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Infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages (M-MΦ) influence stroke-induced brain injury. Although the inflammatory nature of M-MΦ in acute stroke has been well documented, their role during the resolution phase of stroke is less clear. With emerging evidence for the involvement of scavenger receptors in innate immunity, this study addresses an M-MΦ CD36 role in mediating phagocytosis during the recovery phase of stroke. Stroke increases CD36 and TSP-1/2 mRNA levels in the ipsilateral hemisphere at acute (3-day (d)) and recovery (7d) periods. Quantification of total, intracellular, and cell surface CD36 protein levels showed relatively unchanged expression at 3d post-ischemia. At 7d, there was a significant increase in cell surface CD36 (p < 0.05) with a concurrent reduction of intracellular CD36 (p < 0.05) in the ipsilateral hemisphere. Both cell surface and intracellular CD36 were found in whole brain lysates, whereas cell surface CD36 was predominantly detected in isolated brain mononuclear cells, blood monocytes, and peritoneal macrophages, suggesting that cell surface CD36 expressed in the post-ischemic brain originates from the periphery. The stroke-induced CD36 mRNA level correlated with increased expression of lysosomal acid lipase, an M2 macrophage marker. Functionally, higher CD36 expression in M-MΦ is correlated with higher phagocytic indices in post-ischemic brain immune cells. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of CD36 attenuated phagocytosis in peritoneal macrophages and brain M-MΦ. These findings demonstrate that cell surface CD36 on M-MΦ mediates phagocytosis during the recovery phase in post-stroke brains and suggests that CD36 plays a reparative role during the resolution of inflammation in ischemic stroke.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are used in stroke treatment despite the poor understanding of its mode of action. The immune suppressive and anti-inflammatory properties of MSCs possibly play important roles in regulating neuroinflammation after stroke. We investigated whether MSCs reduce the inflammatory complement component 3 (C3) levels, thus, providing neuroprotection during stroke. Mice were subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia (tFCI), after which MSCs were intravenously injected. The infarct volume of the brain was reduced in MSC-injected tFCI mice, and C3 expression was significantly reduced in both the brain and the blood. Additionally, the profiles of other inflammatory mediators demonstrated neuroprotective changes in the MSCs-treated group. In order to analyze the effect of MSCs on neurons during cerebral ischemia, primary cortical neurons were co-cultured with MSCs under oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Primary neurons co-cultured with MSCs exhibited reduced levels of C3 expression and increased protection against OGD, indicating that treatment with MSCs reduces excessive C3 expression and rescues ischemia-induced neuronal damage. Our finding suggests that reduction of C3 expression by MSCs can help to ameliorate ischemic brain damage, offering a new neuroprotective strategy in stroke therapy.

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is an active ingredient of beehive propolis with a structure similar to phenolic acid. The estrogenic effects of propolis were previously demonstrated through the activation of an estrogen receptor. To identify the estrogenic properties of propolis, CAPE was evaluated using in vitro and in vivo methods. CAPE showed selective binding affinity to human estrogen receptor β (hERβ) rather than hERα. CAPE also reduced ERα expression in MCF-7 and MDA 231 cells. In the yeast estrogen receptor transcription assay, CAPE produced the transcriptional activity of estrogen-responsive element with EC50 values of 3.72 × 10−6 M. CAPE did not increase the growth of MCF-7 estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells in doses ranging from 10−7 to 10−5 M. In order to understand how CAPE acts in animals, CAPE was tested by a uterotrophic bioassay. Treatment with CAPE (100, 500 mg/kg) did not increase the uterine weight relative to 3 μg/kg 17β-estradiol treatment. The results indicate that CAPE, which is a selective agonist to hERβ, but does not show any estrogenic effect on estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells and in immature rat uterine tissue, is a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper studies a new color image edge detection method. The fuzzy inference engine is designed to detect edges. Some membership functions in horizontal and vertical directions are used for edge detecting. Experimental results show the presented method provides good performance when it is compared with conventional methods.

