Search

In the view of the German government, the One Health approach is a pioneering compass for inter- and transdisciplinary thinking, networking, and action. To protect the health of humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems, it should always receive attention at all its interfaces and activities. The One Health approach has gained political importance in recent years and is being taken into account in several strategies.This article reports on the current strategies using a One Health approach. These include the German Antibiotic Resistance Strategy, the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change, the global initiative Nature for Health, and the international pandemic agreement, which is currently being drafted and in which prevention also plays an important role. The issues of biodiversity loss and climate protection must be placed in a common context that takes into account the interdependencies of the health status of humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems. By involving relevant disciplines at different levels as a matter of course, we can succeed in making a joint contribution to sustainable development, as required by the United Nations' Agenda 2030. This perspective guides Germany's global engagement in global health policy toward greater stability, freedom, diversity, solidarity, and respect for human rights. Thus, a holistic approach such as One Health can contribute to achieving sustainability and strengthening democratic principles., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: MR image intensity nonuniformity is often observed at 7T. Reference scans from the body coil used for uniformity correction at lower field strengths are typically not available at 7T., Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of a novel algorithm, Uniform Combined Reconstruction (UNICORN), to correct receive coil-induced nonuniformity in musculoskeletal 7T MRI without the use of a reference scan., Study Type: Retrospective image analysis study., Subjects: MRI data of 20 subjects was retrospectively processed offline. Field Strength/Sequence: Knees of 20 subjects were imaged at 7T with a single-channel transmit, 28-channel phased-array receive knee coil. A turbo-spin-echo sequence was used to acquire 33 series of images., Assessment: Three fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologists with cumulative experience of 42 years reviewed the images. The uniformity, contrast, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and overall image quality were evaluated for images with no postprocessing, images processed with N4 bias field correction algorithm, and the UNICORN algorithm., Statistical Tests: Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for measuring the interrater reliability. ICC and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the R statistical package employing a two-way mixed-effects model based on a mean rating (k = 3) for absolute agreement. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test with continuity correction was used for analyzing the overall image quality scores., Results: UNICORN was preferred among the three methods evaluated for uniformity in 97.9% of the pooled ratings, with excellent interrater agreement (ICC of 0.98, CI 0.97-0.99). UNICORN was also rated better than N4 for contrast and equivalent to N4 in SNR with ICCs of 0.80 (CI 0.72-0.86) and 0.67 (CI 0.54-0.77), respectively. The overall image quality scores for UNICORN were significantly higher than N4 (P < 6 × 10 -13 ), with good to excellent interrater agreement (ICC 0.90, CI 0.86-0.93)., Data Conclusion: Without the use of a reference scan, UNICORN provides better image uniformity, contrast, and overall image quality at 7T compared with the N4 bias field-correction algorithm., Level of Evidence: 4 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1534-1544., (© 2019 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)

Abstract: The urocortin 1 (UCN1)-expressing centrally projecting Edinger-Westphal (EWcp) nucleus is influenced by circadian rhythms, hormones, stress, and pain, all known migraine triggers. Our study investigated EWcp's potential involvement in migraine. Using RNAscope in situ hybridization and immunostaining, we examined the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor components in both mouse and human EWcp and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Tracing study examined connection between EWcp and the spinal trigeminal nucleus (STN). The intraperitoneal CGRP injection model of migraine was applied and validated by light-dark box, and von Frey assays in mice, in situ hybridization combined with immunostaining, were used to assess the functional-morphological changes. The functional connectivity matrix of EW was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging in control humans and interictal migraineurs. We proved the expression of CGRP receptor components in both murine and human DRN and EWcp. We identified a direct urocortinergic projection from EWcp to the STN. Photophobic behavior, periorbital hyperalgesia, increased c-fos gene-encoded protein immunoreactivity in the lateral periaqueductal gray matter and trigeminal ganglia, and phosphorylated c-AMP-responsive element binding protein in the STN supported the efficacy of CGRP-induced migraine-like state. Calcitonin gene-related peptide administration also increased c-fos gene-encoded protein expression, Ucn1 mRNA, and peptide content in EWcp/UCN1 neurons while reducing serotonin and tryptophan hydroxylase-2 levels in the DRN. Targeted ablation of EWcp/UCN1 neurons induced hyperalgesia. A positive functional connectivity between EW and STN as well as DRN has been identified by functional magnetic resonance imaging. The presented data strongly suggest the regulatory role of EWcp/UCN1 neurons in migraine through the STN and DRN with high translational value., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the International Association for the Study of Pain.)

