Longitudinal imaging evaluation of the inflammatory role of purinergic AA receptors during subacute and chronic ischemic stroke.

Adenosine A receptors (AARs) have shown promising therapeutic properties despite their controversial role in modulating stroke outcome. However, the temporal evolution of cerebral AARs density after cerebral ischemia and its subsequent neuroinflammatory response have been scarcely explored. In this study, the expression of AARs after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was evaluated in rats by positron emission tomography (PET) with [C]SCH442416 and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Technical report on the first clinical use of a bioabsorbable PGA spacer in HDR brachytherapy for recurrent cervical cancer.

In recurrent gynecologic malignancies following prior pelvic irradiation, definitive radiation therapy is often precluded by cumulative dose constraints to adjacent organs at risk (OARs), and patients may be left with only highly invasive surgical options such as total pelvic exenteration. While some institutions have explored displacement techniques such as artificial ascites or hyaluronic acid gel injection, these approaches are not widely adopted and frequently fail to ensure consistent and stable separation of OARs. We report the first clinical use of Neskeep®, a bioabsorbable polyglycolic acid (PGA) spacer, in high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for recurrent cervical cancer after prior pelvic radiation.

Dual-Targeting of PD-L1 and Integrin αβ for Preclinical PET Imaging of Cancer.

The dual-targeting strategy has demonstrated advantages in enhancing tumor uptake, improving imaging contrast, and ultimately increasing tumor detection rate. PD-L1 is overexpressed on multiple tumor cells and regulated by αβ-integrin. In this study, a dual-targeting radiotracer, [64Cu]-PEG-RGD-TPP-1, is developedfor PET/CT imaging of both PD-L1 and αβ-integrin simultaneously, achieving high contrast, enhanced tumor uptake, and prolonged tumor retention time.

Development of a submillimeter resolution PET scanner with compact geometry for hybrid multi-photon/PET imaging.

For mouse brain research, multi-modal imaging techniques are important to understand neurodegenerative mechanisms with different informational aspects. The aim of this study is to develop a submillimeter resolution PET scanner of compact geometry that can be integrated with a commercial multi-photon excitation microscope. Methods: The PET scanner has ring diameter of 52.

Evaluation of myocardial fibrosis and wall motion abnormality with Ga-FAPI PET/MR in coronary heart disease.

Background: To explore the characteristics of cardiac fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) PET/MR in coronary heart disease (CHD) and its association with abnormal wall motion.

Results: In this prospective study, participants with CHD after PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) underwent gallium 68 ( Ga)-labeled FAPI PET/MR imaging. FAP signal was quantified using standardized uptake values.

Rod-shaped microglia represent a morphologically distinct subpopulation of disease-associated microglia.

Microglia, resident immune cells of the central nervous system, play an essential role in responding to pathological conditions by adopting diverse activation states and morphologies. Recent single-cell RNA sequencing have revealed that microglial subtypes were heterogeneous based on their gene expression profiles. However, the mechanism on how morphological changes in microglia are correlated with their gene expression profiles remains unclear.

F-FDG PET-based liver segmentation using deep-learning.

Organ segmentation using F-FDG PET images alone has not been extensively explored. Segmentation based methods based on deep learning (DL) have traditionally relied on CT or MRI images, which are vulnerable to alignment issues and artifacts. This study aimed to develop a DL approach for segmenting the entire liver based solely on F-FDG PET images.

Extended single-dose toxicity study of [At]meta-astatobenzylguanidine in normal mice in preparation for the first-in-human clinical trial of targeted alpha therapy for pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.

Objective: Targeted alpha-particle therapy (TAT) is promising with a greater therapeutic effect than conventional beta radionuclide therapy. To develop human clinical trials of [At]meta-astatobenzylguanidine ([At]MABG), we have conducted an extended single-dose toxicity study of [At]MABG in normal mice in consultation with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). We are currently working for human clinical trials of [At]MABG.

Real-time respiratory motion forecasting with online learning of recurrent neural networks for accurate targeting in externally guided radiotherapy.

Background And Objective: In lung radiotherapy, infrared cameras can track reflective objects on the chest to estimate tumor motion due to breathing. However, treatment system latencies hinder radiation beam precision. Real-time recurrent learning (RTRL), the conventional online learning approach for training recurrent neural networks (RNNs), is a potential solution that can learn patterns within non-stationary respiratory data but has high complexity.

Role of Particle Beam Therapy for Extrahepatic Biliary Cancer-Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Comparison Between Photon and Particle Radiotherapy.

Background/purpose: The study was designed to examine the role of particle beam therapy (PT) in the treatment of extrahepatic biliary cancer (EHC).

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the outcomes of PT and photon radiotherapy in treating EHC. Medline/PubMed and Japan Medical Abstracts databases were screened using a systematic search strategy.

