Graphical user interface for yield and dose estimations for cyclotron-produced technetium

The cyclotron-based (100)Mo(p,2n)(99m)Tc reaction has been proposed as an alternative method for solving the shortage of (99m)Tc. With this production method, however, even if highly enriched molybdenum is used, various radioactive and stable isotopes will be produced simultaneously with (99m)Tc. In order to optimize reaction parameters and estimate potential patient doses from radiotracers labeled with cyclotron produced (99m)Tc, the yields for all reaction products must be estimated. Such calculations, however, are extremely complex and time consuming. Therefore, the objective of this study was to design a graphical user interface (GUI) that would automate these calculations, facilitate analysis of the experimental data, and predict dosimetry. The resulting GUI, named Cyclotron production Yields and Dosimetry (CYD), is based on Matlab®. It has three parts providing (a) reaction yield calculations, (b) predictions of gamma emissions and (c) dosimetry estimations. The paper presents the outline of the GUI, lists the parameters that must be provided by the user, discusses the details of calculations and provides examples of the results. Our initial experience shows that the proposed GUI allows the user to very efficiently calculate the yields of reaction products and analyze gamma spectroscopy data. However, it is expected that the main advantage of this GUI will be at the later clinical stage when entering reaction parameters will allow the user to predict production yields and estimate radiation doses to patients for each particular cyclotron run.

Antiemesis effect and brain fMRI response of gastric electrical stimulation with different parameters in dogs

BACKGROUND

The aims of this study were to investigate the effect of gastric electrical stimulation (GES) with different parameters on emesis induced by apomorphine, and possible center mechanisms by brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

METHODS

Six dogs implanted with electrodes on gastric serosa were used in this study. Part 1: Apomorphine was injected in the control session and GES sessions. GESs with different parameters were applied in GES session. Gastric slow waves and emesis and behaviors suggestive of nausea were recorded in each session. Part 2: Each dog was anesthetized and given GESs with different parameters or sham stimulation for 15 min after baseline (5 min), respectively. The location of cerebral activation induced by GES was investigated by fMRI.

KEY RESULTS

Apomorphine induced emesis and behaviors suggestive of nausea, and gastric dysrhythmia. The emesis frequency in control session was 5.5 ± 0.99, and symptoms score was 22.17 ± 1.01. GES with short pulse and long pulse could not improve emesis and symptoms induced by apomorphine. The emesis frequency (4.5 ± 0.76 in short pulse and 6.33 ± 1.05 in long pulse) and symptoms scores had no significant difference compared to control session (each p > 0.05). GES with trains of short pulse reduced emesis time frequency (3.83 ± 0.7, p = 0.042 vs control) and symptoms score (p = 0.037 vs control) obviously. Brain fMRI showed that GES with short pulse and long pulse activated brain stem region, and trains of short pulse made amygdala and occipital lobe activation.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

Apomorphine induced emesis and gastric dysrhythmia. GES with trains of short pulses relieves emetic responses through activation of amygdala region.

Schistosoma japonicum: susceptibility of neonate mice born to infected and noninfected mothers following subsequent challenge

This study was to investigate the differences between neonate mice born to Schistosoma japonicum-infected mothers and those born to noninfected mothers in subsequent challenge. The intensity of infection (evidenced by worm burden and liver egg burden) and liver immunopathology (number and size of liver granulomas) were significantly reduced in neonates from infected mothers (I.M.) compared with neonates from noninfected mothers (N.M.). Anti-soluble worm antigen of S. japonicum (SWA) IgG could be detected in sera of neonates from I.M. (N.N./I.M.) at 1 week after delivery, remained a plateau for 2 weeks and gradually decreased until 8 weeks of age. Parasite-specific IgM was not detected in sera from N.N./I.M. at any time after delivery. At 6 weeks after infection, the level of anti-SWA IgG in infected neonates from I.M. (I.N./I.M.) was significantly higher than that of infected neonates from N.M. (I.N./N.M.). In addition, production of IFN-γ, IL-12 and TGF-β by cultured splenocytes from I.N./I.M. was significantly increased, while the level of IL-4 was significantly decreased when compared to those from I.N./N.M.. These data demonstrate that congenital exposure to schistosomiasis japonica may render neonatal mice born to I.M. less susceptible to subsequent challenge and result in down-regulation of both infection intensity and immunopathology.

Inferred cosmic-ray spectrum from Fermi large area telescope γ-ray observations of Earth's limb

Recent accurate measurements of cosmic-ray (CR) species by ATIC-2, CREAM, and PAMELA reveal an unexpected hardening in the proton and He spectra above a few hundred GeV, a gradual softening of the spectra just below a few hundred GeV, and a harder spectrum of He compared to that of protons. These newly discovered features may offer a clue to the origin of high-energy CRs. We use the Fermi Large Area Telescope observations of the γ-ray emission from Earth's limb for an indirect measurement of the local spectrum of CR protons in the energy range ∼90  GeV-6  TeV (derived from a photon energy range 15 GeV-1 TeV). Our analysis shows that single power law and broken power law spectra fit the data equally well and yield a proton spectrum with index 2.68±0.04 and 2.61±0.08 above ∼200  GeV, respectively.