This paper studies spatial domain upsampling method. The purpose of the method is to perform high-quality upsampled results while consuming reasonable computational complexity. Experimental results prove that the proposed approach can outperform conventional methods.

Methotrexate (MTX) is a necessary antimetabolite for the treatment of oncological disorders in all age groups. It was first introduced in 1948 for treatment of childhood lymphocytic leukemia [1]. Intrathecal methotrexate is used for prophylaxis and treatment of meningeal leukemia. Neurological adverse effects of methotrexate are not uncommon. Chronic leukoencephalopathy is the most serious neurotoxicity, particularly when it is administered intrathecally in combination with cranial radiation therapy, and is characterized by insidious evolution of dementia, pseudobulbar palsy or ataxia with widespread white matter changes. On the other hand, acute neurological toxicity is rare and not well understood. The diagnosis of acute focal symptoms from MTX treatment is difficult and sometimes challenging in patients who show restriction on diffusion-weighted image. Herein, we report on a case of acuteMTX leukoencephalopathywith a unique radiological finding.

This paper presents a multi-sensor color image interpretation method. Objective and subjective performance comparisons are conducted in simulation results section.

Background and Purpose: Longitudinal imaging studies in stroke demonstrated that infarct development is a dynamic process and it matures over several days, even weeks depending on the severity of stroke. However, due to high cost and multiple exposure of anesthesia associated with repeated imaging, infarct volume has been typically measured at a fixed time point in preclinical studies, which prevent further assessment of behaviors during stroke recovery. In identifying a non-invasive physiological parameter that predicts the extent of stroke-induced brain injury, the study investigated whether acute body weight loss predicts the extent of brain injury and swelling. Methods: C57 male mice (10-12 wk old, 25-30 gr) were subjected to the proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion for 30 min. Body weight was recorded daily. Infarct volume corrected with swelling (IVInd) and percent hemispheric swelling (%SW) were determined at 1, 3 and 7d after MCAO. In a retrospective study, we analyzed correlations between 3d %body weight reduction (%BWred) and stroke outcomes (IVInd & %SW) in C57 male animals that were subjected to MCAO by 3 different individuals over 8 years (n=91-96). Results: Stroke induced acute BW loss (%BWred; 1d, 88.9±3.3; 3d, 84.5±8.6; 5d, 86.8±10.6; 7d, 88.9±8.9). Correlation analyses in the post-ischemic time points showed IVind and %SW were significantly correlated with only at 3d BW reduction, but not 1d and 7d (Fig.1). A retrospective analysis in C57 mice also showed a significant correlation between 3d %BWred and IVInd & %SW (Fig.2). Conclusions: The study showed that acute post-stroke BWred is a simple and suitable index to predict the extent of stroke injury in C57 mice. Whether the prediction can be generalized across different strains and in comorbid conditions warrant further investigation.

This paper presents a new circular effect generation approach. A pixel location in an image can be stated with i and j coordinate. To handle (i,j) coordinate system easier, we transform (i,j) coordinate system into (ρ,θ) coordinate system. Simulation results introduce performance comparison.

Background The aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab) is a disease-specific autoantibody to neuromyelitis optica (NMO). We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the FACS assay in detecting the AQP4-Ab compared with the commercial cell-based assay (C-CBA) kit. Methods Human embryonic kidney-293 cells were transfected with human aquaporin-4 (M23) cDNA. The optimal cut off values of FACS assay was tested using 1123 serum samples from patients with clinically definite NMO, those at high risk for NMO, patients with multiple sclerosis, patients with other idiopathic inflammatory demyelinating diseases, and negative controls. The accuracy of FACS assay and C-CBA were compared in consecutive 225 samples that were collected between January 2014 and June 2014. Results With a cut-off value of MFIi of 3.5 and MFIr of 2.0, the receiver operating characteristic curve for the FACS assay showed an area under the curve of 0.876. Among 225 consecutive sera, the FACS assay and C-CBA had a sensitivity of 77.3% and 69.7%, respectively, in differentiating the sera of definite NMO patients from sera of controls without IDD or of MS. Both assay had a good specificity of 100% in it. The overall positivity of the C-CBA among FACS-positive sera was 81.5%; moreover, its positivity was low as 50% among FACS-positive sera with relatively low MFIis. Conclusions Both the FACS assay and C-CBA are sensitive and highly specific assays in detecting AQP4-Ab. However, in some sera with relatively low antibody titer, FACS-assay can be a more sensitive assay option. In real practice, complementary use of FACS assay and C-CBA will benefit the diagnosis of NMO patients, because the former can be more sensitive among low titer sera and the latter are easier to use therefore can be widely used.

