Neuroimaging techniques in modern forensic psychiatry

Applied neuroscientific knowledge such as brain neuroimaging has widespread application in the medical diagnostic and treatment areas. Neuroscientific progress such as cognitive neuroscience has strong implications in specific medical fields such as forensic psychiatry. Significant progress in forensic psychiatry has affected the practice of law, in which an understanding of the complex relationship among mind, brain, and behavior is becoming necessary. Forensic psychiatry is concerned with the relationship between psychiatric abnormalities and legal violations and crimes. Due to the lack of available biological criteria, assessment, evaluation and therapy in forensic psychiatry have so far been restricted to psychosocial and mental criteria of offender personality. Recent advances in nuclear radiology such as brain imaging techniques (fMRI, DT-MRI, PET SPECT) allow a closer approach to the neural correlates of personality, moral judgments and decision-making. Introduction of neurobiological criteria (based on advanced neuroimaging techniques) in the field of forensic psychiatry and establishing the rules to what extent such biological criteria will be more reliable choice in evaluating mentally ill offenders would be of fundamental value in the modern forensic psychiatry. Psychosocial and subjective criteria in forensic evaluation will be more accomplished by biopsychosocial and objective criteria. Advances in the neuroimaging techniques bring specificity to the problems underlying the application of neuroscience to criminal law.     

The necessity of complex use of radiation and endoscopic techniques in the differential diagnosis of gastric ulcerations

The results of examination of 156 patients were used to consider whether radiation and endoscopic techniques might be used in the differential diagnosis of gastric ulcerations. The necessity of their complex use is shown. Evidence is provided for that the understanding of intramural changes at the site of ulceration should underlie the interpretation of visual changes in the gastric mucosa. An algorithm has been developed for the rational and effective use of radiation and endoscopic techniques in the differential diagnosis of gastric ulcerations. The algorithm is shown to be highly effective in the correct interpretation of the pattern of an identified ulceration (98.4% specificity). Ultrasound and computed tomographic semiotics of benign and malignant gastric ulcerations is presented.     

Rotifer genetics: integration of classic and modern techniques

Rotifer genetics has a long but sporadic history. There have been 4 major periods of research activity: (1) determining the environmental control of sexuality with inferences regarding genetics — early 1900's; (2) exploring the relationship between chromosome numbers and the rotifer life cycle — 1920's; (3) physiological and developmental genetics — 1960's; and (4) theoretical and experimental population genetics late 1970's. With newly developed molecular techniques, in conjunction with more traditional approaches, integration of these fields is beginning. Examples include investigation of gene expression involved in sexual reproduction by isolating glycoproteins responsible for mate recognition. Improvement of techniques for chromosome analysis has made it possible to verify haploidy in males and led to the discovery of polyploidy. The role of specialized proteins in the stress response is being elaborated with an accompanying search for the genetic elements which control them. Most recently the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to amplify ribosomal genes, and is a first step in using DNA sequences to define evolutionary relationships among the Rotifera.     

Potentialities of modern clinical X-ray radiology in the differential diagnosis of tumor and other obstructive diseases of the large bowel

The misdiagnosis rate in defining the cause of obstructive colonic disease is 8.2-24.4%. This is consistent with the fact that every 5 patients with colonic obstruction present difficulties in establishing the nature of a pathological process. The paper provides the results of analysis of clinical and X-ray symptoms in 350 patients with difficult differentially diagnosed cases of narrowing of the rectum and colon. Based on the analysis, the authors identified the basically important X-ray signs that might differentiate tumor stenoses from other obstructive diseases. They also defined the specific X-ray signs of such diseases as infiltrative cancer; extraintestinal cancer involved in the large bowel; inflammatory strictures in ulcerative colitis, diverticulosis, actinomycosis, tuberculosis, intestinal endometriosis, invagination, and other obstructive diseases. The developed differentiated diagnostic criteria could enhance the overall accuracy of X-ray study in this difficult group of patients from 72.7-80% to 93%.     

Prenatal diagnosis of vascular anomalies: update and review of the literature

Optimal care for a subgroup of infants with complicated vascular anomalies requires prenatal diagnosis. Fetal vascular lesions are either vascular tumors or vascular malformations, both of which are often detected on routine ultrasound. Imaging, such as ultrasound and fetal MRI, can be used to examine lesions and provide the data for a differential diagnosis, which may impact the course of care both in utero and postnatally. Prenatal diagnosis provides the opportunity for antenatal intervention, parental counseling, and planning of the mode and location of delivery to optimize postnatal care. Prenatal diagnosis of vascular lesions also serves to alert the physician to the potential for associated syndromes and complications. Any indication of a vascular anomaly should be referred for further examination by an experienced multidisciplinary team of physicians to ensure the window in which evaluation, planning, and treatment can take place is not missed.     

In situ sensor techniques in modern bioprocess monitoring

New reactor concepts as multi-parallel screening systems or disposable bioreactor systems for decentralized and reproducible production increase the need for new and easy applicable sensor technologies to access data for process control. These sophisticated reactor systems require sensors to work with the lowest sampling volumes or, even better, to measure directly in situ, but in situ sensors are directly incorporated into a reactor or fermenter within the sterility barrier and have therefore to stand the sterilization procedures. Consequently, these in situ sensor technologies should enable the measurement of multi-analytes simultaneously online and in real-time at a low price for the robust sensing element. Current research therefore focuses on the implementation of noninvasive spectroscopic and optical technologies, and tries to employ them through fiber optics attached to disposable sensing connectors. Spectroscopic methods reach from ultraviolet to infrared and further comprising fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy. Also, optic techniques like microscopy are adapted for the direct use in bioreactor systems (Ulber et al. in Anal Bioanal Chem 376:342–348, 2003) as well as various electrochemical methods (Joo and Brown in Chem Rev 108:638–651, 2008). This review shows the variety of modern in situ sensing principles in bioprocess monitoring with emphasis on spectroscopic and optical techniques and the progress in the adaption to latest reactor concepts.     

Inside out: modern imaging techniques to reveal animal anatomy

Animal anatomy has traditionally relied on detailed dissections to produce anatomical illustrations, but modern imaging modalities, such as MRI and CT, now represent an enormous resource that allows for fast non-invasive visualizations of animal anatomy in living animals. These modalities also allow for creation of three-dimensional representations that can be of considerable value in the dissemination of anatomical studies. In this methodological review, we present our experiences using MRI, CT and μCT to create advanced representation of animal anatomy, including bones, inner organs and blood vessels in a variety of animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and spiders. The images have a similar quality to most traditional anatomical drawings and are presented together with interactive movies of the anatomical structures, where the object can be viewed from different angles. Given that clinical scanners found in the majority of larger hospitals are fully suitable for these purposes, we encourage biologists to take advantage of these imaging techniques in creation of three-dimensional graphical representations of internal structures.