Detailed anatomical understanding of the human brain is essential for unraveling its functional architecture, yet current reference atlases have major limitations such as lack of whole-brain coverage, relatively low image resolution, and sparse structural annotation. We present the first digital human brain atlas to incorporate neuroimaging, high-resolution histology, and chemoarchitecture across a complete adult female brain, consisting of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and 1,356 large-format cellular resolution (1 µm/pixel) Nissl and immunohistochemistry anatomical plates. The atlas is comprehensively annotated for 862 structures, including 117 white matter tracts and several novel cyto- and chemoarchitecturally defined structures, and these annotations were transferred onto the matching MRI dataset. Neocortical delineations were done for sulci, gyri, and modified Brodmann areas to link macroscopic anatomical and microscopic cytoarchitectural parcellations. Correlated neuroimaging and histological structural delineation allowed fine feature identification in MRI data and subsequent structural identification in MRI data from other brains. This interactive online digital atlas is integrated with existing Allen Institute for Brain Science gene expression atlases and is publicly accessible as a resource for the neuroscience community. J. Comp. Neurol. 524:3127-3481, 2016. © 2016 The Authors The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors The Journal of Comparative Neurology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Very short chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) pulses are beneficial in cardiac continuous wave (cw) CEST MRI, especially in small animals because of their rapid heartbeat; however, they result in signal modulations caused by Rabi oscillations. Therefore, we implemented two different filter techniques, DOwnsampling by SEparation of CEST spectrum into two parts (DOSE) and time domain (TD)-based filtering, to correct for these signal corruptions, allowing a reliable quantification of glucose-weighted CEST (glucoCEST) MRI contrast. In our study, cw CEST measurements were performed on a 9.4-T small animal BioSpec system using CEST pulses in the range of 10 to 200 ms. Experimental dependencies of Rabi oscillations on key MRI parameters were validated by Bloch-McConnell (BM) simulations. Filter efficiency was explored in a glucose concentration series as well as in the myocardium of healthy mice (n = 8), and glucoCEST contrast was subsequently quantified. The experimental results showed that the impact of Rabi oscillations on CEST spectra increased with decreasing CEST pulse length, optimized B 0 homogeneity, and shorter T 2 relaxation time, in accordance with results from BM simulations. Both investigated filter techniques reduced these signal modulations significantly, with DOSE filtering preserving the amplitude and TD filtering the spectral information of CEST data more accurately. Upon filter application, a significant decrease in glucoCEST contrast in the myocardium of healthy mice was observed after glucose infusion (p TD  = 0.0079, p DOSE  = 0.0044). To conclude, this study offers comprehensive experimental insights into Rabi oscillations within CEST MRI data along with methodological considerations that could be further advanced into a robust and precise cardiac cw CEST protocol by integrating DOSE and TD filtering into the standard CEST analysis pipeline., (© 2023 The Authors. NMR in Biomedicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: To evaluate the inter-rater agreement of cortical lesion detection using 7 Tesla (T) FLASH-T2 and 3T DIR sequences.Materials and Methods: Twenty-six patients with multiple sclerosis were scanned on a human 7T (Siemens) and 3T MRI (TIM Trio, Siemens) to acquire 3T DIR/MEMPR and 7T FLASH-T2 sequences. Four independent reviewers scored and categorized cortical lesions in the bilateral precentral gyri (motor strips) as leukocortical, intracortical, or subpial. Inter-rater agreement was assessed according to lesion category using the kappa statistic. The sensitivity of recent MAGNIMS consensus guidelines for cortical lesion detection using 3T DIR was assessed with 7T FLASH-T2 as the reference gold standard.Results: Inter-rater agreement at 7T was excellent compared with 3T (k = 0.97 versus 0.12). FLASH-T2 at 7T detected subpial lesions while 3T DIR did not. The predicted sensitivity of 3T DIR sequence for cortical lesions in vivo is modest (range of 13.6 to 18.3%).Conclusion: The 7T FLASH-T2 detects more cortical-particularly subpial-lesions compared with 3T DIR. In the absence of DIR/postmortem data, 7T FLASH-T2 is a suitable gold-standard instrument and should be incorporated into future consensus guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To reduce the sensitivity of echo-planar imaging (EPI) auto-calibration signal (ACS) data to patient respiration and motion to improve the image quality and temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) of accelerated EPI time-series data., Methods: ACS data for accelerated EPI are generally acquired using segmented, multishot EPI to distortion-match the ACS and time-series data. The ACS data are, therefore, typically collected over multiple TR periods, leading to increased vulnerability to motion and dynamic B0 changes. The fast low-angle excitation echo-planar technique (FLEET) is adopted to reorder the ACS segments so that segments within any given slice are acquired consecutively in time, thereby acquiring ACS data for each slice as rapidly as possible., Results: Subject breathhold and motion phantom experiments demonstrate that artifacts in the ACS data reduce tSNR and produce tSNR discontinuities across slices in the accelerated EPI time-series