Plant biomacromolecule delivery methods in the 21st century.

The 21st century witnessed a boom in plant genomics and gene characterization studies through RNA interference and site-directed mutagenesis. Specifically, the last 15 years marked a rapid increase in discovering and implementing different genome editing techniques. Methods to deliver gene editing reagents have also attempted to keep pace with the discovery and implementation of gene editing tools in plants.

Development and Validation of a Gene Signature Classifier for Consensus Molecular Subtyping of Colorectal Carcinoma in a CLIA-Certified Setting.

Purpose: Consensus molecular subtyping (CMS) of colorectal cancer has potential to reshape the colorectal cancer landscape. We developed and validated an assay that is applicable on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples of colorectal cancer and implemented the assay in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified laboratory.

Experimental Design: We performed an experiment to build an optimal CMS classifier using a training set of 1,329 samples from 12 studies and validation set of 1,329 samples from 14 studies.

Detection of the p.L265P Mutation in the CSF of a Patient With Secondary Central Nervous System Lymphoma.

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) and Metastatic (or Secondary) Central Nervous System Lymphoma (MCNSL) are rare central nervous system (CNS) malignancies that exhibit aggressive clinical behavior and have a poor prognosis. The majority of CNS lymphomas are histologically classified as diffuse large-B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). DLBCL harbors a high frequency of mutations in and .

Tissue Changes During Operational Load Bearing in UH-60 Aircrew Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Introduction: Warfighters involved in mounted operations often experience prolonged periods of tissue loading, leading to injury. Determining how anatomical structures are affected during loading aids in the prevention and treatment of injury. The purpose of this study was to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible seat system that simulates a UH-60 Blackhawk in-flight sitting posture.

Bereaved parents' intentions and suggestions about research autopsies in children with lethal brain tumors.

Objective: To determine bereaved parents' perceptions about participating in autopsy-related research and to elucidate their suggestions about how to improve the process.

Study Design: A prospective multicenter study was conducted to collect tumor tissue by autopsy of children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. In the study, parents completed a questionnaire after their child's death to describe the purpose for, hopes (ie, desired outcomes of), and regrets about their participation in autopsy-related research.

Automated three-dimensional signature model for assessing brain injury in emergent stroke.

This presentation will focus on the value of established and newer MR methods that can be applied to the diagnosis and management of ischemic stroke with emphasis on future applications of MR to provide previously unmet needs of the treating clinician and clinical trials. Time alone is an inadequate indicator of the therapeutic window, especially when the time of stroke onset is uncertain. Thus, there is a need to predict the evolution of stroke in a way that more precisely and with greater resolution identifies the progression of cellular damage at the moment of investigation.

Unsupervised segmentation of multiparameter MRI in experimental cerebral ischemia with comparison to T2, diffusion, and ADC MRI parameters and histopathological validation.

This study presents histological validation of an objective (unsupervised) computer segmentation algorithm, the iterative self-organizing data analysis technique (ISODATA), for analysis of multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in experimental focal cerebral ischemia. T2-, T1-, and diffusion (DWI) weighted coronal images were acquired from 4 to 168 hours after stroke on separate groups of animals. Animals were killed immediately after MRI for histological analysis.

Three-dimensional measurement of cerebral microvascular plasma perfusion, glial fibrillary acidic protein and microtubule associated protein-2 immunoreactivity after embolic stroke in rats: a double fluorescent labeled laser-scanning confocal microscopic study.

Early astroglial response to post-ischemic microvascular hypoperfusion may contribute to progressive cerebral microcirculatory impairment and ischemic neuronal injury. Using laser-scanning confocal microscopy and three fluorescent probes, we measured in three-dimensions cerebral microvascular plasma perfusion, astrocytic reactivity, and neuronal injury assessed by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran, GFAP immunoreactivity, and microtubule associated protein-2 (MAP2) immunoreactivity, respectively, in rats subjected to 2 h of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Three-dimensional quantitative analysis revealed that 2 h of embolic ischemia resulted in a significant (P<0.

Registration and warping of magnetic resonance images to histological sections.

We present a method for coregistration and warping of magnetic resonance images (MRI) to histological sections for comparison purposes. This methodology consists of a modified head and hat surface-based registration algorithm followed by a new automated warping approach using nonlinear thin plate splines to compensate for distortions between the data sets. To test the methodology, 15 male Wistar rats were subjected to focal cerebral ischemia via permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery.

Identification of cerebral ischemic lesions in rat using Eigenimage filtered magnetic resonance imaging.

An accurate noninvasive time-independent identification of an ischemic cerebral lesion is an important objective of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study describes a novel application of a multiparameter MRI analysis algorithm, the Eigenimage (EI) filter, to experimental stroke. The EI is a linear filter that maximizes the projection of a desired tissue (ischemic tissue) while it minimizes the projection of undesired tissues (nonischemic tissue) onto a composite image called an eigenimage.

MR imaging of human brain at 3.0 T: preliminary report on transverse relaxation rates and relation to estimated iron content.

