Approach to Diagnosis of Salivary Gland Disease from Nuclear Medicine Images

Nuclear medicine images can help in the diagnosis and assessment of some salivary disorders. 99mTcO4−, gallium-67-citrate scintigraphy will be an indication of the function of salivary gland together and it will be used for the diffuse diseases such as sialadenitis, Sjögren’s syndrome, sarcoidosis, glossopharyngeal paralysis, and irradiation. It is also effective for distinguishing benign tumor legion with Warthin’s tumor and others. Moreover, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is an indispensable modality for determining the localization, focal lesions, and staging of many malignant tumors, the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) accumulation is visually and semi-quantitatively assessed using the standardized uptake value (SUV), which is the ratio of uptake to the injected dose per unit body weight. Also for radioactive iodine therapy, attention should be paid to adverse reactions. It is important to note that acute/chronic salivary gland disorders are associated with radioiodine therapy for the treatment of postoperative thyroid cancer. Coordination among healthcare providers including nurses, radiological technologists, and doctors of all departments involved in treatment is important for achieving effective outcomes

Concentrations of H1-Receptor Antagonist in the Human Nasal Mucosa

Aims. To measure blood and tissue concentrations of the H1-receptor antagonist, bepotastine besilate (BB). Methods. Participants included 14 men and six women, whose age ranged from 13 to 76 years, with chronic rhinosinusitis, who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery at our university hospital. Among them, 10 participants had allergic rhinitis (AR) (Group I), and others did not have AR (Group II). Nasal mucosa and blood were collected 55 to 130 minutes after oral administration of BB 10 mg. Concentrations of the agent in the serum and nasal mucosa were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results. Concentrations of BB of the serum in Group I and II were 98 ± 32 ng/mL and 112 ± 39 ng/mL. Those of the nasal mucosa tissue in Groups I and II were 101 ± 36 ng/g and 132 ± 44 ng/g. There was no significant difference in the values of concentration of BB between the serum and the nasal mucosa in either Group I or II (P = .757 and P = .2662, resp., Paired t-test). Conclusion. This preliminary study is considered the first report on the concentration of H1-receptor antagonists in nasal mucosa. The prompt absorption and transition to the nasal mucosa of BB seems to have an effect on allergic rhinitis

The r-Process in Neutrino-Driven Winds from Nascent, "Compact" Neutron Stars of Core-Collapse Supernovae

We present calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven winds from the nascent neutron stars of core-collapse supernovae. A full dynamical reaction network for both the alpha-rich freezeout and the subsequent r-process is employed. The physical properties of the neutrino-heated ejecta are deduced from a general relativistic model in which spherical symmetry and steady flow are assumed. Our results suggest that proto-neutron stars with a large compaction ratio provide the most robust physical conditions for the r-process. The third peak of the r-process is well reproduced in the winds from these ``compact'' proto-neutron stars even for a moderate entropy, \sim 100-200 N_A k, and a neutrino luminosity as high as \sim 10^{52} ergs s^{-1}. This is due to the short dynamical timescale of material in the wind. As a result, the overproduction of nuclei with A \lesssim 120 is diminished (although some overproduction of nuclei with A \approx 90 is still evident). The abundances of the r-process elements per event is significantly higher than in previous studies. The total-integrated nucleosynthesis yields are in good agreement with the solar r-process abundance pattern. Our results have confirmed that the neutrino-driven wind scenario is still a promising site in which to form the solar r-process abundances. However, our best results seem to imply both a rather soft neutron-star equation of state and a massive proto-neutron star which is difficult to achieve with standard core-collapse models. We propose that the most favorable conditions perhaps require that a massive supernova progenitor forms a massive proto-neutron star by accretion after a failed initial neutrino burst.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Chemical control of xylem differentiation by thermospermine, xylemin, and auxin

