Impact of patient-specific factors, irradiated left ventricular volume, and treatment set-up errors on the development of myocardial perfusion defects after radiation therapy for left-sided breast cancer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Evans, Elizabeth S.; Prosnitz, Robert G.; Yu Xiaoli

2006-11-15

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of patient-specific factors, left ventricle (LV) volume, and treatment set-up errors on the rate of perfusion defects 6 to 60 months post-radiation therapy (RT) in patients receiving tangential RT for left-sided breast cancer. Methods and Materials: Between 1998 and 2005, a total of 153 patients were enrolled onto an institutional review board-approved prospective study and had pre- and serial post-RT (6-60 months) cardiac perfusion scans to assess for perfusion defects. Of the patients, 108 had normal pre-RT perfusion scans and available follow-up data. The impact of patient-specific factors onmore » the rate of perfusion defects was assessed at various time points using univariate and multivariate analysis. The impact of set-up errors on the rate of perfusion defects was also analyzed using a one-tailed Fisher's Exact test. Results: Consistent with our prior results, the volume of LV in the RT field was the most significant predictor of perfusion defects on both univariate (p = 0.0005 to 0.0058) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.0026 to 0.0029). Body mass index (BMI) was the only significant patient-specific factor on both univariate (p = 0.0005 to 0.022) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.0091 to 0.05). In patients with very small volumes of LV in the planned RT fields, the rate of perfusion defects was significantly higher when the fields set-up 'too deep' (83% vs. 30%, p = 0.059). The frequency of deep set-up errors was significantly higher among patients with BMI {>=}25 kg/m{sup 2} compared with patients of normal weight (47% vs. 28%, p = 0.068). Conclusions: BMI {>=}25 kg/m{sup 2} may be a significant risk factor for cardiac toxicity after RT for left-sided breast cancer, possibly because of more frequent deep set-up errors resulting in the inclusion of additional heart in the RT fields. Further study is necessary to better understand the impact of patient-specific factors and set-up errors on the development of RT-induced perfusion defects.« less

Influence of angiographic collateral circulation on myocardial perfusion in patients with chronic total occlusion of a single coronary artery and no prior myocardial infarction.

PubMed

Aboul-Enein, Fatma; Kar, Saibal; Hayes, Sean W; Sciammarella, Maria; Abidov, Aiden; Makkar, Raj; Friedman, John D; Eigler, Neal; Berman, Daniel S

2004-06-01

The functional role of various angiographic grades for coronary collaterals remains controversial. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the Rentrop angiographic grading of coronary collaterals on myocardial perfusion in patients with single-vessel chronic total occlusion (CTO) and no prior myocardial infarction (MI). The study included 56 patients with single-vessel CTO and no prior MI who underwent rest-stress myocardial perfusion SPECT and coronary angiography within 6 mo. All patients had angiographic evidence of coronary collaterals. Patients were divided according to the Rentrop classification: Group I had grade 1 or 2 (n = 25) and group II had grade 3 collaterals (n = 31). Group I had a higher frequency of resting regional wall motion abnormalities on left ventriculography (52.6% vs. 19.2% [P = 0.019]). The mean perfusion scores of the overall population showed severe and extensive stress perfusion defects (summed stress score of 14.1 +/- 7.1 and summed difference score of 12.9 +/- 6.9) but minimal resting perfusion defects (summed rest score of 1.0 +/- 2.7). No perfusion scores differed between the 2 groups. The perfusion findings suggested that chronic stunning rather than hibernation is the principal cause of regional wall motion abnormalities in these patients. In the setting of single-vessel CTO and no prior MI, coronary collaterals appear to protect against resting perfusion defects. Excellent angiographic collaterals may prevent resting regional wall motion abnormalities but do not appear to protect against stress-induced perfusion defects.

Lung perfusion characteristics in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and peripheral forms of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (pCTEPH): Dual-energy CT experience in 31 patients.

PubMed

Giordano, Jessica; Khung, Suonita; Duhamel, Alain; Hossein-Foucher, Claude; Bellèvre, Dimitri; Lamblin, Nicolas; Remy, Jacques; Remy-Jardin, Martine

2017-04-01

To compare lung perfusion in PAH and pCTEPH on dual-energy CT (DECT) examinations. Thirty-one patients with PAH (group 1; n = 19) and pCTEPH (group 2; n = 12) underwent a dual-energy chest CTA with reconstruction of diagnostic and perfusion images. Perfusion alterations were analysed at a segmental level. V/Q scintigraphy was available in 22 patients (group 1: 13/19; group 2: 9/12). CT perfusion was abnormal in 52.6 % of group 1 patients and in 100 % of group 2 patients (p = 0.0051). The patterns of perfusion alteration significantly differed between the two groups (p < 0.0001): (1) in group 1, 96.6 % of segments with abnormal perfusion showed patchy defects; (2) in group 2, the most frequent abnormalities consisted of patchy (58.5 %) and PE-type (37.5 %) defects. Paired comparison of CT perfusion and scintigraphy showed concordant findings in 76.9 % of group 1 (10/13) and 100 % of group 2 (9/9) patients, with a predominant or an exclusive patchy pattern in group 1 and a mixed pattern of abnormalities in group 2. Lung perfusion alterations at DECT are less frequent and more homogeneous in PAH than in pCTEPH, with a high level of concordant findings with V/Q scintigraphy. • Depiction of chronic pulmonary embolism exclusively located on peripheral arteries is difficult. • The main differential diagnosis of pCTEPH is PAH. • The pattern of DECT perfusion changes can help differentiate PAH and pCETPH. • In PAH, almost all segments with abnormal perfusion showed patchy defects. • In pCTEPH, patchy and PE-type defects were the most frequent abnormalities.

Repair of Segmental Bone Defect Using Totally Vitalized Tissue Engineered Bone Graft by a Combined Perfusion Seeding and Culture System

PubMed Central

Feng, Ya-Fei; Li, Xiang; Hu, Yun-Yu; Wang, Zhen; Ma, Zhen-Sheng; Lei, Wei

2014-01-01

Background The basic strategy to construct tissue engineered bone graft (TEBG) is to combine osteoblastic cells with three dimensional (3D) scaffold. Based on this strategy, we proposed the “Totally Vitalized TEBG” (TV-TEBG) which was characterized by abundant and homogenously distributed cells with enhanced cell proliferation and differentiation and further investigated its biological performance in repairing segmental bone defect. Methods In this study, we constructed the TV-TEBG with the combination of customized flow perfusion seeding/culture system and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) scaffold fabricated by Rapid Prototyping (RP) technique. We systemically compared three kinds of TEBG constructed by perfusion seeding and perfusion culture (PSPC) method, static seeding and perfusion culture (SSPC) method, and static seeding and static culture (SSSC) method for their in vitro performance and bone defect healing efficacy with a rabbit model. Results Our study has demonstrated that TEBG constructed by PSPC method exhibited better biological properties with higher daily D-glucose consumption, increased cell proliferation and differentiation, and better cell distribution, indicating the successful construction of TV-TEBG. After implanted into rabbit radius defects for 12 weeks, PSPC group exerted higher X-ray score close to autograft, much greater mechanical property evidenced by the biomechanical testing and significantly higher new bone formation as shown by histological analysis compared with the other two groups, and eventually obtained favorable healing efficacy of the segmental bone defect that was the closest to autograft transplantation. Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility of TV-TEBG construction with combination of perfusion seeding, perfusion culture and RP technique which exerted excellent biological properties. The application of TV-TEBG may become a preferred candidate for segmental bone defect repair in orthopedic and maxillofacial fields. PMID:24728277

Postmortem changes in the neuroanatomical characteristics of the primate brain: the hippocampal formation

PubMed Central

Lavenex, Pierre; Lavenex, Pamela Banta; Bennett, Jeffrey L.; Amaral, David G.

2009-01-01

Comparative studies of the structural organization of the brain are fundamental to our understanding of human brain function. However, whereas brains of experimental animals are fixed by perfusion of a fixative through the vasculature, human or ape brains are fixed by immersion after varying postmortem intervals. Although differential treatments might affect the fundamental characteristics of the tissue, this question has not been evaluated empirically in primate brains. Monkey brains were either perfused, or acquired after varying postmortem intervals before immersion-fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde. We found that the fixation method affected the neuroanatomical characteristics of the monkey hippocampal formation. Soma size was smaller in Nissl-stained, immersion-fixed tissue, although overall brain volume was larger, as compared to perfusion-fixed tissue. Non-phosphorylated high-molecular-weight neurofilament immunoreactivity was lower in CA3 pyramidal neurons, dentate mossy cells and the entorhinal cortex, whereas it was higher in the mossy fiber pathway in immersion-fixed tissue. Serotonin-immunoreactive fibers were well-stained in perfused tissue but were undetectable in immersion-fixed tissue. Although regional immunoreactivity patterns for calcium-binding proteins were not affected, intracellular staining degraded with increasing postmortem intervals. Somatostatin-immunoreactive clusters of large axonal varicosities, previously reported only in humans, were observed in immersion-fixed monkey tissue. In addition, calretinin-immunoreactive multipolar neurons, previously observed only in rodents, were found in the rostral dentate gyrus in both perfused and immersion-fixed brains. In conclusion, comparative studies of the brain must evaluate the effects of fixation on the staining pattern of each marker in every structure of interest before drawing conclusions about species differences. PMID:18972553

Postmortem changes in the neuroanatomical characteristics of the primate brain: hippocampal formation.

PubMed

Lavenex, Pierre; Lavenex, Pamela Banta; Bennett, Jeffrey L; Amaral, David G

2009-01-01

Comparative studies of the structural organization of the brain are fundamental to our understanding of human brain function. However, whereas brains of experimental animals are fixed by perfusion of a fixative through the vasculature, human or ape brains are fixed by immersion after varying postmortem intervals. Although differential treatments might affect the fundamental characteristics of the tissue, this question has not been evaluated empirically in primate brains. Monkey brains were either perfused or acquired after varying postmortem intervals before immersion-fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde. We found that the fixation method affected the neuroanatomical characteristics of the monkey hippocampal formation. Soma size was smaller in Nissl-stained, immersion-fixed tissue, although overall brain volume was larger as compared to perfusion-fixed tissue. Nonphosphorylated high-molecular-weight neurofilament immunoreactivity was lower in CA3 pyramidal neurons, dentate mossy cells, and the entorhinal cortex, whereas it was higher in the mossy fiber pathway in immersion-fixed tissue. Serotonin-immunoreactive fibers were well stained in perfused tissue but were undetectable in immersion-fixed tissue. Although regional immunoreactivity patterns for calcium-binding proteins were not affected, intracellular staining degraded with increasing postmortem intervals. Somatostatin-immunoreactive clusters of large axonal varicosities, previously reported only in humans, were observed in immersion-fixed monkey tissue. In addition, calretinin-immunoreactive multipolar neurons, previously observed only in rodents, were found in the rostral dentate gyrus in both perfused and immersion-fixed brains. In conclusion, comparative studies of the brain must evaluate the effects of fixation on the staining pattern of each marker in every structure of interest before drawing conclusions about species differences.

Computed tomography arterial portography for assessment of portal vein injury after blunt hepatic trauma.

PubMed

Fu, Chen Ju; Wong, Yon Cheong; Tsang, Yuk Ming; Wang, Li Jen; Chen, Huan Wu; Ku, Yi Kang; Wu, Cheng Hsien; Chen, Huan Wen; Kang, Shih Ching

2015-01-01

Intrahepatic portal vein injuries secondary to blunt abdominal trauma are difficult to diagnose and can result in insidious bleeding. We aimed to compare computed tomography arterial portography (CTAP), reperfusion CTAP (rCTAP), and conventional computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing portal vein injuries after blunt hepatic trauma. Patients with blunt hepatic trauma, who were eligible for nonoperative management, underwent CTAP, rCTAP, and CT. The number and size of perfusion defects observed using the three methods were compared. A total of 13 patients (seven males/six females) with a mean age of 34.5±14.1 years were included in the study. A total of 36 hepatic segments had perfusion defects on rCTAP and CT, while there were 47 hepatic segments with perfusion defects on CTAP. The size of perfusion defects on CT (239 cm3; interquartile range [IQR]: 129.5, 309.5) and rCTAP (238 cm3; IQR: 129.5, 310.5) were significantly smaller compared with CTAP (291 cm3; IQR: 136, 371) (both, P = 0.002). Perfusion defects measured by CTAP were significantly greater than those determined by either rCTAP or CT in cases of blunt hepatic trauma. This finding suggests that CTAP is superior to rCTAP and CT in evaluating portal vein injuries after blunt liver trauma.

Physiologic abnormalities of cardiac function in progressive systemic sclerosis with diffuse scleroderma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Follansbee, W.P.; Curtiss, E.I.; Medsger, T.A. Jr.

1984-01-19

To investigate cardiopulmonary function in progressive systemic sclerosis with diffuse scleroderma, we studied 26 patients with maximal exercise and redistribution thallium scans, rest and exercise radionuclide ventriculography, pulmonary-function testing, and chest roentgenography. Although only 6 patients had clinical evidence of cardiac involvement, 20 had abnormal thallium scans, including 10 with reversible exercise-induced defects and 18 with fixed defects (8 had both). Seven of the 10 patients who had exercise-induced defects and underwent cardiac catheterization had normal coronary angiograms. Mean resting left ventricular ejection fraction and mean resting right ventricular ejection fraction were lower in patients with post-exercise left ventricular thalliummore » defect scores above the median (59 +/- 13 per cent vs. 69 +/- 6 per cent, and 36 +/- 12 per cent vs. 47 +/- 7 per cent, respectively). The authors conclude that in progressive systemic sclerosis with diffuse scleroderma, abnormalities of myocardial perfusion are common and appear to be due to a disturbance of the myocardial microcirculation. Both right and left ventricular dysfunction appear to be related to this circulatory disturbance, suggesting ischemically mediated injury.« less

Fully quantitative pixel-wise analysis of cardiovascular magnetic resonance perfusion improves discrimination of dark rim artifact from perfusion defects associated with epicardial coronary stenosis.

PubMed

Ta, Allison D; Hsu, Li-Yueh; Conn, Hannah M; Winkler, Susanne; Greve, Anders M; Shanbhag, Sujata M; Chen, Marcus Y; Patricia Bandettini, W; Arai, Andrew E

2018-03-08

Dark rim artifacts in first-pass cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) perfusion images can mimic perfusion defects and affect diagnostic accuracy for coronary artery disease (CAD). We evaluated whether quantitative myocardial blood flow (MBF) can differentiate dark rim artifacts from true perfusion defects in CMR perfusion. Regadenoson perfusion CMR was performed at 1.5 T in 76 patients. Significant CAD was defined by quantitative invasive coronary angiography (QCA) ≥ 50% diameter stenosis. Non-significant CAD (NonCAD) was defined as stenosis by QCA < 50% diameter stenosis or computed tomographic coronary angiography (CTA) < 30% in all major epicardial arteries. Dark rim artifacts had study specific and guideline-based definitions for comparison purposes. MBF was quantified at the pixel-level and sector-level. In a NonCAD subgroup with dark rim artifacts, stress MBF was lower in the subendocardial than midmyocardial and epicardial layers (2.17 ± 0.61 vs. 3.06 ± 0.75 vs. 3.24 ± 0.80 mL/min/g, both p < 0.001) and was also 30% lower than in remote regions (2.17 ± 0.61 vs. 2.83 ± 0.67 mL/min/g, p < 0.001). However, subendocardial stress MBF in dark rim artifacts was 37-56% higher than in true perfusion defects (2.17 ± 0.61 vs. 0.95 ± 0.43 mL/min/g, p < 0.001). Absolute stress MBF differentiated CAD from NonCAD with an accuracy ranging from 86 to 89% (all p < 0.001) using pixel-level analyses. Similar results were seen at a sector level. Quantitative stress MBF is lower in dark rim artifacts than remote myocardium but significantly higher than in true perfusion defects. If confirmed in larger series, this approach may aid the interpretation of clinical stress perfusion exams. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00027170 ; first posted 11/28/2001; updated 11/27/2017.

Functional end-arterial circulation of the choroid assessed by using fat embolism and electric circuit simulation.

PubMed

Lee, Ji Eun; Ahn, Ki Su; Park, Keun Heung; Pak, Kang Yeun; Kim, Hak Jin; Byon, Ik Soo; Park, Sung Who

2017-05-30

The discrepancy in the choroidal circulation between anatomy and function has remained unsolved for several decades. Postmortem cast studies revealed extensive anastomotic channels, but angiographic studies indicated end-arterial circulation. We carried out experimental fat embolism in cats and electric circuit simulation. Perfusion defects were observed in two categories. In the scatter perfusion defects suggesting an embolism at the terminal arterioles, fluorescein dye filled the non-perfused lobule slowly from the adjacent perfused lobule. In the segmental perfusion defects suggesting occlusion of the posterior ciliary arteries, the hypofluorescent segment became perfused by spontaneous resolution of the embolism without subsequent smaller infarction. The angiographic findings could be simulated with an electric circuit. Although electric currents flowed to the disconnected lobule, the level was very low compared with that of the connected ones. The choroid appeared to be composed of multiple sectors with no anastomosis to other sectors, but to have its own anastomotic arterioles in each sector. Blood flows through the continuous choriocapillaris bed in an end-arterial nature functionally to follow a pressure gradient due to the drainage through the collector venule.

Spatial correspondence of 4D CT ventilation and SPECT pulmonary perfusion defects in patients with malignant airway stenosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo, Richard; Castillo, Edward; McCurdy, Matthew; Gomez, Daniel R.; Block, Alec M.; Bergsma, Derek; Joy, Sarah; Guerrero, Thomas

2012-04-01

To determine the spatial overlap agreement between four-dimensional computed tomography (4D CT) ventilation and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) perfusion hypo-functioning pulmonary defect regions in a patient population with malignant airway stenosis. Treatment planning 4D CT images were obtained retrospectively for ten lung cancer patients with radiographically demonstrated airway obstruction due to gross tumor volume. Each patient also received a SPECT perfusion study within one week of the planning 4D CT, and prior to the initiation of treatment. Deformable image registration was used to map corresponding lung tissue elements between the extreme component phase images, from which quantitative three-dimensional (3D) images representing the local pulmonary specific ventilation were constructed. Semi-automated segmentation of the percentile perfusion distribution was performed to identify regional defects distal to the known obstructing lesion. Semi-automated segmentation was similarly performed by multiple observers to delineate corresponding defect regions depicted on 4D CT ventilation. Normalized Dice similarity coefficient (NDSC) indices were determined for each observer between SPECT perfusion and 4D CT ventilation defect regions to assess spatial overlap agreement. Tidal volumes determined from 4D CT ventilation were evaluated versus measurements obtained from lung parenchyma segmentation. Linear regression resulted in a linear fit with slope = 1.01 (R2 = 0.99). Respective values for the average DSC, NDSC1 mm and NDSC2 mm for all cases and multiple observers were 0.78, 0.88 and 0.99, indicating that, on average, spatial overlap agreement between ventilation and perfusion defect regions was comparable to the threshold for agreement within 1-2 mm uncertainty. Corresponding coefficients of variation for all metrics were similarly in the range: 0.10%-19%. This study is the first to quantitatively assess 3D spatial overlap agreement between clinically acquired SPECT perfusion and specific ventilation from 4D CT. Results suggest high correlation between methods within the sub-population of lung cancer patients with malignant airway stenosis.

Enhanced perfusion defect clarity and inhomogeneity in smokers' lungs with deep-inspiratory breath-hold perfusion SPECT images.

PubMed

Suga, Kazuyoshi; Yasuhiko, Kawakami; Iwanaga, Hideyuki; Hayashi, Norio; Yamashita, Tomio; Matsunaga, Naofumi

2005-09-01

Deep-inspiratory breath-hold (DIBrH) Tc-99m-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) SPECT images were developed to accurately evaluate perfusion impairment in smokers' lungs. DIBrH SPECT was performed in 28 smokers with or without low attenuation areas (LAA) on CT images, using a triple-headed SPECT system and a laser light respiratory tracking device. DIBrH SPECT images were reconstructed from every 4 degrees projection of five adequate 360 degrees projection data sets with almost the same respiratory dimension at 20 sec DIBrH. Perfusion defect clarity was assessed by the lesion (defect)-to-contralateral normal lung count ratios (L/N ratios). Perfusion inhomogeneity was assessed by the coefficient of variation (CV) values of pixel counts and correlated with the diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide/alveolar volume (DLCO/VA) ratios. The results were compared with those on conventional images. Five DIBrH projection data sets with minimal dimension differences of 2.9+/-0.6 mm were obtained in all subjects. DIBrH images enhanced perfusion defects compared with conventional images, with significantly higher L/N ratios (P<0.0001), and detected a total of 109 (26.9%) additional detects (513 vs. 404), with excellent inter-observer agreement (kappa value of 0.816). CV values in the smokers' lungs on DIBrH images were also significantly higher compared with those on conventional images (0.31+/-0.10 vs. 0.19+/-0.06, P<0.0001). CV values in smokers on DIBrH images showed a significantly closer correlation with DLCO/VA ratios compared with conventional images (R = 0.872, P<0.0001 vs. R=0.499, P<0.01). By reducing adverse effect of respiratory motion, DIBrH SPECT images enhance perfusion defect clarity and inhomogeneity, and provide more accurate assessment of impaired perfusion in smokers' lungs compared with conventional images.

Assessment of regional lung functional impairment with co-registered respiratory-gated ventilation/perfusion SPET-CT images: initial experiences.

PubMed

Suga, Kazuyoshi; Yasuhiko, Kawakami; Zaki, Mohammed; Yamashita, Tomio; Seto, Aska; Matsumoto, Tsuneo; Matsunaga, Naofumi

2004-02-01

In this study, respiratory-gated ventilation and perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPET) were used to define regional functional impairment and to obtain reliable co-registration with computed tomography (CT) images in various lung diseases. Using a triple-headed SPET unit and a physiological synchroniser, gated perfusion SPET was performed in a total of 78 patients with different pulmonary diseases, including metastatic nodules (n = 15); in 34 of these patients, it was performed in combination with gated technetium-99m Technegas SPET. Projection data were acquired using 60 stops over 120 degrees for each detector. Gated end-inspiration and ungated images were reconstructed from 1/8 data centered at peak inspiration for each regular respiratory cycle and full respiratory cycle data, respectively. Gated images were registered with tidal inspiration CT images using automated three-dimensional (3D) registration software. Registration mismatch was assessed by measuring 3D distance of the centroid of the nine selected round perfusion-defective nodules. Gated SPET images were completed within 29 min, and increased the number of visible ventilation and perfusion defects by 9.7% and 17.2%, respectively, as compared with ungated images; furthermore, lesion-to-normal lung contrast was significantly higher on gated SPET images. In the nine round perfusion-defective nodules, gated images yielded a significantly better SPET-CT match compared with ungated images (4.9 +/- 3.1 mm vs 19.0 +/- 9.1 mm, P<0.001). The co-registered SPET-CT images allowed accurate perception of the location and extent of each ventilation/perfusion defect on the underlying CT anatomy, and characterised the pathophysiology of the various diseases. By reducing respiratory motion effects and enhancing perfusion/ventilation defect clarity, gated SPET can provide reliable co-registered images with CT images to accurately characterise regional functional impairment in various lung diseases.

High-frequency Electrocardiogram Analysis in the Ability to Predict Reversible Perfusion Defects during Adenosine Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tragardh, Elin; Schlegel, Todd T.; Carlsson, Marcus; Pettersson, Jonas; Nilsson, Klas; Pahlm, Olle

2007-01-01

Background: A previous study has shown that analysis of high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) is highly sensitive and reasonably specific for detecting reversible perfusion defects on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) scans during adenosine. The purpose of the present study was to try to reproduce those findings. Methods: 12-lead high-resolution electrocardiogram recordings were obtained from 100 patients before (baseline) and during adenosine Tc-99m-tetrofosmin MPI tests. HF-QRS were analyzed regarding morphology and changes in root mean square (RMS) voltages from before the adenosine infusion to peak infusion. Results: The best area under the curve (AUC) was found in supine patients (AUC=0.736) in a combination of morphology and RMS changes. None of the measurements, however, were statistically better than tossing a coin (AUC=0.5). Conclusion: Analysis of HF-QRS was not significantly better than tossing a coin for determining reversible perfusion defects on MPI scans.

Computed tomography arterial portography for assessment of portal vein injury after blunt hepatic trauma

PubMed Central

Fu, Chen-Ju; Wong, Yon-Cheong; Tsang, Yuk-Ming; Wang, Li-Jen; Chen, Huan-Wu; Ku, Yi-Kang; Wu, Cheng-Hsien; Chen, Huan-Wen; Kang, Shih-Ching

2015-01-01

PURPOSE Intrahepatic portal vein injuries secondary to blunt abdominal trauma are difficult to diagnose and can result in insidious bleeding. We aimed to compare computed tomography arterial portography (CTAP), reperfusion CTAP (rCTAP), and conventional computed tomography (CT) for diagnosing portal vein injuries after blunt hepatic trauma. METHODS Patients with blunt hepatic trauma, who were eligible for nonoperative management, underwent CTAP, rCTAP, and CT. The number and size of perfusion defects observed using the three methods were compared. RESULTS A total of 13 patients (seven males/six females) with a mean age of 34.5±14.1 years were included in the study. A total of 36 hepatic segments had perfusion defects on rCTAP and CT, while there were 47 hepatic segments with perfusion defects on CTAP. The size of perfusion defects on CT (239 cm3; interquartile range [IQR]: 129.5, 309.5) and rCTAP (238 cm3; IQR: 129.5, 310.5) were significantly smaller compared with CTAP (291 cm3; IQR: 136, 371) (both, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION Perfusion defects measured by CTAP were significantly greater than those determined by either rCTAP or CT in cases of blunt hepatic trauma. This finding suggests that CTAP is superior to rCTAP and CT in evaluating portal vein injuries after blunt liver trauma. PMID:26268303

[Gemstone computed tomography in the evaluation of material distribution in pulmonary parenchyma for pulmonary embolism].

PubMed

Zhang, Lan; Lü, Lei; Wu, Hua-wei; Zhang, Hao; Zhang, Ji-wei

2011-12-06

To present our initial experiences with pulmonary high-definition multidetector computed tomography (HDCT) in patients with acute venous thromboembolism (AVTE) to evaluate their corresponding clinical manifestations. Since December 2009 to March 2010, 23 AVTE patients underwent HDCT at our hospital. Pulmonary embolism (PE) was diagnosed based on the 3D-reconstructed images of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). The post processed data were collected by spectral imaging system software to detect the iodine distribution maps. Perfusion defects, calculated as the values of iodine content, were compared with those of normal lung parenchymal perfusion in the absence of PE. Among them, 14 AVTE patients were definitely diagnosed with PE. Prior to anticoagulant therapy, their values of iodine content in defective perfusion area were significantly lower than those in normal perfusion area. After a 3-month anticoagulant therapy, the values of iodine content for the defective perfusion area increased significantly (P < 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the values of iodine content for segmental/subsegmental filling defect area and clinical risk score of DVT (r = 2.68, P > 0.05). But there was a significant negative correlation between the values of iodine content for segmental/subsegmental filling defection area and clinical probability score of PE (r = 0.78, P < 0.05). HDCT is a promising modality of visualizing pulmonary microvasculature as a correlative manifestation of regional perfusion. PE results in hypoperfusion with decreased values of iodine content in affected lung parenchyma. Hemodynamic changes in affected areas correlate with the severity of clinical manifestations of PE.

A study on cerebral hemodynamic analysis of moyamoya disease by using perfusion MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Kyung-Rae; Goo, Eun-Hoe; Lee, Jae-Seung; Chung, Woon-Kwan

2013-10-01

This study examined the clinical applications of perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD). Twenty-two patients with moyamoya disease (9 men and 13 women) with a mean age of 9.3 years (range: 4-22 years) were enrolled in this study. Perfusion MRI was performed by scanning the patients7.5 cm upward from the base of the cerebellum before their being process for post-treatment. The scan led to the acquisition of the following four map images: the cerebral blood volume (CBV), the cerebral blood flow (CBF), the mean transit time (MTT) for the contrast medium, and the time to peak (TTP) for the contrast medium. The lesions were assessed using the CBV, the CBF, the MTT and the TTP maps of perfusion MRI; the MTT and the TTP were measured in the lesion areas, as well as in the normal and the symmetric areas. Perfusion defects were recognizable in all four perfusion MRI maps, and the MTT and the TTP showed a conspicuous delay in the parts where perfusion defects were recognized. The MTT and the TTP images of perfusion MRI reflected a significant correlation between the degrees of stenosis and occlusion in the posterior cerebral artery (PCA), as well as the development of collateral vessels. The four perfusion MRI maps could be used to predict the degrees of stenosis and occlusion in the posterior circulation, as well as the development of the collateral vessels, which enabled a hemodynamic evaluation of the parts with perfusion defects. Overall, perfusion MRI is useful for the diagnosis and the treatment of moyamoya disease and can be applied to clinical practice.

Comparison of the sensitivity and specificity of 5 image sets of dual-energy computed tomography for detecting first-pass myocardial perfusion defects compared with positron emission tomography.

PubMed

Li, Wenhuan; Zhu, Xiaolian; Li, Jing; Peng, Cheng; Chen, Nan; Qi, Zhigang; Yang, Qi; Gao, Yan; Zhao, Yang; Sun, Kai; Li, Kuncheng

2014-12-01

The sensitivity and specificity of 5 different image sets of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) for the detection of first-pass myocardial perfusion defects have not systematically been compared using positron emission tomography (PET) as a reference standard. Forty-nine consecutive patients, with known or strongly suspected of coronary artery disease, were prospectively enrolled in our study. Cardiac DECT was performed at rest state using a second-generation 128-slice dual-source CT. The DECT data were reconstructed to iodine maps, monoenergetic images, 100 kV images, nonlinearly blended images, and linearly blended images by different postprocessing techniques. The myocardial perfusion defects on DECT images were visually assessed by 5 observers, using standard 17-segment model. Diagnostic accuracy of 5 image sets was assessed using nitrogen-13 ammonia PET as the gold standard. Discrimination was quantified using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and AUCs were compared using the method of DeLong. The DECT and PET examinations were successfully completed in 30 patients and a total of 90 territories and 510 segments were analyzed. Cardiac PET revealed myocardial perfusion defects in 56 territories (62%) and 209 segments (41%). The AUC of iodine maps, monoenergetic images, 100 kV images, nonlinearly blended images, and linearly blended images were 0.986, 0.934, 0.913, 0.881, and 0.871, respectively, on a per-territory basis. These values were 0.922, 0.813, 0.779, 0.763, and 0.728, respectively, on a per-segment basis. DECT iodine maps shows high sensitivity and specificity, and is superior to other DECT image sets for the detection of myocardial perfusion defects in the first-pass myocardial perfusion.

Reversibility by dipyridamole of thallium-201 myocardial scan defects in patients with sarcoidosis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tellier, P.; Paycha, F.; Antony, I.

1988-08-01

In order to clarify the significance of anginal pain and myocardial thallium-201 scan defects in cardiac sarcoidosis, the pharmacologic effect of dipyridamole on myocardial perfusion was assessed by planar thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy in patients with sarcoidosis. Thallium-201 myocardial scintigraphy was performed at rest and after 0.56 mg/kg intravenous dipyridamole during four minutes in 16 patients with sarcoidosis. The myocardial scan (45-degree and 70-degree left anterior oblique, and anterior views) was divided into 15 segments. Results were evaluated by the number of segmental defects and with a global perfusion score (from 0 to 60) by a semi-quantitative index depending on themore » size and severity of myocardial thallium-201 defects. Thirteen of the 16 patients showed partial or total reversion of their thallium-201 defects on redistribution scanning either at rest or after dipyridamole. The mean (+/- SD) number of myocardial perfusion defects that were present in all the patients decreased from 5.31 +/- 1.78 at rest to 3.25 +/- 2.52 after redistribution (p less than 0.001) and to 2.19 +/- 2.10 after dipyridamole (p less than 0.001). The mean global perfusion score increased from 53.2 +/- 3.0 at rest to 56.2 +/- 2.9 after redistribution (p less than 0.001) and to 57.2 +/- 2.7 after dipyridamole (p less than 0.001). A significant correlation (r = 0.82, p less than 0.001) was found between the increase of global perfusion score on redistribution and after dipyridamole. The reversibility of myocardial scan defects is a common finding in sarcoidosis. It makes unlikely the role of scar fibrosis or extensive confluent granulomas as a mechanism for such defects. The effect of dipyridamole suggests the presence of reversible disorders lying at the coronary microvascular level.« less

Comparison of simultaneous and sequential SPECT imaging for discrimination tasks in assessment of cardiac defects.

PubMed

Trott, C M; Ouyang, J; El Fakhri, G

2010-11-21

Simultaneous rest perfusion/fatty-acid metabolism studies have the potential to replace sequential rest/stress perfusion studies for the assessment of cardiac function. Simultaneous acquisition has the benefits of increased signal and lack of need for patient stress, but is complicated by cross-talk between the two radionuclide signals. We consider a simultaneous rest (99m)Tc-sestamibi/(123)I-BMIPP imaging protocol in place of the commonly used sequential rest/stress (99m)Tc-sestamibi protocol. The theoretical precision with which the severity of a cardiac defect and the transmural extent of infarct can be measured is computed for simultaneous and sequential SPECT imaging, and their performance is compared for discriminating (1) degrees of defect severity and (2) sub-endocardial from transmural defects. We consider cardiac infarcts for which reduced perfusion and metabolism are observed. From an information perspective, simultaneous imaging is found to yield comparable or improved performance compared with sequential imaging for discriminating both severity of defect and transmural extent of infarct, for three defects of differing location and size.

Myocardial perfusion imaging with thallium-201: correlation with coronary arteriography and electrocardiography

PubMed Central

Sternberg, Leonard; Wald, Robert W.; Feiglin, David H.I.; Morch, John E.

1978-01-01

Myocardial perfusion imaging with thallium-201 and electrocardiography with the subject at rest and undergoing submaximal treadmill exercise were performed in 19 men and 3 women. Selective coronary arteriography and left ventriculography showed that 7 had normal coronary arteries and 15 had coronary artery disease. The 11 persons with electrocardiographic evidence of an old myocardial infarct (q waves) had a perfusion defect at rest in the area of the infarct and a segmental abnormality of wall motion apparent on the left ventriculogram corresponding to the perfusion defect. Myocardial perfusion imaging and electrocardiography were equally sensitive in detecting coronary artery disease in exercising individuals: perfusion defects were noted in 7 of the 15 persons with coronary artery disease, and diagnostic ST-segment depression was present in 8 of the 15. Combination of the results of the two tests with exercise permitted the identification of 11 of the 15 persons and improved the sensitivity. Combination of the results of rest and exercise imaging and electrocardiography permitted the identification of 94% of the patients with coronary artery disease. Myocardial perfusion imaging with 201TI in the subject at rest is a sensitive indicator of previous myocardial infarction. Imaging after the subject has exercised is a useful adjunct to conventional exercise electrocardiography, especially in those whose exercise electrocardiogram is non-interpretable. ImagesFIG. 1FIG. 2FIG. 3FIG. 4FIG. 5 PMID:630487

Acute insulin resistance in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in non-diabetic patients is associated with incomplete myocardial reperfusion and impaired coronary microcirculatory function

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Insulin resistance (IR) assessed by the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) index in the acute phase of myocardial infarction in non-diabetic patients was recently established as an independent predictor of intrahospital mortality. In this study we postulated that acute IR is a dynamic phenomenon associated with the development of myocardial and microvascular injury and larger final infarct size in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Methods In 104 consecutive patients with the first anterior STEMI without diabetes, the HOMA index was determined on the 2nd and 7th day after pPCI. Worst-lead residual ST-segment elevation (ST-E) on postprocedural ECG, coronary flow reserve (CFR) determined by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography on the 2nd day after pPCI and fixed perfusion defect on single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT-MPI) determined six weeks after pPCI were analyzed according to HOMA indices. Results IR was present in 55 % and 58 % of patients on day 2 and day 7, respectively. Incomplete post-procedural ST-E resolution was more frequent in patients with IR compared to patients without IR, both on day 2 (p = 0.001) and day 7 (p < 0.001). The HOMA index on day 7 correlated with SPECT-MPI perfusion defect (r = 0.331), whereas both HOMA indices correlated well with CFR (r = -0.331 to -0.386) (p < 0.01 for all). In multivariable backward logistic regression analysis adjusted for significant univariate predictors and potential confounding variables, IR on day 2 was an independent predictor of residual ST-E ≥ 2 mm (OR 11.70, 95% CI 2.46-55.51, p = 0.002) and CFR < 2 (OR = 5.98, 95% CI 1.88-19.03, p = 0.002), whereas IR on day 7 was an independent predictor of SPECT-MPI perfusion defect > 20% (OR 11.37, 95% CI 1.34-96.21, p = 0.026). Conclusion IR assessed by the HOMA index during the acute phase of the first anterior STEMI in patients without diabetes treated by pPCI is independently associated with poorer myocardial reperfusion, impaired coronary microcirculatory function and potentially with larger final infarct size. PMID:24708817

Assessment of residual tissue viability by exercise testing in recent myocardial infarction: comparison of the electrocardiogram and myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

PubMed

Margonato, A; Ballarotto, C; Bonetti, F; Cappelletti, A; Sciammarella, M; Cianflone, D; Chierchia, S L

1992-04-01

The assessment of residual myocardial viability in infarcted areas is relevant for subsequent management and prognosis but requires expensive technology. To evaluate the possibility that simple, easily obtainable clinical markers may detect the presence of within-infarct viable tissue, the significance of exercise-induced ST elevation occurring in leads exploring the area of a recent Q wave myocardial infarction was assessed. Twenty-five patients with recent (less than 6 months) myocardial infarction were studied. All had angiographically documented coronary artery disease, diagnostic Q waves (n = 24) or negative T waves (n = 25) on the rest 12-lead electrocardiogram and exhibited during exercise greater than or equal to 1.5 mm ST segment elevation (n = 17) or isolated T wave pseudonormalization (n = 8) in the infarct-related leads. ST-T wave changes were reproduced in all patients during thallium-201 exercise myocardial scintigraphy. A fixed perfusion defect was observed in 24 of the 25 patients. A reversible defect was seen in 16 (94%) of 17 patients who exhibited transient ST elevation during exercise but in only 4 (50%) of the 8 patients who had only T wave pseudonormalization. In conclusion, in patients with recent myocardial infarction, analysis of simple ST segment variables obtained during exercise testing may allow a first-line discrimination of those who may potentially benefit from a revascularization procedure.

Myocardial function and perfusion in the CREST syndrome variant of progressive systemic sclerosis. Exercise radionuclide evaluation and comparison with diffuse scleroderma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Follansbee, W.P.; Curtiss, E.I.; Medsger, T.A. Jr.

1984-09-01

Myocardial function and perfusion were evaluated in 22 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis with the CREST syndrome using exercise and radionuclide techniques, pulmonary function testing, and chest roentgenography. The results were compared with a similar study of 26 patients with progressive systemic sclerosis with diffuse scleroderma. The prevalence of thallium perfusion abnormalities was similar in the groups with CREST syndrome and diffuse scleroderma, (64 percent versus 77 percent), but the defects were significantly smaller in the CREST syndrome (p less than 0.01). Reperfusion thallium defects in the absence of extramural coronary artery disease were seen in 38 percent of patientsmore » with diffuse scleroderma. This finding was not seen in any of the patients with the CREST syndrome. In diffuse scleroderma, abnormalities of both right and left ventricular function were related to larger thallium perfusion defects. In the CREST syndrome, abnormalities of left ventricular function were minor, were seen only during exercise, and were unrelated to thallium perfusion defects. Abnormal resting right ventricular function was seen in 36 percent of the patients with the CREST syndrome and was associated with an isolated decrease in diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide. It is concluded that the cardiac manifestations of the CREST syndrome are distinct from those found in diffuse scleroderma. Unlike diffuse scleroderma, abnormalities of left ventricular function in the CREST syndrome are minor and are unrelated to abnormalities of coronary perfusion. Right ventricular dysfunction in the CREST syndrome appears to be primarily related to pulmonary vascular disease.« less

Application of an acoustofluidic perfusion bioreactor for cartilage tissue engineering.

PubMed

Li, Siwei; Glynne-Jones, Peter; Andriotis, Orestis G; Ching, Kuan Y; Jonnalagadda, Umesh S; Oreffo, Richard O C; Hill, Martyn; Tare, Rahul S

2014-12-07

Cartilage grafts generated using conventional static tissue engineering strategies are characterised by low cell viability, suboptimal hyaline cartilage formation and, critically, inferior mechanical competency, which limit their application for resurfacing articular cartilage defects. To address the limitations of conventional static cartilage bioengineering strategies and generate robust, scaffold-free neocartilage grafts of human articular chondrocytes, the present study utilised custom-built microfluidic perfusion bioreactors with integrated ultrasound standing wave traps. The system employed sweeping acoustic drive frequencies over the range of 890 to 910 kHz and continuous perfusion of the chondrogenic culture medium at a low-shear flow rate to promote the generation of three-dimensional agglomerates of human articular chondrocytes, and enhance cartilage formation by cells of the agglomerates via improved mechanical stimulation and mass transfer rates. Histological examination and assessment of micromechanical properties using indentation-type atomic force microscopy confirmed that the neocartilage grafts were analogous to native hyaline cartilage. Furthermore, in the ex vivo organ culture partial thickness cartilage defect model, implantation of the neocartilage grafts into defects for 16 weeks resulted in the formation of hyaline cartilage-like repair tissue that adhered to the host cartilage and contributed to significant improvements to the tissue architecture within the defects, compared to the empty defects. The study has demonstrated the first successful application of the acoustofluidic perfusion bioreactors to bioengineer scaffold-free neocartilage grafts of human articular chondrocytes that have the potential for subsequent use in second generation autologous chondrocyte implantation procedures for the repair of partial thickness cartilage defects.

Diagnostic performance of dual-energy CT stress myocardial perfusion imaging: direct comparison with cardiovascular MRI.

PubMed

Ko, Sung Min; Song, Meong Gun; Chee, Hyun Kun; Hwang, Hweung Kon; Feuchtner, Gudrun Maria; Min, James K

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of stress perfusion dual-energy CT (DECT) and its incremental value when used with coronary CT angiography (CTA) for identifying hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease. One hundred patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease without chronic myocardial infarction detected with coronary CTA underwent stress perfusion DECT, stress cardiovascular perfusion MRI, and invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Stress perfusion DECT and cardiovascular stress perfusion MR images were used for detecting perfusion defects. Coronary CTA and ICA were evaluated in the detection of ≥50% coronary stenosis. The diagnostic performance of coronary CTA for detecting hemo-dynamically significant stenosis was assessed before and after stress perfusion DECT on a per-vessel basis with ICA and cardiovascular stress perfusion MRI as the reference standard. The performance of stress perfusion DECT compared with cardiovascular stress perfusion MRI on a per-vessel basis in the detection of perfusion defects was sensitivity, 89%; specificity, 74%; positive predictive value, 73%; negative predictive value, 90%. Per segment, these values were sensitivity, 76%; specificity, 80%; positive predictive value, 63%; and negative predictive value, 88%. Compared with ICA and cardiovascular stress perfusion MRI per vessel territory the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of coronary CTA were 95%, 61%, 61%, and 95%. The values for stress perfusion DECT were 92%, 72%, 68%, and 94%. The values for coronary CTA and stress perfusion DECT were 88%, 79%, 73%, and 91%. The ROC AUC increased from 0.78 to 0.84 (p=0.02) with the use of coronary CTA and stress perfusion DECT compared with coronary CTA alone. Stress perfusion DECT plays a complementary role in enhancing the accuracy of coronary CTA for identifying hemodynamically significant coronary stenosis.

Collimator optimization in myocardial perfusion SPECT using the ideal observer and realistic background variability for lesion detection and joint detection and localization tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaly, Michael; Du, Yong; Links, Jonathan M.; Frey, Eric C.

2016-03-01

In SPECT imaging, collimators are a major factor limiting image quality and largely determine the noise and resolution of SPECT images. In this paper, we seek the collimator with the optimal tradeoff between image noise and resolution with respect to performance on two tasks related to myocardial perfusion SPECT: perfusion defect detection and joint detection and localization. We used the Ideal Observer (IO) operating on realistic background-known-statistically (BKS) and signal-known-exactly (SKE) data. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and localization ROC (LROC) curves (AUCd, AUCd+l), respectively, were used as the figures of merit for both tasks. We used a previously developed population of 54 phantoms based on the eXtended Cardiac Torso Phantom (XCAT) that included variations in gender, body size, heart size and subcutaneous adipose tissue level. For each phantom, organ uptakes were varied randomly based on distributions observed in patient data. We simulated perfusion defects at six different locations with extents and severities of 10% and 25%, respectively, which represented challenging but clinically relevant defects. The extent and severity are, respectively, the perfusion defect’s fraction of the myocardial volume and reduction of uptake relative to the normal myocardium. Projection data were generated using an analytical projector that modeled attenuation, scatter, and collimator-detector response effects, a 9% energy resolution at 140 keV, and a 4 mm full-width at half maximum (FWHM) intrinsic spatial resolution. We investigated a family of eight parallel-hole collimators that spanned a large range of sensitivity-resolution tradeoffs. For each collimator and defect location, the IO test statistics were computed using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for an ensemble of 540 pairs of defect-present and -absent images that included the aforementioned anatomical and uptake variability. Sets of test statistics were computed for both tasks and analyzed using ROC and LROC analysis methodologies. The results of this study suggest that collimators with somewhat poorer resolution and higher sensitivity than those of a typical low-energy high-resolution (LEHR) collimator were optimal for both defect detection and joint detection and localization tasks in myocardial perfusion SPECT for the range of defect sizes investigated. This study also indicates that optimizing instrumentation for a detection task may provide near-optimal performance on the more challenging detection-localization task.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension With Abnormal V/Q Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography.

PubMed

Chan, Kenneth; Ioannidis, Stefanos; Coghlan, John G; Hall, Margaret; Schreiber, Benjamin E

2017-10-16

This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and clinical outcomes of abnormal ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) without thromboembolism, especially in patients with group I pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology and European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend V/Q scan for screening for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. The significance of patients with abnormal V/Q SPECT findings but no thromboembolism demonstrated in further investigations remained unclear. A distinct pattern of global patchy changes not typical of thromboembolism is recognized, but guidelines for reporting these in the context of PAH are lacking. A total of 136 patients who underwent V/Q SPECT and right-sided heart catheterization showing mean pulmonary arterial pressure ≥25 mm Hg were included. V/Q SPECT findings were reported using European Association of Nuclear Medicine criteria for pulmonary embolism followed by computed tomography pulmonary angiography screening for positive thromboembolism and further invasive pulmonary angiography for distal thromboembolism. The abnormal V/Q SPECT images were further analyzed according to perfusion pattern into focal or global perfusion defects. V/Q SPECT showed thromboembolic disease in 44 patients, but 19 of these patients had no thromboembolism demonstrated by pulmonary angiography. Among these patients, 15 of 19 (78.9%) had group I PAH, and the majority had diffuse, patchy perfusion defects. After redefining V/Q SPECT images according to the perfusion pattern, those patients with global perfusion defects had higher mean pulmonary arterial pressure compared with patients with focal perfusion defects and normal scans (mean difference +13.9 and +6.2 mm Hg, respectively; p = 0.0002), as well as higher pulmonary vascular resistance (mean difference +316.6 and +226.3 absolute resistance units, respectively; p = 0.004). Among patients with PAH, global perfusion defects were associated with higher all-cause mortality with a hazard ratio of 5.63 (95% confidence interval: 1.11 to 28.5) compared with patients with focal or no perfusion abnormalities. There is a high incidence of abnormal V/Q SPECT scans in nonthromboembolic PAH. Further studies are needed to investigate the poor outcome associated with abnormal V/Q SPECT findings in the context of PAH. Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

QRS-fragmentation: Case report and review of the literature.

PubMed

Illescas-González, Edgar; Araiza-Garaygordobil, Diego; Sierra Lara, Jorge Daniel; Ramirez-Salazar, Aristoteles; Sierra-Fernández, Carlos; Alexanderson-Rosas, Erick

Fragmentation of QRS complex (QRSf) is an easily evaluable, non-invasive electrocardiographic parameter that represents depolarisation anomalies and has been associated with several adverse outcomes, such as sudden death, fibrosis, arrhythmic burden, and a worse prognosis in different conditions, including coronary artery disease (CAD). The case is presented of a 69-year old male referred due to symptoms of chronic stable angina. His electrocardiogram showed sinus rhythm, absence of Q waves, but the presence of QRSf in the inferior leads and V4-V6. A Tc-99 myocardial perfusion SPECT scan revealed a fixed perfusion defect in the inferolateral region, corresponding to the finding of QRSf. QRSf is an easily valuable electrocardiographic marker with relative sensitivity, but poor specificity. Its routine clinical application could contribute to an increase in the suspicion of coronary artery disease. The presence of fragmented QRS represents distortion of signal conduction and depolarisation, which is related to myocardial scar or myocardial fibrosis. Copyright © 2016 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Krypton-81m ventilation scanning: acute respiratory disease

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lavender, J.P.; Irving, H.; Armstrong, J.D. II

1981-02-01

From experience with 700 patients undergoing ventilation and perfusion lung scanning with krypton-81m/technetium-99m technique, 34 patients suffering from nonembolic acute respiratory disease were selected for review. In 16 patients with pneumonia, all had defects of ventilation corresponding to, or larger than, the radiologic consolidation. In 13 patients there was some preservation of perfusion in the consolidated region. In two of the three patients with matched defects, the pneumonia was of long standing. In seven patients with collapse or atelectasis and in 11 patients with acute reversible bronchial obstruction and normal volume lungs, a similar pattern or ventillation and perfusion wasmore » observed.« less

Reliable harvest of a dorsal scapular artery perforator flap by augmenting its perfusion.

PubMed

Kim, So-Young; Lee, Kyeong-Tae; Mun, Goo-Hyun

2016-02-01

Despite confirmation of a reliable perforasome in the dorsal scapular artery in an anatomic study, a true perforator flap has not been recommended in previous clinical studies because of concerns regarding insufficient perfusion in the distal region. In this report, we present two cases of reconstruction for occipital defects caused by tumor extirpation using pedicled dorsal scapular artery perforator flaps without a muscle component. To secure the perfusion of the dorsal scapular artery perforator flap, inclusion of an additional perforator was attempted for perfusion augmentation. The second dorsal scapular artery perforator was harvested in one case. In an additional case, the sixth dorsal intercostal artery perforator with a branch that directly connected with the dorsal scapular artery within the trapezius muscle was additionally harvested. The flaps survived without any perfusion-related complications, including tip necrosis, and no donor site morbidities were observed. We suggest that a perfusion augmented dorsal scapular artery perforator flap by harvesting multiple perforators could be a safe and useful alternative for reconstructive surgery of head and neck defects. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comparison between fragmented QRS and Q waves in myocardial scar detection using myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography.

PubMed

Dabbagh Kakhki, Vahid Reza; Ayati, Narjess; Zakavi, Seyed Rasoul; Sadeghi, Ramin; Tayyebi, Mohammad; Shariati, Farzaneh

2015-01-01

Accurate diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) is of paramount importance in patient management, which necessitates the development of efficient and accurate diagnostic methods. Q wave is not present in all patients with MI, and its prevalence is declining. Recently, fragmented QRS (fQRS) complex has been introduced as a marker of prior MI. To investigate diagnostic value of fQRS compared to Q wave. We included 500 consecutive patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease who underwent two days of gated myocardial perfusion imaging using dipyridamole pharmacologic stress. Electrocardiogram (ECG) was evaluated to detect fQRS as well as Q-wave. Finally, subjects were compared in terms of ventricular perfusion and function indices. A total of 207 men and 269 women with mean age of 57.06 ± 12 years were studied. ECG analysis showed that 14.3% of the patients had both fQRS and Q waves, 30.7% had fQRS, and 3.8% had Q waves. Fixed myocardial perfusion defect was noted in 22.3% of patients according to MPIs. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for myocardial scar detection were 78%, 65%, 39%, and 91%, respectively, for fQRS and 61%, 94%, 76%, and 89%, respectively, for Q wave. Although fQRS had lower specificity compared to Q wave in the detection of myocardial scar, due to higher sensitivity and negative predictive value can be an invaluable diagnostic index. There is also an incremental value for fQRS in association with Q-wave in myocardial scar assessment.

ROC evaluation of SPECT myocardial lesion detectability with and without single iteration non-uniform Chang attenuation compensation using an anthropomorphic female phantom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Sunyoung; Jaszczak, R. J.; Tsui, B. M. W.; Metz, C. E.; Gilland, D. R.; Turkington, T. G.; Coleman, R. E.

1998-08-01

The purpose of this work was to evaluate lesion detectability with and without nonuniform attenuation compensation (AC) in myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in women using an anthropomorphic phantom and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) methodology. Breast attenuation causes artifacts in reconstructed images and may increase the difficulty of diagnosis of myocardial perfusion imaging in women. The null hypothesis tested using the ROC study was that nonuniform AC does not change the lesion detectability in myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in women. The authors used a filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction algorithm and Chang's (1978) single iteration method for AC. In conclusion, with the authors' proposed myocardial defect model nuclear medicine physicians demonstrated no significant difference for the detection of the anterior wall defect; however, a greater accuracy for the detection of the inferior wall defect was observed without nonuniform AC than with it (P-value=0.0034). Medical physicists did not demonstrate any statistically significant difference in defect detection accuracy with or without nonuniform AC in the female phantom.

Myocardial perfusion abnormalities in asymptomatic patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hosenpud, J.D.; Montanaro, A.; Hart, M.V.

1984-08-01

Accelerated coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction in young patients with systemic lupus erythematosus is well documented; however, the prevalence of coronary involvement is unknown. Accordingly, 26 patients with systemic lupus were selected irrespective of previous cardiac history to undergo exercise thallium-201 cardiac scintigraphy. Segmental perfusion abnormalities were present in 10 of the 26 studies (38.5 percent). Five patients had reversible defects suggesting ischemia, four patients had persistent defects consistent with scar, and one patient had both reversible and persistent defects in two areas. There was no correlation between positive thallium results and duration of disease, amount of corticosteroid treatment,more » major organ system involvement or age. Only a history of pericarditis appeared to be associated with positive thallium-201 results (p less than 0.05). It is concluded that segmental myocardial perfusion abnormalities are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Whether this reflects large-vessel coronary disease or small-vessel abnormalities remains to be determined.« less

Increased Regional Epicardial Fat Volume Associated with Reversible Myocardial Ischemia in Patients with Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

PubMed Central

Khawaja, Tuba; Greer, Christine; Thadani, Samir R.; Kato, Tomoko S.; Bhatia, Ketan; Shimbo, Daichi; Konkak, Andrew; Bokhari, Sabahat; Einstein, Andrew J.; Schulze, P. Christian

2015-01-01

Epicardial adipose tissue is a source of pro-inflammatory cytokines and has been linked to the development of coronary artery disease. No study has systematically assessed the relationship between local epicardial fat volume (EFV) and myocardial perfusion defects. We analyzed EFV in patients undergoing SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging combined with computed tomography (CT) for attenuation correction. Low-dose CT without contrast was performed in 396 consecutive patients undergoing SPECT imaging for evaluation of coronary artery disease. Regional thickness, cross-sectional areas, and total EFV were assessed. 295 patients had normal myocardial perfusion scans and 101 had abnormal perfusion scans. Mean EFVs in normal, ischemic, and infarcted hearts were 99.8 ± 82.3 cm3, 156.4 ± 121.9 cm3, and 96.3 ± 102.1 cm3, respectively (P < 0.001). Reversible perfusion defects were associated with increased local EFV compared to normal perfusion in the distribution of the right (69.2 ± 51.5 vs 46.6 ± 32.0 cm3; P = 0.03) and left anterior descending coronary artery (87.1 ± 76.4 vs 46.7 ± 40.6 cm3; P = 0.005). Our results demonstrate increased regional epicardial fat in patients with active myocardial ischemia compared to patients with myocardial scar or normal perfusion on nuclear perfusion scans. Our results suggest a potential role for cardiac CT to improve risk stratification in patients with suspected coronary artery disease. PMID:25339129

Dynamic CT perfusion imaging of the myocardium: a technical note on improvement of image quality.

PubMed

Muenzel, Daniela; Kabus, Sven; Gramer, Bettina; Leber, Vivian; Vembar, Mani; Schmitt, Holger; Wildgruber, Moritz; Fingerle, Alexander A; Rummeny, Ernst J; Huber, Armin; Noël, Peter B

2013-01-01

To improve image and diagnostic quality in dynamic CT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) by using motion compensation and a spatio-temporal filter. Dynamic CT MPI was performed using a 256-slice multidetector computed tomography scanner (MDCT). Data from two different patients-with and without myocardial perfusion defects-were evaluated to illustrate potential improvements for MPI (institutional review board approved). Three datasets for each patient were generated: (i) original data (ii) motion compensated data and (iii) motion compensated data with spatio-temporal filtering performed. In addition to the visual assessment of the tomographic slices, noise and contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) were measured for all data. Perfusion analysis was performed using time-density curves with regions-of-interest (ROI) placed in normal and hypoperfused myocardium. Precision in definition of normal and hypoperfused areas was determined in corresponding coloured perfusion maps. The use of motion compensation followed by spatio-temporal filtering resulted in better alignment of the cardiac volumes over time leading to a more consistent perfusion quantification and improved detection of the extend of perfusion defects. Additionally image noise was reduced by 78.5%, with CNR improvements by a factor of 4.7. The average effective radiation dose estimate was 7.1±1.1 mSv. The use of motion compensation and spatio-temporal smoothing will result in improved quantification of dynamic CT MPI using a latest generation CT scanner.

Optimization and comparison of simultaneous and separate acquisition protocols for dual isotope myocardial perfusion SPECT.

PubMed

Ghaly, Michael; Links, Jonathan M; Frey, Eric C

2015-07-07

Dual-isotope simultaneous-acquisition (DISA) rest-stress myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) protocols offer a number of advantages over separate acquisition. However, crosstalk contamination due to scatter in the patient and interactions in the collimator degrade image quality. Compensation can reduce the effects of crosstalk, but does not entirely eliminate image degradations. Optimizing acquisition parameters could further reduce the impact of crosstalk. In this paper we investigate the optimization of the rest Tl-201 energy window width and relative injected activities using the ideal observer (IO), a realistic digital phantom population and Monte Carlo (MC) simulated Tc-99m and Tl-201 projections as a means to improve image quality. We compared performance on a perfusion defect detection task for Tl-201 acquisition energy window widths varying from 4 to 40 keV centered at 72 keV for a camera with a 9% energy resolution. We also investigated 7 different relative injected activities, defined as the ratio of Tc-99m and Tl-201 activities, while keeping the total effective dose constant at 13.5 mSv. For each energy window and relative injected activity, we computed the IO test statistics using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for an ensemble of 1,620 triplets of fixed and reversible defect-present, and defect-absent noisy images modeling realistic background variations. The volume under the 3-class receiver operating characteristic (ROC) surface (VUS) was estimated and served as the figure of merit. For simultaneous acquisition, the IO suggested that relative Tc-to-Tl injected activity ratios of 2.6-5 and acquisition energy window widths of 16-22% were optimal. For separate acquisition, we observed a broad range of optimal relative injected activities from 2.6 to 12.1 and acquisition energy window of widths 16-22%. A negative correlation between Tl-201 injected activity and the width of the Tl-201 energy window was observed in these ranges. The results also suggested that DISA methods could potentially provide image quality as good as that obtained with separate acquisition protocols. We compared observer performance for the optimized protocols and the current clinical protocol using separate acquisition. The current clinical protocols provided better performance at a cost of injecting the patient with approximately double the injected activity of Tc-99m and Tl-201, resulting in substantially increased radiation dose.

Toward a practical template-based approach to semiquantitative SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging.

PubMed

Hughes, Tyler; Celler, Anna

2012-03-01

Our template-based quantitative perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) method (T-QPS) performs semiquantitative analysis for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) without the use of normal databases. However, in its current form, T-QPS requires extensive calculations, which limits its clinical application. In the interest of clinical feasibility, the authors examine the trade-off between accuracy and processing time as the method is simplified. The T-QPS method uses the reconstructed SPECT image of the patient to create a 3D digital template of his∕her healthy heart. This template is then projected, reconstructed, and sampled into the bulls-eye map domain. A ratio of the patient and template images produces a final corrected image in which a threshold is applied to identify perfusion defects. In principle, the template should be constructed with the heart and all extracardiac activity, and the projection step should include primary and scatter components; however, this leads to lengthy calculations. In an attempt to shorten the processing time, the authors analyzed the performance of four template (T) generation methods: T(P-HRT), T(PS-HRT), T(P-HRTBKG), and T(PS-HRTBKG), where P and S represent primary and scattered photons included in the projection step, respectively; and HRT and HRTBKG represent template constructed with the heart only and the heart with background activity, respectively. Forty-eight thorax phantoms and 21 randomly selected patient studies were analyzed using each approach. All studies used GE's Infinia Hawkeye SPECT∕CT system and followed a standard cardiac acquisition protocol. Approximate processing times for the T(P-HRT), T(PS-HRT), T(P-HRTBKG), and T(PS-HRTBKG) methods were less than a minute, 2-3 h, less than a minute and 3-4 h, respectively. In both the simulation and patient studies, a significant reduction in the quality of perfusion defect definition was exhibited by the T(P-HRT) method relative to the other three methods. The optimal method with respect to perfusion defect definition and processing time was T(P-HRTBKG) with a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in spatially defining the perfusion defects (simulation study) of 80%, 84%, and 83%, respectively. The T-QPS method using T(P-HRTBKG) leads to accurate and fast semiquantitative analysis of SPECT MPI, without the use of normal databases.

Is there any advantage to the acquisition of 24-hour thallium images, in the presence of persistent perfusion defects at 4 h after reinjection?

PubMed

Bobba, K; Botvinick, E H; Sciammarella, M G; Starsken, N F; Zhu, Y Y; Lapidus, A; Dae, M W

1998-05-01

We determined the incidence of delayed 24-h reversibility post thallium-201 reinjection and imaging at 4 h, as well as the prognostic and significance of such delayed reversibility. We studied 46 consecutive patients with persistent thallium-201 perfusion or incompletely reversible single-photon emission tomography (SPET) perfusion defects acquired within 10 min after reinjection performed 4 h after stress. In 38 of 46 patients (82%) 24-h images showed no further reversibility beyond the post-reinjection 4-h study (group A). Eight of 46 patients (17%) demonstrated reversibility on 24-h imaging (group B). Of these eight, three patients showed no improvement compared with the post-stress images, with a mean perfusion score of the abnormal segments of 1. 25+/-0.50 on the 4-h images, and of 3.00 on the 24-h images, where normal is 4. Four patients presented with nine mixed regions. Four of these regions showed an improvement in the mean perfusion score of 2.50+/-0.58 on 4- and 24-h images. Two of them, with moderate/severe defects, demonstrated complete reversibility at 4-h post-reinjection imaging. In addition, five other regions presented no improvement at 4-h imaging, but showed an improvement in the mean perfusion score from 0.80+/-0.84 at 4-h to 3.30+/-0.89 at 24-h imaging. Two of these regions in one patient showed a severe perfusion score of 0 at 4 h, and complete reversibility at 24 hours, with a mean score improvement of 4. Another patient had three severe perfusion defects; two of them redistributed partially at 4 h and completely at 24 h. The remaining segment with a perfusion score of 0 at 4 h, presented complete reversibility with a score of 4 at 24 h. Two (4%) patients revealed significant reversibility at 24 h in a region that was severely underperfused after post-reinjection imaging at 4 h. Among group B patients, 75% (6/8) had recent acute ischemic syndrome, compared with only 13% (5/38) in group A (P = 0. 001). Among 11 patients with unstable angina, six (55%) had evidence of delayed 24-h reversibility, compared with 2 of 35 (6%) patients without clinically acute ischemia (P = 0.001). On follow-up, there were seven (17%) cardiac deaths among the 38 group A patients but three (38%) among the eight group B patients (P = 0.3). These findings suggest that although the presence of delayed 24-h 201Tl, post-reinjection reversibility is infrequent, it has potential clinical importance. Thus, delayed 24-h imaging should be considered in the context of unstable angina or other acute coronary syndromes.

Propeller flap reconstruction of abdominal defects: review of the literature and case report.

PubMed

Scaglioni, Mario F; Giuseppe, Alberto Di; Chang, Edward I

2015-01-01

The abdominal wall is perfused anteriorly by the superior and deep epigastric vessels with a smaller contribution from the superficial system. The lateral abdominal wall is perfused predominantly from perforators arising from the intercostal vessels. Reconstruction of soft tissue defects involving the abdomen presents a difficult challenge for reconstructive surgeons. Pedicle perforator propeller flaps can be used to reconstruct defects of the abdomen, and here we present a thorough review of the literature as well as a case illustrating the perforasome propeller flap concept. A patient underwent resection for dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans resulting in a large defect of the epigastric soft tissue. A propeller flap was designed based on a perforator arising from the superior deep epigastric vessels and was rotated 90° into the defect allowing primary closure of the donor site. The patient healed uneventfully and was without recurrent disease 37 months following reconstruction. Perforator propeller flaps can be used successfully in reconstruction of abdominal defects and should be incorporated into the armamentarium of reconstructive microsurgeons already facile with perforator dissections. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Parametric detection and measurement of perfusion defects in attenuated contrast echocardiographic images.

PubMed

Yoshifuku, Shiro; Chen, Shigao; McMahon, Eileen; Korinek, Josef; Yoshikawa, Akiko; Ochiai, Izuru; Sengupta, Partho P; Belohlavek, Marek

2007-06-01

Attenuation of radio frequency (RF) signals limits the use of contrast echocardiography. The harmonic-to-fundamental ratio (HFR) of the RF signals compensates for attenuation. We tested whether HFR analysis measures the left ventricular nonperfused area under simulated experimental attenuation. Radio frequency image data from short axis systolic projections were obtained from 11 open-chest dogs with left anterior descending or left circumflex coronary artery occlusion followed by left atrial bolus injection of a perflutren microbubble contrast agent. Clinical attenuation was simulated by calibrated silicone pads interposed between the epicardial surface and the transducer to induce mild (7-dB) and severe (14-dB) reduction of the backscattered RF signals. Harmonic-to-fundamental ratio values were calculated for each image pixel for 0-, 7-, and 14-dB attenuation conditions and reproducibly showed a "perfused area" and a "nonperfused area." A reference nonperfused area was obtained by manual delineation in high-quality contrast scans. Correlations of the HFR-detected and manually outlined perfusion defect areas were R = 0.92 for 0 dB, R = 0.94 for 7 dB, and R = 0.90 for 14 dB; the mean difference was less than 0.36 cm(2) (negligible) in all 3 attenuation settings. Conclusions. Attenuation compensation by our HFR method allows precise measurement of myocardial perfusion defect areas in contrast scans with simulated high level of attenuation.

Washout of ⁸²Rb as a marker of impaired tissue integrity, obtained by list-mode cardiac PET/CT: relationship with perfusion/metabolism patterns of myocardial viability.

PubMed

Chien, David T; Bravo, Paco; Higuchi, Takahiro; Merrill, Jennifer; Bengel, Frank M

2011-08-01

Myocardial washout of the potassium analogue (82)Rb may indicate tissue impairment. Few studies have evaluated its usefulness for viability assessment, and controversial results were reported. We revisited this topic using list-mode positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. A total of 22 patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and 11 control subjects with normal CT coronary angiogram were studied. Rest (82)Rb PET/CT studies were acquired in list mode and resampled to static, gated, and dynamic images. Using a 17-segment model, (82)Rb washout was determined by monoexponential fitting of myocardial time-activity curves. In ICM patients, (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) studies were obtained in the same session and segments were classified as normally perfused, mismatch, or matched defect. (82)Rb washout was minimal and homogeneous in control subjects. Normally perfused segments of ICM did not differ (p = 0.33). ICM patients had a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 25 ± 12%, 25/353 mismatched, and 46/353 matched defect segments. (82)Rb washout was higher in hypoperfused vs normal segments (p < 0.05), but not different between mismatch and matched defect (p = 0.18). Intraindividual analysis in nine patients showing both FDG mismatch and matched defect confirmed absence of differences. Overall, segmental (82)Rb washout correlated inversely with (82)Rb uptake (r = -0.70; p < 0.05) and less well with FDG uptake (r = -0.31; p < 0.05). Using state-of-the-art PET/CT technology for myocardial viability assessment, (82)Rb washout does not distinguish between perfusion/metabolism patterns of hibernating myocardium and scar. Tissue integrity may be at least partially impaired in hibernation.

Optimization of Rb-82 PET acquisition and reconstruction protocols for myocardial perfusion defect detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Jing; Rahmim, Arman; Lautamäki, Riikka; Lodge, Martin A.; Bengel, Frank M.; Tsui, Benjamin M. W.

2009-05-01

The purpose of this study is to optimize the dynamic Rb-82 cardiac PET acquisition and reconstruction protocols for maximum myocardial perfusion defect detection using realistic simulation data and task-based evaluation. Time activity curves (TACs) of different organs under both rest and stress conditions were extracted from dynamic Rb-82 PET images of five normal patients. Combined SimSET-GATE Monte Carlo simulation was used to generate nearly noise-free cardiac PET data from a time series of 3D NCAT phantoms with organ activities modeling different pre-scan delay times (PDTs) and total acquisition times (TATs). Poisson noise was added to the nearly noise-free projections and the OS-EM algorithm was applied to generate noisy reconstructed images. The channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) with 32× 32 spatial templates corresponding to four octave-wide frequency channels was used to evaluate the images. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated from the CHO rating data as an index for image quality in terms of myocardial perfusion defect detection. The 0.5 cycle cm-1 Butterworth post-filtering on OS-EM (with 21 subsets) reconstructed images generates the highest AUC values while those from iteration numbers 1 to 4 do not show different AUC values. The optimized PDTs for both rest and stress conditions are found to be close to the cross points of the left ventricular chamber and myocardium TACs, which may promote an individualized PDT for patient data processing and image reconstruction. Shortening the TATs for <~3 min from the clinically employed acquisition time does not affect the myocardial perfusion defect detection significantly for both rest and stress studies.

Early detection of radiation-induced heart disease using (99m)Tc-MIBI SPECT gated myocardial perfusion imaging in patients with oesophageal cancer during radiotherapy.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Hu, Xudong; Yue, Jinbo; Meng, Xue; Han, Dali; Sun, Xindong; Yang, Guoren; Wang, Shijiang; Wang, Xiaohui; Yu, Jinming

2015-05-01

The primary aim of this prospective study was to investigate the value of (99m)Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) gated myocardial perfusion imaging (GMPI) in the detection of radiation-induced heart disease (RIHD) as early as during radiotherapy (RT) for oesophageal cancer (EC). The second aim was to analyse the correlation between cardiac toxicity and the dose-volume factors. The (99m)Tc-MIBI SPECT GMPI was performed both pre-RT and during RT (40Gray). The results of the SPECT were quantitatively analysed with QGS/QPS software and read by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians. The correlation between the changes in the SPECT parameters and the RT dosimetric data was analysed. Eighteen patients with locally advanced EC were enrolled in the study. Compared with the baseline, the imaging during RT showed not only significant decreases in the wall motion (WM) (1/20 segments), wall thickening (WT) (2/20 segments), end-diastolic perfusion (EDP) (5/20 segments) and end-systolic perfusion (ESP) (8/20 segments) (p<0.05) but also a significant increase in the heart rate (74.63±7.79 vs 81.49±9.90, p=0.036). New myocardial perfusion defects were observed in 8 of the 18 patients. The V37-V40 was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the patients with the new perfusion defects during RT than in the patients who did not exhibit these defects. Radiotherapy for EC induces cardiac damage from an early stage. (99m)Tc-MIBI SPECT GMPI can detect the occurrence of cardiac impairment during RT. The WM, WT, EDP and ESP may be valuable as early indicators of RIHD. The percentage of the heart volume that receives a high dose is an important factor that is correlated with RIHD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contrast-enhanced 3T MR Perfusion of Musculoskeletal Tumours: T1 Value Heterogeneity Assessment and Evaluation of the Influence of T1 Estimation Methods on Quantitative Parameters.

PubMed

Gondim Teixeira, Pedro Augusto; Leplat, Christophe; Chen, Bailiang; De Verbizier, Jacques; Beaumont, Marine; Badr, Sammy; Cotten, Anne; Blum, Alain

2017-12-01

To evaluate intra-tumour and striated muscle T1 value heterogeneity and the influence of different methods of T1 estimation on the variability of quantitative perfusion parameters. Eighty-two patients with a histologically confirmed musculoskeletal tumour were prospectively included in this study and, with ethics committee approval, underwent contrast-enhanced MR perfusion and T1 mapping. T1 value variations in viable tumour areas and in normal-appearing striated muscle were assessed. In 20 cases, normal muscle perfusion parameters were calculated using three different methods: signal based and gadolinium concentration based on fixed and variable T1 values. Tumour and normal muscle T1 values were significantly different (p = 0.0008). T1 value heterogeneity was higher in tumours than in normal muscle (variation of 19.8% versus 13%). The T1 estimation method had a considerable influence on the variability of perfusion parameters. Fixed T1 values yielded higher coefficients of variation than variable T1 values (mean 109.6 ± 41.8% and 58.3 ± 14.1% respectively). Area under the curve was the least variable parameter (36%). T1 values in musculoskeletal tumours are significantly different and more heterogeneous than normal muscle. Patient-specific T1 estimation is needed for direct inter-patient comparison of perfusion parameters. • T1 value variation in musculoskeletal tumours is considerable. • T1 values in muscle and tumours are significantly different. • Patient-specific T1 estimation is needed for comparison of inter-patient perfusion parameters. • Technical variation is higher in permeability than semiquantitative perfusion parameters.

Estimation of dynamic time activity curves from dynamic cardiac SPECT imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, J.; Du, Y.; Links, J.; Rahmim, A.; Karakatsanis, N.; Akhbardeh, A.; Lyons, J.; Frey, E. C.

2015-04-01

Whole-heart coronary flow reserve (CFR) may be useful as an early predictor of cardiovascular disease or heart failure. Here we propose a simple method to extract the time-activity curve, an essential component needed for estimating the CFR, for a small number of compartments in the body, such as normal myocardium, blood pool, and ischemic myocardial regions, from SPECT data acquired with conventional cameras using slow rotation. We evaluated the method using a realistic simulation of 99mTc-teboroxime imaging. Uptake of 99mTc-teboroxime based on data from the literature were modeled. Data were simulated using the anatomically-realistic 3D NCAT phantom and an analytic projection code that realistically models attenuation, scatter, and the collimator-detector response. The proposed method was then applied to estimate time activity curves (TACs) for a set of 3D volumes of interest (VOIs) directly from the projections. We evaluated the accuracy and precision of estimated TACs and studied the effects of the presence of perfusion defects that were and were not modeled in the estimation procedure. The method produced good estimates of the myocardial and blood-pool TACS organ VOIs, with average weighted absolute biases of less than 5% for the myocardium and 10% for the blood pool when the true organ boundaries were known and the activity distributions in the organs were uniform. In the presence of unknown perfusion defects, the myocardial TAC was still estimated well (average weighted absolute bias <10%) when the total reduction in myocardial uptake (product of defect extent and severity) was ≤5%. This indicates that the method was robust to modest model mismatch such as the presence of moderate perfusion defects and uptake nonuniformities. With larger defects where the defect VOI was included in the estimation procedure, the estimated normal myocardial and defect TACs were accurate (average weighted absolute bias ≈5% for a defect with 25% extent and 100% severity).

Detecting stripe artifacts in ultrasound images.

PubMed

Maciak, Adam; Kier, Christian; Seidel, Günter; Meyer-Wiethe, Karsten; Hofmann, Ulrich G

2009-10-01

Brain perfusion diseases such as acute ischemic stroke are detectable through computed tomography (CT)-/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods. An alternative approach makes use of ultrasound imaging. In this low-cost bedside method, noise and artifacts degrade the imaging process. Especially stripe artifacts show a similar signal behavior compared to acute stroke or brain perfusion diseases. This document describes how stripe artifacts can be detected and eliminated in ultrasound images obtained through harmonic imaging (HI). On the basis of this new method, both proper identification of areas with critically reduced brain tissue perfusion and classification between brain perfusion defects and ultrasound stripe artifacts are made possible.

An investigation of the trade-off between the count level and image quality in myocardial perfusion SPECT using simulated images: the effects of statistical noise and object variability on defect detectability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xin; Links, Jonathan M.; Frey, Eric C.

2010-09-01

Quantum noise as well as anatomic and uptake variability in patient populations limits observer performance on a defect detection task in myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS). The goal of this study was to investigate the relative importance of these two effects by varying acquisition time, which determines the count level, and assessing the change in performance on a myocardial perfusion (MP) defect detection task using both mathematical and human observers. We generated ten sets of projections of a simulated patient population with count levels ranging from 1/128 to around 15 times a typical clinical count level to simulate different levels of quantum noise. For the simulated population we modeled variations in patient, heart and defect size, heart orientation and shape, defect location, organ uptake ratio, etc. The projection data were reconstructed using the OS-EM algorithm with no compensation or with attenuation, detector response and scatter compensation (ADS). The images were then post-filtered and reoriented to generate short-axis slices. A channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) was applied to the short-axis images, and the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) was computed. For each noise level and reconstruction method, we optimized the number of iterations and cutoff frequencies of the Butterworth filter to maximize the AUC. Using the images obtained with the optimal iteration and cutoff frequency and ADS compensation, we performed human observer studies for four count levels to validate the CHO results. Both CHO and human observer studies demonstrated that observer performance was dependent on the relative magnitude of the quantum noise and the patient variation. When the count level was high, the patient variation dominated, and the AUC increased very slowly with changes in the count level for the same level of anatomic variability. When the count level was low, however, quantum noise dominated, and changes in the count level resulted in large changes in the AUC. This behavior agreed with a theoretical expression for the AUC as a function of quantum and anatomical noise levels. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of the tradeoff between anatomical and quantum noise in determining observer performance. For myocardial perfusion imaging, it indicates that, at current clinical count levels, there is some room to reduce acquisition time or injected activity without substantially degrading performance on myocardial perfusion defect detection.

Geographic and demographic variabilities of quantitative parameters in stress myocardial computed tomography perfusion.

PubMed

Park, Jinoh; Kim, Hyun-Sook; Hwang, Hye Jeon; Yang, Dong Hyun; Koo, Hyun Jung; Kang, Joon-Won; Kim, Young-Hak

2017-09-01

To evaluate the geographic and demographic variabilities of the quantitative parameters of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) of the left ventricular (LV) myocardium in patients with normal coronary artery on computed tomography angiography (CTA). From a multicenter CTP registry of stress and static computed tomography, we retrospectively recruited 113 patients (mean age, 60 years; 57 men) without perfusion defect on visual assessment and minimal (< 20% of diameter stenosis) or no coronary artery disease on CTA. Using semiautomatic analysis software, quantitative parameters of the LV myocardium, including the myocardial attenuation in stress and rest phases, transmural perfusion ratio (TPR), and myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI), were evaluated in 16 myocardial segments. In the lateral wall of the LV myocardium, all quantitative parameters except for MPRI were significantly higher compared with those in the other walls. The MPRI showed consistent values in all myocardial walls (anterior to lateral wall: range, 25% to 27%; p = 0.401). At the basal level of the myocardium, all quantitative parameters were significantly lower than those at the mid- and apical levels. Compared with men, women had significantly higher values of myocardial attenuation and TPR. Age, body mass index, and Framingham risk score were significantly associated with the difference in myocardial attenuation. Geographic and demographic variabilities of quantitative parameters in stress myocardial CTP exist in healthy subjects without significant coronary artery disease. This information may be helpful when assessing myocardial perfusion defects in CTP.

Improved repair of bone defects with prevascularized tissue-engineered bones constructed in a perfusion bioreactor.

PubMed

Li, De-Qiang; Li, Ming; Liu, Pei-Lai; Zhang, Yuan-Kai; Lu, Jian-Xi; Li, Jian-Min

2014-10-01

Vascularization of tissue-engineered bones is critical to achieving satisfactory repair of bone defects. The authors investigated the use of prevascularized tissue-engineered bone for repairing bone defects. The new bone was greater in the prevascularized group than in the non-vascularized group, indicating that prevascularized tissue-engineered bone improves the repair of bone defects. [Orthopedics. 2014; 37(10):685-690.]. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

Optimization and comparison of simultaneous and separate acquisition protocols for dual isotope myocardial perfusion SPECT

PubMed Central

Ghaly, Michael; Links, Jonathan M; Frey, Eric C

2015-01-01

Dual-isotope simultaneous-acquisition (DISA) rest-stress myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) protocols offer a number of advantages over separate acquisition. However, crosstalk contamination due to scatter in the patient and interactions in the collimator degrade image quality. Compensation can reduce the effects of crosstalk, but does not entirely eliminate image degradations. Optimizing acquisition parameters could further reduce the impact of crosstalk. In this paper we investigate the optimization of the rest Tl-201 energy window width and relative injected activities using the ideal observer (IO), a realistic digital phantom population and Monte Carlo (MC) simulated Tc-99m and Tl-201 projections as a means to improve image quality. We compared performance on a perfusion defect detection task for Tl-201 acquisition energy window widths varying from 4 to 40 keV centered at 72 keV for a camera with a 9% energy resolution. We also investigated 7 different relative injected activities, defined as the ratio of Tc-99m and Tl-201 activities, while keeping the total effective dose constant at 13.5 mSv. For each energy window and relative injected activity, we computed the IO test statistics using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method for an ensemble of 1,620 triplets of fixed and reversible defect-present, and defect-absent noisy images modeling realistic background variations. The volume under the 3-class receiver operating characteristic (ROC) surface (VUS) was estimated and served as the figure of merit. For simultaneous acquisition, the IO suggested that relative Tc-to-Tl injected activity ratios of 2.6–5 and acquisition energy window widths of 16–22% were optimal. For separate acquisition, we observed a broad range of optimal relative injected activities from 2.6 to 12.1 and acquisition energy window of widths 16–22%. A negative correlation between Tl-201 injected activity and the width of the Tl-201 energy window was observed in these ranges. The results also suggested that DISA methods could potentially provide image quality as good as that obtained with separate acquisition protocols. We compared observer performance for the optimized protocols and the current clinical protocol using separate acquisition. The current clinical protocols provided better performance at a cost of injecting the patient with approximately double the injected activity of Tc-99m and Tl-201, resulting in substantially increased radiation dose. PMID:26083239

[Image fusion of gated-SPECT and CT angiography in coronary artery disease. Importance of anatomic-functional correlation].

PubMed

Nazarena Pizzi, M; Aguadé Bruix, S; Cuéllar Calabria, H; Aliaga, V; Candell Riera, J

2010-01-01

A 77-year old patient was admitted for acute coronary syndrome without ST elevation. His risk was stratified using the myocardial perfusion gated SPECT, mild inferior ischemia being observed. Thus, medical therapy was optimized and the patient was discharged. He continued with exertional dyspnea so a coronary CT angiography was performed. It revealed severe lesions in the proximal RCA. SPECT-CT fusion images correlated the myocardial perfusion defect with a posterior descending artery from the RCA, in a co-dominant coronary area. Subsequently, cardiac catheterism was indicated for his treatment. The current use of image fusion studies is limited to patients in whom it is difficult to attribute a perfusion defect to a specific coronary artery. In our patient, the fusion images helped to distinguish between the RCA and the circumflex artery as the culprit artery of ischemia. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier España, S.L. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

Role of 99mTc-ECD SPECT in the Management of Children with Craniosynostosis

PubMed Central

Barik, Mayadhar; Bajpai, Minu; Das, Rashmi Ranajn; Malhotra, Arun; Panda, Shasanka Shekhar; Sahoo, Manas Kumar; Dwivedi, Sadanand

2014-01-01

Purpose of the Report. There is a paucity of data on correlation of various imaging modalities with clinical findings in craniosynostosis. Moreover, no study has specifically reported the role of 99mTc-ECD SPECT in a large number of subjects with craniosynostosis. Materials and Methods. We prospectively analyzed a cohort of 85 patients with craniosynostosis from year 2007 to 2012. All patients underwent evaluation with 99mTc-ECD SPECT and the results were correlated with radiological and surgical findings. Results. 99mTc-ECD SPECT revealed regional perfusion abnormalities in the cerebral hemisphere corresponding to the fused sutures preoperatively that disappeared postoperatively in all the cases. Corresponding to this, the mean mental performance quotient (MPQ) increased significantly (P < 0.05) postoperatively only in those children with absent perfusion defect postoperatively. Conclusions. Our study suggests that early surgery and release of craniosynostosis in patients with preoperative perfusion defects (absent on 99mTc-ECD SPECT study) are beneficial, as theylead to improved MPQ after surgery. PMID:24987670

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bookstein, J.J.; Alazraki, N.P.; Jassy, L.N.

An experiment was designed to determine whether or not acute pneumococcal pneumonia in dogs is associated with intravascular thrombosis, or with angiographic features distinguishable from pulmonary embolism. In dogs with normal baseline chest radiographs and perfusion scans, pneumonia was produced by transbronchial instillation of type III pneumococcus. After 2 days, perfusion scans demonstrated discrete appropriate defects. In vivo magnification pulmonary arteriography, postmortem pulmonary arteriography, and histologic examination disclosed no evidence of thrombi.

Simultaneous acquisition of perfusion and permeability from corrected relaxation rates with dynamic susceptibility contrast dual gradient echo.

