• Title/Summary/Keyword: Contrast Agents

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Hepatic Hemangiomas: Spectrum of US Appearances on Gray-scale, Power Doppler, and Contrast-Enhanced US

  • Kyoung Won Kim;Tae Kyoung Kim;Joon Koo Han;Ah Young Kim;Hyun Ju Lee;Seong Ho Park;Young Hoon Kim;Byung Ihn Choi
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.1 no.4
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    • pp.191-197
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    • 2000
  • Because US plays a key role in the initial evaluation of hepatic hemangiomas, knowledge of the entire spectrum of US appearances of these tumors is important. Most hemangiomas have a distinctive US appearance, and even with those with atypical appearances on conventional gray-scale US, specific diagnoses can be made using pulse-inversion harmonic US with contrast agents. In this essay, we review the spectrum of US appearances of hepatic hemangiomas on conventional gray-scale, power Doppler, and pulse-inversion harmonic US with contrast agents.

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Antimicrobials Effective for Inhibition of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Strains O26, O111, and O157 and Their Effects on Shiga Toxin Releases

  • Lee, John-Hwa;Stein, Barry D.
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.19 no.10
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    • pp.1238-1243
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    • 2009
  • The susceptibilities of major enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains to antimicrobial agents and the cytotoxicity of these agents were examined using a total of 38 strains of E. coli O26, O111, and O157, which are the major serogroups of EHEC. Among the 38 strains, 35, 36, and 36 were susceptible to amikacin, imipenem, and norfloxacin, respectively. These antimicrobial agents were further examined to determine their cytotoxicity on Vero cells as well as their effect on the release of Shiga toxins along with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Each of the E. coli O26, O111, and O157 strains containing both the stx1 and stx2 genes were grown in the absence or presence of these agents at 1/4 minimal inhibitory concentration for 6 h, 12 h, and 18 h. At the concentrations used in this study, none of the agents significantly altered cell count compared with the control group. The level of cytotoxicity in the imipenem group was lower at 12 hand 18 h than their respective controls. In contrast, the level of cytotoxicity in cultures treated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, norfloxacin, and amikacin was increased. The strains were also examined for the release of Shiga toxins 1 and 2 following treatment with the agents, which were measured by the reversed passive latex agglutination (RPLA) method. The RPLA assay showed a suppression of release of Shiga toxin 2 in the strain cultures containing imipenem. These results indicate that imipenem may be a safe and effective agent for inhibition of these bacteria, which has clinical implications for the treatment of EHEC infections.

MR Study of Wate Exchange and Cell Membrane Permeability in Rat Liver Cells Using a Tissue-Specific MR Contrast Agent (조직 특성 MR 조영제를 이용한 쥐의 간세포막의 물분자 교환 및 투과율의 MR 측정기법)

  • Yongmin Chang
    • Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.73-82
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    • 1998
  • Purpose : A precise NMR technique for measuring the rate of water exchange and cell membrane permeability across the hepatocyte membrane using liver-specific MR contrast agent is described. Materials and Methods : The rat hepatocytes isolated by perfusion of the livers were used for the NMR measurements. All experiments were performed on an IBM field cycling relaxometer operating from 0.02MHz to 60 MHz proton Larmor frequency. spin-echo pulse sequence was empolyed to measure spin-lattice relaxation time, T1. The continuous distribution analysis of water proton T1 data from rat hepatocytes containing low concentrations of the liver specific contrast agent, Gd-EOB-DTPA, modeled by a general two compartment exchange model. Results : The mean residence time of water molecule inside the hepatocyte was approximately 250 msec. The lower limit for the permeability of the hepatocyte membrane was $(1.3{\pm}0.1){\;}{\times}{\;}10^{-3}cm/sec$. The CONTIN analysis, which seeks the natural distribution of relaxation times, reveals direct evidence of the effect of diffusive exchange. the diffusive water exchange is not small in the intracellular space in the case of hepatocytes. Conclusions : Gd-EOB-DTPA, when combined with continuous distribution analysis, provides a robust method to study water exchange and membrane permeability in hepatocytes. Water exchange in hepatocyte is much slower thatn that in red blood cells. Therefore, tissue-specific contrast agent may be used as a functional agent to give physiological information such as cell membrane permeability.