In this paper, we present a tile effect generation algorithm. The presented method cuts a given pictures with small-size tiles and an original image is composed of those tiles. The size of tiles is generated by random function. We use four parameters: size of horizontal and vertical block, size of skip blocks in horizontal and vertical direction. The presented method is tested on McM dataset. Simulation results provide performance comparison in terms of PSNR, CMSE and FSIM.

In this paper, we present a method which gives oil painting effect for color images. In general, oil painting method is a process of painting with pigments that are bound with drying oil. The oil painting is widely adopted for artist who utilizes different oils. The proposed method uses digital painting approach and makes an original image painted with oil. The main purpose of oil painting is to generate visually friendly image. The conventional oil painting method requires large computations and long execution time. However our proposed method needs less complexity due to its simplicity. Performance comparison is provided that proves the reliability of our proposed method.

Background and Purpose: Although postconditioning following stroke has indicated neuroprotective mechanisms, little is known about the mechanisms that lead to neuroprotection. Using flagellin, NF-kB activators and agonists of TLR5, we tested whether TLR5 plays an integral role in NF-kB activation and postconditioning-induced neuroprotection. Method: For the postconditioning group, 30 min of MCAO was induced, then 5 min of reperfusion was performed, after which the MCA was again occluded for 5 min. Using an anaerobic chamber, bEnd.3 and BV-2 cells in the postconditioning group were subjected to 180 min OGD (oxygen and glucose deprivation) and were allowed to recover for 10 min before being subjected to 10 more min of OGD. The control group was subjected to 180 min of OGD. Flagellin, an agonist of TLR5, was used to clarify the association between TLR5 and postconditioning in vivo (ICV; 50, 100 ng/mouse) and in vitro (0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1 ng/ ml) experiments. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting were used to determine the interactions of TLR5, MyD88, p-Akt, and NF-κB. Results: Animals treated with postconditioning showed significant differences in infarct volumes compared with the MCAO group up to 60.51%. Postconditioning elevated NF-κB translocation to the nuclei (pin vivo and in vitro postconditioning. Additionally, inhibition of Akt phosphorylation by Akt inhibitor IV decreased NF-κB translocation after postconditioning. To clarify the role of NF-κB in postconditioning, flagellin was used as a postconditioning mimicking agent. The treatment of flagellin reduced hypoxic-ischemic injury and increased nuclear accumulation of NF-κB and activation of Akt up to 4 hr. Conclusions: Postconditioning has neuroprotective effects by activating NF-κB and Akt survival pathway under TLR5 after stroke. Agonist of TLR5, flagellin simulated NF-κB and Akt survival pathways in cerebral ischemia. Our results suggested new mechanisms of postconditioning through TLR-5 and NF-κB, which leads to the possibility of development of a postconditioning mimicking agent using NF-κB activators such as flagellin.