Quantum-like Qualia hypothesis: from quantum cognition to quantum perception.

To arbitrate theories of consciousness, scientists need to understand mathematical structures of quality of consciousness, or qualia. The dominant view regards qualia as points in a dimensional space. This view implicitly assumes that qualia can be measured without any effect on them.

Enhanced Discriminability of Viral Vectors in Viscous Nanopores.

Achieving safe and efficient gene therapy hinges upon the inspection of genomes enclosed within individual nano-carriers to mitigate potential health risks associated with empty or fragment-filled vectors. Here solid-state nanopore sensing is reported for identifications of intermediate adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors in liquid. The method exploits the phenomenon of translocation slowdown induced by the viscosity of salt water-organic mixtures.

Soft x-ray tomography using L1 regularization for MHD modes with limited sight lines in JT-60SA.

Soft x-ray (SX) tomography is a useful diagnostic in fusion research, and a multi-channel SX diagnostic will be installed in JT-60SA, the largest elongated tokamak in the world. However, in the SX diagnostic of JT-60SA, plasmas will be only viewed from the low field side and the upper side of plasmas; the sight lines are limited, which would be common in future devices as well as JT-60SA. This kind of limited sight lines is not preferred for SX tomography to investigate the spatial structure of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) modes because inadequate information of plasmas makes artifacts in the reconstructed SX profiles.

Frontal neurodegeneration associated with Frontal Assessment Battery in early Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) is widely used to assess executive dysfunction in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairments due to Alzheimer's disease (aMCI-AD), but its neurobiological meaning is unclear. To elucidate this, we examined the relationship between the FAB score and three key imaging biomarkers: gray matter volume, amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition, and glucose metabolism.

Methods: Twenty Aβ- and tau-positive aMCI-AD patients and age-matched controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography with [C]PiB and [F]FDG.

Effects of Colliding Laser Pulses Polarization on e^{-}e^{+} Cascade Development in Extreme Focusing.

The onset and development of electron-positron cascade in a standing wave formed by multiple colliding laser pulses requires tight focusing in order to achieve the maximum laser intensity. There, steep spatiotemporal gradients in the laser intensity expel seed particles from the high-intensity region and thus can prevent the onset of a cascade. We show that radially polarized laser pulses ensure that the seed electrons are present at the focal plane at the moment of the highest amplitude even in the case of extreme focusing.

Demonstration of shape analysis of neutron resonance transmission spectrum measured with a laser-driven neutron source.

Laser-driven neutron sources (LDNSs) can generate strong short-pulse neutron beams, which are valuable for scientific studies and engineering applications. Neutron resonance transmission analysis (NRTA) is a nondestructive technique used for determining the areal density of each nuclide in a material sample using pulsed thermal and epithermal neutrons. Herein, we report the first successful NRTA performed using an LDNS driven by the Laser for Fast Ignition Experiment at the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University.

Microfluctuations in Capillary Lumens Independent of Pericyte Lining Density in the Anesthetized Mouse Cortex.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the spatiotemporal coherence of capillary lumen fluctuations in relation to spatial variations in the pericyte lining in the cortex of anesthetized mice.

Methods: Two-photon microscopic angiography data (previously published) were reanalyzed, and spatial variations in capillary diameter fluctuations at rest and in capillary lining with vascular mural cells were measured along capillary centerlines.

Results: Relatively large diameters of the capillaries (5.

The spin-Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the orthogonal-dimer lattice.

The spin-Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the orthogonal-dimer lattice is studied. In most of the investigations of the antiferromagnet on this lattice beginning with the study by Shastry and Sutherland, theS=1/2case has intensively been treated. In the present study, the cases of = 1 and 3/2 are particularly treated by the numerical-diagonalization method based on the Lanczos algorithm applied to finite-size clusters.

Multi-modal evaluation of respiratory diaphragm motion in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using MRI series and CT images.

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), characterized by airflow limitation and breathing difficulty, is usually caused by prolonged inhalation of toxic substances or long-term smoking habits. Some abnormal features of COPD can be observed using medical imaging methods, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). This study aimed to conduct a multi-modal analysis of COPD, focusing on assessing respiratory diaphragm motion using MRI series in conjunction with low attenuation volume (LAV) data derived from CT images.

Conceptual design of a Doppler spectrometer for 102 m/s cross-field flows in tokamak divertors.

The cross-field transport in the scrape-off-layers (SOLs) and divertors in tokamaks is of a similar size to the poloidal component of the parallel flow, thereby significantly impacting the plasma transport there. However, its direct observation has been challenging because the drift velocity (102-103 m/s) is significantly below the detection limit of conventional diagnostics. To realize cross-field ion flow measurement, a variety of systematic uncertainties in the system must be narrowed down.