Association Between Taurine Level in the Hippocampus and Major Depressive Disorder in Young Women: A Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study at 7T.

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure. Generally, women are twice as likely as men to have depression. Taurine, a type of amino acid, plays critical roles in neuronal generation, differentiation, arborization, and formation of synaptic connections.

Task-residual effective connectivity of motor network in transient ischemic attack.

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary episode of neurological dysfunction that results from focal brain ischemia. Although TIA symptoms are quickly resolved, patients with TIA have a high risk of stroke and persistent impairments in multiple domains of cognitive and motor functions. In this study, using spectral dynamic causal modeling, we investigate the changes in task-residual effective connectivity of patients with TIA during fist-closing movements.

Attenuated facial movement in depressed women is associated with symptom severity, and nucleus accumbens functional connectivity.

It is assumed that mood can be inferred from one's facial expression. While this association may prove to be an objective marker for mood disorders, few studies have explicitly evaluated this linkage. The facial movement responses of women with major depressive disorder (n = 66) and healthy controls (n = 46) under emotional stimuli were recorded using webcam.

Genome-wide assessment reveals a significant association between ACSS3 and physical activity.

Recent genetic studies have identified physical activity (PA)-susceptible loci in European ancestry subjects; however, due to considerable genetic differences, these findings are not likely extendable to East Asian populations. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify significantly associated PA-susceptible loci using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) with East Asian (EAS) subjects and to generalize the findings to European (EUR) ancestries. The mRNA levels of genes located near the genome-wide significantly associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were compared under PA and control conditions.

Repeatable Self-Healing of a Protective Coating Based on Vegetable-Oil-Loaded Microcapsules.

Generally, microcapsule-based self-healing materials have the limitation of single local self-healing. A few studies have reported repeatable self-healing in these microcapsular materials, but there is a challenge to develop multi-cycle self-healing materials that have the advantages of easier preparation and a more efficient operation. In this work, a mixture of two vegetable oils, soybean and olive oil, was used as a healing agent.

In vitro study on the effects of photodynamic inactivation using methyl pheophorbide a, PhotoMed, PhotoCure, and 660 nm diode laser on Candida albicans.

Background: Candida albicans (C. albicans) is the most common fungal pathogen that causes clinical infections in humans. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of photodynamic inactivation (PDI) using a 660 nm diode laser along with methyl pheophorbide a, PhotoMed, and PhotoCure as photosensitizer for analyzing the viability of in vitro inactivation of C.

Hyperoxia-Induced ΔR.

Background and Purpose- Acceleration of longitudinal relaxation under hyperoxic challenge (ie, hyperoxia-induced ΔR) indicates oxygen accumulation and reflects baseline tissue oxygenation. We evaluated the feasibility of hyperoxia-induced ΔR for evaluating cerebral oxygenation status and degree of ischemic damage in stroke. Methods- In 24-hour transient stroke rat models (n=13), hyperoxia-induced ΔR, ischemic severity (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]), vasogenic edema (R), total and microvascular blood volume (superparamagnetic iron oxide-driven ΔR* and ΔR, respectively), and glucose metabolism activity (F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography) were measured.

The Effect on Bone Outcomes of Home-based Exercise Intervention for Prostate Cancer Survivors Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Cancer treatment-induced bone loss has important long-term effects in prostate cancer survivors (PCSs) receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but little is known about preventive interventions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a 6-month home-based exercise intervention in PCSs.

Methods: In this pilot, randomized controlled trial, 51 men (mean age, 70.

The Neuromelanin-related T2* Contrast in Postmortem Human Substantia Nigra with 7T MRI.

High field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based delineation of the substantia nigra (SN) and visualization of its inner cellular organization are promising methods for the evaluation of morphological changes associated with neurodegenerative diseases; however, corresponding MR contrasts must be matched and validated with quantitative histological information. Slices from two postmortem SN samples were imaged with a 7 Tesla (7T) MRI with T1 and T2* imaging protocols and then stained with Perl's Prussian blue, Kluver-Barrera, tyrosine hydroxylase, and calbindin immunohistochemistry in a serial manner. The association between T2* values and quantitative histology was investigated with a co-registration method that accounts for histology slice preparation.

Bone health and its correlates in Korean prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine bone health status, identify factors associated with bone mineral density (BMD), and determine potential risk factors for osteoporosis in Korean prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Methods: Using a cross-sectional descriptive design, we recruited 139 men with prostate cancer receiving ADT at two university-based hospitals in South Korea. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire and underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry testing.

Lumazine Synthase Protein Nanoparticle-Gd(III)-DOTA Conjugate as a T1 contrast agent for high-field MRI.

