is limited, because these phantoms were made using only a few different materials at a limited range of concentrations, and the ADC values were measured only at certain temperatures.

In vitro experimental study of the relationship between the apparent diffusion coefficient and changes in cellularity and cell morphology.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently used clinically, and is available for the whole-body screening for tumors. The exact mechanism by which the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value decreases in tumorous tissue remains unclear, although various theories have been proposed, including intracellular and extracellular factor theories. It is impossible to distinguish each factor in the intracellular and extracellular spaces as the source of MR signal generation by means of conventional comparison between MR images and pathological specimens.

Gastric diverticulum simulating left adrenal incidentaloma in a hypertensive patient.

A 46-year-old Japanese male with hypertension was referred for examination of left adrenal tumor incidentally detected by computed tomography (CT) scan. The patient had a 4-month history of hypertension. Abdominal CT demonstrated a low-density mass 2.

Evaluation of esophageal varices by multidetector-row CT: correlation with endoscopic 'red color sign'.

To evaluate the ability of multidetector-row CT (MDCT) to predict a risk of hemorrhage in patients with esophageal varices, a total of 40 MDCT scans were performed in 29 patients who had been diagnosed with esophageal varices by conventional upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy. In 11 patients, MDCT was performed both before and after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS). Endoscopically, the red color sign (RC sign) was present in 28 scans.

Cerebral perfusion MR imaging using FAIR-HASTE in chronic carotid occlusive disease: comparison with dynamic susceptibility contrast-perfusion MR imaging.

To determine the efficacy of flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery using half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo (FAIR-HASTE) in detecting cerebral hypoperfusion in chronic carotid occlusive disease, we subjected 12 patients with various degrees of cervical internal carotid artery stenoses and/or occlusion (Stenosis group) and 24 volunteers (Normal group) to FAIR-HASTE. In addition, 10 out of 12 patients in the Stenosis group underwent dynamic susceptibility contrast-perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-pMRI) before and after revascularization in the dominantly affected side. The absolute asymmetry indexes (AIs) of both cerebral hemispheres in the Normal and Stenosis groups were compared in FAIR-HASTE.

Manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis after transsphenoidal surgery in a patient with acromegaly.

Acromegalic arthropathy is one of the most frequent manifestations occurring in acromegaly patients. In contrast, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a rare clinical complication in acromegaly patients. Here, we report a 70-year-old Japanese woman with acromegaly, who complained of bilateral finger stiffness and polyarthralgia two months after transsphenoidal surgery of a growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenoma.

MR imaging of vertebral metastases at 0.2 Tesla: clinical evaluation of T1-weighted opposed-phase gradient-echo imaging.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinically T1-weighted spin-echo imaging (T1-SE) and T1-weighted opposed-phase gradient-echo (T1-opposed GRE) in medical examinations for vertebral metastases using 0.2 Tesla MRI. Twenty-one patients (9 males and 12 females, 105 vertebrae) with non-neoplastic lesions were assigned to the normal group (Group N), whereas 27 patients (16 males and 11 females, 133 vertebrae) with malignant metastatic vertebral lesions were assigned to the metastatic group (Group M).

Differential diagnosis of adrenal masses by chemical shift and dynamic gadolinium enhanced MR imaging.

Chemical shift MRI is widely used for identifying adenomas, but it is not a perfect method. We determined whether combined dynamic MRI methods can lead to improved diagnostic accuracy. Fifty-seven adrenal masses were examined by chemical shift and dynamic MR imaging using 2 MR systems.

Adsorption of cadmium ion and gallium ion to immobilized metallothionein fusion protein.

A fusion protein made from maltose binding protein (pmal) and human metallothionein (MT) was expressed using E. coli. The purified recombinant protein (pmal-MT) was immobilized on Chitopearl resin, and characteristics of pmal-MT for metal binding were evaluated.

Kinematic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the normal shoulder: assessment of the shapes and signals of the superior and inferior labra with abductive movement using an open-type imager.

