Improving the clinical efficiency of T2 mapping of ligament integrity

Current MR methods use T₂^? relaxation time as a surrogate measure of ligament strength. Currently, a multi-echo voxel-wise least squares fit is the gold standard to create T₂^? maps; however, the post-processing is time-intensive and serves as a stopgap for clinical use. The study objective was to determine if an alternative method could improve post-processing time without sacrificing fidelity of T₂^? values for eventual translational use in the clinic. Using a 6 echo FLASH sequence, three different methods were used to determine intact posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) median T₂^? Two of these methods utilized a voxel-wise method to establish T₂^? maps: (1) a current “gold standard” method using a voxel-wise 6 echo least-squares fit (6LS) and (2) a voxel-wise 2 echo point T₂^? determination (2MM). The third method used median ligament signal intensity and a single nonlinear least-squares fit (6LS_ROI) instead of a voxel-wise basis. The resulting median T₂^? values of the PCL and computational time were compared. The median T₂^? values were 42% higher using the 2MM compared to the 6LS method (p<0.0001). However, a strong correlation was found for the median T₂^? values between the 2MM and 6LS methods (R²=0.80). The median T₂^? values were not significantly different between the 6LS and 6LS_ROI methods (p=0.519). Using the 2MM (which provides a regional map) and the 6LS_ROI (which efficiently provides the median T₂^? value) methods in tandem would take only minutes of post-processing computational time compared to the 6LS method (~540 min), and hence would facilitate clinical application of T₂^? maps to predict ligament structural properties as a patient outcome measure.     

Incidence of natural enemies of the Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata [Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae] on a native host in Mexico

In central Mexico, the center of origin forLeptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) and its principal host plants,L. decemlineata is associated with a diverse complex of natural enemies. Observations during 2 years in Morelos, Mexico revealed 4 species of asopine pentatomids, 7 species of foliar searching carabids, and 2 coccinellids among the predators ofL. decemlineata. Parasitoids include 3 species of tachinids andEdovum puttleri Grissel, an eulophid egg parasitoid. These natural enemies include several predators that have not previously been reported attackingL. decemlineata. University of Maine Agriculture Experiment Station No. 1553     

Effect of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on colorectal adenomas: case-control study of subjects participating in the Nottingham faecal occult blood screening programme.

OBJECTIVE--To examine the relation between the use of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the presence of asymptomatic colorectal adenomas. DESIGN--Case-control study of subjects participating in a randomised controlled trial of faecal occult blood screening for colorectal cancer. Data on analgesics and other drugs were obtained from a questionnaire which was mainly concerned with diet and was administered by an interviewer. SETTING--Nottingham. SUBJECTS--147 patients with positive results in faecal occult blood tests who were found to have colorectal adenomas (cases), 153 age and sex matched control subjects with negative results in such tests (negative controls), and 176 control subjects with positive results in the tests who were found not to have colorectal adenomas (positive controls). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Relative risk of developing colorectal adenomas according to frequency and duration of use of analgesics. RESULTS--Cases reported taking less aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs than the negative controls, with the estimated relative risk for any use being 0.49 (95% confidence interval 0.3 to 0.8). The inverse association was less strong when cases were compared with the positive controls (0.66 (0.4 to 1.1)). The association was specific for aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs there being no association with paracetamol or other drugs. Prescribed use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for longer than five years was associated with the lowest risk (0.21 (0.1 to 0.8)), although the numbers reporting prolonged prescribed use were small. CONCLUSIONS--These findings support the hypothesis that aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use protects against the development of colorectal neoplasia.     

Ontogeny of lipase expression in winter flounder

The partial sequencing of two lipases from winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus , one most closely related to gastric, lingual and lysosomal acid lipase from other vertebrates and one most closely related to bile salt-activated lipase, is reported. Biochemical analyses of enzymatic activity demonstrated the greater contribution made by bile salt-activated lipase relative to neutral bile salt-independent lipase. Using molecular techniques, the tissue-specific expression of bile salt-activated lipase in pancreatic tissue and acid triacylglycerol lipase in a wide variety of organs was demonstrated. Furthermore, the developmental expression of these types of lipase in larval fish was established.     

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a disorder of sleep control characterized by a tetrad of symptoms: sleep attacks, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. A diagnosis is made from a careful history. The incidence is estimated as high as 0.3% of the population. Unfortunately patients go for many years before the diagnosis is made and often have experienced disruption of their employment, social and family life, and may have experienced a number of car accidents because of falling asleep at the wheel. An unknown number of narcoleptics kill themselves on the highways before the diagnosis is ever made. Sleep attacks can usually be controlled by methylphenidate, and if the other symptoms persist they can often be effectively managed by imipramine.