PubMed

Kim, Eun-Ju; Kim, Dae-Hong; Lee, Sang Hoon; Huh, Yong-Min; Song, Ho-Taek; Suh, Jin-Suck

2004-04-01

This study compared two methods, corrected (separation of T(1) and T(2)* effects) and uncorrected, in order to determine the suitability of the perfusion and permeability measures through Delta R(2)* and Delta R(1) analyses. A dynamic susceptibility contrast dual gradient echo (DSC-DGE) was used to image the fixed phantoms and flow phantoms (Sephadex perfusion phantoms and dialyzer phantom for the permeability measurements). The results confirmed that the corrected relaxation rate was linearly proportional to gadolinium-diethyltriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) concentration, whereas the uncorrected relaxation rate did not in the fixed phantom and simulation experiments. For the perfusion measurements, it was found that the correction process was necessary not only for the Delta R(1) time curve but also for the Delta R(2)* time curve analyses. Perfusion could not be measured without correcting the Delta R(2)* time curve. The water volume, which was expressed as the perfusion amount, was found to be closer to the theoretical value when using the corrected Delta R(1) curve in the calculations. However, this may occur in the low concentration of Gd-DTPA in tissue used in this study. For the permeability measurements based on the two-compartment model, the permeability factor (k(ev); e = extravascular, v = vascular) from the outside to the inside of the hollow fibers was greater in the corrected Delta R(1) method than in the uncorrected Delta R(1) method. The differences between the corrected and the uncorrected Delta R(1) values were confirmed by the simulation experiments. In conclusion, this study proposes that the correction for the relaxation rates, Delta R(2)* and Delta R(1), is indispensable in making accurate perfusion and permeability measurements, and that DSC-DGE is a useful method for obtaining information on perfusion and permeability, simultaneously.

A template-based approach to semi-quantitative SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: Independent of normal databases.

PubMed

Hughes, Tyler; Shcherbinin, Sergey; Celler, Anna

2011-07-01

Normal patient databases (NPDs) are used to distinguish between normal and abnormal perfusion in SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and have gained wide acceptance in the clinical environment, yet there are limitations to this approach. This study introduces a template-based method for semi-quantitative MPI, which attempts to overcome some of the NPD limitations. Our approach involves the construction of a 3D digital healthy heart template from the delineation of the patient's left ventricle in the SPECT image. This patient-specific template of the heart, filled with uniform activity, is then analytically projected and reconstructed using the same algorithm as the original image. Subsequent to generating bulls-eye maps for the patient image (PB) and the template image (TB), a ratio (PB/TB) is calculated, which produces a reconstruction-artifact corrected image (CB). Finally, a threshold is used to define defects within CB enabling measurements of the perfusion defect extent (EXT). The SPECT-based template (Ts) measurements were compared to those of a CT-based "ideal" template (TI). Twenty digital phantoms were simulated: male and female, each with one healthy heart and nine hearts with various defects. Four physical phantom studies were performed modeling a healthy heart and three hearts with different defects. The phantom represented a thorax with spine, lung, and left ventricle inserts. Images were acquired on General Electric's (GE) Infinia Hawkeye SPECT/CT camera using standard clinical MPI protocol. Finally, our method was applied to 14 patient MPI rest/stress studies acquired on the GE Infinia Hawkeye SPECT/CT camera and compared to the results obtained from Cedars-Sinai's QPS software. In the simulation studies, the true EXT correlated well with the TI (slope= 1.08; offset = -0.40%; r = 0.99) and Ts (slope = 0.90; offset = 0.27%; r = 0.99) methods with no significant differences between them. Similarly, strong correlations were measured for EXT obtained from QPS and the template method for patient studies (slope =0.91; offset = 0.45%; r = 0.98). Mean errors in extent for the Ts method using simulation, physical phantom, and patient data were 2.7% +/- 2.4%, 0.9% +/- 0.5%, 2.0% +/- 2.7%, respectively. The authors introduced a method for semi-quantitative SPECT MPI, which offers a patient-specific approach to define the perfusion defect regions within the heart, as opposed to the patient-averaged NPD methodology.

Impact of ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography on treatment duration of pulmonary embolism

PubMed Central

Begic, Amela; Opanković, Emina; Čukić, Vesna; Rustempašić, Medzida; Bašić, Amila; Miniati, Massimo; Jögi, Jonas

2015-01-01

Purpose The aim of the study was to establish whether the duration of anticoagulant (AC) therapy can be tailored, on an objective basis, by using ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (V/P SPECT) and to assess the extent of residual perfusion defects over time. In particular, we addressed the following: (a) is the extent of perfusion recovery at 3 months of initial pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnosis a satisfactory criterion for deciding the duration of oral AC? (b) Is it safe to withdraw AC at 3 months if perfusion recovery is complete? Patients and methods Of 269 consecutive patients with suspected PE, 100 patients were diagnosed with PE using V/P SPECT. Sixty-seven patients with acute PE were followed up clinically and with V/P SPECT at 3 months. Sixty-four patients were subject to review and examination using V/P SPECT for a period of 6 months and 33 were followed up only clinically. Therapy was terminated after 3 months if perfusion was normalized, and patients were free of symptoms and the risk of hypercoagulability. Initial extension of PE did not have an impact on decision making. Results PE extension varied from 10 to 70% in the acute stage. After 3 months, complete resolution of PE was found in 48 patients. The treating pulmonologist decided to terminate therapy in 35 (73%) patients and to continue AC in 13 patients because of persistent risk factors. Six months later, at the second control stage, 53 patients had complete recovery of pulmonary perfusion. Eleven patients still had perfusion defects at 6 months. No recurrence was identified at 6 months in the 35 patients whose therapy was terminated after 3 months. No bleeding effects were observed in any of the patients during the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion This study shows that AC therapy can be tailored, on an objective basis, by using V/P SPECT. Normalization of perfusion at 3 months of initial PE diagnosis was a reliable indicator that AC could be safely withdrawn in patients who were without hypercoagulability risk. PMID:25321156

Utility of contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS in the diagnosis of malignant gallbladder polyps (with videos).

PubMed

Choi, Jun-Ho; Seo, Dong-Wan; Choi, Joon Hyuk; Park, Do Hyun; Lee, Sang Soo; Lee, Sung Koo; Kim, Myung-Hwan

2013-09-01

The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant polyps of the gallbladder (GB) is often challenging. To evaluate whether contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS (CEH-EUS) might be an accurate method for discriminating malignant GB polyps from benign polyps. Observational study. Tertiary care medical center. Ninety-three patients with GB polyps larger than 10 mm in diameter that were detected by conventional EUS underwent CEH-EUS for evaluation of microvasculature. CEH-EUS was performed using a radial echoendoscope and the extended pure harmonic detection mode. The abilities of conventional EUS and CEH-EUS to diagnose malignant polyp were compared. Two blinded reviewers classified the perfusion images into 3 categories: diffuse enhancement, perfusion defect, or nonenhancement. The vessel images were categorized as having a regular spotty vessel, an irregular vessel, or no vessels. An irregular vessel pattern determined by CEH-EUS aided in the diagnosis of malignant polyps with a sensitivity and specificity of 90.3% and 96.6%, respectively. The presence of perfusion defects, determined by CEH-EUS, was calculated to diagnose malignant polyps with a sensitivity and specificity of 90.3% and 94.9%, respectively. Based on the definitely determined diagnosis, sensitivity and specificity for CEH-EUS were 93.5% and 93.2% versus 90.0% and 91.1% for conventional EUS. In 8 cases, management changed after CEH-EUS. A tertiary medical center with a limited number of patients. The presence of irregular intratumoral vessels or perfusion defects seen on CEH-EUS may be sensitive and accurate predictors of malignant GB polyps. CEH-EUS offers slightly improved diagnostic accuracy compared with EUS. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. All rights reserved.

Usefulness of myocardial parametric imaging to evaluate myocardial viability in experimental and in clinical studies.

PubMed

Korosoglou, G; Hansen, A; Bekeredjian, R; Filusch, A; Hardt, S; Wolf, D; Schellberg, D; Katus, H A; Kuecherer, H

2006-03-01

To evaluate whether myocardial parametric imaging (MPI) is superior to visual assessment for the evaluation of myocardial viability. Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) was assessed in 11 pigs before, during, and after left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and in 32 patients with ischaemic heart disease by using intravenous SonoVue administration. In experimental studies perfusion defect area assessment by MPI was compared with visually guided perfusion defect planimetry. Histological assessment of necrotic tissue was the standard reference. In clinical studies viability was assessed on a segmental level by (1) visual analysis of myocardial opacification; (2) quantitative estimation of myocardial blood flow in regions of interest; and (3) MPI. Functional recovery between three and six months after revascularisation was the standard reference. In experimental studies, compared with visually guided perfusion defect planimetry, planimetric assessment of infarct size by MPI correlated more significantly with histology (r2 = 0.92 versus r2 = 0.56) and had a lower intraobserver variability (4% v 15%, p < 0.05). In clinical studies, MPI had higher specificity (66% v 43%, p < 0.05) than visual MCE and good accuracy (81%) for viability detection. It was less time consuming (3.4 (1.6) v 9.2 (2.4) minutes per image, p < 0.05) than quantitative blood flow estimation by regions of interest and increased the agreement between observers interpreting myocardial perfusion (kappa = 0.87 v kappa = 0.75, p < 0.05). MPI is useful for the evaluation of myocardial viability both in animals and in patients. It is less time consuming than quantification analysis by regions of interest and less observer dependent than visual analysis. Thus, strategies incorporating this technique may be valuable for the evaluation of myocardial viability in clinical routine.

Patterns of pulmonary perfusion scans in normal subjects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wallace, J.M.; Moser, K.M.; Hartman, M.T.

1981-01-01

A vital factor conditioning the usage of the pulmonary perfusion (Q) scan in the evaluation of patients suspected of pulmonary embolism is the prevalence of abnormal Q scans in subjects free of cardiopulmonary disease. Because this prevalence has not been well defined, we performed Q scans in 80 nonsmoking subjects 18 to 29 yr of age having no known active cardiopulmonary disease. Each subject underwent a history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, spirometry, and PA chest roentgenogram, followed by a 6-view Q scan. Two subjects in whom a Q defect was suspected underwent a /sup 133/Xe equilibrium-washout ventilation (V) scan. All Qmore » scans were interpreted blindly and independently by 2 experienced readers. Seventy-nine of the 80 Q scans were read as normal. No subject demonstrated a lobar or segmental defect. One of the 80 subjects, who had a mild pectus excavatum, had a left upper lobe subsegmental defect, which was not seen on the V scan. Based on the statistical analysis of these data, no more than 3.68% of normal nonsmoking persons in this age group may have a lobar or segmental Q scan defect and no more than 6.77% may have a subsegmental defect (with 95% confidence). Therefore, our study indicated that Q scan defects, particularly lobar or segmental, are rarely present among normal nonsmokers in this age group.« less

Transplantation and Perfusion of Microvascular Fragments in a Rodent Model of Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

solution. Tissue processing and histological procedures Tissues were excised, weighed, embedded in a talcum- based gel, and flash frozen in 2...the overall level of perfusion was low and was not distributed evenly throughout the defect. GFP MVF transplantation MVFs derived from GFP...support vasculogenesis. However, the levels of VEGF secreted by MVFs were significantly lower than that of ASCs under both normoxic and hypoxic

Association of ST segment depression >5 min after exercise testing with severity of coronary artery disease.

PubMed

Shaikh, Ayaz Hussain; Hanif, Bashir; Siddiqui, Adeel M; Shahab, Hunaina; Qazi, Hammad Ali; Mujtaba, Iqbal

2010-04-01

To determine the association of prolonged ST segment depression after an exercise test with severity of coronary artery disease. A cross sectional study of 100 consecutive patients referred to the cardiology laboratory for stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) conducted between April-August 2008. All selected patients were monitored until their ST segment depression was recovered to baseline. ST segment recovery time was categorized into less and more than 5 minutes. Subsequent gated SPECT-MPI was performed and stratified according to severity of perfusion defect. Association was determined between post exercise ST segment depression recovery time (<5 minutes and >5 minutes) and severity of perfusion defect on MPI. The mean age of the patients was 57.12 +/- 9.0 years. The results showed statistically insignificant association (p > 0.05) between ST segment recovery time of <5 minutes and >5 minutes with low, intermediate or high risk MPI. Our findings suggest that the commonly used cut-off levels used in literature for prolonged, post exercise ST segment depression (>5 minutes into recovery phase) does not correlate with severity of ischaemia based on MPI results.

Compendium of the FY1990 and FY1992 Research Reviews for the Research Methods Branch

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-01

the perfusion technique, the perfusion was not done in situ. Trout were anesthetized with MS-222 (3-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester, Sigma Chemical...by a trypan blue exclusion test. Medaka Medaka were anesthetized with MS-222, transferred to a dissecting tray, and incised from the urogenital pore...Histology General histology was compared at intervals of 20 days. Fish were anesthetized , fixed, and processed for paraffin embedment, and sections

Measurement of myocardial perfusion and infarction size using computer-aided diagnosis system for myocardial contrast echocardiography.

PubMed

Du, Guo-Qing; Xue, Jing-Yi; Guo, Yanhui; Chen, Shuang; Du, Pei; Wu, Yan; Wang, Yu-Hang; Zong, Li-Qiu; Tian, Jia-Wei

2015-09-01

Proper evaluation of myocardial microvascular perfusion and assessment of infarct size is critical for clinicians. We have developed a novel computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) approach for myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) to measure myocardial perfusion and infarct size. Rabbits underwent 15 min of coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion (group I, n = 15) or 60 min of coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion (group II, n = 15). Myocardial contrast echocardiography was performed before and 7 d after ischemia/reperfusion, and images were analyzed with the CAD system on the basis of eliminating particle swarm optimization clustering analysis. The myocardium was quickly and accurately detected using contrast-enhanced images, myocardial perfusion was quantitatively calibrated and a color-coded map calibrated by contrast intensity and automatically produced by the CAD system was used to outline the infarction region. Calibrated contrast intensity was significantly lower in infarct regions than in non-infarct regions, allowing differentiation of abnormal and normal myocardial perfusion. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis documented that -54-pixel contrast intensity was an optimal cutoff point for the identification of infarcted myocardium with a sensitivity of 95.45% and specificity of 87.50%. Infarct sizes obtained using myocardial perfusion defect analysis of original contrast images and the contrast intensity-based color-coded map in computerized images were compared with infarct sizes measured using triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Use of the proposed CAD approach provided observers with more information. The infarct sizes obtained with myocardial perfusion defect analysis, the contrast intensity-based color-coded map and triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining were 23.72 ± 8.41%, 21.77 ± 7.8% and 18.21 ± 4.40% (% left ventricle) respectively (p > 0.05), indicating that computerized myocardial contrast echocardiography can accurately measure infarct size. On the basis of the results, we believe the CAD method can quickly and automatically measure myocardial perfusion and infarct size and will, it is hoped, be very helpful in clinical therapeutics. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Myocardial infarction with Moyamoya disease and pituitary gigantism in a young female patient.

PubMed

Ahn, Y K; Jeong, M H; Bom, H S; Park, J C; Kim, J K; Chung, D J; Chung, M Y; Cho, J G; Kang, J C

1999-08-01

Myocardial infarction is very rare in young female patients with systemic vascular disorders. Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disease associated with an abnormal vascular network. This report presents a 19-year-old female patient who suffered from chest pain and exertional dyspnea for 2 months prior to admission. She had a history of Moyamoya disease and pituitary gigantism since childhood. Her ejection fraction on echocardiogram was 20% and a perfusion defect with partial reversibility in the anterior wall was demonstrated on stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Diagnostic coronary angiogram revealed critical stenosis in the middle left anterior descending artery, which was treated by coronary stenting. Her subjective symptoms were relieved and the perfusion defect seen on SPECT decreased after coronary intervention.

Effects of Piecewise Spatial Smoothing in 4-D SPECT Reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Wenyuan; Yang, Yongyi; King, Michael A.

2014-02-01

In nuclear medicine, cardiac gated SPECT images are known to suffer from significantly increased noise owing to limited data counts. Consequently, spatial (and temporal) smoothing has been indispensable for suppressing the noise artifacts in SPECT reconstruction. However, recently we demonstrated that the benefit of spatial processing in motion-compensated reconstruction of gated SPECT (aka 4-D) could be outweighed by its adverse effects on the myocardium, which included degraded wall motion and perfusion defect detectability. In this work, we investigate whether we can alleviate these adverse effects by exploiting an alternative spatial smoothing prior in 4-D based on image total variation (TV). TV based prior is known to induce piecewise smoothing which can preserve edge features (such as boundaries of the heart wall) in reconstruction. However, it is not clear whether such a property would necessarily be beneficial for improving the accuracy of the myocardium in 4-D reconstruction. In particular, it is unknown whether it would adversely affect the detectability of perfusion defects that are small in size or low in contrast. In our evaluation study, we first use Monte Carlo simulated imaging with 4-D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) phantom wherein the ground truth is known for quantitative comparison. We evaluated the accuracy of the reconstructed myocardium using a number of metrics, including regional and overall accuracy of the myocardium, accuracy of the phase activity curve (PAC) of the LV wall for wall motion, uniformity and spatial resolution of the LV wall, and detectability of perfusion defects using a channelized Hotelling observer (CHO). For lesion detection, we simulated perfusion defects with different sizes and contrast levels with the focus being on perfusion defects that are subtle. As a preliminary demonstration, we also tested on three sets of clinical acquisitions. From the quantitative results, it was demonstrated that TV smoothing could further reduce the error level in the myocardium in 4-D reconstruction along with motion-compensated temporal smoothing. In contrast to quadratic spatial smoothing, TV smoothing could reduce the noise level in the LV at a faster pace than the increase in the bias level, thereby achieving a net decrease in the error level. In particular, at the same noise level, TV smoothing could reduce the bias by about 30% compared to quadratic smoothing. Moreover, the CHO results indicate that TV could also improve the lesion detectability even when the lesion is small. The PAC results show that, at the same noise level, TV smoothing achieved lower temporal bias, which is also consistent with the improved spatial resolution of the LV in reconstruction. The improvement in blurring effects by TV was also observed in the clinical images.

Myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function indices assessed by gated myocardial perfusion SPECT in methamphetamine abusers.

PubMed

Dadpour, Bita; Dabbagh Kakhki, Vahid R; Afshari, Reza; Dorri-Giv, Masoumeh; Mohajeri, Seyed A R; Ghahremani, Somayeh

2016-12-01

Methamphetamine (MA) is associated with alterations of cardiac structure and function, although it is less known. In this study, we assessed possible abnormality in myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function using gated myocardial perfusion SPECT. Fifteen patients with MA abuse, on the basis of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) MA dependency determined by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, underwent 2-day dipyridamole stress/rest Tc-sestamibi gated myocardial perfusion SPECT. An average daily dose of MA use was 0.91±1.1 (0.2-4) g. The duration of MA use was 3.4±2.1 (1-7) years. In visual and semiquantitative analyses, all patients had normal gated myocardial perfusion SPECT, with no perfusion defects. In all gated SPECT images, there was no abnormality in left ventricular wall motion and thickening. All summed stress scores and summed rest scores were below 3. Calculated left ventricular functional indices including the end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, and left ventricular ejection fraction were normal. Many cardiac findings because of MA mentioned in previous reports are less likely because of significant epicardial coronary artery stenosis.

3D perfusion mapping in the intact mouse heart after myocardial infarction using myocardial contrast echocardiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yinbo; Yang, Zequan; French, Brent A.; Hossack, John A.

2005-04-01

An intact mouse model of surgically-induced myocardial infarction (MI) caused by permanent occlusion of the Left Anterior Descending (LAD) coronary artery was studied. Normal mice with no occlusion were also studied as controls. For each mouse, contrast enhanced ultrasound images of the heart were acquired in parallel cross-sections perpendicular to the sternum at millimeter increments. For accurate 3D reconstruction, ECG gating and a tri-axial adjustable micromanipulator were used for temporal and spatial registration. Ultrasound images at steady-state of blood refilling were color-coded in each slice to show relative perfusion. Myocardial perfusion defects and necrosis were also examined postmortem by staining with Phthalo blue and TTC red dyes. Good correlation (R>0.93) in perfused area size was observed between in vivo measurements and histological staining. A 3D multi-slice model and a 3D rendering of perfusion distribution were created and showed a promising match with postmortem results, lending further credence to its use as a more comprehensive and more reliable tool for in vivo assessment of myocardial perfusion than 2D tomographic analysis.

Nuclear cardiology: Myocardial perfusion and function

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seldin, D.W.

1991-08-01

Myocardial perfusion studies continue to be a major focus of research, with new investigations of the relationship of exercise-redistribution thallium imaging to diagnosis, prognosis, and case management. The redistribution phenomenon, which seemed to be fairly well understood a few years ago, is now recognized to be much more complex than originally thought, and various strategies have been proposed to clarify the meaning of persistent defects. Pharmacologic intervention with dipyridamole and adenosine has become available as an alternative to exercise, and comparisons with exercise imaging and catheterization results have been described. Thallium itself is no longer the sole single-photon perfusion radiopharmaceutical;more » two new technetium agents are now widely available. In addition to perfusion studies, advances in the study of ventricular function have been made, including reports of studies performed in conjunction with technetium perfusion studies, new insights into cardiac physiology, and the prognostic and case-management information that function studies provide. Finally, work has continued with monoclonal antibodies for the identification of areas of myocyte necrosis. 41 references.« less

Abnormal myocardial fluid retention as an early manifestation of ischemic injury.

PubMed Central

Willerson, J. T.; Scales, F.; Mukherjee, A.; Platt, M.; Templeton, G. H.; Fink, G. S.; Buja, L. M.

1977-01-01

Fifty-seven isolated, blood perfused, continuously weighed canine hearts have been utilized to study the development of abnormal myocardial fluid retention during early myocardial ischemic injury. Inflatable balloon catheters were positioned around the left anterior descending coronary arteries (LAD) of 54 hearts or the proximal left circumflex coronary arteries of three hearts for study of the following intervals of coronary occlusion: a) 10 minutes followed by 20 minutes of reflow, b) 40 minutes followed by either no reflow or by 20 minutes of reflow, and c) 60 minutes without reflow. After 60 minutes of fixed coronary occlusion, histologic and ultrastructural examination revealed mild swelling of many ischemic cardiac muscle cells in the absence of interstitial edema, cardiac weight gain, and obvious structural defects in cell membrane integrity. After 40 minutes of coronary occlusion and 20 minutes of reflow, significant cardiac weight gain occurred in association with characteristic alterations in the ischemic region, including widespread interstitial edema and focal vascular congestion and hemorrhage and swelling of cardiac muscle cells. Focal structural defects in cell membrane integrity were also noted. The development of abnormal myocardial fluid retention after 40 minutes of LAD occlusion occurred in association with a significant reduction in sodium-potassium-ATPase activity in the ischemic area, but with no significant alteration in either creatine phosphokinase or citrate synthase activity in the same region. Despite the abnormal myocardial fluid retention in these hearts, it was possible pharmacologically to vasodilate coronary vessels with adenosine and nitroglycerin infusion to maintain a consistently high coronary flow following release of the coronary occlusion after 40 minutes and to even exceed initial hyperemic flow values following release of the occlusion when adenosine and nitroglycerin infusion was delayed until 15 minutes after reflow. Thus, the data indicate that impaired cell volume regulation and interstitial fluid accumulation and focal structural defects in cell membrane integrity are early manifestations of ischemic injury followed by reflow, but fail to establish a major role for the abnormal fluid retention in altering coronary blood flow prior to the development of extensive myocardial necrosis. In contrast, fixed coronary occlusion for 60 minutes results in mild intracellular swelling but no significant interstitial edema and no obvious structural defects in cell membrane integrity. Images Figure 1 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 PMID:139829

Impact of CT perfusion imaging on the assessment of peripheral chronic pulmonary thromboembolism: clinical experience in 62 patients.

PubMed

Le Faivre, Julien; Duhamel, Alain; Khung, Suonita; Faivre, Jean-Baptiste; Lamblin, Nicolas; Remy, Jacques; Remy-Jardin, Martine

2016-11-01

To evaluate the impact of CT perfusion imaging on the detection of peripheral chronic pulmonary embolisms (CPE). 62 patients underwent a dual-energy chest CT angiographic examination with (a) reconstruction of diagnostic and perfusion images; (b) enabling depiction of vascular features of peripheral CPE on diagnostic images and perfusion defects (20 segments/patient; total: 1240 segments examined). The interpretation of diagnostic images was of two types: (a) standard (i.e., based on cross-sectional images alone) or (b) detailed (i.e., based on cross-sectional images and MIPs). The segment-based analysis showed (a) 1179 segments analyzable on both imaging modalities and 61 segments rated as nonanalyzable on perfusion images; (b) the percentage of diseased segments was increased by 7.2 % when perfusion imaging was compared to the detailed reading of diagnostic images, and by 26.6 % when compared to the standard reading of images. At a patient level, the extent of peripheral CPE was higher on perfusion imaging, with a greater impact when compared to the standard reading of diagnostic images (number of patients with a greater number of diseased segments: n = 45; 72.6 % of the study population). Perfusion imaging allows recognition of a greater extent of peripheral CPE compared to diagnostic imaging. • Dual-energy computed tomography generates standard diagnostic imaging and lung perfusion analysis. • Depiction of CPE on central arteries relies on standard diagnostic imaging. • Detection of peripheral CPE is improved by perfusion imaging.

Feasibility of high-resolution quantitative perfusion analysis in patients with heart failure.

PubMed

Sammut, Eva; Zarinabad, Niloufar; Wesolowski, Roman; Morton, Geraint; Chen, Zhong; Sohal, Manav; Carr-White, Gerry; Razavi, Reza; Chiribiri, Amedeo

2015-02-12

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is playing an expanding role in the assessment of patients with heart failure (HF). The assessment of myocardial perfusion status in HF can be challenging due to left ventricular (LV) remodelling and wall thinning, coexistent scar and respiratory artefacts. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of quantitative CMR myocardial perfusion analysis in patients with HF. A group of 58 patients with heart failure (HF; left ventricular ejection fraction, LVEF ≤ 50%) and 33 patients with normal LVEF (LVEF >50%), referred for suspected coronary artery disease, were studied. All subjects underwent quantitative first-pass stress perfusion imaging using adenosine according to standard acquisition protocols. The feasibility of quantitative perfusion analysis was then assessed using high-resolution, 3 T kt perfusion and voxel-wise Fermi deconvolution. 30/58 (52%) subjects in the HF group had underlying ischaemic aetiology. Perfusion abnormalities were seen amongst patients with ischaemic HF and patients with normal LV function. No regional perfusion defect was observed in the non-ischaemic HF group. Good agreement was found between visual and quantitative analysis across all groups. Absolute stress perfusion rate, myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) and endocardial-epicardial MPR ratio identified areas with abnormal perfusion in the ischaemic HF group (p = 0.02; p = 0.04; p = 0.02, respectively). In the Normal LV group, MPR and endocardial-epicardial MPR ratio were able to distinguish between normal and abnormal segments (p = 0.04; p = 0.02 respectively). No significant differences of absolute stress perfusion rate or MPR were observed comparing visually normal segments amongst groups. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of high-resolution voxel-wise perfusion assessment in patients with HF.

[Clinical significance of myocardial 123I-BMIPP imaging in patients with myocardial infarction].

PubMed

Narita, M; Kurihara, T; Shindoh, T; Honda, M

1997-03-01

In order to clarify the characteristics of fatty acid metabolism in patients with myocardial infarction (MI), we performed myocardial imaging with 123I-beta-methyl-p-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) and we compared these findings with exercise stress (Ex) and resting myocardial perfusion imaging with 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) and left ventricular wall motion index (WMI) which were obtained by left ventriculography. We studied 55 patients with MI, 14 patients with recent MI (RMI) and 41 patients with old MI (OMI), and myocardial images were divided into 17 segments and myocardial uptake of the radionuclide was graded from 0 (normal) to 3 (maximal abnormality). In 28 patients we compared segmental defect score (SDS) with WMI which were obtained by centerline method at the corresponded segments. As a whole, the mean total defect scores (TDSs) of BMIPP and Ex were similar and they were greater than the mean TDS of resting perfusion. In 30 patient (55%) TDS of BMIPP was greater than that of TDS of resting perfusion. In 24 patients perfusion abnormality developed by Ex and the location of BMIPP abnormality coincided with the abnormality of Ex. But in the other 6 patients Ex did not induce any abnormality and they were all RMI and infarcted coronary artery was patent. However in the group with TDS of BMIPP identical to TDS of resting perfusion (25 patients), 92% did not show myocardial perfusion abnormality after Ex. In the comparison of SDS and WMI, myocardial segments were divided into 3 groups; both SDSs of BMIPP and resting perfusion were normal or borderline abnormality (Group 1, 82 segments), SDS of resting perfusion was normal or borderline and SDS of BMIPP was definitely abnormal (Group 2, 10 segments) and both SDSs of BMIPP and resting perfusion were definitely abnormal (Group 3, 48 segments). In Group 1, WMS (-0.41 +/- 0.77) was significantly (p < 0.001) greater than those of Group 2 (-2.14 +/- 0.50) and Group 3 (-2.32 +/- 0.67). But there was no difference between Group 2 and 3. These findings suggested that in the segments with mismatch between BMIPP and resting perfusion reflects stunned myocardium. These results suggested that in half of the patients with MI, abnormal fatty acid metabolism may appear in viable myocardium such as jeopardized myocardium and myocardium which recently recovered from severe ischemia like acute MI and BMIPP imaging was useful to know the history of myocardial ischemia.

Arterial spin labelling MRI for detecting pseudocapsule defects and predicting renal capsule invasion in renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhang, H; Wu, Y; Xue, W; Zuo, P; Oesingmann, N; Gan, Q; Huang, Z; Wu, M; Hu, F; Kuang, M; Song, B

2017-11-01

To evaluate prospectively the performance of combining morphological and arterial spin labelling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting pseudocapsule defects in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and to predict renal capsule invasion confirmed histopathologically. Twenty consecutive patients with suspicious renal tumours underwent MRI. Renal ASL imaging was performed and renal blood flow was measured quantitatively. The diagnostic performance of T2-weighted images alone, and a combination of T2-weighted and ASL images for predicting renal capsule invasion were assessed. Twenty renal lesions were evaluated in 20 patients. All lesions were clear cell RCCs (ccRCCs) confirmed at post-surgical histopathology. Fifteen ccRCCs showed pseudocapsule defects on T2-weighted images, of which 12 cases showed existing blood flow in defect areas on perfusion images. To predict renal capsule invasion, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 100%, 71.4%, 86.7%, 100%, respectively, for T2-weighted images alone, and 92.3%, 100%, 100%, 87.5%, respectively, for the combination of T2-weighted and ASL images. ASL images can reflect the perfusion of pseudocapsule defects and as such, the combination of T2-weighted and ASL images produces promising diagnostic accuracy for predicting renal capsule invasion. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vascularized osseous flaps and assessing their bipartate perfusion pattern via intraoperative fluorescence angiography.

PubMed

Valerio, Ian; Green, J Marshall; Sacks, Justin M; Thomas, Shane; Sabino, Jennifer; Acarturk, T Oguz

2015-01-01

Large segmental bone and composite tissue defects often require vascularized osseous flaps for definitive reconstruction. However, failed osseous flaps due to inadequate perfusion can lead to significant morbidity. Utilization of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence angiography has been previously shown to reliably assess soft tissue perfusion. Our group will outline the application of this useful intraoperative tool in evaluating the perfusion of vascularized osseous flaps. A retrospective review was performed to identify those osseous and/or osteocutaneous bone flaps, where ICG angiography was employed. Data analyzed included flap types, success and failure rates, and perfusion-related complications. All osseous flaps were evaluated by ICG angiography to confirm periosteal and endosteal perfusion. Overall 16 osseous free flaps utilizing intraoperative ICG angiography to assess vascularized osseous constructs were performed over a 3-year period. The flaps consisted of the following: nine osteocutaneous fibulas, two osseous-only fibulas, two scapular/parascapular with scapula bone, two quadricep-based muscle flaps, containing a vascularized femoral bone component, and one osteocutaneous fibula revision. All flap reconstructions were successful with the only perfusion-related complication being a case of delayed partial skin flap loss. Intraoperative fluorescence angiography is a useful adjunctive tool that can aid in flap design through angiosome mapping and can also assess flap perfusion, vascular pedicle flow, tissue perfusion before flap harvest, and flap perfusion after flap inset. Our group has successfully extended the application of this intraoperative tool to assess vascularized osseous flaps in an effort to reduce adverse outcomes related to preventable perfusion-related complications. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Mandibular Defects with Fixed-removable Partial Denture Prosthesis Using Precision Attachment: A Twin Case Report.

PubMed

Munot, Vimal Kantilal; Nayakar, Ramesh P; Patil, Raghunath

2017-01-01

The restoration of normal function and esthetic appearance with a dental prosthesis is a major challenge in the rehabilitation of patients who have lost their teeth and surrounding bone because of surgery for oral cyst or tumor. Rehabilitation with fixed or removable prosthesis is even more challenging when the edentulous span is long and the ridge is defective. Anatomic deformities and unfavorable biomechanics encountered in the region of resection add to the misery. In such situation, a fixed-removable prosthesis allows favorable biomechanical stress distribution along with restoration of esthetics, phonetics, comfort, hygiene, and better postoperative care and maintenance. This article describes rehabilitation of two cases with mandibular defects with an attachment-retained fixed-removable hybrid prosthesis.

Creation of a Bioengineered Skin Flap Scaffold with a Perfusable Vascular Pedicle.

PubMed

Jank, Bernhard J; Goverman, Jeremy; Guyette, Jacques P; Charest, Jon M; Randolph, Mark; Gaudette, Glenn R; Gershlak, Joshua R; Purschke, Martin; Javorsky, Emilia; Nazarian, Rosalynn M; Leonard, David A; Cetrulo, Curtis L; Austen, William G; Ott, Harald C

2017-07-01

Full-thickness skin loss is a challenging problem due to limited reconstructive options, demanding 75 million surgical procedures annually in the United States. Autologous skin grafting is the gold standard treatment, but results in donor-site morbidity and poor aesthetics. Numerous skin substitutes are available on the market to date, however, none truly functions as full-thickness skin due to lack of a vascular network. The creation of an autologous full-thickness skin analogue with a vascular pedicle would result in a paradigm shift in the management of wounds and in reconstruction of full-thickness skin defects. To create a clinically relevant foundation, we generated an acellular skin flap scaffold (SFS) with a perfusable vascular pedicle of clinically relevant size by perfusion decellularization of porcine fasciocutaneous flaps. We then analyzed the yielded SFS for mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and regenerative potential in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we assessed the immunological response using an in vivo model. Finally, we recellularized the vascular compartment of an SFS and reconnected it to a recipient's blood supply to test for perfusability. Perfusion decellularization removed all cellular components with preservation of native extracellular matrix composition and architecture. Biaxial testing revealed preserved mechanical properties. Immunologic response and biocompatibility assessed via implantation and compared with native xenogenic skin and commercially available dermal substitutes revealed rapid neovascularization and complete tissue integration. Composition of infiltrating immune cells showed no evidence of allorejection and resembled the inflammatory phase of wound healing. Implantation into full-thickness skin defects demonstrated good tissue integration and skin regeneration without cicatrization. We have developed a protocol for the generation of an SFS of clinically relevant size, containing a vascular pedicle, which can be utilized for perfusion decellularization and, ultimately, anastomosis to the recipient vascular system after precellularization. The observed favorable immunological response and good tissue integration indicate the substantial regenerative potential of this platform.

Utility of Deep Inspiration Breath Hold for Left-Sided Breast Radiation Therapy in Preventing Early Cardiac Perfusion Defects: A Prospective Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zagar, Timothy M., E-mail: zagar@med.unc.edu; Kaidar-Person, Orit; Tang, Xiaoli

Purpose: To evaluate early cardiac single photon computed tomography (SPECT) findings after left breast/chest wall postoperative radiation therapy (RT) in the setting of deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH). Methods and Materials: We performed a prospective single-institution single-arm study of patients who were planned for tangential RT with DIBH to the left breast/chest wall (± internal mammary nodes). The DIBH was done by use of a controlled surface monitoring technique (AlignRT, Vision RT Ltd, London, UK). The RT was given with tangential fields and a heart block. Radiation-induced cardiac perfusion and wall motion changes were assessed by pre-RT and 6-month post-RTmore » SPECT scans. A cumulative SPECT summed-rest score was used to quantify perfusion in predefined left ventricle segments. The incidence of wall motion abnormalities was assessed in each of these same segments. Results: A total of 20 patients with normal pre-RT scans were studied; their median age was 56 years (range, 39-72 years). Seven (35%) patients also received irradiation to the left internal mammary chain, and 5 (25%) received an additional RT field to supraclavicular nodes. The median heart dose was 94 cGy (range, 56-200 cGy), and the median V25{sub Gy} was zero (range, 0-0.1). None of the patients had post-RT perfusion or wall motion abnormalities. Conclusions: Our results suggest that DIBH and conformal cardiac blocking for patients receiving tangential RT for left-sided breast cancer is an effective means to avoid early RT-associated cardiac perfusion defects.« less

Comparison of parathyroid hormone and G-CSF treatment after myocardial infarction on perfusion and stem cell homing.

PubMed

Huber, Bruno C; Fischer, Rebekka; Brunner, Stefan; Groebner, Michael; Rischpler, Christoph; Segeth, Alexander; Zaruba, Marc M; Wollenweber, Tim; Hacker, Marcus; Franz, Wolfgang-Michael

2010-05-01

Mobilization of stem cells by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was shown to have protective effects after myocardial infarction (MI); however, clinical trials failed to be effective. In search for alternative cytokines, parathyroid hormone (PTH) was recently shown to promote cardiac repair by enhanced neovascularization and cell survival. To compare the impact of the two cytokines G-CSF and PTH on myocardial perfusion, mice were noninvasively and repetitively investigated by pinhole single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) after MI. Mobilization and homing of bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMCs) was analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. Mice (C57BL/6J) were infarcted by left anterior descending artery ligation. PTH (80 mug/kg) and G-CSF (100 mug/kg) were injected for 5 days. Perfusion defects were determined by (99m)Tc-sestamibi SPECT at days 6 and 30 after MI. The number of BMCs characterized by Lin(-)/Sca-1(+)/c-kit(+) cells in peripheral blood and heart was analyzed by FACS. Both G-CSF and PTH treatment resulted in an augmented mobilization of BMCs in the peripheral blood. Contrary to G-CSF and controls, PTH and the combination showed significant migration of BMCs in ischemic myocardium associated with a significant reduction of perfusion defects from day 6 to day 30. A combination of both cytokines had no additional effects on migration and perfusion. In our preclinical model, SPECT analyses revealed the functional potential of PTH reducing size of infarction together with an enhanced homing of BMCs to the myocardium in contrast to G-CSF. A combination of both cytokines did not improve the functional outcome, suggesting clinical applications of PTH in ischemic heart diseases.

Cardiac PET perfusion tracers: current status and future directions.

PubMed

Maddahi, Jamshid; Packard, René R S

2014-09-01

PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is increasingly being used for noninvasive detection and evaluation of coronary artery disease. However, the widespread use of PET MPI has been limited by the shortcomings of the current PET perfusion tracers. The availability of these tracers is limited by the need for an onsite ((15)O water and (13)N ammonia) or nearby ((13)N ammonia) cyclotron or commitment to costly generators ((82)Rb). Owing to the short half-lives, such as 76 seconds for (82)Rb, 2.06 minutes for (15)O water, and 9.96 minutes for (13)N ammonia, their use in conjunction with treadmill exercise stress testing is either not possible ((82)Rb and (15)O water) or not practical ((13)N ammonia). Furthermore, the long positron range of (82)Rb makes image resolution suboptimal and its low myocardial extraction limits its defect resolution. In recent years, development of an (18)F-labeled PET perfusion tracer has gathered considerable interest. The longer half-life of (18)F (109 minutes) would make the tracer available as a unit dose from regional cyclotrons and allow use in conjunction with treadmill exercise testing. Furthermore, the short positron range of (18)F would result in better image resolution. Flurpiridaz F 18 is by far the most thoroughly studied in animal models and is the only (18)F-based PET MPI radiotracer currently undergoing clinical evaluation. Preclinical and clinical experience with Flurpiridaz F 18 demonstrated a high myocardial extraction fraction, high image and defect resolution, high myocardial uptake, slow myocardial clearance, and high myocardial-to-background contrast that was stable over time-important properties of an ideal PET MPI radiotracer. Preclinical data from other (18)F-labeled myocardial perfusion tracers are encouraging. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Acute stent thrombosis and reverse transient left ventricular dilatation after performing a single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion].

PubMed

Miranda, B; Pizzi, M N; Aguadé-Bruix, S; Domingo, E; Candell-Riera, J

2015-01-01

A 63-year-old male patient with a history of stent implantation in the left anterior descending three months before. Due to the presentation of vegetative symptoms, he was referred for gated-SPECT myocardial perfusion. During acquisition of the resting images he presented chest pain and ST segment elevation, so that urgent cardiac catheterization was performed, showing stent thrombosis. Rest perfusion imaging showed a defect in anterior and apical perfusion, more severe and extensive than in the stress images, with striking left ventricular dilatation and a fall in the ejection fraction related to the acute ischemia phenomenon. Intense exercise is associated with a transient activation of the coagulation system and hemodynamic changes that might induce thrombosis, especially in recently implanted coronary stents that probably still have not become completely endothelialized. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

The rationale for microcirculatory guided fluid therapy.

PubMed

Ince, Can

2014-06-01

The ultimate purpose of fluid administration in states of hypovolemia is to correct cardiac output to improve microcirculatory perfusion and tissue oxygenation. Observation of the microcirculation using handheld microscopes gives insight into the nature of convective and diffusive defect in hypovolemia. The purpose of this article is to introduce a new platform for hemodynamic-targeted fluid therapy based on the correction of tissue and microcirculatory perfusion assumed to be at risk during hypovolemia. Targeting systemic hemodynamic targets and/or clinical surrogates of hypovolemia gives inadequate guarantee for the correction of tissue perfusion by fluid therapy especially in conditions of distributive shock as occur in inflammation and sepsis. Findings are presented, which support the idea that only clinical signs of hypovolemia associated with low microcirculatory flow can be expected to benefit from fluid therapy and that fluid overload causes a defect in the diffusion of oxygen transport. We hypothesized that the optimal amount of fluid needed for correction of hypovolemia is defined by a physiologically based functional microcirculatory hemodynamic platform where convection and diffusion need to be optimized. Future clinical trials using handheld microscopes able to automatically evaluate the microcirculation at the bedside will show whether such a platform will indeed optimize fluid therapy.

Adenosine triphosphate stress myocardial perfusion imaging for risk stratification of patients aged 70 years and older with suspected coronary artery disease.

PubMed

Yao, Zhiming; Zhu, Hui; Li, Wenchan; Chen, Congxia; Wang, Hua; Shi, Lei; Zhang, Wenjie

2017-04-01

We investigated the cardiac risk stratification value of adenosine triphosphate stress myocardial perfusion imaging (ATP-MPI) in patients aged 70 years and older with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). We identified a series of 415 consecutive patients aged 70 years and older with suspected CAD, who had undergone ATP-MPI with 99m Tc-MIBI. The presence of a fixed and/or reversible perfusion defect was considered as an abnormal MPI. Follow-up was available in 399 patients (96.1%) over 3.45 ± 1.71 years after excluding 16 patients who underwent early coronary revascularization <60 days after MPI. The major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including cardiac death, nonfatal infarction, and late coronary revascularization, were recorded. One hundred twenty-five (31.3%) patients had abnormal MPI and the remaining had normal MPI. A multivariable analysis using Cox regression demonstrated that abnormal MPI was independently associated with MACE (hazard ratio 19.50 and 95% confidence interval 5.91-64.31, P value .000). The patients with SSS > 8 had significantly higher cumulative MACE rate than patients with SSS ≤ 8 had (37.8% vs 5.2%, respectively, P < .001). The Kaplan-Meier cumulative MACE-free survival in patients with abnormal MPI (57.0%) was significantly lower than that in patients with normal MPI (89.6%), P < .0001. Among patients with SSS > 8, the Kaplan-Meier cumulative MACE-free survival were 36.9% in patients ≥80 years old and 49.5% in patients 70-79 years old, respectively, P < .05. However, among patients with SSS ≤ 8, there was no difference between the Kaplan-Meier cumulative MACE-free survivals of these two age groups. ATP-MPI data are useful for the prediction of major adverse cardiac events in patients aged 70 years and older with suspected CAD.

Usefulness of myocardial parametric imaging to evaluate myocardial viability in experimental and in clinical studies

PubMed Central

Korosoglou, G; Hansen, A; Bekeredjian, R; Filusch, A; Hardt, S; Wolf, D; Schellberg, D; Katus, H A; Kuecherer, H

2006-01-01

Objective To evaluate whether myocardial parametric imaging (MPI) is superior to visual assessment for the evaluation of myocardial viability. Methods and results Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) was assessed in 11 pigs before, during, and after left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and in 32 patients with ischaemic heart disease by using intravenous SonoVue administration. In experimental studies perfusion defect area assessment by MPI was compared with visually guided perfusion defect planimetry. Histological assessment of necrotic tissue was the standard reference. In clinical studies viability was assessed on a segmental level by (1) visual analysis of myocardial opacification; (2) quantitative estimation of myocardial blood flow in regions of interest; and (3) MPI. Functional recovery between three and six months after revascularisation was the standard reference. In experimental studies, compared with visually guided perfusion defect planimetry, planimetric assessment of infarct size by MPI correlated more significantly with histology (r2  =  0.92 versus r2  =  0.56) and had a lower intraobserver variability (4% v 15%, p < 0.05). In clinical studies, MPI had higher specificity (66% v 43%, p < 0.05) than visual MCE and good accuracy (81%) for viability detection. It was less time consuming (3.4 (1.6) v 9.2 (2.4) minutes per image, p < 0.05) than quantitative blood flow estimation by regions of interest and increased the agreement between observers interpreting myocardial perfusion (κ  =  0.87 v κ  =  0.75, p < 0.05). Conclusion MPI is useful for the evaluation of myocardial viability both in animals and in patients. It is less time consuming than quantification analysis by regions of interest and less observer dependent than visual analysis. Thus, strategies incorporating this technique may be valuable for the evaluation of myocardial viability in clinical routine. PMID:15939722

A provisional fixed partial denture that simulates gingival tissue at the pontic-site defect.

PubMed

Haj-Ali, Reem; Walker, Mary P

2002-03-01

A technique is presented for the fabrication of an esthetic, provisional fixed partial denture that compensates for a pontic-site ridge defect. This provisional restoration enables both the dentist and the patient to evaluate whether this prosthetic approach will adequately camouflage the pontic-site defect or whether surgical correction of the pontic site should also be considered. Copyright 2002 by The American College of Prosthodontists.

Factors That Impact Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic Parameters in Myocardial Perfusion Gated SPECT with 16 Frame and 8 Frame Acquisition Models.

PubMed

Ansari, Mojtaba; Hashemi, Hoda; Soltanshahi, Mehdi; Qutbi, Mohsen; Azizmohammadi, Zahra; Tabeie, Faraj; Javadi, Hamid; Jafari, Esmail; Barekat, Maryam; Assadi, Majid

2018-06-07

Evaluating the effects of heart cavity volume, presence and absence of perfusion defect, gender and type of study (stress and rest) on the difference of systolic parameters of myocardial perfusion scan in 16 and 8 framing gated SPECT imaging. Cardiac gated SPECT in both 16 and 8 framing simultaneously and both stress and rest phases at one-day protocol was performed for 50 patients. Data have been reconstructed by filter back projection (FBP) method and left ventricular (LV) systolic parameters were calculated by using QGS software. The effect of some factors such as LV cavity volume, presence and absence of perfusion defect, gender and type of study on data difference between 8 and 16 frames were evaluated. The differences in ejection fraction (EF), end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV) in both stress and rest were statistically significant. Difference in both framing was more in stress for EF and ESV, and was more in rest for EDV. Study type had a significant effect on differences in systolic parameters while gender had a significant effect on differences in EF and ESV in rest between both framings. In conclusion, results of this study revealed that difference of both 16 and 8 frames data in systolic phase were statistically significant and it seems that because of better efficiency of 16 frames, it cannot be replaced by 8 frames. Further well-designed studies are required to verify these findings.

Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Mandibular Defects with Fixed-removable Partial Denture Prosthesis Using Precision Attachment: A Twin Case Report

PubMed Central

Munot, Vimal Kantilal; Nayakar, Ramesh P.; Patil, Raghunath

2017-01-01

The restoration of normal function and esthetic appearance with a dental prosthesis is a major challenge in the rehabilitation of patients who have lost their teeth and surrounding bone because of surgery for oral cyst or tumor. Rehabilitation with fixed or removable prosthesis is even more challenging when the edentulous span is long and the ridge is defective. Anatomic deformities and unfavorable biomechanics encountered in the region of resection add to the misery. In such situation, a fixed-removable prosthesis allows favorable biomechanical stress distribution along with restoration of esthetics, phonetics, comfort, hygiene, and better postoperative care and maintenance. This article describes rehabilitation of two cases with mandibular defects with an attachment-retained fixed-removable hybrid prosthesis. PMID:29042738

Imaging the Human Aqueous Humor Outflow Pathway in Human Eyes by Three Dimensional Micro-Computed Tomography (3D micro-CT)

PubMed Central

Hann, Cheryl R.; Bentley, Michael D.; Vercnocke, Andrew; Ritman, Erik L.; Fautsch, Michael P.

2011-01-01

The site of outflow resistance leading to elevated intraocular pressure in primary open angle glaucoma is believed to be located in the region of Schlemm’s canal inner wall endothelium, its basement membrane and the adjacent juxtacanalicular tissue. Evidence also suggests collector channels and intrascleral vessels may have a role in intraocular pressure in both normal and glaucoma eyes. Traditional imaging modalities limit the ability to view both proximal and distal portions of the trabecular outflow pathway as a single unit. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3D micro-CT) as a potential method to view the trabecular outflow pathway. Two normal human eyes were used: one immersion fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and one with anterior chamber perfusion at 10 mmHg followed by perfusion fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde/2% glutaraldehyde. Both eyes were postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide, and scanned with 3D micro-CT at 2 µm or 5 µm voxel resolution. In the immersion fixed eye, 24 collector channels were identified with an average orifice size of 27.5 ± 5 µm. In comparison, the perfusion fixed eye had 29 collector channels with a mean orifice size of 40.5 ± 13 µm. Collector channels were not evenly dispersed around the circumference of the eye. There was no significant difference in the length of Schlemm’s canal in the immersed versus the perfused eye (33.2 versus 35.1 mm). Structures, locations and size measurements identified by 3D micro-CT were confirmed by correlative light microscopy. These findings confirm 3D micro-CT can be used effectively for the non-invasive examination of the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm’s canal, collector channels and intrascleral vasculature that comprise the distal outflow pathway. This imaging modality will be useful for noninvasive study of the role of the trabecular outflow pathway as a whole unit. PMID:21187085

Imaging the Aqueous Humor Outflow Pathway in Human Eyes by Three-dimensional Micro-computed Tomography (3D micro-CT)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

C Hann; M Bentley; A Vercnocke

2011-12-31

The site of outflow resistance leading to elevated intraocular pressure in primary open-angle glaucoma is believed to be located in the region of Schlemm's canal inner wall endothelium, its basement membrane and the adjacent juxtacanalicular tissue. Evidence also suggests collector channels and intrascleral vessels may have a role in intraocular pressure in both normal and glaucoma eyes. Traditional imaging modalities limit the ability to view both proximal and distal portions of the trabecular outflow pathway as a single unit. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3D micro-CT) as a potential method to view the trabecularmore » outflow pathway. Two normal human eyes were used: one immersion fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and one with anterior chamber perfusion at 10 mmHg followed by perfusion fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde/2% glutaraldehyde. Both eyes were postfixed in 1% osmium tetroxide and scanned with 3D micro-CT at 2 {mu}m or 5 {mu}m voxel resolution. In the immersion fixed eye, 24 collector channels were identified with an average orifice size of 27.5 {+-} 5 {mu}m. In comparison, the perfusion fixed eye had 29 collector channels with a mean orifice size of 40.5 {+-} 13 {mu}m. Collector channels were not evenly dispersed around the circumference of the eye. There was no significant difference in the length of Schlemm's canal in the immersed versus the perfused eye (33.2 versus 35.1 mm). Structures, locations and size measurements identified by 3D micro-CT were confirmed by correlative light microscopy. These findings confirm 3D micro-CT can be used effectively for the non-invasive examination of the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm's canal, collector channels and intrascleral vasculature that comprise the distal outflow pathway. This imaging modality will be useful for non-invasive study of the role of the trabecular outflow pathway as a whole unit.« less

Perfusion-related stimuli for compensatory lung growth following pneumonectomy

PubMed Central

Dane, D. Merrill; Yilmaz, Cuneyt; Gyawali, Dipendra; Iyer, Roshni; Ravikumar, Priya; Estrera, Aaron S.

2016-01-01

Following pneumonectomy (PNX), two separate mechanical forces act on the remaining lung: parenchymal stress caused by lung expansion, and microvascular distension and shear caused by increased perfusion. We previously showed that parenchymal stress and strain explain approximately one-half of overall compensation; the remainder was presumptively attributed to perfusion-related factors. In this study, we directly tested the hypothesis that perturbation of regional pulmonary perfusion modulates post-PNX lung growth. Adult canines underwent banding of the pulmonary artery (PAB) to the left caudal (LCa) lobe, which caused a reduction in basal perfusion to LCa lobe without preventing the subsequent increase in its perfusion following right PNX while simultaneously exaggerating the post-PNX increase in perfusion to the unbanded lobes, thereby creating differential perfusion changes between banded and unbanded lobes. Control animals underwent sham pulmonary artery banding followed by right PNX. Pulmonary function, regional pulmonary perfusion, and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest were analyzed pre-PNX and 3-mo post-PNX. Terminally, the remaining lobes were fixed for detailed morphometric analysis. Results were compared with corresponding lobes in two control (Sham banding and normal unoperated) groups. PAB impaired the indices of post-PNX extravascular alveolar tissue growth by up to 50% in all remaining lobes. PAB enhanced the expected post-PNX increase in alveolar capillary formation, measured by the prevalence of double-capillary profiles, in both unbanded and banded lobes. We conclude that perfusion distribution provides major stimuli for post-PNX compensatory lung growth independent of the stimuli provided by lung expansion and parenchymal stress and strain. PMID:27150830

Usefulness of automatic QT dispersion measurement for detecting exercise-induced myocardial ischemia.

PubMed

Takase, Bonpei; Masaki, Nobuyuki; Hattori, Hidemi; Ishihara, Masayuki; Kurita, Akira

2009-06-01

The electrocardiographic index of QT dispersion (QTd) is related to the occurrence of arrhythmia. In patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease, QTd may be affected by exercise. We investigated whether QTd that is automatically calculated by a newly developed computer system could be used as a marker of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia. The design of this study was prospective and observational. Eighty-three consecutive patients were enrolled in this study. Their QTd was measured at rest and after 3 min of exercise during exercise-stress Thallium-201 scintigraphy and compared with conventional ST-segment changes. The patients were classified into 4 groups (normal group, redistribution group, fixed defect group, redistribution with fixed defect group) based on the result of single photon emission computed tomography. As statistical analysis, one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Scheffe's method, receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. At rest, QTd was significantly greater (p<0.05) in the fixed defect group (52+/-21 ms) and the redistribution with fixed defect group (53+/-20 ms) than in the normal group (32+/-14 ms) and the redistribution group (31+/-16 ms). However, QTd tended to increase after exercise in the redistribution group, while QTd tended to decrease in the normal group, the fixed defect group, and the redistribution with fixed defect group (QTd after exercise, normal group, 28+/-17 ms, redistribution group, 35+/-19 ms, fixed defect group, 43+/-25 ms, redistribution with fixed defect group, 49+/-27 ms). Exercise significantly increased QTcd (RR interval-corrected QT dispersion) in the redistribution group. The best cut-off values of QTd and QTcd obtained from ROC curves for exercise-induced myocardial ischemia were 41.6 ms and 40.4 ms, respectively (Qtd--AUC 0.68, 95%CI 0.53- 0.83 and QTcd--AUC 0.67, 95%CI 0.55-0.80). Using these values as cut-off ones, QTd, QTcd, and conventional ST-segment change had comparable sensitivities and specificities for detecting exercise-induced myocardial ischemia (sensitivity - 60%, 58% and 49%, respectively;specificity - 78%, 80% and 83%, respectively). In addition, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that QTd (OR=2.01, 95%CI 1.15-4.10, p<0.05), QTcd (OR=2.12, 95% CI 1.02-4.30, p<0.05) and ST-segment change (OR=1.89, 95%CI 1.03-3.40, p<0.05), were the significantly associated with exercise-induced myocardial ischemia. QT dispersion and/or QTcd after exercise could be a useful marker for exercise-induced myocardial ischemia in routine clinical practice.

Diagnostic Performance of Artificial Neural Network for Detecting Ischemia in Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.

PubMed

Nakajima, Kenichi; Matsuo, Shinro; Wakabayashi, Hiroshi; Yokoyama, Kunihiko; Bunko, Hisashi; Okuda, Koichi; Kinuya, Seigo; Nyström, Karin; Edenbrandt, Lars

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to apply an artificial neural network (ANN) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and to characterize its diagnostic ability compared with conventional visual and quantitative methods in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). A total of 106 patients with CAD were studied with MPI, including multiple vessel disease (49%), history of myocardial infarction (27%) and coronary intervention (30%). The ANN detected abnormal areas with a probability of stress defect and ischemia. The consensus diagnosis based on expert interpretation and coronary stenosis was used as the gold standard. The left ventricular ANN value was higher in the stress-defect group than in the no-defect group (0.92±0.11 vs. 0.25±0.32, P<0.0001) and higher in the ischemia group than in the no-ischemia group (0.70±0.40 vs. 0.004±0.032, P<0.0001). Receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis showed comparable diagnostic accuracy between ANN and the scoring methods (0.971 vs. 0.980 for stress defect, and 0.882 vs. 0.937 for ischemia, both P=NS). The relationship between the ANN and defect scores was non-linear, with the ANN rapidly increased in ranges of summed stress score of 2-7 and summed defect score of 2-4. Although the diagnostic ability of ANN was similar to that of conventional scoring methods, the ANN could provide a different viewpoint for judging abnormality, and thus is a promising method for evaluating abnormality in MPI.

Near-infrared imaging of face transplants: are both pedicles necessary?

PubMed

Nguyen, John T; Ashitate, Yoshitomo; Venugopal, Vivek; Neacsu, Florin; Kettenring, Frank; Frangioni, John V; Gioux, Sylvain; Lee, Bernard T

2013-09-01

Facial transplantation is a complex procedure that corrects severe facial defects due to traumas, burns, and congenital disorders. Although face transplantation has been successfully performed clinically, potential risks include tissue ischemia and necrosis. The vascular supply is typically based on the bilateral neck vessels. As it remains unclear whether perfusion can be based off a single pedicle, this study was designed to assess perfusion patterns of facial transplant allografts using near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging. Upper facial composite tissue allotransplants were created using both carotid artery and external jugular vein pedicles in Yorkshire pigs. A flap validation model was created in n = 2 pigs and a clamp occlusion model was performed in n = 3 pigs. In the clamp occlusion models, sequential clamping of the vessels was performed to assess perfusion. Animals were injected with indocyanine green and imaged with NIR fluorescence. Quantitative metrics were assessed based on fluorescence intensity. With NIR imaging, arterial perforators emitted fluorescence indicating perfusion along the surface of the skin. Isolated clamping of one vascular pedicle showed successful perfusion across the midline based on NIR fluorescence imaging. This perfusion extended into the facial allograft within 60 s and perfused the entire contralateral side within 5 min. Determination of vascular perfusion is important in microsurgical constructs as complications can lead to flap loss. It is still unclear if facial transplants require both pedicles. This initial pilot study using intraoperative NIR fluorescence imaging suggests that facial flap models can be adequately perfused from a single pedicle. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dynamic CT myocardial perfusion imaging: performance of 3D semi-automated evaluation software.

PubMed

Ebersberger, Ullrich; Marcus, Roy P; Schoepf, U Joseph; Lo, Gladys G; Wang, Yining; Blanke, Philipp; Geyer, Lucas L; Gray, J Cranston; McQuiston, Andrew D; Cho, Young Jun; Scheuering, Michael; Canstein, Christian; Nikolaou, Konstantin; Hoffmann, Ellen; Bamberg, Fabian

2014-01-01

To evaluate the performance of three-dimensional semi-automated evaluation software for the assessment of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and blood volume (MBV) at dynamic myocardial perfusion computed tomography (CT). Volume-based software relying on marginal space learning and probabilistic boosting tree-based contour fitting was applied to CT myocardial perfusion imaging data of 37 subjects. In addition, all image data were analysed manually and both approaches were compared with SPECT findings. Study endpoints included time of analysis and conventional measures of diagnostic accuracy. Of 592 analysable segments, 42 showed perfusion defects on SPECT. Average analysis times for the manual and software-based approaches were 49.1 ± 11.2 and 16.5 ± 3.7 min respectively (P < 0.01). There was strong agreement between the two measures of interest (MBF, ICC = 0.91, and MBV, ICC = 0.88, both P < 0.01) and no significant difference in MBF/MBV with respect to diagnostic accuracy between the two approaches for both MBF and MBV for manual versus software-based approach; respectively; all comparisons P > 0.05. Three-dimensional semi-automated evaluation of dynamic myocardial perfusion CT data provides similar measures and diagnostic accuracy to manual evaluation, albeit with substantially reduced analysis times. This capability may aid the integration of this test into clinical workflows. • Myocardial perfusion CT is attractive for comprehensive coronary heart disease assessment. • Traditional image analysis methods are cumbersome and time-consuming. • Automated 3D perfusion software shortens analysis times. • Automated 3D perfusion software increases standardisation of myocardial perfusion CT. • Automated, standardised analysis fosters myocardial perfusion CT integration into clinical practice.

Infarct characterization using CT

PubMed Central

Toia, Patrizia; Maffei, Erica; Cademartiri, Filippo; Lagalla, Roberto; Midiri, Massimo

2017-01-01

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. The incidence is not expected to diminish, despite better prevention, diagnosis and treatment, because of the ageing population in industrialized countries and unhealthy lifestyles in developing countries. Nowadays it is highly requested an imaging tool able to evaluate MI and viability. Technology improvements determined an expansion of clinical indications from coronary plaque evaluation to functional applications (perfusion, ischemia and viability after MI) integrating additional phases and information in the mainstream examination. Cardiac computed tomography (CCT) and cardiac MR (CMR) employ different contrast media, but may characterize MI with overlapping imaging findings due to the similar kinetics and tissue distribution of gadolinium and iodinated contrast media. CCT may detect first-pass perfusion defects, dynamic perfusion after pharmacological stress, and delayed enhancement (DE) of non-viable territories. PMID:28540212

[APPLICATION VALUE OF INDOCYANINE GREEN ANGIOGRAPHY IN FLAP RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY].

PubMed

Yang, Kai; Mu, Lan; Liu, Yan; Peng, Zhe; Li, Guangxue

2015-09-01

To investigate the utility of indocyanine green angiography in flap reconstructive surgery and possibility of decrease the complications. Indocyanine green angiography was performed on 14 patients undergoing flap reconstructive surgery between February and December 2014 to evaluate the blood perfusion of the flap and to adjust the operation plan. Of 14 cases, 2 were male and 12 were female, aged 23-58 years (mean, 35.5 years); 11 flaps were used for breast reconstruction [including 3 free deep inferior epigastric antery perforator (DIEP) flaps, 4 pedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flaps (TRAM), 2 pedicled TRAM and free TRAM, and 2 pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flaps and prosthesis], 1 pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap for repairing chest wall defect, 1 pedicled profunda artery perforator (PAP) flap for upper leg defect, and 1 pedicled descending genicular artery perforator flap for knee defect. The size of the flaps ranged from 9 cm x 6 cm to 26 cm x 12 cm. A total of 32 indocyanine green angiography were performed. There was no adverse reactions to the infusion of indocyanine green. The surgery management was adjusted according to results of indocyanine green angiography findings in 5 of 14 cases. The distal part of flap were discarded because of poor perfusion in 3 cases (1 DIEP flap, 1 TRAM, and 1 PAP flap) and the other 2 cases (pedicled TRAM) needed additional free anastomosis to ensure sufficient blood supply (pedicled TRAM and free TRAM); the other flaps were harvested according to preoperative plan and repaired defect successfully. The mean follow-up was 5 months (range, 1-9 months). The other flaps survived without infection or fat necrosis except 1 PAP flap with distal necrosis. Intraoperative indocyanine green angiography can provide real-time information of flap perfusion and then the operation plan can be adjusted in time to ensure the flap survival.

High frequency QRS ECG predicts ischemic defects during myocardial perfusion imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Changes in high frequency QRS components of the electrocardiogram (HF QRS ECG) (150-250 Hz) are more sensitive than changes in conventional ST segments for detecting myocardial ischemia. We investigated the accuracy of 12-lead HF QRS ECG in detecting ischemia during adenosine tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). 12-lead HF QRS ECG recordings were obtained from 45 patients before and during adenosine technetium-99 tetrofosmin MPI tests. Before the adenosine infusions, recordings of HF QRS were analyzed according to a morphological score that incorporated the number, type and location of reduced amplitude zones (RAZs) present in the 12 leads. During the adenosine infusions, recordings of HF QRS were analyzed according to the maximum percentage changes (in both the positive and negative directions) that occurred in root mean square (RMS) voltage amplitudes within the 12 leads. The best set of prospective HF QRS criteria had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 83% for correctly identifying the MPI result. The sensitivity of simultaneous ST segment changes (18%) was significantly lower than that of any individual HF QRS criterion (P less than 0.00l). Analysis of 12-lead HF QRS ECG is highly sensitive and specific for detecting ischemic perfusion defects during adenosine MPI stress tests and significantly more sensitive than analysis of conventional ST segments.

High frequency QRS ECG predicts ischemic defects during myocardial perfusion imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rahman, Atiar

2006-01-01

Background: Changes in high frequency QRS components of the electrocardiogram (HF QRS ECG) (150-250 Hz) are more sensitive than changes in conventional ST segments for detecting myocardial ischemia. We investigated the accuracy of 12-lead HF QRS ECG in detecting ischemia during adenosine tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Methods and Results: 12-lead HF QRS ECG recordings were obtained from 45 patients before and during adenosine technetium-99 tetrofosmin MPI tests. Before the adenosine infusions, recordings of HF QRS were analyzed according to a morphological score that incorporated the number, type and location of reduced amplitude zones (RAZs) present in the 12 leads. During the adenosine infusions, recordings of HF QRS were analyzed according to the maximum percentage changes (in both the positive and negative directions) that occurred in root mean square (RMS) voltage amplitudes within the 12 leads. The best set of prospective HF QRS criteria had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 83% for correctly identifying the MPI result. The sensitivity of simultaneous ST segment changes (18%) was significantly lower than that of any individual HF QRS criterion (P<0.001). Conclusions: Analysis of 12-lead HF QRS ECG is highly sensitive and specific for detecting ischemic perfusion defects during adenosine MPI stress tests and significantly more sensitive than analysis of conventional ST segments.

Myocardial scintigraphy with 201thallium in pediatric cardiology: A review of 52 cases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bjoerkhem, G.E.; Evander, E.; White, T.

1990-01-01

We report our experience of myocardial scintigraphy with 201thallium (201Tl) in 52 children, aged 4 days to 18 years, in which 80 studies were made primarily to demonstrate or exclude impaired myocardial perfusion. For analysis, the patients were divided into the following eight groups: group I, coronary artery malformations (five patients); group II, Kawasaki's syndrome (six patients); group III, arterial switch operation (seven patients); group IV, dilated cardiomyopathy (18 patients); group V, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (four patients); group VI, myocardial dysfunction after surgery for congenital heart disease (five patients); group VII, pulmonary atresia (three patients); and group VIII, miscellaneous (four patients).more » Myocardial scintigraphy was performed with a planar or tomographic technique at rest or after exercise (four patients). Isotope-uptake defects, indicating impaired myocardial perfusion, were present in 14 patients, including small infants. Defects were seen in all groups except those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and pulmonary atresia. The absence of such defects in several of the patients with Kawasaki's syndrome was particularly valuable as it made coronary angiography unnecessary. In the other groups of patients myocardial scintigraphy was a valuable adjunct to other investigations.« less

Decreased Lung Perfusion After Breast/Chest Wall Irradiation: Quantitative Results From a Prospective Clinical Trial

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liss, Adam L., E-mail: adamliss68@gmail.com; Marsh, Robin B.; Kapadia, Nirav S.

Purpose: To quantify lung perfusion changes after breast/chest wall radiation therapy (RT) using pre- and post-RT single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) attenuation-corrected perfusion scans; and correlate decreased perfusion with adjuvant RT dose for breast cancer in a prospective clinical trial. Methods and Materials: As part of an institutional review board–approved trial studying the impact of RT technique on lung function in node-positive breast cancer, patients received breast/chest wall and regional nodal irradiation including superior internal mammary node RT to 50 to 52.2 Gy with a boost to the tumor bed/mastectomy scar. All patients underwent quantitative SPECT/CT lung perfusion scanningmore » before RT and 1 year after RT. The SPECT/CT scans were co-registered, and the ratio of decreased perfusion after RT relative to the pre-RT perfusion scan was calculated to allow for direct comparison of SPECT/CT perfusion changes with delivered RT dose. The average ratio of decreased perfusion was calculated in 10-Gy dose increments from 0 to 60 Gy. Results: Fifty patients had complete lung SPECT/CT perfusion data available. No patient developed symptoms consistent with pulmonary toxicity. Nearly all patients demonstrated decreased perfusion in the left lung according to voxel-based analyses. The average ratio of lung perfusion deficits increased for each 10-Gy increment in radiation dose to the lung, with the largest changes in regions of lung that received 50 to 60 Gy (ratio 0.72 [95% confidence interval 0.64-0.79], P<.001) compared with the 0- to 10-Gy region. For each increase in 10 Gy to the left lung, the lung perfusion ratio decreased by 0.06 (P<.001). Conclusions: In the assessment of 50 patients with node-positive breast cancer treated with RT in a prospective clinical trial, decreased lung perfusion by SPECT/CT was demonstrated. Our study allowed for quantification of lung perfusion defects in a prospective cohort of breast cancer patients for whom attenuation-corrected SPECT/CT scans could be registered directly to RT treatment fields for precise dose estimates.« less

Hyperventilation, cerebral perfusion, and syncope.

PubMed

Immink, R V; Pott, F C; Secher, N H; van Lieshout, J J

2014-04-01

This review summarizes evidence in humans for an association between hyperventilation (HV)-induced hypocapnia and a reduction in cerebral perfusion leading to syncope defined as transient loss of consciousness (TLOC). The cerebral vasculature is sensitive to changes in both the arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) and oxygen (PaO2) partial pressures so that hypercapnia/hypoxia increases and hypocapnia/hyperoxia reduces global cerebral blood flow. Cerebral hypoperfusion and TLOC have been associated with hypocapnia related to HV. Notwithstanding pronounced cerebrovascular effects of PaCO2 the contribution of a low PaCO2 to the early postural reduction in middle cerebral artery blood velocity is transient. HV together with postural stress does not reduce cerebral perfusion to such an extent that TLOC develops. However when HV is combined with cardiovascular stressors like cold immersion or reduced cardiac output brain perfusion becomes jeopardized. Whether, in patients with cardiovascular disease and/or defect, cerebral blood flow cerebral control HV-induced hypocapnia elicits cerebral hypoperfusion, leading to TLOC, remains to be established.

A hypertensive response to exercise is associated with transient ischemic dilation on myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging.

PubMed

Smelley, Matthew P; Virnich, Daniel E; Williams, Kim A; Ward, R Parker

2007-07-01

A hypertensive response to exercise (HRE) is associated with false-positive stress echocardiograms and myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (myocardial perfusion imaging [MPI]) defects even in the absence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Transient ischemic dilation (TID) of the left ventricle on stress MPI is a marker of severe CAD and future cardiac events. This study evaluated the association between an HRE and TID. Blinded quantitative TID assessment was performed in 125 patients who had an HRE and a summed stress score (SSS) of less than 4, as well as 125 control patients with an SSS of less than 4 and without an HRE matched for age, gender, and resting systolic blood pressure. Cardiac comorbidities, pretest Framingham risk, and exercise results were recorded. TID was defined as a stress-to-rest volume ratio of 1.22 or greater. An HRE was associated with a high prevalence of TID and significantly more TID than no HRE (25.6% vs 11.2%; odds ratio, 3.00 [95% confidence interval, 1.41-6.38]). TID was more prevalent even in subgroups with a low pretest probability CAD, including those without diabetes mellitus or angina. On conditional logistic regression analysis, an HRE was found to be independently associated with TID after consideration of other clinical and exercise MPI variables (odds ratio, 2.72 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-7.31]). An HRE is associated with a high prevalence of TID in patients without other significant perfusion defects, possibly as a result of global subendocardial ischemia induced by the HRE.

Normal stress-only myocardial single photon emission computed tomography predicts good outcome in patients with coronary artery stenoses between 40 and 70.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhixin; Liu, Yangqing; Xin, Chaofan; Zhou, Yanli; Wang, Cheng; Zhao, Zhongqiang; Li, Chunxiang; Li, Dianfu

2016-09-01

Normal stress myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) usually indicates good physiologic function of all coronary lesions, and also indicates a good outcome. We hypothesize that it can still predict good outcome in patients with coronary stenoses between 40 and 70%. A group of patients who underwent stress myocardial SPECT after coronary angiography were consecutively recruited in our center. Patients were eligible if they had one or more coronary stenoses between 40 and 70%. Patients with coronary stenoses greater than 50% diameter of left main or greater than 70% diameter of nonleft main epicardial vessels, and left ventricular ejection fraction less than 50% were excluded. The outcome was defined as major adverse events, including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and revascularization. Patients' survival curves were constructed accorded to the method of Kaplan and Meier and compared using the log-rank test. A study cohort of 77 patients was enrolled. According to the summed stress score, 43 patients were assigned to the perfusion defect group and 34 patients were assigned to the perfusion normal group. The follow-up duration was 6.4±0.3 years. In the perfusion normal group, only one of 34 (2.9%) patients developed major adverse events. In the perfusion defect group, six of 43 (14%) developed major adverse events, P-value of 0.041. It is safe to defer a percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with coronary stenoses between 40 and 70% and normal stress myocardial SPECT.

An optical coherence tomography investigation of materials defects in ceramic fixed partial dental prostheses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, Cosmin; Negrutiu, Meda; Hughes, Michael; Bradu, Adrian; Todea, Carmen; Rominu, Mihai; Laissue, Philippe L.; Podoleanu, Adrian Gh.

2008-04-01

Metal ceramic and integral ceramic fixed partial prostheses are mainly used in the frontal part of the dental arch because for esthetics reasons. The masticatory stress may induce fractures of the bridges. There are several factors that are associated with the stress state created in ceramic restorations, including: thickness of ceramic layers, mechanical properties of the materials, elastic modulus of the supporting substrate material, direction, magnitude and frequency of applied load, size and location of occlusal contact areas, residual stresses induced by processing or pores, restoration-cement interfacial defects and environmental defects. The fractures of these bridges lead to functional, esthetic and phonetic disturbances which finally render the prosthetic treatment inefficient. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in detection and analysis of possible material defects in metal-ceramic and integral ceramic fixed partial dentures.

Implant-supported fixed restoration of post-traumatic mandibular defect accompanied with skin grafting: A clinical report

PubMed Central

Noh, Kwantae; Choi, Woo-Jin

2013-01-01

Traumatic defects are mostly accompanied by hard and soft tissue loss. This report describes the surgical and prosthetic treatment of a patient with post-traumatic mandibular defect. A split-thickness skin graft was performed prior to implant placement and prefabricated acrylic stent was placed to hold the graft in place. The esthetic and functional demands of the patient were fulfilled by implant-supported screw-retained fixed prosthesis using CAD-CAM technology. PMID:23508120

A Medicago truncatula tobacco retrotransposon insertion mutant collection with defects in nodule development and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

PubMed

Pislariu, Catalina I; Murray, Jeremy D; Wen, JiangQi; Cosson, Viviane; Muni, RajaSekhara Reddy Duvvuru; Wang, Mingyi; Benedito, Vagner A; Andriankaja, Andry; Cheng, Xiaofei; Jerez, Ivone Torres; Mondy, Samuel; Zhang, Shulan; Taylor, Mark E; Tadege, Million; Ratet, Pascal; Mysore, Kirankumar S; Chen, Rujin; Udvardi, Michael K

2012-08-01

A Tnt1-insertion mutant population of Medicago truncatula ecotype R108 was screened for defects in nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Primary screening of 9,300 mutant lines yielded 317 lines with putative defects in nodule development and/or nitrogen fixation. Of these, 230 lines were rescreened, and 156 lines were confirmed with defective symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Mutants were sorted into six distinct phenotypic categories: 72 nonnodulating mutants (Nod-), 51 mutants with totally ineffective nodules (Nod+ Fix-), 17 mutants with partially ineffective nodules (Nod+ Fix+/-), 27 mutants defective in nodule emergence, elongation, and nitrogen fixation (Nod+/- Fix-), one mutant with delayed and reduced nodulation but effective in nitrogen fixation (dNod+/- Fix+), and 11 supernodulating mutants (Nod++Fix+/-). A total of 2,801 flanking sequence tags were generated from the 156 symbiotic mutant lines. Analysis of flanking sequence tags revealed 14 insertion alleles of the following known symbiotic genes: NODULE INCEPTION (NIN), DOESN'T MAKE INFECTIONS3 (DMI3/CCaMK), ERF REQUIRED FOR NODULATION, and SUPERNUMERARY NODULES (SUNN). In parallel, a polymerase chain reaction-based strategy was used to identify Tnt1 insertions in known symbiotic genes, which revealed 25 additional insertion alleles in the following genes: DMI1, DMI2, DMI3, NIN, NODULATION SIGNALING PATHWAY1 (NSP1), NSP2, SUNN, and SICKLE. Thirty-nine Nod- lines were also screened for arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenotypes, and 30 mutants exhibited defects in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Morphological and developmental features of several new symbiotic mutants are reported. The collection of mutants described here is a source of novel alleles of known symbiotic genes and a resource for cloning novel symbiotic genes via Tnt1 tagging.

Flow-Through Free Fibula Osteocutaneous Flap in Reconstruction of Tibial Bone, Soft Tissue, and Main Artery Segmental Defects.

PubMed

Li, Zonghuan; Yu, Aixi; Qi, Baiwen; Pan, Zhenyu; Ding, Junhui

2017-08-01

The aim of this report was to present the use of flow-through free fibula osteocutaneous flap for the repair of complex tibial bone, soft tissue, and main artery segmental defects. Five patients with bone, soft tissue, and segmental anterior tibial artery defects were included. The lengths of injured tibial bones ranged from 4 to 7 cm. The sizes of impaired soft tissues were between 9 × 4 and 15 × 6 cm. The lengths of defect of anterior tibial artery segments ranged from 6 to 10 cm. Two patients had distal limb perfusion problems. Flow-through free fibula osteocutaneous flap was performed for all 5 patients. Patients were followed for 12 to 18 months. All wounds healed after 1-stage operation, and all flow-through flaps survived. The distal perfusion after vascular repair was normal in all patients. Superficial necrosis of flap edge was noted in 1 case. After the local debridement and partial thickness skin graft, the flap healed uneventfully, and the surgical operation did not increase injury to the donor site. Satisfactory bone union was achieved in all patients in 2 to 4 months postoperation. Enlargement of fibula graft was observed during follow-up from 12 to 18 months. The functions of adjacent joints were recovered, and all patients were able to walk normally. Flow-through free fibula osteocutaneous flap was shown to be an effective and efficient technique for repairing composite tibial bone, soft tissue, and main artery segmental defects. This 1-stage operation should be useful in clinical practice for the treatment of complex bone, soft tissue, and vessel defects.

Area of ischemia assessed by physicians and software packages from myocardial perfusion scintigrams

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The European Society of Cardiology recommends that patients with >10% area of ischemia should receive revascularization. We investigated inter-observer variability for the extent of ischemic defects reported by different physicians and by different software tools, and if inter-observer variability was reduced when the physicians were provided with a computerized suggestion of the defects. Methods Twenty-five myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) patients who were regarded as ischemic according to the final report were included. Eleven physicians in nuclear medicine delineated the extent of the ischemic defects. After at least two weeks, they delineated the defects again, and were this time provided a suggestion of the defect delineation by EXINI HeartTM (EXINI). Summed difference scores and ischemic extent values were obtained from four software programs. Results The median extent values obtained from the 11 physicians varied between 8% and 34%, and between 9% and 16% for the software programs. For all 25 patients, mean extent obtained from EXINI was 17.0% (± standard deviation (SD) 14.6%). Mean extent for physicians was 22.6% (± 15.6%) for the first delineation and 19.1% (± 14.9%) for the evaluation where they were provided computerized suggestion. Intra-class correlation (ICC) increased from 0.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41-0.72) to 0.81 (95% CI 0.71-0.90) between the first and the second delineation, and SD between physicians were 7.8 (first) and 5.9 (second delineation). Conclusions There was large variability in the estimated ischemic defect size obtained both from different physicians and from different software packages. When the physicians were provided with a suggested delineation, the inter-observer variability decreased significantly. PMID:24479846

Myocardial contrast echocardiography in mice: technical and physiological aspects.

PubMed

Verkaik, Melissa; van Poelgeest, Erik M; Kwekkeboom, Rick F J; Ter Wee, Piet M; van den Brom, Charissa E; Vervloet, Marc G; Eringa, Etto C

2018-03-01

Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) offers the opportunity to study myocardial perfusion defects in mice in detail. The value of MCE compared with single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and computed tomography consists of high spatial resolution, the possibility of quantification of blood volume, and relatively low costs. Nevertheless, a number of technical and physiological aspects should be considered to ensure reproducibility among research groups. The aim of this overview is to describe technical aspects of MCE and the physiological parameters that influence myocardial perfusion data obtained with this technique. First, technical aspects of MCE discussed in this technical review are logarithmic compression of ultrasound data by ultrasound systems, saturation of the contrast signal, and acquisition of images during different phases of the cardiac cycle. Second, physiological aspects of myocardial perfusion that are affected by the experimental design are discussed, including the anesthesia regimen, systemic cardiovascular effects of vasoactive agents used, and fluctuations in body temperature that alter myocardial perfusion. When these technical and physiological aspects of MCE are taken into account and adequately standardized, MCE is an easily accessible technique for mice that can be used to study the control of myocardial perfusion by a wide range of factors.

Change in Imaging Findings on Angiography-Assisted CT During Balloon-Occluded Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoshimatsu, Rika; Yamagami, Takuji, E-mail: yamagami@kochi-u.ac.jp; Ishikawa, Masaki

2016-06-15

PurposeTo evaluate changes in imaging findings on CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) and CT during arterial portography (CTAP) by balloon occlusion of the treated artery and their relationship with iodized oil accumulation in the tumor during balloon-occluded transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (B-TACE).MethodsBoth B-TACE and angiography-assisted CT were performed for 27 hepatocellular carcinomas. Tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion and iodized oil accumulation after B-TACE were evaluated. Tumorous portal perfusion defect size on CTAP was compared with/without balloon occlusion. Factors influencing discrepancies between selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion and the degree of iodized oil accumulation were investigated.ResultsAmong 27 tumors, tumormore » enhancement on selective CTHA changed after balloon occlusion in 14 (decreased, 11; increased, 3). In 18 tumors, there was a discrepancy between tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with balloon occlusion and the degree of accumulated iodized oil, which was higher than the tumor enhancement grade in all 18. The tumorous portal perfusion defect on CTAP significantly decreased after balloon occlusion in 18 of 20 tumors (mean decrease from 21.9 to 19.1 mm in diameter; p = 0.0001). No significant factors influenced discrepancies between selective CTHA with/without balloon occlusion. Central area tumor location, poor tumor enhancement on selective CTHA with balloon occlusion, and no decrease in the tumorous portal perfusion defect area on CTAP after balloon occlusion significantly influenced poor iodized oil accumulation in the tumor.ConclusionsTumor enhancement on selective CTHA frequently changed after balloon occlusion, which did not correspond to accumulated iodized oil in most cases.« less

Comparison of transducers with different frequencies in breast contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using SonoVue as contrast agent.

PubMed

Wang, Yong-Mei; Fan, Wei; Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Li; Tan, Zhen; Ma, Rong

2016-07-01

To explore the effectiveness of different transducers in breast contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using SonoVue(®) (Bracco, Plan-Les-Ouates, Switzerland) as the contrast agent. Breast CEUS was performed in 51 patients with 51 breast lesions using a low-frequency transducer (probe C5-1) and a high-frequency transducer (probe L12-5) separately. All image processes were reviewed for the presence of local blood perfusion defects and surrounding vessels. McNemar's test was conducted to compare the detection effectiveness between these two transducers. Pathological results revealed 38 malignant and 13 benign lesions. The two transducers showed no difference in detecting benign lesions. Among malignant lesions, CEUS conducted by probe C5-1 (frequency range from 1 to 5 MHz) presented 23 (60.5%) lesions with local blood perfusion defects and 26 (68.4%) lesions with surrounding vessels. Meanwhile, probe L12-5 (frequency range from 5 to 12 MHz) showed only 12 (31.6%) lesions with local blood perfusion defects and 12 (31.6%) lesions with surrounding vessel. Probe C5-1 was more sensitive than probe L12-5 in detecting malignant CEUS characteristics (p-value < 0.05). The low-frequency transducer was more sensitive than the high-frequency transducer in breast CEUS using SonoVue as the contrast agent. A new contrast agent with a higher resonance frequency, specially designed for high-frequency transducers, may be helpful in improving the clinical value of breast CEUS. The first study comparing different frequency transducers in breast CEUS of the same patient lesions. We brought out the requirement for CEUS contrast agents which are more suitable for high-frequency examinations.

Correction of Hysteretic Respiratory Motion in SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: Simulation and Patient Studies

PubMed Central

Dasari, Paul K. R.; Könik, Arda; Pretorius, P. Hendrik; Johnson, Karen L.; Segars, William P.; Shazeeb, Mohammed. S.; King, Michael A.

