Search

BLADE is the commercial name of a spin-echo imaging technique that uses periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) k-space trajectory. In this study, the efficiency of using BLADE to improve hippocampal imaging in mental patients was assessed. The hippocampi of 47 mental patients were imaged on a 3.0 T scanner along the oblique coronal orientation using the T2WI TSE and T2WI FLAIR sequences with or without the use of BLADE. The same four sequences were also used to scan a standard American College of Radiology (ACR) phantom according to the ACR standards. The hippocampal images were scored by two radiologists using a 5-point scale, in terms of motion artifact, pulsation artifact, perceptive coarseness and image quality. The outcomes were compared between the sequences by two-sample Wilcoxon tests. The images of the phantom were evaluated semi-quantitatively for high contrast spatial resolution (HCSR) and low contrast object detection detectability (LCD) by counting the number of hole arrays and spokes that could be detected. The results showed that, compared to the conventional sequences, the sequences combined with BLADE technique showed significantly reduced motion and pulsation artifacts (p

The generic placement of Piptatherum kuoi (Poaceae, Stipeae) has long been controversial. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that Piptatherum kuoi should be transferred to Patis. Here, we present cytological support for this transfer and discuss morphological differences and similarities. Piptatherum kuoi has a chromosome number of 2n = 46 with the chromosomes varying in length between 1.1 and 3.1 μm, and the symmetrical karyotype 2n = 26m + 16sm + 4st (2sat). Karyological characters of Piptatherum kuoi, including chromosome number, size, and karyotype asymmetry, thus all agree with those of species of Patis, but are different from those of other species of Piptatherum. The transfer of Piptatherum kuoi to Patis is thus corroborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]