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Investigation of the Characteristics of New, Uniform, Extremely Small Iron-Based Nanoparticles as T1 Contrast Agents for MRI

  • Young Ho So;Whal Lee;Eun-Ah Park;Pan Ki Kim
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.22 no.10
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    • pp.1708-1718
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    • 2021
  • Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the magnetic resonance (MR) characteristics and applicability of new, uniform, extremely small iron-based nanoparticles (ESIONs) with 3-4-nm iron cores using contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Materials and Methods: Seven types of ESIONs were used in phantom and animal experiments with 1.5T, 3T, and 4.7T scanners. The MR characteristics of the ESIONs were evaluated via phantom experiments. With the ESIONs selected by the phantom experiments, animal experiments were performed on eight rabbits. In the animal experiments, the in vivo kinetics and enhancement effect of the ESIONs were evaluated using half-diluted and non-diluted ESIONs. The between-group differences were assessed using a linear mixed model. A commercially available gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) was used as a control. Results: All ESIONs showed a good T1 shortening effect and were applicable for MRA at 1.5T and 3T. The relaxivity ratio of the ESIONs increased with increasing magnetic field strength. In the animal experiments, the ESIONs showed peak signal intensity on the first-pass images and persistent vascular enhancement until 90 minutes. On the 1-week follow-up images, the ESIONs were nearly washed out from the vascular structures and organs. The peak signal intensity on the first-pass images showed no significant difference between the non-diluted ESIONs with 3-mm iron cores and GBCA (p = 1.000). On the 10-minutes post-contrast images, the non-diluted ESIONs showed a significantly higher signal intensity than did the GBCA (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In the phantom experiments, the ESIONs with 3-4-nm iron oxide cores showed a good T1 shortening effect at 1.5T and 3T. In the animal experiments, the ESIONs with 3-nm iron cores showed comparable enhancement on the first-pass images and superior enhancement effect on the delayed images compared to the commercially available GBCA at 3T.

Nanoparticles Promise New Methods to Boost Oncology Outcomes in Breast Cancer

  • Islamian, Jalil Pirayesh;Hatamian, Milad;Rashidi, Mohammad Reza
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.5
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    • pp.1683-1686
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    • 2015
  • Different types of treatment are available for patients with breast cancer, the most being radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and combination therapy. Recently, nanoparticles have been emerging as promising agents for cancer therapy and are being investigated as contrast agents, drug carriers, radiosensitizers and also for hyperthermia effects. In this review the focus is on approaches for targeted treatment of breast cancer by combining nanoparticles, chemodrugs and radiation. The availble data suggest the possibility of increased roles for combined therapy, particularly by reducing the dose of each treatment modality, and consequently minimizing related side effects.

Styrylpyrone Derivative Induces Apoptosis through the Up-Regulation of Bax in the Human Breast Cancer Cell Line MCF-7

  • Chien, Alvin Lee Teck;Pihie, Azimahtol Hawariah Lope
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.269-274
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    • 2003
  • In the fight against cancer, novel chemotherapeutic agents are constantly being sought to complement existing drugs. Various studies have presented evidence that the apoptosis that is induced by these anticancer agents is implicated in tumor regression, and Bcl-2 family genes play a part in apoptosis following treatment with various stimuli. Here, we present data that a styrylpyrone derivative (SPD) that is extracted from the plant Goniothalamus sp. showed cytotoxic effects on the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. SPD significantly increased apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, as visualized by phase contrast microscopy and evaluated by the Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling assay and nuclear morphology. Western blotting and immunostaining revealed up-regulation of the proapoptotic Bax protein expression. SPD, however, did not affect the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2. These results, therefore, suggest SPD as a potent cytotoxic agent on MCF-7 cells by inducing apoptosis through the modulation of Bax levels.

Quality Characteristics of Pumpkin Cream Soup Adding Rice Powder as a Thickening Agent (쌀가루를 농후제로 사용한 호박 크림수프의 품질 특성)

  • Oh, Young-Sub;Choi, Soo-Keun;Rha, Young-Ah
    • Culinary science and hospitality research
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.44-53
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    • 2007
  • This study investigated the utilization of pumpkin cream soup mixture of pumpkin P1(sweet pumpkin 25%, pumpkin 75%), and S1(rice flour 100%) and S3(rice powder 50%, glutinous rice powder 50%) as thickening agents showed highest preference for pumpkin cream soup. Rice powder was used in pumpkin cream soup as a thickening agent. Hunter's color marked the lowest value in using group of flour roux, in contrast with the highest value in using glutinous rice powder roux. The results of viscosity were diverse according to the condition of relationships between the percentage of contents flour, rice and glutinous rice control. For the sensory evaluation, parameters such as appearance, color, viscosity and savory taste increased significantly from the control at glutinous rice roux, and overall acceptability marked the lowest result in flour roux control.