The xylem conducts water and minerals from the root to the shoot and provides mechanical strength to the plant body. The vascular precursor cells of the procambium differentiate to form continuous vascular strands, from which xylem and phloem cells are generated in the proper spatiotemporal pattern. Procambium formation and xylem differentiation are directed by auxin. In angiosperms, thermospermine, a structural isomer of spermine, suppresses xylem differentiation by limiting auxin signalling. However, the process of auxin-inducible xylem differentiation has not been fully elucidated and remains difficult to manipulate. Here, we found that an antagonist of spermidine can act as an inhibitor of thermospermine biosynthesis and results in excessive xylem differentiation, which is a phenocopy of a thermospermine-deficient mutant acaulis5 in Arabidopsis thaliana. We named this compound xylemin owing to its xylem-inducing effect. Application of a combination of xylemin and thermospermine to wild-type seedlings negates the effect of xylemin, whereas co-treatment with xylemin and a synthetic proauxin, which undergoes hydrolysis to release active auxin, has a synergistic inductive effect on xylem differentiation. Thus, xylemin may serve as a useful transformative chemical tool not only for the study of thermospermine function in various plant species but also for the control of xylem induction and woody biomass production

General relativistic effects on neutrino-driven wind from young, hot neutron star and the r-process nucleosynthesis

Neutrino-driven wind from young hot neutron star, which is formed by supernova explosion, is the most promising candidate site for r-process nucleosynthesis. We study general relativistic effects on this wind in Schwarzschild geometry in order to look for suitable conditions for a successful r-process nucleosynthesis. It is quantitatively discussed that the general relativistic effects play a significant role in increasing entropy and decreasing dynamic time scale of the neutrino-driven wind. Exploring wide parameter region which determines the expansion dynamics of the wind, we find interesting physical conditions which lead to successful r-process nucleosynthesis. The conditions which we found realize in the neutrino-driven wind with very short dynamic time scale $\tau_{\rm dyn} \sim 6$ ms and relatively low entropy $S \sim 140$. We carry out the $\alpha$-process and r-process nucleosynthesis calculation on these conditions by the use of our single network code including over 3000 isotopes, and confirm quantitatively that the second and third r-process abundance peaks are produced in the neutrino-driven wind.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

PMR and RS3PE Syndrome

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome are common inflammatory rheumatic diseases in the elderly. In this study, we investigated the difference of the therapeutic responses between patients with PMR and RS3PE syndrome. Twenty-four patients with PMR and 12 patients with RS3PE syndrome were treated with initial dosages of 10-20 mg per day oral prednisolone, and the dosages were then tapered. Percentages of patients with negative c-reactive protein (CRP) after 8-week treatment were significantly more in RS3PE syndrome than in PMR. Percentages of patients with relapse during one-year treatment were less likely to be in RS3PE syndrome than in PMR. These differences observed between the two disorders were not associated with the level of initial CRP. There was no significant difference in percentages of patients with prednisolone-free remission after two-year treatment between PMR and RS3PE syndrome. These results indicate that the early response to the treatment is greater in RS3PE syndrome than in PMR

Terahertz spectroscopy of N18^{18}O and isotopic invariant fit of several nitric oxide isotopologs

A tunable far-infrared laser sideband spectrometer was used to investigate a nitric oxide sample enriched in 18O between 0.99 and 4.75 THz. Regular, electric dipole transitions were recorded between 0.99 and 2.52 THz, while magnetic dipole transitions between the 2Pi(1/2) and 2Pi(3/2) spin-ladders were recorded between 3.71 and 4.75 THz. These data were combined with lower frequency data of N(18)$O (unlabeled atoms refer to (14)N and (16)O, respectively), with rotational data of NO, (15)NO, N(17)O, and (15)N(18)O, and with heterodyne infrared data of NO to be subjected to one isotopic invariant fit. Rotational, fine and hyperfine structure parameters were determined along with vibrational, rotational, and Born-Oppenheimer breakdown corrections. The resulting spectroscopic parameters permit prediction of rotational spectra suitable for the identification of various nitric oxide isotopologs especially in the interstellar medium by means of rotational spectroscopy.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; part of the Marilyn Jacox special issue of the Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, in pres