Reversible clinical and magnetic resonance imaging of central pontine myelinolysis following surgery for craniopharyngioma: serial magnetic resonance imaging studies.

An 18-year-old girl presented with central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) following surgery for craniopharyngioma. Postoperatively, the patient developed diabetes insipidus with remarkable fluctuation of serum sodium level, suffered a seizure, and developed mental state changes and quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging obtained soon after the development of the symptoms showed no significant abnormalities.

Relapse of polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein, and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome without increased level of vascular endothelial growth factor following successful autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

We report a patient with polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein, and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome who experienced relapse after successful treatment with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (auto-PBSCT). Interestingly, although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were positively correlated with disease activity before and after auto-PBSCT, as expected, levels did not increase at the time of relapse. The patient was treated with doxorubicin, dexamethasone, and diuretics, followed by thalidomide, and remains clinically stable at one year after treatment.

Deterministic retrieval of complex Green's functions using hard X rays.

A massively parallel deterministic method is described for reconstructing shift-invariant complex Green's functions. As a first experimental implementation, we use a single phase contrast x-ray image to reconstruct the complex Green's function associated with Bragg reflection from a thick perfect crystal. The reconstruction is in excellent agreement with a classic prediction of dynamical diffraction theory.

Imaging lung aeration and lung liquid clearance at birth using phase contrast X-ray imaging.

The transition to extra-uterine life at birth is critically dependent on airway liquid clearance to allow the entry of air and the onset of gaseous ventilation. We have used phase contrast X-ray imaging to identify factors that regulate lung aeration at birth in spontaneously breathing term and mechanically ventilated preterm rabbit pups. Phase contrast X-ray imaging exploits the difference in refractive index between air and water to enhance image contrast, enabling the smallest air-filled structures of the lung (alveoli; < 100 microm) to be resolved.

Establishing functional residual capacity at birth: the effect of sustained inflation and positive end-expiratory pressure in a preterm rabbit model.

The effect of a 20 s sustained inflation (SI) and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on functional residual capacity (FRC) formation at birth were investigated. Preterm rabbit pups (28 d) were randomized at birth into four groups (n = 6 for each): 1) SI, PEEP 5 cm H2O, 2) no SI, PEEP 5 cm H2O, 3) no SI + no PEEP, 4) SI + no PEEP. FRC and tidal volume (Vt) were measured by plethysmography and uniformity of lung aeration by phase contrast x-ray imaging.

Dynamics of thin-filament activation in rabbit skeletal muscle fibers examined by time-resolved x-ray diffraction.

By using skinned-rabbit skeletal muscle fibers, the time courses of changes of thin filament-based x-ray reflections were followed at a 3.4-ms time resolution during thin-filament activation. To discriminate between the effects of calcium binding and myosin binding on thin-filament activity, measurements were performed after caged-calcium photolysis in fibers with full-filament or no-filament overlap, or during force recovery after a quick release.

Conversion of 4-oxoproline esters to 4-substituted pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid esters.

The Grignard, Wittig, Tebbe, Horner-Emmons, and Reformatsky reactions of the 4-oxoproline esters gave the corresponding 4-alylated or 4-alkylidenated products, respectively. The products were properly treated with bases to cause aromatization, giving 4-substituted pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid esters such as methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate, which is a trail pheromone of Atta texana.

High-resolution visualization of airspace structures in intact mice via synchrotron phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI).

Anatomical visualization of airspace-containing organs in intact small animals has been limited by the resolution and contrast available from current imaging methods such as X-ray, micro-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Determining structural relationships and detailed anatomy has therefore relied on suitable fixation, sectioning and histological processing. More complex and informative analyses such as orthogonal views of an organ and three-dimensional structure visualizations have required different animals and image sets, laboriously processed to gather this complementary structural information.

VAJ/GFA1/CLO is involved in the directional control of floral organ growth.

Flowers assume variant forms of reproductive structures, a phenomenon which may be partially due to the diversity among species in the shape and size of floral organs. However, the organ size and shape of flowers usually remain constant within a species when grown under the same environmental conditions. The molecular and genetic mechanisms that control organ size and shape are largely unknown.

Expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide-modified proteins in Helicobacter pylori-associated atrophic gastric mucosa.

Background And Aim: Induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) may be involved in carcinogenesis of the stomach, because nitric oxide (NO) derived from iNOS can exert DNA damage and post-transcriptional modification of target proteins. In the present study, we investigated the correlation between endoscopic findings and iNOS mRNA expression/NO-modified proteins in the gastric mucosa.

Methods: Fifty patients were prospectively selected from subjects who underwent upper gastrointestinal chromoendoscopy screening for abdominal complaints.

[Case of reversible ischemic neurological deficit presented as hemiballism].

Ballism is characterized by continuous, coarse, flinging involuntary movements involving the limbs. Although persistent involuntary movements caused by cerebrovascular diseases mostly in middle-aged patients are well known, transient involuntary movements are an unusual manifestation of cerebrovascular diseases. We describe a rare case of reversible ischemic neurologic deficit (RIND) presented as hemiballism.

Measurement of electron density in dual-energy x-ray CT with monochromatic x rays and evaluation of its accuracy.

Information on electron density is important for radiotherapy treatment planning in order to optimize the dose distribution in the target volume of a patient. At present, the electron density is derived from a computed tomography (CT) number measured in x-ray CT scanning; however, there are uncertainties due to the beam hardening effect and the method by which the electron density is converted from the CT number. In order to measure the electron density with an accuracy of +/-1%, the authors have developed dual-energy x ray CT using monochromatic x rays.

Compact packing of lipocalin-type prostaglandin D synthase induced by binding of lipophilic ligands.

Lipocalin-type prostaglandin (PG) D synthase (L-PGDS) is a multi-functioning protein belonging to the lipocalin family, acting as a PGD(2)-synthesizing enzyme and as an extracellular transporter for small lipophilic molecules. In the present study, to clarify the conformational changes of lipocalin proteins induced by binding of lipophilic ligands, such as all-trans-retinoic acid (RA), bilirubin (BR) and biliverdin (BV), we measured small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of L-PGDS and that of two other lipocalins, beta-lactoglobulin (betaLG) and retinol-binding protein (RBP). L-PGDS bound all three ligands with high affinity, while betaLG and RBP could bind only RA.

A method of dosimetry for synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy using radiochromic films of different sensitivity.

This paper describes a method of film dosimetry used to measure the peak-to-valley dose ratios for synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy (MRT). Two types of radiochromic film (manufactured by International Specialty Products, NJ, USA) were irradiated in a phantom and also flush against a microbeam collimator (beam width 25 microm, centre-to-centre spacing 200 microm) on beamline BL28 B2 at the SPring-8 synchrotron. Four experiments are reported: (1) the HD-810 and EBT varieties of radiochromic film were used to record 'peak' dose and 'valley' (regions in between peaks) dose, respectively; (2) a stack of HD-810 film sheets was microbeam-irradiated and analysed to investigate a possible dose build-up effect; (3) a very high MRT dose was delivered to HD-810 film to elicit a measurable valley dose to compare with the result obtained using broad beam radiation; (4) the half value layer of the beam with and without the microbeam collimator was measured to investigate the effect of the collimator on the beam quality.

Dynamic measures of regional lung air volume using phase contrast x-ray imaging.

Phase contrast x-ray imaging can provide detailed images of lung morphology with sufficient spatial resolution to observe the terminal airways (alveoli). We demonstrate that quantitative functional and anatomical imaging of lung ventilation can be achieved in vivo using two-dimensional phase contrast x-ray images with high contrast and spatial resolution (<100 microm) in near real time. Changes in lung air volume as small as 25 microL were calculated from the images of term and preterm rabbit pup lungs (n = 28) using a single-image phase retrieval algorithm.

Structural changes in the muscle thin filament during contractions caused by single and double electrical pulses.

