Search

Microstructure imaging by means of multidimensional diffusion encoding is increasingly applied in clinical research, with expectations that it yields a parameter that better correlates with clinical disability than current methods based on single diffusion encoding. Under the assumption that diffusion within a voxel can be well described by a collection of diffusion tensors, several parameters of this diffusion tensor distribution can be derived, including mean size, variance of sizes, orientational dispersion, and microscopic anisotropy. The information provided by multidimensional diffusion encoding also enables us to decompose the sources of the conventional fractional anisotropy and mean kurtosis. In this study, we explored the utility of the diffusion tensor distribution approach for characterizing white-matter degeneration in aging and in Parkinson disease by using double diffusion encoding. Data from 23 healthy older subjects and 27 patients with Parkinson disease were analyzed. Advanced age was associated with greater mean size and size variances, as well as smaller microscopic anisotropy. By analyzing the parameters underlying diffusion kurtosis, we found that the reductions of kurtosis in aging and Parkinson disease reported in the literature are likely driven by the reduction in microscopic anisotropy. Furthermore, microscopic anisotropy correlated with the severity of motor impairment in the patients with Parkinson disease. The present results support the use of multidimensional diffusion encoding in clinical studies and are encouraging for its future clinical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testicular tumours are rare in children. Painless scrotal mass is the most frequent clinical presentation. Tumoural markers (alpha-fetoprotein, beta-human gonadotropin chorionic) and hormone levels (testosterone) contribute to the diagnosis and management of a testicular mass in boys. Ultrasonography is the best imaging modality to study testicular tumours. A benign tumour is suggested when ultrasonography shows a mainly cystic component, well-defined borders, echogenic rim or normal to increased echogenicity lesion when compared to the healthy testicular parenchyma. Malignant tumour is suspected when ultrasonography shows inhomogeneous, hypoechoic, not well-circumscribed or diffuse infiltration lesion. However, these ultrasonographic findings may overlap. Colour Doppler, power Doppler, elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasonography are useful complementary methods to characterise the focal testicular lesions. Chest computerised tomography and abdominopelvic magnetic resonance are necessary to establish the extension in case of malignant proved tumours. Benign tumours are more frequent in prepuberal boys and malignant tumours in pubertal boys. Mature teratoma prepubertal-type is the most common histologic type. Testicular sparing surgery is the choice in benign tumours. Radical inguinal orchiectomy is indicated in malignant tumours. Prognostic is excellent. The purpose of our study is to show an approach to the diagnosis and management of the most frequent testicular tumours in children according to clinical manifestations, imaging findings and tumour markers levels based on histologically confirmed tumours in our hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Micro fractional anisotropy (μFA) is more accurate than conventional fractional anisotropy (FA) for assessing microscopic tissue properties and can overcome limitations related to crossing white matter fibres. We compared μFA and FA for evaluating white matter changes in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: We compared FA and μFA measures between 25 patients with PD and 25 age- and gender-matched healthy controls using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis. We also examined potential correlations between changes, revealed by conventional FA or μFA, and disease duration or Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)-III scores. Results: Compared with healthy controls, patients with PD had significantly reduced μFA values, mainly in the anterior corona radiata (ACR). In the PD group, μFA values (primarily those from the ACR) were significantly negatively correlated with UPDRS-III motor scores. No significant changes or correlations with disease duration or UPDRS-III scores with tissue properties were detected using conventional FA. Conclusion: μFA can evaluate microstructural changes that occur during white matter degeneration in patients with PD and may overcome a key limitation of FA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