2017-01-01

Purpose Amplitude based respiratory gating is known to capture the extent of respiratory motion (RM) accurately but results in residual motion in the presence of respiratory hysteresis. In our previous study, we proposed and developed a novel approach to account for respiratory hysteresis by applying the Bouc-Wen (BW) model of hysteresis to external surrogate signals of anterior / posterior motion of the abdomen and chest with respiration. In this work using simulated and clinical SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) studies, we investigate the effects of respiratory hysteresis and evaluate the benefit of correcting it using the proposed BW model in comparison with the abdomen signal typically employed clinically. Methods The MRI navigator data acquired in free breathing human volunteers were used in the specially modified 4-D NCAT phantoms to allow simulating three types of respiratory patterns: monotonic, mild-hysteresis, and strong-hysteresis with normal myocardial uptake, and perfusion defects in the anterior, lateral, inferior, and septal locations of the mid-ventricular wall. Clinical scans were performed using a 99mTc-Sestamibi MPI protocol while recording respiratory signals from thoracic and abdomen regions using a Visual Tracking System (VTS). The performance of the correction using the respiratory signals was assessed through polar map analysis in phantom and ten clinical studies selected on the basis of having substantial RM. Results In phantom studies, simulations illustrating normal myocardial uptake showed significant differences (p<0.001) in the uniformity of the polar maps between the RM uncorrected and corrected. No significant differences were seen in the polar map uniformity across the RM corrections. Studies simulating perfusion defects showed significantly decreased errors (p<0.001) in defect severity and extent for the RM corrected compared to the uncorrected. Only for the strong-hysteretic pattern was there a significant difference (p<0.001) among the RM corrections. The errors in defect severity and extent for the RM correction using abdomen signal were significantly higher compared to that of the BW (severity=-4.0%, p<0.001; extent=-65.4%, p<0.01) and chest (severity=-4.1%, p<0.001; extent=-52.5%, p<0.01) signals. In clinical studies, the quantitative analysis of the polar maps demonstrated qualitative and quantitative but not statistically significant differences (p=0.73) between the correction methods that used the BW signal and the abdominal signal. Conclusions This study shows that hysteresis in respiration affects the extent of residual motion left in the RM binned data, which can impact wall uniformity and the visualization of defects. Thus there appears to be the potential for improved accuracy in reconstruction in the presence of hysteretic RM with the BW model method providing a possible step in the direction of improvement. PMID:28032913

Large right ventricular sinusoids in an infant with aorta-left ventricular tunnel and proximal right coronary artery atresia.

PubMed

Chen, Peter C; Spinner, Joseph A; Heinle, Jeffrey S

2018-07-01

We report a 1-month-old infant diagnosed with an aorta-left ventricular tunnel, ventricular septal defect, and right coronary atresia with right ventricular sinusoids. The patient's anatomy and physiology did not indicate right-ventricular-dependent coronary circulation, and therefore right ventricular decompression could be performed without compromising coronary perfusion during surgical correction. A detailed understanding of the coronary anatomy is critical in managing this defect when coronary anomalies are present.

Fixed partial dentures investigated by optical coherent tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, Cosmin; Negrutiu, Meda; Todea, Carmen; Hughes, Mike; Tudorache, Florin; Podoleanu, Adrian G.

2008-02-01

Fixed partial prostheses as integral ceramics, integral polymers, metal ceramics or metal polymers bridges, are mainly used in the frontal part of the dental arch (especially the integral bridges). They have to satisfy high stress requirements as well as esthetic. The masticatory stress may induce fractures of the bridges. These may be triggered by initial materials defects or by alterations of the technological process. The fractures of these bridges lead to functional, esthetic and phonetic disturbances which finally render the prosthetic treatment inefficient. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability of en-face optical coherence tomography (OCT) in detection and analysis of possible fractures in several integral fixed partial dentures. The materials used were represented by several fixed partial prostheses, integral ceramics, integral polymers, metal ceramics and metal polymers bridges. In order to discover the defects, scanning was performed from incisal, vestibular, oral and cervical directions material defects such as fractures and pores were investigated using OCT. In conclusion, en-face OCT has proven as a valuable non invasive method to investigate fixed partial prostheses before their insertion in the oral cavity.

DYNAMICS OF NASCENT AND ACTIVE ZONE ULTRASTRUCTURE AS SYNAPSES ENLARGE DURING LTP IN MATURE HIPPOCAMPUS

PubMed Central

Bell, Maria Elizabeth; Bourne, Jennifer N.; Chirillo, Michael A.; Mendenhall, John M.; Kuwajima, Masaaki; Harris, Kristen M.

2014-01-01

Nascent zones and active zones are adjacent synaptic regions that share a postsynaptic density, but nascent zones lack the presynaptic vesicles found at active zones. Here dendritic spine synapses were reconstructed through serial section electron microscopy (3DEM) and EM tomography to investigate nascent zone dynamics during long-term potentiation (LTP) in mature rat hippocampus. LTP was induced with theta-burst stimulation and comparisons were made to control stimulation in the same hippocampal slices at 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and 2 hours post-induction and to perfusion-fixed hippocampus in vivo. Nascent zones were present at the edges of ~35% of synapses in perfusion-fixed hippocampus and as many as ~50% of synapses in some hippocampal slice conditions. By 5 minutes, small dense core vesicles known to transport active zone proteins moved into more presynaptic boutons. By 30 minutes, nascent zone area decreased without significant change in synapse area, suggesting that presynaptic vesicles were recruited to pre-existing nascent zones. By 2 hours, both nascent and active zones were enlarged. Immunogold labeling revealed that glutamate receptors can be found in nascent zones; however, average distances from nascent zones to docked presynaptic vesicles ranged from 170±5 nm in perfusion-fixed hippocampus to 251±4 nm at enlarged synapses by 2 hours during LTP. Prior stochastic modeling suggests that falloff in glutamate concentration reduces the probability of glutamate receptor activation from 0.4 at the center of release to 0.1 just 200 nm away. Thus, conversion of nascent zones to functional active zones likely requires the recruitment of presynaptic vesicles during LTP. PMID:25043676

Evaluation of metal-polymeric fixed partial prosthesis using optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, C.; Negrutiu, M. L.; Duma, V. F.; Marcauteanu, C.; Topala, F. I.; Rominu, M.; Bradu, A.; Podoleanu, A. Gh.

2013-11-01

Metal-Polymeric fixed partial prosthesis is the usual prosthetic treatment for many dental patients. However, during the mastication the polymeric component of the prosthesis is fractured and will be lost. This fracture is caused by the material defects or by the fracture lines trapped inside the esthetic components of the prosthesis. This will finally lead to the failure of the prosthetic treatment. Nowadays, there is no method of identification and forecast for the materials defects of the polymeric materials. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the capability of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) as a non-invasive clinical method that can be used for the evaluation of metal-polymeric fixed partial prostheses. Twenty metal-polymeric fixed partial prostheses were used for this study. The esthetic component of the prostheses has been Adoro (Ivoclar). Optical investigations of the metal prostheses have revealed no material defects or fracture lines. All the prostheses were temporary cemented in the oral cavities of the patients for six month. The non-invasive method used for the investigations was OCT working in Time Domain mode at 1300 nm. The evaluations of the prostheses were performed before and after their cementation in the patient mouths. All the imagistic results were performed in 2D and than in 3D, after the reconstruction. The results obtained after the OCT evaluation allowed for the identification of 4 metal-polymeric fixed partial prostheses with material defects immediately after finishing the technological procedures. After 6 month in the oral environment other 3 fixed partial prostheses revealed fracture lines. In conclusion, OCT proved to be a valuable tool for the noninvasive evaluation of the metal-polymeric fixed partial prostheses.

Histogram based analysis of lung perfusion of children after congenital diaphragmatic hernia repair.

PubMed

Kassner, Nora; Weis, Meike; Zahn, Katrin; Schaible, Thomas; Schoenberg, Stefan O; Schad, Lothar R; Zöllner, Frank G

2018-05-01

To investigate a histogram based approach to characterize the distribution of perfusion in the whole left and right lung by descriptive statistics and to show how histograms could be used to visually explore perfusion defects in two year old children after Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) repair. 28 children (age of 24.2±1.7months; all left sided hernia; 9 after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy) underwent quantitative DCE-MRI of the lung. Segmentations of left and right lung were manually drawn to mask the calculated pulmonary blood flow maps and then to derive histograms for each lung side. Individual and group wise analysis of histograms of left and right lung was performed. Ipsilateral and contralateral lung show significant difference in shape and descriptive statistics derived from the histogram (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p<0.05) on group wise and individual level. Subgroup analysis (patients with vs without ECMO therapy) showed no significant differences using histogram derived parameters. Histogram analysis can be a valuable tool to characterize and visualize whole lung perfusion of children after CDH repair. It allows for several possibilities to analyze the data, either describing the perfusion differences between the right and left lung but also to explore and visualize localized perfusion patterns in the 3D lung volume. Subgroup analysis will be possible given sufficient sample sizes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct comparison of rest and adenosine stress myocardial perfusion CT with rest and stress SPECT

PubMed Central

Okada, David R.; Ghoshhajra, Brian B.; Blankstein, Ron; Rocha-Filho, Jose A.; Shturman, Leonid D.; Rogers, Ian S.; Bezerra, Hiram G.; Sarwar, Ammar; Gewirtz, Henry; Hoffmann, Udo; Mamuya, Wilfred S.; Brady, Thomas J.; Cury, Ricardo C.

2010-01-01

Introduction We have recently described a technique for assessing myocardial perfusion using adenosine-mediated stress imaging (CTP) with dual source computed tomography. SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (SPECT-MPI) is a widely utilized and extensively validated method for assessing myocardial perfusion. The aim of this study was to determine the level of agreement between CTP and SPECT-MPI at rest and under stress on a per-segment, per-vessel, and per-patient basis. Methods Forty-seven consecutive patients underwent CTP and SPECT-MPI. Perfusion images were interpreted using the 17 segment AHA model and were scored on a 0 (normal) to 3 (abnormal) scale. Summed rest and stress scores were calculated for each vascular territory and patient by adding corresponding segmental scores. Results On a per-segment basis (n = 799), CTP and SPECT-MPI demonstrated excellent correlation: Goodman-Kruskall γ = .59 (P < .0001) for stress and .75 (P < .0001) for rest. On a per-vessel basis (n = 141), CTP and SPECT-MPI summed scores demonstrated good correlation: Pearson r = .56 (P < .0001) for stress and .66 (P < .0001) for rest. On a per-patient basis (n = 47), CTP and SPECT-MPI demonstrated good correlation: Pearson r = .60 (P < .0001) for stress and .76 (P < .0001) for rest. Conclusions CTP compares favorably with SPECT-MPI for detection, extent, and severity of myocardial perfusion defects at rest and stress. PMID:19936863

Ventilation and cardiac related impedance changes in children undergoing corrective open heart surgery.

PubMed

Schibler, Andreas; Pham, Trang M T; Moray, Amol A; Stocker, Christian

2013-10-01

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) can determine ventilation and perfusion relationship. Most of the data obtained so far originates from experimental settings and in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that EIT measures the perioperative changes in pulmonary blood flow after repair of a ventricular septum defect in children with haemodynamic relevant septal defects undergoing open heart surgery. In a 19 bed intensive care unit in a tertiary children's hospital ventilation and cardiac related impedance changes were measured using EIT before and after surgery in 18 spontaneously breathing patients. The EIT signals were either filtered for ventilation (ΔZV) or for cardiac (ΔZQ) related impedance changes. Impedance signals were then normalized (normΔZV, normΔZQ) for calculation of the global and regional impedance related ventilation perfusion relationship (normΔZV/normΔZQ). We observed a trend towards increased normΔZV in all lung regions, a significantly decreased normΔZQ in the global and anterior, but not the posterior lung region. The normΔZV/normΔZQ was significantly increased in the global and anterior lung region. Our study qualitatively validates our previously published modified EIT filtration technique in the clinical setting of young children with significant left-to-right shunt undergoing corrective open heart surgery, where perioperative assessment of the ventilation perfusion relation is of high clinical relevance.

A cross flow-through pedicle free latissimus dorsi flap for high voltage electrical burns.

PubMed

Gencel, Eyuphan; Eser, Cengiz; Kesiktas, Erol; Tabakan, Ibrahim; Yavuz, Metin

2016-06-01

The management of a high voltage electrical injury and lower limb salvage remains a challenging task for plastic surgeons. Reconstruction with flaps is often the only alternative to limb amputation. The purpose of this study was to present a cross flow-through pedicle free latissimus dorsi muscle flap for the salvage of severely traumatized lower limbs perfused by one remaining vessel (a single vessel lower limb) in high voltage electrical injuries. In this retrospective study, between 2000 and 2014, six men underwent cross-leg free Latissimus dorsi muscle flap operations for limb salvage. They had soft tissue lower leg defects due to high voltage electrical injuries. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. All had only one artery that perfused the leg. Free pedicled thoracodorsal artery latissimus dorsi flaps were harvested and connected to the contralateral posterior tibial artery. All defects were successfully covered. No flap loss or major amputation occurred during follow-up (mean; 5.9 years). A computerized tomography angiogram showed intact vessel continuity in the recipient vascular system. The patients were able to walk without any apparatus or assistance after long term follow-up. We recommend that the cross flow-through pedicle free muscle flap should be considered as a salvage procedure for single vessel lower extremities resulting from high voltage electrical burns. Extremity perfusion was not compromised by this procedure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Experience of low-dose aminophylline use to relieve minor adverse effects of dipyridamole in patients undergoing stress myocardial perfusion imaging.

PubMed

Lin, Li-Fan; Cheng, Cheng-Yi; Hou, Cheng-Han; Ku, Chih-Hung; Tseng, Neng-Chuan; Shen, Daniel H Y

2014-06-01

Intravenous administration of aminophylline is widely adopted to reverse dipyridamole-related adverse effects (AEs) during stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of lower-dose aminophylline to relieve minor AEs. 2,250 consecutive patients undergoing dipyridamole-stressed MPI were enrolled. Information concerning AE occurrence and dosages of aminophylline was collected to evaluate the efficacy of lower-dose aminophylline. A logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of dipyridamole-related AE occurrence. No severe AE was noted. Overall mild AE incidence was 37.0% (833/2,250 patients). Initial low-dose (25 mg) aminophylline relieved symptoms in 98.8% of patients with mild AEs (823/833 patients). An extra 25 mg aminophylline sufficed to reverse all such AEs. Mean body mass index (BMI) differed significantly between patients with and without any AE [25.6 vs 25.1 (P = .009)]. There was no significant difference between two subgroups in mean age, male gender prevalence, body height and weight, dipyridamole dose/BMI, or prevalence of significant perfusion defect(s) on MPI. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated BMI remained the independent predictor of dipyridamole-related AE occurrence (odds ratio 1.028, 95% confidence interval 1.007-1.049, P = .01). Low-dose (≦50 mg, and usually 25 mg) aminophylline seems sufficient to relieve mild dipyridamole-related AEs during stress MPI.

Abnormal passive chloride absorption in cystic fibrosis jejunum functionally opposes the classic chloride secretory defect

PubMed Central

Russo, Michael A.; Högenauer, Christoph; Coates, Stephen W.; Santa Ana, Carol A.; Porter, Jack L.; Rosenblatt, Randall L.; Emmett, Michael; Fordtran, John S.

2003-01-01

Due to genetic defects in apical membrane chloride channels, the cystic fibrosis (CF) intestine does not secrete chloride normally. Depressed chloride secretion leaves CF intestinal absorptive processes unopposed, which results in net fluid hyperabsorption, dehydration of intestinal contents, and a propensity to inspissated intestinal obstruction. This theory is based primarily on in vitro studies of jejunal mucosa. To determine if CF patients actually hyperabsorb fluid in vivo, we measured electrolyte and water absorption during steady-state perfusion of the jejunum. As expected, chloride secretion was abnormally low in CF, but surprisingly, there was no net hyperabsorption of sodium or water during perfusion of a balanced electrolyte solution. This suggested that fluid absorption processes are reduced in CF jejunum, and further studies revealed that this was due to a marked depression of passive chloride absorption. Although Na+-glucose cotransport was normal in the CF jejunum, absence of passive chloride absorption completely blocked glucose-stimulated net sodium absorption and reduced glucose-stimulated water absorption 66%. This chloride absorptive abnormality acts in physiological opposition to the classic chloride secretory defect in the CF intestine. By increasing the fluidity of intraluminal contents, absence of passive chloride absorption may reduce the incidence and severity of intestinal disease in patients with CF. PMID:12840066

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kahan, A.; Devaux, J.Y.; Amor, B.

In systemic sclerosis, abnormalities of myocardial perfusion are common and may be caused by a disturbance of the coronary microcirculation. We evaluated the long-term effect of captopril (75 to 150 mg per day) on thallium 201 myocardial perfusion in 12 normotensive patients with systemic sclerosis. Captopril significantly decreased the mean (+/- SD) number of segments with thallium 201 myocardial perfusion defects (6.5 +/- 1.9 at baseline and 4.4 +/- 2.7 after 1 year of treatment with captopril; p less than 0.02) and increased the mean global thallium score (9.6 +/- 1.7 at baseline and 11.4 +/- 2.1 after captopril; pmore » less than 0.05). In a control group of eight normotensive patients with systemic sclerosis who did not receive captopril, no significant modification in thallium results occurred. Side effects with captopril included hypotension (six patients), taste disturbances (one patient), and skin rash (one patient). These side effects subsided when the dosage was reduced. These findings demonstrate that captopril improves thallium 201 myocardial perfusion in patients with systemic sclerosis and may therefore have a beneficial effect on scleroderma myocardial disease.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biello, D.R.

The optimal strategy for diagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) is subject of controversial and often conflicting opinions. If untreated, as many as 30% of patients with PE may die. Conversely, anticoagulant therapy significantly decreases mortality from PE, but bleeding complications occur. Underdiagnosis may result in a preventable death, and overdiagnosis may lead to significant hemorrhage from unnecessary anticoagulant therapy. This article outlines a practical guide for the use of pulmonary ventilation-perfusion (V-P) scintigraphy in patients with suspected PE. Perfusion imaging involves the intravenous injection of radiolabeled particles ranging from 10 to 60 ..mu..m in diameter (technetiummore » Tc 99m macroaggregated albumin or technetium Tc 99m serum albumin microspheres); these particles are trapped in the capillaries and precapillary arterioles of the lung. The radiolabeled particles are distributed to the lungs in proportion to regional pulmonary blood flow. The correspondence of perfusion defects to bronchopulmonary segments is best appreciated in the posterior oblique views.« less

The gene for congenital chloride diarrhea maps close to but is distinct from the gene for cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kere, J.; de la Chapelle, A.; Holmberg, C.

1993-11-15

Congenital chloride diarrhea (CLD) is characterized by watery stools with high chloride content beginning prenatally and is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Perfusion studies have established a basic defect in ileal and colonic Cl[sup [minus

REM sleep enhancement and behavioral cataplexy following orexin (hypocretin)-II receptor antisense perfusion in the pontine reticular formation.

PubMed

Thakkar, M M; Ramesh, V; Cape, E G; Winston, S; Strecker, R E; McCarley, R W

1999-01-01

Orexin (hypocretin)-containing neurons of the hypothalamus project to brainstem sites that are involved in the neural control of REM sleep, including the locus coeruleus, the dorsal raphe nucleus, the cholinergic zone of the mesopontine tegmentum, and the pontine reticular formation (PRF). Orexin knockout mice exhibit narcolepsy/cataplexy, and a mutant and defective gene for the orexin type II receptor is present in dogs with an inherited form of narcolepsy/cataplexy. However, the physiological systems mediating these effects have not been described. We reasoned that, since the effector neurons for the majority of REM sleep signs, including muscle atonia, were located in the PRF, this region was likely implicated in the production of these orexin-related abnormalities. To test this possibility, we used microdialysis perfusion of orexin type II receptor antisense in the PRF of rats. Ten to 24 hours after antisense perfusion, REM sleep increased two- to three-fold during both the light period (quiescent phase) and the dark period (active phase), and infrared video showed episodes of behavioral cataplexy. Moreover, preliminary data indicated no REM-related effects following perfusion with nonsense DNA, or when perfusion sites were outside the PRF. More work is needed to provide precise localization of the most effective site of orexin-induced inhibition of REM sleep phenomena.

Is There a Dose-Response Relationship for Heart Disease With Low-Dose Radiation Therapy?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chung, Eugene; Corbett, James R.; Moran, Jean M.

Purpose: To quantify cardiac radiation therapy (RT) exposure using sensitive measures of cardiac dysfunction; and to correlate dysfunction with heart doses, in the setting of adjuvant RT for left-sided breast cancer. Methods and Materials: On a randomized trial, 32 women with node-positive left-sided breast cancer underwent pre-RT stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT-CT) myocardial perfusion scans. Patients received RT to the breast/chest wall and regional lymph nodes to doses of 50 to 52.2 Gy. Repeat SPECT-CT scans were performed 1 year after RT. Perfusion defects (PD), summed stress defects scores (SSS), and ejection fractions (EF) were evaluated. Doses tomore » the heart and coronary arteries were quantified. Results: The mean difference in pre- and post-RT PD was −0.38% ± 3.20% (P=.68), with no clinically significant defects. To assess for subclinical effects, PD were also examined using a 1.5-SD below the normal mean threshold, with a mean difference of 2.53% ± 12.57% (P=.38). The mean differences in SSS and EF before and after RT were 0.78% ± 2.50% (P=.08) and 1.75% ± 7.29% (P=.39), respectively. The average heart Dmean and D95 were 2.82 Gy (range, 1.11-6.06 Gy) and 0.90 Gy (range, 0.13-2.17 Gy), respectively. The average Dmean and D95 to the left anterior descending artery were 7.22 Gy (range, 2.58-18.05 Gy) and 3.22 Gy (range, 1.23-6.86 Gy), respectively. No correlations were found between cardiac doses and changes in PD, SSS, and EF. Conclusions: Using sensitive measures of cardiac function, no clinically significant defects were found after RT, with the average heart Dmean <5 Gy. Although a dose response may exist for measures of cardiac dysfunction at higher doses, no correlation was found in the present study for low doses delivered to cardiac structures and perfusion, SSS, or EF.« less

Free radicals generated by electrolysis reduces nitro blue tetrazolium in isolated rat heart.

PubMed

Chahine, R; Huet, M P; Oliva, L; Nadeau, R

1997-02-01

Oxygen free radicals (OFR) are highly cytotoxic when produced in the myocardium under certain pathological conditions. In isolated rat hearts perfused retrogradely, OFR were generated by electrolysis of the Krebs-Henseleit buffer (two platinum electrodes, DC current, 10 mA, 1 min). In order to find evidence that OFR are produced, we used nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) a soluble compound which yields a dark blue formazan pigment in the presence of reducing agents. Hearts were subdivided into: control, electrolysed, NBT (3.3 mg/ml) perfusion during electrolysis in the presence or absence of scavengers. The xanthine-xanthine oxidase (XXO) system known to produce superoxide radical was used as a reference. Specimens were fixed with formaldehyde and stained with eosine or Kernechtrot in preparation for light microscopical examination. Several areas of acute necrosis expressed by hyalinisation and loss of striation were observed in electrolysed hearts which present a pattern of wavy disrupted myofibers and an increase in interstitial spaces. A very faint deposition of formazan was observed in some rare areas of NBT perfused heart. Only the electrolysed group perfused with NBT and the one perfused with XXO plus NBT presented an extensive formazan deposition, mostly in the areas of fibre necrosis. Formazan was barely detectable when superoxide dismutase plus catalase were perfused in the XXO system, while it was still apparent when perfused in electrolysed hearts. These results support the hypothesis that electrolysis can be used to generate different species of OFR and to evaluate the protective action of scavenger and antioxidants against OFR-induced myocardial damage.

High Concordance Between Mental Stress-Induced and Adenosine-Induced Myocardial Ischemia Assessed Using SPECT in Heart Failure Patients: Hemodynamic and Biomarker Correlates.

PubMed

Wawrzyniak, Andrew J; Dilsizian, Vasken; Krantz, David S; Harris, Kristie M; Smith, Mark F; Shankovich, Anthony; Whittaker, Kerry S; Rodriguez, Gabriel A; Gottdiener, John; Li, Shuying; Kop, Willem; Gottlieb, Stephen S

2015-10-01

Mental stress can trigger myocardial ischemia, but the prevalence of mental stress-induced ischemia in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients is unknown. We characterized mental stress-induced and adenosine-induced changes in myocardial perfusion and neurohormonal activation in CHF patients with reduced left-ventricular function using SPECT to precisely quantify segment-level myocardial perfusion. Thirty-four coronary artery disease patients (mean age±SD, 62±10 y) with CHF longer than 3 mo and ejection fraction less than 40% underwent both adenosine and mental stress myocardial perfusion SPECT on consecutive days. Mental stress consisted of anger recall (anger-provoking speech) followed by subtraction of serial sevens. The presence and extent of myocardial ischemia was quantified using the conventional 17-segment model. Sixty-eight percent of patients had 1 ischemic segment or more during mental stress and 81% during adenosine. On segment-by-segment analysis, perfusion with mental stress and adenosine were highly correlated. No significant differences were found between any 2 time points for B-type natriuretic peptide, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-1b, troponin, vascular endothelin growth factor, IL-17a, matrix metallopeptidase-9, or C-reactive protein. However, endothelin-1 and IL-6 increased, and IL-10 decreased, between the stressor and 30 min after stress. Left-ventricular end diastolic dimension was 179±65 mL at rest and increased to 217±71 after mental stress and 229±86 after adenosine (P<0.01 for both). Resting end systolic volume was 129±60 mL at rest and increased to 158±66 after mental stress (P<0.05) and 171±87 after adenosine (P<0.07), with no significant differences between adenosine and mental stress. Ejection fraction was 30±12 at baseline, 29±11 with mental stress, and 28±10 with adenosine (P=not significant). There was high concordance between ischemic perfusion defects induced by adenosine and mental stress, suggesting that mental stress is equivalent to pharmacologic stress in eliciting clinically significant myocardial perfusion defects in CHF patients. Cardiac dilatation suggests clinically important changes with both conditions. Psychosocial stressors during daily life may contribute to the ischemic burden of CHF patients with coronary artery disease. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

Comparison of 18F-Labeled Fluoroalkylphosphonium Cations with 13N-NH3 for PET Myocardial Perfusion Imaging.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Yeon; Kim, Hyeon Sik; Reder, Sybille; Zheng, Jin Hai; Herz, Michael; Higuchi, Takahiro; Pyo, A Young; Bom, Hee-Seung; Schwaiger, Markus; Min, Jung-Joon

2015-10-01

Despite substantial advances in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, there is a need for 18F-labeled myocardial perfusion agents for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease because current PET tracers for myocardial perfusion imaging have a short half-life that limits their widespread clinical use in PET. Thus, 18F-labeled fluoroalkylphosphonium derivatives (18F-FATPs), including (5-18F-fluoropentyl)triphenylphosphonium cation (18F-FPTP), (6-18F-fluorohexyl)triphenylphosphonium cation (18F-FHTP), and (2-(2-18F-fluoroethoxy)ethyl)triphenylphosphonium cation (18F-FETP), were synthesized. The myocardial extraction and image quality of the 18F-FATPs were compared with those of 13N-NH3 in rat models. The first-pass extraction fraction (EF) values of the 18F-FATPs (18F-FPTP, 18F-FHTP, 18F-FETP) and 13N-NH3 were measured in isolated rat hearts perfused with the Langendorff method (flow velocities, 0.5, 4.0, 8.0, and 16.0 mL/min). Normal and myocardial infarction rats were imaged with small-animal PET after intravenous injection of 37 MBq of 18F-FATPs and 13N-NH3. To determine pharmacokinetics, a region of interest was drawn around the heart, and time-activity curves of the 18F-FATPs and 13N-NH3 were generated to obtain the counts per pixel per second. Defect size was analyzed on the basis of polar map images of 18F-FATPs and 13N-NH3. The EF values of 18F-FATPs and 13N-NH3 were comparable at low flow velocity (0.5 mL/min), whereas at higher flows EF values of 18F-FATPs were significantly higher than those of 13N-NH3 (4.0, 8.0, and 16.0 mL/min, P<0.05). Myocardium-to-liver ratios of 18F-FPTP, 18F-FHTP, 18F-FETP, and 13N-NH3 were 2.10±0.30, 4.36±0.20, 3.88±1.03, and 0.70±0.09, respectively, 10 min after injection, whereas myocardium-to-lung ratios were 5.00±0.25, 4.33±0.20, 7.98±1.23, and 2.26±0.14, respectively. Although 18F-FATPs and 13N-NH3 sharply delineated myocardial perfusion defects, defect size on the 13N-NH3 images was significantly smaller than on the 18F-FATP images soon after tracer injection (0-10 min, P=0.027). 18F-FATPs exhibit higher EF values and more rapid clearance from the liver and lung than 13N-NH3 in normal rats, which led to excellent image quality in a rat model of coronary occlusion. Therefore, 18F-FATPs are promising new PET radiopharmaceuticals for myocardial perfusion imaging. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

Selective cerebral perfusion prevents abnormalities in glutamate cycling and neuronal apoptosis in a model of infant deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and reperfusion.

PubMed

Kajimoto, Masaki; Ledee, Dolena R; Olson, Aaron K; Isern, Nancy G; Robillard-Frayne, Isabelle; Des Rosiers, Christine; Portman, Michael A

2016-11-01

Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest is often required for the repair of complex congenital cardiac defects in infants. However, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest induces neuroapoptosis associated with later development of neurocognitive abnormalities. Selective cerebral perfusion theoretically provides superior neural protection possibly through modifications in cerebral substrate oxidation and closely integrated glutamate cycling. We tested the hypothesis that selective cerebral perfusion modulates glucose utilization, and ameliorates abnormalities in glutamate flux, which occur in association with neuroapoptosis during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Eighteen infant male Yorkshire piglets were assigned randomly to two groups of seven (deep hypothermic circulatory arrest or deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with selective cerebral perfusion for 60 minutes at 18℃) and four control pigs without cardiopulmonary bypass support. Carbon-13-labeled glucose as a metabolic tracer was infused, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance were used for metabolic analysis in the frontal cortex. Following 2.5 h of cerebral reperfusion, we observed similar cerebral adenosine triphosphate levels, absolute levels of lactate and citric acid cycle intermediates, and carbon-13 enrichment among three groups. However, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest induced significant abnormalities in glutamate cycling resulting in reduced glutamate/glutamine and elevated γ-aminobutyric acid/glutamate along with neuroapoptosis, which were all prevented by selective cerebral perfusion. The data suggest that selective cerebral perfusion prevents these modifications in glutamate/glutamine/γ-aminobutyric acid cycling and protects the cerebral cortex from apoptosis. © The Author(s) 2016.

Defect silicene and graphene as applied to the anode of lithium-ion batteries: Numerical experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galashev, A. E.; Rakhmanova, O. R.; Zaikov, Yu. P.

2016-09-01

Mechanical properties and stability of two layers of defect silicene supported by graphene sheets, between which the lithium ion passes under an electrostatic field, are studied by the molecular dynamics method. Defects are mono-, di-, tri-, and hexavacansies. Graphene and silicene edges are rigidly fixed. Graphene sheets contacting with silicene take a convex shape, deflecting outward. Mono- and divacancies in silicene tend to a size decrease; larger vacancies exhibit better stability. The ion motion control using an electric field becomes possible only using perfect silicene or silicene with mono- and divacancies. The ion penetrated through larger defects, and its motion in the silicene channel becomes uncontrolled. When the ion moves in the channel, the most strong stress spikes appear in silicene containing monovacancies. In the case of fixed edges, perfect silicene intercalated with a lithium ion is inclined to accumulate larger stresses than silicene containing defects.

Comparative study of anatomical normalization errors in SPM and 3D-SSP using digital brain phantom.

PubMed

Onishi, Hideo; Matsutake, Yuki; Kawashima, Hiroki; Matsutomo, Norikazu; Amijima, Hizuru

2011-01-01

In single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) cerebral blood flow studies, two major algorithms are widely used statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and three-dimensional stereotactic surface projections (3D-SSP). The aim of this study is to compare an SPM algorithm-based easy Z score imaging system (eZIS) and a 3D-SSP system in the errors of anatomical standardization using 3D-digital brain phantom images. We developed a 3D-brain digital phantom based on MR images to simulate the effects of head tilt, perfusion defective region size, and count value reduction rate on the SPECT images. This digital phantom was used to compare the errors of anatomical standardization by the eZIS and the 3D-SSP algorithms. While the eZIS allowed accurate standardization of the images of the phantom simulating a head in rotation, lateroflexion, anteflexion, or retroflexion without angle dependency, the standardization by 3D-SSP was not accurate enough at approximately 25° or more head tilt. When the simulated head contained perfusion defective regions, one of the 3D-SSP images showed an error of 6.9% from the true value. Meanwhile, one of the eZIS images showed an error as large as 63.4%, revealing a significant underestimation. When required to evaluate regions with decreased perfusion due to such causes as hemodynamic cerebral ischemia, the 3D-SSP is desirable. In a statistical image analysis, we must reconfirm the image after anatomical standardization by all means.

Effects of resting state condition on reliability, trait specificity, and network connectivity of brain function measured with arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI.

PubMed

Li, Zhengjun; Vidorreta, Marta; Katchmar, Natalie; Alsop, David C; Wolf, Daniel H; Detre, John A

2018-06-01

Resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) provides imaging biomarkers of task-independent brain function that can be associated with clinical variables or modulated by interventions such as behavioral training or pharmacological manipulations. These biomarkers include time-averaged regional brain function as manifested by regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) measured using arterial spin labeled (ASL) perfusion MRI and correlated temporal fluctuations of function across brain networks with either ASL or blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) fMRI. Resting-state studies are typically carried out using just one of several prescribed state conditions such as eyes closed (EC), eyes open (EO), or visual fixation on a cross-hair (FIX), which may affect the reliability and specificity of rs-fMRI. In this study, we collected test-retest ASL MRI data during 4 resting-state task conditions: EC, EO, FIX and PVT (low-frequency psychomotor vigilance task), and examined the effects of these task conditions on reliability and reproducibility as well as trait specificity of regional brain function. We also acquired resting-state BOLD fMRI under FIX and compared the network connectivity reliabilities between the four ASL conditions and the BOLD FIX condition. For resting-state ASL data, EC provided the highest CBF reliability, reproducibility, trait specificity, and network connectivity reliability, followed by EO, while FIX was lowest on all of these measures. PVT demonstrated lower CBF reliability, reproducibility and trait specificity than EO and EC. Overall network connectivity reliability was comparable between ASL and BOLD. Our findings confirm ASL CBF as a reliable, stable, and consistent measure of resting-state regional brain function and support the use of EC or EO over FIX and PVT as the resting-state condition. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predictive value of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography and the impact of renal function on cardiac death.

PubMed

Hakeem, Abdul; Bhatti, Sabha; Dillie, Kathryn Sullivan; Cook, Jeffrey R; Samad, Zainab; Roth-Cline, Michelle D; Chang, Su Min

2008-12-09

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have worse cardiovascular outcomes than those without CKD. The prognostic utility of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission CT (MPS) in patients with varying degrees of renal dysfunction and the impact of CKD on cardiac death prediction in patients undergoing MPS have not been investigated. We followed up 1652 consecutive patients who underwent stress MPS (32% exercise, 95% gated) for cardiac death for a mean of 2.15+/-0.8 years. MPS defects were defined with a summed stress score (normal summed stress score <4, abnormal summed stress score>or=4). Ischemia was defined as a summed stress score >or=4 plus a summed difference score >or=2, and scar was defined as a summed difference score <2 plus a summed stress score >or=4. Renal function was calculated with the Modified Diet in Renal Disease equation. CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL . min(-1) . 1.73 m(-2)) was present in 36%. Cardiac death increased with worsening levels of perfusion defects across the entire spectrum of renal function. Presence of ischemia was independently predictive of cardiac death, all-cause mortality, and nonfatal myocardial infarction. Patients with normal MPS and CKD had higher unadjusted cardiac death event rates than those with no CKD and normal MPS (2.7% versus 0.8%, P=0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models revealed that both perfusion defects (hazard ratio 1.90, 95% CI 1.47 to 2.46) and CKD (hazard ratio 1.96, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.95) were independent predictors of cardiac death after accounting for risk factors, left ventricular dysfunction, pharmacological stress, and symptom status. Both MPS and CKD had incremental power for cardiac death prediction over baseline risk factors and left ventricular dysfunction (global chi(2) 207.5 versus 169.3, P<0.0001). MPS provides effective risk stratification across the entire spectrum of renal function. Renal dysfunction is also an important independent predictor of cardiac death in patients undergoing MPS. Renal function and MPS have additive value in risk stratisfying patients with suspected coronary artery disease. Patients with CKD appear to have a relatively less benign prognosis than those without CKD, even in the presence of a normal scan.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and exercise impairment.

PubMed

Reusch, Jane E B; Bridenstine, Mark; Regensteiner, Judith G

2013-03-01

Limitations in physical fitness, a consistent finding in individuals with both type I and type 2 diabetes mellitus, correlate strongly with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. These limitations may significantly contribute to the persistent excess cardiovascular mortality affecting this group. Exercise impairments in VO2 peak and VO2 kinetics manifest early on in diabetes, even with good glycemic control and in the absence of clinically apparent complications. Subclinical cardiac dysfunction is often present but does not fully explain the observed defect in exercise capacity in persons with diabetes. In part, the cardiac limitations are secondary to decreased perfusion with exercise challenge. This is a reversible defect. Similarly, in the skeletal muscle, impairments in nutritive blood flow correlate with slowed (or inefficient) exercise kinetics and decreased exercise capacity. Several correlations highlight the likelihood of endothelial-specific impairments as mediators of exercise dysfunction in diabetes, including insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, decreased myocardial perfusion, slowed tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and impairment in mitochondrial function. Both exercise training and therapies targeted at improving insulin sensitivity and endothelial function improve physical fitness in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Optimization of exercise functions in people with diabetes has implications for diabetes prevention and reductions in mortality risk. Understanding the molecular details of endothelial dysfunction in diabetes may provide specific therapeutic targets for the remediation of this defect. Rat models to test this hypothesis are under study.

Quantitative Assessment of Free Flap Viability with CEUS Using an Integrated Perfusion Software.

PubMed

Geis, S; Klein, S; Prantl, L; Dolderer, J; Lamby, P; Jung, E-M

2015-12-01

New treatment strategies in oncology and trauma surgery lead to an increasing demand for soft tissue reconstruction with free tissue transfer. In previous studies, CEUS was proven to detect early flap failure. The aim of this study was to detect and quantify vascular disturbances after free flap transplantation using a fast integrated perfusion software tool. From 2011 to 2013, 33 patients were examined by one experienced radiologist using CEUS after a bolus injection of 1-2.4 ml of SonoVue(®). Flap perfusion was analysed qualitatively regarding contrast defects or delayed wash-in. Additionally, an integrated semi-quantitative analysis using time-intensity curve analysis (TIC) was performed. TIC analysis of the transplant was conducted on a centimetre-by-centimetre basis up to a penetration depth of 4 cm. The 2 perfusion parameters "Time to PEAK" and "Area under the Curve" were compared in patients without complications vs. patients with minor complications or complete flap loss to figure out significant differences. TtoPk is given in seconds (s) and Area is given in relative units (rU) Results: A regular postoperative process was observed in 26 (79%) patients. In contrast, 5 (15%) patients with partial superficial flap necrosis, 1 patient (3%) with complete flap loss and 1 patient (3%) with haematoma were observed. TtoPk revealed no significant differences, whereas Area revealed significantly lower perfusion values in the corresponding areas in patients with complications. The critical threshold for sufficient flap perfusion was set below 150 rU. In conclusion, CEUS is a mobile and cost-effective opportunity to quantify tissue perfusion and can even be used almost without any restrictions in multi-morbid patients with renal and hepatic failure. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Septal and Anterior Reverse Mismatch of Myocardial Perfusion and Metabolism in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease and Left Bundle Branch Block

PubMed Central

Wang, Jian-Guang; Fang, Wei; Yang, Min-Fu; Tian, Yue-Qin; Zhang, Xiao-Li; Shen, Rui; Sun, Xiao-Xin; Guo, Feng; Wang, Dao-Yu; He, Zuo-Xiang

2015-01-01

Abstract The effects of left bundle branch block (LBBB) on left ventricular myocardial metabolism have not been well investigated. This study evaluated these effects in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Sixty-five CAD patients with complete LBBB (mean age, 61.8 ± 9.7 years) and 65 without LBBB (mean age, 59.9 ± 8.4 years) underwent single photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and contrast coronary angiography. The relationship between myocardial perfusion and metabolism and reverse mismatch score, and that between QRS length and reverse mismatch score and wall motion score were evaluated. The incidence of left ventricular septum and anterior wall reverse mismatching between the two groups was significantly different (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). The incidences of normal myocardial perfusion and metabolism in the left ventricular lateral and inferior walls were also significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). The incidence of septal reverse mismatching in patients with mild to moderate perfusion was significantly higher among those with LBBB than among those without LBBB (P < 0.001). In CAD patients with LBBB, septal reverse mismatching was significantly more common among those with mild to moderate perfusion than among those with severe perfusion defects (P = 0.002). The correlation between the septal reverse mismatch score and QRS length was significant (P = 0.026). In patients with CAD and LBBB, septal and anterior reverse mismatching of myocardial perfusion and metabolism was frequently present; the septal reverse mismatch score negatively correlated with the QRS interval. PMID:25997045

Qualitative evaluation of coronary flow during anesthetic induction using thallium-201 perfusion scans

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kleinman, B.; Henkin, R.E.; Glisson, S.N.

Qualitative distribution of coronary flow using thallium-201 perfusion scans immediately postintubation was studied in 22 patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass surgery. Ten patients received a thiopental (4 mg/kg) and halothane induction. Twelve patients received a fentanyl (100 micrograms/kg) induction. Baseline thallium-201 perfusion scans were performed 24 h prior to surgery. These scans were compared with the scans performed postintubation. A thallium-positive scan was accepted as evidence of relative hypoperfusion. Baseline hemodynamic and ECG data were obtained prior to induction of anesthesia. These data were compared with the data obtained postintubation. Ten patients developed postintubation thallium-perfusion scan defects (thallium-positivemore » scan), even though there was no statistical difference between their baseline hemodynamics and hemodynamics at the time of intubation. There was no difference in the incidence of thallium-positive scans between those patients anesthetized by fentanyl and those patients anesthetized with thiopental-halothane. The authors conclude that relative hypoperfusion, and possibly ischemia, occurred in 45% of patients studied, despite stable hemodynamics, and that the incidence of these events was the same with two different anesthetic techniques.« less

3D Printed Vascular Networks Enhance Viability in High-Volume Perfusion Bioreactor.

PubMed

Ball, Owen; Nguyen, Bao-Ngoc B; Placone, Jesse K; Fisher, John P

2016-12-01

There is a significant clinical need for engineered bone graft substitutes that can quickly, effectively, and safely repair large segmental bone defects. One emerging field of interest involves the growth of engineered bone tissue in vitro within bioreactors, the most promising of which are perfusion bioreactors. Using bioreactor systems, tissue engineered bone constructs can be fabricated in vitro. However, these engineered constructs lack inherent vasculature and once implanted, quickly develop a necrotic core, where no nutrient exchange occurs. Here, we utilized COMSOL modeling to predict oxygen diffusion gradients throughout aggregated alginate constructs, which allowed for the computer-aided design of printable vascular networks, compatible with any large tissue engineered construct cultured in a perfusion bioreactor. We investigated the effect of 3D printed macroscale vascular networks with various porosities on the viability of human mesenchymal stem cells in vitro, using both gas-permeable, and non-gas permeable bioreactor growth chamber walls. Through the use of 3D printed vascular structures in conjunction with a tubular perfusion system bioreactor, cell viability was found to increase by as much as 50% in the core of these constructs, with in silico modeling predicting construct viability at steady state.

Normal values and standardization of parameters in nuclear cardiology: Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group database.

PubMed

Nakajima, Kenichi; Matsumoto, Naoya; Kasai, Tokuo; Matsuo, Shinro; Kiso, Keisuke; Okuda, Koichi

2016-04-01

As a 2-year project of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine working group activity, normal myocardial imaging databases were accumulated and summarized. Stress-rest with gated and non-gated image sets were accumulated for myocardial perfusion imaging and could be used for perfusion defect scoring and normal left ventricular (LV) function analysis. For single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with multi-focal collimator design, databases of supine and prone positions and computed tomography (CT)-based attenuation correction were created. The CT-based correction provided similar perfusion patterns between genders. In phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT, a new approach for analyzing dyssynchrony, normal ranges of parameters for phase bandwidth, standard deviation and entropy were determined in four software programs. Although the results were not interchangeable, dependency on gender, ejection fraction and volumes were common characteristics of these parameters. Standardization of (123)I-MIBG sympathetic imaging was performed regarding heart-to-mediastinum ratio (HMR) using a calibration phantom method. The HMRs from any collimator types could be converted to the value with medium-energy comparable collimators. Appropriate quantification based on common normal databases and standard technology could play a pivotal role for clinical practice and researches.

3D Printed Vascular Networks Enhance Viability in High-Volume Perfusion Bioreactor

PubMed Central

Ball, Owen; Nguyen, Bao-Ngoc B.; Placone, Jesse K.; Fisher, John P.

2016-01-01

There is a significant clinical need for engineered bone graft substitutes that can quickly, effectively, and safely repair large segmental bone defects. One emerging field of interest involves the growth of engineered bone tissue in vitro within bioreactors, the most promising of which are perfusion bioreactors. Using bioreactor systems, tissue engineered bone constructs can be fabricated in vitro. However, these engineered constructs lack inherent vasculature and once implanted, quickly develop a necrotic core, where no nutrient exchange occurs. Here, we utilized COMSOL modeling to predict oxygen diffusion gradients throughout aggregated alginate constructs, which allowed for the computer-aided design of printable vascular networks, compatible with any large tissue engineered construct cultured in a perfusion bioreactor. We investigated the effect of 3D printed macroscale vascular networks with various porosities on the viability of human mesenchymal stem cells in vitro, using both gas-permeable, and non-gas permeable bioreactor growth chamber walls. Through the use of 3D printed vascular structures in conjunction with a tubular perfusion system bioreactor, cell viability was found to increase by as much as 50% in the core of these constructs, with in silico modeling predicting construct viability at steady state. PMID:27272210

Improved First Pass Spiral Myocardial Perfusion Imaging with Variable Density Trajectories

PubMed Central

Salerno, Michael; Sica, Christopher; Kramer, Christopher M.; Meyer, Craig H.

2013-01-01

Purpose To develop and evaluate variable-density (VD) spiral first-pass perfusion pulse sequences for improved efficiency and off-resonance performance and to demonstrate the utility of an apodizing density compensation function (DCF) to improve SNR and reduce dark-rim artifact caused by cardiac motion and Gibbs Ringing. Methods Three variable density spiral trajectories were designed, simulated, and evaluated in 18 normal subjects, and in 8 patients with cardiac pathology on a 1.5T scanner. Results By utilizing a density compensation function (DCF) which intentionally apodizes the k-space data, the side-lobe amplitude of the theoretical PSF is reduced by 68%, with only a 13% increase in the FWHM of the main-lobe as compared to the same data corrected with a conventional VD DCF, and has an 8% higher resolution than a uniform density spiral with the same number of interleaves and readout duration. Furthermore, this strategy results in a greater than 60% increase in measured SNR as compared to the same VD spiral data corrected with a conventional DCF (p<0.01). Perfusion defects could be clearly visualized with minimal off-resonance and dark-rim artifacts. Conclusion VD spiral pulse sequences using an apodized DCF produce high-quality first-pass perfusion images with minimal dark-rim and off-resonance artifacts, high SNR and CNR and good delineation of resting perfusion abnormalities. PMID:23280884

[Isolated mitral valve insufficiency in comparison with mitral-tricuspid insufficiency: various mechanisms of compensating for the defect and functional status of the myocardium].

PubMed

Petrovskiĭ, P F; Torbina, A M; Klemborskiĭ, A A

1988-09-01

A combined analysis of ventricular contractility and intracardiac hemodynamic compensatory mechanisms was carried out, on the basis of angiocardiographic findings, in 37 patients with rheumatic mitral incompetence. Atrial fibrillation aggravates essentially the defect's hemodynamics, while added tricuspid incompetence is accompanied by a certain off-loading in the lesser circulation network. A grossly perversed phasic structure of intramyocardial stress was noted, apparently being a compensatory mechanism. Reduced specific coronary flow and diastolic perfusion gradient in intact coronary arteries are shown to be causes of clinical angina.

False-positive defects on exercise 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT imaging, but not on dipyridamole 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT imaging, in a patient with right bundle branch block (RBBB).

PubMed

Javadi, Hamid; Jallalat, Sara; Semnani, Shahriar; Mogharrabi, Mehdi; Nabipour, Iraj; Abbaszadeh, Moloud; Assadi, Majid

2013-01-01

False-positive findings with myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) have frequently been identified in the presence of left bundle branch block (LBBB) and tend to lower the accuracy of MPI in individuals with normal coronary angiographs. Pharmacologic stress is recognized as the preferred method for MPI in patients with LBBB. In contrast, very few studies have evaluated the effect of right bundle branch block (RBBB) on MPI, and there is no consensus regarding the selection of pharmacologic versus exercise stress during MPI for the RBBB patient. In this study, we present a 45-year-old man with RBBB, who has a normal coronary artery angiography, but who showed abnormal myocardial perfusion with exercise MPI, and normal perfusion on dipyridamole MPI. The aim of the study is to stimulate awareness that the stress method selected for patients with RBBB can potentially interfere with the accuracy of the data.

Alternating Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome associated with attack of angina

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mangiafico, R.A.; Petralito, A.; Grimaldi, D.R.

1990-07-01

In a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and an inferior-posterior bypass tract, transient restoration of normal conduction occurred during an attack of angina. The ECG pattern of inferior posterior ischemia was present when the conduction was normal. Thallium scintigraphy showed a reversible posterolateral perfusion defect. The possible mechanisms for production of intermittent preexcitation are discussed.

Post-operative monitoring of free muscle transfers by Laser Doppler Imaging: A prospective study.

PubMed

Tschumi, Christian; Seyed Jafari, S Morteza; Rothenberger, Jens; Van de Ville, Dimitri; Keel, Marius; Krause, Fabian; Shafighi, Maziar

2015-10-01

Despite different existing methods, monitoring of free muscle transfer is still challenging. In the current study we evaluated our clinical setting regarding monitoring of such tissues, using a recent microcirculation-imaging camera (EasyLDI) as an additional tool for detection of perfusion incompetency. This study was performed on seven patients with soft tissue defect, who underwent reconstruction with free gracilis muscle. Beside standard monitoring protocol (clinical assessment, temperature strips, and surface Doppler), hourly EasyLDI monitoring was performed for 48 hours. Thereby a baseline value (raised flap but connected to its vascular bundle) and an ischaemia perfusion value (completely resected flap) were measured at the same point. The mean age of the patients, mean baseline value, ischaemia value perfusion were 48.00 ± 13.42 years, 49.31 ± 17.33 arbitrary perfusion units (APU), 9.87 ± 4.22 APU, respectively. The LDI measured values in six free muscle transfers were compatible with hourly standard monitoring protocol, and normalized LDI values significantly increased during time (P < 0.001, r = 0.412). One of the flaps required a return to theatre 17 hours after the operation, where an unsalvageable flap loss was detected. All normalized LDI values of this flap were under the ischaemia perfusion level and the trend was significantly descending during time (P < 0.001, r = -0.870). Due to the capability of early detection of perfusion incompetency, LDI may be recommended as an additional post-operative monitoring device for free muscle flaps, for early detection of suspected failing flaps and for validation of other methods. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Computed Tomography and Optical Imaging of Osteogenesis-angiogenesis Coupling to Assess Integration of Cranial Bone Autografts and Allografts.

PubMed

Cohn Yakubovich, Doron; Tawackoli, Wafa; Sheyn, Dmitriy; Kallai, Ilan; Da, Xiaoyu; Pelled, Gadi; Gazit, Dan; Gazit, Zulma

2015-12-22

A major parameter determining the success of a bone-grafting procedure is vascularization of the area surrounding the graft. We hypothesized that implantation of a bone autograft would induce greater bone regeneration by abundant blood vessel formation. To investigate the effect of the graft on neovascularization at the defect site, we developed a micro-computed tomography (µCT) approach to characterize newly forming blood vessels, which involves systemic perfusion of the animal with a polymerizing contrast agent. This method enables detailed vascular analysis of an organ in its entirety. Additionally, blood perfusion was assessed using fluorescence imaging (FLI) of a blood-borne fluorescent agent. Bone formation was quantified by FLI using a hydroxyapatite-targeted probe and µCT analysis. Stem cell recruitment was monitored by bioluminescence imaging (BLI) of transgenic mice that express luciferase under the control of the osteocalcin promoter. Here we describe and demonstrate preparation of the allograft, calvarial defect surgery, µCT scanning protocols for the neovascularization study and bone formation analysis (including the in vivo perfusion of contrast agent), and the protocol for data analysis. The 3D high-resolution analysis of vasculature demonstrated significantly greater angiogenesis in animals with implanted autografts, especially with respect to arteriole formation. Accordingly, blood perfusion was significantly higher in the autograft group by the 7(th) day after surgery. We observed superior bone mineralization and measured greater bone formation in animals that received autografts. Autograft implantation induced resident stem cell recruitment to the graft-host bone suture, where the cells differentiated into bone-forming cells between the 7(th) and 10(th) postoperative day. This finding means that enhanced bone formation may be attributed to the augmented vascular feeding that characterizes autograft implantation. The methods depicted may serve as an optimal tool to study bone regeneration in terms of tightly bounded bone formation and neovascularization.

Peptide-induced prostaglandin biosynthesis in the renal-vein-constricted kidney

PubMed Central

Myers, Stuart I.; Zipser, Robert; Needleman, Philip

1981-01-01

The ipsilateral kidney was removed from a rabbit 48h after unilateral partial renal-vein-constriction and was perfused with Krebs–Henseleit media at 37°C. Hourly administration of a fixed dose of bradykinin to the renal-vein-constricted kidney demonstrated a marked time-dependent increase in the release of bioassayable prostaglandin E2 and thromboxane A2 into the venous effluent as compared with the response of the contralateral control kidney. The renal-vein-constricted kidney produced up to 60 times more prostaglandin E2 in response to bradykinin after 6h of perfusion as compared with the contralateral kidney; thromboxane A2 was not demonstratable in the contralateral kidney. Inhibition of protein synthesis de novo in the perfused renal-vein-constricted kidney with cycloheximide lessened the hormone-stimulated increase in prostaglandin E2 by 94% and in thromboxane A2 by 90% at 6h of perfusion. Covalent acetylation of the renal cyclo-oxygenase by prior oral administration of aspirin to the rabbit inhibited initial bradykinin-stimulated prostaglandin E2 biosynthesis 71% at 1h of perfusion. However, there was total recovery from aspirin in the renal-vein-constricted kidney by 2h of perfusion after bradykinin stimulation. Total cyclo-oxygenase activity as measured by [14C]arachidonate metabolism to labelled prostaglandins by renal cortical and renal medullary microsomal fractions prepared from 6h-perfused kidneys demonstrated that renal-vein-constricted kidney-cortical cyclo-oxygenase activity was significantly greater than the contralateral-kidney-cortical conversion, whereas medullary arachidonate metabolism was comparable in both the renal-vein-constricted kidney and contralateral kidney. These data suggest that perfusion of a renal-vein-constricted kidney initiates a time-dependent induction of synthesis of prostaglandin-producing enzymes, which appear to be primarily localized in the renal cortex. The presence of the synthetic capacity to generate very potent vasodilator and vasoconstrictor prostaglandins in the renal cortex suggests that these substances could mediate or modulate changes in renal vascular resistance in pathological states. PMID:6798974

Application of a cell-once-through perfusion strategy for production of recombinant antibody from rCHO cells in a Centritech Lab II centrifuge system.

PubMed

Kim, Byoung Jin; Chang, Ho Nam; Oh, Duk Jae

2007-01-01

Based upon the results of scale-down intermittent perfusion processes, a cell-once-through (COT) perfusion concept was applied to a dual bioreactor system coupled to a Centritech Lab II centrifuge for culture of recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (rCHO) cells for monoclonal antibody production. In this new culture mode, i.e., the COT perfusion process, total spent medium was transferred to the centrifuge and a fixed percentage was removed. Approximately 99% of the viable cells are transferred to another bioreactor filled with fresh medium by single operation of the Centritech Lab II centrifuge system for about 30 min. Accordingly, a significant reduction of the cell-passage frequency to the centrifuge led to minimization of cell damage caused by mechanical shear stress, oxygen limitation, nutrient limitation, and low temperature outside the bioreactor. The effects of culture temperature shift and fortified medium on cell growth and recombinant antibody production in the COT perfusion process were investigated. Although the suppressive effects of low culture temperature on cell growth led to a loss of stability in a long-term COT perfusion culture system, the average antibody concentration at 33 degrees C was 157.8 mg/L, approximately 2.4-fold higher than that at 37 degrees C. By the use of a fortified medium at 37 degrees C, rCHO cells were maintained at high density above 1.2 x 10(7) cells/mL, and antibody was produced continuously in a range of 260-280 mg/L in a stable long-term COT perfusion culture. The proposed new culture mode, the COT perfusion approach, guarantees the recovery of rCHO cells damaged by lowered temperature or high lactate and ammonium concentration. It will be an attractive choice for minimization of cell damage and stable long-term antibody production with high cell density.

Effects of internal electrode cooling on irreversible electroporation using a perfused organ model.

PubMed

O'Brien, Timothy J; Bonakdar, Mohammad; Bhonsle, Suyashree; Neal, Robert E; Aardema, Charles H; Robertson, John L; Goldberg, S Nahum; Davalos, Rafael V

2018-05-28

This study evaluates the effects of active electrode cooling, via internal fluid circulation, on the irreversible electroporation (IRE) lesion, deployed electric current and temperature changes using a perfused porcine liver model. A bipolar electrode delivered IRE electric pulses with or without activation of internal cooling to nine porcine mechanically perfused livers. Pulse schemes included a constant voltage, and a preconditioned delivery combined with an arc-mitigation algorithm. After treatment, organs were dissected, and treatment zones were stained using triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) to demonstrate viability. Thirty-nine treatments were performed with an internally cooled applicator and 21 with a non-cooled applicator. For the constant voltage scenario, the average final electrical current measured was 26.37 and 29.20 A for the cooled and uncooled electrodes respectively ([Formula: see text]). The average final temperature measured was 33.01 and 42.43 °C for the cooled and uncooled electrodes respectively ([Formula: see text]). The average measured ablations (fixed lesion) were 3.88-by-2.08 cm and 3.86-by-2.12 cm for the cooled and uncooled electrode respectively ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). Similarly, the preconditioned/arc-mitigation scenario yielded an average final electrical current measurement of a 41.07 and 47.20 A for the cooled and uncooled electrodes respectively ([Formula: see text]). The average final temperature measured was 34.93 and 44.90 °C for the cooled and uncooled electrodes respectively ([Formula: see text]). The average measured ablations (fixed lesion) were 3.67-by-2.27 cm and 3.58-by-2.09 cm for the cooled and uncooled applicators ([Formula: see text]). The internally-cooled bipolar applicator offers advantages that could improve clinical outcomes. Thermally mitigating internal perfusion technology reduced tissue temperatures and electric current while maintaining similar lesion sizes.

Stability of radiomic features in CT perfusion maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogowicz, M.; Riesterer, O.; Bundschuh, R. A.; Veit-Haibach, P.; Hüllner, M.; Studer, G.; Stieb, S.; Glatz, S.; Pruschy, M.; Guckenberger, M.; Tanadini-Lang, S.

2016-12-01

This study aimed to identify a set of stable radiomic parameters in CT perfusion (CTP) maps with respect to CTP calculation factors and image discretization, as an input for future prognostic models for local tumor response to chemo-radiotherapy. Pre-treatment CTP images of eleven patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma and eleven patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were analyzed. 315 radiomic parameters were studied per perfusion map (blood volume, blood flow and mean transit time). Radiomics robustness was investigated regarding the potentially standardizable (image discretization method, Hounsfield unit (HU) threshold, voxel size and temporal resolution) and non-standardizable (artery contouring and noise threshold) perfusion calculation factors using the intraclass correlation (ICC). To gain added value for our model radiomic parameters correlated with tumor volume, a well-known predictive factor for local tumor response to chemo-radiotherapy, were excluded from the analysis. The remaining stable radiomic parameters were grouped according to inter-parameter Spearman correlations and for each group the parameter with the highest ICC was included in the final set. The acceptance level was 0.9 and 0.7 for the ICC and correlation, respectively. The image discretization method using fixed number of bins or fixed intervals gave a similar number of stable radiomic parameters (around 40%). The potentially standardizable factors introduced more variability into radiomic parameters than the non-standardizable ones with 56-98% and 43-58% instability rates, respectively. The highest variability was observed for voxel size (instability rate  >97% for both patient cohorts). Without standardization of CTP calculation factors none of the studied radiomic parameters were stable. After standardization with respect to non-standardizable factors ten radiomic parameters were stable for both patient cohorts after correction for inter-parameter correlations. Voxel size, image discretization, HU threshold and temporal resolution have to be standardized to build a reliable predictive model based on CTP radiomics analysis.

The use of hemoglobin solutions in kidney perfusions.

PubMed

Daniels, F H; McCabe, R E; Leonard, E F

1984-01-01

Solutions of hemoglobin have often been considered for both hypothermic and normothermic perfusion of isolated kidneys. This paper considers basic issues, preparative techniques, and the viscosity of hemoglobin solutions, as well as the demands made by the kidney on a perfusate. The natural system of oxygen transport in higher animals is complex, and its perturbation to produce convenient hemoglobin-based renal perfusates produces numerous problems. The desirable effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate is not easily maintained in a perfusate, but its inclusion can be avoided by appropriate choice of species donating hemoglobin. Hemoglobin tetramer in free solution may dissociate and be lost by glomerular filtration. Ferric hemoglobin, the dominant form at redox equilibrium, is useless for oxygen transport; the ferrous form is maintained in the erythrocyte by reducing metabolites and, under normothermic conditions, the ferrous to ferric conversion is slow but significant. Methods for lysis of erythrocytes and removal of their stroma are discussed; reduction of ferric hemoglobin by chemical agents and electrolysis are considered in detail; and means for adjusting concentration and solute background are presented. The need for carbonic anhydrase in hemoglobin solutions used as perfusates is shown and methods for its provision are discussed. A review of viscometric data for hemoglobin solutions is provided to which original data are added. Hemoglobin solutions show a temperature-independent intrinsic viscosity, according to Einstein's theory for a molecule of 23 A radius. The O2 and CO2 transport requirements of renal perfusates are analyzed comprehensively. The normothermic kidney has an unusual respiration pattern, requiring an amount of oxygen that is not fixed but, rather, proportional to the total blood flow rate. In canines the average arterio-venous O2 content difference found by many investigators is 2.14 vol%; the corresponding CO2 value is 2.47 vol%; and the respiratory quotient is greater than unity. Wide limits of PO2, but not P CO2 in perfusate, appear allowable. A final section evaluates hemoglobin solutions as both normothermic and hypothermic renal perfusates from the viewpoints of blood gas chemistry, urinary loss, oncotic pressure, fatty acid carrying capacity, viscosity, and the need for functions usually attributed to platelets. It is concluded, overall, that perfusates containing free hemoglobin have only a limited role to play in renal perfusion.

Adams-Oliver Syndrome with Unusual Central Nervous System Findings and an Extrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt

PubMed Central

Pérez-García, Carlos; Martín, Yolanda Ruíz; del Hoyo, Alejandra Aguado; Rodríguez, Carlos Marín; Domínguez, Minia Campos

2017-01-01

We report a case of a premature neonate girl with scalp and skull defects and brachydactyly of the feet consistent with an Adams-Oliver syndrome (AOS). The patient had central nervous system abnormalities, such as periventricular calcifications, hypoplastic corpus callosum, and bilateral hemispheric corticosubcortical hemorrhagic lesions. A muscular ventricular septal defect and a portosystemic shunt were diagnosed. To our knowledge, this is the first report of congenital supratentorial grey-white matter junction lesions without dural sinus thrombosis in association with AOS. Some of these lesions may be secondary to birth trauma (given the skull defect) whilst others have a watershed location, perhaps as further evidence of vascular disruption and decreased perfusion during critical periods of fetal brain development as the previously proposed pathogenesis of this syndrome. PMID:28706620

Visualisation of exercise-induced ischaemia of the right ventricle by thallium-201 single photon emission computed tomography.

PubMed Central

Chiba, J.; Takeishi, Y.; Abe, S.; Tomoike, H.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Exercise thallium-201 (201T1) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has been used to detect potential ischaemia in the left ventricular myocardium but not in the right ventricle. The purpose of this study was to establish the clinical usefulness of a right ventricular polar map of 201T1 SPECT for visualisation of exercise-induced right ventricular ischaemia. METHODS: Myocardial 201T1 SPECT was obtained immediately after treadmill exercise in 97 patients with suspected coronary artery disease. A region of interest was placed over the right ventricle (RV) on post-stress transaxial images. Short axis images of this region were generated and reconstructed as a bull's eye polar map. Normal ranges of RV 201T1 uptake were determined in 12 patients with normal coronary arteries. Scintigraphic criteria for identifying RV perfusion abnormality were derived from 25 patients with right coronary artery (RCA) stenosis greater than 75%. These criteria were applied to 60 consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease. RESULTS: Perfusion defects in the RV were larger in patients with proximal RCA stenosis than in those with distal RCA stenosis (mean (SD) 28 (16)% v 6 (5)%, P < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of the RV polar map for the detection of proximal RCA stenosis were 67% (8/12) and 98% (47/48), respectively. RV perfusion defects became undetectable in 9 patients who had successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty to a proximal RCA lesion. CONCLUSIONS: A right ventricular polar map display was useful for visualising exercise-induced right ventricular ischaemia. Images PMID:9038692

Correlation of 68Ga Ventilation-Perfusion PET/CT with Pulmonary Function Test Indices for Assessing Lung Function.

PubMed

Le Roux, Pierre-Yves; Siva, Shankar; Steinfort, Daniel P; Callahan, Jason; Eu, Peter; Irving, Lou B; Hicks, Rodney J; Hofman, Michael S

2015-11-01

Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are routinely used to assess lung function, but they do not provide information about regional pulmonary dysfunction. We aimed to assess correlation of quantitative ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) PET/CT with PFT indices. Thirty patients underwent V/Q PET/CT and PFT. Respiration-gated images were acquired after inhalation of (68)Ga-carbon nanoparticles and administration of (68)Ga-macroaggregated albumin. Functional volumes were calculated by dividing the volume of normal ventilated and perfused (%NVQ), unmatched and matched defects by the total lung volume. These functional volumes were correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). All functional volumes were significantly different in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P < 0.05). FEV1/FVC and %NVQ had the highest correlation (r = 0.82). FEV1 was also best correlated with %NVQ (r = 0.64). DLCO was best correlated with the volume of unmatched defects (r = -0.55). Considering %NVQ only, a cutoff value of 90% correctly categorized 28 of 30 patients with or without significant pulmonary function impairment. Our study demonstrates strong correlations between V/Q PET/CT functional volumes and PFT parameters. Because V/Q PET/CT is able to assess regional lung function, these data support the feasibility of its use in radiation therapy and preoperative planning and assessing pulmonary dysfunction in a variety of respiratory diseases. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

Role of ultrasound in the assessment of percutaneous laser ablation of cervical metastatic lymph nodes from thyroid carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhang, Lu; Zhou, Wei; Zhan, WeiWei

2018-04-01

Background Few studies have examined the feasibility and efficiency of performing ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) after percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) of cervical metastatic lymph nodes from thyroid cancer. Purpose To investigate and describe the use of conventional ultrasound and CEUS in evaluating PLA of metastatic lymph nodes. Material and Methods PLA was performed in a small, prospective, observational study of 21 metastatic lymph nodes in 17 thyroid cancer patients who underwent radical thyroid resection. CEUS was conducted prior to PLA and 1 h and seven days after ablation. Conventional ultrasound examination of all nodes was performed during follow-up after ablation. We observed contrast agent perfusion in the lymph nodes, calculated perfusion defect volumes using CEUS and determined the rates of reduction for metastatic lymph nodes for a mean duration of 17.86 ± 4.704 months (range = 12-27 months). Results CEUS demonstrated that the perfusion defect volume was larger on day 7 than on day 1 post-ablation in 47% of the ablated nodes. Compared to the largest diameters and volumes pre-PLA, the corresponding post-PLA values significantly decreased ( P < 0.05 versus baseline). No statistically significant change in thyroglobulin (Tg) levels before and after PLA was observed in this study ( P > 0.05 versus baseline). Conclusion CEUS can be effectively used to distinguish the margins of ablated regions, assess the accuracy of PLA, and monitor short-term changes in necrotic areas. However, long-term follow-up assessments of the curative effect of PLA will predominantly rely on conventional ultrasonography.

[Study of 3D-pcASL in differentiation of acute cerebral infarction and acute encephalitis].

PubMed

Mao, Chuanwan; Fu, Yuchuan; Ye, Xinjian; Wu, Aiqin; Yan, Zhihan

2015-06-16

To investigate the value of three-dimentional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion imaging in differentiating acute cerebral infarction from acute encephalitis. From September 2013 to September 2014, 42 patients with actue stroke onset and 20 healthy volunteers underwent conventional brain MRI DWI and 3D-ASL Perfusion Imaging in our hospital. Only 20 patients whose lesions located in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory were enrolled in this study. Of these cases, 12 cases were diagnosed with acute cerebral infarction, 8 were diagnosed with encephalitis. First, we analyzed the imaging features of the 20 patients and 20 volunteers. Then, CBF values of the lesions in the 20 patients and the gray matter of MCA territory in the 20 volunteers were measured on 3D-pcASL images. Third, the difference of mean CBF values between patients and volunteers were analyzed. Out of 20 study group, 19 patients whose lesions presented high signal intensity on DWI images, 12 cases were acute cerebral infarction and 8 were encephalitis. All the lesions of 20 cases showed abnormal perfusion on 3D-pcASL images. 3D-pcASL has good consistency with DWI in diagnostic capabilities (χ² = 0.565, P = 0.01). On 3D-pcASL, 11 acute cerebral infarction patients presented perfusion defects or low perfusion, 1 acute cerebral infarction patients showed high perfusion, 8 encephalitis patients showed inhomogeneous perfusion. The mean value of CBF was (17 ± 6) ml · min⁻¹ · 100 g⁻¹ in 12 acute cerebral infarction patients, (136 ± 69) ml · min⁻¹ · 100 g⁻¹ in 8 encephalitis patients and (68 ± 12) ml · min⁻¹ · 100 g⁻¹ three in 20 healthy volunteers. The difference in mean value of CBF among the three groups was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Acute cerebral infarction often shows low perfusion and acute encephalitis shows high perfusion on 3D-pcASL images, which has a higher application value in diagnosis and differentiation of acute cerebral infarction and encephalitis.

Accelerated defect visualization of microelectronic systems using binary search with fixed pitch-catch distance laser ultrasonic scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Byeongjin; Sohn, Hoon

2018-04-01

The practicality of laser ultrasonic scanning is limited because scanning at a high spatial resolution demands a prohibitively long scanning time. Inspired by binary search, an accelerated defect visualization technique is developed to visualize defect with a reduced scanning time. The pitch-catch distance between the excitation point and the sensing point is also fixed during scanning to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio of measured ultrasonic responses. The approximate defect boundary is identified by examining the interactions between ultrasonic waves and defect observed at the scanning points that are sparsely selected by a binary search algorithm. Here, a time-domain laser ultrasonic response is transformed into a spatial ultrasonic domain response using a basis pursuit approach so that the interactions between ultrasonic waves and defect can be better identified in the spatial ultrasonic domain. Then, the area inside the identified defect boundary is visualized as defect. The performance of the proposed defect visualization technique is validated through an experiment on a semiconductor chip. The proposed defect visualization technique accelerates the defect visualization process in three aspects: (1) The number of measurements that is necessary for defect visualization is dramatically reduced by a binary search algorithm; (2) The number of averaging that is necessary to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio is reduced by maintaining the wave propagation distance short; and (3) With the proposed technique, defect can be identified with a lower spatial resolution than the spatial resolution required by full-field wave propagation imaging.

Use of a magnetic attachment to retain an obturator prosthesis for an osseous defect.

PubMed

Kawamoto, Shin-ichiro; Hamamura, Syunichi; Kawahara, Hideki; Nishi, Yasuhiro; Nagaoka, Eiichi

2009-06-01

Tooth loss accompanied by a massive defect of the alveolar bone can cause serious problems such as food deposit and esthetic impairment. This report describes procedures for the fabrication of an osseous defect obturator prosthesis connected to a fixed partial denture by a magnetic attachment along with the clinical outcome.

The Impact of Vasoactive Drugs on Oxygenation and Tissue Perfusion

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

blood. Diffusion defects are seen in patients with pulmonary fibrosis and adult respiratory distress syndrome among others (Von Rueden, 1989; Reischman...increased oxyhemoglobin affinity include alkalosis , hypocarbia, hypothermia, hypophosphatemia and decreased levels of 2,3 - DPG (Mims, 1989; Von Rueden...which cause degranulation of mast cells, basophils and neutrophils. Neutrophils are responsible for respiratory bursts. These bursts are actually

Usefulness of Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest and Regional Cerebral Perfusion in Children

PubMed Central

Guo, Zheng; Hu, Ren-Jie; Zhu, De-Ming; Zhu, Zhong-Qun; Zhang, Hai-Bo

2013-01-01

To compare the safety and usefulness of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) and regional cerebral perfusion (RCP) during pediatric open heart surgery. Between January 1, 2004 and September 30, 2012, 1250 children with congenital cardiac defect underwent corrective operation with the DHCA or RCP technique in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. Of them, 947 cases underwent the operation with the aid of DHCA (DHCA group), and 303 cases with RCP (RCP group). The mean DHCA time was 30.64±15.81 (7–63) minutes and mean RCP time was 36.18±12.86 (10–82) minutes. The mortality rate was 7.18% (68/947) and 6.60% (20/30) in two groups, respectively. The postoperative incidences of temporary and permanent neurological dysfunction were 6.23% (59/947) in the DHCA group and 2.64% (8/303) in the RCP group (p<0.01). The incidence of other complications such as low cardiac output, renal dysfunction, and lung issues are similar in both groups. RCP is a reliable technique for cerebral protection and it facilitates time-consuming corrected procedures for complex congenital cardiac defect repair procedures. PMID:24066266

Improved first-pass spiral myocardial perfusion imaging with variable density trajectories.

PubMed

Salerno, Michael; Sica, Christopher; Kramer, Christopher M; Meyer, Craig H

2013-11-01

To develop and evaluate variable-density spiral first-pass perfusion pulse sequences for improved efficiency and off-resonance performance and to demonstrate the utility of an apodizing density compensation function (DCF) to improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reduce dark-rim artifact caused by cardiac motion and Gibbs Ringing. Three variable density spiral trajectories were designed, simulated, and evaluated in 18 normal subjects, and in eight patients with cardiac pathology on a 1.5T scanner. By using a DCF, which intentionally apodizes the k-space data, the sidelobe amplitude of the theoretical point spread function (PSF) is reduced by 68%, with only a 13% increase in the full-width at half-maximum of the main-lobe when compared with the same data corrected with a conventional variable-density DCF, and has an 8% higher resolution than a uniform density spiral with the same number of interleaves and readout duration. Furthermore, this strategy results in a greater than 60% increase in measured SNR when compared with the same variable-density spiral data corrected with a conventional DCF (P < 0.01). Perfusion defects could be clearly visualized with minimal off-resonance and dark-rim artifacts. Variable-density spiral pulse sequences using an apodized DCF produce high-quality first-pass perfusion images with minimal dark-rim and off-resonance artifacts, high SNR and contrast-to-noise ratio, and good delineation of resting perfusion abnormalities. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pilot study testing the effect of physical training over the myocardial perfusion and quality of life in patients with primary microvascular angina.

PubMed

de Carvalho, Eduardo Elias Vieira; Santi, Giovani Luiz; Crescêncio, Júlio César; de Oliveira, Luciano Fonseca Lemos; dos Reis, Daniela Caetano Costa; Figueiredo, Alexandre Baldini; Pintya, Antonio Osvaldo; Lima-Filho, Moyses Oliveira; Gallo-Júnior, Lourenço; Marin-Neto, José Antonio; Simões, Marcus Vinícius

2015-02-01

Primary microvascular angina (PMA) is a common clinical condition associated to negative impact on quality of life (QOL) and reduced physical capacity. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of aerobic physical training (APT) on myocardial perfusion, physical capacity, and QOL in patients with PMA. We investigated 12 patients (53.8 ± 9.7 years old; 7 women) with PMA, characterized by angina, angiographycally normal coronary arteries, and reversible perfusion defects (RPDs) detected on (99m)Tc-sestamibi-SPECT myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS). At baseline and after 4 month of APT, the patients underwent MPS, cardiopulmonary test, and QOL questionnaire. Stress-rest MPS images were visually analyzed by attributing semi-quantitative scores (0 = normal; 4 = absent uptake), using a 17-segment left ventricular model. Summed stress, rest, and difference scores (SDS) were calculated. In comparison to the baseline, in the post-training we observed a significant increase in peak-VO2 (19.4 ± 4.8 and 22.1 ± 6.2 mL·kg(-1)·minute(-1), respectively, P = .01), reduction of SDS (10.1 ± 8.8 and 2.8 ± 4.9, P = .008), and improvement in QOL scores. Physical training in patients with PMA is associated with reduction of myocardial perfusion abnormalities, increasing of physical capacity, and improvement in QOL. The findings of this hypothesis-generating study suggest that APT can be a valid therapeutic option for patients with PMA.

Neonatal repair of right interrupted aortic arch with cerebro-myocardial perfusion technique.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Koh; Masuzawa, Akihiro; Kobayashi, Jotaro; Tsuchiya, Keiji

2011-10-01

Right interrupted aortic arch and descending aorta is exceedingly rare and most likely cause respiratory presentation, since patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) courses over the right mainstem bronchus. We report a case of successful neonatal biventricular repair of a right interrupted aortic arch (type B), with an aberrant right subclavian artery ventricular septal defect (VSD) in a 2.7 kg term neonate with DiGeorge syndrome. Patient presented in severe respiratory distress and acidosis at one day old. Two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography revealed aortic arch interruption beyond the common carotid arteries with large perimembranous outlet VSD. Aortic annulus diameter was 4.8 mm and there was no left ventricle (LV) outflow tract obstruction. Three-dimensional (3D) CT-scan confirmed these findings and identified a right-sided ductal arch that continued over the right mainstem bronchus into a right-sided descending aorta and aberrant right subclavian artery. Brachiocephalic perfusion and ductal perfusion was employed for cooling during cardiopulmonary bypass. Under deep hypothermia (27 °C rectal temperature), selective cerebro-myocardial perfusion was used for successful aortic arch repair without sacrificing the aberrant right subclavian artery. A direct tension-free anastomosis was attained. Her postoperative course was uneventful and her respiratory symptoms disappeared postoperatively. Early surgical correction is mandatory for these patients with unique anatomy and presentation.

Biological characterization of F-18-labeled rhodamine B, a potential positron emission tomography perfusion tracer.

PubMed

Bartholomä, Mark D; He, Huamei; Pacak, Christina A; Dunning, Patricia; Fahey, Frederic H; McGowan, Francis X; Cowan, Douglas B; Treves, S Ted; Packard, Alan B

2013-11-01

Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death in western countries, and positron emission tomography (PET) plays an increasing role in the diagnosis and treatment planning for this disease. However, the absence of an (18)F-labeled PET myocardial perfusion tracer hampers the widespread use of PET in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). We recently reported a potential MPI agent based on (18)F-labeled rhodamine B. The goal of this study was to more completely define the biological properties of (18)F-labeled rhodamine B with respect to uptake and localization in an animal model of myocardial infarction and to evaluate the uptake (18)F-labeled rhodamine B by cardiomyocytes. A total of 12 female Sprague Dawley rats with a permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) were studied with small-animal PET. The animals were injected with 100-150 μCi of (18)F-labeled rhodamine B diethylene glycol ester ([(18)F]RhoBDEGF) and imaged two days before ligation. The animals were imaged again two to ten days post-ligation. After the post-surgery scans, the animals were euthanized and the hearts were sectioned into 1mm slices and myocardial infarct size was determined by phosphorimaging and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining (TTC). In addition, the uptake of [(18)F]RhoBDEGF in isolated rat neonatal cardiomyocytes was determined by fluorescence microscopy. Small-animal PET showed intense and uniform uptake of [(18)F]RhoBDEGF throughout the myocardium in healthy rats. After LAD ligation, well defined perfusion defects were observed in the PET images. The defect size was highly correlated with the infarct size as determined ex vivo by phosphorimaging and TTC staining. In vitro, [(18)F]RhoBDEGF was rapidly internalized into rat cardiomyocytes with ~40 % of the initial activity internalized within the 60 min incubation time. Fluorescence microscopy clearly demonstrated localization of [(18)F]RhoBDEGF in the mitochondria of rat cardiomyocytes. Fluorine-18-labeled rhodamine B diethylene glycol ester ([(18)F]RhoBDEGF) provides excellent image quality and clear delineation of myocardial infarcts in a rat infarct model. In vitro studies demonstrate localization of the tracer in the mitochondria of cardiac myocytes. In combination, these results support the continued evaluation of this tracer for the PET assessment of myocardial perfusion. © 2013.

Biological Characterization of F-18-Labeled Rhodamine B, a Potential Positron Emission Tomography Perfusion Tracer

PubMed Central

Bartholomä, Mark D.; He, Huamei; Pacak, Christina; Dunning, Patricia; Fahey, Frederic H.; McGowan, Francis; Cowan, Douglas; Treves, S. Ted; Packard, Alan B.

2013-01-01

Introduction Myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death in western countries, and positron emission tomography (PET) plays an increasing role in the diagnosis and treatment planning for this disease. However, the absence of an F-18-labeled PET myocardial perfusion tracer hampers the widespread use of PET in myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). We recently reported a potential MPI agent based on F-18-labeled rhodamine B. The goal of this study was to more completely define the biological properties of F-18-labeled rhodamine B with respect to uptake and localization in an animal model of myocardial infarction and to evaluate the uptake F-18-labeled rhodamine B by cardiomyocytes. Methods A total of 12 female Sprague Dawley rats with a permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) were studied with small-animal PET. The animals were injected with 100–150 µCi of F-18-labeled rhodamine B diethylene glycol ester ([18F]RhoBDEGF) and imaged two days before ligation. The animals were imaged again two to ten days post-ligation. After the post-surgery scans, the animals were euthanized and the hearts were sectioned into 1 mm slices and myocardial infarct size was determined by phosphorimaging and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining (TTC). In addition, the uptake of [18F]RhoBDEGF in isolated rat neonatal cardiomyocytes was determined by fluorescence microscopy. Results Small-animal PET showed intense and uniform uptake of [18F]RhoBDEGF throughout the myocardium in healthy rats. After LAD ligation, well defined perfusion defects were observed in the PET images. The defect size was highly correlated with the infarct size as determined ex vivo by phosphorimaging and TTC staining. In vitro, [18F]RhoBDEGF was rapidly internalized into rat cardiomyocytes with ~40 % of the initial activity internalized within the 60 min incubation time. Fluorescence microscopy clearly demonstrated localization of [18F]RhoBDEGF in the mitochondria of rat cardiomyocytes. Conclusion Fluorine-18-labeled rhodamine B diethylene glycol ester ([18F]RhoBDEGF) provides excellent image quality and clear delineation of myocardial infarcts in a rat infarct model. In vitro studies demonstrate localization of the tracer in the mitochondria of cardiac myocytes. In combination, these results support the continued evaluation of this tracer for the PET assessment of myocardial perfusion. PMID:24011396

Adaptation of laser-Doppler flowmetry to measure cerebral blood flow in the fetal sheep.

PubMed

Lan, J; Hunter, C J; Murata, T; Power, G G

2000-09-01

The purpose of this study was to devise a means to use laser-Doppler flowmetry to measure cerebral perfusion before birth. The method has not been used previously, largely because of intrauterine movement artifacts. To minimize movement artifacts, a probe holder was molded from epoxy putty to the contour of the fetal skull. A curved 18-gauge needle was embedded in the holder. At surgery, the holder, probe, and skull were fixed together with tissue glue. Residual signals were recorded after fetal death and after maternal death 1 h later. These averaged <5% of baseline flow signals, indicating minimal movement artifact. To test the usefulness of the method, cerebral flow responses were measured during moderate fetal hypoxia induced by giving the ewes approximately 10% oxygen in nitrogen to breathe. As fetal arterial PO(2) decreased from 21.1 +/- 0.5 to 10.7 +/- 0.4 Torr during a 30-min period, cerebral perfusion increased progressively to 56 +/- 8% above baseline. Perfusion then returned to baseline levels during a 30-min recovery period. These responses are quantitatively similar to those spot observations that have been recorded earlier using labeled microspheres. We conclude that cerebral perfusion can be successfully measured by using laser-Doppler flowmetry with the unanesthetized, chronically prepared fetal sheep as an experimental model. With this method, relative changes of perfusion from a small volume of the ovine fetal brain can be measured on a continuous basis, and movement artifacts can be reduced to 5% of measured flow values.

Myocardial perfusion magnetic resonance imaging using sliding-window conjugate-gradient highly constrained back-projection reconstruction for detection of coronary artery disease.

PubMed

Ma, Heng; Yang, Jun; Liu, Jing; Ge, Lan; An, Jing; Tang, Qing; Li, Han; Zhang, Yu; Chen, David; Wang, Yong; Liu, Jiabin; Liang, Zhigang; Lin, Kai; Jin, Lixin; Bi, Xiaoming; Li, Kuncheng; Li, Debiao

2012-04-15

Myocardial perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with sliding-window conjugate-gradient highly constrained back-projection reconstruction (SW-CG-HYPR) allows whole left ventricular coverage, improved temporal and spatial resolution and signal/noise ratio, and reduced cardiac motion-related image artifacts. The accuracy of this technique for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been determined in a large number of patients. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of myocardial perfusion MRI with SW-CG-HYPR in patients with suspected CAD. A total of 50 consecutive patients who were scheduled for coronary angiography with suspected CAD underwent myocardial perfusion MRI with SW-CG-HYPR at 3.0 T. The perfusion defects were interpreted qualitatively by 2 blinded observers and were correlated with x-ray angiographic stenoses ≥50%. The prevalence of CAD was 56%. In the per-patient analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of SW-CG-HYPR was 96% (95% confidence interval 82% to 100%), 82% (95% confidence interval 60% to 95%), 87% (95% confidence interval 70% to 96%), 95% (95% confidence interval 74% to100%), and 90% (95% confidence interval 82% to 98%), respectively. In the per-vessel analysis, the corresponding values were 98% (95% confidence interval 91% to 100%), 89% (95% confidence interval 80% to 94%), 86% (95% confidence interval 76% to 93%), 99% (95% confidence interval 93% to 100%), and 93% (95% confidence interval 89% to 97%), respectively. In conclusion, myocardial perfusion MRI using SW-CG-HYPR allows whole left ventricular coverage and high resolution and has high diagnostic accuracy in patients with suspected CAD. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Concrete induced cardiac contusion.