Background and Purpose: Hyperglycemia is frequently observed in patients with acute ischemic stroke, and conversely, diabetic patients showed a high frequency of stroke. This correlation indicates shared mechanisms in pathology. Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) stimulates glucose-dependent insulin secretion and is used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Recently, beyond the glucose-lowering effect, GLP-1 has been reported to possess neuroprotective effects. We therefore investigated the neuroprotective mechanism of GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist exendin-4 (ex-4) after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 60 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v) pretreatment of ex-4. Oxygen glucose deprivation was induced to primary neuron cultures in an anaerobic chamber. Changes of genes were further confirmed by QPCR and Western blot, and siRNA was used to ascertain the mechanism. Results: Ischemia-reperfusion injury reduced the expressions of GLP-1R by 46.3% (p; higher oxidative stress in SOD2 KO mice induced lower expression of GLP-1R, but higher in SOD1 Tg mice. Down regulated GLP-1R by ischemic injury was 70% restored by GLP-1R agonist, ex-4 (p2 terminal kinase (JNK) signaling that stimulates activation of Cox-2 was 36% inhibited by the i.c.v injection of ex-4 at 24 h (p Conclusions: GLP-1R activation by ex-4 resulted in reduction of Cox-2 through increasing IB1, which led to anti-inflammatory neuroprotection in stroke. Our study suggests that anti-inflammatory action of GLP-1 could be a new strategy for the treatment of stroke accompanied by hyperglycemia.

Background: Oxidative stress and inflammation are associated with various ageing-related chronic diseases. The fruits and roots of Rosa multiflora Thunb . have been used in medicine for the treatment of edema and inflammatory diseases in Eastern Asia. Dried Rosa multiflora Thunb. flower (RMF) have been consumed as a tea in Korea, but reports on the biological activity of RMF are lacking. We evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of an ethanol extract from RMF as well as various solvent fractions from the extract. Methods: The ethanol extract (Et) of RMP was fractionated sequentially by hexane (Hx), dichloromethane (DM), ethylacetate (EA), n-butanol (B t ) and distilled water (DW). Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content, scavenging activities of the 2,2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl radical and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical and ferric-reducing antioxidant power were measured. Anti-inflammatory effects in terms of levels of nitric oxide and prostaglandin (PG) E2 and production of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW 264.7 macrophages were measured, and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 were measured by Western blot analysis. Results : EA treatment showed the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid content and strongest antioxidant activity, followed by Bt and Et, measured by three different methods. Treatment with Et and all fractions significantly suppressed (p

Background Korean orthography is composed of Hanja (ideograms) and Hangul (phonograms). Based on previous studies, the fusiform gyrus has been associated with ideogram reading. We examine serial functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images in a patient exhibiting dissociation of Hanja and Hangul reading to identify brain areas associated with Hanja reading. Case report fMRI were taken of a 63-year-old man showing profound Hanja alexia with normal Hangul reading after an acute stroke involving the left frontal and parietal lobes, who later spontaneously recovered his Hanja reading ability. Scans were taken while performing Hanja and Hangul reading tasks on three occasions. As a result, in spite of having profound Hanja alexia, partial activation of the fusiform gyrus was observed on the first fMRI. Serial fMRI scans showed activation of the bilateral middle frontal gyri that increased in parallel with the patient's recovery of Hanja reading. Conclusions The frontal lobe, not only fusiform gyrus, may play role in reading Hanja, although more evidence is needed.

It is common that physicians are faced with patients who have severe steno-occlusion of intracranial arteries in the absence of clinical symptoms. This study is to determine whether a 7T magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) could provide the improved depiction of microvessels of asymptomatic patients with steno-occlusive middle cerebral artery (MCA) and possible clues for diagnosis of their clinical symptoms. All the patients who were identified as severe MCA steno-occlusions underwent a 7T MRA study. Three of these also underwent conventional angiography (TFCA). The vascular densities around the steno-occlusive MCA and posterior cerebral artery (PCA) branches as control vessels were measured and the difference between the median values of 7T and 3T MRA data was also analyzed. The results of 7T MRA revealed numerous microvessels not visible by conventional MRA. These 7T MRA images were also comparable to those obtained by an invasive conventional angiography (TFCA). The median values of vascular densities observed by 7T MRA were significantly higher than those by 3T MRA (5.28 at 7T vs. 1.45 at 3T for steno-occlusive MCA, p = 0.012, while 3.39 at 7T vs. 3.32 at 3T for normal PCA, p = 0.093). Ultra-high-field 7T MRA is a totally noninvasive angiographic technique that is capable of visualizing microvascular circulation that is usually difficult with conventional MRA. This visualization technique, therefore, could provide an important avenue on the diagnosis of steno-occlusion as well as the search of the roles of the microvessel, especially collaterals, in the preservation of normal blood circulation in patients with asymptomatic MCA steno-occlusion.