Identification of differentially accumulating pistil proteins associated with self-incompatibility of non-heading Chinese cabbage

Non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino), an important vegetable crop in China, exhibits a typical sporophytic self-incompatibility (SI) system. To better understand the mechanism of SI response and identify potential candidate proteins involved in the SI system of this vegetable crop, the proteomic approach was taken to identify differential accumulating pistil proteins. Pistils were collected at 0 h and 2 h after self-pollination at anthesis in self-incompatible and compatible lines of non-heading Chinese cabbage, and total proteins were extracted and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). A total of 25 protein spots that displayed differential abundance were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF MS) and peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF). Among them, 22 protein spots were confidently established. The mRNA levels of the corresponding genes were detected by quantitative RT-PCR. The 22 identified protein spots are involved in energy metabolism (four), protein biosynthesis (three), photosynthesis (six), stress response and defence (five), and protein degradation (four). Among these potential candidate proteins, UDP-sugar pyrophosphorylase could be involved in sucrose degradation to influence pollen germination and growth. Glutathione S-transferases could be involved in pollen maturation, and affect pollen fertility. Senescence-associated cysteine protease, which is related to programmed cell death, could be mainly related to self pollen recognition of non-heading Chinese cabbage. The study will contribute to further investigations of molecular mechanism of sporophytic SI in Brassicaceae.

Simple and rapid data-reduction method with pixel-level spatial frequency of shift-rotation method

Absolute testing methods are commonly employed in surface metrology to calibrate the reference surface deviation and obtain the absolute deviation of the surface under test. A simple and reliable data-reduction method of absolute shift-rotation method with rotational and translational measurements is presented here, which relies on the decomposition of the surface deviation into rotationally asymmetric and symmetric components. The rotationally asymmetric surface deviation can be simply obtained by classical N-position averaging method. After that, the two-dimensional problem of estimating the other rotationally symmetric surface deviation can be simplified to a one-dimensional problem, and it can be directly calculated out with pixel-level spatial frequency based on several measurements of different translations in one same direction. Since that no orthogonal polynomials fitting, such as Zernike polynomials, is required in the calculation, the data reduction of the method is simple and rapid. Experimental absolute results of spherical surfaces are given.

Genome-wide association study in a Chinese population identifies a susceptibility locus for type 2 diabetes at 7q32 near PAX4

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

Most genetic variants identified for type 2 diabetes have been discovered in European populations. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a Chinese population with the aim of identifying novel variants for type 2 diabetes in Asians.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis of three GWAS comprising 684 patients with type 2 diabetes and 955 controls of Southern Han Chinese descent. We followed up the top signals in two independent Southern Han Chinese cohorts (totalling 10,383 cases and 6,974 controls), and performed in silico replication in multiple populations.

RESULTS

We identified CDKN2A/B and four novel type 2 diabetes association signals with p < 1 × 10(-5) from the meta-analysis. Thirteen variants within these four loci were followed up in two independent Chinese cohorts, and rs10229583 at 7q32 was found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in a combined analysis of 11,067 cases and 7,929 controls (p meta = 2.6 × 10(-8); OR [95% CI] 1.18 [1.11, 1.25]). In silico replication revealed consistent associations across multiethnic groups, including five East Asian populations (p meta = 2.3 × 10(-10)) and a population of European descent (p = 8.6 × 10(-3)). The rs10229583 risk variant was associated with elevated fasting plasma glucose, impaired beta cell function in controls, and an earlier age at diagnosis for the cases. The novel variant lies within an islet-selective cluster of open regulatory elements. There was significant heterogeneity of effect between Han Chinese and individuals of European descent, Malaysians and Indians.

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Our study identifies rs10229583 near PAX4 as a novel locus for type 2 diabetes in Chinese and other populations and provides new insights into the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.

Long-term follow-up of a phase III study comparing radiotherapy with or without weekly oxaliplatin for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Previous results from our trial showed that adding oxaliplatin to radiotherapy (RT) increased survival in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at 2 years. Here, we present the data of long-term efficacy and late toxic effects.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between January 2001 and January 2003, 115 Patients with nonkeratinizing/undifferentiated locoregionally advanced NPC were randomly to receive either RT alone (n = 56) or plus concurrent oxaliplatin 70 mg/m(2) weekly for six cycles (n = 59).

RESULTS

After a median follow-up of 114 months (range 18-139 months), the 5-year overall survival (OS) and metastasis-free survival (MFS) rates in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group were significantly higher than those observed in the RT-alone group (OS, 73.2% versus 60.2%, P = 0.028; MFS, 74.7% versus 63.0%, P = 0.027). However, CCRT did not improve locoregional failure-free survival significantly. Subgroup analyses showed that the superiorities of CCRT mainly existed in the T3-4N0-1 stage subgroup (OS: HR = 0.394, P = 0.034). The grade 3/4 late toxic effects were similar in the two groups.