View Supplementary Video [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic sclerosis ( SSc) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by extensive tissue fibrosis and various vascular complications. A wealth of evidence suggests the substantial contribution of pro-inflammatory cytokines to the development of SSc, but the role of interleukin ( IL)-18 signaling in this disease still remains elusive. To address this issue, we herein determined serum levels of IL-18-binding protein isoform a ( IL-18 BPa), a soluble decoy receptor for IL-18, by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 57 SSc patients and 20 healthy controls and evaluated their clinical correlation. Serum IL-18 BPa levels were higher in SSc patients than in healthy controls, while comparable between diffuse cutaneous SSc and limited cutaneous SSc patients. Although serum IL-18 BPa levels were not associated with dermal and pulmonary fibrotic parameters in SSc patients, there was a significant positive correlation between serum IL-18 BPa levels and right ventricular systolic pressure estimated by echocardiography. Furthermore, in 24 SSc patients who underwent right heart catheterization, serum IL-18 BPa levels positively correlated with mean pulmonary arterial pressure. As for systemic inflammatory markers, significant positive correlations of circulating IL-18 BPa levels with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were noted. These results suggest that the inhibition of IL-18 signaling by IL-18 BPa may be involved in the development of pulmonary vascular involvement leading to pulmonary hypertension and modulate the systemic inflammation in SSc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labrune (2012b) proposes a syllable-less theory of Japanese, suggesting that Japanese has no syllables, with only moras below the foot. She argues that there is no phonetic or psycholinguistic evidence for the existence of syllables in Japanese. This reply summarises and re-examines previous experimental findings that demonstrate that Japanese does show evidence for syllables both phonetically and psycholinguistically. After an extensive review of previous studies, this reply also takes up a number of phonological and theoretical issues that require an explicit response from the perspective of a syllable proponent. On the basis of these considerations, this paper concludes that Japanese does have syllables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This multi-center, phase III trial assesses the efficacy of daikenchuto (TU-100) on gastrointestinal disorders after hepatic resection (UMIN Registration No. 000003103). Materials and methods: A total of 231 patients, who underwent hepatic resection at 26 Japanese centers, were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either oral doses (15 g/day, three times a day) of TU-100 or placebo control from preoperative day 3 to postoperative day 10, except on the day of surgery. Primary end points were the time from extubation until the first postoperative bowel movement (FBM-T), serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and ammonia levels. Results: Finally, 209 patients (TU-100: n = 108, placebo: n = 101) were included in the statistical analysis. The median FBM-T was 88.2 h (95 % CI 74.0-94.1) in the TU-100 group and 93.1 h (95 % CI 83.3-99.4) in the placebo group, demonstrating that TU-100 accelerated the time to first bowel movement significantly more than placebo control. Serum CRP levels did not differ significantly during the study period, although serum CRP levels in the TU-100 group tended to be lower than those in the placebo group in patients with grade B liver damage. Meanwhile, the two groups had similar serum ammonia levels. TU-100-related serious adverse events did not occur during the study. Conclusions: TU-100 appears to improve gastrointestinal dysmotility and reduce serum CRP levels in patients with grade B liver damage after hepatectomy. TU-100 is an effective treatment option after hepatic resection in patients with liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People whom the editors and members of the editorial board of the journal would like to thank for reviewing the manuscripts during 2015-2016 are mentioned including Tetsuo Ajiki, Yoshito Akagi, and Tomohiko Akahoshi.

People who the author would like to thank for their assistance in the creation of the periodical "International Journal of Urology" during the September 2012 to August 2013 period including researchers Hideyuki Abe, Alberto Briganti, and Shin Ebara are mentioned.

The article acknowledges the consultants who reviewed manuscripts for the journal "Surgery Today" during 2011-2012.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by honeybees from various plant sources and whose composition depends on the area of collection. This study examined the antioxidant activity of red propolis from Shandong, China. Ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) were prepared and evaluated for their antioxidant activities using four assays: 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl free radical-scavenging, 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical cation decolorization, ferric ion reducing antioxidant and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays. Red propolis from Shandong, China showed strong antioxidant activity across all assay systems used. Furthermore, the major constituents in EEP from Shandong, China were identified by HPLC analysis using photodiode array detection, and each component was quantitatively analyzed. In total, 17 compounds were identified: 9 flavonoids, 5 aromatic carboxylic acids and 3 phenolic acid esters. Red propolis from Shandong, China contains a large amount of the antioxidant compounds galangin and phenethyl caffeate (101.6 and 32.7 mg/g of EEP, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People whom the author would like to thank for their assistance in the creation of the publication "Surgery Today" are mentioned.

Consultants whom the editors and editorial board members want to thank for reviewing manuscripts are mentioned.