BackgroundzzCluster headache is a primary headache disorder characterized by periodic episodes of intense headache accompanied by autonomic symptoms. We report an unusual clinical presentation of cluster headache that was preceded by myoclonus and accompanied by hemiparesis. Case ReportzzA 26-year-old man visited hospital due to recurrent jerky movements on the left side of his face and neck area lasting 3 days. These jerky movements had disappeared spontaneously without specific treatment. On the 10th day after onset of the jerky movements, the patient developed a series of unilateral severe headaches that were accompanied by autonomic symptoms lasting 1-2 hours. According to the second edition of The International Classification of Headache Disorders, he was diagnosed as having cluster headache. Two of the 16 severe headache attacks this patient suffered were accompanied by dysarthria and hemiparesis. Electroencephalography performed during hemiparesis revealed diffuse lateralized slow activity on the ipsilateral hemisphere of the headache side. The headache and accompanying hemiparesis disappeared after medical treatment for cluster headache. ConclusionszzWe describe a case of cluster headache accompanied by hemiparesis, which was preceded by myoclonus. We also outline the possible mechanisms underlying this case. J Clin Neurol 2012;8:83-86

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of Luffa cylindrical cold water freaction(LCC) on intracellular triglyceride and free glycerol release level in lipolysis of diffe...

The IkappaB kinase (IKK) complex is a central component in the classic activation of the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway. It has been reported to function in physiologic responses, including cell death and inflammation. We have shown that IKK is regulated by oxidative status after transient focal cerebral ischemia (tFCI) in mice. However, the mechanism by which oxidative stress influences IKKs after tFCI is largely unknown. Nuclear accumulation and phosphorylation of IKKalpha (pIKKalpha) were observed 1 h after 30 mins of tFCI in mice. In copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase knockout mice, levels of NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK) (an upstream kinase of IKKalpha), pIKKalpha, and phosphorylation of histone H3 (pH3) on Ser10 were increased after tFCI and were higher than in wild-type mice. Immunohistochemistry showed nuclear accumulation and pIKKalpha in mouse brain endothelial cells after tFCI. Nuclear factor-kappaB-inducing kinase was increased, and it enhanced pH3 by inducing pIKKalpha after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in mouse brain endothelial cells. Both NIK and pH3 interactions with IKKalpha were confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation. Treatment with IKKalpha small interfering RNA significantly reduced cell death after OGD. These results suggest that augmentation of NIK, IKKalpha, and pH3 in response to oxidative stress is involved in cell death after cerebral ischemia (or stroke).

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is an active ingredient of beehive propolis with a structure similar to phenolic acid. The estrogenic effects of propolis were previously demonstrated through the activation of an estrogen receptor. To identify the estrogenic properties of propolis, CAPE was evaluated using in vitro and in vivo methods. CAPE showed selective binding affinity to human estrogen receptor beta (hERbeta) rather than hERalpha. CAPE also reduced ERalpha expression in MCF-7 and MDA 231 cells. In the yeast estrogen receptor transcription assay, CAPE produced the transcriptional activity of estrogen-responsive element with EC(50) values of 3.72 x 10(-6) M. CAPE did not increase the growth of MCF-7 estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells in doses ranging from 10(-7) to 10(-5) M. In order to understand how CAPE acts in animals, CAPE was tested by a uterotrophic bioassay. Treatment with CAPE (100, 500 mg/kg) did not increase the uterine weight relative to 3 microg/kg 17beta-estradiol treatment. The results indicate that CAPE, which is a selective agonist to hERbeta, but does not show any estrogenic effect on estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells and in immature rat uterine tissue, is a potential selective estrogen receptor modulator.

A procedure is described for the calculation of the rates of momentum and heal transfer due to free convective flow along a vertical plate with either an arbitrarily prescribed surface temperature ...