Cine spiral imaging.

Interleaved spiral scanning of k-space is an efficient and fast method for imaging dynamic processes. In this article, a cine version of interleaved spiral imaging is presented. The method is shown to overcome the "lightning-flash" artifacts of the conventional triggered (gated) method.

Assessment of living renal donors with spiral CT.

Purpose: To determine whether spiral computed tomography (CT) can be used to evaluate potential living renal donors.

Materials And Methods: Twelve potential living renal donors underwent spiral CT and conventional arteriography. CT angiography was performed with 30-second spiral acquisition during injection of 150 mL of nonionic iodinated contrast material into an antecubital vein at 5 mL/sec.

Normal protein and glycoprotein profiles of reflex tears and trace element composition of basal tears from heavy and slight deposits on soft contact lenses.

We investigated the hypothesis that lacrimal component accumulation on soft contact lenses (SCL) may be induced by an abnormal protein, glycoprotein, or trace element composition of the tear fluid. Individual tear samples were collected from healthy non-SCL wearers (normal patients) and SCL wearers grouped as either "slight-depositor" or "heavy-depositor" following SCL spoilage rate and frequency. The reflex tear proteins were analyzed by three electrophoretic procedures: sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) on minigels, isoelectric focusing (IEF) on immobilized pH gradients (IPG 4-7), and two-dimensional separation combining IEF in the first dimension to orthogonal SDS-PAGE.

Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess, gay spies.

Anthony Blunt and Guy Burgess were prominent figures in the Cambridge spy ring operating on behalf of the USSR from the 1930s into the 1960s. The essay describes the complex personalities of Blunt and Burgess, whose homosexuality and communism were related aspects of a rebellious, antibourgeois culture in 1930s leftist Britain. The focus is on male homosexuality, and the question is put whether, and in what sense, Blunt and Burgess served the left, and whether they can be role models for gays at the end of this century.

MRI of radiation-induced prostate sarcoma.

A patient with a history of pelvic radiation therapy for seminoma presented with a prostatic tumor, which appeared predominantly of high signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images; low-signal-intensity tissue also extended to the pelvic sidewall. At surgical pathology, the tumor was determined to be radiation-induced sarcoma of the prostate, and the extraprostatic tissue was postradiation fibrosis.

Characterization of lacrymal component accumulation on worn soft contact lens surfaces by atomic force microscopy.

The purpose of this study was to investigate lacrymal component accumulation on a soft contact lens (SCL) surface after various periods of continuous wear, using the recently developed atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM allowed high resolution images of unworn and worn SCL, and presented two main advantages. 1.

Nutritional and metabolic consequences of basal hyperinsulinemia in alcoholic liver cirrhosis: relationship with postprandial changes in erythrocyte insulin-receptor affinity.

The nutritional and metabolic consequences of basal hyperinsulinemia were investigated in a group of 13 alcoholic cirrhotic patients; 7 healthy subjects were studied as a control group. Two groups of patients were defined on the basis of fasting insulin level: group 1 (n = 7) displayed acute hyperinsulinemia (> mean of control group + 2SD), and group 2 (n = 6) had lower insulin levels. Nutrition status was assessed by means of anthropometric parameters; the rates of nutrient oxidation were measured after an overnight fast and 2 h after a standard meal intake.

Demonstration of organic anion transport in T lymphocytes. L-lactate and fluo-3 are target molecules.

In this paper, we describe for the first time the existence of organic anion transport in T lymphocytes, exemplified by the transmembrane transport of the anions L-lactate and the Ca2+ indicator fluo-3. The transport of either anion was found to be inhibitable by probenecid, a common blocker of organic anion transport. Transport of L-lactate was observed in long-term cultured T cell lines, as well as in freshly ex vivo isolated T cells, and occurred via a saturable, pH-dependent, and stereospecific process.

Quantitative magnetic resonance flow imaging.

Time-of-flight and phase shift methods have both been used for vascular imaging with magnetic resonance. Phase methods, and phase contrast in particular, are well suited to quantitative measurements of velocity and volume flow rate. The most robust methods for measuring flow encode through-plane velocity into phase shift and compute flow by integrating the measured velocity over the vessel lumen.

Color Doppler sonography of focal gastrointestinal lesions: initial clinical experience.

Graded compression color Doppler sonography was used to evaluate gastrointestinal blood flow in 20 normal fasting subjects and 32 patients with focal gastrointestinal lesions. Imaging was optimized for color sensitivity using a 5 MHz linear array transducer. Criteria were established for normal mural blood flow based on findings in normal controls.

Determination of blood flow to the transplanted kidney. A novel application of phase-contrast, cine magnetic resonance imaging.

There is at present no noninvasive method that reliably measures blood flow in the poorly functioning renal allograft. The present study was designed to evaluate phase-contrast cine magnetic resonance imaging (PC-cine-MRI) for this purpose. We recruited for study 18 patients who had received kidney transplants 13-66 months earlier from closely related living donors.