It has been previously suggested that activation of adenosine A1 receptor modulates dopamine D1 receptor binding in vitro, although the direct mechanism of this interaction in vivo has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we conducted a positron emission tomography (PET) study to demonstrate in vivo the interaction between these receptors. The specific adenosine A1 receptor agonist N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) was acutely administered to cats under anesthetized condition. Cats underwent repeated measurement of striatal and cerebellar radioactivity following intravenous injection of dopamine D1 receptor-specific [11C]SCH23390. The pretreatment with CPA decreased the striatum/cerebellum ratio of the uptake of [11C]SCH23390. Using the cerebellar radioactivity as an input function, kinetic analysis was performed and demonstrated that CPA caused about 40% decrease in the association rate constant. These results suggest that stimulation of adenosine A1 receptors modulates dopamine D1 receptor binding in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article mentions people that the author would like to thank for their assistance in the creation of his book.

A bibliography is given containing 2399 references published during 2001 and 2002 on piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of materials and their applications. It includes journal articles, patents and doctoral dissertations with complete bibliographic citations. This bibliography is the continuation of a series published semi-annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People whom the author would like to thank for their assistance for reviewing manuscripts from 2013-2014 are mentioned.

Thrombocytopenia is one of the adverse effects of extracorporeal circulation (ECC) but the mechanism of which has not been fully understood. Blood-gas interface, mechanical agitation, rough surface of extracorporeal circuit and sequestration in the liver have been considered to be a cuase of platelet loss. Extracorporeal circuit which provides large artificial surface for contact of blood has been blamed as the site of platelet destruction during oxygenation. However, the part of the oxygenator responsible for platelet loss has not been located. This study was designed to identify the sites of extracorporeal circuit responsible for platelet loss during ECC with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the post-perfusion circuit. The accumulation of platelet aggregates was most pronounced at the defoaming net and blood filter where a sudden changes in velocity of blood flow take place. The aggregates were considered to be formed locally at these sites. However, there were no accumulation and/or adherence of platelet aggregates of significant degree at the other parts of the circuit, namely venous and arterial tubings, venous colum and arterial reservoir. Platelets seem to be removed from the circulation during each passage by defoaming net and blood filter. However the other parts of the circuit seem to be less blamed for the platelet loss. It was not possible to conclude whether the formation and trapping of platelet microaggregates at the defoaming net and blood filter or the destruction by oxygen bubbles is mainly responsible for the plateletloss during ECC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplified operative technique for the long-segment atypical coarctation of the aorta was described. The main objective of this technique is to gain quick access to both thoracic and abdominal aorta with minimal blood loss, and preservation of diaphragmatic function. This procedure consists of standard thoracotomy and pararectal incision with an entry into the retroperitoneal space. Long prosthetic graft was anastomosed in an end-to-side fashion to bypass the coarctated aorta. The graft is placed through peripheral circumference of the left hemidiaphragm, where phrenic nerve injury is not likely to occur. This technique was successfully applied to two cases of long-segment atypical coarctation of the aorta due to Takayasu's aortitis. Retroperitoncal placement of the graft prevents fatal hemorrhage due to direct contact with the graft. Contamination with transintestinal exudate can also be avoided. Results of the ten-year follow-up of the similar procedure in the literature is encouraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have demonstrated that the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors ( PPARs) not only has positive effects on permeability barrier homoeostasis but also has anti-inflammatory effects by an as yet unknown mechanism. Reduced expression of PPARα in lesion of human atopic dermatitis ( AD) and in epidermis of murine AD-like dermatitis has been demonstrated. This study revealed that expression of PPARα alone among PPARs (α, β/δ and γ) was suppressed by both permeability barrier abrogation and additional existence of Th2 cytokine in cultured normal human keratinocytes. In addition, expressions of transglutaminase 1 and loricrin and those of thymus and activation-related chemokine and regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed in cultured human keratinocytes were reduced and enhanced, respectively, by transfection with si RNA for PPARα. In conclusion, depressed PPARα in keratinocytes might be involved in a relationship between permeability barrier abrogation and allergic inflammation and could be a therapeutic target which accounts for both the aspects in AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who the author would like to thank for the assistance in the creation of the periodical "International Journal of Urology" are presented.

People that the author would like to thank for their assistance in the creation of his journal are mentioned.

People whom the editor would like to thank for their assistance in reviewing papers for a 2014 issue of the journal are mentioned.