In order to investigate the structural changes of the myofilaments involved in the phenomenon of summation in skeletal muscle contraction, we studied small-angle x-ray intensity changes during twitches of frog skeletal muscle elicited by either a single or a double stimulus at 16 degrees C. The separation of the pulses in the double-pulse stimulation was either 15 or 30 ms. The peak tension was more than doubled by the second stimulus.

Dose distribution of a 125 keV mean energy microplanar x-ray beam for basic studies on microbeam radiotherapy.

A multislit collimator was designed and fabricated for basic studies on microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) with an x-ray energy of about 100 keV. It consists of 30 slits that are 25 microm high, 30 mm wide, and 5 mm thick in the beam direction. The slits were made of 25 microm-thick polyimide sheets that were separated by 175 microm-thick tungsten sheets.

Development of high-resolution 4D in vivo-CT for visualization of cardiac and respiratory deformations of small animals.

The interest in small animal models of human diseases has generated a need to design a computed tomography (CT) system that operates at a microscopic level. It is particularly important to be able to visualize the dramatic rhythmical motion of organs such as the heart and lungs. In order to evaluate the motion of the heart and lungs of small animals (rats and mice), we developed in the present study a high-resolution 4D in vivo-CT system for small animals that uses synchrotron radiation.

Prevention of Indomethacin-Induced Gastric Mucosal Injury in Helicobacter pylori-Negative Healthy Volunteers: A Comparison Study Rebamipide vs Famotidine.

The clinical efficacy of gastroprotective drugs or low-dose H(2) receptor antagonists in the prevention of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced gastropathy is limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate efficacy of rebamipide and famotidine in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-negative healthy volunteers taking NSAID.

Dosimetry for a microbeam array generated by synchrotron radiation at SPring-8.

A microbeam array was formed with a multi-slit collimator (MSC) for research on radiation therapy (MRT). Kodak EDR2 film was used to measure the dose distribution of the microbeam array. The calibration curve of optical density of the film with respect to a dose was established using a standard Farmer chamber and (60)Co gamma-ray source.

Simultaneous acquisition of dual analyser-based phase contrast X-ray images for small animal imaging.

Analyser-based phase contrast X-ray imaging can provide high-contrast images of biological tissues with exquisite sensitivity to the boundaries between tissues. The phase and absorption information can be extracted by processing multiple images acquired at different analyser orientations. Recording both the transmitted and diffracted beams from a thin Laue analyser crystal can make phase retrieval possible for dynamic systems by allowing full field imaging.

Phase contrast X-ray imaging for the non-invasive detection of airway surfaces and lumen characteristics in mouse models of airway disease.

We seek to establish non-invasive imaging able to detect and measure aspects of the biology and physiology of surface fluids present on airways, in order to develop novel outcome measures able to validate the success of proposed genetic or pharmaceutical therapies for cystic fibrosis (CF) airway disease. Reduction of the thin airway surface liquid (ASL) is thought to be a central pathophysiological process in CF, causing reduced mucociliary clearance that supports ongoing infection and destruction of lung and airways. Current outcome measures in animal models, or humans, are insensitive to the small changes in ASL depth that ought to accompany successful airway therapies.

Legionnaires' disease with hypoperfusion in the cerebellum and frontal lobe on single photon emission computed tomography.

A 59-year-old man was admitted for further investigation of headache. Neurological examination revealed memory loss, disorientation, and bilateral intention tremor. Legionella pneumophila antigen was detected in the urine.

High-resolution visualization of tumours in rabbit lung using refraction contrast X-ray imaging.

Contrast enhancement by refraction was used to visualize tumours in the rabbit lung. VX2 tumour cells were intravenously injected into a rabbit. After 14 days the rabbit was euthanized and the lungs were imaged.

[Assessment of bone quality. Possibilities of bone structure characterization using SPring-8].

SPring-8 is the largest synchrotron radiation facility in the world. In SPring-8, a number of techniques have been developed which are useful in evaluating characteristics of bone structure. Especially, high-resolution 3D tomography and X-ray diffraction are powerful and widely used methods.