Computed tomography of craniofacial trauma at a combat support hospital in Afghanistan.

Complex craniofacial injuries are encountered among both soldiers and civilians in combat zones. Computed tomography is a necessary and effective tool for the evaluation and treatment of these injuries in the forward-deployed combat support hospital.

Hyaluronic acid as an anti-angiogenic shield in the preovulatory rat follicle.

Angiogenesis in the preovulatory follicle is confined to the theca cell layers, and penetration of capillaries through the basement membrane into the granulosa cell layers does not occur until after ovulation. However, elevated expression of the angiogenic growth factor (VEGF) has been reported in the cumulus cells surrounding the oocyte, which are expelled from the follicle during ovulation. This spatial and temporal discrepancy between VEGF expression and angiogenesis was studied here in the rat ovarian follicle, and we showed that cumulus cells secrete to the follicular fluid, in addition to VEGF, material with antiangiogenic activity that blocks endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and capillary formation in vitro.

Spatial and temporal modulation of perfusion in the rat ovary measured by arterial spin labeling MRI.

The hemodynamic changes triggered by luteinizing hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin (LH/hCG) in ovaries of immature pregnant mare serum gonadotropins (PMSG)-primed female Wistar rats were followed by pulsed arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging. Decreased perfusion was monitored in the first 2 hours after administration of hCG followed by a transient significant rise in perfusion. Subsequently, constant ovarian perfusion of 10.

Perfusion of the rat ovary: application of pulsed arterial spin labeling MRI.

Pulsed arterial spin labeling was used for mapping ovarian perfusion and measurement of blood velocity in the ovarian artery. Arterial blood was tagged upstream by pulsed slice selective saturation, and saturation transfer due to perfusion was monitored within the rat ovary. The velocity of arterial blood was determined from the dependence of the saturation transfer on the thickness of the saturation slice and the delay between successive saturation pulses.

Regulation of angiogenesis by hypoxic stress: from solid tumours to the ovarian follicle.

The preovulatory follicle provides a unique physiological example of rapid growth accompanied by neovascularization, two processes that are generally characteristic of pathologies such as wound repair or malignancy. During the hours preceding ovulation, follicular growth is accompanied by elevated levels of messenger RNA for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Angiogenic activity, mediated by VEGF, is manifested in the peripheral blood vessels surrounding the follicle, that show capillary sprouting and increased vascular permeability.

Modulation of water diffusion during gonadotropin-induced ovulation: NMR microscopy of the ovarian follicle.

The preovulatory rat follicle reaches a diameter of 1 mm with no internal blood vessels. Nutrient supply to the enclosed oocyte depends solely on passive diffusion across the follicular wall and the follicular fluid. Spin-echo and stimulated-echo NMR microscopy experiments were applied here for studying modulations in water diffusion during gonadotropin-induced maturation of perfused rat ovarian follicles (32 degrees C).

Cyclocreatine accumulation leads to cellular swelling in C6 glioma multicellular spheroids: diffusion and one-dimensional chemical shift nuclear magnetic resonance microscopy.

Cyclocreatine, an analogue of creatine, inhibits tumor cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. The effects of cyclocreatine in large C6 glioma multicellular spheroids were mapped here by magnetic resonance microscopy. Diffusion-weighted images of C6 glioma spheroids resolved the bright viable rim and the dark necrotic center.

Model of a new temperature-compensated optical current sensor using Bi(12)SiO(20).

A new optical bulk current sensor is presented with Bi(12)SiO(20) as a sensing crystal. Through the use of a mirror in the setup and the reciprocity of the optical activity of Bi(12)SiO(20), the sensor becomes insensitive to intrinsic linear birefringence and birefringence that is due to the enclosure of the crystal. Therefore the sensor is also insensitive to temperature, which affects the total linear birefringence.

Differences in the activation of m. biceps brachii in the control of slow isotonic movements and isometric contractions.

We have compared muscle activation in the control of slow isotonic movements and isometric contractions. Specific attention has been given to the contribution of the two force-grading mechanisms, the recruitment of motor units and the modulation of firing frequency in motor units that have already been recruited. The recruitment order of the m.