Renal artery blood flow: quantitation with phase-contrast MR imaging with and without breath holding.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of 16-frame cine phase-contrast (PC) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with those of two breath-hold PC techniques in the measurement of renal artery blood flow.

Materials And Methods: In vitro flow measurements were performed in a segment of harvested human artery embedded in gel. For the cine PC acquisition, respiratory motion was simulated.

Spiral CT of renal artery stenosis: comparison of three-dimensional rendering techniques.

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of computed tomographic (CT) angiography in the detection of renal artery stenosis (RAS).

Materials And Methods: CT angiography was performed in 31 patients undergoing conventional renal arteriography. CT angiographic data were reconstructed with shaded surface display (SSD) and maximum-intensity projection (MIP).

Atomic force microscopy study of the collagen fibre structure.

Observations of intact reconstituted and native collagen fibres were performed with the atomic force microscope. The results are compared between the two types of fibres and with those obtained previously with the electron microscope on freeze-etched or negative stained samples. Some of the findings presented here indicate that the specimens observed in air with the atomic force microscope were still in a hydrated state.

Platelet-activating factor-induced endothelial cell expression of adhesion molecules and modulation of surface glycocalyx, evaluated by electron spectroscopy chemical analysis.

PAF synthesized by or added to the endothelial cell monolayer has as first target the endothelium itself, inducing the expression of GMP-140 on the cell surface and qualitative alterations in the composition of glycocalyx. As seen by ESCA, sulfated chemical groups were significantly reduced after PAF stimulation. This reduction depended on selective loss of sulfated proteoglycans that were released into the supernatant.

Signaling via CD28 costimulates lymphokine production, but does not reverse unresponsiveness to interleukin-2 in anti-CD3 triggered Th1 cells.

Previously, it has been described that the ability of murine Th1 cells to proliferate in response to exogenous interleukin (IL)-2 is blocked when these cells are exposed to immobilized anti-CD3 antibodies. In the present study we examined whether simultaneous triggering of the T cell antigen CD28 can prevent the induction of unresponsiveness to IL-2 in Th1 cells. We report that costimulation of Th1 cells with anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) did not overcome unresponsiveness to IL-2 induced by various amounts of immobilized anti-CD3 antibodies.

Determining the volume of prostatic carcinoma: value of MR imaging with an external-array coil.

Objective: The size of prostatic carcinomas, as determined by estimations of the tumor volume, has a direct correlation with the histologic grade and stage. Therefore, accurate information about tumor volume can play an important role in determining appropriate treatment and establishing a patient's prognosis. Accordingly, we performed a study to assess the accuracy of MR imaging with external-array coils and the fast spin-echo technique for determining tumor volume in patients with prostatic cancer.

Follow-up sonography in suspected acalculous cholecystitis: preliminary clinical experience.

Fourteen adult patients with clinically suspected AAC and inconclusive initial sonograms underwent follow-up sonography within 24 hours. Eight patients had initial studies demonstrating a normal thickness of the gallbladder wall. Four of these patients demonstrated progressive thickening of the gallbladder wall on follow-up scans and were diagnosed as having AAC.

Adnexal masses: comparison of specificity of endovaginal US and pelvic MR imaging.

In a prospective study, 32 women with suspected pelvic masses at physical examination underwent both endovaginal ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to compare their ability in diagnosis of adnexal masses. Criteria for the diagnosis of various types of adnexal masses with MR imaging and endovaginal US were prospectively defined, and the ability of either modality to allow a specific diagnosis was assessed. For each modality, measures of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were obtained.

Prospects for ultrasonic spectroscopy and spectral imaging of abdominal tissues.

A system for the digitization and frequency spectral analysis of radiofrequency data for ultrasonic waveforms backscattered from abdominal tissues is described. Studies of phantoms meant to simulate abdominal tissues of differing scattering characteristics indicated that frequency spectral differences due to differences in the frequency dependence of backscattering were seen with 5 MHz probes, but not with a 3.5 MHz probe.

Imaging surfaces of hydrophilic contact lenses with the atomic force microscope.

Soft contact lens (SCL) surfaces were imaged with atomic force microscopy (AFM). High-resolution images of unworn SCL were obtained under nearly physiological medium. We present images of surfaces of collagen bandage lens under dry or aqueous conditions and of SCL of different water content and fabrication processes.

The (8-thiotheophyllinate) (triphenylphosphine) gold (I), (tTAuP): a new gold complex as an anticancer agent.

In continuous Friend leukemia cell exposure to tTAuP, the IC50 was 0.2 microM whereas in cells exposed 15 or 60 min to tTAuP followed by 72 h in drug-free medium the IC50 was 2.2 and 1.