PubMed Central

Curzen, N.; Brett, S.; Fox, K.

1997-01-01

A previously fit 22 year old man was struck in the chest by a concrete block dropped through the windscreen of his car while he was driving on the motorway. He suffered extensive chest wall trauma and lung contusion, which subsequently precipitated acute respiratory distress. On admission ECG showed right bundle branch block and left axis deviation. Three days later QRS duration was normal but there was anterior ST segment elevation and subsequent T wave change. There was a large rise in creatine kinase, and echocardiography revealed septal and apical hyokinesis as well as a mobile mass attached to the left side of the interventricular septum, which had the echogenic texture of myocardium. The patient had fixed perfusion defects in the areas of hypokinesis on thallium scanning but the coronary arteries were unobstructed at angiography. He was treated with warfarin in the short term and an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor in the longer term and has made an asymptomatic recovery. Outpatient echocardiography two months after the injury demonstrated some recovery in overall left ventricular systolic function and no evidence of the intracardiac mass. This case illustrates some of the typical features of non-fatal cardiac contusion associated with non-penetrating cardiac trauma, and was complicated by partial thickness avulsion of a strip of the myocardium in the interventricular septum. Images PMID:9391297

Perilimbal sclera mechanical properties: Impact on intraocular pressure in porcine eyes

PubMed Central

Man, Xiaofei; Arroyo, Elizabeth; Dunbar, Martha; Reed, David M.; Shah, Neil; Kagemann, Larry; Kim, Wonsuk; Moroi, Sayoko E.

2018-01-01

There is extensive knowledge on the relationship of posterior scleral biomechanics and intraocular pressure (IOP) load on glaucomatous optic neuropathy; however, the role for biomechanical influence of the perilimbal scleral tissue on the aqueous humor drainage pathway, including the distal venous outflow system, and IOP regulation is not fully understood. The purpose of this work is to study the outflow characteristics of perfused porcine eyes relative to the biomechanical properties of the perilimbal sclera, the posterior sclera and the cornea. Enucleated porcine eyes from eleven different animals were perfused with surrogate aqueous at two fixed flow rates while monitoring their IOP. After perfusion, mechanical stress-strain and relaxation tests were conducted on specimens of perilimbal sclera, posterior sclera, and cornea from the same perfused eyes. Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated a strong correlation between increased tangent modulus of the perilimbal sclera tissues and increased perfusion IOP (R2 = 0.74, p = 0.0006 at lower flow rate and R2 = 0.71, p = 0.0011 at higher flow rate). In contrast, there were no significant correlations between IOP and the tangent modulus of the other tissues (Posterior sclera: R2 = 0.17 at lower flow rate and R2 = 0.30 at higher flow rate; cornea: R2 = 0.02 at lower flow rate and R2<0.01 at higher flow rate) nor the viscoelastic properties of any tissue (R2 ≤ 0.08 in all cases). Additionally, the correlation occurred for IOP and not net outflow facility (R2 ≤ 0.12 in all cases). These results provide new evidence that IOP in perfused porcine eyes is strongly influenced by the tangent modulus, sometimes called the tissue stiffness, of the most anterior portion of the sclera, i.e. the limbus. PMID:29718942

Tensile strength decreases and perfusion pressure of 3-holed polyamide epidural catheters increases in long-term epidural infusion.

PubMed

Kim, Pascal; Meyer, Urs; Schüpfer, Guido; Rukwied, Roman; Konrad, Christoph; Gerber, Helmut

2011-01-01

Epidural analgesia is an established method for pain management. The failure rate is 8% to 12% due to technical difficulties (catheter dislocation and/or disconnection; partial or total catheter occlusion) and management. The mechanical properties of the catheters, like tensile strength and flow rate, may also be affected by the analgesic solution and/or the tissue environment. We investigated the tensile strength and perfusion pressure of new (n=20), perioperatively (n=30), and postoperatively (n=73) used epidural catheters (20-gauge, polyamide, closed tip, 3 side holes; Perifix [B. Braun]). To prevent dislocation, epidural catheters were taped (n=5) or fixed by suture (n=68) to the skin. After removal, mechanical properties were assessed by a tensile-testing machine (INSTRON 4500), and perfusion pressure was measured at flow rates of 10, 20, and 40 mL/h. All catheters demonstrated a 2-step force transmission. Initially, a minimal increase of length could be observed at 15 N followed by an elongation of several cm at additional forces (7 N). Breakage occurred in the control group at 23.5±1.5 N compared with 22.4±1.6 N in perioperative and 22.4±1.7 N in postoperative catheters (P<0.05). Duration of catheter use had no effect on tensile strength, whereas perfusion pressure at clinically used flow rates (10 mL/h) increased significantly from 19±1.3 to 44±72 mm Hg during long-term (≥7 days) epidural analgesia (P<0.05, analysis of variance). Fixation by suture had no influence on tensile strength or perfusion pressure. Epidural catheter use significantly increases the perfusion pressure and decreases the tensile strength. Copyright © 2011 by American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

Application of Computer-Assisted Design and Manufacturing-Fabricated Artificial Bone in the Reconstruction of Craniofacial Bone Defects.

PubMed

Liang, Weiqiang; Yao, Yuanyuan; Huang, Zixian; Chen, Yuhong; Ji, Chenyang; Zhang, Jinming

2016-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of individual craniofacial bone fabrications using computer-assisted design (CAD)-computer-assisted manufacturing technology for the reconstruction of craniofacial bone defects. A total of 8 patients diagnosed with craniofacial bone defects were enrolled in this study between May 2007 and August 2010. After computed tomography scans were obtained, the patients were fitted with artificial bone that was created using CAD software, rapid prototyping technology, and epoxy-methyl acrylate resin and hydroxyapatite materials. The fabrication was fixed to the defect area with titanium screws, and soft tissue defects were repaired if necessary. The fabrications were precisely fixed to the defect areas, and all wounds healed well without any serious complications except for 1 case with intraoral incision dehiscence, which required further treatment. Postoperative curative effects were retrospectively observed after 6 to 48 months, acceptable anatomic and cosmetic outcomes were obtained, and no rejections or other complications occurred. The use of CAD-computer-assisted manufacturing technology-assisted epoxy-methyl acrylate resin and hydroxyapatite composite artificial bone to treat patients with craniofacial bone defects could enable the precise reconstruction of these defects and obtain good anatomic and cosmetic outcomes. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of incorporation of nitrogen atoms in Al2O3 gate dielectric of wide-bandgap-semiconductor MOSFET on gate leakage current and negative fixed charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kojima, Eiji; Chokawa, Kenta; Shirakawa, Hiroki; Araidai, Masaaki; Hosoi, Takuji; Watanabe, Heiji; Shiraishi, Kenji

2018-06-01

We performed first-principle calculations to investigate the effect of incorporation of N atoms into Al2O3 gate dielectrics. Our calculations show that the defect levels generated by VO in Al2O3 are the origin of the stress-induced gate leakage current and that VOVAl complexes in Al2O3 cause negative fixed charge. We revealed that the incorporation of N atoms into Al2O3 eliminates the VO defect levels, reducing the stress-induced gate leakage current. Moreover, this suppresses the formation of negatively charged VOVAl complexes. Therefore, AlON can reduce both stress-induced gate leakage current and negative fixed charge in wide-bandgap-semiconductor MOSFETs.

Cardiomyocyte-specific desmin rescue of desmin null cardiomyopathy excludes vascular involvement.

PubMed

Weisleder, Noah; Soumaka, Elisavet; Abbasi, Shahrzad; Taegtmeyer, Heinrich; Capetanaki, Yassemi

2004-01-01

Mice deficient in desmin, the muscle-specific member of the intermediate filament gene family, display defects in all muscle types and particularly in the myocardium. Desmin null hearts develop cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) characterized by extensive myocyte cell death, calcific fibrosis and multiple ultrastructural defects. Several lines of evidence suggest impaired vascular function in desmin null animals. To determine whether altered capillary function or an intrinsic cardiomyocyte defect is responsible for desmin null DCM, transgenic mice were generated to rescue desmin expression specifically to cardiomyocytes. Desmin rescue mice display a wild-type cardiac phenotype with no fibrosis or calcification in the myocardium and normalization of coronary flow. Cardiomyocyte ultrastructure is also restored to normal. Markers of hypertrophy upregulated in desmin null hearts return to wild-type levels in desmin rescue mice. Working hearts were perfused to assess coronary flow and cardiac power. Restoration of a wild-type cardiac phenotype in a desmin null background by expression of desmin specifically within cardiomyocyte indicates that defects in the desmin null heart are due to an intrinsic cardiomyocytes defect rather than compromised coronary circulation.

Comprehensive CT Evaluation in Acute Ischemic Stroke: Impact on Diagnosis and Treatment Decisions

PubMed Central

Löve, Askell; Siemund, Roger; Andsberg, Gunnar; Cronqvist, Mats; Holtås, Stig; Björkman-Burtscher, Isabella

2011-01-01

Background. With modern CT imaging a comprehensive overview of cerebral macro- and microcirculation can be obtained within minutes in acute ischemic stroke. This opens for patient stratification and individualized treatment. Methods. Four patients with acute ischemic stroke of different aetiologies and/or treatments were chosen for illustration of the comprehensive CT protocol and its value in subsequent treatment decisions. The patients were clinically evaluated according to the NIHSS-scale, examined with the comprehensive CT protocol including both CT angiography and CT perfusion, and followed up by MRI. Results. The comprehensive CT examination protocol increased the examination time but did not delay treatment initiation. In some cases CT angiography revealed the cause of stroke while CT perfusion located and graded the perfusion defect with reasonable accuracy, confirmed by follow-up MR-diffusion. In the presented cases findings of the comprehensive CT examination influenced the treatment strategy. Conclusions. The comprehensive CT examination is a fast and safe method allowing accurate diagnosis and making way for individualized treatment in acute ischemic stroke. PMID:21603175

The Roles of Primary Cilia in Cardiovascular System

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

defect, oral facial syndrome, obesity , hypertension and others [60]. Primary cilia can be activated by bending through perfusing cells with fluid...synthase, was found to be elevated in PKD patients [125]. The correlation between hypertension and kidney volume occurs in the early childhood stages...involvement of centrosome and basal body dysfunction in the pathogenesis of obesity , insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 2005; 54(5

Myocardial perfusion magnetic resonance imaging using sliding-window conjugate-gradient HYPR methods in canine with stenotic coronary arteries.

PubMed

Ge, Lan; Kino, Aya; Lee, Daniel; Dharmakumar, Rohan; Carr, James C; Li, Debiao

2010-01-01

First-pass perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising technique for detecting ischemic heart disease. However, the diagnostic value of the method is limited by the low spatial coverage, resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and cardiac motion-related image artifacts. A combination of sliding window and conjugate-gradient HighlY constrained back-PRojection reconstruction (SW-CG-HYPR) method has been proposed in healthy volunteer studies to reduce the acquisition window for each slice while maintaining the temporal resolution of 1 frame per heartbeat in myocardial perfusion MRI. This method allows for improved spatial coverage, resolution, and SNR. In this study, we use a controlled animal model to test whether the myocardial territory supplied by a stenotic coronary artery can be detected accurately by SW-CG-HYPR perfusion method under pharmacological stress. Results from 6 mongrel dogs (15-25 kg) studies demonstrate the feasibility of SW-CG-HYPR to detect regional perfusion defects. Using this method, the acquisition time per cardiac cycle was reduced by a factor of 4, and the spatial coverage was increased from 2 to 3 slices to 6 slices as compared with the conventional techniques including both turbo-Fast Low Angle Short (FLASH) and echoplanar imaging (EPI). The SNR of the healthy myocardium at peak enhancement with SW-CG-HYPR (12.68 ± 2.46) is significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the turbo-FLASH (8.65 ± 1.93) and EPI (5.48 ± 1.24). The spatial resolution of SW-CG-HYPR images is 1.2 × 1.2 × 8.0 mm, which is better than the turbo-FLASH (1.8 × 1.8 × 8.0 mm) and EPI (2.0 × 1.8 × 8.0 mm). Sliding-window CG-HYPR is a promising technique for myocardial perfusion MRI. This technique provides higher image quality with respect to significantly improved SNR and spatial resolution of the myocardial perfusion images, which might improve myocardial perfusion imaging in a clinical setting.

A Medicago truncatula Tobacco Retrotransposon Insertion Mutant Collection with Defects in Nodule Development and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation1[W][OA

PubMed Central

Pislariu, Catalina I.; D. Murray, Jeremy; Wen, JiangQi; Cosson, Viviane; Muni, RajaSekhara Reddy Duvvuru; Wang, Mingyi; A. Benedito, Vagner; Andriankaja, Andry; Cheng, Xiaofei; Jerez, Ivone Torres; Mondy, Samuel; Zhang, Shulan; Taylor, Mark E.; Tadege, Million; Ratet, Pascal; Mysore, Kirankumar S.; Chen, Rujin; Udvardi, Michael K.

2012-01-01

A Tnt1-insertion mutant population of Medicago truncatula ecotype R108 was screened for defects in nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Primary screening of 9,300 mutant lines yielded 317 lines with putative defects in nodule development and/or nitrogen fixation. Of these, 230 lines were rescreened, and 156 lines were confirmed with defective symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Mutants were sorted into six distinct phenotypic categories: 72 nonnodulating mutants (Nod−), 51 mutants with totally ineffective nodules (Nod+ Fix−), 17 mutants with partially ineffective nodules (Nod+ Fix+/−), 27 mutants defective in nodule emergence, elongation, and nitrogen fixation (Nod+/− Fix−), one mutant with delayed and reduced nodulation but effective in nitrogen fixation (dNod+/− Fix+), and 11 supernodulating mutants (Nod++Fix+/−). A total of 2,801 flanking sequence tags were generated from the 156 symbiotic mutant lines. Analysis of flanking sequence tags revealed 14 insertion alleles of the following known symbiotic genes: NODULE INCEPTION (NIN), DOESN’T MAKE INFECTIONS3 (DMI3/CCaMK), ERF REQUIRED FOR NODULATION, and SUPERNUMERARY NODULES (SUNN). In parallel, a polymerase chain reaction-based strategy was used to identify Tnt1 insertions in known symbiotic genes, which revealed 25 additional insertion alleles in the following genes: DMI1, DMI2, DMI3, NIN, NODULATION SIGNALING PATHWAY1 (NSP1), NSP2, SUNN, and SICKLE. Thirty-nine Nod− lines were also screened for arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis phenotypes, and 30 mutants exhibited defects in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Morphological and developmental features of several new symbiotic mutants are reported. The collection of mutants described here is a source of novel alleles of known symbiotic genes and a resource for cloning novel symbiotic genes via Tnt1 tagging. PMID:22679222

Microbiota-Dependent Marker TMAO Is Elevated in Silent Ischemia but Is Not Associated With First-Time Myocardial Infarction in HIV Infection.

PubMed

Haissman, Judith M; Knudsen, Andreas; Hoel, Hedda; Kjær, Andreas; Kristoffersen, Ulrik S; Berge, Rolf K; Katzenstein, Terese L; Svardal, Asbjørn; Ueland, Thor; Aukrust, Pål; Lebech, Anne-Mette; Nielsen, Susanne D; Trøseid, Marius

2016-02-01

HIV infection is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease beyond that explained by traditional risk factors, and altered gut microbiota has been proposed as a potential trigger. Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a proatherogenic substance formed in the liver from trimethylamine, exclusively generated by gut microbiota from dietary phosphatidylcholine. We aimed to investigate whether TMAO is associated with subclinical and clinical coronary heart disease in HIV infection. Two previously described cohorts were examined as follows: (1) cross-sectional cohort of HIV-infected persons and uninfected controls with known atherosclerotic plaque burden as assessed by myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, coronary artery calcium score, and intima-media thickness and (2) nested case-control study of HIV-infected persons with first-time myocardial infarction (MI) compared with HIV-infected persons without MI, assessed at 4 time points from before initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to last sample before the case's MI (median: 51, range: 0-239 days). There was no difference in plasma TMAO when comparing HIV-infected persons and uninfected controls. TMAO was elevated in HIV-infected persons with myocardial perfusion defects but was not associated with coronary artery calcium score, intima media thickness, or Framingham risk score. In the nested case control study, plasma TMAO was not associated with first-time MI. However, TMAO increased after ART introduction and was associated with the use of protease inhibitors in both cohorts. TMAO was elevated in HIV-infected persons with myocardial perfusion defects, but was not associated with first-time MI. Our data question TMAO as a useful biomarker of cardiovascular risk in HIV infection, at least in ART-treated individuals.

3D perfusion bioreactor-activated porous granules on implant fixation and early bone formation in sheep.

PubMed

Ding, Ming; Henriksen, Susan S; Martinetti, Roberta; Overgaard, Søren

2017-11-01

Early fixation of total joint arthroplasties is crucial for ensuring implant survival. An alternative bone graft material in revision surgery is needed to replace the current gold standard, allograft, seeing that the latter is associated with several disadvantages. The incubation of such a construct in a perfusion bioreactor has been shown to produce viable bone graft materials. This study aimed at producing larger amounts of viable bone graft material (hydroxyapatite 70% and β-tricalcium-phosphate 30%) in a novel perfusion bioreactor. The abilities of the bioreactor-activated graft material to induce early implant fixation were tested in a bilateral implant defect model in sheep, with allograft as the control group. Defects were bilaterally created in the distal femurs of the animals, and titanium implants were inserted. The concentric gaps around the implants were randomly filled with either allograft, granules, granules with bone marrow aspirate or bioreactor-activated graft material. Following an observation time of 6 weeks, early implant fixation and bone formation were assessed by micro-CT scanning, mechanical testing, and histomorphometry. Bone formations were seen in all groups, while no significant differences between groups were found regarding early implant fixation. The microarchitecture of the bone formed by the synthetic graft materials resembled that of allograft. Histomorphometry revealed that allograft induced significantly more bone and less fibrous tissue (p < 0.05). In conclusion, bone formation was observed in all groups, while the bioreactor-activated graft material did not reveal additional effects on early implant fixation comparable to allograft in this model. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2465-2476, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Silent myocardial ischemia in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis: associated factors.

PubMed

Arenillas, Juan F; Candell-Riera, Jaume; Romero-Farina, Guillermo; Molina, Carlos A; Chacón, Pilar; Aguadé-Bruix, Santiago; Montaner, Joan; de León, Gustavo; Castell-Conesa, Joan; Alvarez-Sabín, José

2005-06-01

Optimization of coronary risk evaluation in stroke patients has been encouraged. The relationship between symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis and occult coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been evaluated sufficiently. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of silent myocardial ischemia in patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis and to identify factors associated with its presence. From 186 first-ever transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke patients with intracranial stenoses, 65 fulfilled selection criteria, including angiographic confirmation of a symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis and absence of known CAD. All patients underwent a maximal-stress myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], C-reactive protein, and homocysteine (Hcy) levels were determined before SPECT. Stress-rest SPECT detected reversible myocardial perfusion defects in 34 (52%) patients. Vascular risk factors associated with a pathologic SPECT were hypercholesterolemia (P=0.045), presence of >2 risk factors (P=0.004) and high Lp(a) (P=0.023) and Hcy levels (P=0.018). Ninety percent of patients with high Lp(a) and Hcy levels had a positive SPECT. Existence of a stenosed intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA; odds ratio [OR], 7.22, 2.07 to 25.23; P=0.002) and location of the symptomatic stenosis in vertebrobasilar arteries (OR, 4.89, 1.19 to 20.12; P=0.027) were independently associated with silent myocardial ischemia after adjustment by age, sex, and risk factors. More than 50% of the patients with symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis and not overt CAD show myocardial perfusion defects on stress-rest SPECT. Stenosed intracranial ICA, symptomatic vertebrobasilar stenosis and presence of high Lp(a) and Hcy levels may characterize the patients at a higher risk for occult CAD.

Left ventricular energy model predicts adverse events in women with suspected myocardial ischemia: results from the NHLBI-sponsored women’s ischemia syndrome evaluation (WISE) study

PubMed Central

Weinberg, Nicole; Pohost, Gerald M.; Bairey Merz, C. Noel; Shaw, Leslee J.; Sopko, George; Fuisz, Anthon; Rogers, William J.; Walsh, Edward G.; Johnson, B. Delia; Sharaf, Barry L.; Pepine, Carl J.; Mankad, Sunil; Reis, Steven E.; Rayarao, Geetha; Vido, Diane A.; Bittner, Vera; Tauxe, Lindsey; Olson, Marian B.; Kelsey, Sheryl F.; Biederman, Robert WW

2013-01-01

Objectives To assess the prognostic value of a left ventricular energy-model in women with suspected myocardial ischemia. Background The prognostic value of internal energy utilization (IEU) of the left ventricle in women with suspected myocardial ischemia is unknown. Methods Women [n=227, mean age 59±12 years (range, 31-86 years)], with symptoms of myocardial ischemia, underwent myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) assessment for regional perfusion defects along with measurement of ventricular volumes separately by gated Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) (n=207) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n=203). During follow-up (40±17 months), time to first major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE, death, myocardial infarction or hospitalization for congestive heart failure) was analyzed using MRI and gated SPECT variables. Results Adverse events occurred in 31 (14%). Multivariable Cox models were formed for each modality: IEU and wall thickness by MRI (Chi-squared 34, P<0.005) and IEU and systolic blood pressure by gated SEPCT (Chi-squared 34, P<0.005). The models remained predictive after adjustment for age, disease history and Framingham risk score. For each Cox model, patients were categorized as high-risk if the model hazard was positive and not high-risk otherwise. Kaplan-Meier analysis of time to MACE was performed for high-risk vs. not high-risk for MR (log rank 25.3, P<0.001) and gated SEPCT (log rank 18.2, P<0.001) models. Conclusions Among women with suspected myocardial ischemia a high internal energy utilization has higher prognostic value than either a low EF or the presence of a myocardial perfusion defect assessed using two independent modalities of MR or gated SPECT. PMID:24015377

Selection of nitrogen-fixing deficient Burkholderia vietnamiensis strains by cystic fibrosis patients: involvement of nif gene deletions and auxotrophic mutations.

PubMed

Menard, Aymeric; Monnez, Claire; Estrada de Los Santos, Paulina; Segonds, Christine; Caballero-Mellado, Jesus; Lipuma, John J; Chabanon, Gerard; Cournoyer, Benoit

2007-05-01

Burkholderia vietnamiensis is the third most prevalent species of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) found in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Its ability at fixing nitrogen makes it one of the main Bcc species showing strong filiations with environmental reservoirs. In this study, 83% (29 over 35) of the B. vietnamiensis CF isolates and 100% of the environmental ones (over 29) were found expressing the dinitrogenase complex (encoded by the nif cluster) which is essential in N(2) fixation. Among the deficient strains, two were found growing with ammonium chloride suggesting that they were defective in N(2) fixation, and four with amino acids supplements suggesting that they were harbouring auxotrophic mutations. To get insights about the genetic events that led to the emergence of the N(2)-fixing defective strains, a genetic analysis of B. vietnamiensis nitrogen-fixing property was undertaken. A 40-kb-long nif cluster and nif regulatory genes were identified within the B. vietnamiensis strain G4 genome sequence, and analysed. Transposon mutagenesis and nifH genetic marker exchanges showed the nif cluster and several other genes like gltB (encoding a subunit of the glutamate synthase) to play a key role in B. vietnamiensis ability at growing in nitrogen-free media. nif cluster DNA probings of restricted genomic DNA blots showed a full deletion of the nif cluster for one of the N(2)-fixing defective strain while the other one showed a genetic organization similar to the one of the G4 strain. For 17% of B. vietnamiensis clinical strains, CF lungs appeared to have favoured the selection of mutations or deletions leading to N(2)-fixing deficiencies.

Tissue-engineered bone constructed in a bioreactor for repairing critical-sized bone defects in sheep.

PubMed

Li, Deqiang; Li, Ming; Liu, Peilai; Zhang, Yuankai; Lu, Jianxi; Li, Jianmin

2014-11-01

Repair of bone defects, particularly critical-sized bone defects, is a considerable challenge in orthopaedics. Tissue-engineered bones provide an effective approach. However, previous studies mainly focused on the repair of bone defects in small animals. For better clinical application, repairing critical-sized bone defects in large animals must be studied. This study investigated the effect of a tissue-engineered bone for repairing critical-sized bone defect in sheep. A tissue-engineered bone was constructed by culturing bone marrow mesenchymal-stem-cell-derived osteoblast cells seeded in a porous β-tricalcium phosphate ceramic (β-TCP) scaffold in a perfusion bioreactor. A critical-sized bone defect in sheep was repaired with the tissue-engineered bone. At the eighth and 16th week after the implantation of the tissue-engineered bone, X-ray examination and histological analysis were performed to evaluate the defect. The bone defect with only the β-TCP scaffold served as the control. X-ray showed that the bone defect was successfully repaired 16 weeks after implantation of the tissue-engineered bone; histological sections showed that a sufficient volume of new bones formed in β-TCP 16 weeks after implantation. Eight and 16 weeks after implantation, the volume of new bones that formed in the tissue-engineered bone group was more than that in the β-TCP scaffold group (P < 0.05). Tissue-engineered bone improved osteogenesis in vivo and enhanced the ability to repair critical-sized bone defects in large animals.

Successful two-stage correction of ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus in a patient with fixed pulmonary hypertension.

PubMed

Pac, Aysenur; Polat, Tugcin Bora; Vural, Kerem; Pac, Mustafa

2010-01-01

We report a case of a 6-year-old boy with fixed severe pulmonary artery hypertension secondary to a ventricular septal defect (VSD) together with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). As a preliminary step, PDA embolization was performed following therapy with inhaled prostacyclin over a period of 6 months. Further, the patient underwent successful surgical VSD closure. We postulate that a staged procedure with long-term prostaglandin therapy might be capable of reducing pulmonary artery resistance and permitting total correction in a patient once considered to have inoperable pulmonary arteriopathy.

Experimental acute thrombotic stroke in baboons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Del Zoppo, G.J.; Copeland, B.R.; Harker, L.A.

1986-11-01

To study the effects of antithrombotic therapy in experimental stroke, we have characterized a baboon model of acute cerebrovascular thrombosis. In this model an inflatable silastic balloon cuff has been implanted by transorbital approach around the right middle cerebral artery (MCA), proximal to the take-off of the lenticulostriate arteries (LSA). Inflation of the balloon for 3 hours in six animals produced a stereotypic sustained stroke syndrome characterized by contralateral hemiparesis. An infarction volume of 3.2 +/- 1.5 cm3 in the ipsilateral corpus striatum was documented by computerized tomographic (CT) scanning at 10 days following stroke induction and 3.9 +/- 1.9more » cm3 (n = 4) at 14 days by morphometric neuropathologic determinations of brain specimens fixed in situ by pressure-perfusion with 10% buffered formalin. Immediate pressure-perfusion fixation following deflation of the balloon was performed in 16 additional animals given Evans blue dye intravenously prior to the 3 hour MCA balloon occlusion. Light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy consistently confirmed the presence of thrombotic material occluding microcirculatory branches of the right LSA in the region of Evans blue stain, but not those of the contralateral corpus striatum. When autologous 111In-platelets were infused intravenously in four animals from the above group prior to the transient 3 hour occlusion of the right MCA, gamma scintillation camera imaging of each perfused-fixed whole brain demonstrated the presence of a single residual focus of 111In-platelet activity involving only the Evans blue-stained right corpus striatum. Focal right hemispheric activity was equivalent to 0.55 +/- 0.49 ml of whole blood, and the occlusion score derived from histologic examination of the microcirculation of the Evans blue-stained corpus striatum averaged 34.8 +/- 2.8.« less

A prospective 10-year study of metal ceramic single crowns and fixed dental prosthesis retainers in private practice settings.

PubMed

Reitemeier, Bernd; Hänsel, Kristina; Kastner, Christian; Weber, Anke; Walter, Michael H

2013-03-01

Metal ceramic restorations are widely used in prosthodontics, but long-term data on their clinical performance in private practice settings based on prospective trials are sparse. This clinical trial was designed to provide realistic long-term survival rates for different outcomes related to tooth loss, crown loss, and metal ceramic defect. Ninety-five participants were provided with 190 noble metal ceramic single crowns and 138 participants with 276 fixed dental prosthesis retainer crowns on vital posterior teeth. Follow-up examinations were scheduled 2 weeks after insertion, annually up to 8 years, and after 10 years. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses, Mantel-Cox logrank tests, and Cox regression analyses were conducted. Because of variations in the time of the last examinations, the maximum observation period was 12.1 years. For the primary outcome 'loss of crown or tooth', the Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 94.3% ±1.8% (standard error) at 8.0 years (last outcome event) for single crowns and 94.4% ±1.5% at 11.0 years for fixed dental prosthesis retainer crowns. The difference between the survival functions was not significant (P>.05). For the secondary outcome 'metal ceramic defect', the survival rate was 88.8% ±3.2% at 11.0 years for single crowns and 81.7% ±3.5% at 11.0 years for fixed dental prosthesis retainer crowns. In Cox regression models, the only significant covariates for the outcome event 'metal ceramic defect' were bruxism in the medical history (single crowns) and signs and symptoms of bruxism (fixed dental prosthesis retainer crowns) with hazard ratios of 3.065 (95% CI 1.063 - 8.832) and 2.554 (95% CI 1.307 - 4.992). Metal ceramic crowns provided in private practice settings show good longevity. Bruxism appears to indicate a risk for metal ceramic defects. Copyright © 2013 The Editorial Council of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Association between plasma ceramides and inducible myocardial ischemia in patients with established or suspected coronary artery disease undergoing myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

PubMed

Mantovani, Alessandro; Bonapace, Stefano; Lunardi, Gianluigi; Salgarello, Matteo; Dugo, Clementina; Canali, Guido; Byrne, Christopher D; Gori, Stefania; Barbieri, Enrico; Targher, Giovanni

2018-05-16

Recent studies have suggested that specific plasma ceramides are independently associated with major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but it is currently unknown whether plasma ceramide levels are associated with stress-induced reversible myocardial ischemia. We measured six previously identified high-risk plasma ceramide molecules [Cer(d18:1/16:0), Cer(d18:1/18:0), Cer(d18:1/20:0), Cer(d18:1/22:0), Cer(d18:1/24:0), and Cer(d18:1/24:1)] in 167 consecutive patients with established or suspected CAD who underwent either exercise or dypiridamole myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) for various clinical indications. Plasma ceramide levels were measured by a targeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay both at baseline and after MPS. Seventy-eight patients had inducible myocardial ischemia on stress MPS. Women had significantly higher circulating levels of basal and post-stress Cer(d18:1/16:0) and Cer(d18:1/18:0) compared to men, whereas all other plasma ceramides did not differ between the sexes. Of the six measured plasma ceramides, basal Cer(d18:1/24:1) showed the strongest association with the presence of stress-induced myocardial perfusion defects in univariate analysis (unadjusted-odds ratio 1.48 per 1-SD increment, 95% confidence interval 1.08-2.04). Notably, after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, prior history of CAD, left ventricular ejection fraction, and type of stress testing (exercise vs. dypiridamole), all measured ceramides, except for plasma Cer(d18:1/24:0), were independently associated with the presence of inducible myocardial ischemia. Distinct plasma ceramides are positive and independent predictors of stress-induced myocardial perfusion defects in patients with established or suspected CAD referred for clinically indicated MPS. Further research is needed to examine whether distinct plasma ceramides could be a useful therapeutic target for treatment and management of CAD. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Hormonal regulation of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex in the isolated perfused rat liver.

PubMed

Rashed, H M; Waller, F M; Patel, T B

1988-04-25

The metabolic flux through the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase reaction in perfused livers was monitored by measuring the rate of 14CO2 production from [1-14C]alpha-ketoglutarate. The rates of 14CO2 production and glucose production from [1-14C]alpha-ketoglutarate were increased with increasing perfusate alpha-ketoglutarate concentrations. Vasopressin, angiotensin II, and the alpha 1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine stimulated transiently by 2.5-fold the metabolic flux through the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase reaction in the presence and absence of Ca2+ in the perfusion medium. High concentrations of glucagon (1 x 10(-8) M) and 8-p-chlorophenylthio-cAMP (100 microM) (data not shown) also stimulated transiently the metabolic flux through the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase reaction. However, lower glucagon concentrations (1 x 10(-9) M) stimulated the rate of 14CO2 production from [1-14C]alpha-ketoglutarate only under conditions optimized to fix the cellular oxidation-reduction state at an intermediate level, when glucagon (1 x 10(-9) M)-mediated elevation of cAMP content was greater than that observed under highly oxidizing and reducing conditions. These data indicate that agonists which increase cytosolic free Ca2+ levels stimulate the metabolic flux through the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex. Furthermore, the data presented here demonstrate for the first time that physiological glucagon concentrations stimulate the metabolic flux through the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase reaction only under conditions known to be optimal for glucagon-mediated Ca2+ mobilization in the isolated perfused rat liver.

Respiratory and psychiatric abnormalities in chronic symptomatic hyperventilation.

PubMed Central

Bass, C; Gardner, W N

1985-01-01

Many physicians believe that the hyperventilation syndrome is invariably associated with anxiety or undiagnosed organic disease such as asthma and pulmonary embolus, or both. Twenty one patients referred by specialist physicians with unexplained somatic symptoms and unequivocal chronic hypocapnia (resting end tidal Pco2 less than or equal to 4 kPa (30 mm Hg) on repeated occasions during prolonged measurement) were investigated. All but one complained of inability to take a satisfying breath. Standard lung function test results and chest radiographs were normal in all patients, but histamine challenge showed bronchial hyper-reactivity in two of 20 patients tested, and skin tests to common allergens were positive in three of 18. Ventilation-perfusion scanning was abnormal in a further three of 15 patients studied, with unmatched perfusion defects in two and isolated ventilation defects in one. None of the 21 had thyrotoxicosis, severe coronary heart disease, or other relevant cardiovascular abnormalities. Ten of the 21 patients were neurotic and suffered from chronic psychiatric disturbance characterised by anxiety, panic, and phobic symptoms. The remainder had no detectable psychiatric disorders but reported proportionately more somatic than anxiety symptoms. Severe hyperventilation can occur in the absence of formal psychiatric or detectable respiratory or other organic abnormalities. Asthma and pulmonary embolus must be specifically excluded. PMID:3922504

Defect-mediated turbulence in ribbons of viscoelastic Taylor-Couette flow.

PubMed

Latrache, Noureddine; Abcha, Nizar; Crumeyrolle, Olivier; Mutabazi, Innocent

2016-04-01

Transition to defect-mediated turbulence in the ribbon patterns observed in a viscoelastic Taylor-Couette flow is investigated when the rotation rate of the inner cylinder is increased while the outer cylinder is fixed. In four polymer solutions with different values of the elasticity number, the defects appear just above the onset of the ribbon pattern and trigger the appearance of disordered oscillations when the rotation rate is increased. The flow structure around the defects is determined and the statistical properties of these defects are analyzed in the framework of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

Clinical and Radiographic Assessment of Reasons for Replacement of Metal- Ceramic Fixed Dental Prostheses in Patients Referring to Dental School.

PubMed

Al Refai, Roa'a; Saker, Samah

2018-01-01

The expected length of service and reasons for fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) replacement are a frequent inquiry by patients while the answers were mainly based on studies reports that was conducted outside the middle east region. This clinical and radiographic survey was constructed to assess and survey clinically and radiographically the reasons of replacement of metal-ceramic fixed dental prostheses, amongst patients reporting at dental school in Taibah University. Between January and May 2016, 151 patients were recruited for this study. Interview (include questions pertained to the length of service of the prosthesis, the nature of complaint as told by patient in her own words), clinical examination, intra-oral photographs, and periapical radiographs, were done by the researchers. The parameters assessed were secondary caries, open margins, loss of retention, failure of endodontic treatment of the abutment and periodontal diseases. A total number of 249 failed fixed dental prostheses were evaluated. Of which 180 (39.7%) were single crowns, 159 (35.0%) were retainers and 117 (25.8%) were pontics in 69 fixed partial denture. The most common reason for replacement of fixed restorations was periodontal diseases affecting 92.8% of all types' restorations, followed by defective margin in 90.4% of examined restoration, poor aesthetic in 88% of restorations, while periapical involvement was found in 85.5% of fixed dental prosthesis. The survival rates of fixed prostheses were not predictable, and no association was found between number of years in service and the number of restorations. The most common reasons for replacing single unit fixed dental prostheses are periodontal diseases and periapical involvement, while defective margins and poor aesthetic mainly associated with multi-unit fixed dental prostheses. Key words: Failure, Fixed dental prosthesis, Survival, Replacement.

FINE STRUCTURE OF CELLS ISOLATED FROM ADULT MOUSE LIVER

PubMed Central

Berry, M. N.; Simpson, F. O.

1962-01-01

Suspensions of isolated cells in various media were prepared from mouse liver which had been perfused via the portal vein with a buffered medium containing 0.40 M sucrose, and the cells were fixed with osmium tetroxide. Their fine structure was compared with that of cells from perfused and unperfused intact liver. Perfusion brought about some separation of the cells with little or no damage to cell membranes. When cells were dispersed in 0.40 M sucrose medium the plasma membranes partially broke down, and this disintegration was increased by transfer of the cells to media of lower osmolarity. This is presumed to account for the loss of permeability barriers which occurs in isolated liver cells. The mitochondria in cells of perfused liver and in isolated cells remained elongated, but the layers of many mitochondrial cristae became separated by clear spaces. When cells were transferred to a medium containing 0.20 M sucrose, the mitochondria swelled and became spherical, often with displacement of the swollen cristae to the periphery. In a medium containing 0.06 M sucrose and 0.08 M potassium chloride the outer chamber of many mitochondria became swollen with displacement of the mitochondrial body to one side to give a crescent-shaped appearance. These changes in mitochondrial morphology are discussed in relation to the metabolic activity of isolated liver cells. PMID:19866610

Arterial spin labeling in combination with a look-locker sampling strategy: inflow turbo-sampling EPI-FAIR (ITS-FAIR).

PubMed

Günther, M; Bock, M; Schad, L R

2001-11-01

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) permits quantification of tissue perfusion without the use of MR contrast agents. With standard ASL techniques such as flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) the signal from arterial blood is measured at a fixed inversion delay after magnetic labeling. As no image information is sampled during this delay, FAIR measurements are inefficient and time-consuming. In this work the FAIR preparation was combined with a Look-Locker acquisition to sample not one but a series of images after each labeling pulse. This new method allows monitoring of the temporal dynamics of blood inflow. To quantify perfusion, a theoretical model for the signal dynamics during the Look-Locker readout was developed and applied. Also, the imaging parameters of the new ITS-FAIR technique were optimized using an expression for the variance of the calculated perfusion. For the given scanner hardware the parameters were: temporal resolution 100 ms, 23 images, flip-angle 25.4 degrees. In a normal volunteer experiment with these parameters an average perfusion value of 48.2 +/- 12.1 ml/100 g/min was measured in the brain. With the ability to obtain ITS-FAIR time series with high temporal resolution arterial transit times in the range of -138 - 1054 ms were measured, where nonphysical negative values were found in voxels containing large vessels. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Ceramic Defects in Metal-Ceramic Fixed Dental Prostheses Made from Co-Cr and Au-Pt Alloys: A Retrospective Study.

PubMed

Mikeli, Aikaterini; Boening, Klaus W; Lißke, Benjamin

2015-01-01

Ceramic defects in porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) restorations may depend on framework alloy type. This study assessed ceramic defects on cobalt-chromium- (Co-Cr-) and gold-platinum- (Au-Pt-) based PFM restorations. In this study, 147 Co-Cr-based and 168 Au-Pt-based PFM restorations inserted between 1998 and 2010 (139 patients) were examined for ceramic defects. Detected defects were assigned to three groups according to clinical defect relevance. Ceramic defect rates (Co-Cr-based: 12.9%; Au-Pt-based: 7.2%) revealed no significant difference but a strong statistical trend (U test, P = .082). Most defects were of little clinical relevance. Co-Cr PFM restorations may be at higher risk for ceramic defects compared to Au-Pt-based restorations.

Variable Saline Concentrations for Initial Resuscitation Following Polytrauma

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-22

sagittal suture between the coronal and lambdoid suture lines. Head injury was induced by dropping a cylindrical rod weighing 400 grams from 1.5 cm...injury. Brain samples were perfusion fixed and evaluated for extent of injury with hematoxylin and eosin staining . 3.5 Capillary Leak and Blood...Distribution is unlimited. Cleared, 88PA, Case # 2017-2329, 15 May 2017. 4.8 Histology Hematoxylin and eosin staining demonstrated no differences

Suppression of fixed pattern noise for infrared image system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Changhan; Han, Jungsoo; Bae, Kyung-Hoon

2008-04-01

In this paper, we propose suppression of fixed pattern noise (FPN) and compensation of soft defect for improvement of object tracking in cooled staring infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) imaging system. FPN appears an observable image which applies to non-uniformity compensation (NUC) by temperature. Soft defect appears glittering black and white point by characteristics of non-uniformity for IR detector by time. This problem is very important because it happen serious problem for object tracking as well as degradation for image quality. Signal processing architecture in cooled staring IRFPA imaging system consists of three tables: low, normal, high temperature for reference gain and offset values. Proposed method operates two offset tables for each table. This is method which operates six term of temperature on the whole. Proposed method of soft defect compensation consists of three stages: (1) separates sub-image for an image, (2) decides a motion distribution of object between each sub-image, (3) analyzes for statistical characteristic from each stationary fixed pixel. Based on experimental results, the proposed method shows an improved image which suppresses FPN by change of temperature distribution from an observational image in real-time.

Interpretative Guidelines and Possible Indications for Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging in Robot-Assisted Sphincter-Saving Operations.

PubMed

Kim, Jin Cheon; Lee, Jong Lyul; Park, Seong Ho

2017-04-01

Since the introduction of indocyanine green angiography more than 25 years ago, few studies have presented interpretative guidelines for indocyanine green fluorescent imaging. We aimed to provide interpretative guidelines for indocyanine green fluorescent imaging through quantitative analysis and to suggest possible indications for indocyanine green fluorescent imaging during robot-assisted sphincter-saving operations. This is a retrospective observational study. This study was conducted at a single center. A cohort of 657 patients with rectal cancer who consecutively underwent curative robot-assisted sphincter-saving operations was enrolled between 2010 and 2016, including 310 patients with indocyanine green imaging (indocyanine green fluorescent imaging+ group) and 347 patients without indocyanine green imaging (indocyanine green fluorescent imaging- group). We tried to quantitatively define the indocyanine green fluorescent imaging findings based on perfusion (mesocolic and colic) time and perfusion intensity (5 grades) to provide probable indications. The anastomotic leakage rate was significantly lower in the indocyanine green fluorescent imaging+ group than in the indocyanine green fluorescent imaging- group (0.6% vs 5.2%) (OR, 0.123; 95% CI, 0.028-0.544; p = 0.006). Anastomotic stricture was closely correlated with anastomotic leakage (p = 0.002) and a short descending mesocolon (p = 0.003). Delayed perfusion (>60 s) and low perfusion intensity (1-2) were more frequently detected in patients with anastomotic stricture and marginal artery defects than in those without these factors (p ≤ 0.001). In addition, perfusion times greater than the mean were more frequently observed in patients aged >58 years, whereas low perfusion intensity was seen more in patients with short descending mesocolon and high ASA classes (≥3). The 300 patients in the indocyanine green fluorescent imaging- group underwent operations 3 years before indocyanine green fluorescent imaging. Quantitative analysis of indocyanine green fluorescent imaging may help prevent anastomotic complications during robot-assisted sphincter-saving operations, and may be of particular value in high-class ASA patients, older patients, and patients with a short descending mesocolon.

Myocardial perfusion in patients with suspected coronary artery disease: comparison between 320-MDCT and rubidium-82 PET.

PubMed

Dantas, Roberto Nery; Assuncao, Antonildes Nascimento; Marques, Ismar Aguiar; Fahel, Mateus Guimaraes; Nomura, Cesar Higa; Avila, Luiz Francisco Rodrigues; Giorgi, Maria Clementina Pinto; Soares, Jose; Meneghetti, Jose Claudio; Parga, Jose Rodrigues

2018-06-01

Despite advances in non-invasive myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) evaluation, computed tomography (CT) multiphase MPI protocols have not yet been compared with the highly accurate rubidium-82 positron emission tomography ( 82 RbPET) MPI. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate agreement between 82 RbPET and 320-detector row CT (320-CT) MPI using a multiphase protocol in suspected CAD patients. Forty-four patients referred for MPI evaluation were prospectively enrolled and underwent dipyridamole stress 82 RbPET and multiphase 320-CT MPI (five consecutive volumetric acquisitions during stress). Statistical analyses were performed using the R software. There was high agreement for recognizing summed stress scores ≥ 4 (kappa 0.77, 95% CI 0.55-0.98, p < 0.001) and moderate for detecting SDS ≥ 2 (kappa 0.51, 95% CI 0.23-0.80, p < 0.001). In a per segment analysis, agreement was high for the presence of perfusion defects during stress and rest (kappa 0.75 and 0.82, respectively) and was moderate for impairment severity (kappa 0.58 and 0.65, respectively). The 320-CT protocol was safe, with low radiation burden (9.3 ± 2.4 mSv). There was a significant agreement between dipyridamole stress 320-CT MPI and 82 RbPET MPI in the evaluation of suspected CAD patients of intermediate risk. The multiphase 320-CT MPI protocol was feasible, diagnostic and with relatively low radiation exposure. • Rubidium-82 PET and 320-MDCT can perform MPI studies for CAD investigation. • There is high agreement between rubidium-82 PET and 320-MDCT for MPI assessment. • Multiphase CT perfusion protocols are feasible and with low radiation. • Multiphase CT perfusion protocols can identify image artefacts.

Nitrogen-13-labeled ammonia for myocardial imaging.

PubMed

Walsh, W F; Fill, H R; Harper, P V

1977-01-01

Cyclotron-produced nitrogen-13 (half-life 10 min), as labeled ammonia (13NH4+), has been evaluated as a myocardial perfusion imaging agent. The regional myocardial uptake of 13NH4+ has been shown to be proportional to regional tissue perfusion in animal studies. Intravenously administered 13NH4+ is rapidly cleared from the circulation, being extracted by the liver (15%), lungs, myocardium (2%-4%), brain, kidney, and bladder. Myocardial ammonia is metabolized mainly to glutamine via the glutamine synthetase pathway. Pulmonary uptake is substantial, but usually transient, except in smokers where clearance may be delayed. The position annihilation irradiation (511 keV) of 13N may be imaged with a scintillation camera, using either a specially designed tungsten collimator or a pinhole collimator. After early technical problems with collimation and the production method of 13NH4+ were overcome, reproducible high quality myocardial images were consistently obtained. The normal myocardial image was established to be of a homogeneous "doughnut" configuration. Imaging studies performed in patients with varying manifestations of ischemic and valvular heart disease showed a high incidence of localized perfusion defects, especially in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Sequential studies at short intervals in patients with acute infarction showed correlation between alterations in regional perfusion and the clinical course of the patient. It is concluded that myocardial imaging with 13NH4+ and a scintillation camera provides a valid and noninvasive means of assessing regional myocardial perfusion. This method is especially suitable for sequential studies of acute cardiac patients at short intervals. Coincidence imaging of the 511 keV annihilation irradiation provides a tomographic and potentially quantitative assessment of the regional myocardial uptake of 13NH4+.

Recent lung imaging studies. [Effectiveness for diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taplin, G.V.; Chopra, S.K.

1976-01-01

Radionuclide lung imaging procedures have been available for 11 years but only the perfusion examination has been used extensively and mainly for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (P.E.). Its ability to reveal localized ischemia makes it a valuable test of regional lung function as well as a useful diagnostic aid in P.E. Although it had been recognized for several years that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause lung perfusion defects which may simulate pulmonary embolism, relatively little use has been made of either the radioxenon or the radioaerosol inhalation lung imaging procedures until the last few years as amore » means of distinguishing P.E. from COPD. In this review emphasis is placed on our recent experience with both of these inhalation procedures in comparison with pulmonary function tests and roentgenography for the early detection of COPD in population studies. Equal emphasis is given to simultaneous aerosol ventilation-perfusion (V/P) imaging for a functional diagnosis of P.E. Two new developments in regional lung diffusion imaging, performed after the inhalation of radioactive gases and/or rapidly absorbed radioaerosols are described. The experimental basis for their potential clinical application in pulmonary embolism detection is presented.« less

Selective cerebro-myocardial perfusion in complex congenital aortic arch pathology: a novel technique.

PubMed

De Rita, Fabrizio; Lucchese, Gianluca; Barozzi, Luca; Menon, Tiziano; Faggian, Giuseppe; Mazzucco, Alessandro; Luciani, Giovanni Battista

2011-11-01

Simultaneous cerebro-myocardial perfusion has been described in neonatal and infant arch surgery, suggesting a reduction in cardiac morbidity. Here reported is a novel technique for selective cerebral perfusion combined with controlled and independent myocardial perfusion during surgery for complex or recurrent aortic arch lesions. From April 2008 to April 2011, 10 patients with arch pathology underwent surgery (two hypoplastic left heart syndrome [HLHS], four recurrent arch obstruction, two aortic arch hypoplasia + ventricular septal defect [VSD], one single ventricle + transposition of the great arteries + arch hypoplasia, one interrupted aortic arch type B + VSD). Median age was 63 days (6 days-36 years) and median weight 4.0 kg (1.6-52). Via midline sternotomy, an arterial cannula (6 or 8 Fr for infants) was directly inserted into the innominate artery or through a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft (for neonates <2.0 kg). A cardioplegia delivery system was inserted into the aortic root. Under moderate hypothermia, ascending and descending aorta were cross-clamped, and "beating heart and brain" aortic arch repair was performed. Arch repair was composed of patch augmentation in five, end-to-side anastomosis in three, and replacement in two patients. Average cardiopulmonary bypass time was 163 ± 68 min (71-310). In two patients only (one HLHS, one complex single ventricle), a period of cardiac arrest was required to complete intracardiac repair. In such cases, antegrade blood cardioplegia was delivered directly via the same catheter used for selective myocardial perfusion. Average time of splanchnic ischemia during cerebro-myocardial perfusion was 39 ± 18 min (17-69). Weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass was achieved without inotropic support in three and with low dose in seven patients. One patient required veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Four patients, body weight <3.0 kg, needed delayed sternal closure. No neurologic dysfunction was noted. Renal function proved satisfactory in all, while liver function was adequate in all but one. The present experience suggests that selective and independent cerebro-myocardial perfusion is feasible in patients with complex or recurrent aortic arch disease, starting from premature newborn less than 2.0 kg of body weight to adults. The technique is as safe as previously reported methods of cerebro-myocardial perfusion and possibly more versatile. © 2011, Copyright the Authors. Artificial Organs © 2011, International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Problems of interaction longitudinal shear waves with V-shape tunnels defect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popov, V. G.

2018-04-01

The problem of determining the two-dimensional dynamic stress state near a tunnel defect of V-shaped cross-section is solved. The defect is located in an infinite elastic medium, where harmonic longitudinal shear waves are propagating. The initial problem is reduced to a system of two singular integral or integro-differential equations with fixed singularities. A numerical method for solving these systems with regard to the true asymptotics of the unknown functions is developed.

Integral ceramic superstructure evaluation using time domain optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, Cosmin; Bradu, Adrian; Topala, Florin I.; Negrutiu, Meda Lavinia; Duma, Virgil-Florin; Podoleanu, Adrian G.

2014-02-01

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive low coherence interferometry technique that includes several technologies (and the corresponding devices and components), such as illumination and detection, interferometry, scanning, adaptive optics, microscopy and endoscopy. From its large area of applications, we consider in this paper a critical aspect in dentistry - to be investigated with a Time Domain (TD) OCT system. The clinical situation of an edentulous mandible is considered; it can be solved by inserting 2 to 6 implants. On these implants a mesostructure will be manufactured and on it a superstructure is needed. This superstructure can be integral ceramic; in this case materials defects could be trapped inside the ceramic layers and those defects could lead to fractures of the entire superstructure. In this paper we demonstrate that a TD-OCT imaging system has the potential to properly evaluate the presence of the defects inside the ceramic layers and those defects can be fixed before inserting the prosthesis inside the oral cavity. Three integral ceramic superstructures were developed by using a CAD/CAM technology. After the milling, the ceramic layers were applied on the core. All the three samples were evaluated by a TD-OCT system working at 1300 nm. For two of the superstructures evaluated, no defects were found in the most stressed areas. The third superstructure presented four ceramic defects in the mentioned areas. Because of those defects the superstructure may fracture. The integral ceramic prosthesis was send back to the dental laboratory to fix the problems related to the material defects found. Thus, TD-OCT proved to be a valuable method for diagnosing the ceramic defects inside the integral ceramic superstructures in order to prevent fractures at this level.

Automated quantification of myocardial perfusion SPECT using simplified normal limits.

PubMed

Slomka, Piotr J; Nishina, Hidetaka; Berman, Daniel S; Akincioglu, Cigdem; Abidov, Aiden; Friedman, John D; Hayes, Sean W; Germano, Guido

2005-01-01

To simplify development of normal limits for myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS), we implemented a quantification scheme in which normal limits are derived without visual scoring of abnormal scans or optimization of regional thresholds. Normal limits were derived from same-day TI-201 rest/Tc-99m-sestamibi stress scans of male (n = 40) and female (n = 40) low-likelihood patients. Defect extent, total perfusion deficit (TPD), and regional perfusion extents were derived by comparison to normal limits in polar-map coordinates. MPS scans from 256 consecutive patients without known coronary artery disease, who underwent coronary angiography, were analyzed. The new method of quantification (TPD) was compared with our previously developed quantification system and visual scoring. The receiver operator characteristic area under the curve for detection of 50% or greater stenoses by TPD (0.88 +/- 0.02) was higher than by visual scoring (0.83 +/- 0.03) ( P = .039) or standard quantification (0.82 +/- 0.03) ( P = .004). For detection of 70% or greater stenoses, it was higher for TPD (0.89 +/- 0.02) than for standard quantification (0.85 +/- 0.02) ( P = .014). Sensitivity and specificity were 93% and 79%, respectively, for TPD; 81% and 85%, respectively, for visual scoring; and 80% and 73%, respectively, for standard quantification. The use of stress mode-specific normal limits did not improve performance. Simplified quantification achieves performance better than or equivalent to visual scoring or quantification based on per-segment visual optimization of abnormality thresholds.

Non-invasive quantitative pulmonary V/Q imaging using Fourier decomposition MRI at 1.5T.

PubMed

Kjørstad, Åsmund; Corteville, Dominique M R; Henzler, Thomas; Schmid-Bindert, Gerald; Zöllner, Frank G; Schad, Lothar R

2015-12-01

Techniques for quantitative pulmonary perfusion and ventilation using the Fourier Decomposition method were recently demonstrated. We combine these two techniques and show that ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) imaging is possible using only a single MR acquisition of less than thirty seconds. The Fourier Decomposition method is used in combination with two quantification techniques, which extract baselines from within the images themselves and thus allows quantification. For the perfusion, a region assumed to consist of 100% blood is utilized, while for the ventilation the zero-frequency component is used. V/Q-imaging is then done by dividing the quantified ventilation map with the quantified perfusion map. The techniques were used on ten healthy volunteers and fifteen patients diagnosed with lung cancer. A mean V/Q-ratio of 1.15 ± 0.22 was found for the healthy volunteers and a mean V/Q-ratio of 1.93 ± 0.83 for the non-afflicted lung in the patients. Mean V/Q-ratio in the afflicted (tumor-bearing) lung was found to be 1.61 ± 1.06. Functional defects were clearly visible in many of the patient images, but 5 of 15 patient images had to be excluded due to artifacts or low SNR, indicating a lack of robustness. Non-invasive, quantitative V/Q-imaging is possible using Fourier Decomposition MRI. The method requires only a single acquisition of less than 30 seconds, but robustness in patients remains an issue. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

All-Systolic Non-ECG-gated Myocardial Perfusion MRI: Feasibility of Multi-Slice Continuous First-Pass Imaging

PubMed Central

Sharif, Behzad; Arsanjani, Reza; Dharmakumar, Rohan; Bairey Merz, C. Noel; Berman, Daniel S.; Li, Debiao

2015-01-01

Purpose To develop and test the feasibility of a new method for non-ECG-gated first-pass perfusion (FPP) cardiac MR capable of imaging multiple short-axis slices at the same systolic cardiac phase. Methods A magnetization-driven pulse sequence was developed for non-ECG-gated FPP imaging without saturation-recovery preparation using continuous slice-interleaved radial sampling. The image reconstruction method, dubbed TRACE, employed self-gating based on reconstruction of a real-time image-based navigator combined with reference-constrained compressed sensing. Data from ischemic animal studies (n=5) was used in a simulation framework to evaluate temporal fidelity. Healthy subjects (n=5) were studied using both the proposed and conventional method to compare the myocardial contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Patients (n=2) underwent adenosine stress studies using the proposed method. Results Temporal fidelity of the developed method was shown to be sufficient at high heart-rates. The healthy volunteers studies demonstrated normal perfusion and no artifacts. Compared to the conventional scheme, myocardial CNR for the proposed method was slightly higher (8.6±0.6 vs. 8.0±0.7). Patient studies showed stress-induced perfusion defects consistent with invasive angiography. Conclusions The presented methods and results demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach for high-resolution non-ECG-gated FPP imaging and indicate its potential for achieving desirable image quality (high CNR, no dark-rim artifacts) with a 3-slice spatial coverage, all imaged at the same systolic phase. PMID:26052843

The cost of open heart surgery in Nigeria.

PubMed

Falase, Bode; Sanusi, Michael; Majekodunmi, Adetinuwe; Ajose, Ifeoluwa; Idowu, Ariyo; Oke, David

2013-01-01

Open Heart Surgery (OHS) is not commonly practiced in Nigeria and most patients who require OHS are referred abroad. There has recently been a resurgence of interest in establishing OHS services in Nigeria but the cost is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the direct cost of OHS procedures in Nigeria. The study was performed prospectively from November to December 2011. Three concurrent operations were selected as being representative of the scope of surgery offered at our institution. These procedures were Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) Repair, Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (OPCAB) and Mitral Valve Replacement (MVR). Cost categories contributing to direct costs of OHS (Investigations, Drugs, Perfusion, Theatre, Intensive Care, Honorarium and Hospital Stay) were tracked to determine the total direct cost for the 3 selected OHS procedures. ASD repair cost $ 6,230 (Drugs $600, Intensive Care $410, Investigations $955, Perfusion $1080, Theatre $1360, Honorarium $925, Hospital Stay $900). OPCAB cost $8,430 (Drugs $740, Intensive Care $625, Investigations $3,020, Perfusion $915, Theatre $1305, Honorarium $925, Hospital Stay $900). MVR with a bioprosthetic valve cost $11,200 (Drugs $1200, Intensive Care $500, Investigations $3040, Perfusion $1100, Theatre $3,535, Honorarium $925, Hospital Stay $900). The direct cost of OHS in Nigeria currently ranges between $6,230 and $11,200. These costs compare favorably with the cost of OHS abroad and can serve as a financial incentive to patients, sponsors and stakeholders to have OHS procedures done in Nigeria.

[Pathological changes of the blood vessels in rabbit femoral head with glucocorticoid-induced necrosis].

PubMed

Hu, Zhi-ming; Wang, Hai-bin; Zhou, Ming-qian; Yao, Xin-sheng; Ma, Li; Wang, Xiao-ning

2006-06-01

To observe the pathological changes in the blood vessels in rabbit femoral head with glucocorticoid-induced necrosis and investigate the pathogenesis of glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into two groups, namely group A. which was injected with horse serum and prednisone and group B as the control group. Chinese ink was injected into the femoral cavity of the rabbits to observe the blood vessels in the femoral head under optical microscope and the femoral head was examined histopathologically. Compared with the normal control group, the rabbits in group A had significantly decreased number of perfused vessels, which was featured by defective perfusion, osteocytie pyknosis or necrosis, increase of empty ostoocyte lacunae and fat cells, decrease of hematopoietic tissue, and blood vessel occlusion. Vascular occlusion and vasculitis due to glucocorticoid treatment may cause avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

The "Skull Flap" a new conceived device for decompressive craniectomy experimental study on dogs to evaluate the safety and efficacy in reducing intracranial pressure and subsequent impact on brain perfusion.

PubMed

Salvatore, Chibbaro; Fabrice, Vallee; Marco, Marsella; Leonardo, Tigan; Thomas, Lilin; Benoit, Lecuelle; Bernard, George; Pierre, Kehrli; Eric, Vicaut; Paolo, Diemidio

2013-10-01

Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a procedure performed increasingly often in current neurosurgical practice. Significant perioperative morbidity may be associated to this procedure because of the large skull defect; also, later closure of the skull defect (cranioplasty) may be associated to post-operative morbidity as much as any other reconstructive operation. The authors present a newly conceived/developed device: The "Skull Flap" (SF). This system, placed at the time of the craniectomy, offers the possibility to provide cranial reconstruction sparing patients a second operation. In other words, DC and cranioplasty essentially take place at the same time and in addition, patients retain their own bone flap. The current study conducted on animal models, represents the logical continuation of a prior recent study, realized on cadaver specimens, to assess the efficacy and safety of this recently developed device. This is an experimental pilot study on dogs to assess both safety and efficacy of the SF device. Two groups of experimental raised intracranial pressure animal models underwent DC; in the first group of dogs, the bone flap was left in raised position above the skull defect using the SF device; on the second group the flap was discarded. All dogs underwent transcranial Doppler (TCD) to assess brain perfusion. Head computed tomography (CT) scan to determine flap position was also obtained in the group in which the SF device was placed. SF has proved to be a strong fixation device that allows satisfactory brain decompression by keeping the bone flap elevated from the swollen brain; later on, the SF allows cranial reconstruction in a simple way without requiring a second staged operation. In addition, it is relevant to note that brain perfusion was measured and found to be better in the group receiving the SF (while the flap being in a raised as well as in its natural position) comparing to the other group. The SF device has proved to be very easy to place, well-adaptable to a different type of flaps and ultimately very effective in maintaining satisfactory brain decompression and later on, making easy bone flap repositioning after brain swelling has subsided.

Development of 4D mathematical observer models for the task-based evaluation of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Taek-Soo; Frey, Eric C.; Tsui, Benjamin M. W.

2015-04-01

This paper presents two 4D mathematical observer models for the detection of motion defects in 4D gated medical images. Their performance was compared with results from human observers in detecting a regional motion abnormality in simulated 4D gated myocardial perfusion (MP) SPECT images. The first 4D mathematical observer model extends the conventional channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) based on a set of 2D spatial channels and the second is a proposed model that uses a set of 4D space-time channels. Simulated projection data were generated using the 4D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) phantom with 16 gates/cardiac cycle. The activity distribution modelled uptake of 99mTc MIBI with normal perfusion and a regional wall motion defect. An analytical projector was used in the simulation and the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm was used in image reconstruction followed by spatial and temporal low-pass filtering with various cut-off frequencies. Then, we extracted 2D image slices from each time frame and reorganized them into a set of cine images. For the first model, we applied 2D spatial channels to the cine images and generated a set of feature vectors that were stacked for the images from different slices of the heart. The process was repeated for each of the 1,024 noise realizations, and CHO and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis methodologies were applied to the ensemble of the feature vectors to compute areas under the ROC curves (AUCs). For the second model, a set of 4D space-time channels was developed and applied to the sets of cine images to produce space-time feature vectors to which the CHO methodology was applied. The AUC values of the second model showed better agreement (Spearman’s rank correlation (SRC) coefficient = 0.8) to human observer results than those from the first model (SRC coefficient = 0.4). The agreement with human observers indicates the proposed 4D mathematical observer model provides a good predictor of the performance of human observers in detecting regional motion defects in 4D gated MP SPECT images. The result supports the use of the observer model in the optimization and evaluation of 4D image reconstruction and compensation methods for improving the detection of motion abnormalities in 4D gated MP SPECT images.

Afterload-dependent flow fluctuation of centrifugal pump: should it be actively fixed?

PubMed

Nishida, H; Akazawa, T; Nishinaka, T; Aomi, S; Endo, M; Koyanagi, H

1998-05-01

To evaluate the clinical meaning and effects of afterload-dependent flow fluctuation in a centrifugal pump, concomitant measurement of flow rate and mixed venous oxygen saturation (SVO2) was performed in 5 cases of open heart surgery in which the patients underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with the Terumo Capiox centrifugal pump. Continuous measurement of SVO2 using the 3M CDI System 100 was performed with a disposable cuvette incorporated into the drainage circuit. After the target flow rate of 2.4 L/min/m2 was obtained under a nonbeating condition, the pump rotational speed was fixed. During the cooling and low temperature period, SVO2 decreased as the flow rate spontaneously decreased but still stayed around 80% even with a 15-20% decrease in blood flow rate. This indicates that a luxury perfusion condition is ensured as long as the body temperature is kept low. In contrast, during the rewarming period, SVO2 decreased to around 70-75% despite a 15-25% spontaneous increase in flow rate. Although this level of SVO2 still indicates adequate systemic perfusion, there is a possibility of regional hypoperfusion in patients with such conditions as cerebrovascular disease. In conclusion, although diligent adjustment of the physiological fluctuating flow rate in the centrifugal pump seems unnecessary during conventional open heart surgery, manual control may be necessary especially during the rewarming period, normothermic surgery, or circulatory assist for shocked patients. From this study, we also conclude that the major benefit of the afterload-independent autoflow control system of the centrifugal pump is the improvement of safety in terms of the fixed reservoir level and the handling of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Prosthetic Rehabilitation After Fibular Free Flap Surgery of Mandibular Defects in a Patient With Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

PubMed

Yoon, Hyung-In

2016-10-01

This report is to present the treatment procedure and clinical considerations of prosthodontic management of a patient who had undergone a partial mandibulectomy and fibular free flap surgery. A 59-year-old man with a squamous cell carcinoma received a partial mandibular resection. Microsurgical reconstruction with a fibular free flap surgery and implant-supported zirconia-fixed prosthesis produced by computer-aided manufacturing led to successful results for the oral rehabilitation of mandibular defects. The implant-supported zirconia-fixed prosthesis can be recommended for use in patients with mandibulectomy and fibular free flaps. Close cooperation between the surgeon and the prosthodontist is mandatory for the satisfaction of the patient.

Skin integrated with perfusable vascular channels on a chip.

PubMed

Mori, Nobuhito; Morimoto, Yuya; Takeuchi, Shoji

2017-02-01

This paper describes a method for fabricating perfusable vascular channels coated with endothelial cells within a cultured skin-equivalent by fixing it to a culture device connected to an external pump and tubes. A histological analysis showed that vascular channels were constructed in the skin-equivalent, which showed a conventional dermal/epidermal morphology, and the endothelial cells formed tight junctions on the vascular channel wall. The barrier function of the skin-equivalent was also confirmed. Cell distribution analysis indicated that the vascular channels supplied nutrition to the skin-equivalent. Moreover, the feasibility of a skin-equivalent containing vascular channels as a model for studying vascular absorption was demonstrated by measuring test molecule permeation from the epidermal layer into the vascular channels. The results suggested that this skin-equivalent can be used for skin-on-a-chip applications including drug development, cosmetics testing, and studying skin biology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of caffeine on SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging during regadenoson pharmacologic stress: rationale and design of a prospective, randomized, multicenter study.

PubMed

Tejani, Furqan H; Thompson, Randall C; Iskandrian, Ami E; McNutt, Bruce E; Franks, Billy

2011-02-01

Caffeine attenuates the coronary hyperemic response to adenosine by competitive A₂(A) receptor blockade. This study aims to determine whether oral caffeine administration compromises diagnostic accuracy in patients undergoing vasodilator stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with regadenoson, a selective adenosine A(2A) agonist. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study includes patients with suspected coronary artery disease who regularly consume caffeine. Each participant undergoes three SPECT MPI studies: a rest study on day 1 (MPI-1); a regadenoson stress study on day 3 (MPI-2), and a regadenoson stress study on day 5 with double-blind administration of oral caffeine 200 or 400 mg or placebo capsules (MPI-3; n = 90 per arm). Only participants with ≥ 1 reversible defect on the second MPI study undergo the subsequent stress MPI test. The primary endpoint is the difference in the number of reversible defects on the two stress tests using a 17-segment model. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analyses will evaluate the effect of caffeine on the regadenoson exposure-response relationship. Safety will also be assessed. The results of this study will show whether the consumption of caffeine equivalent to 2-4 cups of coffee prior to an MPI study with regadenoson affects the diagnostic validity of stress testing (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00826280).

Tissue-Engineered Autologous Grafts for Facial Bone Reconstruction

PubMed Central

Bhumiratana, Sarindr; Bernhard, Jonathan C.; Alfi, David M.; Yeager, Keith; Eton, Ryan E.; Bova, Jonathan; Shah, Forum; Gimble, Jeffrey M.; Lopez, Mandi J.; Eisig, Sidney B.; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana

2016-01-01

Facial deformities require precise reconstruction of the appearance and function of the original tissue. The current standard of care—the use of bone harvested from another region in the body—has major limitations, including pain and comorbidities associated with surgery. We have engineered one of the most geometrically complex facial bones by using autologous stromal/stem cells, without bone morphogenic proteins, using native bovine bone matrix and a perfusion bioreactor for the growth and transport of living grafts. The ramus-condyle unit (RCU), the most eminent load-bearing bone in the skull, was reconstructed using an image-guided personalized approach in skeletally mature Yucatan minipigs (human-scale preclinical model). We used clinically approved decellularized bovine trabecular bone as a scaffolding material, and crafted it into an anatomically correct shape using image-guided micromilling, to fit the defect. Autologous adipose-derived stromal/stem cells were seeded into the scaffold and cultured in perfusion for 3 weeks in a specialized bioreactor to form immature bone tissue. Six months after implantation, the engineered grafts maintained their anatomical structure, integrated with native tissues, and generated greater volume of new bone and greater vascular infiltration than either non-seeded anatomical scaffolds or untreated defects. This translational study demonstrates feasibility of facial bone reconstruction using autologous, anatomically shaped, living grafts formed in vitro, and presents a platform for personalized bone tissue engineering. PMID:27306665

Investigation of Plasma Phenomena in the Ionosphere Under Natural Conditions and Under Conditions Artificially Perturbed by HAARP

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-31

fabricated, the concept was tested , and a number of design defects were discovered, a usual occurrence. The test board was modified with cuts and...jumper wires to correct the defects and continue testing until the design was verified. Based on the testing , new artwork was prepared. Note that...mobile data was roughly similar to the fixed station data. It also revealed a circuit design defect that required further testing at the Bellevue

Spillover Compensation in the Presence of Respiratory Motion Embedded in SPECT Perfusion Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pretorius, P. Hendrik; King, Michael A.

2008-02-01

Spillover from adjacent significant accumulations of extra-cardiac activity decreases diagnostic accuracy of SPECT perfusion imaging in especially the inferior/septal cardiac region. One method of compensating for the spillover at some location outside of a structure is to estimate it as the counts blurred into this location when a template (3D model) of the structure undergoes simulated imaging followed by reconstruction. The objective of this study was to determine what impact uncorrected respiratory motion has on such spillover compensation of extra-cardiac activity in the right coronary artery (RCA) territory, and if it is possible to use manual segmentation to define the extra-cardiac activity template(s) used in spillover correction. Two separate MCAT phantoms (1283 matrices) were simulated to represent the source and attenuation distributions of patients with and without respiratory motion. For each phantom the heart was modeled: 1) with a normal perfusion pattern and 2) with an RCA defect equal to 50% of the normal myocardium count level. After Monte Carlo simulation of 64times64times120 projections with appropriate noise, data were reconstructed using the rescaled block iterative (RBI) algorithm with 30 subsets and 5 iterations with compensation for attenuation, scatter and resolution. A 3D Gaussian post-filter with a sigma of 0.476 cm was used to suppress noise. Manual segmentation of the liver in filtered emission slices was used to create 3D binary templates. The true liver distribution (with and without respiratory motion included) was also used as binary templates. These templates were projected using a ray-driven projector simulating the imaging system with the exclusion of Compton scatter and reconstructed using the same protocol as for the emission data, excluding scatter compensation. Reconstructed templates were scaled using reconstructed emission count levels from the liver, and spillover subtracted outside the template. It was evident from the polar maps that the manually segmented template reconstructions were unable to remove all the spillover originating in the liver from the inferior wall. This was especially noticeable when a perfusion defect is present. Templates based on the true liver distribution appreciably improved spillover correction. Thus the emerging combined SPECT/CT technology may play a vital role in identifying and segmenting extra-cardiac structures more reliably thereby facilitating spillover correction. This study also indicates that compensation for respiratory motion might play an important role in spillover compensation.

Myocardial viability assessed with fluorodeoxyglucose and PET in patients with Q wave myocardial infarction receiving thrombolysis: relationship to coronary anatomy and ventricular function.

PubMed

Fragasso, G; Chierchia, S L; Rossetti, E; Sciammarella, M G; Conversano, A; Lucignani, G; Landoni, C; Calori, G; Margonato, A; Fazio, F

1997-03-01

In previously thrombolysed patients, we analysed residual myocardial viability using the PET-FDG technique and correlated its presence and extent to the angiographic appearance of the infarct-related vessel and left ventricular function. Thirty-six patients who had undergone intravenous thromboloysis for acute myocardial infarction 4.8 +/- 7.2 months previously were studied. Coronary angiography, left ventriculography, and assessment of myocardial perfusion and metabolism were all performed within 1 week. All patients exhibited perfusion defects consistent with the clinically identified myocardial infarction site. Residual viability, as assessed by the PET-FDG technique, was present in 53% of cases. The infarct-related coronary artery was patent in 19 (53%) patients (TIMI grade 3, 79%); of the remaining 17 with occluded infarct-related arteries, 11 had collaterals to the infarct area. Significant FDG uptake was observed in 63% of patients with a patent infarct-related artery and in 41% of those with an occluded infarct-related artery. The same study protocol was adopted in a control group of 30 patients with myocardial infarction who did not receive thrombolysis. The number of infarct-related patent vessels was significantly lower in these patients (30 vs 53%) (TIMI grade 3, 56%), but the overall percentage of PET viability was again 53%. Qualitative analysis of the regional perfusion pattern showed that the magnitude and severity of the perfusion defect was similar in the two groups, regardless of the presence or absence of FDG uptake. Global left ventricular function was also similar in the two groups. However, regional wall motion was significantly better in the thrombolysed patients with a patent infarct-related artery than in those who had not received thrombolysis and whose culprit vessel was also patent. In conclusion, the results of our study support the notion that early recanalization of the infarct-related artery is critical for preserving left ventricular function. Although the number of patent infarct-related coronary arteries is greater and left ventricular function is better in successfully thrombolysed patients, the regional metabolic pattern does not apparently correlate with the patency of the infarct-related artery. This suggests that, in "chronic' myocardial infarction, residual tissue viability as assessed by fluorodeoxyglucose uptake does not necessarily correlate with coronary recanalization.

Prognostic value of myocardial perfusion SPECT versus exercise electrocardiography in patients with ST-segment depression on resting electrocardiography.

PubMed

De Lorenzo, Andrea; Hachamovitch, Rory; Kang, Xingping; Gransar, Heidi; Sciammarella, Maria G; Hayes, Sean W; Friedman, John D; Cohen, Ishac; Germano, Guido; Berman, Daniel S

2005-01-01

The value of exercise-induced ST-segment depression for the prognostic evaluation of patients with 1 mm of ST depression or greater on the resting electrocardiogram is controversial. Patients who underwent exercise myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (MPS) and had resting ST depression of 1 mm or greater with a nondiagnostic exercise electrocardiographic response (n = 1122) were followed up for 3.4 +/- 2.3 years. Those with paced rhythm, pre-excitation, left bundle branch block, or myocardial revascularization within the first 60 days after MPS were excluded. Additional exercise-induced ST-segment depression was considered significant if > or = 2 mm MPS was scored semiquantitatively by use of a 20-segment model of the left ventricle; the percentage of myocardium involved with stress defects (% myo) was derived by normalizing to the maximal possible score of 80. Hard events were defined as nonfatal myocardial infarction or cardiac death. A Cox analysis was used to determine independent predictors of hard events among clinical, exercise, and nuclear variables. Hard event rates increased as a function of % myo for either patients with exercise-induced ST depression (1.4%/y for normal MPS vs 4.1%/y for % myo >10%, P < .03) or those without it (0.7%/y for normal MPS vs 3.0%/y for % myo >10%, P = .0001). Age, diabetes mellitus, shortness of breath as the presenting symptom, and % myo were independent predictors of hard events. Exercise-induced ST depression was predictive of hard events only when it was 3 mm or greater. The presence and extent of perfusion defects, reflected in the % myo, had incremental prognostic value over clinical variables and also over all degrees of exercise-induced ST depression. Although MPS effectively risk-stratifies patients with resting ST depression of 1 mm or greater, the prognostic value of exercise-induced ST depression is limited in these patients, with a small added risk when severe (> or = 3 mm).

Comparison of Post-Processing Techniques for the Detection of Perfusion Defects by Cardiac Computed Tomography in Patients Presenting with Acute ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

PubMed Central

Rogers, Ian S.; Cury, Ricardo C.; Blankstein, Ron; Shapiro, Michael D.; Nieman, Koen; Hoffmann, Udo; Brady, Thomas J.; Abbara, Suhny

2010-01-01

Background Despite rapid advances in cardiac computed tomography (CT), a strategy for optimal visualization of perfusion abnormalities on CT has yet to be validated. Objective To evaluate the performance of several post-processing techniques of source data sets to detect and characterize perfusion defects in acute myocardial infarctions with cardiac CT. Methods Twenty-one subjects (18 men; 60 ± 13 years) that were successfully treated with percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment myocardial infarction underwent 64-slice cardiac CT and 1.5 Tesla cardiac MRI scans following revascularization. Delayed enhancement MRI images were analyzed to identify the location of infarcted myocardium. Contiguous short axis images of the left ventricular myocardium were created from the CT source images using 0.75mm multiplanar reconstruction (MPR), 5mm MPR, 5mm maximal intensity projection (MIP), and 5mm minimum intensity projection (MinIP) techniques. Segments already confirmed to contain infarction by MRI were then evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively with CT. Results Overall, 143 myocardial segments were analyzed. On qualitative analysis, the MinIP and thick MPR techniques had greater visibility and definition than the thin MPR and MIP techniques (p < 0.001). On quantitative analysis, the absolute difference in Hounsfield Unit (HU) attenuation between normal and infarcted segments was significantly greater for the MinIP (65.4 HU) and thin MPR (61.2 HU) techniques. However, the relative difference in HU attenuation was significantly greatest for the MinIP technique alone (95%, p < 0.001). Contrast to noise was greatest for the MinIP (4.2) and thick MPR (4.1) techniques (p < 0.001). Conclusion The results of our current investigation found that MinIP and thick MPR detected infarcted myocardium with greater visibility and definition than MIP and thin MPR. PMID:20579617

Interdisciplinary approach to enhance the esthetics of maxillary anterior region using soft- and hard-tissue ridge augmentation in conjunction with a fixed partial prosthesis.

PubMed

Khetarpal, Shaleen; Chouksey, Ajay; Bele, Anand; Vishnoi, Rahul

2018-01-01

Favorable esthetics is one of the most important treatment outcomes in dentistry, and to achieve this, interdisciplinary approaches are often required. Ridge deficiencies can be corrected for both, soft- and hard-tissue discrepancies. To overcome such defects, not only a variety of prosthetic options are at our disposal but also several periodontal plastic surgical techniques are available as well. Various techniques have been described and revised, over the year to correct ridge defects. For enhancing soft-tissue contours in the anterior region, the subepithelial connective tissue graft is the treatment of choice. A combination of alloplastic bone graft in adjunct to connective tissue graft optimizes ridge augmentation and minimizes defects. The present case report describes the use of vascular interpositional connective tissue graft in combination with alloplastic bone graft for correction of Seibert's Class III ridge deficiency followed by a fixed partial prosthesis to achieve a better esthetic outcome.

Interdisciplinary approach to enhance the esthetics of maxillary anterior region using soft- and hard-tissue ridge augmentation in conjunction with a fixed partial prosthesis

PubMed Central

Khetarpal, Shaleen; Chouksey, Ajay; Bele, Anand; Vishnoi, Rahul

2018-01-01

Favorable esthetics is one of the most important treatment outcomes in dentistry, and to achieve this, interdisciplinary approaches are often required. Ridge deficiencies can be corrected for both, soft- and hard-tissue discrepancies. To overcome such defects, not only a variety of prosthetic options are at our disposal but also several periodontal plastic surgical techniques are available as well. Various techniques have been described and revised, over the year to correct ridge defects. For enhancing soft-tissue contours in the anterior region, the subepithelial connective tissue graft is the treatment of choice. A combination of alloplastic bone graft in adjunct to connective tissue graft optimizes ridge augmentation and minimizes defects. The present case report describes the use of vascular interpositional connective tissue graft in combination with alloplastic bone graft for correction of Seibert's Class III ridge deficiency followed by a fixed partial prosthesis to achieve a better esthetic outcome. PMID:29568176

Thermal Inspection of a Composite Fuselage Section Using a Fixed Eigenvector Principal Component Analysis Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zalameda, Joseph N.; Bolduc, Sean; Harman, Rebecca

2017-01-01

A composite fuselage aircraft forward section was inspected with flash thermography. The fuselage section is 24 feet long and approximately 8 feet in diameter. The structure is primarily configured with a composite sandwich structure of carbon fiber face sheets with a Nomex(Trademark) honeycomb core. The outer surface area was inspected. The thermal data consisted of 477 data sets totaling in size of over 227 Gigabytes. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to process the data sets for substructure and defect detection. A fixed eigenvector approach using a global covariance matrix was used and compared to a varying eigenvector approach. The fixed eigenvector approach was demonstrated to be a practical analysis method for the detection and interpretation of various defects such as paint thickness variation, possible water intrusion damage, and delamination damage. In addition, inspection considerations are discussed including coordinate system layout, manipulation of the fuselage section, and the manual scanning technique used for full coverage.

Use of diuretics during pregnancy

PubMed Central

Al-Balas, Mosa’b; Bozzo, Pina; Einarson, Adrienne

2009-01-01

ABSTRACT QUESTION Several of my pregnant patients use diuretics for hypertension. I have heard that diuretics cannot be used in pregnancy because of the reduction of plasma volume and the potential for decreasing placental perfusion, as well as a possible diabetogenic effect. ANSWER Many studies—including a meta-analysis of almost 7000 neonates exposed to diuretics during pregnancy—did not find an increased risk of adverse effects, such as birth defects, fetal growth restriction, thrombocytopenia, or diabetes, among neonates exposed to diuretics in utero. PMID:19155365

Decreased catecholamine secretion from the adrenal medullae of chronically diabetic BB-Wistar rats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilke, R. A.; Riley, D. A.; Lelkes, P. I.; Hillard, C. J.

1993-01-01

Many humans with IDDM eventually lose the capacity to secrete epinephrine from their adrenal medullae. The mechanism for this pathological change is unknown. We hypothesized that this abnormality is attributable to neuropathic changes in the greater splanchnic nerves or in the chromaffin cells that they innervate. To study this hypothesis, we isolated rat adrenal glands, perfused them ex vivo, and measured the epinephrine content of the perfusate under various conditions of stimulation. We used transmural electrical stimulation (20-80 V, at 10 Hz) to induce epinephrine secretion indirectly by selectively activating residual splanchnic nerve terminals within the isolated glands. Under these conditions, epinephrine secretion was severely attenuated in glands from female BB-Wistar rats with diabetes of 4 mo duration compared with their age-matched, nondiabetic controls. These perfused diabetic adrenal medullae also demonstrated decreased catecholamine release in response to direct chromaffin cell depolarization with 20 mM K+, evidence that a functional alteration exists within the chromaffin cells themselves. Nonetheless, total catecholamine content of adrenal medullae from these diabetic rats was not significantly different from controls, indicating that the secretory defect was not simply attributable to a difference in the amount of catecholamines stored and available for release. Herein, we also provide histological evidence of degenerative changes within the cholinergic nerve terminals that innervate these glands.

Positron Emission Tomography-Determined Hyperemic Flow, Myocardial Flow Reserve, and Flow Gradient—Quo Vadis?

PubMed Central

Leucker, Thorsten M.; Valenta, Ines; Schindler, Thomas Hellmut

2017-01-01

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) applied with positron-emitting flow tracers such as 13N-ammonia and 82Rubidium enables the quantification of both myocardial perfusion and myocardial blood flow (MBF) in milliliters per gram per minute for coronary artery disease (CAD) detection and characterization. The detection of a regional myocardial perfusion defect during vasomotor stress commonly identifies the culprit lesion or most severe epicardial narrowing, whereas adding regional hyperemic MBFs, myocardial flow reserve (MFR), and/or longitudinal flow decrease may also signify less severe but flow-limiting stenosis in multivessel CAD. The addition of regional hyperemic flow parameters, therefore, may afford a comprehensive identification and characterization of flow-limiting effects of multivessel CAD. The non-specific origin of decreases in hyperemic MBFs and MFR, however, prompts an evaluation and interpretation of regional flow in the appropriate context with the presence of obstructive CAD. Conversely, initial results of the assessment of a longitudinal hyperemic flow gradient suggest this novel flow parameter to be specifically related to increases in CAD caused epicardial resistance. The concurrent assessment of myocardial perfusion and several hyperemic flow parameters with PET/CT may indeed open novel avenues of precision medicine to guide coronary revascularization procedures that may potentially lead to a further improvement in cardiovascular outcomes in CAD patients. PMID:28770213

Prevalence of silent myocardial ischaemia during exercise stress testing. Its relation to effort tolerance and myocardial perfusion abnormalities.

