Perancangan Perangkat Lunak Diagnostik untuk Analisis Ligamen Bahu dengan Pencitraan Ultrasonik

Makalah ini menjelaskan implementasi perangkat lunak dengan antar muka pengguna grafis (GUI) untuk menganalisis citra bergerak ultrasonik dari ligament bahu. Perangkat lunak yang dirancang dapat bermanfaat di bidang medis khususnya sebagai alat bantu identifikasi penyakit yang berhubungan dengan kelainan gerak dan nyeri pada bahu. Pada prinsipnya, perangkat lunak yang dirancang bekerja dengan cara memvisualisasikan lapisan jaringan di bahu berdasarkan kecepatannya selama gerakan melalui metode speckle tracking citra B-mode ultrasonik. Ligamen dalam bahu yang mengalami pelekatan dapat diamati dan diukur secara kuantitatif dalam besaran indeks dengan cara tersebut. Indeks tersebut dihitung dari perbedaan kecepatan antara otot subscapularis dan otot deltoid bahu. Hasil pengamatan menunjukkan bahwa pasien dengan restriksi gerakan pada bahu mengalami pelekatan subscapularis yang ditunjukkan oleh nilai Indeks Adhesi (IA) yang tinggi. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa keterbatasan gerak bahu dapat dikuantisasi dengan besaran indeks. Kelebihan dari penggunaan perangkat lunak analisis citra ultrasonik sebagai alat bantu diagnosis adalah sifatnya yang non-invasif dan semua data pengukuran dapat diambil dengan menggunakan mesin ultrasonografi konvensional

Microscopic characterization of the C–F bonds in fluorine–graphite intercalation compounds

The structures of fluorine–graphite intercalation compounds (F-GICs, C₂.₈F and C₃.₅F) have been analyzed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cross-sectional TEM images of the F-GICs indicate that the interlayer distance increases by insertion of fluorine with randomly buckled carbon layers. Such a structure can form by alternation in the bond angle at a carbon atom covalently bonded with fluorine. Electron energy loss spectroscopy combined with TEM indicates that the π-orbital network over the graphitic carbon layer reduces with fluorination. The C–F bond is essentially covalent

Comparison of alterations in cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation in late life depression ans Alzheimer's disease as assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy

BACKGROUND: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) often present with apathy symptoms resembling the decreased motivation observed in depressed patients. Therefore, differentiating the initial phase of AD from late life depression may be difficult in some cases. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a functional neuroimaging modality that uses near-infrared light to measure changes in hemoglobin concentration on the cortical surface during activation tasks. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in brain activation associated with late life depression and with AD by means of NIRS. METHODS: NIRS was performed in 30 patients with depression, 28 patients with AD, and 33 healthy controls, all aged 60 years or older. During two tasks, a verbal fluency task and a visuospatial task, changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in the frontal and parietal cortices were investigated. RESULTS: In the visuospatial task, cortical activation was lower in the depressed group than in the AD group, and significant differences were observed in the parietal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: NIRS can detect differences in brain activation between patients with late life depression and those with AD. NIRS is a promising tool for the differential diagnosis of late life depression and AD.ArticleBEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS. 10:8 (2014)journal articl

Imaging features of foreign body granuloma in the lower extremities mimicking a soft tissue neoplasm

Foreign body granuloma is a tissue reaction for retained foreign bodies after skin-penetrating trauma. Detection of retained foreign bodies can be extremely difficult when the patients present with non-specific symptoms such as pain and/or swelling without recognizing a previous trauma. We report three patients of foreign body granulomas in the lower extremities with emphasis placed on their unique clinical and radiological features. The involved sites were the foot, posterior thigh, and posterior lower leg, with wooden splinters in two patients and a fragment of tile in one. Plain radiographs could not reveal the existence of foreign bodies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed foreign bodies as low intensities on both T1- and T2-weighted images in two patients, and the surrounding reactive lesion as low to iso intensities on T1- and high intensities on T2-weighted images in all the patients. The peripheral areas of the lesion were strongly enhanced after gadolinium injection. Ultrasound sonography could clearly visualize a foreign body as an echogenic area with posterior acoustic shadowing in one patient. The surrounding ring-like reactive lesion is easily mistaken for a soft tissue neoplasm when foreign bodies are not identified. The key to arriving at the correct diagnosis is to clarify the previous trauma and to identify foreign bodies with low signal intensities on both T1- and T2-weighted images and/or the characteristic ring-like enhancement on MRI. It is also necessary to rule out a foreign body granuloma whenever we see patients with a soft tissue tumor in the extremities, irrespective of their previous trauma history

