Consensus standards for acquisition, measurement, and reporting of intravascular optical coherence tomography studies

Objectives: The purpose of this document is to make the output of the International Working Group for Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography (IWG-IVOCT) Standardization and Validation available to medical and scientific communities, through a peer-reviewed publication, in the interest of improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis, including coronary artery disease. Background: Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is a catheter-based modality that acquires images at a resolution of ∼10 μm, enabling visualization of blood vessel wall microstructure in vivo at an unprecedented level of detail. IVOCT devices are now commercially available worldwide, there is an active user base, and the interest in using this technology is growing. Incorporation of IVOCT in research and daily clinical practice can be facilitated by the development of uniform terminology and consensus-based standards on use of the technology, interpretation of the images, and reporting of IVOCT results. Methods: The IWG-IVOCT, comprising more than 260 academic and industry members from Asia, Europe, and the United States, formed in 2008 and convened on the topic of IVOCT standardization through a series of 9 national and international meetings. Results: Knowledge and recommendations from this group on key areas within the IVOCT field were assembled to generate this consensus document, authored by the Writing Committee, composed of academicians who have participated in meetings and/or writing of the text. Conclusions: This document may be broadly used as a standard reference regarding the current state of the IVOCT imaging modality, intended for researchers and clinicians who use IVOCT and analyze IVOCT data

Biological Activities of Plant Extracts from Tropical Africa

An investigation of plants in tropical Africa was conducted to search for new naturally bioactive substances. A total of 62 plant species were obtained from Cameroon, Zaire, and Tanzania. The extracts were tested for insecticidal, herbicidal, and fungicidal activities. Insecticidal activity was found in 23 extracts. Of the 51 extracts from Cameroon and Tanzania, herbicidal activity was detected in seven, and fungicidal activity in seven. Polyascias fulva, Crassocephalum manii, Vernonia amygdalina, Vernonia vogetti, Poga oleosa, Gnidia glauca, Trema guinensis and Combretum bracteatum were evaluated to be highly promising candidates for further investigation of their active constituents on the basis of their potency and/or broad spectrum of biological activities

Genetic Structure and Potential Environmental Determinants of Local Genetic Diversity in Japanese Honeybees (<i>Apis cerana japonica</i>)

<div><p>Declines in honeybee populations have been a recent concern. Although causes of the declines remain unclear, environmental factors may be responsible. We focused on the potential environmental determinants of local populations of wild honeybees, <i>Apis cerana japonica</i>, in Japan. This subspecies has little genetic variation in terms of its mitochondrial DNA sequences, and genetic variations at nuclear loci are as yet unknown. We estimated the genetic structure and environmental determinants of local genetic diversity in nuclear microsatellite genotypes of fathers and mothers, inferred from workers collected at 139 sites. The genotypes of fathers and mothers showed weak isolation by distance and negligible genetic structure. The local genetic diversity was high in central Japan, decreasing toward the peripheries, and depended on the climate and land use characteristics of the sites. The local genetic diversity decreased as the annual precipitation increased, and increased as the proportion of urban and paddy field areas increased. Positive effects of natural forest area, which have also been observed in terms of forager abundance in farms, were not detected with respect to the local genetic diversity. The findings suggest that <i>A</i>. <i>cerana japonica</i> forms a single population connected by gene flow in its main distributional range, and that climate and landscape properties potentially affect its local genetic diversity.</p></div

Genetic variation in father and mother populations inferred from <i>Apis cerana japonica</i> workers at each locus and at multiple loci.

<p>Genetic variation in father and mother populations inferred from <i>Apis cerana japonica</i> workers at each locus and at multiple loci.</p

Locations of sites (<i>numbers</i>) where <i>Apis cerana japonica</i> workers were collected.

<p>Borders (<i>broken lines</i>) between prefectures are shown.</p

Effects of environmental propertie and collection month on local genetic diversity in <i>Apis cerana japonica</i>.

<p>Coefficients for standardized explanatory variables estimated in a model with the lowest Akaike’s information criterion are shown.</p