PubMed

Fragasso, G; Sciammarella, M G; Rossetti, E E; Xuereb, R G; Xuereb, M; Bonetti, F; Carandente, O M; Margonato, A; Chierchia, S L

1992-07-01

The number of underperfused myocardial segments, the extent of coronary artery disease and the severity of impairment of coronary flow reserve were compared in 147 consecutive patients exhibiting painful or painless ischaemic ST segment depression on exercise testing. Of 147 patients, only 61 (41%) experienced angina (group 1) whilst 86 (59%) did not (group 2). In the two groups coronary disease was comparable for both extent and distribution, and neither the location of transient perfusion defects nor their relation to areas of old myocardial necrosis appeared to influence the presence or absence of chest pain. However, exercise duration, exercise time and rate-pressure product at the beginning of ischaemia were lower in group 1. Furthermore, a greater proportion of asymptomatic patients had only one ischaemic segment on 99mTc-MIBI perfusion scintigraphy. We conclude that: (1) in patients with effort angina and coronary disease, the incidence of electrocardiographic silent ischaemic events induced by exercise is similar to that observed in studies based on continuous ECG monitoring. (2) Exertional angina is more frequently associated with greater ischaemic areas and with more severe degrees of impairment of residual coronary flow reserve. (3) The presence of an old myocardial infarction does not appear to influence the incidence of ischaemic cardiac pain.

Silent ischemia: silent after all?

PubMed

D'Antono, Bianca; Dupuis, Gilles; Arsenault, André; Burelle, Denis

2008-04-01

To examine the association of nonpain symptoms in men and women with exercise-related silent ischemia, as well as the independence of these findings from other clinical factors. A prospective study of 482 women and 425 men (mean age 58 years) undergoing exercise stress testing with myocardial perfusion imaging. Analyses were performed on 60 women and 155 men with no angina but medical perfusion imaging evidence of ischemia during exercise. The presence of various non-pain-related symptoms. Ischemia is indicated by myocardial perfusion defects on exercise stress testing with single photon emission computed tomography. Women reported more nonangina symptoms than men (P<0.05). They experienced fatigue, hot flushes, tense muscles, shortness of breath and headaches more frequently (P<0.05). Symptoms relating to muscle tension and diaphoresis were associated with ischemia after controlling for pertinent clinical covariates. However, the direction of association differed according to sex and history of coronary artery disease events or procedures. Sensitivity of the detection models showed modest improvements with the addition of these symptoms. While patients who experience silent ischemia experience a number of nonpain symptoms, those symptoms may not be sufficiently specific to ischemia, nor sensitive in detecting ischemia, to be of particular help to physicians in the absence of other clinical information.

Keeping the heart empty and beating: an alternative technique to preserve hypertrophied hearts during valvular surgery.

PubMed

Liu, Shangdian; Liu, Zonghong; Li, Lulu; Liu, Pengfei; Liu, Hongyu

2015-05-13

To determine whether keeping the heart empty and beating is an effective technique to preserve hypertrophied pig hearts, and to investigate the underlying mechanism. Ten Bama Miniature pigs with hypertrophied hearts were divided into 2 groups (n = 5 in each group). One group underwent normothermic normokalemic simultaneous perfusion (NNSP). The other group was subjected to normothermic hypermokalemic simultaneous perfusion (NHSP) and used as controls. Cardiac contractive function, myocardial energy metabolism and myocardial perfusion were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. Western blot analysis was carried out to determine the expression of Troponin I (cTnI), Troponin T (cTnT), SM-MHC, Casapase-3 and PARP4. TUNEL assay was used to detect apoptotic cardiomyocytes. Keeping the heart empty and beating with NNSP improved the preservation of contractile function in comparison with cardioplegic arrest using NHSP. No significant differences existed in the effects of NNSP and NHSP in maintaining myocardial energy metabolism. 13 % perfusion defects areas were found in one heart in the NHSP group, whereas none was found in all other hearts in both groups. The expressions of cTnI, cTnT, Casapase-3 and PARP4 in NHSP group were abundantly increased compared to NNSP group as measured by Western blotting. Conversely, the expression of SM-MHC in NHSP group was reduced compared with NNSP group. The number of TUNEL positive nuclei per mm(2) area was significantly increased in NHSP group compared with NNSP group. Keeping the heart beating with NNSP is an alternative technique to preserve hypertrophied hearts during valvular surgery.

A prospective randomised comparative parallel study of amniotic membrane wound graft in the management of diabetic foot ulcers.

PubMed

Zelen, Charles M; Serena, Thomas E; Denoziere, Guilhem; Fetterolf, Donald E

2013-10-01

Our purpose was to compare healing characteristics of diabetic foot ulcers treated with dehydrated human amniotic membrane allografts (EpiFix®, MiMedx, Kennesaw, GA) versus standard of care. An IRB-approved, prospective, randomised, single-centre clinical trial was performed. Included were patients with a diabetic foot ulcer of at least 4-week duration without infection having adequate arterial perfusion. Patients were randomised to receive standard care alone or standard care with the addition of EpiFix. Wound size reduction and rates of complete healing after 4 and 6 weeks were evaluated. In the standard care group (n = 12) and the EpiFix group (n = 13) wounds reduced in size by a mean of 32.0% ± 47.3% versus 97.1% ± 7.0% (P < 0.001) after 4 weeks, whereas at 6 weeks wounds were reduced by -1.8% ± 70.3% versus 98.4% ± 5.8% (P < 0.001), standard care versus EpiFix, respectively. After 4 and 6 weeks of treatment the overall healing rate with application of EpiFix was shown to be 77% and 92%, respectively, whereas standard care healed 0% and 8% of the wounds (P < 0.001), respectively. Patients treated with EpiFix achieved superior healing rates over standard treatment alone. These results show that using EpiFix in addition to standard care is efficacious for wound healing. ©2013 The Authors. International Wound Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Medicalhelplines.com Inc.

Improved Performance in Mammalian Cell Perfusion Cultures by Growth Inhibition.

PubMed

Wolf, Moritz K F; Closet, Aurélie; Bzowska, Monika; Bielser, Jean-Marc; Souquet, Jonathan; Broly, Hervé; Morbidelli, Massimo

2018-05-21

Mammalian cell perfusion cultures represent a promising alternative to the current fed-batch technology for the production of various biopharmaceuticals. Long-term operation at a fixed viable cell density (VCD) requires a viable culture and a constant removal of excessive cells. Product loss in the cell removing bleed stream deteriorates the process yield. In this study, the authors investigate the use of chemical and environmental growth inhibition on culture performance by either adding valeric acid (VA) to the production media or by reducing the culture temperature (33.0 °C) with respect to control conditions (36.5 °C, no VA). Low temperature significantly reduces cellular growth, thus, resulting in lower bleed rates accompanied by a reduced product loss of 11% compared to 26% under control conditions. Additionally, the cell specific productivity of the target protein improves and maintained stable leading to media savings per mass of product. VA shows initially an inhibitory effect on cellular growth. However, cells seemed to adapt to the presence of the inhibitor resulting in a recovery of the cellular growth. Cell cycle and Western blot analyses support the observed results. This work underlines the role of temperature as a key operating variable for the optimization of perfusion cultures. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Intraglomerular pressure and mesangial stretching stimulate extracellular matrix formation in the rat.

PubMed Central

Riser, B L; Cortes, P; Zhao, X; Bernstein, J; Dumler, F; Narins, R G

1992-01-01

To define the interplay of glomerular hypertension and hypertrophy with mesangial extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, we examined the effects of glomerular capillary distention and mesangial cell stretching on ECM synthesis. The volume of microdissected rat glomeruli (Vg), perfused ex vivo at increasing flows, was quantified and related to the proximal intraglomerular pressure (PIP). Glomerular compliance, expressed as the slope of the positive linear relationship between PIP and Vg was 7.68 x 10(3) microns 3/mmHg. Total Vg increment (PIP 0-150 mmHg) was 1.162 x 10(6) microns 3 or 61% (n = 13). A 16% increase in Vg was obtained over the PIP range equivalent to the pathophysiological limits of mean transcapillary pressure difference. A similar effect of renal perfusion on Vg was also noted histologically in tissue from kidneys perfused/fixed in vivo. Cultured mesangial cells undergoing cyclic stretching increased their synthesis of protein, total collagen, and key components of ECM (collagen IV, collagen I, laminin, fibronectin). Synthetic rates were stimulated by cell growth and the degree of stretching. These results suggest that capillary expansion and stretching of mesangial cells by glomerular hypertension provokes increased ECM production which is accentuated by cell growth and glomerular hypertrophy. Mesangial expansion and glomerulosclerosis might result from this interplay of mechanical and metabolic forces. Images PMID:1430216

Intersecting surface defects and instanton partition functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Yiwen; Peelaers, Wolfger

2017-07-01

We analyze intersecting surface defects inserted in interacting four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric quantum field theories. We employ the realization of a class of such systems as the infrared fixed points of renormalization group flows from larger theories, triggered by perturbed Seiberg-Witten monopole-like configurations, to compute their partition functions. These results are cast into the form of a partition function of 4d/2d/0d coupled systems. Our computations provide concrete expressions for the instanton partition function in the presence of intersecting defects and we study the corresponding ADHM model.

Three-dimensional characterization of extreme ultraviolet mask blank defects by interference contrast photoemission electron microscopy.

PubMed

Lin, Jingquan; Weber, Nils; Escher, Matthias; Maul, Jochen; Han, Hak-Seung; Merkel, Michael; Wurm, Stefan; Schönhense, Gerd; Kleineberg, Ulf

2008-09-29

A photoemission electron microscope based on a new contrast mechanism "interference contrast" is applied to characterize extreme ultraviolet lithography mask blank defects. Inspection results show that positioning of interference destructive condition (node of standing wave field) on surface of multilayer in the local region of a phase defect is necessary to obtain best visibility of the defect on mask blank. A comparative experiment reveals superiority of the interference contrast photoemission electron microscope (Extreme UV illumination) over a topographic contrast one (UV illumination with Hg discharge lamp) in detecting extreme ultraviolet mask blank phase defects. A depth-resolved detection of a mask blank defect, either by measuring anti-node peak shift in the EUV-PEEM image under varying inspection wavelength condition or by counting interference fringes with a fixed illumination wavelength, is discussed.

TU-G-BRA-08: BEST IN PHYSICS (JOINT IMAGING-THERAPY): Hybrid PET-MRI Imaging of Acute Radiation Induced Cardiac Toxicity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El-Sherif, O; Xhaferllari, I; Gaede, S

Purpose: To identify the presence of low-dose radiation induced cardiac toxicity in a canine model using hybrid positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Research ethics board approval was obtained for a longitudinal imaging study of 5 canines after cardiac irradiation. Animals were imaged at baseline, 1 week post cardiac irradiation, and 1 month post cardiac irradiation using a hybrid PET- MRI system (Biograph mMR, Siemens Healthcare). The imaging protocol was designed to assess acute changes in myocardial perfusion and inflammation. Myocardial perfusion imaging was performed using N13-ammonia tracer followed by a dynamic PET acquisition scan. Amore » compartmental tracer kinetic model was used for absolute perfusion quantification. Myocardial inflammation imaging was performed using F18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tracer. The standard uptake value (SUV) over a region encompassing the whole heart was used to compare FDG scans. All animals received a simulation CT scan (GE Medical Systems) for radiation treatment planning. Radiation treatment plans were created using the Pinncale3 treatment planning system (Philips Radiation Oncology Systems) and designed to resemble the typical cardiac exposure during left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy. Cardiac irradiations were performed in a single fraction using a TrueBeam linear accelerator (Varian Medical Systems). Results: The delivered dose (mean ± standard deviation) to heart was 1.8±0.2 Gy. Reductions in myocardial stress perfusion relative to baseline were observed in 2 of the 5 animals 1 month post radiation. A global inflammatory response 1 month post radiation was observed in 4 of the 5 animals. The calculated SUV at 1 month post radiation was significantly higher (p=0.05) than the baseline SUV. Conclusion: Low doses of cardiac irradiation (< 2 Gy) may lead to myocardial perfusion defects and a global inflammatory response that can be detectable as early as 1 month post irradiation using hybrid PET-MRI imaging techniques.« less

Channelized relevance vector machine as a numerical observer for cardiac perfusion defect detection task

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalayeh, Mahdi M.; Marin, Thibault; Pretorius, P. Hendrik; Wernick, Miles N.; Yang, Yongyi; Brankov, Jovan G.

2011-03-01

In this paper, we present a numerical observer for image quality assessment, aiming to predict human observer accuracy in a cardiac perfusion defect detection task for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In medical imaging, image quality should be assessed by evaluating the human observer accuracy for a specific diagnostic task. This approach is known as task-based assessment. Such evaluations are important for optimizing and testing imaging devices and algorithms. Unfortunately, human observer studies with expert readers are costly and time-demanding. To address this problem, numerical observers have been developed as a surrogate for human readers to predict human diagnostic performance. The channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) with internal noise model has been found to predict human performance well in some situations, but does not always generalize well to unseen data. We have argued in the past that finding a model to predict human observers could be viewed as a machine learning problem. Following this approach, in this paper we propose a channelized relevance vector machine (CRVM) to predict human diagnostic scores in a detection task. We have previously used channelized support vector machines (CSVM) to predict human scores and have shown that this approach offers better and more robust predictions than the classical CHO method. The comparison of the proposed CRVM with our previously introduced CSVM method suggests that CRVM can achieve similar generalization accuracy, while dramatically reducing model complexity and computation time.

Gingival-colored Porcelain: A Clinical Report of an Esthetic-prosthetic Paradigm

PubMed Central

Sonune, Shital Jalandar; Kumar, Shiv; Jadhav, Manish Shivaji; Martande, Santosh

2017-01-01

Traditionally, periodontics has been instrumental in treating hard- and soft-tissue defect. Surgical and regenerative periodontal procedures can reconstruct the three-dimensional architecture of the hard- and soft-tissue defect. However, at times, these invasive procedures leave the patients with an esthetic problem. In such situations, the defects can be treated by the prosthetic approach. A predictable esthetically pleasing and functional outcome without any surgical procedure is being a choice of treatment for many. This article discusses about the treatment for the defect of excessive hard and soft tissue, using porcelain fused to a metal restoration with gingival-colored porcelain for both tooth-supported and implant-supported fixed prosthesis. PMID:29308371

Fracture Mechanics Analyses of Subsurface Defects in Reinforced Carbon-Carbon Joggles Subjected to Thermo-Mechanical Loads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Raju, Ivatury S.; Song, Kyongchan

2011-01-01

Coating spallation events have been observed along the slip-side joggle region of the Space Shuttle Orbiter wing-leading-edge panels. One potential contributor to the spallation event is a pressure build up within subsurface voids or defects due to volatiles or water vapor entrapped during fabrication, refurbishment, or normal operational use. The influence of entrapped pressure on the thermo-mechanical fracture-mechanics response of reinforced carbon-carbon with subsurface defects is studied. Plane-strain simulations with embedded subsurface defects are performed to characterize the fracture mechanics response for a given defect length when subjected to combined elevated-temperature and subsurface-defect pressure loadings to simulate the unvented defect condition. Various subsurface defect locations of a fixed-length substrate defect are examined for elevated temperature conditions. Fracture mechanics results suggest that entrapped pressure combined with local elevated temperatures have the potential to cause subsurface defect growth and possibly contribute to further material separation or even spallation. For this anomaly to occur, several unusual circumstances would be required making such an outcome unlikely but plausible.

Placental perfusion in 3rd trimester pregnancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitepu, M.; Syahriza, A.; Sibuea, D.; Hanafiah, T. M.

2018-03-01

The placenta is an organ for transmitting nutrition and oxygen to thefetus; it means if there is a defect in the placenta could make growth restriction to the fetus, even death. Uterine artery flow escalated since the halfway point of the pregnancy or the complete trophoblast invasion of spiralis artery, and keep going in every week. 3D power Doppler examination on placenta could show the uterineplacenta circulation and fetoplacental at once so could give themore accurate result. A cross-sectional study in RSUP HAM and theprivate specialist clinic was conducted in 100 pregnant samples with 28-40 week gestational age, exact last menstrual period date, and no underlying disease to examine the alteration of placental perfusion by gestationalage and placental location. There was a correlation between VI and VFI in placenta toward umbilical artery flow, but no correlation in FI. The placental location also plays a role in interval blood flow, especially FI and VFI, it means the VFI hold the strongest correlation in both ways.

Technique for fixing a temporalis muscle using a titanium plate to the implanted hydroxyapatite ceramics for bone defects.

PubMed

Ono, I; Tateshita, T; Sasaki, T; Matsumoto, M; Kodama, N

2001-05-01

We devised a technique to fix the temporalis muscle to the transplanted hydroxyapatite implant by using a titanium plate, which is fixed to the hydroxyapatite ceramic implant by screws and achieves good clinical results. The size, shape, and curvature of the hydroxyapatite ceramic implants were determined according to full-scale models fabricated using the laser lithographic modeling method from computed tomography data. A titanium plate was then fixed with screws on the implant before implantation, and then the temporalis muscle was refixed to the holes at both ends of the plate. The application of this technique reduced the hospitalization time and achieved good results esthetically.

Enhancement of Efficiency and Reduction of Grid Thickness Variation on Casting Process with Lean Six Sigma Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witantyo; Setyawan, David

2018-03-01

In a lead acid battery industry, grid casting is a process that has high defect and thickness variation level. DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control) method and its tools will be used to improve the casting process. In the Define stage, it is used project charter and SIPOC (Supplier Input Process Output Customer) method to map the existent problem. In the Measure stage, it is conducted a data retrieval related to the types of defect and the amount of it, also the grid thickness variation that happened. And then the retrieved data is processed and analyzed by using 5 Why’s and FMEA method. In the Analyze stage, it is conducted a grid observation that experience fragile and crack type of defect by using microscope showing the amount of oxide Pb inclusion in the grid. Analysis that is used in grid casting process shows the difference of temperature that is too high between the metal fluid and mold temperature, also the corking process that doesn’t have standard. The Improve stage is conducted a fixing process which generates the reduction of grid variation thickness level and defect/unit level from 9,184% to 0,492%. In Control stage, it is conducted a new working standard determination and already fixed control process.

Identifying Acquisition Patterns of Failure Using Systems Archetypes

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-02

OF PAGES 18 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON a. REPORT unclassified b . ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev...any but the smallest programs, complete path coverage for defect detection is impractical. Adapted from Pressman , R.S., Software Engineering: A...Firefighting” concept from “Past the Tipping Point” Fix S O B Problem Symptom R “Fixes That Fail” – Systems Archetype S Unintended Consequences S

Hypospadias repair - discharge

MedlinePlus

... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000158.htm Hypospadias repair - discharge To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Your child had hypospadias repair to fix a birth defect in which ...

[Development and application of artificial vertebral body].

PubMed

Liu, Jian-Tao; Zhang, Feng; Gao, Zheng-Chao; Niu, Bin-Bin; Li, Yu-Huan; He, Xi-Jing

2017-12-25

Artificial vertebral body has achieved good results in treating spinal tumors, tuberculosis, fracture and other diseases. Currently, artificial vertebral body with variety of kinds and pros and cons, is generally divided into two types: fusion type and movable type. The former according to whether the height could be adjusted and strength of self-stability is divided into three types: support-fixed type, adjust-fixed type and self-fixed type. Whether the height of self-fixed type could be adjusted is dependent on structure of collar thread rotation. The latter is due to mobile device of ball-and-socket joints or hollow structures instead of the disc which retains the activity of the spine to some extent. Materials of artificial vertebral body include metals, ceramics, biomaterials, polymer composites and other materials. Titanium with a dominant role in the metal has developed to the third generation, but there are still defects such as poor surface bioactivity; ceramics with the representative of hydroxyapatite composite, magnetic bioceramics, polycrystalline alumina ceramics and so on, which have the defects of processing complex and uneven mechanical properties; biological material is mainly dominated by xenogeneic bone, which is closest to human bone in structure and properties, but has defects of low toughness and complex production; polymer composites according to biological characteristics in general consists of biodegradable type and non-biodegradable type which are respectively represented by poly-lactide and polyethylene, each with advantages and disadvantages. Although the design and materials of prosthesis have made great progress, it is difficult to fully meet requirements of spinal implants and they need be further optimized. 3D printing technology makes process of the complex structure of prosthesis and individual customization possible and has broad development prospects. However, long production cycles and high cost of defect should be overcome. Although artificial vertebral body has achieved curative effect in treating spinal disease, there were reports of implant loosening or displacement. Combining with evaluation standards not unified, short follow-up time, its exact effect needs further observation. Copyright© 2017 by the China Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Press.

Use of perfusion bioreactors and large animal models for long bone tissue engineering.

PubMed

Gardel, Leandro S; Serra, Luís A; Reis, Rui L; Gomes, Manuela E

2014-04-01

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM) strategies for generation of new bone tissue includes the combined use of autologous or heterologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and three-dimensional (3D) scaffold materials serving as structural support for the cells, that develop into tissue-like substitutes under appropriate in vitro culture conditions. This approach is very important due to the limitations and risks associated with autologous, as well as allogenic bone grafiting procedures currently used. However, the cultivation of osteoprogenitor cells in 3D scaffolds presents several challenges, such as the efficient transport of nutrient and oxygen and removal of waste products from the cells in the interior of the scaffold. In this context, perfusion bioreactor systems are key components for bone TERM, as many recent studies have shown that such systems can provide dynamic environments with enhanced diffusion of nutrients and therefore, perfusion can be used to generate grafts of clinically relevant sizes and shapes. Nevertheless, to determine whether a developed tissue-like substitute conforms to the requirements of biocompatibility, mechanical stability and safety, it must undergo rigorous testing both in vitro and in vivo. Results from in vitro studies can be difficult to extrapolate to the in vivo situation, and for this reason, the use of animal models is often an essential step in the testing of orthopedic implants before clinical use in humans. This review provides an overview of the concepts, advantages, and challenges associated with different types of perfusion bioreactor systems, particularly focusing on systems that may enable the generation of critical size tissue engineered constructs. Furthermore, this review discusses some of the most frequently used animal models, such as sheep and goats, to study the in vivo functionality of bone implant materials, in critical size defects.

Simultaneous Assessment of Myocardial Perfusion, Wall Motion, and Deformation during Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography: A Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Zoppellaro, Giacomo; Venneri, Lucia; Khattar, Rajdeep S; Li, Wei; Senior, Roxy

2016-06-01

Ultrasound contrast agents may be used for the assessment of regional wall motion and myocardial perfusion, but are generally considered not suitable for deformation analysis. The aim of our study was to assess the feasibility of deformation imaging on contrast-enhanced images using a novel methodology. We prospectively enrolled 40 patients who underwent stress echocardiography with continuous intravenous infusion of SonoVue for the assessment of myocardial perfusion imaging with flash replenishment technique. We compared longitudinal strain (Lε) values, assessed with a vendor-independent software (2D CPA), on 68 resting contrast-enhanced and 68 resting noncontrast recordings. Strain analysis on contrast recordings was evaluated in the first cardiac cycles after the flash. Tracking of contrast images was deemed feasible in all subjects and in all views. Contrast administration improved image quality and increased the number of segments used for deformation analysis. Lε of noncontrast and contrast-enhanced images were statistically different (-18.8 ± 4.5% and -22.8 ± 5.4%, respectively; P < 0.001), but their correlation was good (ICC 0.65, 95%CI 0.42-0.78). Patients with resting wall-motion abnormalities showed lower Lε values on contrast recordings (-18.6 ± 6.0% vs. -24.2 ± 5.5%, respectively; P < 0.01). Intra-operator and inter-operator reproducibility was good for both noncontrast and contrast images with no statistical differences. Our study shows that deformation analysis on postflash contrast-enhanced images is feasible and reproducible. Therefore, it would be possible to perform a simultaneous evaluation of wall-motion abnormalities, volumes, ejection fraction, perfusion defects, and cardiac deformation on the same contrast recording. © 2016, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A single CT for attenuation correction of both rest and stress SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: a retrospective feasibility study

PubMed Central

Ahlman, Mark A; Nietert, Paul J; Wahlquist, Amy E; Serguson, Jill M; Berry, Max W; Suranyi, Pal; Liu, Songtao; Spicer, Kenneth M

2014-01-01

Purpose: In the effort to reduce radiation exposure to patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with SPECT/CT, we evaluate the feasibility of a single CT for attenuation correction (AC) of single-day rest (R)/stress (S) perfusion. Methods: Processing of 20 single isotope and 20 dual isotope MPI with perfusion defects were retrospectively repeated in three steps: (1) the standard method using a concurrent R-CT for AC of R-SPECT and S-CT for S-SPECT; (2) the standard method repeated; and (3) with the R-CT used for AC of S-SPECT, and the S-CT used for AC of R-SPECT. Intra-Class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and Choen’s kappa were used to measure intra-operator variability in sum scoring. Results: The highest level of intra-operator reliability was seen with the reproduction of the sum rest score (SRS) and sum stress score (SSS) (ICC > 95%). ICCs were > 85% for SRS and SSS when alternate CTs were used for AC, but when sum difference scores were calculated, ICC values were much lower (~22% to 27%), which may imply that neither CT substitution resulted in a reproducible difference score. Similar results were seen when evaluating dichotomous outcomes (sum scores difference of ≥ 4) when comparing different processing techniques (kappas ~0.32 to 0.43). Conclusions: When a single CT is used for AC of both rest and stress SPECT, there is disproportionately high variability in sum scoring that is independent of user error. This information can be used to direct further investigation in radiation reduction for common imaging exams in nuclear medicine. PMID:24482701

Effect of Ranolazine on Left Ventricular Dyssynchrony in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

PubMed Central

Venkataraman, Rajesh; Chen, Ji; Garcia, Ernest V.; Belardinelli, Luiz; Hage, Fadi G.; Heo, Jaekyeong; Iskandrian, Ami E.

2012-01-01

We previously reported that ranolazine improved exercise myocardial perfusion. Ranolazine ameliorates myocardial ischemia by augmenting myocardial blood flow; likely due to a reduction in extra-vascular compression of small vessels. We hypothesized that ranolazine could improve left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony as assessed by phase analysis of gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Patients (n=32) with known or suspected coronary artery disease and reversible perfusion defects on a clinically indicated stress MPI were re-studied 4 weeks after ranolazine (500–1000 mg orally twice daily) was added to their conventional treatment in an open-label trial (data previously reported). The LV systolic and diastolic dyssynchrony indices were obtained using automated phase analysis before and after ranolazine. There were no significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure (at rest or during stress) after treatment. The perfusion pattern improved in 13 of 18 patients who had exercise testing but in only 3 of 14 patients who had vasodilator stress testing. There were no significant changes in LV ejection fraction or volumes after treatment. The systolic and diastolic LV dyssynchrony improved after ranolazine therapy; there was a significant decrease in systolic phase standard deviation (SD) (21±17 vs. 18±13, P=0.04), systolic bandwidth (BW) (69±60 vs. 53±38, P=0.03), diastolic SD (29±18 vs. 24±15, P=0.047) and diastolic BW (91±61 vs. 72±45, P=0.02). In conclusion, this is the first study to show improvement in diastolic and systolic LV synchrony with ranolazine as measured by automated phase analysis of gated SPECT MPI. PMID:22884560

A prospective randomised comparative parallel study of amniotic membrane wound graft in the management of diabetic foot ulcers

PubMed Central

Zelen, Charles M; Serena, Thomas E; Denoziere, Guilhem; Fetterolf, Donald E

2013-01-01

Our purpose was to compare healing characteristics of diabetic foot ulcers treated with dehydrated human amniotic membrane allografts (EpiFix®, MiMedx, Kennesaw, GA) versus standard of care. An IRB-approved, prospective, randomised, single-centre clinical trial was performed. Included were patients with a diabetic foot ulcer of at least 4-week duration without infection having adequate arterial perfusion. Patients were randomised to receive standard care alone or standard care with the addition of EpiFix. Wound size reduction and rates of complete healing after 4 and 6 weeks were evaluated. In the standard care group (n = 12) and the EpiFix group (n = 13) wounds reduced in size by a mean of 32·0% ± 47·3% versus 97·1% ± 7·0% (P < 0·001) after 4 weeks, whereas at 6 weeks wounds were reduced by −1·8% ± 70·3% versus 98·4% ± 5·8% (P < 0·001), standard care versus EpiFix, respectively. After 4 and 6 weeks of treatment the overall healing rate with application of EpiFix was shown to be 77% and 92%, respectively, whereas standard care healed 0% and 8% of the wounds (P < 0·001), respectively. Patients treated with EpiFix achieved superior healing rates over standard treatment alone. These results show that using EpiFix in addition to standard care is efficacious for wound healing. PMID:23742102

Myocardial imaging with 123I-hexadecenoic acid.

PubMed

Poe, N D; Robinson, G D; Zielinski, F W; Cabeen, W R; Smith, J W; Gomes, A S

1977-08-01

123I-hexadecenoic acid is a terminally iodinated, 17-carbon fatty acid analog which is rapidly degraded in the myocardium. By determining regional myocardial distribution patterns and clearance rates, it may become useful as a single agent for estimating regional myocardial perfusion and for distinguished viable ischemic tissue from infarcted tissue. The high count rates obtainable with the iodine label permit acquisition of qualitative multiprojection images in only 3 min. per view, or quantifiable single projection high count images in 10 min. Ischemic defects may be observed in anginal patients without subjecting them to stress.

Creation of an ensemble of simulated cardiac cases and a human observer study: tools for the development of numerical observers for SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connor, J. Michael; Pretorius, P. Hendrik; Gifford, Howard C.; Licho, Robert; Joffe, Samuel; McGuiness, Matthew; Mehurg, Shannon; Zacharias, Michael; Brankov, Jovan G.

2012-02-01

Our previous Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) research explored the utility of numerical observers. We recently created two hundred and eighty simulated SPECT cardiac cases using Dynamic MCAT (DMCAT) and SIMIND Monte Carlo tools. All simulated cases were then processed with two reconstruction methods: iterative ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) and filtered back-projection (FBP). Observer study sets were assembled for both OSEM and FBP methods. Five physicians performed an observer study on one hundred and seventy-nine images from the simulated cases. The observer task was to indicate detection of any myocardial perfusion defect using the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) 17-segment cardiac model and the ASNC five-scale rating guidelines. Human observer Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) studies established the guidelines for the subsequent evaluation of numerical model observer (NO) performance. Several NOs were formulated and their performance was compared with the human observer performance. One type of NO was based on evaluation of a cardiac polar map that had been pre-processed using a gradient-magnitude watershed segmentation algorithm. The second type of NO was also based on analysis of a cardiac polar map but with use of a priori calculated average image derived from an ensemble of normal cases.

Validation and evaluation of model-based crosstalk compensation method in simultaneous /sup 99m/Tc stress and /sup 201/Tl rest myocardial perfusion SPECT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, X.; Frey, E. C.; Wang, W. T.; Du, Y.; Tsui, B. M. W.

2004-02-01

Simultaneous acquisition of /sup 99m/Tc stress and /sup 201/Tl rest myocardial perfusion SPECT has several potential advantages, but the image quality is degraded by crosstalk between the Tc and Tl data. We have previously developed a crosstalk model that includes estimates of the downscatter and Pb X-ray for use in crosstalk compensation. In this work, we validated the model by comparing the crosstalk from /sup 99m/Tc to the Tl window calculated using a combination of the SimSET-MCNP Monte Carlo simulation codes. We also evaluated the model-based crosstalk compensation method using both simulated data from the 3-D MCAT phantom and experimental data from a physical phantom with a myocardial defect. In these studies, the Tl distributions were reconstructed from crosstalk contaminated data without crosstalk compensation, with compensation using the model-based crosstalk estimate, and with compensation using the known true crosstalk, and were compared with the Tl distribution reconstructed from uncontaminated Tl data. Results show that the model gave good estimates of both the downscatter photons and Pb X-rays in the simultaneous dual-isotopes myocardial perfusion SPECT. The model-based compensation method provided image quality that was significantly improved as compared to no compensation and was very close to that from the separate acquisition.

Microvascular autonomic dysfunction may justify false-positive stress myocardial perfusion imaging in patients with liver cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation.

PubMed

Senzolo, M; Bassanello, M; Graziotto, A; Zucchetta, P; Cillo, U; Maraglino, G; Loreno, M; Bellotto, F; Davià, G; Burra, P

2008-01-01

Up to 15% of liver transplant candidates have asymptomatic coronary artery diseases, which increase the risk of cardiac complications during and after transplantation. The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the usefulness of an integrated cardiological approach in cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation. Twenty-four consecutive patients undergoing evaluation for liver transplantation were studied by assessing risk factors for coronary artery diseases, electrocardiogram with QTc interval determination, chest X-ray, echocardiography, 24-hour Holter monitor, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (99mTc)MIBI-GSPECT at rest and after dipyridamole infusion. Cardiac (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scan and coronarography were performed in patients with myocardial perfusion defects. Twenty three of 24 patients underwent successful liver transplantation; one patient died on the waiting list. Before liver transplantation, 29% of patients were diabetic and 41% were smokers. Eleven of 24 patients had a prolonged QTc interval, and 3/24 had positive myocardioscintigraphy after dipyridamole infusion: in two coronarography was negative, while the (123)I-MIBG washout was altered. No cardiac events were recorded during the short-and long-term follow-up after surgery. Predictive value of positive cardiac (99mTc)MIBI-GSPECT in patients with liver cirrhosis is low, and this may be due to alterations of cardiac microvascular tone as showed by cardiac (123)I-MIBG scan.

Planar patch clamp: advances in electrophysiology.

PubMed

Brüggemann, Andrea; Farre, Cecilia; Haarmann, Claudia; Haythornthwaite, Ali; Kreir, Mohamed; Stoelzle, Sonja; George, Michael; Fertig, Niels

2008-01-01

Ion channels have gained increased interest as therapeutic targets over recent years, since a growing number of human and animal diseases have been attributed to defects in ion channel function. Potassium channels are the largest and most diverse family of ion channels. Pharmaceutical agents such as Glibenclamide, an inhibitor of K(ATP) channel activity which promotes insulin release, have been successfully sold on the market for many years. So far, only a small group of the known ion channels have been addressed as potential drug targets. The functional testing of drugs on these ion channels has always been the bottleneck in the development of these types of pharmaceutical compounds.New generations of automated patch clamp screening platforms allow a higher throughput for drug testing and widen this bottleneck. Due to their planar chip design not only is a higher throughput achieved, but new applications have also become possible. One of the advantages of planar patch clamp is the possibility of perfusing the intracellular side of the membrane during a patch clamp experiment in the whole-cell configuration. Furthermore, the extracellular membrane remains accessible for compound application during the experiment.Internal perfusion can be used not only for patch clamp experiments with cell membranes, but also for those with artificial lipid bilayers. In this chapter we describe how internal perfusion can be applied to potassium channels expressed in Jurkat cells, and to Gramicidin channels reconstituted in a lipid bilayer.

The impacts of acute carbon monoxide poisoning on the brain: Longitudinal clinical and 99mTc ethyl cysteinate brain SPECT characterization of patients with persistent and delayed neurological sequelae.

PubMed

Tsai, Chung-Fen; Yip, Ping-Keung; Chen, Shao-Yuan; Lin, Jen-Cheng; Yeh, Zai-Ting; Kung, Lan-Yu; Wang, Cheng-Yi; Fan, Yu-Ming

2014-04-01

Acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning poses a significant threat to the central nervous system. It can cause brain injury and diverse neurological deficits including persistent neurological sequelae (PNS) and delayed neurological sequelae (DNS). The study aimed to investigate the long-term impacts of acute CO poisoning on brain perfusion and neurological function, and to explore potential differences between PNS and DNS patients. We evaluated brain perfusion using (99m)Tc ethyl cysteinate (ECD) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and assessed clinical neurological symptoms and signs one month following acute poisoning. For DNS patients, ECD SPECT and clinical evaluation were performed when their delayed symptoms appeared. All patients had follow-up SPECT imaging, along with clinical assessments six months following poisoning. 12 PNS and 12 DNS patients were recruited between 2007 and 2010. Clinically, the main characteristic presentations were cognitive decline, emotional instability, and gait disturbance. SPECT imaging demonstrated consistent frontal hypoperfusion of varying severities in all patients, which decreased in severity at follow-up imaging. DNS patients usually had more severe symptoms and perfusion defects, along with worse clinical outcomes than the PNS group. These results suggest that acute CO poisoning might lead to long term brain injuries and neurological sequelae, particularly in DNS patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hepatic Subcellular Compartmentation of Cytoplasmic Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase Determined by Immunogold Electron Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Kuixiong; Cardell, Emma Lou; Morris, Randal E.; Giffin, Bruce F.; Cardell, Robert R.

1995-08-01

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is the rate-limiting gluconeogenic enzyme and in liver occurs in a lobular gradient from periportal to pericentral regions. The subcellular distribution of cytoplasmic PEPCK molecules within hepatocytes and its relationship to organelles have not been determined previously. In this study, we have used immunogold electron microscopy to evaluate the subcellar distribution of the enzyme, in addition to brightfield and epipolarized light microscopy. Cryosections (10 [mu]m) of perfusion-fixed rat liver were collected on silanated slides and immunostained using goat anti-rat PEPCK followed by 5-nm gold-labeled secondary and tertiary antibodies. Additionally, free-floating vibratome sections (25, 50, and 100 [mu]m) of perfusion-immersion-fixed rat liver were immunogold stained using goat anti-rat PEPCK and 5-nm gold-labeled secondary antibody, with and without silver enhancement. The immunogold labeled sections from both procedures were embedded in epoxy resin for the preparation of thin sections for electron microscopy. The results showed that the gold-labeled antibodies penetrated the entire thickness of cryosections, resulting in a high signal for PEPCK, but membranes in general, the smooth endoplasmic reticulum in particular, were not identifiable as electron dense unit membranes. On the other hand, the vibratome sections of well-fixed tissue allowed good visualization of the ultrastructure of cellular organelles, with the smooth endoplasmic reticulum appearing as vesicles and tubules with electron dense unit membranes; however, the penetration of the gold-labeled antibody was limited to cells at the surface of the vibratome sections. In both procedures, PEPCK, as indicated by gold particles, is predominantly in the glycogen areas of the cytosome and not in mitochondria, nuclei, Golgi apparatus, or other cell organelles. Hepatocytes in periportal regions have a compact subcellular distribution of PEPCK shown by gold particles; hepatocytes in pericentral regions have a diffuse subcellular distribution of PEPCK and thus more scattered gold particles. When normal serum replaced the first antibody in the immunogold staining procedures, the background was very low.

Defect Detection of Steel Surfaces with Global Adaptive Percentile Thresholding of Gradient Image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neogi, Nirbhar; Mohanta, Dusmanta K.; Dutta, Pranab K.

2017-12-01

Steel strips are used extensively for white goods, auto bodies and other purposes where surface defects are not acceptable. On-line surface inspection systems can effectively detect and classify defects and help in taking corrective actions. For detection of defects use of gradients is very popular in highlighting and subsequently segmenting areas of interest in a surface inspection system. Most of the time, segmentation by a fixed value threshold leads to unsatisfactory results. As defects can be both very small and large in size, segmentation of a gradient image based on percentile thresholding can lead to inadequate or excessive segmentation of defective regions. A global adaptive percentile thresholding of gradient image has been formulated for blister defect and water-deposit (a pseudo defect) in steel strips. The developed method adaptively changes the percentile value used for thresholding depending on the number of pixels above some specific values of gray level of the gradient image. The method is able to segment defective regions selectively preserving the characteristics of defects irrespective of the size of the defects. The developed method performs better than Otsu method of thresholding and an adaptive thresholding method based on local properties.

Reduced Arteriovenous Shunting Capacity After Local Heating and Redistribution of Baseline Skin Blood Flow in Type 2 Diabetes Assessed With Velocity-Resolved Quantitative Laser Doppler Flowmetry

PubMed Central

Fredriksson, Ingemar; Larsson, Marcus; Nyström, Fredrik H.; Länne, Toste; Östgren, Carl J.; Strömberg, Tomas

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE To compare the microcirculatory velocity distribution in type 2 diabetic patients and nondiabetic control subjects at baseline and after local heating. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The skin blood flow response to local heating (44°C for 20 min) was assessed in 28 diabetic patients and 29 control subjects using a new velocity-resolved quantitative laser Doppler flowmetry technique (qLDF). The qLDF estimates erythrocyte (RBC) perfusion (velocity × concentration), in a physiologically relevant unit (grams RBC per 100 g tissue × millimeters per second) in a fixed output volume, separated into three velocity regions: v <1 mm/s, v 1–10 mm/s, and v >10 mm/s. RESULTS The increased blood flow occurs in vessels with a velocity >1 mm/s. A significantly lower response in qLDF total perfusion was found in diabetic patients than in control subjects after heat provocation because of less high-velocity blood flow (v >10 mm/s). The RBC concentration in diabetic patients increased sevenfold for v between 1 and 10 mm/s, and 15-fold for v >10 mm/s, whereas no significant increase was found for v <1 mm/s. The mean velocity increased from 0.94 to 7.3 mm/s in diabetic patients and from 0.83 to 9.7 mm/s in control subjects. CONCLUSIONS The perfusion increase occurs in larger shunting vessels and not as an increase in capillary flow. Baseline diabetic patient data indicated a redistribution of flow to higher velocity regions, associated with longer duration of diabetes. A lower perfusion was associated with a higher BMI and a lower toe-to-brachial systolic blood pressure ratio. PMID:20393143

Two-Dimensional Halide Perovskites: Tuning Electronic Activities of Defects

DOE PAGES

Liu, Yuanyue; Xiao, Hai; Goddard, William A.

2016-04-21

Two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites are emerging as promising candidates for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. To realize their full potential, it is important to understand the role of those defects that can strongly impact material properties. In contrast to other popular 2D semiconductors (e.g., transition metal dichalcogenides MX 2) for which defects typically induce harmful traps, we show that the electronic activities of defects in 2D perovskites are significantly tunable. For example, even with a fixed lattice orientation one can change the synthesis conditions to convert a line defect (edge or grain boundary) from electron acceptor to inactive site without deep gapmore » states. Here, we show that this difference originates from the enhanced ionic bonding in these perovskites compared with MX 2. The donors tend to have high formation energies and the harmful defects are difficult to form at a low halide chemical potential. Thus, we unveil unique properties of defects in 2D perovskites and suggest practical routes to improve them.« less

Principal Component Analysis of Thermographic Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winfree, William P.; Cramer, K. Elliott; Zalameda, Joseph N.; Howell, Patricia A.; Burke, Eric R.

2015-01-01

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been shown effective for reducing thermographic NDE data. While a reliable technique for enhancing the visibility of defects in thermal data, PCA can be computationally intense and time consuming when applied to the large data sets typical in thermography. Additionally, PCA can experience problems when very large defects are present (defects that dominate the field-of-view), since the calculation of the eigenvectors is now governed by the presence of the defect, not the "good" material. To increase the processing speed and to minimize the negative effects of large defects, an alternative method of PCA is being pursued where a fixed set of eigenvectors, generated from an analytic model of the thermal response of the material under examination, is used to process the thermal data from composite materials. This method has been applied for characterization of flaws.

Remote defect imaging for plate-like structures based on the scanning laser source technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Takahiro; Maeda, Atsuya; Nakao, Shogo

2018-04-01

In defect imaging with a scanning laser source technique, the use of a fixed receiver realizes stable measurements of flexural waves generated by laser at multiple rastering points. This study discussed the defect imaging by remote measurements using a laser Doppler vibrometer as a receiver. Narrow-band burst waves were generated by modulating laser pulse trains of a fiber laser to enhance signal to noise ratio in frequency domain. Averaging three images obtained at three different frequencies suppressed spurious distributions due to resonance. The experimental system equipped with these newly-devised means enabled us to visualize defects and adhesive objects in plate-like structures such as a plate with complex geometries and a branch pipe.

Intravenous Xenogeneic Transplantation of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Improves Left Ventricular Function and Microvascular Integrity in Swine Myocardial Infarction Model

PubMed Central

Jun Hong, Soon; Rogers, Pamela I.; Kihlken, John; Warfel, Jessica; Bull, Chris; Deuter-Reinhard, Maja; Feng, Dongni; Xie, Jie; Kyle, Aaron; Merfeld-Clauss, Stephanie; Johnstone, Brian H.; Traktuev, Dmitry O.; Chen, Peng-Sheng; Lindner, Jonathan R.; March, Keith L.

2018-01-01

Objectives The potential for beneficial effects of adipose-derived stem cells(ASCs) on myocardial perfusion and left ventricular dysfunction in myocardial ischemia(MI) has not been tested following intravenous delivery. Methods Surviving pigs following induction of MI were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 different groups: the placebo group (n=7), the single bolus group (SB)(n=7, 15×107 ASCs), or the divided dose group (DD)(n=7, 5×107 ASCs/day for three consecutive days). Myocardial perfusion defect area and coronary flow reserve (CFR) were compared during the 28-day follow-up. Also, serial changes in the absolute number of circulating CD4+T and CD8+T cells were measured. Results The increases in ejection fraction were significantly greater in both the SB and the DD groups compared to the placebo group (5.4±0.9%, 3.7±0.7%, and -0.4±0.6%, respectively), and the decrease in the perfusion defect area was significantly greater in the SB group than the placebo group (-36.3±1.8 and -11.5±2.8). CFR increased to a greater degree in the SB and the DD groups than in the placebo group (0.9±0.2, 0.8±0.1, and 0.2±0.2, respectively). The circulating number of CD8+T cells was significantly greater in the SB and DD groups than the placebo group at day 7(3,687±317/μL, 3,454±787/μL, and 1,928±457/μL, respectively). The numbers of small vessels were significantly greater in the SB and the DD groups than the placebo group in the peri-infarct area. Conclusions Both intravenous SB and DD delivery of ASCs are effective modalities for the treatment of MI in swine. Intravenous delivery of ASCs, with its immunomodulatory and angiogenic effects, is an attractive noninvasive approach for myocardial rescue. PMID:24905889

The clinical implications of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with esophageal or lung cancer after chemoradiation therapy.

PubMed

Gayed, Isis; Gohar, Salman; Liao, Zhongxing; McAleer, Mary; Bassett, Roland; Yusuf, Syed Wamique

2009-06-01

This study aims to identify the clinical implications of myocardial perfusion defects after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with esophageal and lung cancer. We retrospectively compared myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) results before and after CRT in 16 patients with esophageal cancer and 24 patients with lung cancer. New MPI defects in the radiation therapy (RT) fields were considered related to RT. Follow-up to evaluate for cardiac complications and their relation with the results of MPI was performed. Statistical analysis identified predictors of cardiac morbidities. Eleven females and twenty nine males at a mean age of 66.7 years were included. Five patients (31%) with esophageal cancer and seven patients (29%) with lung cancer developed myocardial ischemia in the RT field at mean intervals of 7.0 and 8.4 months after RT. The patients were followed-up for mean intervals of 15 and 23 months in the esophageal and lung cancer groups, respectively. Seven patients in each of the esophageal (44%) and lung (29%) cancer patients (P = 0.5) developed cardiac complications of which one patient with esophageal cancer died of complete heart block. Six out of the fourteen patients (43%) with cardiac complication had new ischemia on MPI after CRT of which only one developed angina. The remaining eight patients with cardiac complications had normal MPI results. MPI result was not a statistically significant predictor of future cardiac complications after CRT. A history of congestive heart failure (CHF) (P = 0.003) or arrhythmia (P = 0.003) is a significant predictor of cardiac morbidity after CRT in univariate analysis but marginal predictors when multivariate analysis was performed (P = 0.06 and 0.06 for CHF and arrhythmia, respectively). Cardiac complications after CRT are more common in esophageal than lung cancer patients but the difference is not statistically significant. MPI abnormalities are frequently seen after CRT but are not predictive of future cardiac complications. A history of arrhythmia or CHF is significantly associated with cardiac complications after CRT.

MicroRNAs in vascular tissue engineering and post-ischemic neovascularization☆

PubMed Central

Caputo, Massimo; Saif, Jaimy; Rajakaruna, Cha; Brooks, Marcus; Angelini, Gianni D.; Emanueli, Costanza

2015-01-01

Increasing numbers of paediatric patients with congenital heart defects are surviving to adulthood, albeit with continuing clinical needs. Hence, there is still scope for revolutionary new strategies to correct vascular anatomical defects. Adult patients are also surviving longer with the adverse consequences of ischemic vascular disease, especially after acute coronary syndromes brought on by plaque erosion and rupture. Vascular tissue engineering and therapeutic angiogenesis provide new hope for these patients. Both approaches have shown promise in laboratory studies, but have not yet been able to deliver clear evidence of clinical success. More research into biomaterials, molecular medicine and cell and molecular therapies is necessary. This review article focuses on the new opportunities offered by targeting microRNAs for the improved production and greater empowerment of vascular cells for use in vascular tissue engineering or for increasing blood perfusion of ischemic tissues by amplifying the resident microvascular network. PMID:25980937

Early detection of myocardial infarction following blunt chest trauma by computed tomography: a case report.

PubMed

Lee, Thung-Lip; Hsuan, Chin-Feng; Shih, Chen-Hsiang; Liang, Huai-Wen; Tsai, Hsing-Shan; Tseng, Wei-Kung; Hsu, Kwan-Lih

2017-02-10

Blunt cardiac trauma encompasses a wide range of clinical entities, including myocardial contusion, cardiac rupture, valve avulsion, pericardial injuries, arrhythmia, and even myocardial infarction. Acute myocardial infarction due to coronary artery dissection after blunt chest trauma is rare and may be life threatening. Differential diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction from cardiac contusion at this setting is not easy. Here we demonstrated a case of blunt chest trauma, with computed tomography detected myocardium enhancement defect early at emergency department. Under the impression of acute myocardial infarction, emergent coronary angiography revealed left anterior descending artery occlusion. Revascularization was performed and coronary artery dissection was found after thrombus aspiration. Finally, the patient survived after coronary stenting. Perfusion defects of myocardium enhancement on CT after blunt chest trauma can be very helpful to suggest myocardial infarction and facilitate the decision making of emergent procedure. This valuable sign should not be missed during the initial interpretation.

The identification of novel loci required for appropriate nodule development in Medicago truncatula.

PubMed

Domonkos, Agota; Horvath, Beatrix; Marsh, John F; Halasz, Gabor; Ayaydin, Ferhan; Oldroyd, Giles E D; Kalo, Peter

2013-10-11

The formation of functional symbiotic nodules is the result of a coordinated developmental program between legumes and rhizobial bacteria. Genetic analyses in legumes have been used to dissect the signaling processes required for establishing the legume-rhizobial endosymbiotic association. Compared to the early events of the symbiotic interaction, less attention has been paid to plant loci required for rhizobial colonization and the functioning of the nodule. Here we describe the identification and characterization of a number of new genetic loci in Medicago truncatula that are required for the development of effective nitrogen fixing nodules. Approximately 38,000 EMS and fast neutron mutagenized Medicago truncatula seedlings were screened for defects in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Mutant plants impaired in nodule development and efficient nitrogen fixation were selected for further genetic and phenotypic analysis. Nine mutants completely lacking in nodule formation (Nod-) represented six complementation groups of which two novel loci have been identified. Eight mutants with ineffective nodules (Fix-) represented seven complementation groups, out of which five were new monogenic loci. The Fix- M. truncatula mutants showed symptoms of nitrogen deficiency and developed small white nodules. Microscopic analysis of Fix- nodules revealed that the mutants have defects in the release of rhizobia from infection threads, differentiation of rhizobia and maintenance of persistence of bacteria in nodule cells. Additionally, we monitored the transcriptional activity of symbiosis specific genes to define what transcriptional stage of the symbiotic process is blocked in each of the Fix- mutants. Based on the phenotypic and gene expression analysis a functional hierarchy of the FIX genes is proposed. The new symbiotic loci of M. truncatula isolated in this study provide the foundation for further characterization of the mechanisms underpinning nodulation, in particular the later stages associated with bacterial release and nodule function.

Nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging using thallium-201 with a novel multifocal collimator SPECT/CT: IQ-SPECT versus conventional protocols in normal subjects.

PubMed

Matsuo, Shinro; Nakajima, Kenichi; Onoguchi, Masahisa; Wakabayash, Hiroshi; Okuda, Koichi; Kinuya, Seigo

2015-06-01

A novel multifocal collimator, IQ-SPECT (Siemens) consists of SMARTZOOM, cardio-centric and 3D iterative SPECT reconstruction and makes it possible to perform MPI scans in a short time. The aims are to delineate the normal uptake in thallium-201 ((201)Tl) SPECT in each acquisition method and to compare the distribution between new and conventional protocol, especially in patients with normal imaging. Forty patients (eight women, mean age of 75 years) who underwent myocardial perfusion imaging were included in the study. All patients underwent one-day protocol perfusion scan after an adenosine-stress test and at rest after administering (201)Tl and showed normal results. Acquisition was performed on a Symbia T6 equipped with a conventional dual-headed gamma camera system (Siemens ECAM) and with a multifocal SMARTZOOM collimator. Imaging was performed with a conventional system followed by IQ-SPECT/computed tomography (CT). Reconstruction was performed with or without X-ray CT-derived attenuation correction (AC). Two nuclear physicians blinded to clinical information interpreted all myocardial perfusion images. A semi-quantitative myocardial perfusion was analyzed by a 17-segment model with a 5-point visual scoring. The uptake of each segment was measured and left ventricular functions were analyzed by QPS software. IQ-SPECT provided good or excellent image quality. The quality of IQ-SPECT images without AC was similar to those of conventional LEHR study. Mid-inferior defect score (0.3 ± 0.5) in the conventional LEHR study was increased significantly in IQ-SPECT with AC (0 ± 0). IQ-SPECT with AC improved the mid-inferior decreased perfusion shown in conventional images. The apical tracer count in IQ-SPECT with AC was decreased compared to that in LEHR (0.1 ± 0.3 vs. 0.5 ± 0.7, p < 0.05). The left ventricular ejection fraction from IQ-SPECT was significantly higher than that from the LEHR collimator (p = 0.0009). The images of IQ-SPECT acquired in a short time are equivalent to that of conventional LEHR. The results indicated that the IQ-SPECT system with AC is capable of correcting inferior artifacts with high image quality.

A collaborative inventory model for vendor-buyer system with inspection errors, unequal sized shipment, and repairable item

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamdani, Irfan Hilmi; Jauhari, Wakhid Ahmad; Rosyidi, Cucuk Nur

2017-11-01

This paper develops an integrated inventory model consisting of single-vendor and single-buyer system. The demand in buyer side is deterministic and the production process is imperfect and produces a certain number of defective items. The delivery within a single production batch from vendor to buyer is increasing by a fixed factor. After the delivery arrives at the buyer, an inspection process is conducted. The inspection process in not perfect. Errors may occur when the inspector is misclassifies a non-defective item as defective ne, or incorrectly classifies a defective item as non-defective. All the product which defective will be repair by repair-shop. After the defective arrives at repair shop, will perfect inspection. The defective item will repair and back to buyer. This model provides an optimal solution for the expected integrated total annual cost of the vendor and the buyer. The result from numerical examples shows that the integrated model will result in lower joint total cost in comparison with the equal-sized policy.

Components of the cellular defense and detoxification system of the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Mollusca, Cephalopoda).

PubMed

Beuerlein, Knut; Löhr, Sandra; Westermann, Bettina; Ruth, Peter; Schipp, Rudolf

2002-12-01

Endocytotic-active cells in the branchial heart complex of Sepia officinalis were studied by in situ injection of different types of xenobiotics and by in vitro perfusion of the organ complex with a bacterial suspension. The rhogocytes (ovoid cells) ingest particles of all tested sizes by endocytosis and phagocytosis. The hemocytes of the circulating blood and the adhesive hemocytes in the wall of the branchial heart incorporate all tested kinds of foreign materials, including bacterial cells due to phagocytosis achieved by the triangular mesenchymatic cells. The ultrastructural findings also give strong evidence that the triangular mesenchymatic cells are fixed hemocytes that have migrated into the branchial heart tissue. The ingestion and digestion of allogeneic substances and bacteria or their debris by rhogocytes and/or all (forms of) hemocytes suggests the involvement of these either fixed or mobile endocytotic-active cells in the defense and detoxification system of cephalopods.

Haemodynamic changes in hepatocellular carcinoma and liver parenchyma under balloon occlusion of the hepatic artery.

PubMed

Sugihara, Fumie; Murata, Satoru; Ueda, Tatsuo; Yasui, Daisuke; Yamaguchi, Hidenori; Miki, Izumi; Kawamoto, Chiaki; Uchida, Eiji; Kumita, Shin-Ichiro

2017-06-01

To investigate haemodynamic changes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver under hepatic artery occlusion. Thirty-eight HCC nodules in 25 patients were included. Computed tomography (CT) during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) with and without balloon occlusion of the hepatic artery was performed. CT attenuation and enhancement volume of HCC and liver with and without balloon occlusion were measured on CTHA. Influence of balloon position (segmental or subsegmental branch) was evaluated based on differences in HCC-to-liver attenuation ratio (H/L ratio) and enhancement volume of HCC and liver. In the segmental group (n = 20), H/L ratio and enhancement volume of HCC and liver were significantly lower with balloon occlusion than without balloon occlusion. However, in the subsegmental group (n = 18), H/L ratio was significantly higher and liver enhancement volume was significantly lower with balloon occlusion; HCC enhancement volume was similar with and without balloon occlusion. Rate of change in H/L ratio and enhancement volume of HCC and liver were lower in the segmental group than in the subsegmental group. There were significantly more perfusion defects in HCC in the segmental group. Hepatic artery occlusion causes haemodynamic changes in HCC and liver, especially with segmental occlusion. • Hepatic artery occlusion causes haemodynamic changes in hepatocellular carcinoma and liver. • Segmental occlusion decreased rate of change in hepatocellular carcinoma-to-liver attenuation ratio. • Subsegmental occlusion increased rate of change in hepatocellular carcinoma-to-liver attenuation ratio. • Hepatic artery occlusion decreased enhancement volume of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver. • Hepatic artery occlusion causes perfusion defects in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Radionuclide imaging of myocardial infarction using Tc-99m TBI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Holman, B.L.; Campbell, S.; Kirshenbaum, J.M.

The cationic complex Tc-99m t-butylisonitrile (TBI) concentrates in the myocardial tissue of several animal species. Its myocardial distribution is proportional to blood flow both in zones of ischemia and in normal myocardium at rest. Planar, tomographic, and gated myocardial images have been obtained using Tc-99m TBI in the human. The authors investigated the potential application of Tc-99m TBI imaging to detect and localize myocardial infarction. Four subjects without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease and five patients with ECG evidence of previous myocardial infarction were studied. Tc-99m TBI (10mCi) was injected intravenously with the patient in a resting state with planarmore » imaging in the anterior, 30 and 70 degree LAO projections beginning one hr after injection. The distribution of the tracer was homogeneous throughout the left ventricular wall in the normal subjects. Regional perfusion defects were present in 4/5 of the patients with myocardial infarction. Location of the defects corresponded to the location of the infarct using ECG criteria (2 inferoposterior and 2 anterior). The patient in whom the Tc-99m TBI image appeared normal had sustained a subendocardial myocardial infarct which could not be localized by ECG; the other 4 pts had transmural infarcts. Anterior and 30 degree LAO images were of excellent quality in all cases; there was overlap of the liver on the inferior wall of the left ventricle on the 70 degree LAO views. The authors conclude that accurate perfusion imaging may be possible using Tc-99m TBI in patients with transmural myocardial infarction.« less

[Follow-up of patients with good exercise capacity in stress test with myocardial single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)].

PubMed

González, Javiera; Prat, Hernán; Swett, Eduardo; Berrocal, Isabel; Fernández, René; Zhindon, Juan Pablo; Castro, Ariel; Massardo, Teresa

2015-11-01

The evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) can be performed with stress test and myocardial SPECT tomography. To assess the predictive value of myocardial SPECT using stress test for cardiovascular events in patients with good exercise capacity. We included 102 males aged 56 ± 10 years and 19 females aged 52 ± 10 years, all able to achieve 10 METs and ≥ 85% of the theoretical maximum heart rate and at least 8 min in their stress test with gated 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT. Eighty two percent of patients were followed clinically for 33 ± 17 months. Sixty seven percent of patients were studied for CAD screening and the rest for known disease assessment. Treadmill stress test was negative in 75.4%; 37% of patients with moderate to severe Duke Score presented ischemia. Normal myocardial perfusion SPECT was observed in 70.2%. Reversible defects appeared in 24.8% of cases, which were of moderate or severe degree (> 10% left ventricular extension) in 56.6%. Only seven cases had coronary events after the SPECT. Two major (myocardial infarction and emergency coronary revascularization) and 5 minor events (elective revascularization) ere observed in the follow-up. In a multivariate analysis, SPECT ischemia was the only statistically significant parameter that increased the probability of having a major or minor event. Nearly a quarter of our patients with good exercise capacity demonstrated reversible defects in their myocardial perfusion SPECT. In the intermediate-term follow-up, a low rate of cardiac events was observed, being the isotopic ischemia the only significant predictive parameter.

Improving software quality - The use of formal inspections at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bush, Marilyn

1990-01-01

The introduction of software formal inspections (Fagan Inspections) at JPL for finding and fixing defects early in the software development life cycle are reviewed. It is estimated that, by the year 2000, some software efforts will rise to as much as 80 percent of the total. Software problems are especially important at NASA as critical flight software must be error-free. It is shown that formal inspections are particularly effective at finding and removing defects having to do with clarity, correctness, consistency, and completeness. A very significant discovery was that code audits were not as effective at finding defects as code inspections.

The nitrate-reduction gene cluster components exert lineage-dependent contributions to optimization of Sinorhizobium symbiosis with soybeans.

PubMed

Liu, Li Xue; Li, Qin Qin; Zhang, Yun Zeng; Hu, Yue; Jiao, Jian; Guo, Hui Juan; Zhang, Xing Xing; Zhang, Biliang; Chen, Wen Xin; Tian, Chang Fu

2017-12-01

Receiving nodulation and nitrogen fixation genes does not guarantee rhizobia an effective symbiosis with legumes. Here, variations in gene content were determined for three Sinorhizobium species showing contrasting symbiotic efficiency on soybeans. A nitrate-reduction gene cluster absent in S. sojae was found to be essential for symbiotic adaptations of S. fredii and S. sp. III. In S. fredii, the deletion mutation of the nap (nitrate reductase), instead of nir (nitrite reductase) and nor (nitric oxide reductase), led to defects in nitrogen-fixation (Fix - ). By contrast, none of these core nitrate-reduction genes were required for the symbiosis of S. sp. III. However, within the same gene cluster, the deletion of hemN1 (encoding oxygen-independent coproporphyrinogen III oxidase) in both S. fredii and S. sp. III led to the formation of nitrogen-fixing (Fix + ) but ineffective (Eff - ) nodules. These Fix + /Eff - nodules were characterized by significantly lower enzyme activity of glutamine synthetase indicating rhizobial modulation of nitrogen-assimilation by plants. A distant homologue of HemN1 from S. sojae can complement this defect in S. fredii and S. sp. III, but exhibited a more pleotropic role in symbiosis establishment. These findings highlighted the lineage-dependent optimization of symbiotic functions in different rhizobial species associated with the same host. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evolutionary dynamics in finite populations can explain the full range of cooperative behaviors observed in the centipede game.

PubMed

Rand, David G; Nowak, Martin A

2012-05-07

Classical economic models make behavioral predictions based on the assumption that people are fully rational and care only about maximizing their own payoffs. Although this approach successfully explains human behavior in many situations, there is a wealth of experimental evidence demonstrating conditions where people deviate from the predictions of these models. One setting that has received particular attention is fixed length repeated games. Iterating a social dilemma can promote cooperation through direct reciprocity, even if it is common knowledge that all players are rational and self-interested. However, this is not the case if the length of the game is known to the players. In the final round, a rational player will defect, because there is no future to be concerned with. But if you know the other player will defect in the last round, then you should defect in the second to last round, and so on. This logic of backwards induction leads to immediate defection as the only rational (sub-game perfect Nash equilibrium) strategy. When people actually play such games, however, immediate defection is rare. Here we use evolutionary dynamics in finite populations to study the centipede game, which is designed to explore this issue of backwards induction. We make the following observation: since full cooperation can risk-dominate immediate defection in the centipede game, stochastic evolutionary dynamics can favor both delayed defection and even full cooperation. Furthermore, our evolutionary model can quantitatively reproduce human behavior from two experiments by fitting a single free parameter, which is the product of population size and selection intensity. Thus we provide evidence that people's cooperative behavior in fixed length games, which is often called 'irrational', may in fact be the favored outcome of natural selection. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Bruxism on Ceramic Defects in Implant-Borne Fixed Dental Prostheses: A Retrospective Study.

PubMed

Mikeli, Aikaterini; Walter, Michael H

2016-01-01

Ceramic veneer fracture is a frequent complication in implant-borne fixed restorations. The retrospective clinical study assesses the effect of bruxism on this complication. A sample of 507 implant-borne fixed units inserted between 1995 and 2011 in 144 patients were examined. Any detected veneer fractures were assigned to one of four groups according to extent and position. A hypothetical correlation between bruxism and ceramic veneer fractures was examined. Of 34 patients (23.6%) with at least one ceramic veneer fracture, 24 were bruxers (70%) and 10 were nonbruxers (30%) (P = .002). Bruxism may pose a risk for ceramic fractures.

Response to defects in multipartite and bipartite entanglement of isotropic quantum spin networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Sudipto Singha; Dhar, Himadri Shekhar; Rakshit, Debraj; SenDe, Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2018-05-01

Quantum networks are an integral component in performing efficient computation and communication tasks that are not accessible using classical systems. A key aspect in designing an effective and scalable quantum network is generating entanglement between its nodes, which is robust against defects in the network. We consider an isotropic quantum network of spin-1/2 particles with a finite fraction of defects, where the corresponding wave function of the network is rotationally invariant under the action of local unitaries. By using quantum information-theoretic concepts like strong subadditivity of von Neumann entropy and approximate quantum telecloning, we prove analytically that in the presence of defects, caused by loss of a finite fraction of spins, the network, composed of a fixed numbers of lattice sites, sustains genuine multisite entanglement and at the same time may exhibit finite moderate-range bipartite entanglement, in contrast to the network with no defects.

Reflectance Speckle of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Reveals Axonal Activity

PubMed Central

Huang, Xiang-Run; Knighton, Robert W.; Zhou, Ye; Zhao, Xiao-Peng

2013-01-01

Purpose. This study investigated the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) reflectance speckle and tested the hypothesis that temporal change of RNFL speckle reveals axonal dynamic activity. Methods. RNFL reflectance speckle of isolated rat retinas was studied with monochromatic illumination. A series of reflectance images was collected every 5 seconds for approximately 15 minutes. Correlation coefficients (CC) of selected areas between a reference and subsequent images were calculated and plotted as a function of the time intervals between images. An exponential function fit to the time course was used to evaluate temporal change of speckle pattern. To relate temporal change of speckle to axonal activity, in vitro living retina perfused at a normal (34°C) and a lower (24°C) temperature, paraformaldehyde-fixed retina, and retina treated with microtubule depolymerization were used. Results. RNFL reflectance was not uniform; rather nerve fiber bundles had a speckled texture that changed with time. In normally perfused retina, the time constant of the CC change was 0.56 ± 0.26 minutes. In retinas treated with lower temperature and microtubule depolymerization, the time constants increased by two to four times, indicating that the speckle pattern changed more slowly. The speckled texture in fixed retina was stationary. Conclusions. Fixation stops axonal activity; treatments with either lower temperature or microtubule depolymerization are known to decrease axonal transport. The results obtained in this study suggest that temporal change of RNFL speckle reveals structural change due to axonal activity. Assessment of RNFL reflectance speckle may offer a new means of evaluating axonal function. PMID:23532525

The structure of the perivascular compartment in the old canine brain: a case study.

PubMed

Criswell, Theodore P; Sharp, Matthew MacGregor; Dobson, Howard; Finucane, Ciara; Weller, Roy O; Verma, Ajay; Carare, Roxana O

2017-11-15

Dilatation of periarteriolar spaces in MRI of the ageing human brains occurs in white matter (WM), basal ganglia and midbrain but not in cerebral cortex. Perivenous collagenous occurs in periventricular but not in subcortical WM.Here we test the hypotheses that (a) the capacity for dilatation of periarteriolar spaces correlates with the anatomical distribution of leptomeningeal cells coating intracerebral arteries and (b) the regional development of perivenous collagenous in the WM correlates with the population of intramural cells in the walls of veins.The anatomical distribution of leptomeningeal and intramural cells related to cerebral blood vessels is best documented by electron microscopy, requiring perfusion-fixed tissue not available in human material. We therefore analysed perfusion-fixed brain from a 12-year-old Beagle dog as the canine brain represents the anatomical arrangement in the human brain. Results showed regional variation in the arrangement of leptomeningeal cells around blood vessels. Arterioles are enveloped by one complete layer of leptomeninges often with a second incomplete layer in the WM. Venules showed incomplete layers of leptomeningeal cells. Intramural cell expression was higher in the post-capillary venules of the subcortical WM when compared with periventricular WM, suggesting that periventricular collagenosis around venules may be due to a lower resistance in the venular walls. It appears that the regional variation in the capacity for dilatation of arteriolar perivascular spaces in the white WM may be related to the number of perivascular leptomeningeal cells surrounding vessels in different areas of the brain. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

48 CFR 49.603-2 - Fixed-price contracts-partial termination.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Contractor transfers, conveys, and assigns to the Government all the right, title, and interest, if any, that... relating to price reductions for defective certified cost or pricing data. (End of agreement) [48 FR 42447...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Yuanyue; Xiao, Hai; Goddard, William A.

Two-dimensional (2D) halide perovskites are emerging as promising candidates for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. To realize their full potential, it is important to understand the role of those defects that can strongly impact material properties. In contrast to other popular 2D semiconductors (e.g., transition metal dichalcogenides MX 2) for which defects typically induce harmful traps, we show that the electronic activities of defects in 2D perovskites are significantly tunable. For example, even with a fixed lattice orientation one can change the synthesis conditions to convert a line defect (edge or grain boundary) from electron acceptor to inactive site without deep gapmore » states. Here, we show that this difference originates from the enhanced ionic bonding in these perovskites compared with MX 2. The donors tend to have high formation energies and the harmful defects are difficult to form at a low halide chemical potential. Thus, we unveil unique properties of defects in 2D perovskites and suggest practical routes to improve them.« less

Automated real-time detection of defects during machining of ceramics

DOEpatents

Ellingson, W.A.; Sun, J.

1997-11-18

Apparatus for the automated real-time detection and classification of defects during the machining of ceramic components employs an elastic optical scattering technique using polarized laser light. A ceramic specimen is continuously moved while being machined. Polarized laser light is directed onto the ceramic specimen surface at a fixed position just aft of the machining tool for examination of the newly machined surface. Any foreign material near the location of the laser light on the ceramic specimen is cleared by an air blast. As the specimen is moved, its surface is continuously scanned by the polarized laser light beam to provide a two-dimensional image presented in real-time on a video display unit, with the motion of the ceramic specimen synchronized with the data acquisition speed. By storing known ``feature masks`` representing various surface and sub-surface defects and comparing measured defects with the stored feature masks, detected defects may be automatically characterized. Using multiple detectors, various types of defects may be detected and classified. 14 figs.

Automated real-time detection of defects during machining of ceramics

DOEpatents

Ellingson, William A.; Sun, Jiangang

1997-01-01

Apparatus for the automated real-time detection and classification of defects during the machining of ceramic components employs an elastic optical scattering technique using polarized laser light. A ceramic specimen is continuously moved while being machined. Polarized laser light is directed onto the ceramic specimen surface at a fixed position just aft of the machining tool for examination of the newly machined surface. Any foreign material near the location of the laser light on the ceramic specimen is cleared by an air blast. As the specimen is moved, its surface is continuously scanned by the polarized laser light beam to provide a two-dimensional image presented in real-time on a video display unit, with the motion of the ceramic specimen synchronized with the data acquisition speed. By storing known "feature masks" representing various surface and sub-surface defects and comparing measured defects with the stored feature masks, detected defects may be automatically characterized. Using multiple detectors, various types of defects may be detected and classified.

C. elegans Demonstrates Distinct Behaviors within a Fixed and Uniform Electric Field

PubMed Central

Chrisman, Steven D.; Waite, Christopher B.; Scoville, Alison G.; Carnell, Lucinda

2016-01-01

C. elegans will orient and travel in a straight uninterrupted path directly towards the negative pole of a DC electric field. We have sought to understand the strategy worms use to navigate to the negative pole in a uniform electric field that is fixed in both direction and magnitude. We examined this behavior by quantifying three aspects of electrotaxis behavior in response to different applied field strengths: the mean approach trajectory angles of the animals’ tracks, turning behavior (pirouettes) and average population speeds. We determined that C. elegans align directly to the negative pole of an electric field at sub-preferred field strength and alter approach trajectories at higher field strengths to maintain taxis within a preferred range we have calculated to be ~ 5V/cm. We sought to identify the sensory neurons responsible for the animals’ tracking to a preferred field strength. eat-4 mutant animals defective in glutamatergic signaling of the amphid sensory neurons are severely electrotaxis defective and ceh-36 mutant animals, which are defective in the terminal differentiation of two types of sensory neurons, AWC and ASE, are partially defective in electrotaxis. To further elucidate the role of the AWC neurons, we examined the role of each of the pair of AWC neurons (AWCOFF and AWCON), which are functionally asymmetric and express different genes. nsy-5/inx-19 mutant animals, which express both neurons as AWCOFF, are severely impaired in electrotaxis behavior while nsy-1 mutants, which express both neurons as AWCON, are able to differentiate field strengths required for navigation to a specific field strength within an electric field. We also tested a strain with targeted genetic ablation of AWC neurons and found that these animals showed only slight disruption of directionality and turning behavior. These results suggest a role for AWC neurons in which complete loss of function is less disruptive than loss of functional asymmetry in electrotaxis behavior within a uniform fixed field. PMID:26998749

Lung imaging in pulmonary disease

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taplin, G.V.; Chopra, S.K.

1976-01-01

Although it has been recognized for several years that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause lung perfusion defects which may simulate pulmonary embolism, relatively little use has been made of either the radioxenon or the radioaerosol inhalation lung imaging procedures until the last few years as a means of distinguishing pulmonary embolism (P.E.) from COPD is reported. Recent experience is reported with the use of both of these procedures in comparison with pulmonary function tests for the early detection of COPD in population studies and also in P.E. suspects. Equal emphasis is given to simultaneous aerosol ventilation-perfusion (V/P) imagingmore » in the differential diagnosis of P.E. Finally, this paper is concerned with new developments in regional lung diffusion imaging following the inhalation of radioactive gases and rapidly absorbed radioaerosols. Their experimental basis is presented and their potential clinical applications in pulmonary embolism are discussed. As a result of these investigations, a functional (V/P) diagnosis of pulmonary embolism in patients may be possible in the near future with a sequential radioaerosol inhalation procedure alone.« less

Right Atrial Anomalous Muscle Bundle Presenting with Acute Superior Vena Cava Syndrome and Pulmonary Embolism: Surgical Management.

PubMed

Madjarov, Jeko M; Katz, Michael G; Madjarova, Sophia; Madzharov, Svetozar; Arko, Frank R; Miller, David W; Robicsek, Francis

2018-05-21

An anomalous muscle bundle crossing the right atrial cavity represents a pathological finding with unproved clinical significance. This congenital anomaly may be difficult to recognize via echocardiography and could be confused with other intra-cavitary lesions. We report a case of a 53-year-old female presented to the cardio-vascular service with acute superior vena cava syndrome and sub-massive pulmonary embolism. The patient underwent venography confirming superior vena cava stenosis. A ventilation/perfusion lung scan showed two sizable perfusion defects due to pulmonary embolism. MRI and echocardiography imaging demonstrated right atrium mass. Surgery was then carried out using standard cardiopulmonary bypass; right atrial muscle bundle was excised and superior vena cava reconstruction was performed. The patient was discharged uneventfully and remains symptom-free at two years follow-up. In cases of nonmalignant pathology of superior vena cava syndrome, appropriate studies should be conducted to exclude potential congenital abnormalities such as this anomalous muscle bundle in the right atrium. Open heart surgery is a viable treatment option in select cases. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Atomic Approaches to Defect Thermochemistry

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-30

from the enthalpy of melting of ison with real experiments by a factor of Au to be 29 meV. (We have checked that the 2.1x10 3; the time scale of the...Diffusion and to Map Vacancy Concentrations at a Fixed Time V. Studies of Electroluminescent Flat-Panel Display Devices VI. Defect Characterization VII...kT), where n = ND - NA is the doping density, about the same time that P. Mei et al. published the first experimental report of this effect (Appl. Phys

Potential Therapeutic Use of Relaxin in Healing Cranial Bone Defects

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

to measure circulating concentrations of relaxin during the infusion by ELISA ; 3. sacrifice the mice at 10-12 days after cranial defect; 4. fix the...osmotic pump for 10-12 days, and to measure circulating concentrations of relaxin during the infusion by ELISA . Values of 0.35, 0.69, 1.61, 0.66, 1.99...vehicle-infused mice, because in our previous work, none was detected. This makes sense, because the ELISA we use does not detect mouse relaxin

Development of High Quality 4H-SiC Thick Epitaxy for Reliable High Power Electronics Using Halogenated Precursors

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-02

epitaxy platform, it is essential that malignant defects, such as in-grown stacking faults (IGSFs) and basal plane dislocations (BPDs), be...crystal quality. (5) Even though the inlet C/Si ratio is kept fixed , the C/Si ratio at the growth surface varies depending on the different gas...morphology, and quality (generation of additional defects). Two CVD reactor types, a chimney reactor and an inverted chimney reactor, are assembled; the

Controversies in cardiovascular care: silent myocardial ischemia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollenberg, N. K.

1987-01-01

The objective evidence of silent myocardial ischemia--ischemia in the absence of classical chest pain--includes ST-segment shifts (usually depression), momentary left ventricular failure, and perfusion defects on scintigraphic studies. Assessment of angina patients with 24-hour ambulatory monitoring may uncover episodes of silent ischemia, the existence of which may give important information regarding prognosis and may help structure a more effective therapeutic regimen. The emerging recognition of silent ischemia as a significant clinical entity may eventually result in an expansion of current therapy--not only to ameliorate chest pain, but to minimize or eliminate ischemia in the absence of chest pain.

Sex and age differences in the association of heart rate responses to adenosine and myocardial ischemia in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging.

PubMed

Gebhard, Catherine; Messerli, Michael; Lohmann, Christine; Treyer, Valerie; Bengs, Susan; Benz, Dominik C; Giannopoulos, Andreas A; Kudura, Ken; von Felten, Elia; Schwyzer, Moritz; Gaemperli, Oliver; Gräni, Christoph; Pazhenkottil, Aju P; Buechel, Ronny R; Kaufmann, Philipp A

2018-04-23

In light of growing cardiovascular mortality rates observed in young women, sexual dimorphism in cardiac autonomic nervous control is gaining increasing attention. Heart rate responses to adenosine mirror autonomic activity and may carry important prognostic information. Hemodynamic changes during adenosine stress were retrospectively analysed in a propensity-matched cohort of 1932 consecutive patients undergoing myocardial perfusion single-photon-emission computed tomography (MPI-SPECT). Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) increased during adenosine infusion (P < 0.001). The increase in SBP and HR (heart rate reserve, HRR), was significantly more pronounced in women compared with men (P < 0.05). Patients ≤ 55 years had a higher HRR compared with patients > 55 years (46.8% vs 37.5%, P = 0.015). Women ≤ 55 years with a reversible perfusion defect on MPI-SPECT exhibited the highest HRR (89.2%), while age-matched men showed a blunted HR response to adenosine (26.4%, P = 0.01). Accordingly, age and an interaction term of female sex and increased HRR were identified as significant predictors of myocardial ischemia in a multiple regression analysis (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.02-1.9, P = 0.038). HRR during adenosine infusion is influenced by age and sex. Our data suggest a stronger, sympathetic-driven, hemodynamic response to adenosine in younger women with myocardial ischemia.

ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDIES OF VASOPRESSIN EFFECT ON ISOLATED PERFUSED RENAL COLLECTING TUBULES OF THE RABBIT

PubMed Central

Ganote, Charles E.; Grantham, Jared J.; Moses, Harold L.; Burg, Maurice B.; Orloff, Jack

1968-01-01

Isolated cortical collecting tubules from rabbit kidney were studied during perfusion with solutions made either isotonic or hypotonic to the external bathing medium. Examination of living tubules revealed a reversible increase in thickness of the cellular layer, prominence of lateral cell membranes, and formation of intracellular vacuoles during periods of vasopressin-induced osmotic water transport. Examination in the electron microscope revealed that vasopressin induced no changes in cell structure in collecting tubules in the absence of an osmotic difference and significant bulk water flow across the tubule wall. In contrast, tubules fixed during vasopressin-induced periods of high osmotic water transport showed prominent dilatation of lateral intercellular spaces, bulging of apical cell membranes into the tubular lumen, and formation of intracellular vacuoles. It is concluded that the ultrastructural changes are secondary to transepithelial bulk water flow and not to a direct effect of vasopressin on the cells, and that vasopressin induces osmotic flow by increasing water permeability of the luminal cell membrane. The lateral intercellular spaces may be part of the pathway for osmotically induced transepithelial bulk water flow. PMID:4867134

Bone Repair Cells for Craniofacial Regeneration

PubMed Central

Pagni, G; Kaigler, D; Rasperini, G; Avila-Ortiz, G; Bartel, R; Giannobile, WV

2012-01-01

Reconstruction of complex craniofacial deformities is a clinical challenge in situations of injury, congenital defects or disease. The use of cell-based therapies represents one of the most advanced methods for enhancing the regenerative response for craniofacial wound healing. Both Somatic and Stem Cells have been adopted in the treatment of complex osseous defects and advances have been made in finding the most adequate scaffold for the delivery of cell therapies in human regenerative medicine. As an example of such approaches for clinical application for craniofacial regeneration, Ixmyelocel-T or bone repair cells are a source of bone marrow derived stem and progenitor cells. They are produced through the use of single pass perfusion bioreactors for CD90+ mesenchymal stem cells and CD14+ monocyte/macrophage progenitor cells. The application of ixmyelocel-T has shown potential in the regeneration of muscular, vascular, nervous and osseous tissue. The purpose of this manuscript is to highlight cell therapies used to repair bony and soft tissue defects in the oral and craniofacial complex. The field at this point remains at an early stage, however this review will provide insights into the progress being made using cell therapies for eventual development into clinical practice. PMID:22433781

Engineering functional and histological regeneration of vascularized skeletal muscle.

PubMed

Gilbert-Honick, Jordana; Iyer, Shama R; Somers, Sarah M; Lovering, Richard M; Wagner, Kathryn; Mao, Hai-Quan; Grayson, Warren L

2018-05-01

Tissue engineering strategies to treat patients with volumetric muscle loss (VML) aim to recover the structure and contractile function of lost muscle tissue. Here, we assessed the capacity of novel electrospun fibrin hydrogel scaffolds seeded with murine myoblasts to regenerate the structure and function of damaged muscle within VML defects to the mouse tibialis anterior muscle. The electrospun fibrin scaffolds provide pro-myogenic alignment and stiffness cues, myomimetic hierarchical structure, suturability, and scale-up capabilities. Myoblast-seeded scaffolds enabled remarkable muscle regeneration with high myofiber and vascular densities after 2 and 4 weeks, mimicking that of native skeletal muscle, while acellular scaffolds lacked muscle regeneration. Both myoblast-seeded and acellular scaffolds fully recovered muscle contractile function to uninjured values after 2 and 4 weeks. Electrospun scaffolds pre-vascularized with co-cultured human endothelial cells and human adipose-derived stem cells implanted into VML defects for 2 weeks anastomosed with host vasculature and were perfused with host red blood cells. These data demonstrate the significant potential of electrospun fibrin scaffolds seeded with myoblasts to fully regenerate the structure and function of volumetric muscle defects and these scaffolds offer a promising treatment option for patients with VML. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synergistic effects of dimethyloxallyl glycine and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 on repair of critical-sized bone defects in rats

PubMed Central

Qi, Xin; Liu, Yang; Ding, Zhen-yu; Cao, Jia-qing; Huang, Jing-huan; Zhang, Jie-yuan; Jia, Wei-tao; Wang, Jing; Liu, Chang-sheng; Li, Xiao-lin

2017-01-01

In bone remodeling, osteogenesis is closely coupled to angiogenesis. Bone tissue engineering using multifunctional bioactive materials is a promising technique which has the ability to simultaneously stimulate osteogenesis and angiogenesis for repair of bone defects. We developed mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG)-doped poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) composite scaffolds as delivery vehicle. Two bioactive molecules, dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), a small-molecule angiogenic drug, and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), an osteoinductive growth factor, were co-incorporated into the scaffold. The synergistic effects of DMOG and rhBMP-2 released in the composite scaffolds on osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation of hBMSCs were investigated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Moreover, in vivo studies were conducted to observe bone regeneration and vascular formation of critical-sized bone defects in rats using micro-computed tomography, histological analyses, Microfil® perfusion, fluorescence labeling, and immunohistochemical analysis. The results showed that DMOG and rhBMP-2 released in the MBG-PHBHHx scaffolds did exert synergistic effects on the osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. Moreover, DMOG and rhBMP-2 produced significant increases in newly-formed bone and neovascularization of calvarial bone defects in rats. It is concluded that the co-delivery strategy of both rhBMP-2 and DMOG can significantly improve the critical-sized bone regeneration. PMID:28230059

Synergistic effects of dimethyloxallyl glycine and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 on repair of critical-sized bone defects in rats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Xin; Liu, Yang; Ding, Zhen-Yu; Cao, Jia-Qing; Huang, Jing-Huan; Zhang, Jie-Yuan; Jia, Wei-Tao; Wang, Jing; Liu, Chang-Sheng; Li, Xiao-Lin

2017-02-01

In bone remodeling, osteogenesis is closely coupled to angiogenesis. Bone tissue engineering using multifunctional bioactive materials is a promising technique which has the ability to simultaneously stimulate osteogenesis and angiogenesis for repair of bone defects. We developed mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG)-doped poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHHx) composite scaffolds as delivery vehicle. Two bioactive molecules, dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), a small-molecule angiogenic drug, and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), an osteoinductive growth factor, were co-incorporated into the scaffold. The synergistic effects of DMOG and rhBMP-2 released in the composite scaffolds on osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation of hBMSCs were investigated using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Moreover, in vivo studies were conducted to observe bone regeneration and vascular formation of critical-sized bone defects in rats using micro-computed tomography, histological analyses, Microfil® perfusion, fluorescence labeling, and immunohistochemical analysis. The results showed that DMOG and rhBMP-2 released in the MBG-PHBHHx scaffolds did exert synergistic effects on the osteogenic and angiogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. Moreover, DMOG and rhBMP-2 produced significant increases in newly-formed bone and neovascularization of calvarial bone defects in rats. It is concluded that the co-delivery strategy of both rhBMP-2 and DMOG can significantly improve the critical-sized bone regeneration.