Degradation of Mutant Protein Aggregates within the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Vasopressin Neurons

Misfolded or unfolded proteins in the ER are said to be degraded only after translocation or isolation from the ER. Here, we describe a mechanism by which mutant proteins are degraded within the ER. Aggregates of mutant arginine vasopressin (AVP) precursor were confined to ER-associated compartments (ERACs) connected to the ER in AVP neurons of a mouse model of familial neurohypophysial diabetes insipidus. The ERACs were enclosed by membranes, an ER chaperone and marker protein of phagophores and autophagosomes were expressed around the aggregates, and lysosomes fused with the ERACs. Moreover, lysosome-related molecules were present within the ERACs, and aggregate degradation within the ERACs was dependent on autophagic-lysosomal activity. Thus, we demonstrate that protein aggregates can be degraded by autophagic-lysosomal machinery within specialized compartments of the ER

Dose Measurements through the Concrete and Iron Shields under the 100 to 400 MeV Quasi-Monoenergetic Neutron Field (at RCNP, Osaka Univ.)

Shielding benchmark experiments are useful to verify the accuracy of calculation methods for the radiation shielding designs of high-energy accelerator facilities. In the present work, the benchmark experiments were carried out for 244- and 387-MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutron field at RCNP of Osaka University. Neutron dose rates through the test shields, 100-300 cm thick concrete and 40-100 cm thick iron, were measured by four kinds of neutron dose equivalent monitors, three kinds of wide-energy range monitors applied to high-energy neutron fields above 20 MeV and a conventional type rem monitor for neutrons up to 20 MeV, placed behind the test shields. Measured dose rates were compared one another. Measured results with the wide-energy range monitors were in agreement one another for both the concrete and the iron shields. For the conventional type rem monitor, measured results are smaller than those with the wide-energy range monitors for the concrete shields, while that are in agreements for the iron shields. The attenuation lengths were obtained from the measurements. The lengths from all the monitors are in agreement on the whole, though some differences are shown. These results are almost same as those from others measured at several hundred MeV neutron fields

Differences among epitopes recognized by neutralizing antibodies induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination

SARS-CoV-2 has gradually acquired amino acid substitutions in its S protein that reduce the potency of neutralizing antibodies, leading to decreased vaccine efficacy. Here, we attempted to obtain mutant viruses by passaging SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of plasma samples from convalescent patients or vaccinees to determine which amino acid substitutions affect the antigenicity of SARS-CoV-2. Several amino acid substitutions in the S2 region, as well as the N-terminal domain (NTD) and receptor-binding domain (RBD), affected the neutralization potency of plasma samples collected from vaccinees, indicating that amino acid substitutions in the S2 region as well as those in the NTD and RBD affect neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. Furthermore, the neutralizing potency of vaccinee plasma samples against mutant viruses we obtained or circulating viruses differed among individuals. These findings suggest that genetic backgrounds of vaccinees influence the recognition of neutralizing epitopes

Cigarette smoking, genetic polymorphisms and colorectal cancer risk: the Fukuoka Colorectal Cancer Study

Background: It is uncertain whether smoking is related to colorectal cancer risk. Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1, glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) are important enzymes in the metabolism of tobacco carcinogens, and functional genetic polymorphisms are known for these enzymes. We investigated the relation of cigarette smoking and related genetic polymorphisms to colorectal cancer risk, with special reference to the interaction between smoking and genetic polymorphism. Methods: We used data from the Fukuoka Colorectal Cancer Study, a population-based case-control study, including 685 cases and 778 controls who gave informed consent to genetic analysis. Interview was conducted to assess lifestyle factors, and DNA was extracted from buffy coat. Results: In comparison with lifelong nonsmokers, the odds ratios (OR) of colorectal cancer for <400, 400-799 and ≥800 cigarette-years were 0.65 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.45-0.89), 1.16 (0.83-1.62) and 1.14 (0.73-1.77), respectively. A decreased risk associated with light smoking was observed only for colon cancer, and rectal cancer showed an increased risk among those with ≥400 cigarette-years (OR 1.60, 95 % CI 1.04-2.45). None of the polymorphisms under study was singly associated with colorectal cancer risk. Of the gene-gene interactions studied, the composite genotype of CYP1A1*2A or CYP1A1*2C and GSTT1 polymorphisms was associated with a decreased risk of colorecta