Analysis of Ultrasonographic Characteristics of Early Hepatic Alveolar Echinococcosis.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the ultrasonographic characteristics of early hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) and improve the qualitative diagnostic ability of sonographers.

Methods: The data of 80 positive cases of HAE screened and diagnosed by ultrasonography and serum immunology (33 males and 44 females with a mean age of 44.12 ± 14.

Detection of caffeine and its main metabolites for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease using micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography.

Caffeine (CA) is a common xanthine alkaloid found in tea leaves, coffee beans, and other natural plants, and is the most widely used psychotropic substance in the world. Accumulating evidence suggests that low plasma levels of CA and its metabolites may serve as reliable diagnostic markers for early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In this study, we demonstrated a new MEKC method for determining CA and its three main downstream metabolites, paraxanthine (PX), theobromine (TB), and theophylline (TP), in human plasma.

Diffusion tensor imaging measures of normal appearing white matter in patients who are aging, or have amnestic mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's disease.

To evaluate whether cerebral white matter integrity is related to cognitive function, and whether diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) could differentiate amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) from Alzheimer's disease (AD), 12 patients with AD, 12 with aMCI, and 12 controls were recruited for this study. Cognitive functions of all subjects were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and AD Assessment Scale - Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog). DTI studies were acquired, and fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in multiple brain regions were obtained.

Magnetoencephalography assessment of evoked magnetic fields and cognitive function in subcortical ischemic vascular dementia patients.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between cognitive impairment and somatosensory evoked magnetic field and auditory evoked magnetic field changes in elderly male patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD).

Methods: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to record evoked magnetic field changes from 4 SIVD patients (76-88 years), 3 patients with vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCI-ND; 74-87 years), and 6 healthy volunteers (72-85 years). Latency peaks, equivalent current dipole (ECD) strength, and bilateral ECD position were recorded.

Genetic diversity and population structure of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

Knowing the extent and structure of genetic variation in germplasm collections is essential for the conservation and utilization of biodiversity in cultivated plants. Cucumber is the fourth most important vegetable crop worldwide and is a model system for other Cucurbitaceae, a family that also includes melon, watermelon, pumpkin and squash. Previous isozyme studies revealed a low genetic diversity in cucumber, but detailed insights into the crop's genetic structure and diversity are largely missing.

Changes of auditory evoked magnetic fields in patients after acute cerebral infarction using magnetoencephalography.

Auditory evoked magnetic fields were recorded from 15 patients with acute cerebral infarction and 11 healthy volunteers using magnetoencephalography. The auditory stimuli of 2 kHz pure tone were binaurally presented with an interstimulus interval of 1 second. The intensity of stimuli was 90 dB and the stimulus duration was 8 ms.

[The clinical study of somatosensory evoked magnetic fields in patients with acute cerebral infarction by magnetoencephalography].

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SEF) in patients with acute cerebral infarction by magnetoencephalgraphy (MEG).

Methods: SEFs were recorded from 17 patients with acute cerebral infarction and 18 healthy volunteers using 306-channel whole-head MEG. The electric stimuli were presented with interstimulus intervals of 0.