Collimator optimization and collimator-detector response compensation in myocardial perfusion SPECT using the ideal observer with and without model mismatch and an anthropomorphic model observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaly, Michael; Links, Jonathan M.; Frey, Eric C.

2016-03-01

The collimator is the primary factor that determines the spatial resolution and noise tradeoff in myocardial perfusion SPECT images. In this paper, the goal was to find the collimator that optimizes the image quality in terms of a perfusion defect detection task. Since the optimal collimator could depend on the level of approximation of the collimator-detector response (CDR) compensation modeled in reconstruction, we performed this optimization for the cases of modeling the full CDR (including geometric, septal penetration and septal scatter responses), the geometric CDR, or no model of the CDR. We evaluated the performance on the detection task using three model observers. Two observers operated on data in the projection domain: the Ideal Observer (IO) and IO with Model-Mismatch (IO-MM). The third observer was an anthropomorphic Channelized Hotelling Observer (CHO), which operated on reconstructed images. The projection-domain observers have the advantage that they are computationally less intensive. The IO has perfect knowledge of the image formation process, i.e. it has a perfect model of the CDR. The IO-MM takes into account the mismatch between the true (complete and accurate) model and an approximate model, e.g. one that might be used in reconstruction. We evaluated the utility of these projection domain observers in optimizing instrumentation parameters. We investigated a family of 8 parallel-hole collimators, spanning a wide range of resolution and sensitivity tradeoffs, using a population of simulated projection (for the IO and IO-MM) and reconstructed (for the CHO) images that included background variability. We simulated anterolateral and inferior perfusion defects with variable extents and severities. The area under the ROC curve was estimated from the IO, IO-MM, and CHO test statistics and served as the figure-of-merit. The optimal collimator for the IO had a resolution of 9-11 mm FWHM at 10 cm, which is poorer resolution than typical collimators used for MPS. When the IO-MM and CHO used a geometric or no model of the CDR, the optimal collimator shifted toward higher resolution than that obtained using the IO and the CHO with full CDR modeling. With the optimal collimator, the IO-MM and CHO using geometric modeling gave similar performance to full CDR modeling. Collimators with poorer resolution were optimal when CDR modeling was used. The agreement of rankings between the IO-MM and CHO confirmed that the IO-MM is useful for optimization tasks when model mismatch is present due to its substantially reduced computational burden compared to the CHO.

Therapeutic ultrasound in physical medicine and rehabilitation: characterization and assessment of its physical effects on joint-mimicking phantoms.

PubMed

Lioce, Elisa Edi Anna Nadia; Novello, Matteo; Durando, Gianni; Bistolfi, Alessandro; Actis, Maria Vittoria; Massazza, Giuseppe; Magnetto, Chiara; Guiot, Caterina

2014-11-01

The aim of the study described here was to quantitatively assess thermal and mechanical effects of therapeutic ultrasound (US) by sonicating a joint-mimicking phantom, made of muscle-equivalent material, using clinical US equipment. The phantom contains two bone disks simulating a deep joint (treated at 1 MHz) and a superficial joint (3 MHz). Thermal probes were inserted in fixed positions. To test the mechanical (cavitational) effects, we used a latex balloon filled with oxygen-loaded nanobubbles; the dimensions of the oxygen-loaded nanobubbles were determined before and after sonication. Significant increases in temperature (up to 17°C) with fixed field using continuous waves were detected both in front of and behind the bones, depending on the US mode (continuous wave vs. pulsed wave) and on the treatment modality (fixed vs. massage). We found no significant differences in mechanical effects. Although limited by the in vitro design (no blood perfusion, no metabolic compensation), the results can be used to guide operators in their choice of the best US treatment modality for a specific joint. Copyright © 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biomedical implications of dental-ceramic defects investigated by numerical simulation, radiographic, microcomputer tomography, and time-domain optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, Cosmin; Negrutiu, Meda Lavinia; Ionita, Ciprian; Marsavina, Liviu; Negru, Radu; Topala, Florin; Petrescu, Emanuela; Rominu, Roxana; Fabriky, Mihai; Bradu, Adrian; Rominu, Mihai; Podoleanu, Adrian Gh.

2011-10-01

Imagistic investigation of the metal-ceramic crowns and fixed partial prostheses represent a very important issue in nowadays dentistry. At this time, in dental office, it is difficult or even impossible to evaluate a metal ceramic crown or bridge before setting it in the oral cavity. The possibilities of ceramic fractures are due to small fracture lines or material defects inside the esthetic layers. Material and methods: In this study 25 metal ceramic crowns and fixed partial prostheses were investigated by radiographic method (Rx), micro computer tomography (MicroCT) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) working in Time Domain, at 1300 nm. The OCT system contains two interferometers and one scanner. For each incident analysis a stuck made of 100 slices was obtain. These slices were used in order to obtain a 3D model of the ceramic interface. After detecting the presence and the positions of the ceramic defects the numerical simulation method was used to estimate the biomechanical effect of the masticatory forces on fractures propagations in ceramic materials. Results: For all the dental ceramic defects numerical simulation analysis was performed. The simulation of crack propagation shows that the crack could initiate from the upper, lower or both parts of the defect and propagates through the ceramic material where tensile stress field is present. RX and MicroCT are very powerful instruments that provide a good characterization of the dental construct. It is important to observe the reflections due to the metal infrastructure that could affect the evaluation of the metal ceramic crowns and bridges. The OCT investigations could complete the imagistic evaluation of the dental construct by offering important information when it is need it.

Segmental liver ischemia/infarction after elective transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation: clinical outcomes in 10 patients.

PubMed

Lopera, Jorge E; Katabathina, Venkata; Bosworth, Brian; Garg, Deepak; Kroma, Ghazwan; Garza-Berlanga, Andres; Suri, Rajeev; Wholey, Michael

2015-06-01

To determine the clinical significance and potential mechanisms of segmental liver ischemia and infarction following elective creation of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). A retrospective review of 374 elective TIPS creations between March 2006 and September 2014 was performed, yielding 77 contrast-enhanced scans for review. Patients with imaging evidence of segmental perfusion defects were identified. Model for End-stage Liver Disease scores, liver volume, and percentage of liver ischemia/infarct were calculated. Clinical outcomes after TIPS creation were reviewed. Ten patients showed segmental liver ischemia/infarction on contrast-enhanced imaging after elective TIPS creation. Associated imaging findings included thrombosis of the posterior division (n = 7) and anterior division (n = 3) of the right portal vein (PV). The right hepatic vein was thrombosed in 5 patients, as was the middle hepatic vein in 3 and the left hepatic vein in 1. One patient had acute thrombosis of the shunt and main PV. Three patients developed acute liver failure: 2 died within 30 days and 1 required emergent liver transplantation. One patient died of acute renal failure 20 days after TIPS creation. A large infarct in a transplant recipient resulted in biloma formation. Five patients survived without additional interventions with follow-up times ranging from 3 months to 5 years. Segmental perfusion defects are not an uncommon imaging finding after elective TIPS creation. Segmental ischemia was associated with thrombosis of major branches of the PVs and often of the hepatic veins. Clinical outcomes varied significantly, from transient problems to acute liver failure with high mortality rates. Copyright © 2015 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of convection on osteoblastic cell growth and function in biodegradable polymer foam scaffolds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, A. S.; Juarez, T. M.; Helmke, C. D.; Gustin, M. C.; Mikos, A. G.; McIntire, L. V. (Principal Investigator)

2001-01-01

Culture of seeded osteoblastic cells in three-dimensional osteoconductive scaffolds in vitro is a promising approach to produce an osteoinductive material for repair of bone defects. However, culture of cells in scaffolds sufficiently large to bridge critical-sized defects is a challenge for tissue engineers. Diffusion may not be sufficient to supply nutrients into large scaffolds and consequently cells may grow preferentially at the periphery under static culture conditions. Three alternative culturing schemes that convect media were considered: a spinner flask, a rotary vessel, and a perfusion flow system. Poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) foam discs (12.7 mm diameter, 6.0 mm thick, 78.8% porous) were seeded with osteoblastic marrow stromal cells and cultured in the presence of dexamethasone and L-ascorbic acid for 7 and 14 days. Cell numbers per foam were found to be similar with all culturing schemes indicating that cell growth could not be enhanced by convection, but histological analysis indicated that the rotary vessel and flow system produced a more uniform distribution of cells throughout the foams. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity per cell was higher with culture in the flow system and spinner flask after 7 days, while no differences in osteocalcin (OC) activity per cell were observed among culturing methods after 14 days in culture. Based on the higher ALP activity and better cell uniformity throughout the cultured foams, the flow system appears to be the superior culturing method, although equally important is the fact that in none of the tests did any of the alternative culturing techniques underperform the static controls. Thus, this study demonstrates that culturing techniques that utilize fluid flow, and in particular the flow perfusion system, improve the properties of the seeded cells over those maintained in static culture.

Cardiovascular mortality prediction in veterans with arm exercise vs pharmacologic myocardial perfusion imaging.

PubMed

Martin, Wade H; Xian, Hong; Chandiramani, Pooja; Bainter, Emily; Klein, Andrew J P

2015-08-01

No data exist comparing outcome prediction from arm exercise vs pharmacologic myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) stress test variables in patients unable to perform treadmill exercise. In this retrospective study, 2,173 consecutive lower extremity disabled veterans aged 65.4 ± 11.0years (mean ± SD) underwent either pharmacologic MPI (1730 patients) or arm exercise stress tests (443 patients) with MPI (n = 253) or electrocardiography alone (n = 190) between 1997 and 2002. Cox multivariate regression models and reclassification analysis by integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used to characterize stress test and MPI predictors of cardiovascular mortality at ≥10-year follow-up after inclusion of significant demographic, clinical, and other variables. Cardiovascular death occurred in 561 pharmacologic MPI and 102 arm exercise participants. Multivariate-adjusted cardiovascular mortality was predicted by arm exercise resting metabolic equivalents (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.39-0.69, P < .001), 1-minute heart rate recovery (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.44-0.86, P < .001), and pharmacologic and arm exercise delta (peak-rest) heart rate (both P < .001). Only an abnormal arm exercise MPI prognosticated cardiovascular death by multivariate Cox analysis (HR 1.98, 95% CI 1.04-3.77, P < .05). Arm exercise MPI defect number, type, and size provided IDI over covariates for prediction of cardiovascular mortality (IDI = 0.074-0.097). Only pharmacologic defect size prognosticated cardiovascular mortality (IDI = 0.022). Arm exercise capacity, heart rate recovery, and pharmacologic and arm exercise heart rate responses are robust predictors of cardiovascular mortality. Arm exercise MPI results are equivalent and possibly superior to pharmacologic MPI for cardiovascular mortality prediction in patients unable to perform treadmill exercise. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Prognostic evaluation in obese patients using a dedicated multipinhole cadmium-zinc telluride SPECT camera.

PubMed

De Lorenzo, Andrea; Peclat, Thais; Amaral, Ana Carolina; Lima, Ronaldo S L

2016-02-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prognostic value of myocardial perfusion SPECT obtained in CZT cameras (CZT-SPECT) with multipinhole collimation in obese patients. CZT-SPECT may be technically challenging in the obese, and its prognostic value remains largely unknown. Patients underwent single-day, rest/stress (supine and prone) imaging. Images were visually inspected and graded as poor, fair or good/excellent. Summed stress and difference scores (SSS and SDS, respectively) were converted into percentages of total perfusion defect and of ischemic defect by division by the maximum possible score. Obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2) and classified as class I (BMI 30-34.9 kg/m(2)), II (BMI 35-39.9 kg/m(2)), or III (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m(2)). Patients were followed-up by telephone interview for the occurrence of all-cause death, myocardial infarction or revascularization. A Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to assess the independent predictors of death. Among 1396 patients, 365 (26.1 %) were obese (mean BMI 33.9 ± 3.6; 17.5 % class I, 3.4 % class II, and 3.4 % class III). Image quality was good/excellent in 94.5 % of the obese patients. The annualized mortality rates were not significantly different among obese and non-obese patients, being <1 % with normal CZT-SPECT, and increased with the degree of scan abnormality in both obese and non-obese patients. Age, the use of pharmacologic stress and an abnormal CZT-SPECT, but not obesity, were independent predictors of death. In obese patients, single-day rest/stress CZT-SPECT with a multipinhole camera provides prognostic discrimination with high image quality.

Activation of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator by the Flavonoid Quercetin

PubMed Central

Pyle, Louise C.; Fulton, Jennifer C.; Sloane, Peter A.; Backer, Kyle; Mazur, Marina; Prasain, Jeevan; Barnes, Stephen; Clancy, J. P.; Rowe, Steven M.

2010-01-01

Therapies to correct the ΔF508 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) folding defect require sensitive methods to detect channel activity in vivo. The β2 adrenergic receptor agonists, which provide the CFTR stimuli commonly used in nasal potential difference assays, may not overcome the channel gating defects seen in ΔF508 CFTR after plasma membrane localization. In this study, we identify an agent, quercetin, that enhances the detection of surface ΔF508 CFTR, and is suitable for nasal perfusion. A screen of flavonoids in CFBE41o− cells stably transduced with ΔF508 CFTR, corrected to the cell surface with low temperature growth, revealed that quercetin stimulated an increase in the short-circuit current. This increase was dose-dependent in both Fisher rat thyroid and CFBE41o− cells. High concentrations inhibited Cl− conductance. In CFBE41o− airway cells, quercetin (20 μg/ml) activated ΔF508 CFTR, whereas the β2 adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol did not. Quercetin had limited effects on cAMP levels, but did not produce detectable phosphorylation of the isolated CFTR R-domain, suggesting an activation independent of channel phosphorylation. When perfused in the nares of Cftr+ mice, quercetin (20 μg/ml) produced a hyperpolarization of the potential difference that was absent in Cftr−/− mice. Finally, quercetin-induced, dose-dependent hyperpolarization of the nasal potential difference was also seen in normal human subjects. Quercetin activates CFTR-mediated anion transport in respiratory epithelia in vitro and in vivo, and may be useful in studies intended to detect the rescue of ΔF508 CFTR by nasal potential difference. PMID:20042712

Comparison of Quantitative Wall Motion Analysis and Strain For Detection Of Coronary Stenosis With Three-Dimensional Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography

PubMed Central

Parker, Katherine M.; Clark, Alexander P.; Goodman, Norman C.; Glover, David K.; Holmes, Jeffrey W.

2015-01-01

Background Quantitative analysis of wall motion from three-dimensional (3D) dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) could provide additional diagnostic information not available from qualitative analysis. In this study we compare the effectiveness of 3D fractional shortening (3DFS), a measure of wall motion computed from 3D echocardiography (3DE), to strain and strain rate measured with sonomicrometry for detecting critical stenoses during DSE. Methods Eleven open-chest dogs underwent DSE both with and without a critical stenosis. 3DFS was measured from 3DE images acquired at peak stress. 3DFS was normalized by subtracting average 3DFS during control peak stress (Δ3DFS). Strains in the perfusion defect (PD) were measured from sonomicrometry, and PD size and location were measured with microspheres. Results A Δ3DFS abnormality indicated the presence of a critical stenosis with high sensitivity and specificity (88% and 100%, respectively), and Δ3DFS abnormality size correlated with PD size (R2=0.54). The sensitivity and specificity for Δ3DFS was similar to that for area strain (88%, 100%) and circumferential strain and strain rate (88%, 92% and 88%, 86%, respectively), while longitudinal strain and strain rate were less specific. Δ3DFS correlated significantly with both coronary flow reserve (R2=0.71) and PD size (R2=0.97), while area strain correlated with PD size only (R2=0.67), and other measures were not significantly correlated with flow reserve or PD size. Conclusion Quantitative wall motion analysis using Δ3DFS is effective for detecting critical stenoses during DSE, performing similarly to 3D strain, and provides potentially useful information on the size and location of a perfusion defect. PMID:24815588

Artificial neural network retrained to detect myocardial ischemia using a Japanese multicenter database.

PubMed

Nakajima, Kenichi; Okuda, Koichi; Watanabe, Satoru; Matsuo, Shinro; Kinuya, Seigo; Toth, Karin; Edenbrandt, Lars

2018-03-07

An artificial neural network (ANN) has been applied to detect myocardial perfusion defects and ischemia. The present study compares the diagnostic accuracy of a more recent ANN version (1.1) with the initial version 1.0. We examined 106 patients (age, 77 ± 10 years) with coronary angiographic findings, comprising multi-vessel disease (≥ 50% stenosis) (52%) or old myocardial infarction (27%), or who had undergone coronary revascularization (30%). The ANN versions 1.0 and 1.1 were trained in Sweden (n = 1051) and Japan (n = 1001), respectively, using 99m Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile myocardial perfusion images. The ANN probabilities (from 0.0 to 1.0) of stress defects and ischemia were calculated in candidate regions of abnormalities. The diagnostic accuracy was compared using receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analysis and the calculated area under the ROC curve (AUC) using expert interpretation as the gold standard. Although the AUC for stress defects was 0.95 and 0.93 (p = 0.27) for versions 1.1 and 1.0, respectively, that for detecting ischemia was significantly improved in version 1.1 (p = 0.0055): AUC 0.96 for version 1.1 (sensitivity 87%, specificity 96%) vs. 0.89 for version 1.0 (sensitivity 78%, specificity 97%). The improvement in the AUC shown by version 1.1 was also significant for patients with neither coronary revascularization nor old myocardial infarction (p = 0.0093): AUC = 0.98 for version 1.1 (sensitivity 88%, specificity 100%) and 0.88 for version 1.0 (sensitivity 76%, specificity 100%). Intermediate ANN probability between 0.1 and 0.7 was more often calculated by version 1.1 compared with version 1.0, which contributed to the improved diagnostic accuracy. The diagnostic accuracy of the new version was also improved in patients with either single-vessel disease or no stenosis (n = 47; AUC, 0.81 vs. 0.66 vs. p = 0.0060) when coronary stenosis was used as a gold standard. The diagnostic ability of the ANN version 1.1 was improved by retraining using the Japanese database, particularly for identifying ischemia.

The use of carboxymethylcellulose gel to increase non-viral gene transfer in mouse airways

PubMed Central

Griesenbach, Uta; Meng, Cuixiang; Farley, Raymond; Wasowicz, Marguerite; Munkonge, Felix M; Chan, Mario; Stoneham, Charlotte; Sumner-Jones, Stephanie; Pringle, Ian A.; Gill, Deborah R.; Hyde, Stephen C.; Stevenson, Barbara; Holder, Emma; Ban, Hiroshi; Hasegawa, Mamoru; Cheng, Seng H; Scheule, Ronald K; Sinn, Patrick L; McCray, Paul B; Alton, Eric WFW

2014-01-01

We have assessed whether viscoelastic gels known to inhibit mucociliary clearance can increase lipid-mediated gene transfer. Methylcellulose or carboxymethylcellulose (0.25 to 1.5%) were mixed with complexes of the cationic lipid GL67A and plasmids encoding luciferase and perfused onto the nasal epithelium of mice. Survival after perfusion with 1% CMC or1% MC was 90 and 100%, respectively. In contrast 1.5% CMC was uniformly lethal likely due to the viscous solution blocking the airways. Perfusion with 0.5% CMC containing lipid/DNA complexes reproducibly increased gene expression by approximately 3-fold (n= 16, p<0.05). Given this benefit, likely related to increased duration of contact, we also assessed the effect of prolonging contact time of the liposome/DNA complexes by delivering our standard 80 μg DNA dose over either approximately 22 or 60 min of perfusion. This independently increased gene transfer by 6-fold (n=8, p<0.05) and could be further enhanced by the addition of 0.5% CMC, leading to an overall 25-fold enhancement (n=8, p<0.001) in gene expression. As a result of these interventions CFTR transgene mRNA transgene levels were increased several logs above background. Interestingly, this did not lead to correction of the ion transport defects in the nasal epithelium of cystic fibrosis mice nor for immunohistochemical quantification of CFTR expression. To assess if 0.5% CMC also increased gene transfer in the mouse lung, we used whole body nebulisation chambers. CMC was nebulised for 1 hr immediately before, or simultaneously with GL67A/pCIKLux. The former did not increase gene transfer, whereas co-administration significantly increased gene transfer by 4-fold (p<0.0001, n=18). This study suggests that contact time of non-viral gene transfer agents is a key factor for gene delivery, and suggests two methods which may be translatable for use in man. PMID:20022367

Machine-learning model observer for detection and localization tasks in clinical SPECT-MPI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parages, Felipe M.; O'Connor, J. Michael; Pretorius, P. Hendrik; Brankov, Jovan G.

2016-03-01

In this work we propose a machine-learning MO based on Naive-Bayes classification (NB-MO) for the diagnostic tasks of detection, localization and assessment of perfusion defects in clinical SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI), with the goal of evaluating several image reconstruction methods used in clinical practice. NB-MO uses image features extracted from polar-maps in order to predict lesion detection, localization and severity scores given by human readers in a series of 3D SPECT-MPI. The population used to tune (i.e. train) the NB-MO consisted of simulated SPECT-MPI cases - divided into normals or with lesions in variable sizes and locations - reconstructed using filtered backprojection (FBP) method. An ensemble of five human specialists (physicians) read a subset of simulated reconstructed images, and assigned a perfusion score for each region of the left-ventricle (LV). Polar-maps generated from the simulated volumes along with their corresponding human scores were used to train five NB-MOs (one per human reader), which are subsequently applied (i.e. tested) on three sets of clinical SPECT-MPI polar maps, in order to predict human detection and localization scores. The clinical "testing" population comprises healthy individuals and patients suffering from coronary artery disease (CAD) in three possible regions, namely: LAD, LcX and RCA. Each clinical case was reconstructed using three reconstruction strategies, namely: FBP with no SC (i.e. scatter compensation), OSEM with Triple Energy Window (TEW) SC method, and OSEM with Effective Source Scatter Estimation (ESSE) SC. Alternative Free-Response (AFROC) analysis of perfusion scores shows that NB-MO predicts a higher human performance for scatter-compensated reconstructions, in agreement with what has been reported in published literature. These results suggest that NB-MO has good potential to generalize well to reconstruction methods not used during training, even for reasonably dissimilar datasets (i.e. simulated vs. clinical).

Effect of color coding and subtraction on the accuracy of contrast echocardiography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pasquet, A.; Greenberg, N.; Brunken, R.; Thomas, J. D.; Marwick, T. H.

1999-01-01

BACKGROUND: Contrast echocardiography may be used to assess myocardial perfusion. However, gray scale assessment of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) is difficult because of variations in regional backscatter intensity, difficulties in distinguishing varying shades of gray, and artifacts or attenuation. We sought to determine whether the assessment of rest myocardial perfusion by MCE could be improved with subtraction and color coding. METHODS AND RESULTS: MCE was performed in 31 patients with previous myocardial infarction with a 2nd generation agent (NC100100, Nycomed AS), using harmonic triggered or continuous imaging and gain settings were kept constant throughout the study. Digitized images were post processed by subtraction of baseline from contrast data and colorized to reflect the intensity of myocardial contrast. Gray scale MCE alone, MCE images combined with baseline and subtracted colorized images were scored independently using a 16 segment model. The presence and severity of myocardial contrast abnormalities were compared with perfusion defined by rest MIBI-SPECT. Segments that were not visualized by continuous (17%) or triggered imaging (14%) after color processing were excluded from further analysis. The specificity of gray scale MCE alone (56%) or MCE combined with baseline 2D (47%) was significantly enhanced by subtraction and color coding (76%, p<0.001) of triggered images. The accuracy of the gray scale approaches (respectively 52% and 47%) was increased to 70% (p<0.001). Similarly, for continuous images, the specificity of gray scale MCE with and without baseline comparison was 23% and 42% respectively, compared with 60% after post processing (p<0.001). The accuracy of colorized images (59%) was also significantly greater than gray scale MCE (43% and 29%, p<0.001). The sensitivity of MCE for both acquisitions was not altered by subtraction. CONCLUSION: Post-processing with subtraction and color coding significantly improves the accuracy and specificity of MCE for detection of perfusion defects.

Beam hardening artifact reduction using dual energy computed tomography: implications for myocardial perfusion studies

PubMed Central

Carrascosa, Patricia; Cipriano, Silvina; De Zan, Macarena; Deviggiano, Alejandro; Capunay, Carlos; Cury, Ricardo C.

2015-01-01

Background Myocardial computed tomography perfusion (CTP) using conventional single energy (SE) imaging is influenced by the presence of beam hardening artifacts (BHA), occasionally resembling perfusion defects and commonly observed at the left ventricular posterobasal wall (PB). We therefore sought to explore the ability of dual energy (DE) CTP to attenuate the presence of BHA. Methods Consecutive patients without history of coronary artery disease who were referred for computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) due to atypical chest pain and a normal stress-rest SPECT and had absence or mild coronary atherosclerosis constituted the study population. The study group was acquired using DE and the control group using SE imaging. Results Demographical characteristics were similar between groups, as well as the heart rate and the effective radiation dose. Myocardial signal density (SD) levels were evaluated in 280 basal segments among the DE group (140 PB segments for each energy level from 40 to 100 keV; and 140 reference segments), and in 40 basal segments (at the same locations) among the SE group. Among the DE group, myocardial SD levels and myocardial SD ratio evaluated at the reference segment were higher at low energy levels, with significantly lower SD levels at increasing energy levels. Myocardial signal-to-noise ratio was not significantly influenced by the energy level applied, although 70 keV was identified as the energy level with the best overall signal-to-noise ratio. Significant differences were identified between the PB segment and the reference segment among the lower energy levels, whereas at ≥70 keV myocardial SD levels were similar. Compared to DE reconstructions at the best energy level (70 keV), SE acquisitions showed no significant differences overall regarding myocardial SD levels among the reference segments. Conclusions BHA that influence the assessment of myocardial perfusion can be attenuated using DE at 70 keV or higher. PMID:25774354

Prognostic validation of a 17-segment score derived from a 20-segment score for myocardial perfusion SPECT interpretation.

PubMed

Berman, Daniel S; Abidov, Aiden; Kang, Xingping; Hayes, Sean W; Friedman, John D; Sciammarella, Maria G; Cohen, Ishac; Gerlach, James; Waechter, Parker B; Germano, Guido; Hachamovitch, Rory

2004-01-01

Recently, a 17-segment model of the left ventricle has been recommended as an optimally weighted approach for interpreting myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Methods to convert databases from previous 20- to new 17-segment data and criteria for abnormality for the 17-segment scores are needed. Initially, for derivation of the conversion algorithm, 65 patients were studied (algorithm population) (pilot group, n = 28; validation group, n = 37). Three conversion algorithms were derived: algorithm 1, which used mid, distal, and apical scores; algorithm 2, which used distal and apical scores alone; and algorithm 3, which used maximal scores of the distal septal, lateral, and apical segments in the 20-segment model for 3 corresponding segments of the 17-segment model. The prognosis population comprised 16,020 consecutive patients (mean age, 65 +/- 12 years; 41% women) who had exercise or vasodilator stress technetium 99m sestamibi myocardial perfusion SPECT and were followed up for 2.1 +/- 0.8 years. In this population, 17-segment scores were derived from 20-segment scores by use of algorithm 2, which demonstrated the best agreement with expert 17-segment reading in the algorithm population. The prognostic value of the 20- and 17-segment scores was compared by converting the respective summed scores into percent myocardium abnormal. Conversion algorithm 2 was found to be highly concordant with expert visual analysis by the 17-segment model (r = 0.982; kappa = 0.866) in the algorithm population. In the prognosis population, 456 cardiac deaths occurred during follow-up. When the conversion algorithm was applied, extent and severity of perfusion defects were nearly identical by 20- and derived 17-segment scores. The receiver operating characteristic curve areas by 20- and 17-segment perfusion scores were identical for predicting cardiac death (both 0.77 +/- 0.02, P = not significant). The optimal prognostic cutoff value for either 20- or derived 17-segment models was confirmed to be 5% myocardium abnormal, corresponding to a summed stress score greater than 3. Of note, the 17-segment model demonstrated a trend toward fewer mildly abnormal scans and more normal and severely abnormal scans. An algorithm for conversion of 20-segment perfusion scores to 17-segment scores has been developed that is highly concordant with expert visual analysis by the 17-segment model and provides nearly identical prognostic information. This conversion model may provide a mechanism for comparison of studies analyzed by the 17-segment system with previous studies analyzed by the 20-segment approach.

Emerging drugs for hemophilia B.

PubMed

Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Franchini, Massimo

2014-09-01

Hemophilia B is a rare congenital bleeding disorder characterized by a deficiency of coagulation factor IX (FIX). Hemophilia B patients experience mild-to-severe bleeding complications according to the degree of FIX defect. Prophylaxis, with regular infusion of FIX concentrates, is nowadays, the mainstay of hemophilia care. However, because the relatively short half-life of such products necessitates frequent infusions and thus makes patients' adherence difficult, a number of strategies have been implemented to improve the pharmacokinetics of FIX clotting factors. This review summarizes the main results of Phase I/II and III studies on new FIX molecules engineered to have a longer half-life. Several technologies are being applied to extend FIX half-life, including Fc fusion, recombinant (r) albumin fusion and the addition of PEG polymers. By prolonging the FIX half-life up to 5 times, long-acting FIX products are expected to substantially improve the management of hemophilia B patients, allowing less frequent infusions and improving patients' adherence to prophylactic regimens and individualized treatments. Some of them are at an advanced stage of development, such as the rFIX-Fc which has been launched in March 2014. Along with the ongoing Phase III trials, long-term post-marketing surveillance studies are needed to assess their safety and effectiveness and their impact on patients' quality of life.

Fluorescent nanodiamond and lanthanide labelled in situ hybridization for the identification of RNA transcripts in fixed and CLARITY-cleared central nervous system tissues (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Lindsay M.; Staikopoulos, Vicky; Cordina, Nicole M.; Sayyadi, Nima; Hutchinson, Mark R.; Packer, Nicolle H.

2016-03-01

Despite significant advancement in the methodology used to conjugate, incorporate and visualize fluorescent molecules at the cellular and tissue levels, biomedical imaging predominantly relies on the limitations of established fluorescent molecules such as fluorescein, cyanine and AlexaFluor dyes or genetic incorporation of fluorescent proteins by viral or other means. These fluorescent dyes and conjugates are highly susceptible to photobleaching and compete with cellular autofluorescence, making biomedical imaging unreliable, difficult and time consuming in many cases. In addition, some proteins have low copy numbers and/or poor antibody recognition, further making detection and imaging difficult. We are developing better methods for imaging central nervous system neuroinflammatory markers using targeted mRNA transcripts labelled with fluorescent nanodiamonds or lanthanide chelates. These tags have increased signal and photostability and can also discriminate against tissue/cell autofluorescence. Brains and spinal cords from BALB/c mice with a chronic constriction model of neuropathic pain (neuroinflammation group) or that have undergone sham surgeries (control group) were collected. A subset of brains and spinal cords were perfused and fixed with paraformaldehyde (n=3 sham and n=3 pain groups) prior to sectioning and in situ hybridization using nanodiamond or lanthanide chelate conjugated complementary RNA probes. Another subset of brains and spinal cords from the same cohort of animals were perfused and processed for CLARITY hydrogel based clearing prior to in situ hybridization with the same probes. We will present our findings on the photostability, sensitivity and discrimination from background tissue autofluorescence of our novel RNA probes, compared to traditional fluorophore tags.

Exploring infrared sensoring for real time welding defects monitoring in GTAW.

PubMed

Alfaro, Sadek C A; Franco, Fernand Díaz

2010-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation of an infrared sensor for monitoring the welding pool temperature in a Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process. The purpose of the study is to develop a real time system control. It is known that the arc welding pool temperature is related to the weld penetration depth; therefore, by monitoring the temperature, the arc pool temperature and penetration depth are also monitored. Various experiments were performed; in some of them the current was varied and the temperature changes were registered, in others, defects were induced throughout the path of the weld bead for a fixed current. These simulated defects resulted in abrupt changes in the average temperature values, thus providing an indication of the presence of a defect. The data has been registered with an acquisition card. To identify defects in the samples under infrared emissions, the timing series were analyzed through graphics and statistic methods. The selection of this technique demonstrates the potential for infrared emission as a welding monitoring parameter sensor.

Exploring Infrared Sensoring for Real Time Welding Defects Monitoring in GTAW

PubMed Central

Alfaro, Sadek C. A.; Franco, Fernand Díaz

2010-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation of an infrared sensor for monitoring the welding pool temperature in a Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process. The purpose of the study is to develop a real time system control. It is known that the arc welding pool temperature is related to the weld penetration depth; therefore, by monitoring the temperature, the arc pool temperature and penetration depth are also monitored. Various experiments were performed; in some of them the current was varied and the temperature changes were registered, in others, defects were induced throughout the path of the weld bead for a fixed current. These simulated defects resulted in abrupt changes in the average temperature values, thus providing an indication of the presence of a defect. The data has been registered with an acquisition card. To identify defects in the samples under infrared emissions, the timing series were analyzed through graphics and statistic methods. The selection of this technique demonstrates the potential for infrared emission as a welding monitoring parameter sensor. PMID:22219697

Technique for writing of fiber Bragg gratings over or near preliminary formed macro-structure defects in silica optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evtushenko, Alexander S.; Faskhutdinov, Lenar M.; Kafarova, Anastasia M.; Kazakov, Vadim S.; Kuznetzov, Artem A.; Minaeva, Alina Yu.; Sevruk, Nikita L.; Nureev, Ilnur I.; Vasilets, Alexander A.; Andreev, Vladimir A.; Morozov, Oleg G.; Burdin, Vladimir A.; Bourdine, Anton V.

2017-04-01

This work presents method for performing precision macro-structure defects "tapers" and "up-tapers" written in conventional silica telecommunication multimode optical fibers by commercially available field fusion splicer with modified software settings and following writing fiber Bragg gratings over or near them. We developed technique for macrodefect geometry parameters estimation via analysis of photo-image performed after defect writing and displayed on fusion splicer screen. Some research results of defect geometry dependence on fusion current and fusion time values re-set in splicer program are represented that provided ability to choose their "the best" combination. Also experimental statistical researches concerned with "taper" and "up-taper" diameter stability as well as their insertion loss values during their writing under fixed corrected splicer program parameters were performed. We developed technique for FBG writing over or near macro-structure defect. Some results of spectral response measurements produced for short-length samples of multimode optical fiber with fiber Bragg gratings written over and near macro-defects prepared by using proposed technique are presented.

Comparison of the myocardial blood flow response to regadenoson and dipyridamole: a quantitative analysis in patients referred for clinical 82Rb myocardial perfusion PET.

PubMed

Goudarzi, Behnaz; Fukushima, Kenji; Bravo, Paco; Merrill, Jennifer; Bengel, Frank M

2011-10-01

Regadenoson is a novel selective A2A adenosine receptor agonist, which is administered as an intravenous bolus at a fixed dose. It is currently not clear if the absolute flow increase in response to this fixed dose is a function of distribution volume in individual patients or if it is generally comparable to the previous standard agents dipyridamole or adenosine, which are dosed based on weight. We used quantitative analysis of clinical 82Rb PET/CT studies to obtain further insights. A total of 104 subjects with normal clinical rest/stress 82Rb perfusion PET/CT were included in a retrospective analysis. To rule out confounding factors, none had evidence of prior cardiac disease, ischaemia or infarction, cardiomyopathy, diabetes with insulin use, calcium score>400, renal disease or other significant systemic disease. A group of 52 patients stressed with regadenoson were compared with a group of 52 patients stressed with dipyridamole before regadenoson became available. The groups were matched for clinical characteristics, risk factors and baseline haemodynamics. Myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) were quantified using a previously validated retention model, after resampling of dynamic studies from list-mode 82Rb datasets. At rest, heart rate, blood pressure and MBF were comparable between the groups. Regadenoson resulted in a significantly higher heart rate (34±14 vs. 23±10 beats per minute increase from baseline; p<0.01) and rate-pressure product. Patients in the regadenoson group reported less severe symptoms and required less aminophylline. Stress MBF and MFR were not different between the groups (2.2±0.6 vs. 2.1±0.6 ml/min/g, p=0.39, and 2.9±0.8 vs. 2.8±0.7, p=0.31, respectively). In the regadenoson group, there was no correlation between stress flow or MFR and body weight or BMI. Despite its administration at a fixed dose, regadenoson results in an absolute increase in MBF which is comparable to that following dipyridamole administration and is independent of patient distribution volume. This further supports its usefulness as a clinical stress agent.

Platelets contribute to postnatal occlusion of the ductus arteriosus.

PubMed

Echtler, Katrin; Stark, Konstantin; Lorenz, Michael; Kerstan, Sandra; Walch, Axel; Jennen, Luise; Rudelius, Martina; Seidl, Stefan; Kremmer, Elisabeth; Emambokus, Nikla R; von Bruehl, Marie-Luise; Frampton, Jon; Isermann, Berend; Genzel-Boroviczény, Orsolya; Schreiber, Christian; Mehilli, Julinda; Kastrati, Adnan; Schwaiger, Markus; Shivdasani, Ramesh A; Massberg, Steffen

2010-01-01

The ductus arteriosus (DA) is a fetal shunt vessel between the pulmonary artery and the aorta that closes promptly after birth. Failure of postnatal DA closure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality particularly in preterm neonates. The events leading to DA closure are incompletely understood. Here we show that platelets have an essential role in DA closure. Using intravital microscopy of neonatal mice, we observed that platelets are recruited to the luminal aspect of the DA during closure. DA closure is impaired in neonates with malfunctioning platelet adhesion or aggregation or with defective platelet biogenesis. Defective DA closure resulted in a left-to-right shunt with increased pulmonary perfusion, pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy. Our findings indicate that platelets are crucial for DA closure by promoting thrombotic sealing of the constricted DA and by supporting luminal remodeling. A retrospective clinical study revealed that thrombocytopenia is an independent predictor for failure of DA closure in preterm human newborns, indicating that platelets are likely to contribute to DA closure in humans.

Morphological characterization of dental prostheses interfaces using optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinescu, Cosmin; Negrutiu, Meda L.; Ionita, Ciprian; Marsavina, Liviu; Negru, Radu; Caplescu, Cristiana; Bradu, Adrian; Topala, Florin; Rominu, Roxana O.; Petrescu, Emanuela; Leretter, Marius; Rominu, Mihai; Podoleanu, Adrian G.

2010-03-01

Fixed partial prostheses as integral ceramic, polymers, metal-ceramic or metal-polymers bridges are mainly used in the frontal part of the dental arch (especially the integral bridges). They have to satisfy high stress as well as esthetic requirements. The masticatory stress may induce fractures of the bridges. These may be triggered by initial materials defects or by alterations of the technological process. The fractures of these bridges lead to functional, esthetic and phonetic disturbances which finally render the prosthetic treatment inefficient. Dental interfaces represent one of the most significant aspects in the strength of the dental prostheses under the masticatory load. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to characterize the dental prostheses interfaces. The materials used were several fixed partial prostheses integral ceramic, polymers, metal-ceramic and metal-polymers bridges. It is important to produce both C-scans and B-scans of the defects in order to differentiate morphological aspects of the bridge infrastructures. The material defects observed with OCT were investigated with micro-CT in order to prove their existence and positions. In conclusion, it is important to have a non invasive method to investigate dental prostheses interfaces before the insertion of prostheses in the oral cavity.

New Growth Mode through Decorated Twin Boundaries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bleikamp, Sebastian; Thoma, Arne; Polop, Celia

2006-03-24

Scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction were used to investigate the growth of partly twinned Ir thin films on Ir(111). A transition from the expected layer-by-layer to a defect dominated growth mode with a fixed lateral length scale and increasing roughness is observed. During growth, the majority of the film is stably transformed to twinned stacking. This transition is initiated by the energetic avoidance of the formation of intrinsic stacking faults compared to two independent twin faults. The atomistic details of the defect kinetics are outlined.

New growth mode through decorated twin boundaries.

PubMed

Bleikamp, Sebastian; Thoma, Arne; Polop, Celia; Pirug, Gerhard; Linke, Udo; Michely, Thomas

2006-03-24

Scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction were used to investigate the growth of partly twinned Ir thin films on Ir(111). A transition from the expected layer-by-layer to a defect dominated growth mode with a fixed lateral length scale and increasing roughness is observed. During growth, the majority of the film is stably transformed to twinned stacking. This transition is initiated by the energetic avoidance of the formation of intrinsic stacking faults compared to two independent twin faults. The atomistic details of the defect kinetics are outlined.

WE-FG-206-07: Assessing the Lung Function of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Hyperpolarized Xenon-129 Dissolved-Phase MRI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qing, K; Mugler, J; Chen, Q

Purpose: Hyperpolarized xenon-129 dissolved-phase MRI is the first imaging technique that allows 3-dimensional regional mapping of ventilation and gas uptake by tissue and blood the in human lung. Multiple outcome measures can be produced from this method. Existing studies in subjects with major lung diseases compared to healthy controls demonstrated high sensitivities of this method to pulmonary physiological factors including ventilation, alveolar tissue density, surface-to-volume ratio, pulmonary perfusion and gas-blood barrier thickness. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of this new imaging tool to assess the lung function in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).more » Methods: Ten healthy controls (age: 63±10) and five patients (age: 62±13) with NSCLC underwent the xenon-129 dissolved-phase MRI, pulmonary function test (PFT) and CT for clinical purpose. Three outcome measures were produced from xenon-129 dissolved-phase MRI, including ventilation defect fraction (Vdef%) reflecting the airflow obstruction, tissue-to-gas ratio reflecting lung tissue density, and RBC-to-tissue ratio reflecting pulmonary perfusion and gas exchange. Results: Compared to healthy controls, patients with NSCLC showed more ventilation defects (NSCLC: 22±6%; control: 40±18%; P=0.01), lower tissue-to-gas (NSCLC: 0.82±0.31%; control: 1.07±0.13%; P=0.05) and RBC-to-tissue ratios (NSCLC: 0.82±0.31%; control: 1.07±0.13%; P=0.01). Maps for ventilation and gas uptake by tissue and blood were highly heterogeneous in the lungs of patients. Vdef% and RBC-to-tissue ratios in all 15 subjects correlated with corresponding global lung functional measures from PFT: FEV1/FVC (R=−0.91, P<0.001) and DLCO % predicted (R=0.54, P=0.03), respectively. The tissue-to-gas ratios correlated with tissue density (HU) measured by CT (R=0.88, P<0.001). Conclusion: With the unique ability to provide detailed information about lung function including ventilation, tissue density, perfusion and gas exchange with 3D resolution, hyperpolarized xenon-129 dissolved-phase MRI has high potential to be used as an important reference for radiotherapy treatment planning and for evaluating the side effects of the treatment. Receive research support and funding from Siemens.« less

Multiple retentive means for prosthetic restoration of a large facial defect - a case report.

PubMed

Abdulhadi, Laith Mahmoud

2010-01-01

A 70-year-old man who suffered from extensive extra and intraoral defects was rehabilitated with a prosthesis using multiple retaining means. The treatment was performed in two parts: externally involving the construction of an episthesis supported only by the remaining intact boundaries of the defect and retained by mini-dental implants and spectacle frame with a modified ear hook; and intraorally by an acrylic resin obturator to restore the function of the hemi-sectioned hard and soft palate. The episthesis was securely retained with minimal movement and/or dislodgment of the prosthesis during function. Multiple retentive techniques may be used to fix heavy external prostheses as an alternative to conventional implants or biological adhesives.

29 CFR 1917.118 - Fixed ladders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... tubular scaffold framing; and (4) Ladders used only for fire-fighting or emergency purposes. (b... a ladder, including individual rung ladders, permanently attached to a structure, building or piece... walls of the well. (c) Defects. (1) Ladders with broken, split or missing rungs, steps or rails, broken...

29 CFR 1917.118 - Fixed ladders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... tubular scaffold framing; and (4) Ladders used only for fire-fighting or emergency purposes. (b... a ladder, including individual rung ladders, permanently attached to a structure, building or piece... walls of the well. (c) Defects. (1) Ladders with broken, split or missing rungs, steps or rails, broken...

29 CFR 1917.118 - Fixed ladders.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... tubular scaffold framing; and (4) Ladders used only for fire-fighting or emergency purposes. (b... a ladder, including individual rung ladders, permanently attached to a structure, building or piece... walls of the well. (c) Defects. (1) Ladders with broken, split or missing rungs, steps or rails, broken...

Fluorescence Imaging/Agents in Tumor Resection.

PubMed

Stummer, Walter; Suero Molina, Eric

2017-10-01

Intraoperative fluorescence imaging allows real-time identification of diseased tissue during surgery without being influenced by brain shift and surgery interruption. 5-Aminolevulinic acid, useful for malignant gliomas and other tumors, is the most broadly explored compound approved for fluorescence-guided resection. Intravenous fluorescein sodium has recently received attention, highlighting tumor tissue based on extravasation at the blood-brain barrier (defective in many brain tumors). Fluorescein in perfused brain, unselective extravasation in brain perturbed by surgery, and propagation with edema are concerns. Fluorescein is not approved but targeted fluorochromes with affinity to brain tumor cells, in development, may offer future advantages. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Missile pulmonary embolus secondary to abdominal gunshot wound.

PubMed

Mctyre, Emory; McGill, Lee; Miller, Nessa

2012-01-01

Missile pulmonary emboli are rare sequelae of traumatic entry of projectile missiles-generally bullets or bullet fragments-in which access to the systemic venous circulation is established by the missile, making it possible for the missile to migrate to the pulmonary arteries. In the case introduced here, a 24-year-old male presented to the ER with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. In the early course of his care, it was determined that he had suffered a missile pulmonary embolus secondary to a large fragment of a bullet penetrating the IVC. Despite the large perfusion defect created by this missile embolus, the patient recovered uneventfully without embolectomy.

Detecting Submicron Pattern Defects On Optical Photomasks Using An Enhanced El-3 Electron-Beam Lithography Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, R. A.; Davis, D. E.

1982-09-01

This paper describes techniques to detect submicron pattern defects on optical photomasks with an enhanced direct-write, electron-beam lithographic tool. EL-3 is a third generation, shaped spot, electron-beam lithography tool developed by IBM to fabricate semiconductor devices and masks. This tool is being upgraded to provide 100% inspection of optical photomasks for submicron pattern defects, which are subsequently repaired. Fixed-size overlapped spots are stepped over the mask patterns while a signal derived from the back-scattered electrons is monitored to detect pattern defects. Inspection does not require pattern recognition because the inspection scan patterns are derived from the original design data. The inspection spot is square and larger than the minimum defect to be detected, to improve throughput. A new registration technique provides the beam-to-pattern overlay required to locate submicron defects. The 'guard banding" of inspection shapes prevents mask and system tolerances from producing false alarms that would occur should the spots be mispositioned such that they only partially covered a shape being inspected. A rescanning technique eliminates noise-related false alarms and significantly improves throughput. Data is accumulated during inspection and processed offline, as required for defect repair. EL-3 will detect 0.5 um pattern defects at throughputs compatible with mask manufacturing.

Incidence of a single subsegmental mismatched perfusion defect in single-photon emission computed tomography and planar ventilation/perfusion scans.

PubMed

Stubbs, Matthew; Chan, Kenneth; McMeekin, Helena; Navalkissoor, Shaunak; Wagner, Thomas

2017-02-01

This study aims to compare the incidence of ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scans interpreted as indeterminate for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) versus planar scintigraphy and to consider the effect of variable interpretation of single subsegmental V/Q mismatch (SSM). A total of 1300 consecutive V/Q scans were retrospectively reviewed. After exclusion and matching for age and sex, 542 SPECT and 589 planar scans were included in the analysis. European Association of Nuclear Medicine guidelines were used to interpret the V/Q scans, initially interpreting SSM as negative scans. Patients with SSM were followed up for 3 months and further imaging for PE was collected. Indeterminate scans were significantly fewer in the SPECT than the planar group on the basis of the initial report (7.7 vs. 12.2%, P<0.05). This is irrespective of classification of SSM as a negative scan (4.6 vs. 12.1%, P<0.0001) or an indeterminate scan (8.3 vs. 12.2%, P<0.05). Of the 21 patients who had SSM, 19 underwent computer tomography pulmonary angiogram and embolism was found in one patient. None of these patients died at the 3-month follow-up. V/Q SPECT has greater diagnostic certainty of PE, with a 41% reduction in an indeterminate scan compared with planar scintigraphy. This is irrespective of the clinician's interpretation of SSM as negative or intermediate probability. Patients with SSM would not require further computer tomography pulmonary angiogram imaging.

Pharmacological vasodilation improves insulin-stimulated muscle protein anabolism but not glucose utilization in older adults.

PubMed

Timmerman, Kyle L; Lee, Jessica L; Fujita, Satoshi; Dhanani, Shaheen; Dreyer, Hans C; Fry, Christopher S; Drummond, Micah J; Sheffield-Moore, Melinda; Rasmussen, Blake B; Volpi, Elena

2010-11-01

Skeletal muscle protein metabolism is resistant to the anabolic action of insulin in healthy, nondiabetic older adults. This defect is associated with impaired insulin-induced vasodilation and mTORC1 signaling. We hypothesized that, in older subjects, pharmacological restoration of insulin-induced capillary recruitment would improve the response of muscle protein synthesis and anabolism to insulin. Twelve healthy, nondiabetic older subjects (71 ± 2 years) were randomized to two groups. Subjects were studied at baseline and during local infusion in one leg of insulin alone (Control) or insulin plus sodium nitroprusside (SNP) at variable rate to double leg blood flow. We measured leg blood flow by dye dilution; muscle microvascular perfusion with contrast enhanced ultrasound; Akt/mTORC1 signaling by Western blotting; and muscle protein synthesis, amino acid, and glucose kinetics using stable isotope methodologies. There were no baseline differences between groups. Blood flow, muscle perfusion, phenylalanine delivery to the leg, and intracellular availability of phenylalanine increased significantly (P < 0.05) in SNP only. Akt phosphorylation increased in both groups but increased more in SNP (P < 0.05). Muscle protein synthesis and net balance (nmol · min(-1) · 100 ml · leg(-1)) increased significantly (P < 0.05) in SNP (synthesis, 43 ± 6 to 129 ± 25; net balance, -16 ± 3 to 26 ± 12) but not in Control (synthesis, 41 ± 10 to 53 ± 8; net balance, -17 ± 3 to -2 ± 3). Pharmacological enhancement of muscle perfusion and amino acid availability during hyperinsulinemia improves the muscle protein anabolic effect of insulin in older adults.

Combined anatomical and functional imaging using coronary CT angiography and myocardial perfusion SPECT in symptomatic adults with abnormal origin of a coronary artery.

PubMed

Uebleis, C; Groebner, M; von Ziegler, F; Becker, A; Rischpler, C; Tegtmeyer, R; Becker, C; Lehner, S; Haug, A R; Cumming, P; Bartenstein, P; Franz, W M; Hacker, M

2012-10-01

There has been a lack of standardized workup guidelines for patients with congenital abnormal origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus (ACAOS). We aimed to evaluate the use of cardiac hybrid imaging using multi-detector row CT (MDCT) for coronary CT angiography (Coronary CTA) and stress-rest myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) for comprehensive diagnosis of symptomatic adult patients with ACAOS. Seventeen symptomatic patients (12 men; 54 ± 13 years) presenting with ACAOS underwent coronary CTA and MPS. Imaging data were analyzed by conventional means, and with additional use of 3D image fusion to allocate stress induced perfusion defects (PD) to their supplying coronary arteries. An anomalous RCA arose from the left anterior sinus in eight patients, an abnormal origin from the right sinus was detected in nine patients (5 left coronary arteries, LCA and 4 LCx). Five of the 17 patients (29%) demonstrated a reversible PD in MPS. There was no correlation between the anatomical variants of ACAOS and the presence of myocardial ischemia. Image fusion enabled the allocation of reversible PD to the anomalous vessel in three patients (two cases in the RCA and the other in the LCA territory); PD in two patients were allocated to the territory of artery giving rise to the anomalies, rather than the anomalies themselves. In a small cohort of adult symptomatic patients with ACAOS anomaly there was no relation found between the specific anatomical variant and the appearance of stress induced myocardial ischemia using cardiac hybrid imaging.

Evaluation of the novel myocardial perfusion positron-emission tomography tracer 18F-BMS-747158-02: comparison to 13N-ammonia and validation with microspheres in a pig model.

PubMed

Nekolla, S G; Reder, S; Saraste, A; Higuchi, T; Dzewas, G; Preissel, A; Huisman, M; Poethko, T; Schuster, T; Yu, M; Robinson, S; Casebier, D; Henke, J; Wester, H J; Schwaiger, M

2009-05-05

Positron-emission tomography (PET) tracers for myocardial perfusion are commonly labeled with short-lived isotopes that limit their widespread clinical use. 18F-BMS-747158-02 (18F-BMS) is a novel pyridaben derivative that was evaluated for assessment of myocardial perfusion by comparison with 13N-ammonia (13NH3) and with radioactive microspheres in a pig model. Fourteen pigs injected with 500 MBq of 13NH3 or 100 to 200 MBq of 18F-BMS underwent dynamic PET at rest and during pharmacological stress. In 8 of these pigs, 18F-BMS was injected during stress combined with transient, 2.5-minute constriction of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Radioactive microspheres were coinjected with 18F-BMS. Ratios of myocardial tracer uptake to surrounding tissues were determined, and myocardial blood flow was quantified by compartmental modeling. Both tracers showed high and homogeneous myocardial uptake. Compared with 13NH3, 18F-BMS showed higher activity ratios between myocardium and blood (rest 2.5 versus 4.1; stress 2.1 versus 5.8), liver (rest 1.2 versus 1.8; stress 0.7 versus 2.0), and lungs (rest 2.5 versus 4.2; stress 2.9 versus 6.4). Regional myocardial blood flow assessed with 18F-BMS PET showed good correlation (r=0.88, slope=0.84) and agreement (mean difference -0.10 [25th percentile -0.3, 75th percentile 0.1 mL x min(-1) x g(-1)]) with that measured with radioactive microspheres over a flow range from 0.1 to 3.0 mL x min(-1) x g(-1). The extent of defects induced by left anterior descending coronary artery constriction measured by 18F-BMS and microspheres also correlated closely (r=0.63, slope=1.1). 18F-BMS-747158-02 is a very attractive new PET perfusion tracer that allows quantitative assessment of regional myocardial perfusion over a wide flow range. The long half-life of 18F renders this tracer useful for clinical PET/CT applications in the workup of patients with suspected or proven coronary artery disease.

Engineering bone tissue substitutes from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

PubMed

de Peppo, Giuseppe Maria; Marcos-Campos, Iván; Kahler, David John; Alsalman, Dana; Shang, Linshan; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana; Marolt, Darja

2013-05-21

Congenital defects, trauma, and disease can compromise the integrity and functionality of the skeletal system to the extent requiring implantation of bone grafts. Engineering of viable bone substitutes that can be personalized to meet specific clinical needs represents a promising therapeutic alternative. The aim of our study was to evaluate the utility of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) for bone tissue engineering. We first induced three hiPSC lines with different tissue and reprogramming backgrounds into the mesenchymal lineages and used a combination of differentiation assays, surface antigen profiling, and global gene expression analysis to identify the lines exhibiting strong osteogenic differentiation potential. We then engineered functional bone substitutes by culturing hiPSC-derived mesenchymal progenitors on osteoconductive scaffolds in perfusion bioreactors and confirmed their phenotype stability in a subcutaneous implantation model for 12 wk. Molecular analysis confirmed that the maturation of bone substitutes in perfusion bioreactors results in global repression of cell proliferation and an increased expression of lineage-specific genes. These results pave the way for growing patient-specific bone substitutes for reconstructive treatments of the skeletal system and for constructing qualified experimental models of development and disease.

In vitro culture of large bone substitutes in a new bioreactor: importance of the flow direction.

PubMed

Olivier, V; Hivart, Ph; Descamps, M; Hardouin, P

2007-09-01

New biomaterials combined with osteogenic cells are now being developed as an alternative to autogeneous bone grafts when the skeletal defect reaches a critical size. Yet, the size issue appears to be a key obstacle in the development of bone tissue engineering. Bioreactors are needed to allow the in vitro expansion of cells inside large bulk materials under appropriate conditions. However, no bioreactor has yet been designed for large-scale 3D structures and custom-made scaffolds. In this study, we evaluate the efficiency of a new bioreactor for the in vitro development of large bone substitutes, ensuring the perfusion of large ceramic scaffolds by the nutritive medium. The survival and proliferation of cells inside the scaffolds after 7 and 28 days in this dynamic culture system and the impact of the direction of the flow circulation are evaluated. The follow-up of glucose consumption, DNA quantification and microscopic evaluation all confirmed cell survival and proliferation for a sample under dynamic culture conditions, whereas static culture leads to the death of cells inside the scaffolds. Two directions of flow perfusion were assayed; the convergent direction leads to enhanced results compared to divergent flow.

A first vascularized skin equivalent as an alternative to animal experimentation.

PubMed

Groeber, Florian; Engelhardt, Lisa; Lange, Julia; Kurdyn, Szymon; Schmid, Freia F; Rücker, Christoph; Mielke, Stephan; Walles, Heike; Hansmann, Jan

2016-01-01

Tissue-engineered skin equivalents mimic key aspects of the human skin, and can thus be employed as wound coverage for large skin defects or as in vitro test systems as an alternative to animal models. However, current skin equivalents lack a functional vasculature limiting clinical and research applications. This study demonstrates the generation of a vascularized skin equivalent with a perfused vascular network by combining a biological vascularized scaffold (BioVaSc) based on a decellularized segment of a porcine jejunum and a tailored bioreactor system. Briefly, the BioVaSc was seeded with human fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and human microvascular endothelial cells. After 14 days at the air-liquid interface, hematoxylin & eosin and immunohistological staining revealed a specific histological architecture representative of the human dermis and epidermis including a papillary-like architecture at the dermal-epidermal-junction. The formation of the skin barrier was measured non-destructively using impedance spectroscopy. Additionally, endothelial cells lined the walls of the formed vessels that could be perfused with a physiological volume flow. Due to the presence of a complex in-vivo-like vasculature, the here shown skin equivalent has the potential for skin grafting and represents a sophisticated in vitro model for dermatological research.

NAD1 Controls Defense-Like Responses in Medicago truncatula Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixing Nodules Following Rhizobial Colonization in a BacA-Independent Manner

PubMed Central

Domonkos, Ágota; Kovács, Szilárd; Gombár, Anikó; Kiss, Ernő; Horváth, Beatrix; Kováts, Gyöngyi Z.; Farkas, Attila; Tóth, Mónika T.; Ayaydin, Ferhan; Bóka, Károly; Fodor, Lili; Endre, Gabriella; Kaló, Péter

2017-01-01

Legumes form endosymbiotic interaction with host compatible rhizobia, resulting in the development of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Within symbiotic nodules, rhizobia are intracellularly accommodated in plant-derived membrane compartments, termed symbiosomes. In mature nodule, the massively colonized cells tolerate the existence of rhizobia without manifestation of visible defense responses, indicating the suppression of plant immunity in the nodule in the favur of the symbiotic partner. Medicago truncatula DNF2 (defective in nitrogen fixation 2) and NAD1 (nodules with activated defense 1) genes are essential for the control of plant defense during the colonization of the nitrogen-fixing nodule and are required for bacteroid persistence. The previously identified nodule-specific NAD1 gene encodes a protein of unknown function. Herein, we present the analysis of novel NAD1 mutant alleles to better understand the function of NAD1 in the repression of immune responses in symbiotic nodules. By exploiting the advantage of plant double and rhizobial mutants defective in establishing nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction, we show that NAD1 functions following the release of rhizobia from the infection threads and colonization of nodule cells. The suppression of plant defense is self-dependent of the differentiation status of the rhizobia. The corresponding phenotype of nad1 and dnf2 mutants and the similarity in the induction of defense-associated genes in both mutants suggest that NAD1 and DNF2 operate close together in the same pathway controlling defense responses in symbiotic nodules. PMID:29240711

NAD1 Controls Defense-Like Responses in Medicago truncatula Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixing Nodules Following Rhizobial Colonization in a BacA-Independent Manner.

PubMed

Domonkos, Ágota; Kovács, Szilárd; Gombár, Anikó; Kiss, Ernő; Horváth, Beatrix; Kováts, Gyöngyi Z; Farkas, Attila; Tóth, Mónika T; Ayaydin, Ferhan; Bóka, Károly; Fodor, Lili; Ratet, Pascal; Kereszt, Attila; Endre, Gabriella; Kaló, Péter

2017-12-14

Legumes form endosymbiotic interaction with host compatible rhizobia, resulting in the development of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Within symbiotic nodules, rhizobia are intracellularly accommodated in plant-derived membrane compartments, termed symbiosomes. In mature nodule, the massively colonized cells tolerate the existence of rhizobia without manifestation of visible defense responses, indicating the suppression of plant immunity in the nodule in the favur of the symbiotic partner. Medicago truncatula DNF2 (defective in nitrogen fixation 2) and NAD1 (nodules with activated defense 1) genes are essential for the control of plant defense during the colonization of the nitrogen-fixing nodule and are required for bacteroid persistence. The previously identified nodule-specific NAD1 gene encodes a protein of unknown function. Herein, we present the analysis of novel NAD1 mutant alleles to better understand the function of NAD1 in the repression of immune responses in symbiotic nodules. By exploiting the advantage of plant double and rhizobial mutants defective in establishing nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction, we show that NAD1 functions following the release of rhizobia from the infection threads and colonization of nodule cells. The suppression of plant defense is self-dependent of the differentiation status of the rhizobia. The corresponding phenotype of nad1 and dnf2 mutants and the similarity in the induction of defense-associated genes in both mutants suggest that NAD1 and DNF2 operate close together in the same pathway controlling defense responses in symbiotic nodules.

Increase in electrocardiographic R-waves after revascularization in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

PubMed

Isobe, Satoshi; Takada, Yasuo; Ando, Akitada; Ohshima, Satoru; Yamada, Kiyoyasu; Nanasato, Mamoru; Unno, Kazumasa; Ogawa, Takuo; Kondo, Takahisa; Izawa, Hideo; Inden, Yasuya; Hirai, Makoto; Murohara, Toyoaki

2006-11-01

The physiological mechanism of the increase in the electrocardiographic (ECG) R-wave voltage after revascularization in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) needs to be elucidated. One hundred and thirty-eight MI patients (83: anterior MI, 45: inferior MI, 10: lateral MI) underwent ECG and echocardiography in both the acute and subacute phases after emergency revascularization, as well as a resting thallium-201/iodine-123 15-p-iodophenyl-3-(R,S)-methyl pentadecanoic acid myocardial scintigraphy in the acute phase. The total sum of the R-wave voltage (SigmaR) was calculated over multiple leads on ECG for each infarcted lesion. Scintigraphic defect on each tracer was expressed as the percentage (%) defect of the total left ventricular (LV) myocardium. The % defect-discordance on both images in the acute phase and the % increase in SigmaR and the absolute increase in LV ejection fraction from the acute to the subacute phase (DeltaEF) were also calculated. The SigmaR in the subacute phase was significantly greater than that in the acute phase (p<0.0001). The % increase in SigmaR significantly correlated with the DeltaEF (r=0.57, p<0.0001). The % increase in SigmaR also correlated with the % defect-discordance (r=0.68, p<0.0001). The increase in the ECG R-wave voltage reflects not only the improvement in myocardial perfusion but also the presence of salvaged myocardium after revascularization in acute MI patients.

Oromandibular reconstruction with chimeric double-skin paddle flap based on peroneal vessel axis for synchronous opposite double oral cancer.

PubMed

Huang, Shih-Tsai; Liu, Wen-Chung; Chen, Lee-Wei; Yang, Kuo-Chung

2015-05-01

Synchronous double oral cancer represents the minority of cases of head and neck cancer. After tumor ablation, 2 separate oromandibular defects, even combined with a through-and-through oral defect, pose a serious reconstructive challenge. The ideal method for reconstruction remains controversial. Based on the peroneal vessel axis, a chimeric double-skin paddle peroneal fasciocutaneous or fibular osteomyocutaneous flap could be designed to accomplish the difficult reconstruction. Six male patients, each with 2 separate oromandibular defects after tumor ablation of synchronous double oral cancer, received double-skin paddle flap reconstruction with 3 peroneal fasciocutaneous and 3 fibular osteomyocutaneous flaps. All 6 flaps survived; however, complications included 1 skin paddle lost due to insufficient perfusion of a visible perforator, and 1 superficial necrosis occurring over the tip of a longer skin paddle. One postoperative intraoral infection and 1 donor site infection were also reported. During follow-up, 3 months later, 1 patient succumbed to local recurrence and bony metastasis. One patient developed a new cancer in the maxillary gingiva, and another had osteoradionecrosis 8 months later. Four patients gained acceptable cosmesis with good oral competence. A chimeric flap based on the peroneal artery could provide a segment of fibular bone, 1 or 2 skin paddles, and a cuff of the flexor hallucis longus muscle simultaneously. For 1-stage reconstruction of separate oromandibular defects after tumor ablation of synchronous double oral cancer, this design could provide all components at 1 transfer.

Comparative analysis of renal flow using contrast power Doppler and gray-scale ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sehgal, Chandra M.; Arger, Peter H.; Bovee, Kenneth C.; Pugh, Charles; Kirchhofer, Justin I.

1997-05-01

Our previous studies have shown that renal perfusion can be visualized by imaging the transit of a contrast agent through the parenchyma of the organ using gray scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD) ultrasound.However, the relative merits and the sensitivities of the two imaging methods are not known. This study compares the effectiveness of the two modes in visualizing kidney perfusion at the clinical dose of contrast agents. GS and PD images of the dog kidneys were recorded using a clinical ultrasound scanner at 4-7 MHz. A fixed longitudinal plane of the kidney was imaged by mounting the transducer on the animal with a specially designed holder. A dose of 0.1 m1/kg of Echogen was injected intravenously and GS and PD images were recorded simultaneously on two separate time-encoded video tapes during the passage of the contrast agent through the kidneys. The enhancement of GS and PD images was assessed qualitatively by three radiologists. The quantitative assessment was made by measuring the regional and global enhancements of digitized B-scan and PS images. Regional measurements were made by comparing brightness of the post contrast images with that of a pre-contrast reference image pixel by pixel. Student t-test was used to determine the statistical significance of the change. The regions representing statistically significant differences were encoded on the image in color with brightness proportional to the magnitude of change. The regions with no significant change were represented in GS. This generated a series of new images, referred to as StatMap, with color representing regions of perfusion. Changes in power Doppler images were visually detectable with high confidence in all five dogs by al three radiologists. There was no perceptible changes in B-scans. Computer analysis of PD images yielded characteristic indicator dilution curves in all five dogs with an initial rise time of 2-5 sec and a peak at 7-20 sec. The enhancement in PD lasted for 97-400 seconds. The peak to pre-injection Doppler power ratio was 2.41 +/- 0.85. There were not detectable changes in gray scale images except in one dog which exhibited a small change. The StatMap images of PD exhibited perfusion over the entire kidney, whereas the GS images showed perfusion to be sparsely distributed.

Teriparatide promotes healing of critical size femur defect through accelerating angiogenesis and degradation of β-TCP in OVX osteoporotic rat model.

PubMed

Xie, Zhongjie; Weng, Sheji; Li, Hang; Yu, Xia; Lu, Shanshan; Huang, Kate; Wu, Zongyi; Bai, Bingli; Boodhun, Viraj; Yang, Lei

2017-12-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that early angiogenesis has an important effect on the healing of injury. Teriparatide (PTH) is extensively applied for its potent anabolic activity on bone, while little is known about its angiogenic ability which may facilitate new bone formation. In this study, we tested the angiogenic ability of PTH and its effect on degradation of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) in an ovariectomized (OVX) rat distal femoral metaphysis model. After successful establishment of the OVX model was confirmed, a critical size defect was drilled into each distal femur of the OVX rats. Afterwards all animals were randomly divided into three groups: control group, group β-TCP and group β-TCP+PTH, then rats of group β-TCP+PTH were injected Teriparatide (30 μg/kg) subcutaneous every other day. Four weeks after femur surgery, five specimens from each group were used for Microfil perfusion to reveal blood vessels in the bone defect. The residual rats were harvested for micro-computed tomography, histological analysis and immunochemistry. The results showed Teriparatide facilitated neovascularization, degradation of β-TCP and new bone formation in combination with β-TCP, which may be relevant to neovascularization in an early phase. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effect of furosemide on pulmonary blood flow distribution in resting and exercising horses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, H. H.; Bernard, S. L.; Glenny, R. W.; Fedde, M. R.; Polissar, N. L.; Basaraba, R. J.; Walther, S. M.; Gaughan, E. M.; McMurphy, R.; Hlastala, M. P.

1999-01-01

We determined the spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow (PBF) with 15-micron fluorescent-labeled microspheres during rest and exercise in five Thoroughbred horses before and 4 h after furosemide administration (0.5 mg/kg iv). The primary finding of this study was that PBF redistribution occurred from rest to exercise, both with and without furosemide. However, there was less blood flow to the dorsal portion of the lung during exercise postfurosemide compared with prefurosemide. Furosemide did alter the resting perfusion distribution by increasing the flow to the ventral regions of the lung; however, that increase in flow was abated with exercise. Other findings included 1) unchanged gas exchange and cardiac output during rest and exercise after vs. before furosemide, 2) a decrease in pulmonary arterial pressure after furosemide, 3) an increase in the slope of the relationship of PBF vs. vertical height up the lung during exercise, both with and without furosemide, and 4) a decrease in blood flow to the dorsal region of the lung at rest after furosemide. Pulmonary perfusion variability within the lung may be a function of the anatomy of the pulmonary vessels that results in a predominantly fixed spatial pattern of flow distribution.

Gross anatomy of pancreatic surgery related fascia and fascial spaces.

PubMed

Zhou, Xiaobo; Ding, Zihai

2014-01-01

The study aims to provide anatomical basis and identify surgical planes or safe routes for pancreatic surgery by studying adult or fresh cadaver specimens. Thirty formalin-fixed adult cadavers (16 males and 14 females), provided by the Department of Anatomy at Southern Medical University, China, were perfused with red latex through the abdominal aorta, treated with antiseptic and antibacterial agents and then refrigerated. Fifteen abdomen specimens from fresh adult cadavers (Southern Medical body donation reception centers) were also perfused with red latex through the femoral artery and placed in -20 C freezer for 1 week before surgery and anatomic observation. The renal fascia surrounding pancreas and duodenum were mostly filled with loose connective tissues and adipose tissues. They were mutually connected with clear fascial borders but easily to be separated, suitable for surgical operations. Also, the integrating spaces were the connecting borders between different tissues without nerves or blood vessels inside. They may serve as ideal surgical planes for pancreatic surgery. A better understanding of the anatomy of the renal fascia and fascial spaces may provide guidance for identifying surgical landmarks and planes, and help to reduce bleeding and unnecessary side injuries in pancreatic surgery.

Tracheal invasion by Thyroid nodule in Thyroidectomy

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-20

through the first tracheal ring. The tracheal defect was fixed with a strap muscle flap and surgery concluded uneventfully. Following deep extubation, an...air leak at the surgical site was noted. The patient was reintubated, the incision was re-opened and the tracheal flap was revised to prevent tracheal leaking.

37 CFR 211.5 - Deposit of identifying material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... work fixed in the form of the semiconductor chip product in which it was first commercially exploited. Defective chips may be deposited under this section provided that the mask work contribution would be revealed in reverse dissection of the chips. The four reproductions shall be accompanied by a visually...

37 CFR 211.5 - Deposit of identifying material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... fixed in the form of the semiconductor chip product in which it was first commercially exploited. Defective chips may be deposited under this section provided that the mask work contribution would be revealed in reverse dissection of the chips. The four reproductions shall be accompanied by a visually...

37 CFR 211.5 - Deposit of identifying material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... fixed in the form of the semiconductor chip product in which it was first commercially exploited. Defective chips may be deposited under this section provided that the mask work contribution would be revealed in reverse dissection of the chips. The four reproductions shall be accompanied by a visually...

Cardiac-gated parametric images from 82 Rb PET from dynamic frames and direct 4D reconstruction.

PubMed

Germino, Mary; Carson, Richard E

2018-02-01

Cardiac perfusion PET data can be reconstructed as a dynamic sequence and kinetic modeling performed to quantify myocardial blood flow, or reconstructed as static gated images to quantify function. Parametric images from dynamic PET are conventionally not gated, to allow use of all events with lower noise. An alternative method for dynamic PET is to incorporate the kinetic model into the reconstruction algorithm itself, bypassing the generation of a time series of emission images and directly producing parametric images. So-called "direct reconstruction" can produce parametric images with lower noise than the conventional method because the noise distribution is more easily modeled in projection space than in image space. In this work, we develop direct reconstruction of cardiac-gated parametric images for 82 Rb PET with an extension of the Parametric Motion compensation OSEM List mode Algorithm for Resolution-recovery reconstruction for the one tissue model (PMOLAR-1T). PMOLAR-1T was extended to accommodate model terms to account for spillover from the left and right ventricles into the myocardium. The algorithm was evaluated on a 4D simulated 82 Rb dataset, including a perfusion defect, as well as a human 82 Rb list mode acquisition. The simulated list mode was subsampled into replicates, each with counts comparable to one gate of a gated acquisition. Parametric images were produced by the indirect (separate reconstructions and modeling) and direct methods for each of eight low-count and eight normal-count replicates of the simulated data, and each of eight cardiac gates for the human data. For the direct method, two initialization schemes were tested: uniform initialization, and initialization with the filtered iteration 1 result of the indirect method. For the human dataset, event-by-event respiratory motion compensation was included. The indirect and direct methods were compared for the simulated dataset in terms of bias and coefficient of variation as a function of iteration. Convergence of direct reconstruction was slow with uniform initialization; lower bias was achieved in fewer iterations by initializing with the filtered indirect iteration 1 images. For most parameters and regions evaluated, the direct method achieved the same or lower absolute bias at matched iteration as the indirect method, with 23%-65% lower noise. Additionally, the direct method gave better contrast between the perfusion defect and surrounding normal tissue than the indirect method. Gated parametric images from the human dataset had comparable relative performance of indirect and direct, in terms of mean parameter values per iteration. Changes in myocardial wall thickness and blood pool size across gates were readily visible in the gated parametric images, with higher contrast between myocardium and left ventricle blood pool in parametric images than gated SUV images. Direct reconstruction can produce parametric images with less noise than the indirect method, opening the potential utility of gated parametric imaging for perfusion PET. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Implantation of a cone-shaped double-fixed patch increases abdominal space and prevents recurrence of large defects in congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

PubMed

Loff, Steffan; Wirth, Hartmut; Jester, Iwgo; Hosie, Stuart; Wollmann, Carmen; Schaible, Thomas; Ataman, Ozge; Waag, Karl-Ludwig

2005-11-01

Large defects in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) are frequently closed with a polytetrafluoroethylene patch (PTFE). Intraoperative problems include lack of abdominal domain for the reduction of organs and closure of the abdominal wall. Main surgical postoperative complication is the recurrence of the hernia. We suggest a new and easy method of patch implantation, improving these problems, and report first follow-up results. In our clinic, 103 children with CDH were treated, and 87 children underwent reconstruction of the diaphragm in the 5 years between 1998 and 2002. In 52 patients, a patch implantation had to be performed. We have been optimizing our complete pediatric and surgical procedure and present a new standardized technique of preparation and implantation of a PTFE patch. The flat patch is folded to a 90 degrees cone. The cone is fixed in its form with few single stitches. It is implanted with an overlapping border of 1 cm circumferentially. The border is separately fixed with absorbable single stitches to keep from rolling up. The rough side of the patch points toward the rim of the diaphragm to enable ingrowth of the connective tissue. In a 1-year follow-up study, the recurrences in the 3 following groups of PTFE patches were studied: conventional implantation (simple patch without overlapping border), patch with separately fixed overlapping border, and cone-shaped patch with overlapping separately fixed border. Thirty-three patients were included in the study. After conventional PTFE-patch implantation, 6 (46%) of 13 patients developed reherniation. After PTFE-patch implantation with separately fixed overlapping border, 1 (11%) of 9 patients had a recurrent hernia. In the group with the PTFE-cone implantation, 1 (9%) of 11 patients developed a recurrence. Meanwhile, another 20 CDH patients received implantation of a cone-shaped patch, and no further recurrence occurred up to now. With the additional space (20 mL) provided by the cone-shaped patch, the closure of the abdomen was easier, and the fundus had intraoperatively a physiological position. This optimized patch implantation technique in large diaphragmatic defects offers considerable advantages especially regarding recurrence of the hernia and closure of the abdomen, which are currently the most challenging surgical problems. 1. The cone-shaped 3-dimensional patch increases abdominal capacity. 2. Redundant chest capacity is reduced, and the reconstructed diaphragm shows a physiological shape. 3. The dome of the patch allows a physiological position of the gastric fundus and a normal Hiss angle, thus preventing gastroesophageal reflux. 4. Additional safety of the implantation is achieved by separate fixation of the overlapping border of the cone, preventing recurrence.

Localization of congenital tegmen tympani defects.

PubMed

Tóth, Miklós; Helling, Kai; Baksa, Gábor; Mann, Wolf

2007-12-01

This study sets out to demonstrate the normal developmental steps of the tegmen tympani and thus explains the typical localization of congenital tegmental defects. For this study, 79 macerated and formalin-fixed human temporal bones from 14th fetal week to adults were observed and prepared. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of the prenatal and postnatal changes of the tegmen tympani during its development. Temporal bones from 14th fetal week to adults underwent descriptive anatomic studies to understand the normal development of the tegmen tympani and to find a possible cause of its congenital defects. The medial part of the tegmen tympani develops from the otic capsule during chondral ossification, thus forming the tegmental process of the petrous part. The lateral part shows membranous ossification. The tegmental process cases a temporary bony dehiscence lateral to the geniculate ganglion between the 23rd and 25th fetal week. Congenital defects develop near the geniculate ganglion and seem to be due to an incomplete development of tegmental process of otic capsule. Because of that, congenital lesion of the tegmen tympani can be defined as an inner ear defect.

Evaluation of various boluses in dose distribution for electron therapy of the chest wall with an inward defect

PubMed Central

Mahdavi, Hoda; Jabbari, Keyvan; Roayaei, Mahnaz

2016-01-01

Delivering radiotherapy to the postmastectomy chest wall can be achieved using matched electron fields. Surgical defects of the chest wall change the dose distribution of electrons. In this study, the improvement of dose homogeneity using simple, nonconformal techniques of thermoplastic bolus application on a defect is evaluated. The proposed phantom design improves the capability of film dosimetry for obtaining dose profiles of a patient's anatomical condition. A modeled electron field of a patient with a postmastectomy inward surgical defect was planned. High energy electrons were delivered to the phantom in various settings, including no bolus, a bolus that filled the inward defect (PB0), a uniform thickness bolus of 5 mm (PB1), and two 5 mm boluses (PB2). A reduction of mean doses at the base of the defect was observed by any bolus application. PB0 increased the dose at central parts of the defect, reduced hot areas at the base of steep edges, and reduced dose to the lung and heart. Thermoplastic boluses that compensate a defect (PB0) increased the homogeneity of dose in a fixed depth from the surface; adversely, PB2 increased the dose heterogeneity. This study shows that it is practical to investigate dose homogeneity profiles inside a target volume for various techniques of electron therapy. PMID:27051169

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery with patent ductus arteriosus: a must to recognize entity.

PubMed

Awasthy, Neeraj; Marwah, Ashutosh; Sharma, Rajesh; Dalvi, Bharat

2010-09-01

Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk (ALCAPA) presents in early infancy with a clinical picture of congestive heart failure with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and mitral insufficiency. These manifestations of myocardial ischaemia may be masked in the presence of an associated patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) or ventricular septal defect (VSD) which prevents the fall of pulmonary artery pressures and allows perfusion of the anomalous coronary artery. We present a case of a patient with large PDA-associated ALCAPA and preserved LV function. The importance of such a finding lies in the fact that VSD closure or PDA ligation in such cases would unmask the ALCAPA.

Coronary Microembolization with Normal Epicardial Coronary Arteries and No Visible Infarcts on Nitrobluetetrazolium Chloride-Stained Specimens: Evaluation with Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Swine Model.

PubMed

Jin, Hang; Yun, Hong; Ma, Jianying; Chen, Zhangwei; Chang, Shufu; Zeng, Mengsu

2016-01-01

To assess magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of coronary microembolization in a swine model induced by small-sized microemboli, which may cause microinfarcts invisible to the naked eye. Eleven pigs underwent intracoronary injection of small-sized microspheres (42 µm) and catheter coronary angiography was obtained before and after microembolization. Cardiac MRI and measurement of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) were performed at baseline, 6 hours, and 1 week after microembolization. Postmortem evaluation was performed after completion of the imaging studies. Coronary angiography pre- and post-microembolization revealed normal epicardial coronary arteries. Systolic wall thickening of the microembolized regions decreased significantly from 42.6 ± 2.0% at baseline to 20.3 ± 2.3% at 6 hours and 31.5 ± 2.1% at 1 week after coronary microembolization (p < 0.001 for both). First-pass perfusion defect was visualized at 6 hours but the extent was largely decreased at 1 week. Delayed contrast enhancement MRI (DE-MRI) demonstrated hyperenhancement within the target area at 6 hours but not at 1 week. The microinfarcts on gross specimen stained with nitrobluetetrazolium chloride were invisible to the naked eye and only detectable microscopically. Increased cTnT was observed at 6 hours and 1 week after microembolization. Coronary microembolization induced by a certain load of small-sized microemboli may result in microinfarcts invisible to the naked eye with normal epicardial coronary arteries. MRI features of myocardial impairment secondary to such microembolization include the decline in left ventricular function and myocardial perfusion at cine and first-pass perfusion imaging, and transient hyperenhancement at DE-MRI.

The use of pre-test and post-test probability values as criteria before selecting patients to undergo coronary angiography in patients who have ischemic findings on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

PubMed

Karahan Şen, Nazlı Pınar; Bekiş, Recep; Ceylan, Ali; Derebek, Erkan

2016-07-01

Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) is a diagnostic test which is frequently used in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD). MPS is generally interpreted as ischemia present or absent; however, it has a power in predicting the disease, similar to other diagnostic tests. In this study, we aimed to assist in directing the high-risk patients to undergo coronary angiography (CA) primarily by evaluating patients without prior CHD history with pre-test and post-test probabilities. The study was designed as a retrospective study. Between January 2008 and July 2011, 139 patients with positive MPS results and followed by CA recently (<6 months) were evaluated from patient files. Patients' pre-test probabilities based on the Diamond and Forrester method and the likelihood ratios that were obtained from the literature were used to calculate the patients' post exercise and post-MPS probabilities. Patients were evaluated in risk groups as low, intermediate, and high, and an ROC curve analysis was performed for the post-MPS probabilities. Coronary artery stenosis (CAS) was determined in 59 patients (42.4%). A significant difference was determined between the risk groups according to CAS, both for the pre-test and post-test probabilities (p<0.001, p=0.024). The ROC analysis provided a cut-off value of 80.4% for post- MPS probability in predicting CAS with 67.9% sensitivity and 77.8% specificity. When the post-MPS probability is ≥80% in patients who have reversible perfusion defects on MPS, we suggest interpreting the MPS as "high probability positive" to improve the selection of true-positive patients to undergo CA, and these patients should be primarily recommended CA.

The use of pre-test and post-test probability values as criteria before selecting patients to undergo coronary angiography in patients who have ischemic findings on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy

PubMed Central

Şen, Nazlı Pınar Karahan; Bekiş, Recep; Ceylan, Ali; Derebek, Erkan

2016-01-01

Objective: Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) is a diagnostic test which is frequently used in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD). MPS is generally interpreted as ischemia present or absent; however, it has a power in predicting the disease, similar to other diagnostic tests. In this study, we aimed to assist in directing the high-risk patients to undergo coronary angiography (CA) primarily by evaluating patients without prior CHD history with pre-test and post-test probabilities. Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective study. Between January 2008 and July 2011, 139 patients with positive MPS results and followed by CA recently (<6 months) were evaluated from patient files. Patients’ pre-test probabilities based on the Diamond and Forrester method and the likelihood ratios that were obtained from the literature were used to calculate the patients’ post-exercise and post-MPS probabilities. Patients were evaluated in risk groups as low, intermediate, and high, and an ROC curve analysis was performed for the post-MPS probabilities. Results: Coronary artery stenosis (CAS) was determined in 59 patients (42.4%). A significant difference was determined between the risk groups according to CAS, both for the pre-test and post-test probabilities (p<0.001, p=0.024). The ROC analysis provided a cut-off value of 80.4% for post-MPS probability in predicting CAS with 67.9% sensitivity and 77.8% specificity. Conclusion: When the post-MPS probability is ≥80% in patients who have reversible perfusion defects on MPS, we suggest interpreting the MPS as “high probability positive” to improve the selection of true-positive patients to undergo CA, and these patients should be primarily recommended CA. PMID:27004704

Cardiac contraction motion compensation in gated myocardial perfusion SPECT: A comparative study.

