Subsecond total-body imaging using ultrasensitive positron emission tomography.

A 194-cm-long total-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanner (uEXPLORER), has been constructed to offer a transformative platform for human radiotracer imaging in clinical research and healthcare. Its total-body coverage and exceptional sensitivity provide opportunities for innovative studies of physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. The objective of this study is to develop a method to perform ultrahigh (100 ms) temporal resolution dynamic PET imaging by combining advanced dynamic image reconstruction paradigms with the uEXPLORER scanner. We aim to capture the fast dynamics of initial radiotracer distribution, as well as cardiac motion, in the human body. The results show that we can visualize radiotracer transport in the body on timescales of 100 ms and obtain motion-frozen images with superior image quality compared to conventional methods. The proposed method has applications in studying fast tracer dynamics, such as blood flow and the dynamic response to neural modulation, as well as performing real-time motion tracking (e.g., cardiac and respiratory motion, and gross body motion) without any external monitoring device (e.g., electrocardiogram, breathing belt, or optical trackers)

Using airborne LiDAR Survey to explore historic-era archaeological landscapes of Montserrat in the eastern Caribbean

This article describes what appears to be the first archaeological application of airborne LiDAR survey to historic-era landscapes in the Caribbean archipelago, on the island of Montserrat. LiDAR is proving invaluable in extending the reach of traditional pedestrian survey into less favorable areas, such as those covered by dense neotropical forest and by ashfall from the past two decades of active eruptions by the Soufrière Hills volcano, and to sites in localities that are inaccessible on account of volcanic dangers. Emphasis is placed on two aspects of the research: first, the importance of ongoing, real-time interaction between the LiDAR analyst and the archaeological team in the field; and second, the advantages of exploiting the full potential of the three-dimensional LiDAR point cloud data for purposes of the visualization of archaeological sites and features

Pembuatan Aplikasi Stereogram Generator

Di dalam pengolahan citra digital, terdapat banyak cara atau metode untuk menghasilkan suatu citra agar menjadi lebih menarik. Salah satu hasil pengolahan citra tersebut adalah streogram, dimana pengolahan citra jenis ini dapat membuat citra tampak lebih menarik. Hal ini disebabkan citra jenis ini dapat membuat impresi pada otak manusia sebagai obyek tiga dimensi yang keluar dari citra dua dimensi biasa. Pada penelitian ini, dikembangkan aplikasi stereogram generator dengan melakukan penggabungan depth mask dan pattern yang di-input-kan atau dengan menggunakan titik-titik acak yang di-generate secara otomatis. Proses ini dilakukan dengan memindah posisi piksel sesuai dengan gray value pada depth mask

Establishment of Clonal MIN-O Transplant Lines for Molecular Imaging via Lentiviral Transduction & In Vitro Culture

As the field of molecular imaging evolves and increasingly is asked to fill the discovery and validation space between basic science and clinical applications, careful consideration should be given to the models in which studies are conducted. The MIN-O mouse model series is an established in vivo model of human mammary precancer ductal carcinoma in situ with progression to invasive carcinoma. This series of transplant lines is propagated in vivo and experiments utilizing this model can be completed in non-engineered immune intact FVB/n wild type mice thereby modeling the tumor microenvironment with biological relevance superior to traditional tumor cell xenografts. Unfortunately, the same qualities that make this and many other transplant lines more biologically relevant than standard cell lines for molecular imaging studies present a significant obstacle as somatic genetic re-engineering modifications common to many imaging applications can be technically challenging. Here, we describe a protocol for the efficient lentiviral transduction of cell slurries derived from precancerous MIN-O lesions, in vitro culture of “MIN-O-spheres” derived from single cell clones, and the subsequent transplantation of these spheres to produce transduced sublines suitable for optical imaging applications. These lines retain the physiologic and pathologic properties, including multilineage differentiation, and complex microanatomic interaction with the host stroma characteristic of the MIN-O model. We also present the in vivo imaging and immunohistochemical analysis of serial transplantation of one such subline and detail the progressive multifocal loss of the transgene in successive generations

Preliminary evidence of increased striatal dopamine in a nonhuman primate model of maternal immune activation.