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the superior and inferior glenoid labra with abductive movement using an open-type MR unit in asymptomatic healthy volunteers. Both fast low angle shot (FLASH) and turbo spin echo (TSE) images were obtained to evaluate the shapes of both the superior and inferior labra, as well as to assess changes in signal at these sites. As the abduction angle was increased, the shape of the superior labrum changed from round or triangular to crescentic and a higher signal was frequently seen.

Multivariate analysis of magnetic resonance imaging of focal hepatic lesions.

A total of 124 lesions from 1 to 6cm in diameter, including 31 cavernous hemangiomas, 32 metastases and 61 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) were analyzed to study the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 0.5 Tesla to differentiate focal hepatic lesions on the basis of qualitative criteria. Each focal hepatic lesion was assessed for shape, internal architecture and signal intensity relative to normal liver parenchyma.

[Postsynaptic potentiation of end plate currents in the rat diaphragm at different levels of synaptic acetylcholinesterase activity].

Nerve-evoked end-plate currents were recorded intracellularly in rat diaphragm when acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was intact or in the presence of galanthamine which reduces AChE activity up to 50% or 75%. Coefficient of correlation of the dependence between half-decay time and amplitude of end-plate currents during short tetanic stimulation pulse (20, 50 and 100 impulses per second) of motor nerve and the slope of this dependence were used to estimate the postsynaptic potentiation. Our results indicate that postsynaptic potentiation shows up clearly when AChE is fully active and grows significantly when AChE activity is slightly reduced.

[Atypical miniature end plate currents in neuromuscular synapses of the rat under normal conditions, after acetylcholinesterase inhibition and cooling].

In the end-plates of rat diaphragm among atypical miniature end-plate currents (MEPCs) 2.9% were giant and 5.1% were slowly rising.

[Restoration of neuromuscular transmission in the rat diaphragm after the action of an organophosphorus inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase by using curare].

The acetylcholinesterase phospho-organic inhibitor armine (4.10(-7) M) reduces the muscle response to a single nerve stimulus (up to 50%) and the nerve-induced tetanic tension in the rat phrenic-diaphragm muscle preparation. Tubocurarine exerts a similar effect.

[Postsynaptic potentiation of miniature currents of muscle fiber endplates in the rat diaphragm. The effect of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, temperature and curare].

Miniature end-plate currents (MEPC) were recorded in voltage-clamped end-plates of the rat diaphragm. A positive correlation between the amplitude and half-decay time of individual MEPC was found in control, after acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition the correlation increased: correlation coefficients--0.29 and 0.

[Miniature currents of the endplates of the muscle fibers of the diaphragm of the rat after inhibition of acetylcholinesterase with galanthamine].

Miniature end-plate currents (MEPC) in rat diaphragm were studied with voltage-clamp technique when synaptic acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was inhibited with different concentrations of galanthamine. The MEPC amplitude and time course were increased progressively with galanthamine concentrations in the range of 3.16 X 10(-8) - 10(-6) g/ml.

[Studies on tissue concentrations of cefoperazone and piperacillin classified by the site of the wall of gallbladder and concentration of piperacillin in the bile after operation].

In selection of drugs to be used in the treatment of biliary tract infections, sensitivity of causative organisms to drugs and tissue concentrations of the drugs constitute important factors. In the present study we treated patients with cholelithiasis with cefoperazone (CPZ) and piperacillin (PIPC), both of which have been reported to show high concentrations in the bile, and concentrations of the drugs in serum, cholecystic bile and various sites of the wall of gallbladder were determined. In addition the drug concentrations in the serum and bile at the 1st and 7th postoperative days were also determined.

[Presynaptic action of armin and galantamin on mammalian neuromuscular junction].

Actions of the two cholinesterase inhibitors: armin and galanthaamine on the neuromuscular transmission and on the spontaneous and evoked acetylcholine release were studied in the rat diaphragm. High concentrations (greater than or equal to 10(-6) g/ml) of these agents exhausted the available transmitter store which decreased the quantum content of e. p.