PubMed

Salehi, Narges; Rahmim, Arman; Fatemizadeh, Emad; Akbarzadeh, Afshin; Farahani, Mohammad Hossein; Farzanefar, Saeed; Ay, Mohammad Reza

2018-05-01

Cardiac contraction significantly degrades quality and quantitative accuracy of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS) images. In this study, we aimed to explore different techniques in motion-compensated temporal processing of MPS images and their impact on image quality and quantitative accuracy. 50 patients without known heart condition underwent gated MPS. 3D motion compensation methods using Motion Freezing by Cedars Sinai (MF), Log-domain Diffeomorphic Demons (LDD) and Free-Form Deformation (FFD) were applied to warp all image phases to fit the end-diastolic (ED) phase. Afterwards, myocardial wall thickness, myocardial to blood pool contrast, and image contrast-to noise ratio (CNR) were measured in summed images with no motion compensation (NoMC) and compensated images (MF, LDD and FFD). Total Perfusion Defect (TPD) was derived from Cedars-Sinai software, on the basis of sex-specific normal limits. Left ventricle (LV) lateral wall thickness was reduced after applying motion compensation (p < 0.05). Myocardial to blood pool contrast and CNR in compensated images were greater than NoMC (p < 0.05). TPD_LDD was in good agreement with the corresponding TPD_MF (p = 0.13). All methods have improved image quality and quantitative performance relative to NoMC. LDD and FFD are fully automatic and do not require any manual intervention, while MF is dependent on contour definition. In terms of diagnostic parameters LDD is in good agreement with MF which is a clinically accepted method. Further investigation along with diagnostic reference standards, in order to specify diagnostic value of each technique is recommended. Copyright © 2018 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. All rights reserved.

Impact of basal inferolateral scar burden determined by automatic analysis of 99mTc-MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT on the long-term prognosis of cardiac resynchronization therapy.

PubMed

Morishima, Itsuro; Okumura, Kenji; Tsuboi, Hideyuki; Morita, Yasuhiro; Takagi, Kensuke; Yoshida, Ruka; Nagai, Hiroaki; Tomomatsu, Toshiro; Ikai, Yoshihiro; Terada, Kazushi; Sone, Takahito; Murohara, Toyoaki

2017-04-01

Left-ventricular (LV) scarring may be associated with a poor response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The automatic analysis of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (MP-SPECT) may provide objective quantification of LV scarring. We investigated the impact of LV scarring determined by an automatic analysis of MP-SPECT on short-term LV volume response as well as long-term outcome. We studied consecutive 51 patients who were eligible to undergo 99mTc-MIBI MP-SPECT both at baseline and 6 months after CRT (ischaemic cardiomyopathies 31%). Quantitative perfusion SPECT was used to evaluate the defect extent (an index of global scarring) and the LV 17-segment regional uptake ratio (an inverse index of regional scar burden). The primary outcome was the composite of overall mortality or first hospitalization for worsening heart failure. A high global scar burden and a low mid/basal inferolateral regional uptake ratio were associated with volume non-responders to CRT at 6 months. The basal inferolateral regional uptake ratio remained as a predictor of volume non-response after adjusting for the type of cardiomyopathy. During a median follow-up of 36.1 months, the outcome occurred in 28 patients. The patients with a low basal inferolateral regional uptake ratio with a cutoff value of 57% showed poor prognosis (log-rank P= 0.006). The scarring determined by automatic analysis of MP-SPECT images may predict a poor response to CRT regardless of the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy. The basal inferolateral scar burden in particular may have an adverse impact on long-term prognosis. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2016. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evaluation of lymph node perfusion using continuous mode harmonic ultrasonography with a second-generation contrast agent.

PubMed

Rubaltelli, Leopoldo; Khadivi, Yeganeh; Tregnaghi, Alberto; Stramare, Roberto; Ferro, Federica; Borsato, Simonetta; Fiocco, Ugo; Adami, Fausto; Rossi, Carlo Riccardo

2004-06-01

To evaluate the contribution of continuous mode contrast-enhanced harmonic ultrasonography (CE-HUS) with a second-generation contrast agent to the characterization of superficial lymphadenopathies with respect to conventional ultrasonographic techniques (B-mode and power Doppler). Fifty-six lymph nodes from 45 patients were studied both by conventional techniques and by CE-HUS. The dimensions, intranodal architecture, margins, and location of vessels were evaluated. Subsequently, all the lymph nodes were examined by CE-HUS, and enhancement of echogenicity was evaluated. The diagnoses obtained by means of fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination, surgical biopsy, or both were compared with those obtained by ultrasonography. Of the lymph nodes examined, 30 were benign and 26 were malignant (18 metastases and 8 non-Hodgkin lymphomas). The study using CE-HUS showed intense homogeneous enhancement in 28 of 30 reactive lymph nodes; perfusion defects in 17, of which 15 were neoplastic and 2 were inflammatory; intense but inhomogeneous speckled enhancement in the early arterial phase in 5 cases of lymphoma; and, last, scarce or absent intranodal enhancement in 4 metastases. The specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of conventional techniques in differentiation between benign and malignant lymph nodes were 76%, 80%, and 78% versus 93%, 92%, and 92.8% for CE-HUS. The increase in correct diagnoses was significant (P = .05) when conventional ultrasonography was tested against CE-HUS. Superficial lymph nodes can be characterized as being neoplastic or benign with a high degree of diagnostic accuracy on the basis of the perfusion characteristics evaluated by CE-HUS. This technique has been shown to afford a higher degree of accuracy than currently obtainable by any other ultrasonographic technique.

Perfusion redistribution after a pulmonary-embolism-like event with contrast enhanced EIT.

PubMed

Nguyen, D T; Bhaskaran, A; Chik, W; Barry, M A; Pouliopoulos, J; Kosobrodov, R; Jin, C; Oh, T I; Thiagalingam, A; McEwan, A L

2015-06-01

Recent studies showed that regional pulmonary perfusion can be reliably estimated using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) with the aid of hypertonic saline based contrast enhancement. Building on these successful studies, we studied contrast EIT for pulmonary perfusion defect caused by an artificially induced pulmonary embolism (PE) in a large ovine model (N = 8, 78 ± 7.8 kg). Furthermore, the efficacy of a less invasive contrast bolus of 0.77 ml kg(-1) of NaCl 3% was compared with a more concentrated bolus of 0.13 ml kg(-1) of NaCl 20%. Prior to the injection of each contrast bolus injection, ventilation was turned off to provide a total of 40 to 45 s of apnoea. Each bolus of impedance contrast was injected through a catheter into the right atrium. Pulmonary embolisation was performed by balloon occlusion of part of the right branch of the pulmonary trunk. Four parameters representing the kinetics of the contrast dilution in the lung were evaluated for statistical differences between baseline and PE, including peak value, maximum uptake, maximum washout and area under the curve of the averaged contrast dilution curve in each lung. Furthermore, the right lung to left lung (R2L) ratio of each the aforementioned parameters were assessed. While all of the R2L ratios yielded significantly different means between baseline and PE, it can be concluded that the R2L ratios of area under the curve and peak value of the averaged contrast dilution curve are the most promising and reliable in assessing PE. It was also found that the efficacy of the two types of impedance contrasts were not significantly different in distinguishing PE from baseline in our model.

Detection of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia from symptomatology experienced during testing in men and women

PubMed Central

D’Antono, Bianca; Dupuis, Gilles; Fortin, Christophe; Arsenault, André; Burelle, Denis

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To examine the capacity of angina and related symptoms experienced during exercise-stress testing to detect the presence of ischemia, controlling for other clinical factors. METHOD The authors undertook a prospective study of 482 women and 425 men (mean age 58 years) undergoing exercise stress testing with myocardial perfusion imaging. One hundred forty-six women and 127 men reported chest pain, and of these, 25% of women and 66% of men had myocardial perfusion imaging evidence of ischemia during testing. The present article focuses on patients with chest pain during testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Outcome measures included chest pain localization, extension, intensity and quality, as well as the presence of various nonpain-related symptoms. Backward logistical regression analyses were performed separately on men and women who had experienced chest pain during testing. RESULTS Men who described their chest pain as ‘heavy’ were 4.6 times more likely to experience ischemia during testing (P=0.039) compared with other men, but this pain descriptor only slightly improved accuracy of prediction beyond that provided by control variables. In women, several symptoms added to the sensitivity of the prediction, such as a numb feeling in the face or neck region (OR 4.5; P=0.048), a numb feeling in the chest area (OR 14.6; P=0.003), muscle tension (OR 5.2; P=0.013), and chest pain that was described as hot or burning (OR 4.3; P=0.014). CONCLUSIONS A more refined evaluation of symptoms experienced during testing was particularly helpful in improving detection of ischemia in women, but not in men. Attention to these symptoms may favour timely diagnosis of myocardial perfusion defects in women. PMID:16639477

Drag reduction by polyethylene glycol in the tail arterial bed of normotensive and hypertensive rats.

PubMed

Bessa, K L; Belletati, J F; Santos, L; Rossoni, L V; Ortiz, J P

2011-08-01

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of drag reducer polymers (DRP) on arteries from normotensive (Wistar) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000 at 5000 ppm) was perfused in the tail arterial bed with (E+) and without endothelium (E-) from male, adult Wistar (N = 14) and SHR (N = 13) animals under basal conditions (constant flow at 2.5 mL/min). In these preparations, flow-pressure curves (1.5 to 10 mL/min) were constructed before and 1 h after PEG 4000 perfusion. Afterwards, the tail arterial bed was fixed and the internal diameters of the arteries were then measured by microscopy and drag reduction was assessed based on the values of wall shear stress (WSS) by computational simulation. In Wistar and SHR groups, perfusion of PEG 4000 significantly reduced pulsatile pressure (Wistar/E+: 17.5 ± 2.8; SHR/E+: 16.3 ± 2.7%), WSS (Wistar/E+: 36; SHR/E+: 40%) and the flow-pressure response. The E- reduced the effects of PEG 4000 on arteries from both groups, suggesting that endothelial damage decreased the effect of PEG 4000 as a DRP. Moreover, the effects of PEG 4000 were more pronounced in the tail arterial bed from SHR compared to Wistar rats. In conclusion, these data demonstrated for the first time that PEG 4000 was more effective in reducing the pressure-flow response as well as WSS in the tail arterial bed of hypertensive than of normotensive rats and these effects were amplified by, but not dependent on, endothelial integrity. Thus, these results show an additional mechanism of action of this polymer besides its mechanical effect through the release and/or bioavailability of endothelial factors.

Detection of retinal capillary nonperfusion in fundus fluorescein angiogram of diabetic retinopathy.

PubMed

Rasta, Seyed Hossein; Nikfarjam, Shima; Javadzadeh, Alireza

2015-01-01

Retinal capillary nonperfusion (CNP) is one of the retinal vascular diseases in diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients. As there is no comprehensive detection technique to recognize CNP areas, we proposed a different method for computing detection of ischemic retina, non-perfused (NP) regions, in fundus fluorescein angiogram (FFA) images. Whilst major vessels appear as ridges, non-perfused areas are usually observed as ponds that are surrounded by healthy capillaries in FFA images. A new technique using homomorphic filtering to correct light illumination and detect the ponds surrounded in healthy capillaries on FFA images was designed and applied on DR fundus images. These images were acquired from the diabetic patients who had referred to the Nikookari hospital and were diagnosed for diabetic retinopathy during one year. Our strategy was screening the whole image with a fixed window size, which is small enough to enclose areas with identified topographic characteristics. To discard false nominees, we also performed a thresholding operation on the screen and marked images. To validate its performance we applied our detection algorithm on 41 FFA diabetic retinopathy fundus images in which the CNP areas were manually delineated by three clinical experts. Lesions were found as smooth regions with very high uniformity, low entropy, and small intensity variations in FFA images. The results of automated detection method were compared with manually marked CNP areas so achieved sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 78%, and accuracy of 91%.The result was present as a Receiver operating character (ROC) curve, which has an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.796 with 95% confidence intervals. This technique introduced a new automated detection algorithm to recognize non-perfusion lesions on FFA. This has potential to assist detecting and managing of ischemic retina and may be incorporated into automated grading diabetic retinopathy structures.

Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of the Peripapillary Retina in Normal-Tension Glaucoma and Chronic Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.

PubMed

Mastropasqua, Rodolfo; Agnifili, Luca; Borrelli, Enrico; Fasanella, Vincenzo; Brescia, Lorenza; Di Antonio, Luca; Mastropasqua, Leonardo

2018-06-01

To analyze the retinal radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) network in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) eyes using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Twenty-two patients with NTG, 22 patients with unilateral chronic NAION, and 23 age-matched controls were enrolled. Patients underwent OCTA to obtain en face angiograms of the peripapillary region. The main outcome measures were as follows: (1) the whole en face image perfusion density (WPD) and (2) the circumpapillary perfusion density (CPD). Mean ± SD age was 66.3 ± 7.0 years in the NTG group, 68.1 ± 4.3 years in the NAION group, and 63.9 ± 7.0 years in the control group (p > 0.05 for all the comparisons). The visual field mean defect (MD) was worse in patients than in controls (p < 0.0001), but did not differ between NTG and NAION (-9.6 ± 2.6 dB and -8.2 ± 2.6 dB, respectively). The WPD was 0.41 ± 0.04 in the NTG group (p < 0.0001 in comparison with healthy subjects and NAION patients), 0.46 ± 0.04 in the NAION group (p < 0.0001 in comparison with the control group), and 0.56 ± 0.03 in the control group. The CPD was significantly reduced in both NTG (0.48 ± 0.04, p < 0.0001) and NAION eyes (0.52 ± 0.05, p < 0.0001), after comparison to control eyes (0.59 ± 0.03). Moreover, the CPD was significantly lower in NTG than in NAION eyes (p = 0.006). OCTA documented a reduction of the peripapillary perfusion in NTG and unilateral NAION. In presence of similar functional damage, the lower perfusion densities in NTG may indicate greater vascular alterations in chronic compared to acute ischemic optic neuropathies.

Volvulus of the liver with intrathoracic herniation.

PubMed

Moussa, G; Thomson, P M; Bohra, A

2014-10-01

We present a rare case of a liver volvulus, stomach and transverse colon herniating through the diaphragm. This scenario has not been reported previously. We discuss the presentation and management of this interesting case. A 65-year-old woman with a history of sarcoidosis and recurrent pericardial effusions, treated previously with a subxiphoid pericardial oval window fenestration, presented with acute upper abdominal pain radiating to the chest. High contrast computed tomography showed a volvulus of the liver with consequent venous congestion, and herniation of the liver, stomach and transverse colon through an anterior diaphragmatic defect. With liver perfusion threatened, an urgent laparoscopic repair was performed. The stomach and transverse colon were reduced, and the twisted left lobe of the liver was unrotated and reduced into the abdominal cavity. A double-sided synthetic mesh was used to repair the defect. The patient made an uneventful recovery. This is a novel complication of a patient presenting with abdominal pain with a previous history of pericardial window fenestration. A laparoscopic reduction and repair can be performed safely with excellent postoperative results.

Impaired insulin secretion in the spontaneous diabetes rats.

PubMed

Kimura, K; Toyota, T; Kakizaki, M; Kudo, M; Takebe, K; Goto, Y

1982-08-01

Dynamics of insulin and glucagon secretion were investigated by using a new model of spontaneous diabetes rats produced by the repetition of selective breeding in our laboratories. The perfusion experiments of the pancreas showed that the early phase of insulin secretion to continuous stimulation with glucose was specifically impaired, although the response of the early phase to arginine was preserved. The glucose-induced insulin secretion in the nineth generation (F8) which had a more remarkably impaired glucose tolerance was more reduced than in the sixth generation (F5). No significant difference of glucagon secretion in response to arginine or norepinephrine was noted between the diabetes rats and control ones. The present data indicate that the defective insulin secretion is a primary derangement in a diabetic state of the spontaneous diabetes rat. This defect in the early phase of glucose-induced insulin secretion suggests the specific impairment of the recognition of glucose by the pancreatic beta-cells. The spontaneous diabetes rats are very useful as a model of disease for investigating pathophysiology of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Calcar bone graft

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bargar, W.L.; Paul, H.A.; Merritt, K.

1986-01-01

A canine model was developed to investigate the use of an autogeneic iliac bone graft to treat the calcar deficiency commonly found at the time of revision surgery for femoral component loosening. Five large male mixed-breed dogs had bilateral total hip arthroplasty staged at three-month intervals, and were sacrificed at six months. Prior to cementing the femoral component, an experimental calcar defect was made, and a bicortical iliac bone graft was fashioned to fill the defect. Serial roentgenograms showed the grafts had united with no resorption. Technetium-99 bone scans showed more uptake at three months than at six months inmore » the graft region. Disulfine blue injection indicated all grafts were perfused at both three and six months. Thin section histology, fluorochromes, and microradiographs confirmed graft viability in all dogs. Semiquantitative grading of the fluorochromes indicated new bone deposition in 20%-50% of each graft at three months and 50%-80% at six months. Although the calcar bone graft was uniformly successful in this canine study, the clinical application of this technique should be evaluated by long-term results in humans.« less

Strong electroluminescence from direct band and defects in Ge n+/p shallow junctions at room temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Guangyang; Li, Cheng, E-mail: lich@xmu.edu.cn; Chen, Chaowen

2016-05-09

Strong room temperature electroluminescence with two emission peaks at around 0.786 eV and 0.747 eV from Ge n+/p shallow junctions was reported. The peak at around 0.786 eV comes from direct band luminescence (DBL) in n + Ge regions, while the peak fixing at 0.747 eV is resulted from defects induced by ion implantation. Heavy n-type doping in Ge renders realization of strong defect-related luminescence (DRL) feasible. The peak intensity ratio of DRL/DBL decreases with increase of injection current since more electrons are filled in Γ valley. Above all, the Ge n+/p shallow junction is fully compatible with the source and drain in Gemore » metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors.« less

A perfusion bioreactor system efficiently generates cell-loaded bone substitute materials for addressing critical size bone defects.

PubMed

Kleinhans, Claudia; Mohan, Ramkumar Ramani; Vacun, Gabriele; Schwarz, Thomas; Haller, Barbara; Sun, Yang; Kahlig, Alexander; Kluger, Petra; Finne-Wistrand, Anna; Walles, Heike; Hansmann, Jan

2015-09-01

Critical size bone defects and non-union fractions are still challenging to treat. Cell-loaded bone substitutes have shown improved bone ingrowth and bone formation. However, a lack of methods for homogenously colonizing scaffolds limits the maximum volume of bone grafts. Additionally, therapy robustness is impaired by heterogeneous cell populations after graft generation. Our aim was to establish a technology for generating grafts with a size of 10.5 mm in diameter and 25 mm of height, and thus for grafts suited for treatment of critical size bone defects. Therefore, a novel tailor-made bioreactor system was developed, allowing standardized flow conditions in a porous poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone) material. Scaffolds were seeded with primary human mesenchymal stem cells derived from four different donors. In contrast to static experimental conditions, homogenous cell distributions were accomplished under dynamic culture. Additionally, culture in the bioreactor system allowed the induction of osteogenic lineage commitment after one week of culture without addition of soluble factors. This was demonstrated by quantitative analysis of calcification and gene expression markers related to osteogenic lineage. In conclusion, the novel bioreactor technology allows efficient and standardized conditions for generating bone substitutes that are suitable for the treatment of critical size defects in humans. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the Contribution is properly cited and is not used for commercial purpose.

CT Perfusion of the Head

MedlinePlus

... News Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z CT Perfusion of the Head Computed tomography (CT) perfusion ... of CT Perfusion of the Head? What is CT Perfusion of the Head? Computed tomography (CT) perfusion ...

Water ring-bouncing on repellent singularities.

PubMed

Chantelot, Pierre; Mazloomi Moqaddam, Ali; Gauthier, Anaïs; Chikatamarla, Shyam S; Clanet, Christophe; Karlin, Ilya V; Quéré, David

2018-03-28

Texturing a flat superhydrophobic substrate with point-like superhydrophobic macrotextures of the same repellency makes impacting water droplets take off as rings, which leads to shorter bouncing times than on a flat substrate. We investigate the contact time reduction on such elementary macrotextures through experiment and simulations. We understand the observations by decomposing the impacting drop reshaped by the defect into sub-units (or blobs) whose size is fixed by the liquid ring width. We test the blob picture by looking at the reduction of contact time for off-centered impacts and for impacts in grooves that produce liquid ribbons where the blob size is fixed by the width of the channel.

Finite element simulation of cracks formation in parabolic flume above fixed service live

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bandurin, M. A.; Volosukhin, V. A.; Mikheev, A. V.; Volosukhin, Y. V.; Bandurina, I. P.

2018-03-01

In the article, digital simulation data on influence of defect different characteristics on cracks formation in a parabolic flume are presented. The finite element method is based on general hypotheses of the theory of elasticity. The studies showed that the values of absolute movements satisfy the standards of design. The results of the digital simulation of stresses and strains for cracks formation in concrete parabolic flumes after long-term service above the fixed service life are described. Stressed and strained state of reinforced concrete bearing elements under different load combinations is considered. Intensive threshold of danger to form longitudinal cracks in reinforced concrete elements is determined.

Cell-printing and transfer technology applications for bone defects in mice.

PubMed

Tsugawa, Junichi; Komaki, Motohiro; Yoshida, Tomoko; Nakahama, Ken-ichi; Amagasa, Teruo; Morita, Ikuo

2011-10-01

Bone regeneration therapy based on the delivery of osteogenic factors and/or cells has received a lot of attention in recent years since the discovery of pluripotent stem cells. We reported previously that the implantation of capillary networks engineered ex vivo by the use of cell-printing technology could improve blood perfusion. Here, we developed a new substrate prepared by coating glass with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to create a non-adhesive surface and subsequent photo-lithography to finely tune the adhesive property for efficient cell transfer. We examined the cell-transfer efficiency onto amniotic membrane and bone regenerative efficiency in murine calvarial bone defect. Cell transfer of KUSA-A1 cells (murine osteoblasts) to amniotic membrane was performed for 1 h using the substrates. Cell transfer using the substrate facilitated cell engraftment onto the amniotic membrane compared to that by direct cell inoculation. KUSA-A1 cells transferred onto the amniotic membrane were applied to critical-sized calvarial bone defects in mice. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis showed rapid and effective bone formation by the cell-equipped amniotic membrane. These results indicate that the cell-printing and transfer technology used to create the cell-equipped amniotic membrane was beneficial for the cell delivery system. Our findings support the development of a biologically stable and effective bone regeneration therapy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Decidual Cox2 inhibition improves fetal and maternal outcomes in a preeclampsia-like mouse model

PubMed Central

Sones, Jenny L.; Cha, Jeeyeon; Woods, Ashley K.; Bartos, Amanda; Heyward, Christa Y.; Lob, Heinrich E.; Isroff, Catherine E.; Butler, Scott D.; Shapiro, Stephanie E.; Dey, Sudhansu K.; Davisson, Robin L.

2016-01-01

Preeclampsia (PE) is a disorder of pregnancy that manifests as late gestational maternal hypertension and proteinuria and can be life-threatening to both the mother and baby. It is believed that abnormal placentation is responsible for the cascade of events leading to the maternal syndrome. Embryo implantation is critical to establishing a healthy pregnancy. Defective implantation can cause adverse “ripple effects,” leading to abnormal decidualization and placentation, retarded fetal development, and poor pregnancy outcomes, such as PE and fetal growth restriction. The precise mechanism(s) of implantation defects that lead to PE remain elusive. BPH/5 mice, which spontaneously develop the cardinal features of PE, show peri-implantation defects including upregulation of Cox2 and IL-15 at the maternal-fetal interface. This was associated with decreased decidual natural killer (dNK) cells, which have important roles in establishing placental perfusion. Interestingly, a single administration of a Cox2 inhibitor (celecoxib) during decidualization restrained Cox2 and IL-15 expression, restored dNK cell numbers, improved fetal growth, and attenuated late gestational hypertension in BPH/5 female mice. This study provides evidence that decidual overexpression of Cox2 and IL-15 may trigger the adverse pregnancy outcomes reflected in the preeclamptic syndrome, underscoring the idea that Cox2 inhibitor treatment is an effective strategy for the prevention of PE-associated fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. PMID:27159542

Cellular and ionic mechanisms underlying the effects of cilostazol, milrinone, and isoproterenol to suppress arrhythmogenesis in an experimental model of early repolarization syndrome.

PubMed

Patocskai, Bence; Barajas-Martinez, Hector; Hu, Dan; Gurabi, Zsolt; Koncz, István; Antzelevitch, Charles

2016-06-01

Early repolarization syndrome (ERS) is associated with polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT) and ventricular fibrillation, leading to sudden cardiac death. The present study tests the hypothesis that the transient outward potassium current (Ito)-blocking effect of phosphodiesterase-3 (PDE-3) inhibitors plays a role in reversing repolarization heterogeneities responsible for arrhythmogenesis in experimental models of ERS. Transmembrane action potentials (APs) were simultaneously recorded from epicardial and endocardial regions of coronary-perfused canine left ventricular (LV) wedge preparations, together with a transmural pseudo-electrocardiogram. The Ito agonist NS5806 (7-15 μM) and L-type calcium current (ICa) blocker verapamil (2-3 μM) were used to induce an early repolarization pattern and PVT. After stable induction of arrhythmogenesis, the PDE-3 inhibitors cilostazol and milrinone or isoproterenol were added to the coronary perfusate. All were effective in restoring the AP dome in the LV epicardium, thus abolishing the repolarization defects responsible for phase 2 reentry and PVT. Arrhythmic activity was suppressed in 7 of 8 preparations by cilostazol (10 μM), 6 of 7 by milrinone (2.5 μM), and 7 of 8 by isoproterenol (0.1-1 μM). Using voltage clamp techniques applied to LV epicardial myocytes, both cilostazol (10 μM) and milrinone (2.5 μM) were found to reduce Ito by 44.4% and 40.4%, respectively, in addition to their known effects to augment ICa. Our findings suggest that PDE-3 inhibitors exert an ameliorative effect in the setting of ERS by producing an inward shift in the balance of current during the early phases of the epicardial AP via inhibition of Ito as well as augmentation of ICa, thus reversing the repolarization defects underlying the development of phase 2 reentry and ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. Copyright © 2016 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cellular and Ionic Mechanisms Underlying Effects of Cilostazol, Milrinone and Isoproterenol to Suppress Arrhythmogenesis in an Experimental Model of Early Repolarization Syndrome

PubMed Central

Patocskai, Bence; Barajas-Martinez, Hector; Hu, Dan; Gurabi, Zsolt; Koncz, István; Antzelevitch, Charles

2016-01-01

Background Early Repolarization Syndrome (ERS) is associated with polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT) and fibrillation (VF), leading to sudden cardiac death. Objective The present study tests the hypothesis that the Ito-blocking effect of phosphodiesterase-3 (PDE-3) inhibitors plays a role in reversing repolarization heterogeneities responsible for arrhythmogenesis in experimental models of ERS. Methods Transmembrane action potentials (AP) were simultaneously recorded from epicardial and endocardial regions of coronary-perfused canine left-ventricular (LV) wedge preparations, together with a transmural pseudo-ECG. The Ito-agonist NS5806 (7–15 μM) and ICa-blocker verapamil (2–3 uM) were used to induce an ER pattern and PVT. Results Following stable induction of arrhythmogenesis, the PDE-3 inhibitors cilostazol and milrinone or isoproterenol were added to the coronary perfusate. All were effective in restoring the AP dome in the LV epicardium, thus abolishing the repolarization defects responsible for phase-2-reentry (P2R) and PVT. Arrhythmic activity was suppressed in 7/8 preparations by cilostazol (10 μM), 6/7 by milrinone (2.5 μM) and 7/8 by isoproterenol (0.1–1μM). Using voltage clamp techniques applied to LV epicardial myocytes, both cilostazol (10 μM) and milrinone (2.5 μM) were found to reduce Ito by 44.4% and 40.4%, respectively, in addition to their known effects to augment ICa. Conclusions Our findings suggest that PDE-3 inhibitors exert an ameliorative effect in the setting of ERS by producing an inward shift in the balance of current in the early phases of the epicardial AP via inhibition of Ito as well as augmentation of ICa, thus reversing the repolarization defects underlying development of P2R and VT/VF. PMID:26820510

Identifying the heterogeneity of COPD by V/P SPECT: a new tool for improving the diagnosis of parenchymal defects and grading the severity of small airways disease.

PubMed

Bajc, M; Chen, Y; Wang, J; Li, X Y; Shen, W M; Wang, C Z; Huang, H; Lindqvist, A; He, X Y

2017-01-01

Airway obstruction and possible concomitant pulmonary diseases in COPD cannot be identified conventionally with any single diagnostic tool. We aimed to diagnose and grade COPD severity and identify pulmonary comorbidities associated with COPD with ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (V/P SPECT) using Technegas as the functional ventilation imaging agent. 94 COPD patients (aged 43-86 years, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages I-IV) were examined with V/P SPECT and spirometry. Ventilation and perfusion defects were analyzed blindly according to the European guidelines. Penetration grade of Technegas in V SPECT measured the degree of obstructive small airways disease. Total preserved lung function and penetration grade of Technegas in V SPECT were assessed by V/P SPECT and compared to GOLD stages and spirometry. Signs of small airway obstruction in the ventilation SPECT images were found in 92 patients. Emphysema was identified in 81 patients. Two patients had no signs of COPD, but both of them had a pulmonary embolism, and in one of them we also suspected a lung tumor. The penetration grade of Technegas in V SPECT and total preserved lung function correlated significantly to GOLD stages ( r =0.63 and -0.60, respectively, P <0.0001). V/P SPECT identified pulmonary embolism in 30 patients (32%). A pattern typical for heart failure was present in 26 patients (28%). Parenchymal changes typical for pneumonia or lung tumor were present in several cases. V/P SPECT, using Technegas as the functional ventilation imaging agent, is a new tool to diagnose COPD and to grade its severity. Additionally, it revealed heterogeneity of COPD caused by pulmonary comorbidities. The characteristics of these comorbidities suggest their significant impact in clarifying symptoms, and also their influence on the prognosis.

System-size convergence of point defect properties: The case of the silicon vacancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corsetti, Fabiano; Mostofi, Arash A.

2011-07-01

We present a comprehensive study of the vacancy in bulk silicon in all its charge states from 2+ to 2-, using a supercell approach within plane-wave density-functional theory, and systematically quantify the various contributions to the well-known finite size errors associated with calculating formation energies and stable charge state transition levels of isolated defects with periodic boundary conditions. Furthermore, we find that transition levels converge faster with respect to supercell size when only the Γ-point is sampled in the Brillouin zone, as opposed to a dense k-point sampling. This arises from the fact that defect level at the Γ-point quickly converges to a fixed value which correctly describes the bonding at the defect center. Our calculated transition levels with 1000-atom supercells and Γ-point only sampling are in good agreement with available experimental results. We also demonstrate two simple and accurate approaches for calculating the valence band offsets that are required for computing formation energies of charged defects, one based on a potential averaging scheme and the other using maximally-localized Wannier functions (MLWFs). Finally, we show that MLWFs provide a clear description of the nature of the electronic bonding at the defect center that verifies the canonical Watkins model.

Finite-element design and optimization of a three-dimensional tetrahedral porous titanium scaffold for the reconstruction of mandibular defects.

PubMed

Luo, Danmei; Rong, Qiguo; Chen, Quan

2017-09-01

Reconstruction of segmental defects in the mandible remains a challenge for maxillofacial surgery. The use of porous scaffolds is a potential method for repairing these defects. Now, additive manufacturing techniques provide a solution for the fabrication of porous scaffolds with specific geometrical shapes and complex structures. The goal of this study was to design and optimize a three-dimensional tetrahedral titanium scaffold for the reconstruction of mandibular defects. With a fixed strut diameter of 0.45mm and a mean cell size of 2.2mm, a tetrahedral structural porous scaffold was designed for a simulated anatomical defect derived from computed tomography (CT) data of a human mandible. An optimization method based on the concept of uniform stress was performed on the initial scaffold to realize a minimal-weight design. Geometric and mechanical comparisons between the initial and optimized scaffold show that the optimized scaffold exhibits a larger porosity, 81.90%, as well as a more homogeneous stress distribution. These results demonstrate that tetrahedral structural titanium scaffolds are feasible structures for repairing mandibular defects, and that the proposed optimization scheme has the ability to produce superior scaffolds for mandibular reconstruction with better stability, higher porosity, and less weight. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computational Simulation of Damage Progression of Composite Thin Shells Subjected to Mechanical Loads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gotsis, P. K.; Chamis, C. C.; Minnetyan, L.

1996-01-01

Defect-free and defected composite thin shells with ply orientation (90/0/+/-75) made of graphite/epoxy are simulated for damage progression and fracture due to internal pressure and axial loading. The thin shells have a cylindrical geometry with one end fixed and the other free. The applied load consists of an internal pressure in conjunction with an axial load at the free end, the cure temperature was 177 C (350 F) and the operational temperature was 21 C (70 F). The residual stresses due to the processing are taken into account. Shells with defect and without defects were examined by using CODSTRAN an integrated computer code that couples composite mechanics, finite element and account for all possible failure modes inherent in composites. CODSTRAN traces damage initiation, growth, accumulation, damage propagation and the final fracture of the structure. The results show that damage initiation started with matrix failure while damage/fracture progression occurred due to additional matrix failure and fiber fracture. The burst pressure of the (90/0/+/- 75) defected shell was 0.092% of that of the free defect. Finally the results of the damage progression of the (90/0/+/- 75), defective composite shell was compared with the (90/0/+/- theta, where theta = 45 and 60, layup configurations. It was shown that the examined laminate (90/0/+/- 75) has the least damage tolerant of the two compared defective shells with the (90/0/+/- theta), theta = 45 and 60 laminates.

Bioprinted Osteogenic and Vasculogenic Patterns for Engineering 3D Bone Tissue.

PubMed

Byambaa, Batzaya; Annabi, Nasim; Yue, Kan; Trujillo-de Santiago, Grissel; Alvarez, Mario Moisés; Jia, Weitao; Kazemzadeh-Narbat, Mehdi; Shin, Su Ryon; Tamayol, Ali; Khademhosseini, Ali

2017-08-01

Fabricating 3D large-scale bone tissue constructs with functional vasculature has been a particular challenge in engineering tissues suitable for repairing large bone defects. To address this challenge, an extrusion-based direct-writing bioprinting strategy is utilized to fabricate microstructured bone-like tissue constructs containing a perfusable vascular lumen. The bioprinted constructs are used as biomimetic in vitro matrices to co-culture human umbilical vein endothelial cells and bone marrow derived human mesenchymal stem cells in a naturally derived hydrogel. To form the perfusable blood vessel inside the bioprinted construct, a central cylinder with 5% gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel at low methacryloyl substitution (GelMA LOW ) was printed. We also develop cell-laden cylinder elements made of GelMA hydrogel loaded with silicate nanoplatelets to induce osteogenesis, and synthesized hydrogel formulations with chemically conjugated vascular endothelial growth factor to promote vascular spreading. It was found that the engineered construct is able to support cell survival and proliferation during maturation in vitro. Additionally, the whole construct demonstrates high structural stability during the in vitro culture for 21 days. This method enables the local control of physical and chemical microniches and the establishment of gradients in the bioprinted constructs. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Altered feto-placental vascularization, feto-placental malperfusion and fetal growth restriction in mice with Egfl7 loss of function.

PubMed

Lacko, Lauretta A; Hurtado, Romulo; Hinds, Samantha; Poulos, Michael G; Butler, Jason M; Stuhlmann, Heidi

2017-07-01

EGFL7 is a secreted angiogenic factor produced by embryonic endothelial cells. To understand its role in placental development, we established a novel Egfl7 knockout mouse. The mutant mice have gross defects in chorioallantoic branching morphogenesis and placental vascular patterning. Microangiography and 3D imaging revealed patchy perfusion of Egfl7 -/- placentas marked by impeded blood conductance through sites of narrowed vessels. Consistent with poor feto-placental perfusion, Egfl7 knockout resulted in reduced placental weight and fetal growth restriction. The placentas also showed abnormal fetal vessel patterning and over 50% reduction in fetal blood space. In vitro , placental endothelial cells were deficient in migration, cord formation and sprouting. Expression of genes involved in branching morphogenesis, Gcm1 , Syna and Synb , and in patterning of the extracellular matrix, Mmrn1 , were temporally dysregulated in the placentas. Egfl7 knockout did not affect expression of the microRNA embedded within intron 7. Collectively, these data reveal that Egfl7 is crucial for placental vascularization and embryonic growth, and may provide insight into etiological factors underlying placental pathologies associated with intrauterine growth restriction, which is a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Design and Assessment of a Dynamic Perfusion Bioreactor for Large Bone Tissue Engineering Scaffolds.

PubMed

Bhaskar, Birru; Owen, Robert; Bahmaee, Hossein; Rao, Parcha Sreenivasa; Reilly, Gwendolen C

2018-06-01

Bioreactors can be used to apply fluid flow in vitro to scaffolds to improve mass transport of media and apply mechanical forces to cells. In this study, we developed and tested an autoclavable, modular perfusion bioreactor suitable for large scaffolds. We investigated the effects of fluid flow induced shear stress (FFSS) on osteogenic differentiation of human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal progenitors (hES-MP cells) cultured on large polyurethane (PU) scaffolds (30 mm diameter × 5 mm thickness) in osteogenesis induction media (OIM). After seeding, scaffolds were either maintained in static conditions or transferred to the bioreactor 3 days post-seeding and a continuous flow rate of 3.47 mL/min was applied. Alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) was used to evaluate osteogenic differentiation and resazurin salt reduction (RR) to measure metabolic activity after 10 days. Cultures subjected to flow contained significantly more metabolically active cells and higher total DNA content, as well as significantly higher ALP activity compared to scaffolds grown in static culture. These results confirm the responsiveness of hES-MP cells to fluid flow stimuli, and present a cost-effective, user-friendly bioreactor capable of supporting the growth and differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells within scaffolds capable of filling large bone defects.

Properties of an ideal PET perfusion tracer: new PET tracer cases and data.

PubMed

Maddahi, Jamshid

2012-02-01

An ideal positron emission tomography (PET) tracer should be highly extractable by the myocardium and able to provide high-resolution images, should enable quantification of absolute myocardial blood flow (MBF), should be compatible with both pharmacologically induced and exercise-induced stress imaging, and should not require an on-site cyclotron. The PET radionuclides nitrogen-13 ammonia and oxygen-15 water require an on-site cyclotron. Rubidium-82 may be available locally due to the generator source, but greater utilization is limited because of its relatively low myocardial extraction fraction, long positron range, and generator cost. Flurpiridaz F 18, a novel PET tracer in development, has a high-extraction fraction, short positron range, and relatively long half-life (as compared to currently available tracers), and may be produced at regional cyclotrons. Results of early clinical trials suggest that both pharmacologically and exercise-induced stress PET imaging protocols can be completed more rapidly and with lower patient radiation exposure than with single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) tracers. As compared to SPECT images in the same patients, flurpiridaz F 18 PET images showed better defect contrast. Flurpiridaz F 18 is a potentially promising tracer for assessment of myocardial perfusion, measurement of absolute MBF, calculation of coronary flow reserves, and assessment of cardiac function at the peak of the stress response.

Relating the defect band gap and the density functional band gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, Peter; Edwards, Arthur

2014-03-01

Density functional theory (DFT) is an important tool to probe the physics of materials. The Kohn-Sham (KS) gap in DFT is typically (much) smaller than the observed band gap for materials in nature, the infamous ``band gap problem.'' Accurate prediction of defect energy levels is often claimed to be a casualty--the band gap defines the energy scale for defect levels. By applying rigorous control of boundary conditions in size-converged supercell calculations, however, we compute defect levels in Si and GaAs with accuracies of ~0.1 eV, across the full gap, unhampered by a band gap problem. Using GaAs as a theoretical laboratory, we show that the defect band gap--the span of computed defect levels--is insensitive to variations in the KS gap (with functional and pseudopotential), these KS gaps ranging from 0.1 to 1.1 eV. The defect gap matches the experimental 1.52 eV gap. The computed defect gaps for several other III-V, II-VI, I-VII, and other compounds also agree with the experimental gap, and show no correlation with the KS gap. Where, then, is the band gap problem? This talk presents these results, discusses why the defect gap and the KS gap are distinct, implying that current understanding of what the ``band gap problem'' means--and how to ``fix'' it--need to be rethought. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Company, for the U.S. Department of Energy's NNSA under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

A temperature-based feedback control system for electromagnetic phased-array hyperthermia: theory and simulation.

PubMed

Kowalski, M E; Jin, J M

2003-03-07

A hybrid proportional-integral-in-time and cost-minimizing-in-space feedback control system for electromagnetic, deep regional hyperthermia is proposed. The unique features of this controller are that (1) it uses temperature, not specific absorption rate, as the criterion for selecting the relative phases and amplitudes with which to drive the electromagnetic phased-array used for hyperthermia and (2) it requires on-line computations that are all deterministic in duration. The former feature, in addition to optimizing the treatment directly on the basis of a clinically relevant quantity, also allows the controller to sense and react to time- and temperature-dependent changes in local blood perfusion rates and other factors that can significantly impact the temperature distribution quality of the delivered treatment. The latter feature makes it feasible to implement the scheme on-line in a real-time feedback control loop. This is in sharp contrast to other temperature optimization techniques proposed in the literature that generally involve an iterative approximation that cannot be guaranteed to terminate in a fixed amount of computational time. An example of its application is presented to illustrate the properties and demonstrate the capability of the controller to sense and compensate for local, time-dependent changes in blood perfusion rates.

A fixed-time diffusion analysis method determines that the three cheV genes of Helicobacter pylori differentially affect motility

PubMed Central

Lowenthal, Andrew C.; Simon, Christopher; Fair, Amber S.; Mehmood, Khalid; Terry, Karianne; Anastasia, Stephanie; Ottemann, Karen M.

2009-01-01

Helicobacter pylori is a chemotactic bacterium that has three CheV proteins in its predicted chemotaxis signal transduction system. CheV proteins contain both CheW- and response-regulator-like domains. To determine the function of these proteins, we developed a fixed-time diffusion method that would quantify bacterial direction change without needing to define particular behaviours, to deal with the many behaviours that swimming H. pylori exhibit. We then analysed mutants that had each cheV gene deleted individually and found that the behaviour of each mutant differed substantially from wild-type and the other mutants. cheV1 and cheV2 mutants displayed smooth swimming behaviour, consistent with decreased cellular CheY-P, similar to a cheW mutant. In contrast, the cheV3 mutation had the opposite effect and the mutant cells appeared to change direction frequently. Additional analysis showed that the cheV mutants displayed aberrant behaviour as compared to the wild-type in the soft-agar chemotaxis assay. The soft-agar assay phenotype was less extreme compared to that seen in the fixed-time diffusion model, suggesting that the cheV mutants are able to partially compensate for their defects under some conditions. Each cheV mutant furthermore had defects in mouse colonization that ranged from severe to modest, consistent with a role in chemotaxis. These studies thus show that the H. pylori CheV proteins each differently affect swimming behaviour. PMID:19332820

Is ultrasound perfusion imaging capable of detecting mismatch? A proof-of-concept study in acute stroke patients.

PubMed

Reitmeir, Raluca; Eyding, Jens; Oertel, Markus F; Wiest, Roland; Gralla, Jan; Fischer, Urs; Giquel, Pierre-Yves; Weber, Stefan; Raabe, Andreas; Mattle, Heinrich P; Z'Graggen, Werner J; Beck, Jürgen

2017-04-01

In this study, we compared contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion imaging with magnetic resonance perfusion-weighted imaging or perfusion computed tomography for detecting normo-, hypo-, and nonperfused brain areas in acute middle cerebral artery stroke. We performed high mechanical index contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion imaging in 30 patients. Time-to-peak intensity of 10 ischemic regions of interests was compared to four standardized nonischemic regions of interests of the same patient. A time-to-peak >3 s (ultrasound perfusion imaging) or >4 s (perfusion computed tomography and magnetic resonance perfusion) defined hypoperfusion. In 16 patients, 98 of 160 ultrasound perfusion imaging regions of interests of the ischemic hemisphere were classified as normal, and 52 as hypoperfused or nonperfused. Ten regions of interests were excluded due to artifacts. There was a significant correlation of the ultrasound perfusion imaging and magnetic resonance perfusion or perfusion computed tomography (Pearson's chi-squared test 79.119, p < 0.001) (OR 0.1065, 95% CI 0.06-0.18). No perfusion in ultrasound perfusion imaging (18 regions of interests) correlated highly with diffusion restriction on magnetic resonance imaging (Pearson's chi-squared test 42.307, p < 0.001). Analysis of receiver operating characteristics proved a high sensitivity of ultrasound perfusion imaging in the diagnosis of hypoperfused area under the curve, (AUC = 0.917; p < 0.001) and nonperfused (AUC = 0.830; p < 0.001) tissue in comparison with perfusion computed tomography and magnetic resonance perfusion. We present a proof of concept in determining normo-, hypo-, and nonperfused tissue in acute stroke by advanced contrast-enhanced ultrasound perfusion imaging.

Repair of large full-thickness articular cartilage defects in the rabbit: the effects of joint distraction and autologous bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal cell transplantation.

PubMed

Yanai, T; Ishii, T; Chang, F; Ochiai, N

2005-05-01

We produced large full-thickness articular cartilage defects in 33 rabbits in order to evaluate the effect of joint distraction and autologous culture-expanded bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal cell transplantation (ACBMT) at 12 weeks. After fixing the knee on a hinged external fixator, we resected the entire surface of the tibial plateau. We studied three groups: 1) with and without joint distraction; 2) with joint distraction and collagen gel, and 3) with joint distraction and ACBMT and collagen gel. The histological scores were significantly higher in the groups with ACBMT collagen gel (p < 0.05). The area of regenerated soft tissue was smaller in the group allowed to bear weight (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the repair of large defects of cartilage can be enhanced by joint distraction, collagen gel and ACBMT.

Microstructural studies by TEM of diamond films grown by combustion flame

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, G.-H. M.; Hirose, Y.; Amanuma, S.; McClure, M.; Prater, J. T.; Glass, J. T.

Microstructures of diamond films grown in an oxygen-acetylene combustion flame were studied by TEM. The O2/C2H2 gas ratio was fixed and the substrate materials and temperature were varied. High quality diamond films were grown by this method at high growth rates of about 30 micron/hr. A rough surface and high density of secondary nucleation sites and microtwins were observed in the diamond grains grown on molybdenum (Mo) at a substrate temperature of 500 C. When the substrate temperature wass raised to between 500 and 870 C, the defect density was greatly reduced, revealing a low density of stacking faults and dislocations. Diamond films grown on Si substrates did not show the same substrate temperature dependence on defect density, at least not over the same temperature range. However, the same correlation between defect density, secondary nucleation, and surface morphology was observed.

Cerebral blood flow variations in CNS lupus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kushner, M.J.; Tobin, M.; Fazekas, F.

1990-01-01

We studied the patterns of cerebral blood flow (CBF), over time, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and varying neurologic manifestations including headache, stroke, psychosis, and encephalopathy. For 20 paired xenon-133 CBF measurements, CBF was normal during CNS remissions, regardless of the symptoms. CBF was significantly depressed during CNS exacerbations. The magnitude of change in CBF varied with the neurologic syndrome. CBF was least affected in patients with nonspecific symptoms such as headache or malaise, whereas patients with encephalopathy or psychosis exhibited the greatest reductions in CBF. In 1 patient with affective psychosis, without clinical or CT evidence of cerebralmore » ischemia, serial SPECT studies showed resolution of multifocal cerebral perfusion defects which paralleled clinical recovery.« less

Myocardial perfusion characteristics during machine perfusion for heart transplantation.

PubMed

Peltz, Matthias; Cobert, Michael L; Rosenbaum, David H; West, LaShondra M; Jessen, Michael E

2008-08-01

Optimal parameters for machine perfusion preservation of hearts prior to transplantation have not been determined. We sought to define regional myocardial perfusion characteristics of a machine perfusion device over a range of conditions in a large animal model. Dog hearts were connected to a perfusion device (LifeCradle, Organ Transport Systems, Inc, Frisco, TX) and cold perfused at differing flow rates (1) at initial device startup and (2) over the storage interval. Myocardial perfusion was determined by entrapment of colored microspheres. Myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO(2)) was estimated from inflow and outflow oxygen differences. Intra-myocardial lactate was determined by (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. MVO(2) and tissue perfusion increased up to flows of 15 mL/100 g/min, and the ratio of epicardial:endocardial perfusion remained near 1:1. Perfusion at lower flow rates and when low rates were applied during startup resulted in decreased capillary flow and greater non-nutrient flow. Increased tissue perfusion correlated with lower myocardial lactate accumulation but greater edema. Myocardial perfusion is influenced by flow rates during device startup and during the preservation interval. Relative declines in nutrient flow at low flow rates may reflect greater aortic insufficiency. These factors may need to be considered in clinical transplant protocols using machine perfusion.

Relative indexes of cutaneous blood perfusion measured by real-time laser Doppler imaging (LDI) in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Seyed Jafari, S Morteza; Schawkat, Megir; Van De Ville, Dimitri; Shafighi, Maziar

2014-07-01

We used real-time LDI to study regional variations in microcirculatory perfusion in healthy candidates to establish a new methodology for global perfusion body mapping that is based on intra-individual perfusion index ratios. Our study included 74 (37 female) healthy volunteers aged between 22 and 30 years (mean 24.49). Imaging was performed using a recent microcirculation-imaging camera (EasyLDI) for different body regions of each volunteer. The perfusion values were reported in Arbitrary Perfusion Units (APU). The relative perfusion indexes for each candidate's body region were then obtained by normalization with the perfusion value of the forehead. Basic parameters such as weight, height, and blood pressure were also measured and analyzed. The highest mean perfusion value was reported in the forehead area (259.21APU). Mean perfusion in the measured parts of the body correlated positively with mean forehead value, while there was no significant correlation between forehead blood perfusion values and room temperature, BMI, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.420, 0.623, 0.488, 0.099, respectively). Analysis of the data showed that perfusion indexes were not significantly different between male and female volunteers except for the ventral upper arm area (p=.001). LDI is a non-invasive, fast technique that opens several avenues for clinical applications. The mean perfusion indexes are useful in clinical practice for monitoring patients before and after surgical interventions. Perfusion values can be predicted for different body parts for patients only by taking the forehead perfusion value and using the perfusion index ratios to obtain expected normative perfusion values. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty due to glenoid bone defects.

PubMed

Díaz Miñarro, J C; Izquierdo Fernández, A; Muñoz Reyes, F; Carpintero Lluch, R; Uceda Carrascosa, P; Muñoz Luna, F; López Jordán, A; Carpintero Benítez, P

2016-01-01

Reverse shoulder arthroplasty is becoming a useful tool for many diseases of the shoulder. Any severe glenoid bone defect may affect the fixing of the glenoid component. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the medium-term outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty associated with a glenoplasty. A retrospective study was conducted on 5 patients from our hospital, selected due to glenoid defects of different etiology. All of them where treated with reverse shoulder arthroplasty associated with glenoplasty with bone graft. The minimum follow-up was one year (mean 30.4 months). All grafts were radiologically integrated, with no signs of resorption or necrosis being observed. At 12 months, the Constant score was 66.75 and the mean EVA score was 1. Glenoplasty surgery is technically demanding for restoring original bone size in patients with glenoid structural defects, enabling a reverse shoulder arthroplasty to be implanted. Thus improving both the function and clinical outcomes in selected patients with glenohumeral pathology and providing them with a solution. Copyright © 2014 SECOT. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Microfluidic perfusion culture.

PubMed

Hattori, Koji; Sugiura, Shinji; Kanamori, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

Microfluidic perfusion culture is a novel technique to culture animal cells in a small-scale microchamber with medium perfusion. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most popular material to fabricate a microfluidic perfusion culture chip. Photolithography and replica molding techniques are generally used for fabrication of a microfluidic perfusion culture chip. Pressure-driven perfusion culture system is convenient technique to carry out the perfusion culture of animal cells in a microfluidic device. Here, we describe a general theory on microfluid network design, microfabrication technique, and experimental technique for pressure-driven perfusion culture in an 8 × 8 microchamber array on a glass slide-sized microchip made out of PDMS.

Management of Liver Cancer Argon-helium Knife Therapy with Functional Computer Tomography Perfusion Imaging.

PubMed

Wang, Hongbo; Shu, Shengjie; Li, Jinping; Jiang, Huijie

2016-02-01

The objective of this study was to observe the change in blood perfusion of liver cancer following argon-helium knife treatment with functional computer tomography perfusion imaging. Twenty-seven patients with primary liver cancer treated with argon-helium knife and were included in this study. Plain computer tomography (CT) and computer tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging were conducted in all patients before and after treatment. Perfusion parameters including blood flows, blood volume, hepatic artery perfusion fraction, hepatic artery perfusion, and hepatic portal venous perfusion were used for evaluating therapeutic effect. All parameters in liver cancer were significantly decreased after argon-helium knife treatment (p < 0.05 to all). Significant decrease in hepatic artery perfusion was also observed in pericancerous liver tissue, but other parameters kept constant. CT perfusion imaging is able to detect decrease in blood perfusion of liver cancer post-argon-helium knife therapy. Therefore, CTP imaging would play an important role for liver cancer management followed argon-helium knife therapy. © The Author(s) 2014.

Cleavage of E-Cadherin Contributes to Defective Barrier Function in Neosquamous Epithelium.

PubMed

Runge, Thomas M; Shaheen, Nicholas J; Djukic, Zorka; Hallquist, Suzanne; Orlando, Roy C

2016-11-01

After ablation of Barrett's esophagus (BE), the esophagus heals with neosquamous epithelium (NSE). Despite normal endoscopic appearance, NSE exhibits defective barrier function with similarities to defects noted in the distal esophageal epithelium in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). To determine whether patients with NSE, unlike patients with healthy esophageal epithelium, have C-terminal fragments (CTFs) of e-cad detectable on tissue biopsy. Secondly, to determine whether patients with NSE have elevated levels of N-terminal fragments (NTFs) of e-cad in the serum. Fifteen patients with ablated long-segment BE, who had healing with formation of NSE, were enrolled in this pilot study. Western blots for CTFs and NTFs were performed on biopsies of NSE. Venous blood was obtained to assess levels of NTFs. Endoscopic distal esophageal biopsies from patients without esophageal disease served as tissue controls. Control blood samples were obtained from healthy subjects. Blots of NSE were successful in 14/15 patients, and all 14 (100 %) had a 35-kD CTF of e-cad, while CTFs were absent in healthy control tissues. Despite CTFs in NSE, serum NTFs of e-cad in NSE were similar to controls, p > 0.05. However, unlike healthy controls, blots of NSE also showed NTFs with molecular weights of 70-90 kD. Cleavage of e-cad, as evidenced by the presence of CTFs and NTFs on biopsy, contributes to defective barrier function in NSE. However, unlike findings reported in GERD patients, serum NTFs are not elevated in NSE patients. This difference may reflect poor absorption with tissue entrapment of NTFs in previously ablated areas with poorly perfused NSE.

3D-printed dimethyloxallyl glycine delivery scaffolds to improve angiogenesis and osteogenesis.

PubMed

Min, Zhu; Shichang, Zhao; Chen, Xin; Yufang, Zhu; Changqing, Zhang

2015-08-01

Angiogenesis-osteogenesis coupling processes are vital in bone tissue engineering. Normal biomaterials implanted in bone defects have issues in the sufficient formation of blood vessels, especially in the central part. Single delivery of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) to foci in previous studies did not show satisfactory results due to low loading doses, a short protein half-life and low efficiency. Development of a hypoxia-mimicking microenvironment for cells by local prolyl-4-hydroxylase inhibitor release, which can stabilize hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression, is an alternative method. The aim of this study was to design a dimethyloxallyl glycine (DMOG) delivering scaffold composed of mesoporous bioactive glasses and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) polymers (MPHS scaffolds), so as to investigate whether the sustained release of DMOG promotes local angiogenesis and bone healing. The morphology and microstructure of composite scaffolds were characterized. The DMOG release patterns from scaffolds loaded with different DMOG dosages were evaluated, and the effects of DMOG delivery on human bone marrow stromal cell (hBMSC) adhesion, viability, proliferation, osteogenic differentiation and angiogenic-relative gene expressions with scaffolds were also investigated. In vivo studies were carried out to observe vascular formations and new bone ingrowth with DMOG-loaded scaffolds. The results showed that DMOG could be released in a sustained manner over 4 weeks from MPHS scaffolds and obviously enhance the angiogenesis and osteogenesis in the defects. Microfil perfusion showed a significantly increased formation of vessels in the defects with DMOG delivery. Furthermore, micro-CT imaging and fluorescence labeling indicated larger areas of bone formation for DMOG-loaded scaffolds. It is concluded that MPHS-DMOG scaffolds are promising for enhancing bone healing of osseous defects.

Defective insulin secretion in hepatocyte nuclear factor 1alpha-deficient mice.

PubMed Central

Pontoglio, M; Sreenan, S; Roe, M; Pugh, W; Ostrega, D; Doyen, A; Pick, A J; Baldwin, A; Velho, G; Froguel, P; Levisetti, M; Bonner-Weir, S; Bell, G I; Yaniv, M; Polonsky, K S

1998-01-01

Mutations in the gene for the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 1alpha cause maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) 3, a form of diabetes that results from defects in insulin secretion. Since the nature of these defects has not been defined, we compared insulin secretory function in heterozygous [HNF-1alpha (+/-)] or homozygous [HNF-1alpha (-/-)] mice with null mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene with their wild-type littermates [HNF-1alpha (+/+)]. Blood glucose concentrations were similar in HNF-1alpha (+/+) and (+/-) mice (7.8+/-0.2 and 7.9+/-0.3 mM), but were significantly higher in the HNF-1alpha (-/-) mice (13.1+/-0.7 mM, P < 0.001). Insulin secretory responses to glucose and arginine in the perfused pancreas and perifused islets from HNF-1alpha (-/-) mice were < 15% of the values in the other two groups and were associated with similar reductions in intracellular Ca2+ responses. These defects were not due to a decrease in glucokinase or insulin gene transcription. beta cell mass adjusted for body weight was not reduced in the (-/-) animals, although pancreatic insulin content adjusted for pancreas weight was slightly lower (0.06+/-0.01 vs. 0.10+/-0.01 microg/mg, P < 0.01) than in the (+/+) animals. In summary, a null mutation in the HNF-1alpha gene in homozygous mice leads to diabetes due to alterations in the pathways that regulate beta cell responses to secretagogues including glucose and arginine. These results provide further evidence in support of a key role for HNF-1alpha in the maintenance of normal beta cell function. PMID:9593777

Dual chamber stent prevents organ malperfusion in a model of donation after cardiac death.

PubMed

Tillman, Bryan W; Chun, Youngjae; Cho, Sung Kwon; Chen, Yanfei; Liang, Nathan; Maul, Timothy; Demetris, Anthony; Gu, Xinzhu; Wagner, William R; Tevar, Amit D

2016-10-01

The paradigm for donation after cardiac death subjects donor organs to ischemic injury. A dual-chamber organ perfusion stent would maintain organ perfusion without affecting natural cardiac death. A center lumen allows uninterrupted cardiac blood flow, while an external chamber delivers oxygenated blood to the visceral vessels. A prototype organ perfusion stent was constructed from commercial stents. In a porcine model, the organ perfusion stent was deployed, followed by a simulated agonal period. Oxygenated blood perfused the external stent chamber. Organ perfusion was compared between controls (n = 3) and organ perfusion stent (n = 6). Finally, a custom, nitinol, dual chamber organ perfusion stent was fabricated using a retrievable "petal and stem" design. Endovascular organ perfusion stent deployment achieved visceral isolation without adverse impact on cardiac parameters. Visceral oxygen delivery was 4.8-fold greater compared with controls. During the agonal period, organs in organ perfusion stent-treated animals appeared well perfused in contrast with the malperfused controls. A custom nitinol and polyurethane organ perfusion stent was recaptured easily with simple sheath advancement. An organ perfusion stent maintained organ perfusion during the agonal phase in a porcine model of donation after cardiac death organ donation without adversely affecting cardiac function. Ultimately, the custom retrievable design of this study may help resolve the critical shortage of donor organs for transplant. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on control strategy based on fuzzy PR for grid-connected inverter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qian; Guan, Weiguo; Miao, Wen

2018-04-01

In the traditional PI controller, there is static error in tracking ac signals. To solve the problem, the control strategy of a fuzzy PR and the grid voltage feed-forward is proposed. The fuzzy PR controller is to eliminate the static error of the system. It also adjusts parameters of PR controller in real time, which avoids the defect of fixed parameter fixed. The grid voltage feed-forward control can ensure the quality of current and improve the system's anti-interference ability when the grid voltage is distorted. Finally, the simulation results show that the system can output grid current with good quality and also has good dynamic and steady state performance.

Clinical applications of perforator-based propeller flaps in upper limb soft tissue reconstruction.

PubMed

Ono, Shimpei; Sebastin, Sandeep J; Yazaki, Naoya; Hyakusoku, Hiko; Chung, Kevin C

2011-05-01

A propeller flap is an island flap that moves from one orientation to another by rotating around its vascular axis. The vascular axis is stationary, and flap movement is achieved by revolving on this axis. Early propeller flaps relied on a thick, subcutaneous pedicle to maintain vascularity, and this limited the flap rotation to 90°. With increasing awareness of the location and the vascular territory perfused by cutaneous perforators, it is now possible to design propeller flaps based on a single perforator, so-called "perforator-based propeller flaps." These flaps permit flap rotation up to 180°. We present the results of upper limb soft tissue reconstruction using perforator-based propeller flaps. We constructed a treatment strategy based on the location of the soft tissue defect and the perforator anatomy for expedient wound coverage in 1 stage. All perforator-based propeller flaps derived from 3 institutions that were used for upper limb soft tissue reconstruction were retrospectively analyzed. The parameters studied included the size and location of the defect, the perforator that was used, the size and shape of the flap, the direction (ie, clockwise or counter-clockwise) of flap rotation, the degree of twisting of the perforator, the management of the donor site (ie, linear closure or skin grafting), and flap survival (recorded as the percentage of the flap area that survived). Twelve perforator-based propeller flaps were used to reconstruct upper limb soft tissue defects in 12 patients. Six different perforators were used as vascular pedicles. The donor defects of 11 flaps could be closed primarily. One flap was partially lost in a patient with electrical burns. Perforator-based propeller flaps provide a reliable option for covering small- to medium-size upper limb soft tissue defects. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Defects and Transport in Lithium Niobium Trioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Apurva

1990-01-01

This dissertation presents work done on characterizing the defects and transport properties of congruent LiNbO _3. The focus of the study is the high temperature (800^circC to 1000^circC) equilibrium defect structure. The majority defects are described in terms of the 'LiNbO_3-ilmenite' defect model previously presented (26). Here the emphasis is placed on quantifying the defect concentrations. Congruent LiNbO_3 is highly nonstoichiometric. The large concentration of ionic defects present are mobile and contribute to electrical conduction. The ionic conduction was separated from the total conduction using defect chemistry and the transference number thus obtained was checked against the transference number obtained in a galvanic cell measurement. LiNbO_3 is an insulator (band gap = 4 eV). Hence one assumes that almost all of the conduction electrons are created by reduction. The degree of oxygen nonstoichiometry, a measure of the extent of chemical reduction, and the electron concentrations, were quantified as a function of oxygen partial pressure and the temperature by coulometric titration. The nonstoichiometry thus obtained was compared with nonstoichiometry obtained by TGA measurements. By fixing the phase composition of the sample in a buffered system, a set of constant composition measurements could be undertaken. These constant composition measurements were used to obtain the enthalpy of formation of conduction electrons, 1.95 eV, and the hopping energy for their motion at elevated temperatures, 0.55 eV, independently. The sum of the two energies was obtained by measuring the temperature dependence of the electronic conduction. The sum of the energies was found to be in excellent agreement with the energy obtained from equilibrium conduction. In conclusion, a quantitative and self-consistent picture of defects and their migration in LiNbO _3 was obtained.

Interface effects on calculated defect levels for oxide defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Arthur; Barnaby, Hugh; Schultz, Peter; Pineda, Andrew

2014-03-01

Density functional theory (DFT) has had impressive recent success predicting defect levels in insulators and semiconductors [Schultz and von Lillienfeld, 2009]. Such success requires care in accounting for long-range electrostatic effects. Recently, Komsa and Pasquarello have started to address this problem in systems with interfaces. We report a multiscale technique for calculating electrostatic energies for charged defects in oxide of the metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) system, but where account is taken of substrate doping density, oxide thickness, and gate bias. We use device modeling to calculate electric fields for a point charge a fixed distance from the interface, and used the field to numerically calculate the long-range electrostatic interactions. We find, for example, that defect levels in the oxide do depend on both the magnitude and the polarity the substrate doping density. Furthermore, below 20 Å, oxide thickness also has significant effects. So, transferring results directly from bulk calculations leads to inaccuracies up to 0.5 eV- half of the silicon band gap. We will present trends in defect levels as a function of device parameters. We show that these results explain previous experimental results, and we comment on their potential impact on models for NBTI. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under co.

Treatment of hemophilia B: focus on recombinant factor IX

PubMed Central

Franchini, Massimo; Frattini, Francesco; Crestani, Silvia; Sissa, Cinzia; Bonfanti, Carlo

2013-01-01

Hemophilia B is a recessive X-linked bleeding disorder characterized by deficiency of the coagulation factor IX (FIX). In hemophilia B patients the severity of the bleeding phenotype is related to the degree of the FIX defect. Hemophilia B treatment has improved greatly in the last 20 years with the introduction first of plasma-derived and then of recombinant FIX concentrates. Replacement therapy may be administered through on-demand or prophylaxis regimens, but the latter treatment modality has been shown to be superior in prevention of hemophilic arthropathy and in improvement of patients’ quality of life. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the current knowledge on treatment strategies for hemophilia B, focusing on recombinant FIX products either clinically used or in development. There is only one rFIX product that is licensed to treat hemophilia B patients; from the analysis of the literature data presented in this review, the authors conclude that this rFIX product has demonstrated an excellent safety profile and excellent clinical efficacy for halting and preventing bleeds in hemophilia B patients. While prophylaxis has emerged as the best therapeutic strategy for such patients because of its ability to prevent hemophilic arthropathy and to improve patients’ quality of life, the pharmacokinetically tailored dosing of rFIX is another key point when planning hemophilia B treatment, as it allows optimization of the factor concentrate usage. Further clinical studies are needed to better assess the safety and efficacy (ie, the incidence of adverse reactions and inhibitor development) of newer rFIX products. PMID:23430394

Perfusion-induced changes in cardiac contractility depend on capillary perfusion.

PubMed

Dijkman, M A; Heslinga, J W; Sipkema, P; Westerhof, N

1998-02-01

The perfusion-induced increase in cardiac contractility (Gregg phenomenon) is especially found in heart preparations that lack adequate coronary autoregulation and thus protection of changes in capillary pressure. We determined in the isolated perfused papillary muscle of the rat whether cardiac muscle contractility is related to capillary perfusion. Oxygen availability of this muscle is independent of internal perfusion, and perfusion may be varied or even stopped without loss of function. Muscles contracted isometrically at 27 degrees C (n = 7). During the control state stepwise increases in perfusion pressure resulted in all muscles in a significant increase in active tension. Muscle diameter always increased with increased perfusion pressure, but muscle segment length was unaffected. Capillary perfusion was then obstructed by plastic microspheres (15 microns). Flow, at a perfusion pressure of 66.6 +/- 26.2 cmH2O, reduced from 17.6 +/- 5.4 microliters/min in the control state to 3.2 +/- 1.3 microliters/min after microspheres. Active tension developed by the muscle in the unperfused condition before microspheres and after microspheres did not differ significantly (-12.8 +/- 29.4% change). After microspheres similar perfusion pressure steps as in control never resulted in an increase in active tension. Even at the two highest perfusion pressures (89.1 +/- 28.4 and 106.5 +/- 31.7 cmH2O) that were applied a significant decrease in active tension was found. We conclude that the Gregg phenomenon is related to capillary perfusion.

Subcellular Organization of CaMKII in Rat Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons

PubMed Central

Ding, Jin-Dong; Kennedy, Mary B.; Weinberg, Richard J.

2015-01-01

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-KII) plays a key role in N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term synaptic plasticity; its location is critical for signal transduction, and may provide clues that further elucidate its function. We therefore examined the subcellular localization of CaMKII in CA1 stratum radiatum of adult rat hippocampus, by using immuno-electron microscopy after chemical fixation. When tissue was fixed quickly, the concentration of CaMKIIα (assessed by pre-embedding immunogold) was significantly higher in dendritic shafts than in spine heads. However, when tissue was fixed 5 minutes after perfusion with normal saline, the density of labeling decreased in dendritic shaft while increasing in spine heads, implying rapid translocation into the spine during brief perimortem stress. Likewise, in quickly fixed tissue, CaMKII within spine heads was found at comparable concentrations in the “proximal” half (adjacent to the spine neck) and the “distal” half (containing the postsynaptic density [PSD]), whereas after delayed fixation, label density increased in the distal side of the spine head, suggesting that CaMKII within the spine head moves toward the PSD during this interval. To estimate its distribution at the synapse in vivo, we performed postembedding immunogold staining for CaMKII in quick-fixed tissue, and found that the enzyme did not concentrate primarily within the central matrix of the PSD. Instead, labeling density peaked ∼40 nm inside the postsynaptic membrane, at the cytoplasmic fringe of the PSD. Labeling within 25 nm of the postsynaptic membrane concentrated at the lateral edge of the synapse. This lateral “PSD core” pool of CaMKII may play a special role in synaptic plasticity. PMID:23749614

Rupture of extra-corporeal circuit tubing during cardiopulmonary bypass.

PubMed

Sai Krishna, Cheemalapati; Naresh Kumar, Palli Venkata; Satpathy, Soumya Kanta; Ram Mohan, Kanteti; Ramesh Babu, Vedangi

2008-03-01

Roller pumps are widely used for cardiopulmonary bypass in developing nations by virtue of proven safety during several years of institutional use and cost effectiveness. However, careful adjustment of roller occlusion is needed because they are known to cause spallation, tubing wear, and the occasional incident of rupture of tubing in the extracorporeal circuit. Rupture of polyvinylchloride tubing in the pump raceway during repair of a ventricular septal defect in a 4-year-old child is discussed. The event was managed by exclusion and replacement of the defective tubing during a short period of arrest. Use of an inappropriate boot pump and failure to detect its inclusion in the bypass circuit was a significant departure from protocol. However, because occlusion settings and duration of perfusion were within acceptable limits, a manufacturing flaw could also have contributed to tubing failure, and the event may or may not have been averted by the use of larger tubing. In conclusion, this incident reiterates the need for adherence to established protocol during assembly of the pump and draws attention to the fact that tubing integrity is not a guarantee and vigilance is warranted to handle its failure.

Rupture of Extra-Corporeal Circuit Tubing During Cardiopulmonary Bypass

PubMed Central

Krishna, Cheemalapati Sai; Kumar, Palli Venkata Naresh; Satpathy, Soumya Kanta; Mohan, Kanteti Ram; Babu, Vedangi Ramesh

2008-01-01

Abstract: Roller pumps are widely used for cardiopulmonary bypass in developing nations by virtue of proven safety during several years of institutional use and cost effectiveness. However, careful adjustment of roller occlusion is needed because they are known to cause spallation, tubing wear, and the occasional incident of rupture of tubing in the extracorporeal circuit. Rupture of polyvinylchloride tubing in the pump raceway during repair of a ventricular septal defect in a 4-year-old child is discussed. The event was managed by exclusion and replacement of the defective tubing during a short period of arrest. Use of an inappropriate boot pump and failure to detect its inclusion in the bypass circuit was a significant departure from protocol. However, because occlusion settings and duration of perfusion were within acceptable limits, a manufacturing flaw could also have contributed to tubing failure, and the event may or may not have been averted by the use of larger tubing. In conclusion, this incident reiterates the need for adherence to established protocol during assembly of the pump and draws attention to the fact that tubing integrity is not a guarantee and vigilance is warranted to handle its failure. PMID:18389670

Comparison of the Cardiac MicroPET Images Obtained Using [(18)F]FPTP and [(13)N]NH3 in Rat Myocardial Infarction Models.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Yeon; Kim, Hyeon Sik; Jang, Hwa Youn; Kim, Ju Han; Bom, Hee-Seung; Min, Jung-Joon

2014-10-09

The short half-life of current positron emission tomography (PET) cardiac tracers limits their widespread clinical use. We previously developed a (18)F-labeled phosphonium cation, [(18)F]FPTP, that demonstrated sharply defined myocardial defects in a corresponding infarcted myocardium. The aim of this study was to compare the image properties of PET scans obtained using [(18)F]FPTP with those obtained using [(13)N]NH3 in rat myocardial infarction models. Perfusion abnormality was analyzed in 17 segments of polar map images. The myocardium-to-liver and myocardium-to-lung ratios of [(18)F]FPTP were 10.48 and 2.65 times higher, respectively, than those of [(13)N]NH3 in images acquired 30 min after tracer injection. The myocardial defect size measured by [(18)F]FPTP correlated more closely with the hypoperfused area measured by quantitative 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining (r = 0.89, P < 0.01) than did [(13)N]NH3 (r = 0.84, P < 0.01). [(18)F]FPTP might be useful as a replacement for the myocardial agent [(13)N]NH3 in cardiac PET/CT applications.

Reconstruction of a pelvic floor defect using a pedicled tensor fascia lata flap: a new technique to prevent radiation injury for pediatric patients with advanced pelvic tumors.

PubMed

Ohno, Yasuharu; Tanaka, Katsumi; Kanematsu, Takashi; Noguchi, Mitsuru; Okada, Masahiko; Kamitamari, Akira; Hayashi, Nobuyuki

2008-05-01

In the treatment of pelvic tumors, pelvic floor defects owing to a wide excision tend to increase the occurrence of such morbidities as radiation injury. The reconstruction of these defects would minimize the risk of such morbidities. Authors introduce a new technique for repairing a pelvic floor defect using a tensor fascia lata flap. Two boys, 4 years old and 10 months old, presenting with pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma underwent a tumor extirpation associated with a wide excision of the pelvic organs. After the removal of the tumor, a tensor fascia lata flap was designed on the right thigh. The pedicled rotation flap was subcutaneously elevated, guided to the intraperitoneal cavity, and was fixed to cover the superior aperture of the lesser pelvis. The flaps functioned well, and postoperative radiation therapies consisting of 45 and 41.4 Gy to the lesser pelvic cavity were carried out without any complications. As a result, the necessary postoperative protocol combination therapies could be successfully performed in a timely manner. The pedicled tensor fascia lata flap is considered to be an alternative option for the stable repair of pelvic floor defects to prevent radiation injury.

[An automatic system controlled by microcontroller for carotid sinus perfusion].

PubMed

Yi, X L; Wang, M Y; Fan, Z Z; He, R R

2001-08-01

To establish a new method for controlling automatically the carotid perfusion pressure. A cheap practical automatic perfusion unit based on AT89C2051 micro controller was designed. The unit, LDB-M perfusion pump and the carotid sinus of an animal constituted an automatic perfusion system. This system was able to provide ramp and stepwise updown perfusion pattern and has been used in the research of baroreflex. It can insure the precision and reproducibility of perfusion pressure curve, and improve the technical level in corresponding medical field.

Fixed Pattern Noise pixel-wise linear correction for crime scene imaging CMOS sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jie; Messinger, David W.; Dube, Roger R.; Ientilucci, Emmett J.

2017-05-01

Filtered multispectral imaging technique might be a potential method for crime scene documentation and evidence detection due to its abundant spectral information as well as non-contact and non-destructive nature. Low-cost and portable multispectral crime scene imaging device would be highly useful and efficient. The second generation crime scene imaging system uses CMOS imaging sensor to capture spatial scene and bandpass Interference Filters (IFs) to capture spectral information. Unfortunately CMOS sensors suffer from severe spatial non-uniformity compared to CCD sensors and the major cause is Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN). IFs suffer from "blue shift" effect and introduce spatial-spectral correlated errors. Therefore, Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN) correction is critical to enhance crime scene image quality and is also helpful for spatial-spectral noise de-correlation. In this paper, a pixel-wise linear radiance to Digital Count (DC) conversion model is constructed for crime scene imaging CMOS sensor. Pixel-wise conversion gain Gi,j and Dark Signal Non-Uniformity (DSNU) Zi,j are calculated. Also, conversion gain is divided into four components: FPN row component, FPN column component, defects component and effective photo response signal component. Conversion gain is then corrected to average FPN column and row components and defects component so that the sensor conversion gain is uniform. Based on corrected conversion gain and estimated image incident radiance from the reverse of pixel-wise linear radiance to DC model, corrected image spatial uniformity can be enhanced to 7 times as raw image, and the bigger the image DC value within its dynamic range, the better the enhancement.

Renal perfusion scintiscan

MedlinePlus

... Radionuclide renal perfusion scan; Perfusion scintiscan - renal; Scintiscan - renal perfusion Images Kidney anatomy Kidney - blood and urine flow Intravenous pyelogram References Rottenberg G, Andi AC. Renal ...

Selective Heart, Brain and Body Perfusion in Open Aortic Arch Replacement.

PubMed

Maier, Sven; Kari, Fabian; Rylski, Bartosz; Siepe, Matthias; Benk, Christoph; Beyersdorf, Friedhelm

2016-09-01

Open aortic arch replacement is a complex and challenging procedure, especially in post dissection aneurysms and in redo procedures after previous surgery of the ascending aorta or aortic root. We report our experience with the simultaneous selective perfusion of heart, brain, and remaining body to ensure optimal perfusion and to minimize perfusion-related risks during these procedures. We used a specially configured heart-lung machine with a centrifugal pump as arterial pump and an additional roller pump for the selective cerebral perfusion. Initial arterial cannulation is achieved via femoral artery or right axillary artery. After lower body circulatory arrest and selective antegrade cerebral perfusion for the distal arch anastomosis, we started selective lower body perfusion simultaneously to the selective antegrade cerebral perfusion and heart perfusion. Eighteen patients were successfully treated with this perfusion strategy from October 2012 to November 2015. No complications related to the heart-lung machine and the cannulation occurred during the procedures. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 239 ± 33 minutes, the simultaneous selective perfusion of brain, heart, and remaining body lasted 55 ± 23 minutes. One patient suffered temporary neurological deficit that resolved completely during intensive care unit stay. No patient experienced a permanent neurological deficit or end-organ dysfunction. These high-risk procedures require a concept with a special setup of the heart-lung machine. Our perfusion strategy for aortic arch replacement ensures a selective perfusion of heart, brain, and lower body during this complex procedure and we observed excellent outcomes in this small series. This perfusion strategy is also applicable for redo procedures.

Comparing kidney perfusion using noncontrast arterial spin labeling MRI and microsphere methods in an interventional swine model.

PubMed

Artz, Nathan S; Wentland, Andrew L; Sadowski, Elizabeth A; Djamali, Arjang; Grist, Thomas M; Seo, Songwon; Fain, Sean B

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of a flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery-arterial spin labeling (FAIR-ASL) technique to track renal perfusion changes during pharmacologic and physiologic alterations in renal blood flow using microspheres as a gold standard. Fluorescent microsphere and FAIR-ASL perfusion were compared in the cortex of the kidney for 11 swine across 4 interventional time points: (1) under baseline conditions, (2) during an acetylcholine and fluid bolus challenge to increase perfusion, (3) initially after switching to isoflurane anesthesia, and (4) after 2 hours of isoflurane anesthesia. In 10 of the 11 swine, a bag of ice was placed on the hilum of 1 kidney at the beginning of isoflurane administration to further reduce perfusion in 1 kidney. Both ASL and microspheres tracked the expected cortical perfusion changes (P < 0.02) across the interventions, including an increase in perfusion during the acetylcholine challenge and decrease during the administration of isoflurane. Both techniques also measured lower cortical perfusion in the iced compared with the non-iced kidneys (P ≤ 0.01). The ASL values were systematically lower compared with microsphere perfusion. Very good correlation (r = 0.81, P < 0.0001) was observed between the techniques, and the relationship appeared linear for perfusion values in the expected physiologic range (microsphere perfusion <550 mL/min/100 g) although ASL values saturated for perfusion >550 mL/min/100 g. Cortical perfusion measured with ASL correlated with microspheres and reliably detected changes in renal perfusion in response to physiologic challenge.

Dopexamine reverses colonic but not gastric mucosal perfusion defects in lethal endotoxin shock.

PubMed

Tenhunen, J J; Martikainen, T J; Uusaro, A; Ruokonen, E

2003-12-01

Whilst dopexamine appears to increase overall splanchnic blood flow in postoperative and septic patients, the effects on gastric mucosal perfusion are controversial and based on concomitantly increasing mucosal to arterial PCO(2) gradients (PdCO(2)). We hypothesized that dopexamine alters splanchnic blood flow distribution and metabolism during experimental endotoxin shock and modifies the inflammatory response induced by endotoxin. In an experiment with anaesthetized normovolaemic, normoventilated pigs, 21 animals were randomized into: (i). subacute lethal endotoxin shock for 14 h (n=7 at baseline); (ii). endotoxin shock with dopexamine infusion (aiming to exceed baseline cardiac output, n=7); or (iii). controls (n=7). Regional blood flow and metabolism were monitored. Endotoxin produced a hypodynamic phase followed by a normo/hyperdynamic, hypotensive phase. Despite increasing systemic blood flow in response to dopexamine, proportional splanchnic blood flow decreased during the hypodynamic phase. Dopexamine gradually decreased fractional coeliac trunk flow, while fractional superior mesenteric arterial flow increased. Dopexamine induced early arterial hyperlactataemia and augmented the gastric PdCO(2) gradient while colonic luminal lactate release and colonic PdCO(2) gradient were reversed. Dopexamine did not modify the inflammatory response as evaluated by arterial IL-1beta and IL-6 concentrations. Dopexamine protects colonic, but not gastric mucosal epithelium in experimental endotoxin shock. This may be related to redistribution of blood flow within the splanchnic circulation.

FMLP provokes coronary vasoconstriction and myocardial ischemia in rabbits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gillespie, M.N.; Booth, D.C.; Friedman, B.J.

Recent pathological studies of coronary arteries from humans with suspected coronary spasm have revealed an augmented intramural burden of inflammatory cells. To test the hypothesis than inappropriate activation of inflammatory cells participates in the evolution of coronary vasospasm, the present experiment employed a newly developed coronary arteriographic technique for use in pentobarbital-anesthetized rabbits to evaluate the coronary vasomotor actions of the nonselective inflammatory cell stimulant, N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine (fMLP). In 10 of 10 animals, selective left intracoronary injection of 200 ng fMLP evoked profound left coronary narrowing accompanied in all cases by ST segment deviation and dysrhythmias. Thallium-201 scintigraphy demonstrated hypoperfusion ofmore » the left ventricular free wall and septum supplied by the spastic coronary artery. The fMLP-induced epicardial vasoconstriction, ischemic electrocardiogram (ECG) changes, and thallium perfusion defects were reversed by intravenous nitroglycerin. Neither the right coronary artery nor its distribution were influenced by left coronary injection of fMLP. Additional experiments in isolated, salt solution-perfused rabbit hearts demonstrated that fMLP failed to exert direct coronary vasoconstrictor effects. These observations indicate that the nonselective inflammatory cell stimulant, fMLP, provokes arteriographically demonstrable coronary spasm with attendant myocardial hypoperfusion and ischemic ECG changes in anesthetized rabbits. Such a model may be useful in exploring the dynamic role of inflammatory cells in development of coronary spasm.« less

A combined static-dynamic single-dose imaging protocol to compare quantitative dynamic SPECT with static conventional SPECT.

PubMed

Sciammarella, Maria; Shrestha, Uttam M; Seo, Youngho; Gullberg, Grant T; Botvinick, Elias H

2017-08-03

SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a clinical mainstay that is typically performed with static imaging protocols and visually or semi-quantitatively assessed for perfusion defects based upon the relative intensity of myocardial regions. Dynamic cardiac SPECT presents a new imaging technique based on time-varying information of radiotracer distribution, which permits the evaluation of regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) and coronary flow reserve (CFR). In this work, a preliminary feasibility study was conducted in a small patient sample designed to implement a unique combined static-dynamic single-dose one-day visit imaging protocol to compare quantitative dynamic SPECT with static conventional SPECT for improving the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Fifteen patients (11 males, four females, mean age 71 ± 9 years) were enrolled for a combined dynamic and static SPECT (Infinia Hawkeye 4, GE Healthcare) imaging protocol with a single dose of 99m Tc-tetrofosmin administered at rest and a single dose administered at stress in a one-day visit. Out of 15 patients, eleven had selective coronary angiography (SCA), 8 within 6 months and the rest within 24 months of SPECT imaging, without intervening symptoms or interventions. The extent and severity of perfusion defects in each myocardial region was graded visually. Dynamically acquired data were also used to estimate the MBF and CFR. Both visually graded images and estimated CFR were tested against SCA as a reference to evaluate the validity of the methods. Overall, conventional static SPECT was normal in ten patients and abnormal in five patients, dynamic SPECT was normal in 12 patients and abnormal in three patients, and CFR from dynamic SPECT was normal in nine patients and abnormal in six patients. Among those 11 patients with SCA, conventional SPECT was normal in 5, 3 with documented CAD on SCA with an overall accuracy of 64%, sensitivity of 40% and specificity of 83%. Dynamic SPECT image analysis also produced a similar accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. CFR was normal in 6, each with CAD on SCA with an overall accuracy of 91%, sensitivity of 80%, and specificity of 100%. The mean CFR was significantly lower for SCA detected abnormal than for normal patients (3.86±1.06 vs 1.94±0. 0.67, P < 0.001). The visually assessed image findings in static and dynamic SPECT are subjective, and may not reflect direct physiologic measures of coronary lesion based on SCA. The CFR measured with dynamic SPECT is fully objective, with better sensitivity and specificity, available only with the data generated from the dynamic SPECT method.

Diagnostic accuracy of semi-automatic quantitative metrics as an alternative to expert reading of CT myocardial perfusion in the CORE320 study.