data. Accelerated EPI data reconstructed using FLEET-ACS exhibit improved tSNR and increased tSNR continuity across slices. Additionally, image quality is improved dramatically when bulk motion occurs during the ACS acquisition., Conclusion: FLEET-ACS provides reduced respiration and motion sensitivity in accelerated EPI, which yields higher tSNR and image quality. Benefits are demonstrated in both conventional-resolution 3T and high-resolution 7T EPI time-series data., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Electro-osmotic flow (EOF) is a phenomenon where fluid motion occurs in porous materials or micro/nano-channels when an external electric field is applied. In the particular example of single-molecule electrophoresis using single nanopores, the role of EOF on the translocation velocity of the analyte molecule through the nanopore is not fully understood. The complexity arises from a combination of effects from hydrodynamics in restricted environments, electrostatics emanating from charge decorations and geometry of the pores. We address this fundamental issue using the Poisson–Nernst–Planck and Navier–Stokes (PNP–NS) equations for cylindrical solid-state nanopores and three representative protein nanopores (α-hemolysin, MspA, and CsgG). We present the velocity profiles inside the nanopores as a function of charge decoration and geometry of the pore and applied electric field. We report several unexpected results: (a) The apparent charges of the protein nanopores are different from their net charge and the surface charge of the whole protein geometry, and the net charge of inner surface is consistent with the apparent charge. (b) The fluid velocity depends non-monotonically on voltage. The three protein nanopores exhibit unique EOF and velocity–voltage relations, which cannot be simply deduced from their net charge. Furthermore, effective point mutations can significantly change both the direction and the magnitude of EOF. The present computational analysis offers an opportunity to further understand the origins of the speed of transport of charged macromolecules in restricted space and to design desirable nanopores for tuning the speed of macromolecules through nanopores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object: The purpose of this study was to test, for the first time, whether spectroscopy voxels could be positioned automatically with high accuracy and reproducibility in ultrahigh-field longitudinal magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies., Materials and Methods: MRS voxels were automatically positioned in two cingulate subregions of 12 healthy subjects using a vendor-provided automatic voxel positioning (AutoAlign) technique, and were manually placed in the same regions of 10 healthy subjects by an experienced technician in three 7 T MRS scan sessions. Different coils were used for manual (24-channel coil) and automatic (32-channel coil) voxel placement, and the effects of signal-to-noise-ratio differences on the spectra were considered., Results: Over three scan sessions and two regions scanned for each subject, a mean voxel geometric overlap ratio of 0.91 for automatic positioning reflected accurate voxel alignment, while the geometric overlap ratio was only 0.70 for voxels placed manually. Comparable voxel positions among the three scan sessions (p > 0.05) indicated high reproducibility of automatic voxel alignment. In comparison, significant voxel displacement among scan sessions (p < 0.05) was found using manual voxel positioning., Conclusions: In view of the highly accurate and reproducible voxel alignment with automatic voxel positioning, we propose the application of automatic rather than manual voxel positioning in future ultrahigh-field longitudinal MRS studies.

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) with 15O-gas for quantifying cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen metabolism is the gold standard for assessing hemodynamics in ischemic cerebrovascular disease. However, conventional 15O-gas PET methods do not provide information on regional arrival timing, a hemodynamic parameter typically measured using computed tomography (CT) perfusion with contrast media. This study demonstrated that 15O-gas PET with a state-of-the-art clinical PET scanner and optimized analysis can generate arrival time maps. In this retrospective study of ten patients with unilateral stenosis or occlusion of the major arteries, we compared PET-derived arrival time maps with CT perfusion Tmax maps. Results: In PET with short inhalation of [15O]-CO2 gases, dynamic images were reconstructed with 2-sec temporal resolution, followed by weighted least-squares fitting of one-tissue compartment models, with or without the contributions from vascular components. PET arrival time maps were visually comparable to CT perfusion Tmax maps regarding the spatial extent of delayed brain regions, with less noise and higher image quality when using the model without the vascular components. Region-of-interest analyses showed good correlations between the two modalities: correlation coefficients of 0.834 for absolute values and 0.718 for ipsilateral-to-contralateral differences, respectively, indicating that 15O-gas PET can quantitatively measure the arrival time with reasonable accuracy. Conclusions: The present method generates arrival-time maps with 15O-gas PET by applying optimized kinetic analysis to dynamic [15O]-CO2 images acquired using a state-of-the-art, high-sensitivity clinical PET scanner. Additional arrival time information for conventional PET parameters of CBF and oxygen metabolism may facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the hemodynamic status in cerebrovascular steno-occlusive diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]