Purpose: To determine the transverse relaxation rates R2 and R2' from several gray matter regions and from frontal cortical white matter in healthy human brains in vivo and to determine the relationship between relaxation rates and iron concentration [Fe].

Materials And Methods: Six healthy adults aged 19-42 years underwent thin-section gradient-echo sampling of free induction decay and echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 3.0 T.

A 3D deformable surface model for segmentation of objects from volumetric data in medical images.

In this paper we present a new 3D discrete dynamic surface model. The model consists of vertices and edges, which connect adjacent vertices. Basic geometry of the model surface is generated by triangle patches.

Segmentation of the hippocampus from brain MRI using deformable contours.

The application of a discrete dynamic contour model for segmentation of the hippocampus from brain MRI has been investigated. Solutions to several common problems of dynamic contours in this case and similar cases have been developed. A new method for extracting the discontinuous boundary of a structure with multiple edges near the structure has been developed.

Time course of ADCw changes in ischemic stroke: beyond the human eye!

Background And Purpose: Using newly developed computerized image analysis, we studied the heterogeneity of apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADCw) values in human ischemic stroke within 10 hours of onset.

Methods: Echo-planar trace diffusion-weighted images from 9 patients with focal cortical ischemic stroke were obtained within 10 hours of symptom onset. An Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis (ISODATA) clustering algorithm was implemented to segment different tissue types with a series of DW images.

Feature space analysis of MRI.

This paper presents an MRI feature-space image-analysis method and its application to brain tumor studies. The proposed method generates a transformed feature space in which the normal tissues (white matter, gray matter, and CSF) become orthonormal. As such, the method is expected to have site-to-site and patient-to-patient consistency, and is useful for identification of tissue types, segmentation of tissues, and quantitative measurements on tissues.

Brain tumor segmentation and characterization by pattern analysis of multispectral NMR images.

A major problem in tumor treatment planning and evaluation is determination of the tumor extent. This paper presents a pattern analysis methodology for segmentation and characterization of brain tumors from multispectral NMR images. The proposed approach has been used in 15 clinical studies of cerebral tumor patients who have been scheduled for surgical biopsy and resection.

A multiresolution approach for contour extraction from brain images.

Many image registration methods use head surface, brain surface, or inner/outer surface of the skull to estimate rotation and translation parameters. The inner surface of the skull is also used for intracranial volume segmentation which is considered the first step in segmentation and analysis of brain images. The surface is usually characterized by a set of edge or contour points extracted from cross-sectional images.

Segmentation of acoustic neuromas with magnetic resonance imaging and Eigen image filtering.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether magnetic resonance imaging with Eigen image filtering can segment acoustic neuromas as a preliminary requirement to the development and validation of a volumetric method of measuring tumor size and growth using Eigen image filtering.

Study Design: This was an observational study.

Setting: The study was performed in an academic, comprehensive multi-specialty group practice.

The temporal evolution of MRI tissue signatures after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat.

We have developed a multiparameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cluster analysis model of acute ischemic stroke using T2 relaxation times and the diffusion coefficient of water (ADCw). To test the ability of this model to predict cerebral infarction, male Wistar rats (n = 7) were subjected to 2 h of transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, and diffusion and T2 weighted MRI were performed on these rats before, during and up to 7 days after MCA occlusion. MRI tissue signatures, specified by values of ADCw and T2 were assigned to tissue histopathology.

Cerebral tumor volume calculations using planimetric and eigenimage analysis.

Volume determination in cerebral tumors requires accurate and reproducible segmentation. This task has been traditionally accomplished using planimetric methods which define the boundary of the lesion using thresholding and edge detection schemes. These methods lack accuracy and reproducibility when the contrast between the lesion and surrounding tissue is not maximized.

Optimal linear transformation for MRI feature extraction.

This paper presents development and application of a feature extraction method for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without explicit calculation of tissue parameters. A three-dimensional (3-D) feature space representation of the data is generated in which normal tissues are clustered around prespecified target positions and abnormalities are clustered elsewhere. This is accomplished by a linear minimum mean square error transformation of categorical data to target positions.

A model to predict the histopathology of human stroke using diffusion and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

Background And Purpose: We sought to identify MRI measures that have high probability in a short acquisition time to predict, at early time points after onset of ischemia, the eventual development of cerebral infarction in clinical patients who suffer occlusion of a cerebral artery.

Methods: We developed an MR tissue signature model based on experimentally derived relationships of the apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADCw) and T2 to ischemic brain tissue histopathology. In eight stroke patients we measured ADCw and T2 intensity using diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging (DW-EPI).

Hearing loss in Paget's disease of bone: the relationship between pure-tone thresholds and mineral density of the cochlear capsule.

We have developed a unique method of quantitative computed tomography (QCT) that enables measurement of the density of the cochlear capsule in vivo. We performed pure-tone audiometry and QCT on 67 ears from 35 subjects with radiographically confirmed Paget's disease of the skull and on 40 ears from twenty volunteer subjects. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients (age- and sex-adjusted) in the group affected by Paget's disease were -0.