Pictorial review Articular and Juxtaarticular Cystic Lesions: Evaluation with MR Imaging

MR imaging is the most appropriate imaging modality for the evaluation of articular or juxtaarticular cystic lesions. Most of the cystic lesions show a typical signal intensity pattern of fluid, but debris or hemorrhage within the cyst may alter the signal intensity pattern of the cyst. The location and relationship with the surrounding structure are important for the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions. Associated joint abnormalities that include meniscus or labral tears, ligamentous injury, degeneration, and inflammation should also be evaluated

Gene expression analysis in cadmium-stressed roots of a low cadmium-accumulating solanaceous plant, Solanum torvum

Solanum torvum Sw. cv. Torubamubiga (TB) is a low cadmium (Cd)-accumulating plant. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the Cd acclimation process in TB roots, transcriptional regulation was analysed in response to mild Cd treatment: 0.1 μM CdCl2 in hydroponic solution. A unigene set consisting of 6296 unigene sequences was constructed from 18 816 TB cDNAs. The distribution of functional categories was similar to tomato, while 330 unigenes were suggested to be TB specific. For expression profiling, the SuperSAGE method was adapted for use with Illumina sequencing technology. Expression tag libraries were constructed from Cd-treated (for 3 h, 1 d, and 3 d) and untreated roots, and 34 269 species of independent tags were collected. Moreover, 6237 tags were ascribed to the TB or eggplant (aubergine) unigene sequences. Time-course changes were examined, and 2049 up- and 2022 down-regulated tags were identified. Although no tags annotated to metal transporter genes were significantly regulated, a tag annotated to AtFRD3, a xylem-loading citrate transporter, was down-regulated. In addition to induction of heavy metal chaperone proteins, antioxidative and sulphur-assimilating enzymes were induced, confirming that oxidative stress developed even using a mild Cd concentration. Rapid repression of dehydration-related transcription factors and aquaporin isoforms suggests that dehydration stress is a potential constituent of Cd-induced biochemical impediments. These transcriptional changes were also confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-PCR. Further additions of TB unigene sequences and functional analysis of the regulated tags will reveal the molecular basis of the Cd acclimation process, including the low Cd-accumulating characteristics of TB

Zeta Potential Time Dependence Reveals the Swelling Dynamics of Wood Cellulose Nanofibrils

In this paper, we present the swelling dynamics of individual wood cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) following solvent substitution into various organic solvents and drying, by employing the time dependence of the zeta potential (ζ). We succeeded in smoothly redispersing the coaggregating CNFs dried in solvents, including acetone, acetonitrile, DMSO, ethanol, and <i>t</i>-butanol into water. ζ–<i>t</i> plots of the redispersed CNFs measured in a 1 mM KCl solution indicated different values of Δζ (volume fraction of hydration capacity), corresponding to the dielectric constant of the substituted solvents. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed that the redispersed CNFs swell to different degrees, corresponding to Δζ. This swelling behavior is characterized by expansion of hemicelluloses, the amorphous polysaccharides located on the CNF surface, with a different degree of aggregation during drying. The specific swelling ratio, radius, and diameter of the CNFs in water were calculated using the values of ζ₀ and ζ_∞ by introducing surface chemical analysis. The calculated diameters of the CNFs at <i>t</i> = 0 coincided well with the median diameters measured directly by transmission electron microscope. Swellability of hemicelluloses exponentially increased with the decrease in dielectric constant of solvent during drying. The analysis method combining zeta potential time dependence and a surface chemical approach proved useful for specifically evaluating the swelling dynamics of polymers on a bulk surface

Semiquantitative Structural Analysis of Highly Anisotropic Cellulose Nanocolloids

We report a method for the semiquantitative structural analysis of highly anisotropic nanocolloids by means of their “coffee rings”, which were readily formed via the evaporation of droplets of the cellulose nanocolloidal suspensions. The widths of the coffee rings reflected the effective aspect ratios and the conformation of the colloids in water, owing to the excluded volume effect. The theory developed here succeeded in estimating the relative length of the cellulose nanofibrils, which were obtained from Japanese cedar pulp using a grinder, as 11.33 μm. The coffee rings allow the comprehensive structures of colloids to be semiquantitatively revealed and also allow the length or size of colloids in different systems to be compared