Women exposed to a variety of viral and bacterial infections during pregnancy have an increased risk of giving birth to a child with autism, schizophrenia or other neurodevelopmental disorders. Preclinical maternal immune activation (MIA) models are powerful translational tools to investigate mechanisms underlying epidemiological links between infection during pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopmental disorders. Our previous studies documenting the emergence of aberrant behavior in rhesus monkey offspring born to MIA-treated dams extends the rodent MIA model into a species more closely related to humans. Here we present novel neuroimaging data from these animals to further explore the translational potential of the nonhuman primate MIA model. Nine male MIA-treated offspring and 4 controls from our original cohort underwent in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) scanning at approximately 3.5-years of age using [18F] fluoro-l-m-tyrosine (FMT) to measure presynaptic dopamine levels in the striatum, which are consistently elevated in individuals with schizophrenia. Analysis of [18F]FMT signal in the striatum of these nonhuman primates showed that MIA animals had significantly higher [18F]FMT index of influx compared to control animals. In spite of the modest sample size, this group difference reflects a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.998). Nonhuman primates born to MIA-treated dams exhibited increased striatal dopamine in late adolescence-a hallmark molecular biomarker of schizophrenia. These results validate the MIA model in a species more closely related to humans and open up new avenues for understanding the neurodevelopmental biology of schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders associated with prenatal immune challenge

Indeterminacy of Spatiotemporal Cardiac Alternans

Cardiac alternans, a beat-to-beat alternation in action potential duration (at the cellular level) or in ECG morphology (at the whole heart level), is a marker of ventricular fibrillation, a fatal heart rhythm that kills hundreds of thousands of people in the US each year. Investigating cardiac alternans may lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and eventually better algorithms for the prediction and prevention of such dreadful diseases. In paced cardiac tissue, alternans develops under increasingly shorter pacing period. Existing experimental and theoretical studies adopt the assumption that alternans in homogeneous cardiac tissue is exclusively determined by the pacing period. In contrast, we find that, when calcium-driven alternans develops in cardiac fibers, it may take different spatiotemporal patterns depending on the pacing history. Because there coexist multiple alternans solutions for a given pacing period, the alternans pattern on a fiber becomes unpredictable. Using numerical simulation and theoretical analysis, we show that the coexistence of multiple alternans patterns is induced by the interaction between electrotonic coupling and an instability in calcium cycling.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Development of a UAV track injection and imagery presentation system

The Navy is increasingly using advanced Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) to perform critical missions. UAVs have grown in capability, while the Navy's underlying Command and Control structure has changed little to take advantage of the advances in technology. While UAVs are rapidly developing the potential to be effective combat tools, learning how to utilize this potential in an integrated Command and Control environment is hampered by a lack of UAV connectivity. This thesis develops a methodology for using UAV telemetry data packets to inject tracks of the UAV into a Command and Control system such as the Global Command and Control System (GCCS), and provide near-real-time imagery delivery from the UAV to tactical end users via a network such as the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET). Focus is on the development of a proof-of-concept system utilizing the Naval Postgraduate School's Systems Technology Battle Lab (STBL) and the Center for interdisciplinary Remotely- Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Altus UAV. Through the developing of this system, the Altus UAV can serve as a research tool for flirther development of Command and Control doctrine for operational UAVs.http://archive.org/details/developmentofuav1094513584U.S. Navy (U.S.N.) authorsApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Quasi-gaussian fixed points and factorial cumulants in nuclear multifragmentation

We re-analyze the conditions for the phenomenon of intermittency (self-similar fluctuations) to occur in models of multifragmentation. Analyzing two different mechanisms, the bond-percolation and the ERW (Elattari, Richert and Wagner) statistical fragmentation models, we point out a common quasi-gaussian shape of the total multiplicity distribution in the critical range. The fixed-point property is also observed for the multiplicity of the second bin. Fluctuations are studied using scaled factorial cumulants instead of scaled factorial moments. The second-order cumulant displays the intermittency signal while higher order cumulants are equal to zero, revealing a large information redundancy in scaled factorial moments. A practical criterion is proposed to identify the gaussian feature of light-fragment production, distinguishing between a self-similarity mechanism (ERW) and the superposition of independent sources (percolation).Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded .tex file including 16 figure

Cardiac cell modelling: Observations from the heart of the cardiac physiome project

In this manuscript we review the state of cardiac cell modelling in the context of international initiatives such as the IUPS Physiome and Virtual Physiological Human Projects, which aim to integrate computational models across scales and physics. In particular we focus on the relationship between experimental data and model parameterisation across a range of model types and cellular physiological systems. Finally, in the context of parameter identification and model reuse within the Cardiac Physiome, we suggest some future priority areas for this field