PubMed

Ostovaneh, Mohammad R; Vavere, Andrea L; Mehra, Vishal C; Kofoed, Klaus F; Matheson, Matthew B; Arbab-Zadeh, Armin; Fujisawa, Yasuko; Schuijf, Joanne D; Rochitte, Carlos E; Scholte, Arthur J; Kitagawa, Kakuya; Dewey, Marc; Cox, Christopher; DiCarli, Marcelo F; George, Richard T; Lima, Joao A C

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of semi-automatic quantitative metrics compared to expert reading for interpretation of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging. The CORE320 multicenter diagnostic accuracy clinical study enrolled patients between 45 and 85 years of age who were clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Computed tomography angiography (CTA), CTP, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and ICA images were interpreted manually in blinded core laboratories by two experienced readers. Additionally, eight quantitative CTP metrics as continuous values were computed semi-automatically from myocardial and blood attenuation and were combined using logistic regression to derive a final quantitative CTP metric score. For the reference standard, hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease (CAD) was defined as a quantitative ICA stenosis of 50% or greater and a corresponding perfusion defect by SPECT. Diagnostic accuracy was determined by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Of the total 377 included patients, 66% were male, median age was 62 (IQR: 56, 68) years, and 27% had prior myocardial infarction. In patient based analysis, the AUC (95% CI) for combined CTA-CTP expert reading and combined CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics was 0.87(0.84-0.91) and 0.86 (0.83-0.9), respectively. In vessel based analyses the AUC's were 0.85 (0.82-0.88) and 0.84 (0.81-0.87), respectively. No significant difference in AUC was found between combined CTA-CTP expert reading and CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics in patient based or vessel based analyses(p > 0.05 for all). Combined CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics is as accurate as CTA-CTP expert reading to detect hemodynamically significant CAD. Copyright © 2018 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SITES OF LIPOPROTEIN LIPASE ACTIVITY IN ADIPOSE TISSUE PERFUSED WITH CHYLOMICRONS

PubMed Central

Blanchette-Mackie, E. Joan; Scow, Robert O.

1971-01-01

Lipoprotein lipase activity was studied in rat parametrial adipose tissue perfused with chylomicrons and in gelatin blocks containing postheparin plasma and chylomicrons. The tissues and blocks were fixed in glutaraldehyde and incubated in 0.035 M CaCl2-0.1 M Tris medium (pH 8.3) at 38°C. The doubly labeled chylomicron triglycerides (glycerol-3H and palmitate-14C) in the tissues and blocks were hydrolyzed during incubation to free fatty acids (FFA) and the FFA remained in the specimens; hydrolysis was inhibited by 0.004 M diethyl paranitrophenyl phosphate (E-600). Incubated blocks and tissue were treated with 0.05 M Pb(NO3)2, postfixed in OsO4, dehydrated with acetone, embedded in Epon, and examined by electron microscopy. The incubated blocks contained electronlucent areas and granular and laminar precipitates at sites of hydrolysis. Similar precipitates were found in incubated tissue, within vacuoles and microvesicles of capillary endothelium, and in the subendothelial space (between the endothelium and pericytes), but not in the capillary lumen or in or near fat cells. The cytochemical reaction was greatly reduced, in blocks and tissues incubated with E-600. It is concluded that plasma glycerides are hydrolyzed by lipoprotein lipase in capillary endothelial cells and in the subendothelial space of adipose tissue and that glycerides across the endothelial cells within a membrane-bounded system. PMID:4329521

Whole brain CT perfusion deficits using 320-detector-row CT scanner in TIA patients are associated with ABCD2 score.

PubMed

Mehta, Bijal K; Mustafa, Ghulam; McMurtray, Aaron; Masud, Mohammed W; Gunukula, Sameer K; Kamal, Haris; Kandel, Amit; Beltagy, Abdelrahman; Li, Ping

2014-01-01

Transient ischemic attacks (TIA) are cerebral ischemic events without infarction. The uses of CT perfusion (CTP) techniques such as cerebral blood volume (CBV), time to peak (TTP), mean transit time (MTT) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) provide real time data about ischemia. It has been shown that CTP changes occur in less sensitive CTP scanners in patients with TIA. Larger detector row CTP (whole brain perfusion studies) may show that CTP abnormalities are more prevalent than previously noted. It is also unclear if these changes are associated with TIA severity. To demonstrate that TIA patients are associated with perfusion deficits using whole brain 320-detector-row CT perfusion, and to determine an association between ABCD2 score and perfusion deficit using whole brain perfusion. We retrospectively reviewed all TIA patients for CTP deficits from 2008-2010. Perfusion imaging was reviewed at admission; and it was determined if a perfusion deficit was present along with vascular territory involved. Of 364 TIA patients, 62 patients had CTP deficits. The largest group of patients had MCA territory involved with 48 of 62 patients (77.42%). The most common perfusion abnormality was increased TTP with 46 patients (74.19%). The ABCD2 score was reviewed in association with perfusion deficit. Increased age >60, severe hypertension (>180/100 mmHg), patients with speech abnormalities, and duration of symptoms >10 min were associated with a perfusion deficit but history of diabetes or minimal/moderate hypertension (140/90-179/99 mmHg) was not. There was no association between motor deficit and perfusion abnormality. Perfusion deficits are found in TIA patients using whole brain CTP and associated with components of the ABCD2 score.

Tumoricidal responses in spontaneous canine neoplasms after extracorporeal perfusion over immobilized protein A.

PubMed

Terman, D S

1981-01-01

I describe morphologic, histologic, immunohistochemical, and serologic changes in dogs with spontaneous breast adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, hemangiopericytoma, and fibrosarcoma after extracorporeal perfusion of plasma over heat-killed and formalin-stabilized Staphylococcus aureus Cowans I (SAC), which was embedded in a membrane filtration system. In 12 dogs with breast adenocarcinoma, tumor necrosis was observed within 12 hours after perfusion; 24 hours after perfusion, multiple visible lesions in 6 of 6 dogs exhibited necrosis, but there was no reaction in uninvolved normal mammary tissue. In 8 dogs, healing of large ulcerated areas of cutaneous tumor was observed within 8 to 18 days after perfusion. Similar tumoricidal responses were observed in dogs with other neoplasms after SAC perfusion. Tumor cell necrosis oserved within 4 hours after extracorporeal perfusion was associated with immunohistochemical deposits of IgG and C'3 and ultrastructural evidence of lytic lesions on tumor cell membranes. No tumoricidal effects were observed after perfusion over Staphylococcus aureus Woods (SAW) (non-protein A bearing) in 3 dogs that previously or subsequently responded to SAC perfusion. No tumoricidal reactions were noted after phlebotomy of up to 50% of plasma volume in 6 tumor-bearing dogs that subsequently responded to SAC perfusion. SAC but not SAW perfusion was followed by increases in circulating tumor associated antibodies (TAA) for up to 48 hours after perfusion. Immune complexes increased after perfusion and remained elevated fo 72 hours. Findings suggest that the acute tumoricial responses are not due to mere removal of circulating immune reactants and may be initiated by TAA that are rendered operational after extracorporeal perfusion over SAC. The rapidity, specificity, and magnitude of the observed tumoricidal effects in various canine neoplastic diseases suggests that this may have potentially broad-based therapeutic and biologic implications for canine neoplasia.

Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion Results in Better Perfusion to the Striatum Than the Cerebral Cortex During Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest: A Microdialysis Study.

PubMed

Liang, Meng-Ya; Chen, Guang-Xian; Tang, Zhi-Xian; Rong, Jian; Yao, Jian-ping; Wu, Zhong-Kai

2016-03-01

It remains controversial whether contemporary cerebral perfusion techniques, utilized during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA), establish adequate perfusion to deep structures in the brain. This study aimed to investigate whether selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (SACP) or retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) can provide perfusion equally to various anatomical positions in the brain using metabolic evidence obtained from microdialysis. Eighteen piglets were randomly assigned to 40 min of circulatory arrest (CA) at 18°C without cerebral perfusion (DHCA group, n = 6) or with SACP (SACP group, n = 6) or RCP (RCP group, n = 6). Microdialysis parameters (glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and glutamate) were measured every 30 min in cortex and striatum. After 3 h of reperfusion, brain tissue was harvested for Western blot measurement of α-spectrin. After 40 min of CA, the DHCA group showed marked elevations of lactate and glycerol and a reduction in glucose in the microdialysis perfusate (all P < 0.05). The changes in glucose, lactate, and glycerol in the perfusate and α-spectrin expression in brain tissue were similar between cortex and striatum in the SACP group (all P > 0.05). In the RCP group, the cortex exhibited lower glucose, higher lactate, and higher glycerol in the perfusate and higher α-spectrin expression in brain tissue compared with the striatum (all P < 0.05). Glutamate showed no difference between cortex and striatum in all groups (all P > 0.05). In summary, SACP provided uniform and continuous cerebral perfusion to most anatomical sites in the brain, whereas RCP resulted in less sufficient perfusion to the cortex but better perfusion to the striatum. Copyright © 2015 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

3D ECG- and respiratory-gated non-contrast-enhanced (CE) perfusion MRI for postoperative lung function prediction in non-small-cell lung cancer patients: A comparison with thin-section quantitative computed tomography, dynamic CE-perfusion MRI, and perfusion scan.

PubMed

Ohno, Yoshiharu; Seki, Shinichiro; Koyama, Hisanobu; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Matsumoto, Sumiaki; Takenaka, Daisuke; Kassai, Yoshimori; Yui, Masao; Sugimura, Kazuro

2015-08-01

To compare predictive capabilities of non-contrast-enhanced (CE)- and dynamic CE-perfusion MRIs, thin-section multidetector computed tomography (CT) (MDCT), and perfusion scan for postoperative lung function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Sixty consecutive pathologically diagnosed NSCLC patients were included and prospectively underwent thin-section MDCT, non-CE-, and dynamic CE-perfusion MRIs and perfusion scan, and had their pre- and postoperative forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 ) measured. Postoperative percent FEV1 (po%FEV1 ) was then predicted from the fractional lung volume determined on semiquantitatively assessed non-CE- and dynamic CE-perfusion MRIs, from the functional lung volumes determined on quantitative CT, from the number of segments observed on qualitative CT, and from uptakes detected on perfusion scans within total and resected lungs. Predicted po%FEV1 s were then correlated with actual po%FEV1 s, which were %FEV1 s measured postoperatively. The limits of agreement were also determined. All predicted po%FEV1 s showed significant correlation (0.73 ≤ r ≤ 0.93, P < 0.0001) and limits of agreement with actual po%FEV1 (non-CE-perfusion MRI: 0.3 ± 10.0%, dynamic CE-perfusion MRI: 1.0 ± 10.8%, perfusion scan: 2.2 ± 14.1%, quantitative CT: 1.2 ± 9.0%, qualitative CT: 1.5 ± 10.2%). Non-CE-perfusion MRI may be able to predict postoperative lung function more accurately than qualitatively assessed MDCT and perfusion scan. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Melatonin enhances vertical bone augmentation in rat calvaria secluded spaces.

PubMed

Shino, Hiromichi; Hasuike, Akira; Arai, Yoshinori; Honda, Masaki; Isokawa, Keitaro; Sato, Shuichi

2016-01-01

Melatonin has many roles, including bone remodeling and osseointegration of dental implants. The topical application of melatonin facilitated bone regeneration in bone defects. We evaluated the effects of topical application of melatonin on vertical bone augmentation in rat calvaria secluded spaces. In total, 12 male Fischer rats were used and two plastic caps were fixed in the calvarium. One plastic cap was filled with melatonin powder and the other was left empty. Newly generated bone at bone defects and within the plastic caps was evaluated using micro-CT and histological sections. New bone regeneration within the plastic cap was increased significantly in the melatonin versus the control group. Melatonin promoted vertical bone regeneration in rat calvaria in the secluded space within the plastic cap.

Serial perfusion in native lungs in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases after single lung transplantation.

PubMed

Sokai, Akihiko; Handa, Tomohiro; Chen, Fengshi; Tanizawa, Kiminobu; Aoyama, Akihiro; Kubo, Takeshi; Ikezoe, Kohei; Nakatsuka, Yoshinari; Oguma, Tsuyoshi; Hirai, Toyohiro; Nagai, Sonoko; Chin, Kazuo; Date, Hiroshi; Mishima, Michiaki

2016-04-01

Lung perfusions after single lung transplantation (SLT) have not been fully clarified in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The present study aimed to investigate temporal changes in native lung perfusion and their associated clinical factors in patients with ILD who have undergone SLT. Eleven patients were enrolled. Perfusion scintigraphy was serially performed up to 12 months after SLT. Correlations between the post-operative perfusion ratio in the native lung and clinical parameters, including pre-operative perfusion ratio and computed tomography (CT) volumetric parameters, were evaluated. On average, the perfusion ratio of the native lung was maintained at approximately 30% until 12 months after SLT. However, the ratio declined more significantly in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) than in other ILDs (p = 0.014). The perfusion ratio before SLT was significantly correlated with that at three months after SLT (ρ = 0.64, p = 0.048). The temporal change of the perfusion ratio in the native lung did not correlate with those of the CT parameters. The pre-operative perfusion ratio may predict the post-operative perfusion ratio of the native lung shortly after SLT in ILD. Perfusion of the native lung may decline faster in IPF compared with other ILDs. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Computed Tomography Perfusion Imaging for the Diagnosis of Hepatic Alveolar Echinococcosis

PubMed Central

Sade, Recep; Kantarci, Mecit; Genc, Berhan; Ogul, Hayri; Gundogdu, Betul; Yilmaz, Omer

2018-01-01

Objective: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare life-threatening parasitic infection. Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging has the potential to provide both quantitative and qualitative information about the tissue perfusion characteristics. The purpose of this study was the examination of the characteristic features and feasibility of CTP in AE liver lesions. Material and Methods: CTP scanning was performed in 25 patients who had a total of 35 lesions identified as AE of the liver. Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), portal venous perfusion (PVP), arterial liver perfusion (ALP), and hepatic perfusion indexes (HPI) were computed for background liver parenchyma and each AE lesion. Results: Significant differences were detected between perfusion values of the AE lesions and background liver tissue. The BV, BF, ALP, and PVP values for all components of the AE liver lesions were significantly lower than the normal liver parenchyma (p<0.01). Conclusions: We suggest that perfusion imaging can be used in AE of the liver. Thus, the quantitative knowledge of perfusion parameters are obtained via CT perfusion imaging. PMID:29531482

Hybrid Signal Processing Technique to Improve the Defect Estimation in Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing of Composite Structures

PubMed Central

Raisutis, Renaldas; Samaitis, Vykintas

2017-01-01

This work proposes a novel hybrid signal processing technique to extract information on disbond-type defects from a single B-scan in the process of non-destructive testing (NDT) of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) material using ultrasonic guided waves (GW). The selected GFRP sample has been a segment of wind turbine blade, which possessed an aerodynamic shape. Two disbond type defects having diameters of 15 mm and 25 mm were artificially constructed on its trailing edge. The experiment has been performed using the low-frequency ultrasonic system developed at the Ultrasound Institute of Kaunas University of Technology and only one side of the sample was accessed. A special configuration of the transmitting and receiving transducers fixed on a movable panel with a separation distance of 50 mm was proposed for recording the ultrasonic guided wave signals at each one-millimeter step along the scanning distance up to 500 mm. Finally, the hybrid signal processing technique comprising the valuable features of the three most promising signal processing techniques: cross-correlation, wavelet transform, and Hilbert–Huang transform has been applied to the received signals for the extraction of defects information from a single B-scan image. The wavelet transform and cross-correlation techniques have been combined in order to extract the approximated size and location of the defects and measurements of time delays. Thereafter, Hilbert–Huang transform has been applied to the wavelet transformed signal to compare the variation of instantaneous frequencies and instantaneous amplitudes of the defect-free and defective signals. PMID:29232845

Endothelial Dysfunction and Blood Viscosity Inpatients with Unstable Angina in Different Periods of a Solar Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parshina, S. S.; Tokaeva, L. K.; Dolgova, E. M.; Afanas'yeva, T. N.; Strelnikova, O. A.

The origin of hemorheologic and endothelial defects in patients with unstable angina (comparing with healthy persons) is determined by a solar activity period: the blood viscosity increases in a period of high solar activity in the vessels of small, medium and macro diameters, a local decompensate dysfunction of small vessels endothelium had been fixed (microcirculation area). In the period of a low solar activity there is an increase of a blood viscosity in vessels of all diameters, generalized subcompensated endothelial dysfunction is developed (on the background of the III phase blood clotting activating). In the period of a high solar activity a higher blood viscosity had been fixed, comparing with the period of a low solar activity.

Quantification of the effect of electrical and thermal parameters on radiofrequency ablation for concentric tumour model of different sizes.

PubMed

Jamil, Muhammad; Ng, E Y K

2015-07-01

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has been increasingly used in treating cancer for multitude of situations in various tissue types. To perform the therapy safely and reliably, the effect of critical parameters needs to be known beforehand. Temperature plays an important role in the outcome of the therapy and any uncertainties in temperature assessment can be lethal. This study presents the RFA case of fixed tip temperature where we've analysed the effect of electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and blood perfusion rate of the tumour and surrounding normal tissue on the radiofrequency ablation. Ablation volume was chosen as the characteristic to be optimised and temperature control was achieved via PID controller. The effect of all 6 parameters each having 3 levels was quantified with minimum number of experiments harnessing the fractional factorial characteristic of Taguchi's orthogonal arrays. It was observed that as the blood perfusion increases the ablation volume decreases. Increasing electrical conductivity of the tumour results in increase of ablation volume whereas increase in normal tissue conductivity tends to decrease the ablation volume and vice versa. Likewise, increasing thermal conductivity of the tumour results in enhanced ablation volume whereas an increase in thermal conductivity of the surrounding normal tissue has a debilitating effect on the ablation volume and vice versa. With increase in the size of the tumour (i.e., 2-3cm) the effect of each parameter is not linear. The parameter effect varies with change in size of the tumour that is manifested by the different gradient observed in ablation volume. Most important is the relative insensitivity of ablation volume to blood perfusion rate for smaller tumour size (2cm) that is also in accordance with the previous results presented in literature. These findings will provide initial insight for safe, reliable and improved treatment planning perceptively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stent revascularization restores cortical blood flow and reverses tissue hypoxia in atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis but fails to reverse inflammatory pathways or glomerular filtration rate.

PubMed

Saad, Ahmed; Herrmann, Sandra M S; Crane, John; Glockner, James F; McKusick, Michael A; Misra, Sanjay; Eirin, Alfonso; Ebrahimi, Behzad; Lerman, Lilach O; Textor, Stephen C

2013-08-01

Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is known to reduce renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and amplify kidney hypoxia, but the relationships between these factors and tubulointerstitial injury in the poststenotic kidney are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of renal revascularization in ARAS on renal tissue hypoxia and renal injury. Inpatient studies were performed in patients with ARAS (n=17; >60% occlusion) before and 3 months after stent revascularization, or in patients with essential hypertension (n=32), during fixed Na(+) intake and angiotensin converting enzyme/angiotensin receptors blockers Rx. Single kidney cortical, medullary perfusion, and renal blood flow were measured using multidetector computed tomography, and GFR by iothalamate clearance. Tissue deoxyhemoglobin levels (R(2)*) were measured by blood oxygen level-dependent MRI at 3T, as was fractional kidney hypoxia (percentage of axial area with R(2)*>30/s). In addition, we measured renal vein levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Pre-stent single kidney renal blood flow, perfusion, and GFR were reduced in the poststenotic kidney. Renal vein neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, tumor necrosis factor-α, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and fractional hypoxia were higher in untreated ARAS than in essential hypertension. After stent revascularization, fractional hypoxia fell (P<0.002) with increased cortical perfusion and blood flow, whereas GFR and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α remained unchanged. These data demonstrate that despite reversal of renal hypoxia and partial restoration of renal blood flow after revascularization, inflammatory cytokines and injury biomarkers remained elevated and GFR failed to recover in ARAS. Restoration of vessel patency alone failed to reverse tubulointerstitial damage and partly explains the limited clinical benefit of renal stenting. These results identify potential therapeutic targets for recovery of kidney function in renovascular disease.

Can we predict necrosis intra-operatively? Real-time optical quantitative perfusion imaging in surgery: study protocol for a prospective, observational, in vivo pilot study.

PubMed

Jansen, Sanne M; de Bruin, Daniel M; van Berge Henegouwen, Mark I; Strackee, Simon D; Veelo, Denise P; van Leeuwen, Ton G; Gisbertz, Suzanne S

2017-01-01

Compromised perfusion as a result of surgical intervention causes a reduction of oxygen and nutrients in tissue and therefore decreased tissue vitality. Quantitative imaging of tissue perfusion during reconstructive surgery, therefore, may reduce the incidence of complications. Non-invasive optical techniques allow real-time tissue imaging, with high resolution and high contrast. The objectives of this study are, first, to assess the feasibility and accuracy of optical coherence tomography (OCT), sidestream darkfield microscopy (SDF), laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI), and fluorescence imaging (FI) for quantitative perfusion imaging and, second, to identify/search for criteria that enable risk prediction of necrosis during gastric tube and free flap reconstruction. This prospective, multicenter, observational in vivo pilot study will assess tissue perfusion using four optical technologies: OCT, SDF, LSCI, and FI in 40 patients: 20 patients who will undergo gastric tube reconstruction after esophagectomy and 20 patients who will undergo free flap surgery. Intra-operative images of gastric perfusion will be obtained directly after reconstruction at four perfusion areas. Feasibility of perfusion imaging will be analyzed per technique. Quantitative parameters directly related to perfusion will be scored per perfusion area, and differences between biologically good versus reduced perfusion will be tested statistically. Patient outcome will be correlated to images and perfusion parameters. Differences in perfusion parameters before and after a bolus of ephedrine will be tested for significance. This study will identify quantitative perfusion-related parameters for an objective assessment of tissue perfusion during surgery. This will likely allow early risk stratification of necrosis development, which will aid in achieving a reduction of complications in gastric tube reconstruction and free flap transplantation. Clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT02902549. Dutch Central Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects registration number NL52377.018.15.

Defects in crystalline packings of twisted filament bundles. I. Continuum theory of disclinations.

PubMed

Grason, Gregory M

2012-03-01

We develop the theory of the coupling between in-plane order and out-of-plane geometry in twisted, two-dimensionally ordered filament bundles based on the nonlinear continuum elasticity theory of columnar materials. We show that twisted textures of filament backbones necessarily introduce stresses into the cross-sectional packing of bundles and that these stresses are formally equivalent to the geometrically induced stresses generated in thin elastic sheets that are forced to adopt spherical curvature. As in the case of crystalline order on curved membranes, geometrically induced stresses couple elastically to the presence of topological defects in the in-plane order. We derive the effective theory of multiple disclination defects in the cross section of bundle with a fixed twist and show that above a critical degree of twist, one or more fivefold disclinations is favored in the elastic energy ground state. We study the structure and energetics of multidisclination packings based on models of equilibrium and nonequilibrium cross-sectional order.

Gravity stress elevates the nociceptive threshold level with immunohistochemical changes in the rat brain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumei, Yasuhiro; Shimokawa, Reiko; Kimoto, Mari; Kawauchi, Yasuko; Shimokawa, Hitoyata; Makita, Koshi; Ohya, Keiichi; Toda, Kazuo

2001-08-01

Young Wistar male rats were exposed to 2G hypergravity by continuous centrifugation for 15 minutes. The nociceptive threshold was measured by using the von Frey type filament on the rat skin surfaces after hypergravity exposure. Following the hypergravity exposure, rats were sacrificed with anesthesia, then perfused and fixed for immunohistochemical examination. The 2G hypergravity elevated the nociceptive threshold up to 2-fold and induced analgesic effects on rats that remained for 2 hours after termination of centrifugation. Expression of Fos-immunoreactive proteins was prominently induced by 2G hypergravity in the arcuate nucleas and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. The 15-minute flash exposure to 2G hypergravity induced pain suppression in rats, which might be attributed to change of neuronal activity in rat hypothalamus.

Glycogen in the Nervous System. I; Methods for Light and Electron Microscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estable, Rosita F. De; Estable-Puig, J. F.; Miquel, J.

1964-01-01

'l'he relative value of different methods for combined light and electron microscopical studies of glycogen in the nervous tissue was investigated. Picroalcoholic fixatives preserve glycogen in a considerable amount but give an inadequate morphological image of glycogen distribution and are unsuitable for ultrastructural studies. Fixation by perfusion, with Dalton's chromeosmic fluid seems adequate for ultrastructural cytochemistry of glycogen. Furthermore it permits routine paraffin embedding of brain slices adjacent to those used for electron microscopy. Dimedone blocking is a necessary step for a selective staining of glycogen with PAS after osmic fixation. Enzymatic removal of glycogen in osmic fixed nervous tissue can be done In paraffin-embedded tissue. It can also be performed in glycolmethacrylate-embedded tissue without removal of the embedding medium. Paraphenylenediamine stains glycogen following periodic acid oxidation.

Normothermic machine perfusion of donor livers without the need for human blood products

PubMed Central

Matton, Alix P. M.; Burlage, Laura C.; van Rijn, Rianne; de Vries, Yvonne; Karangwa, Shanice A.; Nijsten, Maarten W.; Gouw, Annette S. H.; Wiersema‐Buist, Janneke; Adelmeijer, Jelle; Westerkamp, Andrie C.; Lisman, Ton

2018-01-01

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) enables viability assessment of donor livers prior to transplantation. NMP is frequently performed by using human blood products including red blood cells (RBCs) and fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Our aim was to examine the efficacy of a novel machine perfusion solution based on polymerized bovine hemoglobin‐based oxygen carrier (HBOC)‐201. Twenty‐four livers declined for transplantation were transported by using static cold storage. Upon arrival, livers underwent NMP for 6 hours using pressure‐controlled portal and arterial perfusion. A total of 12 livers were perfused using a solution based on RBCs and FFPs (historical cohort), 6 livers with HBOC‐201 and FFPs, and another 6 livers with HBOC‐201 and gelofusine, a gelatin‐based colloid solution. Compared with RBC + FFP perfused livers, livers perfused with HBOC‐201 had significantly higher hepatic adenosine triphosphate content, cumulative bile production, and portal and arterial flows. Biliary secretion of bicarbonate, bilirubin, bile salts, and phospholipids was similar in all 3 groups. The alanine aminotransferase concentration in perfusate was lower in the HBOC‐201–perfused groups. In conclusion, NMP of human donor livers can be performed effectively using HBOC‐201 and gelofusine, eliminating the need for human blood products. Perfusing livers with HBOC‐201 is at least similar to perfusion with RBCs and FFP. Some of the biomarkers of liver function and injury even suggest a possible superiority of an HBOC‐201–based perfusion solution and opens a perspective for further optimization of machine perfusion techniques. Liver Transplantation 24 528–538 2018 AASLD. PMID:29281862

Microvascular Perfusion Changes following Transarterial Hepatic Tumor Embolization

PubMed Central

Johnson, Carmen Gacchina; Sharma, Karun V.; Levy, Elliot B.; Woods, David L.; Morris, Aaron H.; Bacher, John D.; Lewis, Andrew L.; Wood, Bradford J.; Dreher, Matthew R.

2015-01-01

Purpose To quantify changes in tumor microvascular (< 1 mm) perfusion relative to commonly used angiographic endpoints. Materials and Methods Rabbit Vx2 liver tumors were embolized with 100–300-µm LC Bead particles to endpoints of substasis or complete stasis (controls were not embolized). Microvascular perfusion was evaluated by delivering two different fluorophore-conjugated perfusion markers (ie, lectins) through the catheter before embolization and 5 min after reaching the desired angiographic endpoint. Tumor microvasculature was labeled with an anti-CD31 antibody and analyzed with fluorescence microscopy for perfusion marker overlap/mismatch. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance and post hoc test (n = 3–5 per group; 18 total). Results Mean microvascular density was 70 vessels/mm2 ± 17 (standard error of the mean), and 81% ± 1 of microvasculature (ie, CD31+ structures) was functionally perfused within viable Vx2 tumor regions. Embolization to the extent of substasis eliminated perfusion in 37% ± 9 of perfused microvessels (P > .05 vs baseline), whereas embolization to the extent of angiographic stasis eliminated perfusion in 56% ± 8 of perfused microvessels. Persistent microvascular perfusion following embolization was predominantly found in the tumor periphery, adjacent to normal tissue. Newly perfused microvasculature was evident following embolization to substasis but not when embolization was performed to complete angiographic stasis. Conclusions Nearly half of tumor microvasculature remained patent despite embolization to complete angiographic stasis. The observed preservation of tumor microvasculature perfusion with angiographic endpoints of substasis and stasis may have implications for tumor response to embolotherapy. PMID:26321051

Myocardial Perfusion and Function Are Distinctly Altered by Sevoflurane Anesthesia in Diet-Induced Prediabetic Rats.

PubMed

van den Brom, Charissa E; Boly, Chantal A; Bulte, Carolien S E; van den Akker, Rob F P; Kwekkeboom, Rick F J; Loer, Stephan A; Boer, Christa; Bouwman, R Arthur

2016-01-01

Preservation of myocardial perfusion during surgery is particularly important in patients with increased risk for perioperative complications, such as diabetes. Volatile anesthetics, like sevoflurane, have cardiodepressive effects and may aggravate cardiovascular complications. We investigated the effect of sevoflurane on myocardial perfusion and function in prediabetic rats. Rats were fed a western diet (WD; n = 18) or control diet (CD; n = 18) for 8 weeks and underwent (contrast) echocardiography to determine perfusion and function during baseline and sevoflurane exposure. Myocardial perfusion was estimated based on the product of microvascular filling velocity and blood volume. WD-feeding resulted in a prediabetic phenotype characterized by obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, and hyperglycemia. At baseline, WD-feeding impaired myocardial perfusion and systolic function compared to CD-feeding. Exposure of healthy rats to sevoflurane increased the microvascular filling velocity without altering myocardial perfusion but impaired systolic function. In prediabetic rats, sevoflurane did also not affect myocardial perfusion; however, it further impaired systolic function. Diet-induced prediabetes is associated with impaired myocardial perfusion and function in rats. While sevoflurane further impaired systolic function, it did not affect myocardial perfusion in prediabetic rats. Our findings suggest that sevoflurane anesthesia leads to uncoupling of myocardial perfusion and function, irrespective of the metabolic state.

Impaired healing of cervical oesophagogastrostomies can be predicted by estimation of gastric serosal blood perfusion by laser Doppler flowmetry.

PubMed

Pierie, J P; De Graaf, P W; Poen, H; Van der Tweel, I; Obertop, H

1994-11-01

To assess the value of relative blood perfusion of the gastric tube in prediction of impaired healing of cervical oesophagogastrostomies. Prospective study. University hospital, The Netherlands. Thirty patients undergoing transhiatal oesophagectomy and partial gastrectomy for cancer of the oesophagus or oesophagogastric junction, with gastric tube reconstruction and cervical oesophagogastrostomy. Operative measurement of gastric blood perfusion at four sites by laser Doppler flowmetry and perfusion of the same sites after construction of the gastric tube expressed as a percentage of preconstruction values. The relative perfusion at the most proximal site of the gastric tube was significantly lower than at the more distal sites (p = 0.001). Nine of 18 patients (50%) in whom the perfusion of the proximal gastric tube was less than 70% of preconstruction values developed an anastomotic stricture, compared with only 1 of 12 patients (8%) with a relative perfusion of 70% or more (p = 0.024). A reduction in perfusion of the gastric tube did not predict leakage. Impaired anastomotic healing is unlikely if relative perfusion is 70% or more of preconstruction values. Perfusion of less than 70% partly predicts the occurrence of anastomotic stricture, but leakage cannot be predicted. Factors other than blood perfusion may have a role in the process of anastomotic healing.

A Simplified Whole-Organ CT Perfusion Technique with Biphasic Acquisition: Preliminary Investigation of Accuracy and Protocol Feasibility in Kidneys.

PubMed

Yuan, XiaoDong; Zhang, Jing; Quan, ChangBin; Tian, Yuan; Li, Hong; Ao, GuoKun

2016-04-01

To determine the feasibility and accuracy of a protocol for calculating whole-organ renal perfusion (renal blood flow [RBF]) and regional perfusion on the basis of biphasic computed tomography (CT), with concurrent dynamic contrast material-enhanced (DCE) CT perfusion serving as the reference standard. This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from all patients. Biphasic CT of the kidneys, including precontrast and arterial phase imaging, was integrated with a first-pass dynamic volume CT protocol and performed and analyzed in 23 patients suspected of having renal artery stenosis. The perfusion value derived from biphasic CT was calculated as CT number enhancement divided by the area under the arterial input function and compared with the DCE CT perfusion data by using the paired t test, correlation analysis, and Bland-Altman plots. Correlation analysis was made between the RBF and the extent of renal artery stenosis. All postprocessing was independently performed by two observers and then averaged as the final result. Mean ± standard deviation biphasic and DCE CT perfusion data for RBF were 425.62 mL/min ± 124.74 and 419.81 mL/min ± 121.13, respectively (P = .53), and for regional perfusion they were 271.15 mL/min per 100 mL ± 82.21 and 266.33 mL/min per 100 mL ± 74.40, respectively (P = .31). Good correlation and agreement were shown between biphasic and DCE CT perfusion for RBF (r = 0.93; ±10% variation from mean perfusion data [P < .001]) and for regional perfusion (r = 0.90; ±13% variation from mean perfusion data [P < .001]). The extent of renal artery stenosis was negatively correlated with RBF with biphasic CT perfusion (r = -0.81, P = .012). Biphasic CT perfusion is clinically feasible and provides perfusion data comparable to DCE CT perfusion data at both global and regional levels in the kidney. Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Insulation defects in Riata implantable cardioverter-defibrillator leads.

PubMed

Sato, Akinori; Chinushi, Masaomi; Iijima, Kenichi; Izumi, Daisuke; Furushima, Hiroshi

2012-01-01

The structures composing implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads have become more complicated and thinner with technological advances. Silicon insulation defects with and without clinically manifested electrical abnormalities have been reported in Riata leads (St. Jude Medical). The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and clinical implications of insulation defects in Riata leads implanted at our hospital. The subjects included 10 consecutive patients who received 8-French Riata ICD leads with dual-coil conductors (model 1580 or 1581) between 2006 and 2010 at our hospital. Operative records, chest X-rays and interrogation data were reviewed. In all cases, Atlas+ (St. Jude Medical) was used as an ICD generator and the Riata leads were implanted transvenously and fixed to the right ventricular apex. During a mean follow-up period of 52±9 (36-70) months, chest X-rays revealed insulation defects in Riata leads and conductor wires projecting from the bodies of the Riata leads in two of 10 (20%) patients. One of the patients received inappropriate ICD therapies due to T-wave oversensing based on attenuation of R waves and augmentation of T waves 41 months after implantation. In the other patient, an insulation defect without any clinically manifested electrical troubles was detected 50 months after implantation. Riata leads have a high incidence of insulation defects, which may be occasionally accompanied by inappropriate ICD discharges. For patients with Riata leads, careful observation of any changes in the lead-electrical measurements and a routine chest X-ray follow-up are necessary.

Three-layer reconstruction for large defects of the anterior skull base.

PubMed

Sinha, Uttam K; Johnson, Terence E; Crockett, Dennis; Vadapalli, Satish; Gruen, Peter

2002-03-01

To evaluate and discuss a three-layer rigid reconstruction technique for large anterior skull base defects. Prospective, nonrandomized, non-blinded. Tertiary teaching medical center. Twenty consecutive patients underwent craniofacial resection for a variety of pathology. All patients had large anterior cranial base defects involving the cribriform plate, fovea ethmoidalis, and medial portion of the roof of the orbit at least on one side. A few patients had more extensive defects involving both roof of the orbits, planum sphenoidale, and bones of the upper third of the face. The defects were reconstructed with a three-layer technique. A watertight seal was obtained with a pericranial flap separating the neurocranium from the viscerocranium. Rigid support was provided by bone grafts fixed to a titanium mesh, anchored laterally to the orbital roofs. All patients had a computed tomography scan of the skull on the first or second postoperative day. Patients were observed for immediate and long-term postoperative complications after such reconstruction. Postoperative computed tomography scans showed small pneumocephalus in all patients. It resolved spontaneously and did not produce neurologic deficits in any patient. There was no cerebrospinal fluid leak, hematoma, or infection. On long-term follow-up, exposures of bone graft or mesh, brain herniation, or transmission of brain pulsation to the eyes were not observed in any patient. Three-layer reconstruction using bone grafts, titanium mesh, and pericranial flap provides an alternative technique for repair of large anterior cranial base defects. It is safe and effective, and provides rigid protection to the brain.

Effect of low thermal budget annealing on surface passivation of silicon by ALD based aluminum oxide films.

PubMed

Vandana; Batra, Neha; Gope, Jhuma; Singh, Rajbir; Panigrahi, Jagannath; Tyagi, Sanjay; Pathi, P; Srivastava, S K; Rauthan, C M S; Singh, P K

2014-10-21

Thermal ALD deposited Al2O3 films on silicon show a marked difference in surface passivation quality as a function of annealing time (using a rapid thermal process). An effective and quality passivation is realized in short anneal duration (∼100 s) in nitrogen ambient which is reflected in the low surface recombination velocity (SRV <10 cm s(-1)). The deduced values are close to the best reported SRV obtained by the high thermal budget process (with annealing time between 10-30 min), conventionally used for improved surface passivation. Both as-deposited and low thermal budget annealed films show the presence of positive fixed charges and this is never been reported in the literature before. The role of field and chemical passivation is investigated in terms of fixed charge and interface defect densities. Further, the importance of the annealing step sequence in the MIS structure fabrication protocol is also investigated from the view point of its effect on the nature of fixed charges.

Assessing viability of extracorporeal preserved muscle transplants using external field stimulation: a novel tool to improve methods prolonging bridge-to-transplantation time

PubMed Central

Taeger, Christian D.; Friedrich, Oliver; Dragu, Adrian; Weigand, Annika; Hobe, Frieder; Drechsler, Caroline; Geppert, Carol I.; Arkudas, Andreas; Münch, Frank; Buchholz, Rainer; Pollmann, Charlotte; Schramm, Axel; Birkholz, Torsten; Horch, Raymund E.; Präbst, Konstantin

2015-01-01

Preventing ischemia-related cell damage is a priority when preserving tissue for transplantation. Perfusion protocols have been established for a variety of applications and proven to be superior to procedures used in clinical routine. Extracorporeal perfusion of muscle tissue though cumbersome is highly desirable since it is highly susceptible to ischemia-related damage. To show the efficacy of different perfusion protocols external field stimulation can be used to immediately visualize improvement or deterioration of the tissue during active and running perfusion protocols. This method has been used to show the superiority of extracorporeal perfusion using porcine rectus abdominis muscles perfused with heparinized saline solution. Perfused muscles showed statistically significant higher ability to exert force compared to nonperfused ones. These findings can be confirmed using Annexin V as marker for cell damage, perfusion of muscle tissue limits damage significantly compared to nonperfused tissue. The combination of extracorporeal perfusion and external field stimulation may improve organ conservation research. PMID:26145230

FABRICA: A Bioreactor Platform for Printing, Perfusing, Observing, & Stimulating 3D Tissues.

PubMed

Smith, Lester J; Li, Ping; Holland, Mark R; Ekser, Burcin

2018-05-15

We are introducing the FABRICA, a bioprinter-agnostic 3D-printed bioreactor platform designed for 3D-bioprinted tissue construct culture, perfusion, observation, and analysis. The computer-designed FABRICA was 3D-printed with biocompatible material and used for two studies: (1) Flow Profile Study: perfused 5 different media through a synthetic 3D-bioprinted construct and ultrasonically analyzed the flow profile at increasing volumetric flow rates (VFR); (2) Construct Perfusion Study: perfused a 3D-bioprinted tissue construct for a week and compared histologically with a non-perfused control. For the flow profile study, construct VFR increased with increasing pump VFR. Water and other media increased VFR significantly while human and pig blood showed shallow increases. For the construct perfusion study, we confirmed more viable cells in perfused 3D-bioprinted tissue compared to control. The FABRICA can be used to visualize constructs during 3D-bioprinting, incubation, and to control and ultrasonically analyze perfusion, aseptically in real-time, making the FABRICA tunable for different tissues.

The perfused swine uterus model: long-term perfusion

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background It has previously been shown that the viability of swine uteri can be maintained within the physiological range in an open perfusion model for up to 8 hours. The aim of this study was to assess medium- to long-term perfusion of swine uteri using a modified Krebs–Ringer bicarbonate buffer solution (KRBB) in the established open perfusion model. Methods In an experimental study at an infertility institute, 30 swine uteri were perfused: group 1: n = 11, KRBB; group 2: n = 8, modified KRBB with drainage of perfusate supernatant; group 3: n = 11, modified KRBB with drainage of perfusate every 2 h and substitution with fresh medium. Modified and conventional KRBB were compared with regard to survival and contraction parameters: intrauterine pressure (IUP), area under the curve (AUC), and frequency of contractions (F). Results Modified KRBB showed significantly higher IUP, AUC, and F values than perfusion with conventional KRBB. In group 3, the organ survival time of up to 17 h, with a 98% rate of effective contraction time, differed significantly from group 1 (P < 0.001). Conclusions Using modified KRBB in combination with perfusate substitution improves the open model for perfusion of swine uteri with regard to survival time and quality of contraction parameters. This model can be used for medium- to long-term perfusion of swine uteri, allowing further metabolic ex vivo studies in a cost-effective way and with little logistic effort. PMID:23241226

Differential physiologic effects of perfusion of scala tympani versus scala vestibuli in the ischemic cochlea.

PubMed

Kobayashi, T; Rokugo, M; Takasaka, T; Thalmann, R

1993-07-01

The effectiveness of perilymphatic perfusion with oxygenated artificial media upon the endocochlear potential (EP) was measured during systemic ischemia in the guinea pig. Differences in the effects of perfusion of the two perilymphatic scalae were determined. Perfusion of scala vestibuli with oxygenated artificial perilymph at a high flow rate resulted in complete recovery of the EP to the pre-ischemic level, whereas perfusion of scala tympani with the same medium was unable to effect complete recovery. The recovery obtained by perfusion of scala tympani was about half that obtained of scala vestibuli. The pO2 in scala media was measured during perfusion by means of oxygen-sensitive microelectrodes. perfusion of scala vestibuli led to an approximately two-fold higher pO2 in scala media than perfusion of scala tympani. During perfusion, the pO2 in scala media varied dependent upon depth of electrode insertion, with a gradient decreasing toward the stria vascularis, a direction opposite to that seen under normal metabolic conditions. These findings suggest that, in the ischemic cochlea, oxygen enters scala media more easily from scala vestibuli across Reissner's membrane than from scala tympani via the basilar membrane/organ of Corti complex.

Shedding Light on the Role of UV Exposure in Melanoma | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

When a cell is exposed to UV radiation, the chemical makeup of its DNA is changed in a specific manner, resulting in a recognizable modification that can be measured by scientists. These changes are normally detected and fixed by cellular mechanisms for DNA repair. However, if the damage is extensive or if a cell has defective DNA repair machinery, permanent mutations can be

A miniaturized bioreactor system for the evaluation of cell interaction with designed substrates in perfusion culture.

PubMed

Sun, T; Donoghue, P S; Higginson, J R; Gadegaard, N; Barnett, S C; Riehle, M O

2012-12-01

In tissue engineering, chemical and topographical cues are normally developed using static cell cultures but then applied directly to tissue cultures in three dimensions (3D) and under perfusion. As human cells are very sensitive to changes in the culture environment, it is essential to evaluate the performance of any such cues in a perfused environment before they are applied to tissue engineering. Thus, the aim of this research was to bridge the gap between static and perfusion cultures by addressing the effect of perfusion on cell cultures within 3D scaffolds. For this we developed a scaled-down bioreactor system, which allows evaluation of the effectiveness of various chemical and topographical cues incorporated into our previously developed tubular ε-polycaprolactone scaffold under perfused conditions. Investigation of two exemplary cell types (fibroblasts and cortical astrocytes) using the miniaturized bioreactor indicated that: (a) quick and firm cell adhesion in the 3D scaffold was critical for cell survival in perfusion culture compared with static culture; thus, cell-seeding procedures for static cultures might not be applicable, therefore it was necessary to re-evaluate cell attachment on different surfaces under perfused conditions before a 3D scaffold was applied for tissue cultures; (b) continuous medium perfusion adversely influenced cell spread and survival, which could be balanced by intermittent perfusion; (c) micro-grooves still maintained their influences on cell alignment under perfused conditions, while medium perfusion demonstrated additional influence on fibroblast alignment but not on astrocyte alignment on grooved substrates. This research demonstrated that the mini-bioreactor system is crucial for the development of functional scaffolds with suitable chemical and topographical cues by bridging the gap between static culture and perfusion culture. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stress Cardiac MRI in Women With Myocardial Infarction and Nonobstructive Coronary Artery Disease.

PubMed

Mauricio, Rina; Srichai, Monvadi B; Axel, Leon; Hochman, Judith S; Reynolds, Harmony R

2016-10-01

In a prospective study, cardiac MRI (CMR) and intravascular ultrasound were performed in women with myocardial infarction (MI) and nonobstructive coronary artery disease (MINOCA). Forty participants underwent adenosine-stress CMR (sCMR). Abnormal perfusion may co-localize with ischemic late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and T2-weighted signal hyperintensity (T2+), suggesting microvascular dysfunction contributed to MI. Qualitative perfusion analysis was performed by 2 independent readers. Abnormal myocardial perfusion reserve index (MPRI) was defined as global average ≤1.84. Abnormal rest perfusion was present in 10 patients (25%) and stress perfusion abnormalities in 25 (63%). Abnormal stress perfusion was not associated with LGE but tended to occur with T2+. Among patients with abnormal perfusion and LGE, the LGE pattern was ischemic in half. The locations of abnormal perfusion and LGE matched in 75%, T2+ in 100%. Abnormal stress perfusion was not associated with plaque disruption and matched in location in 63%. MPRI was abnormal in 10 patients (25%) and was not associated with LGE, T2+ or plaque disruption. Abnormal perfusion on sCMR is common among women with MINOCA. Abnormal perfusion usually co-localized with LGE and/or T2+ when present. Variability in LGE pattern leads to uncertainty about whether the finding of abnormal perfusion was cause or consequence of the tissue state leading to LGE. Low MPRI, possibly indicating diffuse microvascular disease, was observed with and without LGE and T2+. Multiple mechanisms may lead to abnormal perfusion on sCMR. Microvascular dysfunction may contribute to the pathogenesis of and coexist with other causes of MINOCA. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Perfusion scintigraphy and patient selection for lung volume reduction surgery.

PubMed

Chandra, Divay; Lipson, David A; Hoffman, Eric A; Hansen-Flaschen, John; Sciurba, Frank C; Decamp, Malcolm M; Reilly, John J; Washko, George R

2010-10-01

It is unclear if lung perfusion can predict response to lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). To study the role of perfusion scintigraphy in patient selection for LVRS. We performed an intention-to-treat analysis of 1,045 of 1,218 patients enrolled in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial who were non-high risk for LVRS and had complete perfusion scintigraphy results at baseline. The median follow-up was 6.0 years. Patients were classified as having upper or non-upper lobe-predominant emphysema on visual examination of the chest computed tomography and high or low exercise capacity on cardiopulmonary exercise testing at baseline. Low upper zone perfusion was defined as less than 20% of total lung perfusion distributed to the upper third of both lungs as measured on perfusion scintigraphy. Among 284 of 1,045 patients with upper lobe-predominant emphysema and low exercise capacity at baseline, the 202 with low upper zone perfusion had lower mortality with LVRS versus medical management (risk ratio [RR], 0.56; P = 0.008) unlike the remaining 82 with high perfusion where mortality was unchanged (RR, 0.97; P = 0.62). Similarly, among 404 of 1,045 patients with upper lobe-predominant emphysema and high exercise capacity, the 278 with low upper zone perfusion had lower mortality with LVRS (RR, 0.70; P = 0.02) unlike the remaining 126 with high perfusion (RR, 1.05; P = 1.00). Among the 357 patients with non-upper lobe-predominant emphysema (75 with low and 282 with high exercise capacity) there was no improvement in survival with LVRS and measurement of upper zone perfusion did not contribute new prognostic information. Compared with optimal medical management, LVRS reduces mortality in patients with upper lobe-predominant emphysema when there is low rather than high perfusion to the upper lung.

Progressive Cortical Neuronal Damage and Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgery in Patients with Misery Perfusion.

PubMed

Yamauchi, H; Kagawa, S; Kishibe, Y; Takahashi, M; Higashi, T

2017-05-01

Misery perfusion may cause selective neuronal damage in atherosclerotic ICA or MCA disease. Bypass surgery can improve misery perfusion and may prevent neuronal damage. On the other hand, surgery conveys a risk for neuronal damage. The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine whether progression of cortical neuronal damage in surgically treated patients with misery perfusion is larger than that in surgically treated patients without misery perfusion or medically treated patients with misery perfusion. We evaluated the distribution of benzodiazepine receptors twice by using PET and 11 C-labeled flumazenil in 18 surgically treated patients with atherosclerotic ICA or MCA disease (9 with misery perfusion and 9 without) and no perioperative stroke before and after bypass surgery; in 8 medically treated patients with misery perfusion and no intervening ischemic event; and in 7 healthy controls. We quantified abnormal decreases in the benzodiazepine receptors of the cerebral cortex within the MCA distribution and compared changes in the benzodiazepine receptor index among the 3 groups. The change in the benzodiazepine receptor index in surgically treated patients with misery perfusion (27.5 ± 15.6) during 7 ± 5 months was significantly larger than that in surgically treated patients without misery perfusion (-5.2 ± 9.4) during 6 ± 4 months ( P < .001) and in medically treated patients with misery perfusion (3.2 ± 15.4) during 16 ± 6 months ( P < .01). Progression of cortical neuronal damage in surgically treated patients with misery perfusion and no perioperative stroke may occur and may be larger than that in medically treated patients with misery perfusion and no intervening ischemic event. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Overpunishing is not necessary to fix cooperation in voluntary public goods games.

PubMed

Dercole, Fabio; De Carli, Marco; Della Rossa, Fabio; Papadopoulos, Alessandro V

2013-06-07

The fixation of cooperation among unrelated individuals is one of the fundamental problems in biology and social sciences. It is investigated by means of public goods games, the generalization of the prisoner's dilemma to more than two players. In compulsory public goods games, defect is the dominant strategy, while voluntary participation overcomes the social dilemma by allowing a cyclic coexistence of cooperators, defectors, and non-participants. Experimental and theoretical research has shown how the combination of voluntary participation and altruistic punishment-punishing antisocial behaviors at a personal cost-provides a solution to the problem, as long as antisocial punishment-the punishing of cooperators-is not allowed. Altruistic punishment can invade at low participation and pave the way to the fixation of cooperation. Specifically, defectors are overpunished, in the sense that their payoff is reduced by a sanction proportional to the number of punishers in the game. Here we show that qualitatively equivalent results can be achieved with a milder punishing mechanism, where defectors only risk a fixed penalty per round-as in many real situations-and the cost of punishment is shared among the punishers. The payoffs for the four strategies-cooperate, defect, abstain, and cooperate-&-punish-are derived and the corresponding replicator dynamics analyzed in full detail. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of 4-Dimensional Computed Tomography Ventilation With Nuclear Medicine Ventilation-Perfusion Imaging: A Clinical Validation Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vinogradskiy, Yevgeniy, E-mail: yevgeniy.vinogradskiy@ucdenver.edu; Koo, Phillip J.; Castillo, Richard

Purpose: Four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) ventilation imaging provides lung function information for lung cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Before 4DCT-ventilation can be implemented clinically it needs to be validated against an established imaging modality. The purpose of this work was to compare 4DCT-ventilation to nuclear medicine ventilation, using clinically relevant global metrics and radiologist observations. Methods and Materials: Fifteen lung cancer patients with 16 sets of 4DCT and nuclear medicine ventilation-perfusion (VQ) images were used for the study. The VQ-ventilation images were acquired in planar mode using Tc-99m-labeled diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid aerosol inhalation. 4DCT data, spatial registration, and a density-change-based modelmore » were used to compute a 4DCT-based ventilation map for each patient. The percent ventilation was calculated in each lung and each lung third for both the 4DCT and VQ-ventilation scans. A nuclear medicine radiologist assessed the VQ and 4DCT scans for the presence of ventilation defects. The VQ and 4DCT-based images were compared using regional percent ventilation and radiologist clinical observations. Results: Individual patient examples demonstrate good qualitative agreement between the 4DCT and VQ-ventilation scans. The correlation coefficients were 0.68 and 0.45, using the percent ventilation in each individual lung and lung third, respectively. Using radiologist-noted presence of ventilation defects and receiver operating characteristic analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the 4DCT-ventilation were 90%, 64%, and 81%, respectively. Conclusions: The current work compared 4DCT with VQ-based ventilation using clinically relevant global metrics and radiologist observations. We found good agreement between the radiologist's assessment of the 4DCT and VQ-ventilation images as well as the percent ventilation in each lung. The agreement lessened when the data were analyzed on a regional level. Our study presents an important step for the integration of 4DCT-ventilation into thoracic clinical practice.« less

Contrast-enhanced cardiac C-arm CT evaluation of radiofrequency ablation lesions in the left ventricle

PubMed Central

Girard, Erin E; Al-Ahmad, Amin A; Rosenberg, Jarrett; Luong, Richard; Moore, Teri; Lauritsch, Günter; Boese, Jan; Fahrig, Rebecca

2011-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate use of cardiac C-arm computed tomography (CT) in the assessment of the dimensions and temporal characteristics of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) lesions. This imaging modality uses a standard C-arm fluoroscopy system rotating around the patient, providing CT-like images during the RFA procedure. Background Both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and CT can be used to assess myocardial necrotic tissue. Several studies have reported visualizing cardiac RF ablation lesions with MRI, however obtaining MR images during interventional procedures is not common practice. Direct visualization of RFA lesions using C-arm CT during the procedure may improve outcomes and circumvent complications associated with cardiac ablation procedures. Methods RFA lesions were created on the endocardial surface of the left ventricle of 9 swine using a 7-F RF ablation catheter. An ECG-gated C-arm CT imaging protocol was used to acquire projection images during iodine contrast injection and following the injection every 5 min for up to 30 min, with no additional contrast. Reconstructed images were analyzed offline. The mean and standard deviation of the signal intensity of the lesion and normal myocardium were measured in all images in each time series. Lesion dimensions and area were measured and compared in pathologic specimens and C-arm CT images. Results All ablation lesions (n=29) were visualized and lesion dimensions, as measured on C-arm CT, correlated well with postmortem tissue measurements (1D dimensions : concordance correlation = 0.87; area : concordance correlation = 0.90). Lesions were visualized as a perfusion defect on first-pass C-arm CT images with a signal intensity 95 HU lower than normal myocardium (95% confidence interval: -111 to -79 HU). Images acquired at 1 and 5 minutes exhibited an enhancing ring surrounding the perfusion defect in 24 (83%) lesions. Conclusions RFA lesion size, including transmurality, can be assessed using ECG-gated cardiac C-arm CT in the interventional suite. Visualization of RFA lesions using cardiac C-arm CT may facilitate the assessment of adequate lesion delivery and provide valuable feedback during cardiac ablation procedures. PMID:21414574

Prediction of Liver Function by Using Magnetic Resonance-based Portal Venous Perfusion Imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cao Yue, E-mail: yuecao@umich.edu; Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Wang Hesheng

2013-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate whether liver function can be assessed globally and spatially by using volumetric dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging MRI (DCE-MRI) to potentially aid in adaptive treatment planning. Methods and Materials: Seventeen patients with intrahepatic cancer undergoing focal radiation therapy (RT) were enrolled in institution review board-approved prospective studies to obtain DCE-MRI (to measure regional perfusion) and indocyanine green (ICG) clearance rates (to measure overall liver function) prior to, during, and at 1 and 2 months after treatment. The volumetric distribution of portal venous perfusion in the whole liver was estimated for each scan. We assessed the correlation betweenmore » mean portal venous perfusion in the nontumor volume of the liver and overall liver function measured by ICG before, during, and after RT. The dose response for regional portal venous perfusion to RT was determined using a linear mixed effects model. Results: There was a significant correlation between the ICG clearance rate and mean portal venous perfusion in the functioning liver parenchyma, suggesting that portal venous perfusion could be used as a surrogate for function. Reduction in regional venous perfusion 1 month after RT was predicted by the locally accumulated biologically corrected dose at the end of RT (P<.0007). Regional portal venous perfusion measured during RT was a significant predictor for regional venous perfusion assessed 1 month after RT (P<.00001). Global hypovenous perfusion pre-RT was observed in 4 patients (3 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis), 3 of whom had recovered from hypoperfusion, except in the highest dose regions, post-RT. In addition, 3 patients who had normal perfusion pre-RT had marked hypervenous perfusion or reperfusion in low-dose regions post-RT. Conclusions: This study suggests that MR-based volumetric hepatic perfusion imaging may be a biomarker for spatial distribution of liver function, which could aid in individualizing therapy, particularly for patients at risk for liver injury after RT.« less

A Study of Normothermic Hemoperfusion of the Porcine Pancreas and Kidney.

PubMed

Kuan, Kean Guan; Wee, Mau Nam; Chung, Wen Yuan; Kumar, Rohan; Mees, Soeren Torge; Dennison, Ashley; Maddern, Guy; Trochsler, Markus

2017-05-01

Normothermic machine perfusion has enormous potential to improve organ preservation and expand the organ donor pool. It is well established in other organs but not the pancreas, which has especially strict organ acceptance criteria. We established a model of normothermic hemoperfusion of the porcine pancreas with and without addition of the kidney as a dialysis organ. Four pancreases were harvested and perfused for 120 min with autologous whole blood at body temperature, two with parallel perfusion of the kidney and two without. The organs and perfusion circuit were evaluated for gross appearance, pH, histology and perfusion parameters. The organs maintained steadily increasing flow rate and perfusion pressure. Gross appearance of the organs was stable but appeared grossly ischemic toward the end of the perfusion period. Histology demonstrated necrosis centered in acinar tissue but islet cells were preserved. pH was significantly alkalotic toward the end of the perfusion, likely due to pancreatic tissue damage. Addition of the kidney did not result in significant improvement of the acid-base environment in this small series. In conclusion, normothermic perfusion of the pancreas is still in the experimental stages but holds great potential. Further studies to optimize perfusion parameters will significantly improve results. Parallel perfusion of the kidney may facilitate improvement in the acid-base environment. © 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The isolated perfused human skin flap model: A missing link in skin penetration studies?

PubMed

Ternullo, Selenia; de Weerd, Louis; Flaten, Gøril Eide; Holsæter, Ann Mari; Škalko-Basnet, Nataša

2017-01-01

Development of effective (trans)dermal drug delivery systems requires reliable skin models to evaluate skin drug penetration. The isolated perfused human skin flap remains metabolically active tissue for up to 6h during in vitro perfusion. We introduce the isolated perfused human skin flap as a close-to-in vivo skin penetration model. To validate the model's ability to evaluate skin drug penetration the solutions of a hydrophilic (calcein) and a lipophilic (rhodamine) fluorescence marker were applied. The skin flaps were perfused with modified Krebs-Henseleit buffer (pH7.4). Infrared technology was used to monitor perfusion and to select a well-perfused skin area for administration of the markers. Flap perfusion and physiological parameters were maintained constant during the 6h experiments and the amount of markers in the perfusate was determined. Calcein was detected in the perfusate, whereas rhodamine was not detectable. Confocal images of skin cross-sections shoved that calcein was uniformly distributed through the skin, whereas rhodamine accumulated in the stratum corneum. For comparison, the penetration of both markers was evaluated on ex vivo human skin, pig skin and cellophane membrane. The proposed perfused flap model enabled us to distinguish between the penetrations of the two markers and could be a promising close-to-in vivo tool in skin penetration studies and optimization of formulations destined for skin administration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does machine perfusion decrease ischemia reperfusion injury?

PubMed

Bon, D; Delpech, P-O; Chatauret, N; Hauet, T; Badet, L; Barrou, B

2014-06-01

In 1990's, use of machine perfusion for organ preservation has been abandoned because of improvement of preservation solutions, efficient without perfusion, easy to use and cheaper. Since the last 15 years, a renewed interest for machine perfusion emerged based on studies performed on preclinical model and seems to make consensus in case of expanded criteria donors or deceased after cardiac death donations. We present relevant studies highlighted the efficiency of preservation with hypothermic machine perfusion compared to static cold storage. Machines for organ preservation being in constant evolution, we also summarized recent developments included direct oxygenation of the perfusat. Machine perfusion technology also enables organ reconditioning during the last hours of preservation through a short period of perfusion on hypothermia, subnormothermia or normothermia. We present significant or low advantages for machine perfusion against ischemia reperfusion injuries regarding at least one primary parameter: risk of DFG, organ function or graft survival. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Cumulative costs for the prosthetic reconstructions and maintenance in young adult patients with birth defects affecting the formation of teeth.

PubMed

Incici, Erol; Matuliene, Giedre; Hüsler, Jürg; Salvi, Giovanni E; Pjetursson, Bjarni; Brägger, Urs

2009-07-01

To assess retrospectively the cumulative costs for the long-term oral rehabilitation of patients with birth defects affecting the development of teeth. Patients with birth defects who had received fixed reconstructions on teeth and/or implants > or =5 years ago were asked to participate in a comprehensive clinical, radiographic and economic evaluation. From the 45 patients included, 18 were cases with a cleft lip and palate, five had amelogenesis/dentinogenesis imperfecta and 22 were cases with hypodontia/oligodontia. The initial costs for the first oral rehabilitation (before the age of 20) had been covered by the Swiss Insurance for Disability. The costs for the initial rehabilitation of the 45 cases amounted to 407,584 CHF (39% for laboratory fees). Linear regression analyses for the initial treatment costs per replaced tooth revealed the formula 731 CHF+(811 CHF x units) on teeth and 3369 CHF+(1183 CHF x units) for reconstructions on implants (P<.001). Fifty-eight percent of the patients with tooth-supported reconstructions remained free from failures/complications (median observation 15.7 years). Forty-seven percent of the patients with implant-supported reconstructions remained free from failures/complications (median observation 8 years). The long-term cumulative treatment costs for implant cases, however, were not statistically significantly different compared with cases reconstructed with tooth-supported fixed reconstructions. Twenty-seven percent of the initial treatment costs were needed to cover supportive periodontal therapy as well as the treatment of technical/biological complications and failures. Insurance companies should accept to cover implant-supported reconstructions because there is no need to prepare healthy teeth, fewer tooth units need to be replaced and the cumulative long-term costs seem to be similar compared with cases restored on teeth.

Sinorhizobium meliloti requires a cobalamin-dependent ribonucleotide reductase for symbiosis with its plant host

PubMed Central

Taga, Michiko E.; Walker, Graham C.

2010-01-01

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a critical cofactor for animals and protists, yet its biosynthesis is limited to prokaryotes. We previously showed that the symbiotic nitrogen-fixing alphaproteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti requires cobalamin to establish a symbiotic relationship with its plant host, Medicago sativa (alfalfa). Here, the specific requirement for cobalamin in the S. meliloti-alfalfa symbiosis was investigated. Of the three known cobalamin-dependent enzymes in S. meliloti, the methylmalonyl CoA mutase (BhbA) does not affect symbiosis whereas disruption of the metH gene encoding the cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase causes a significant defect in symbiosis. Expression of the cobalamin-independent methionine synthase MetE alleviates this symbiotic defect, indicating that the requirement for methionine synthesis does not reflect a need for the cobalamin-dependent enzyme. To investigate the function of the cobalamin-dependent ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) encoded by nrdJ, S. meliloti was engineered to express an Escherichia coli cobalamin-independent (Class Ia) RNR instead of nrdJ. This strain is severely defective in symbiosis. Electron micrographs show that these cells can penetrate alfalfa nodules but are unable to differentiate into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids and instead are lysed in the plant cytoplasm. Flow cytometry analysis indicates that these bacteria are largely unable to undergo endoreduplication. These phenotypes may be due to the inactivation of the Class Ia RNR by reactive oxygen species and/or inadequate oxygen availability in the nodule. These results show that the critical role of the cobalamin-dependent RNR for survival of S. meliloti in its plant host can account for the considerable resources that S. meliloti dedicates to cobalamin biosynthesis. PMID:20698752

Development of mammary hyperplasia, dysplasia, and invasive ductal carcinoma in transgenic mice expressing the 8p11 amplicon oncogene NSD3

PubMed Central

Turner-Ivey, Brittany; Smith, Ericka L.; Rutkovsky, Alex C.; Spruill, Laura S.; Mills, Jamie N.

2018-01-01

Purpose NSD3 has been implicated as a candidate driver oncogene from the 8p11-p12 locus, and we have previously published evidence for its amplification and overexpression in human breast cancer. This aim of this study was to further characterize the transforming function of NSD3 in vivo. Methods We generated a transgenic mouse model in which NSD3 gene expression was driven by the MMTV promoter and expressed in mammary epithelium of FVB mice. Mammary glands were fixed and whole mounts were stained with carmine to visualize gland structure. Mammary tumors were formalin-fixed, and paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumors were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Results Pups born to transgenic females were significantly underdeveloped compared to pups born to WT females due to a lactation defect in transgenic female mice. Whole mount analysis of the mammary glands of transgenic female mice revealed a profound defect in functional differentiation of mammary gland alveoli that resulted in the lactation defect. We followed parous and virgin NSD3 transgenic and control mice to 50 weeks of age and observed that several NSD3 parous females developed mammary tumors. Whole mount analysis of the mammary glands of tumor-bearing mice revealed numerous areas of mammary hyperplasia and ductal dysplasia. Histological analysis showed that mammary tumors were high-grade ductal carcinomas, and lesions present in other mammary glands exhibited features of alveolar hyperplasia, ductal dysplasia, and carcinoma in situ. Conclusions Our results are consistent with our previous studies and demonstrate that NSD3 is a transforming breast cancer oncogene. PMID:28484924

Application of Cardio-O-Fix occluders for transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus and interatrial communications: Preliminary experience.

PubMed

Białkowski, Jacek; Szkutnik, Małgorzata; Fiszer, Roland; Głowacki, Jan; Banaszak, Paweł; Zembala, Marian

2010-01-01

Transcatheter treatment has become the method of choice for treating many heart defects. Recently, Cardio-O-Fix occluder (COF) - a new, self-expandable nitinol wire-mesh device very similar to the Amplatzer device - has been introduced into clinical practice. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publication related to its application. Five patients aged from six months to 69 years were included in the study: two with atrial septal defect (ASD), one with patent foramen ovale (PFO) after cryptogenic stroke, and two with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). These latter two comprised one six month old infant with co-existent hypertrophied cardiomyopathy, and a 53 year-old woman with recanalized PDA after previous ligation. All were treated percutaneously with COF. There was no preliminary patient selection. The only limitation was the size of the devices in our possession (16 and 22 mm ASD COF, 25 PFO COF, 4/6 and 6/8 PDA COF). The implantation technique was the same as previously described for Amplatzer occluders. All procedures were finished successfully with complete closure of the shunt. No complications were observed during a six month follow-up. In the child with PDA, we observed decrease of gradient from 80 to 60 mm Hg in hypertrophied left ventricular outflow tract, although a small protrusion of PDA-COF device was noted in the descending aorta (8 mm Hg gradient in ECHO). In the patient with recanalized PDA, the procedure was performed after arterio-venous loop creation. Mean fluoroscopy time was 4.4 (range from 1.6 to 11) minutes. Our preliminary experience indicates that the application of Cardio-O-Fix devices is safe and effective.

Influence of relaxation processes on the evaluation of the metastable defect density in Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maciaszek, M.; Zabierowski, P.

2016-06-07

In this contribution, we investigated by means of numerical simulations the influence of relaxation processes related to metastable defects on electrical characteristics of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}. In particular, we analyzed the relaxation of a metastable state induced by illumination at a fixed temperature as well as the dependence of the hole concentration on the temperature during cooling. The knowledge of these two relaxation processes is crucial in the evaluation of the hole concentration in the relaxed state and after light soaking. We have shown that the distribution of the metastable defects can be considered frozen below 200 K. The hole capture crossmore » section was estimated as ∼3 × 10{sup −15} cm{sup 2}. It was shown that the usually used cooling rates may lead to relevant changes of the hole concentration. We calculated the lower limit of the hole concentration after cooling, and we presented how it depends on densities of shallow acceptors and metastable defects. Moreover, we proposed a method which allows for the evaluation of shallow acceptor and metastable defect densities from two capacitance-voltage profiles measured in the relaxed and light soaking states. Finally, we indicated experimental conditions in which the influence of relaxation processes on the accuracy of this method is the smallest.« less

Contrast-enhanced CT- and MRI-based perfusion assessment for pulmonary diseases: basics and clinical applications

PubMed Central

Ohno, Yoshiharu; Koyama, Hisanobu; Lee, Ho Yun; Miura, Sachiko; Yoshikawa, Takeshi; Sugimura, Kazuro

2016-01-01

Assessment of regional pulmonary perfusion as well as nodule and tumor perfusions in various pulmonary diseases are currently performed by means of nuclear medicine studies requiring radioactive macroaggregates, dual-energy computed tomography (CT), and dynamic first-pass contrast-enhanced perfusion CT techniques and unenhanced and dynamic first-pass contrast enhanced perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as time-resolved three-dimensional or four-dimensional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Perfusion scintigraphy, single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) and SPECT fused with CT have been established as clinically available scintigraphic methods; however, they are limited by perfusion information with poor spatial resolution and other shortcomings. Although positron emission tomography with 15O water can measure absolute pulmonary perfusion, it requires a cyclotron for generation of a tracer with an extremely short half-life (2 min), and can only be performed for academic purposes. Therefore, clinicians are concentrating their efforts on the application of CT-based and MRI-based quantitative and qualitative perfusion assessment to various pulmonary diseases. This review article covers 1) the basics of dual-energy CT and dynamic first-pass contrast-enhanced perfusion CT techniques, 2) the basics of time-resolved contrast-enhanced MRA and dynamic first-pass contrast-enhanced perfusion MRI, and 3) clinical applications of contrast-enhanced CT- and MRI-based perfusion assessment for patients with pulmonary nodule, lung cancer, and pulmonary vascular diseases. We believe that these new techniques can be useful in routine clinical practice for not only thoracic oncology patients, but also patients with different pulmonary vascular diseases. PMID:27523813

The ultrastructural characteristics of porcine hepatocytes donated after cardiac death and preserved with warm machine perfusion preservation.

PubMed

Bochimoto, Hiroki; Matsuno, Naoto; Ishihara, Yo; Shonaka, Tatsuya; Koga, Daisuke; Hira, Yoshiki; Nishikawa, Yuji; Furukawa, Hiroyuki; Watanabe, Tsuyoshi

2017-01-01

The effects of warm machine perfusion preservation of liver grafts donated after cardiac death on the intracellular three-dimensional ultrastructure of the organelles in hepatocytes remain unclear. Here we analyzed comparatively the ultrastructure of the endomembrane systems in porcine hepatocytes under warm ischemia and successive hypothermic and midthermic machine perfusion preservation, a type of the warm machine perfusion. Porcine liver grafts which had a warm ischemia time of 60 minutes were perfused for 4 hours with modified University of Wisconsin gluconate solution. Group A grafts were preserved with hypothermic machine perfusion preservation at 8°C constantly for 4 hours. Group B grafts were preserved with rewarming up to 22°C by warm machine perfusion preservation for 4 hours. An analysis of hepatocytes after 60 minutes of warm ischemia by scanning electron microscope revealed the appearance of abnormal vacuoles and invagination of mitochondria. In the hepatocytes preserved by subsequent hypothermic machine perfusion preservation, strongly swollen mitochondria were observed. In contrast, the warm machine perfusion preservation could preserve the functional appearance of mitochondria in hepatocytes. Furthermore, abundant vacuoles and membranous structures sequestrating cellular organelles like autophagic vacuoles were frequently observed in hepatocytes after warm machine perfusion preservation. In conclusion, the ultrastructure of the endomembrane systems in the hepatocytes of liver grafts changed in accordance with the temperature conditions of machine perfusion preservation. In addition, temperature condition of the machine perfusion preservation may also affect the condition of the hepatic graft attributed to autophagy systems, and consequently alleviate the damage of the hepatocytes.

Blood perfusion construction for infrared face recognition based on bio-heat transfer.

PubMed

Xie, Zhihua; Liu, Guodong

2014-01-01

To improve the performance of infrared face recognition for time-lapse data, a new construction of blood perfusion is proposed based on bio-heat transfer. Firstly, by quantifying the blood perfusion based on Pennes equation, the thermal information is converted into blood perfusion rate, which is stable facial biological feature of face image. Then, the separability discriminant criterion in Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) domain is applied to extract the discriminative features of blood perfusion information. Experimental results demonstrate that the features of blood perfusion are more concentrative and discriminative for recognition than those of thermal information. The infrared face recognition based on the proposed blood perfusion is robust and can achieve better recognition performance compared with other state-of-the-art approaches.

Etude des defauts apparaissant dans les amenagements interieurs des avions d'affaires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charette, Emilie

The evolution of the aeronautic industry led to the development of new materials for these high performance applications. Among other examples, composite sandwich structures are increasingly used for interior body panels of business airplanes. These structures are assembled and fixed to the fuselage using metallic inserts bonded inside the sandwich panels with an epoxy resin adhesive. A thin film of wood veneer covers the visible side of interior furniture in order to bring sophistication and esthetic to the interior design. However, due to multiple factors, surface defects frequently appear on the veneered side of the panel where inserts are located. Moreover the defects tend to appear months after the airplane delivery causing costly reparations. The sources of defects can be mechanical ( deformation due to an excessive tightening), chemical (shrinkage of the epoxy adhesive) or the result of hygrothermal exposition. It is therefore important to understand the source of such surface defects and ultimately prevent or control their appearance. The present thesis deals with defects from chemical and hygrothermal sources appearing on the composite panels used on the interior body of business jets after aging. The main objective was to identify and quantify phenomena causing the defects on the interior panels of business planes. This research project is the first part of a project sponsored by CRIAQ and NSERC. The interaction of several materials can lead to various phenomena causing the apparition of surface defects. The project was thus divided into three parts in order to study an increasingly complex problem. the first study deals with the characterization of the different constitutive materials taken separately. This first part focused on thermal, rheological and mechanical aspects of epoxy adhesives. It was shown that the two adhesives used have different mechanical properties and cure kinetic reactions. In addition, the mechanical properties of sandwich composites panels were studied. The second study focused on the analysis of hygrothermal influence on the adhesive and the composite sandwich panels taken separately. Humidity and temperature can have an important effect on the constitutive materials, it is therefore important to know their influence. Finally, the third part deals with the influence of hygrothermal aging on a structure combining all the different materials. Sample panels including fixing zones (insert and resin) were made at the industrial partner's facility according to the industrial procedure. Subsequently, the samples have undergone an accelerated aging. By using deflectometry system, changes in local curvatures with respect to the aging conditions were observed. A correlation between the material characterization results, the aging effects and the surface defect gravity was performed to evaluate the sources and the occurrence of defects. Recommendations have also been made to ensure the project continuity. This project, carried out in an industrial context with the collaboration of Centre de Recherche Industrielle du Quebec ( CRIQ), 3M Canada and the Chaire de recherche sur les composites hautes performances (CCHP) of the department of mechanical engineering of Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, highlights the importance of the choice of methods and materials in the manufacturing of composite structures.

Ex-vivo machine perfusion for kidney preservation.

PubMed

Hamar, Matyas; Selzner, Markus

2018-06-01

Machine perfusion is a novel strategy to decrease preservation injury, improve graft assessment, and increase organ acceptance for transplantation. This review summarizes the current advances in ex-vivo machine-based kidney preservation technologies over the last year. Ex-vivo perfusion technologies, such as hypothermic and normothermic machine perfusion and controlled oxygenated rewarming, have gained high interest in the field of organ preservation. Keeping kidney grafts functionally and metabolically active during the preservation period offers a unique chance for viability assessment, reconditioning, and organ repair. Normothermic ex-vivo kidney perfusion has been recently translated into clinical practice. Preclinical results suggest that prolonged warm perfusion appears superior than a brief end-ischemic reconditioning in terms of renal function and injury. An established standardized protocol for continuous warm perfusion is still not available for human grafts. Ex-vivo machine perfusion represents a superior organ preservation method over static cold storage. There is still an urgent need for the optimization of the perfusion fluid and machine technology and to identify the optimal indication in kidney transplantation. Recent research is focusing on graft assessment and therapeutic strategies.

EFFECT ON PERFUSION VALUES OF SAMPLING INTERVAL OF CT PERFUSION ACQUISITIONS IN NEUROENDOCRINE LIVER METASTASES AND NORMAL LIVER

PubMed Central

Ng, Chaan S.; Hobbs, Brian P.; Wei, Wei; Anderson, Ella F.; Herron, Delise H.; Yao, James C.; Chandler, Adam G.

2014-01-01

Objective To assess the effects of sampling interval (SI) of CT perfusion acquisitions on CT perfusion values in normal liver and liver metastases from neuroendocrine tumors. Methods CT perfusion in 16 patients with neuroendocrine liver metastases were analyzed by distributed parameter modeling to yield tissue blood flow, blood volume, mean transit time, permeability, and hepatic arterial fraction, for tumor and normal liver. CT perfusion values for the reference sampling interval of 0.5s (SI0.5) were compared with those of SI datasets of 1s, 2s, 3s and 4s, using mixed-effects model analyses. Results Increases in SI beyond 1s were associated with significant and increasing departures of CT perfusion parameters from reference values at SI0.5 (p≤0.0009). CT perfusion values deviated from reference with increasing uncertainty with increasing SIs. Findings for normal liver were concordant. Conclusion Increasing SIs beyond 1s yield significantly different CT perfusion parameter values compared to reference values at SI0.5. PMID:25626401

Optimization and control of perfusion cultures using a viable cell probe and cell specific perfusion rates.

PubMed

Dowd, Jason E; Jubb, Anthea; Kwok, K Ezra; Piret, James M

2003-05-01

Consistent perfusion culture production requires reliable cell retention and control of feed rates. An on-line cell probe based on capacitance was used to assay viable biomass concentrations. A constant cell specific perfusion rate controlled medium feed rates with a bioreactor cell concentration of approximately 5 x 10(6) cells mL(-1). Perfusion feeding was automatically adjusted based on the cell concentration signal from the on-line biomass sensor. Cell specific perfusion rates were varied over a range of 0.05 to 0.4 nL cell(-1) day(-1). Pseudo-steady-state bioreactor indices (concentrations, cellular rates and yields) were correlated to cell specific perfusion rates investigated to maximize recombinant protein production from a Chinese hamster ovary cell line. The tissue-type plasminogen activator concentration was maximized ( approximately 40 mg L(-1)) at 0.2 nL cell(-1) day(-1). The volumetric protein productivity ( approximately 60 mg L(-1) day(-1) was maximized above 0.3 nL cell(-1) day(-1). The use of cell specific perfusion rates provided a straightforward basis for controlling, modeling and optimizing perfusion cultures.

New high-pressure polymorph of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} with defect Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lai, Xiaojing; Zhu, Feng; Wu, Ye

The high pressure behavior of β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} (I4{sub 1}/amd and Z=16) has been studied by in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction combined with diamond anvil cell up to 71.7 GPa. Three pressure-induced phase transitions are evidenced at ∼6.6 GPa, ∼11.1 GPa at room temperature and 35.6 GPa after the high-temperature annealing using a portable laser heating system. The new polymorph of In{sub 2}S{sub 3} at 35.6 GPa is assigned to the denser cubic defect Th{sub 3}P{sub 4} structure (I4¯3d and Z=5.333), whose unit-cell parameters are a=7.557(1) Å and V=431.6(2) Å{sup 3}. The Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type phase can be stablemore » at least up to 71.7 GPa and cannot be preserved at ambient pressure. The pressure–volume relationship is well described by the second-order Birch–Murnaghan Equation of State, which yields B{sub 0}=63(3) GPa and B{sub 0}′=4 (fixed) for the β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} phase and B{sub 0}=87(3) GPa and B{sub 0}′=4 (fixed) for the defect Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type phase respectively. - Graphical abstract: The structure and Rietveld refinement of new polymorph the defect Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type In{sub 2}S{sub 3}. This structure was observed at 35.6 GPa after laser heating by X-ray diffraction. Display Omitted - Highlights: Three pressure-induced phase transitions of β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} were observed. β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} was stable up to 6.6 GPa. The defect Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type In{sub 2}S{sub 3} was identified at 35.6 GPa after laser heating and was stable up to 71.7 GPa. Elastic properties of β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3} and Th{sub 3}P{sub 4}-type In{sub 2}S{sub 3} are well presented by Birch–Murnaghan EoS.« less

Effects of laser acupuncture on blood perfusion rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xian-ju; Zeng, Chang-chun; Liu, Han-ping; Liu, Song-hao; Liu, Liang-gang

2006-09-01

Based on Pennes equation, the influences of the intensity and the impulse frequency of laser acupuncture on the point tissues' blood flow perfusion rate are discussed. We find that the blood perfusion rate of point tissue increases with the intensity of laser acupuncture increasing. After impulse laser acupuncture the point tissue blood perfusion rate increase little, but after continuum laser acupuncture the point tissues blood perfusion rate increase much.

Assessment of the spatial pattern of colorectal tumour perfusion estimated at perfusion CT using two-dimensional fractal analysis.

PubMed

Goh, Vicky; Sanghera, Bal; Wellsted, David M; Sundin, Josefin; Halligan, Steve

2009-06-01

The aim was to evaluate the feasibility of fractal analysis for assessing the spatial pattern of colorectal tumour perfusion at dynamic contrast-enhanced CT (perfusion CT). Twenty patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma underwent a 65-s perfusion CT study from which a perfusion parametric map was generated using validated commercial software. The tumour was identified by an experienced radiologist, segmented via thresholding and fractal analysis applied using in-house software: fractal dimension, abundance and lacunarity were assessed for the entire outlined tumour and for selected representative areas within the tumour of low and high perfusion. Comparison was made with ten patients with normal colons, processed in a similar manner, using two-way mixed analysis of variance with statistical significance at the 5% level. Fractal values were higher in cancer than normal colon (p < or = 0.001): mean (SD) 1.71 (0.07) versus 1.61 (0.07) for fractal dimension and 7.82 (0.62) and 6.89 (0.47) for fractal abundance. Fractal values were lower in 'high' than 'low' perfusion areas. Lacunarity curves were shifted to the right for cancer compared with normal colon. In conclusion, colorectal cancer mapped by perfusion CT demonstrates fractal properties. Fractal analysis is feasible, potentially providing a quantitative measure of the spatial pattern of tumour perfusion.

Automatic Review of Abstract State Machines by Meta Property Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arcaini, Paolo; Gargantini, Angelo; Riccobene, Elvinia

2010-01-01

A model review is a validation technique aimed at determining if a model is of sufficient quality and allows defects to be identified early in the system development, reducing the cost of fixing them. In this paper we propose a technique to perform automatic review of Abstract State Machine (ASM) formal specifications. We first detect a family of typical vulnerabilities and defects a developer can introduce during the modeling activity using the ASMs and we express such faults as the violation of meta-properties that guarantee certain quality attributes of the specification. These meta-properties are then mapped to temporal logic formulas and model checked for their violation. As a proof of concept, we also report the result of applying this ASM review process to several specifications.

Baseline regional perfusion impacts exercise response to endobronchial valve therapy in advanced pulmonary emphysema.

PubMed

Argula, Rahul G; Strange, Charlie; Ramakrishnan, Viswanathan; Goldin, Jonathan

2013-11-01

Advanced heterogeneous emphysema with hyperinflation impacts exercise tolerance in COPD. Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using Zephyr endobronchial valves (EBVs) has been shown to improve lung function in patients with heterogeneous emphysema. It is unclear whether the target lobe perfusion of patients receiving EBV therapy impacts exercise tolerance as measured by the 6-min walk test distance (6MWTD). We performed a retrospective analysis on the treatment group of the Endobronchial Valve for Emphysema Palliation Trial (VENT) to evaluate the impact of perfusion, measured by 99mTc-MAA-perfusion scintigraphy, on the 6-month improvement in 6MWTD. A mixed-model analysis was performed for the treatment outcome, adjusting for other variables such as age, target lobe position, fissure integrity, BMI, sex, destruction score, and lobar exclusion. Dichotomized at the median, of the 169 patients who received EBV therapy, 88 had a low target lobe regional perfusion and 81 had high target lobe regional perfusion at baseline. Patients with a low target lobe regional perfusion had a significant improvement in 6MWTD when compared with those with a high baseline target lobe regional perfusion (30.24 m vs 3.72 m, P = .03). Shifts in perfusion after EBV therapy occurred only in patients with high baseline perfusion and did not correlate with improved 6MWTD. Patients having heterogeneous emphysema with a low baseline target lobe regional perfusion benefit from EBV therapy, independent of the degree of target lobe destruction. This effect is attenuated if the EBV therapy is not occlusive. Characterization of baseline perfusion may enhance clinical results of patients with emphysema undergoing EBV therapy. ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT00000606; URL: www.clincialtrials.gov.

Does stress perfusion imaging improve the diagnostic accuracy of late gadolinium enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance for establishing the etiology of heart failure?

PubMed

Gulsin, Gaurav S; Shetye, Abishek; Khoo, Jeffrey; Swarbrick, Daniel J; Levelt, Eylem; Lai, Florence Y; Squire, Iain B; Arnold, Jayanth R; McCann, Gerry P

2017-04-08

Late gadolinium enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) has excellent specificity, sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy for differentiating between ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICM). CMR first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging (perfusion-CMR) may also play role in distinguishing heart failure of ischemic and non-ischemic origins, although the utility of additional of stress perfusion imaging in such patients is unclear. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess whether the addition of adenosine stress perfusion imaging to LGE-CMR is of incremental value for differentiating ICM and NICM in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) of uncertain etiology. We retrospectively identified 100 consecutive adult patients (median age 69 years (IQR 59-73)) with severe LVSD (mean LV EF 26.6 ± 7.0%) referred for perfusion-CMR to establish the underlying etiology of heart failure. The cause of heart failure was first determined on examination of CMR cine and LGE images in isolation. Subsequent examination of complete adenosine stress perfusion-CMR studies (cine, LGE and perfusion images) was performed to identify whether this altered the initial diagnosis. On LGE-CMR, 38 patients were diagnosed with ICM, 46 with NICM and 16 with dual pathology. With perfusion-CMR, there were 39 ICM, 44 NICM and 17 dual pathology diagnoses. There was excellent agreement in diagnoses between LGE-CMR and perfusion-CMR (κ 0.968, p<0.001). The addition of adenosine stress perfusion images to LGE-CMR altered the diagnosis in only two of the 100 patients. The addition of adenosine stress perfusion-CMR to cine and LGE-CMR provides minimal incremental diagnostic yield for determining the etiology of heart failure in patients with severe LVSD.