With the applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at higher magnetic fields increasing, there is demand for MRI contrast agents with improved relaxivity at higher magnetic fields. Macromolecule-based contrast agents, such as protein-based ones, are known to yield significantly higher r1 relaxivity at low fields, but tend to lose this merit when used as T1 contrast agents (r1/r2 = 0.5 ~ 1), with their r1 decreasing and r2 increasing as magnetic field strength increases.

Oxygen-induced frequency shifts in hyperoxia: a significant component of BOLD signal.

In comparison to the well-documented significance of intravascular deoxyhemoglobin (deoxyHgb), the effects of dissolved oxygen on the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal have not been widely reported. Based on the fact that the prolonged inspiration of high oxygen fraction gas can result in up to a sixfold increase of the baseline tissue oxygenation, the current study focused on the influence of dissolved oxygen on the BOLD signal during hyperoxia. As results, our in vitro study revealed that the r1 and r2 (relaxivities) of the oxygen-treated serum were 0.

Response of the primary auditory and non-auditory cortices to acoustic stimulation: a manganese-enhanced MRI study.

Structural and functional features of various cerebral cortices have been extensively explored in neuroscience research. We used manganese-enhanced MRI, a non-invasive method for examining stimulus-dependent activity in the whole brain, to investigate the activity in the layers of primary cortices and sensory, such as auditory and olfactory, pathways under acoustic stimulation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats, either with or without exposure to auditory stimulation, were scanned before and 24-29 hour after systemic MnCl2 injection.

Sunitinib--CLIO conjugate: a VEGFR/PDGFR-targeting active MR probe.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate feasibility of sunitinib-CLIO conjugate as a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor/platelet-derived growth factor receptor (VEGFR/PDGFR)-specific magnetic resonance (MR) probe.

Procedure: VEGFR/PDGFR-targeting MR probe was synthesized by conjugating cross-linked iron-oxide (CLIO) with tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (sunitinib). In VEGFR/PDGFR-positive (U118MG) and VEGFR/PDGFR-negative (HT29) cells and tumor models, conjugate-driven ΔR 2 was estimated, while CLIO was used as control.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for monitoring antiangiogenic treatment: determination of accurate and reliable perfusion parameters in a longitudinal study of a mouse xenograft model.

Objective: To determine the reliable perfusion parameters in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) for the monitoring antiangiogenic treatment in mice.

Materials And Methods: Mice, with U-118 MG tumor, were treated with either saline (n = 3) or antiangiogenic agent (sunitinib, n = 8). Before (day 0) and after (days 2, 8, 15, 25) treatment, DCE examinations using correlations of perfusion parameters (Kep, Kel, and A(H) from two compartment model; time to peak, initial slope and % enhancement from time-intensity curve analysis) were evaluated.

Sunlight-induced self-healing of a microcapsule-type protective coating.

Photopolymerization behavior of a methacryloxypropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (MAT-PDMS) healing agent was investigated in the presence of benzoin isobutyl ether (BIE) photoinitiator by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. MAT-PDMS and BIE were microencapsulated with urea-formaldehyde polymer. The surface and shell morphology of the microcapsules was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Temporal/spatial resolution improvement of in vivo DCE-MRI with compressed sensing-optimized FLASH.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) provides critical information regarding tumor perfusion and permeability by injecting a T(1) contrast agent, such as Gd-DTPA, and making a time-resolved measurement of signal increase. Both temporal and spatial resolutions are required to be high to achieve an accurate and reproducible estimation of tumor perfusion. However, the dynamic nature of the DCE experiment limits simultaneous improvement of temporal and spatial resolution by conventional methods.

Is apparent diffusion coefficient reliable and accurate for monitoring effects of antiangiogenic treatment in a longitudinal study?

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for monitoring antiangiogenic treatment in a longitudinal study.

Materials And Methods: Tumor volume and ADC were monitored by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion-weighted MRI, respectively, in 18 mice with angiogenesis-dependent tumors (U118MG) before (day 0) and after 2, 7, 14, and 21 days of administration of the antiangiogenic agent sunitinib maleate (n = 12) or vehicle (n = 6). Percent changes in tumor volume and ADC were calculated and correlations between tumor volume and ADC were evaluated.

Evaluation of MRI resolution affecting trabecular bone parameters: determination of acceptable resolution.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of MR image resolution on trabecular bone parameters and to determine the acceptable resolution that can be accurately analyzed to assess structural parameters. Ten distal femoral condyle specimens of 1 × 1 × 1 cm(3) were scanned with a 4.7-T Bruker BioSpec MRI scanner using a three-dimensional fast large-angle spin-echo sequence with various iso-cubic voxels sizes (65, 130, 160, 196, 230, and 260 μm).

Feasibility of FAIR imaging for evaluating tumor perfusion.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) for measuring blood flow in tumor models.

Materials And Methods: In eight mice tumor models, FAIR and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) was performed. The reliability for measuring blood flow on FAIR was evaluated using the coefficient of variation of blood flow on psoas muscle.