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Effects of self-disclosure in conversational agents - Comparison of task- and social-oriented dialogues -

  • Lee, Kahyun;Choi, Kee-eun;Choi, Junho
    • Design Convergence Study
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.71-87
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    • 2019
  • Previous research has shown that the use of self-disclosure, the process of revealing personal thoughts and feelings, in conversational agents (CAs) increases overall user evaluations. However, research exploring the effects of self-disclosure in different situations or dialogue types is limited. This study investigated the effects of self-disclosure and dialogue type (task- vs. social-oriented) on trust, usefulness, and usage intention. Results showed significant interaction effects between self-disclosure and dialogue type. For CAs that did not use self-disclosure, trust, usefulness, and usage intention were higher in task-oriented dialogues. In contrast, CAs that did use self-disclosure had higher trust, usefulness, and usage intention in social-oriented dialogues. These results suggest that researchers and designers should consider the specific dialogue types and corresponding user goals when adding human qualities, such as self-disclosure, to CAs.

Teratogenic Effects of Diazinon in Chick Embryos 1. Effects of Diazinon Treatment on Morphology and Cholinergic Blocking Agents (Diazinon이의 계배 기형 유발에 미치는 영향 1. 계배형태와 콜린성 봉쇄약물과의 관계)

  • 허정호;손성기;이주홍;김종수
    • Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.122-129
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    • 1994
  • Teratogenic effects of diazinon were assessed morphologically and cholinergic blocking agents. Diazinon at doses ranging from 25 to 2000 ug /egg, was Injected on day 3 of incubation. TD50s were different for the various teratogenic signs (wry neck, micromelia, abnormal feathering, abnormal beak and curled claws). The threshould dose for wry neck was higher than threshould dose for other signs; 40 ug/egg produced substantial micromelia, abnormal feathering. abnormal beak and curled claws, but gave no signs of wry neck. In contrast to the teratogenic doses, the LD50 of diazinon was very high (above 2000 ug /egg). One of the characteristics of diazinon-induced teratogenesis was reduced body weight (78.7%) and body length (73.8%). Maximal teratogenic effects, scored as signs of retarded growth, wry neck micromelia, abnormal feathering, abnormal beak, and curled claws, were produced when the insectcide was administered on the third or fourth day. The threshold dose for type II teratogenic signs(such as wry neck and short neck) was higher than for type I (such as micromelia and abnormal feathering). Morphological studies, using atropine and gallamine, suggested that nicotine but not muscarinic receptors may be involved in the mechanism of diazinon induced type II malformations.

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STUDY ON DENTINAL TUBULES SEALING EFFECTS OF DENTIN BONDING AGENTS (DENTIN BONDING AGENTS들의 상아세관 밀봉 효과에 관한 연구)

  • Kown, O-Teak;Park, Dong-Soo
    • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.483-496
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    • 1993
  • Dentin hypersensitivity medicaments such as Gluma, Scotchbond 2, All-Bond 2, which are resin adhesives, were used to compare the sealing effects of dentinal tubule under mechanical stress. Topical application of above medicaments on the dentin surfaces of extracted teeth followed by artificial tooth brushing for 6 weeks was performed for the comparison. The following conclusions on the degree of dentinal tubule exposure versus time by were reached by using polyvinyl siloxane impression material for taking the impression, epoxy resin for the duplication and SEM for observing the surface. 1. SEM was used to compare the accuracy of the duplicated surface, but no differences were found when teeth samples and the duplicated surfaces were observed. 2. After comparing the degree of dentinal tubules exposure with varnish applied contrast group, resin adhesive materials showed much less exposure as time went by. 3. The results indicated that AU-Bond 2 adhesive, under mechanical stress, showed lesser exposure of dentinal tubules comparing with Gluma and Scotchbond 2 adhesives After the results were put together, it was demonstrated that resin replica method is an useful way to evaluate the treatment effects of the dentinal tubule hypersensitivity medicaments. Also, it was noticed that under mechanical stress, All-Bond 2, classified as fourth generation, illustrated the best dentinal tubules sealing effects.

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