CONCLUSION(S)

The long-term follow-up data confirms the role of CCRT as a treatment of locoregionally advanced NPC. Oxaliplatin can be considered as an alternative optional therapeutic regimen for these patients due to its high efficiency and low toxic effect.

Genetic analysis of human predisposition to hepatosplenic disease caused by schistosomes reveals the crucial role of connective tissue growth factor in rapid progression to severe hepatic fibrosis

Schistosome worms inhabit mammalian mesenteric veins. Their eggs cause chronic inflammation, which progresses to periportal fibrosis in 5 to 30% of cases, increasing portal blood pressure and leading to esophageal varices. Episodes of bleeding cause hepatic necrosis and may ultimately lead to hepatic failure and the death of the patient. Schistosome infections can also cause pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. The mechanisms of fibrogenesis and fibrolysis are beginning to be unraveled, but it remains unclear why disease occurs only in certain subjects, as also observed for other types of chronic liver inflammation, as in hepatitis C or B. We summarize here the results that showed that fibrosis progression is determined by a genetic locus on chromosome 6. The CCN2 gene at this locus, encodes CTGF that is a crucial regulator of fibrosis. Two groups of CCN2 polymorphisms independently modulate the progression of hepatic fibrosis. These results were obtained in an Asian population, but were extended to humans living in Africa and South America and are presently tested in liver fibrosis of other etiological origins.

Influence of the catheter diameter on the investigation of the esophageal motility through solid-state high-resolution manometry

Past studies have shown that catheter diameter is one of the device-dependent problems which influence the manometric results in the conventional water perfusion esophageal manometry. High-resolution solid-state manometry which abandons water perfusion is thought as an improved manometry method benefited from more pressure sensors, and it is gradually widely used in many present esophageal motility studies. There was no research to evaluate the influence of catheter diameter on the solid-state high-resolution manometry results. The aim of this study was to investigate whether solid-state high-resolution catheters of different diameter provide different data and results. Nine asymptomatic volunteers and 18 gastroesophageal reflux disease patients accepted high-resolution manometry examinations with two solid-state catheters of different outer diameter (4.2 mm and 2.7 mm). Every examination contained 5 minutes resting pressure, 10 water swallows and 10 bread swallows. Some important parameters of the esophageal sphincters and esophageal body peristalsis were analyzed. They included the locations and resting pressure of sphincters, the distal contractile integral, the 4-second integrated relaxation pressure etc. Then, these parameters and the diagnosis of each swallow based on them provided by the two different diameter catheters were compared. (i) The 4.2 mm thick catheter provided higher upper esophageal sphincter resting pressure than the 2.7 mm thick catheter (59.4 ± 21.1 mmHg vs. 49.7 ± 21.4 mmHg); (ii) the 2.7 mm thick catheter provided higher 4-second integrated relaxation pressure than the 4.2 mm thick catheter (10.9 ± 4.5 mmHg vs. 8.5 ± 3.8 mmHg) in water swallows; (iii) the mean distal contractile integral of the water and bread swallows in the large diameter catheter were higher than in the small diameter catheter (989.2 ± 650.0 mmHg/cm/s vs. 806.3 ± 563.7 mmHg/cm/s in water swallows, 1762.5 ± 1440.6 mmHg/cm/s vs. 1275.7 ± 982.0 mmHg/cm/s in bread swallows); (iv) on the lower esophageal sphincter resting pressure, most parameters in bread swallows provided by the two catheters were of no statistical significance; (v) the 2.7 mm thick catheter detected more hypotensive peristalsis swallows than the other catheter in water swallows; and (vi) the final diagnosis of about half of the subjects provided by the two catheters were different. The 2.7 mm thick solid-state high-resolution manometry catheter provides somewhat different data from the usually used 4.2 mm thick catheter. It is needed to set up different and independent series of normative value for the solid-state high-resolution manometry catheters of different outer diameter. The normative value and diagnostic criterion got from one catheter is not universal and acceptable for researches with catheter of different diameter.

Prucalopride in the treatment of chronic constipation in patients from the Asia-Pacific region: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

BACKGROUND

The study evaluated efficacy and safety of the 2 mg dose of prucalopride compared to placebo in patients with chronic constipation (CC) from the Asia-Pacific region.

METHODS

Randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, phase III study with 2-week run-in, 12-week treatment phase, and 1-week follow-up. Adult patients with CC (≤2 spontaneous bowel movements per week) received 2 mg prucalopride or placebo, once-daily, for 12 weeks. Primary efficacy measure was percentage of patients with average of ≥3 spontaneous complete bowel movements (SCBMs) per week (Responders) during the 12-week treatment. A key secondary endpoint was Responders during first 4 weeks of treatment. Other efficacy assessments were based on patient diaries, their assessments of symptoms and quality of life, and investigator's assessment on efficacy of treatment. Safety assessments included adverse events, laboratory values, and cardiovascular events.

KEY RESULTS

Efficacy and safety were evaluated for 501 patients who received study drug. On the primary endpoint, prucalopride was significantly more effective than placebo with 83 (33.3%) vs 26 (10.3%) patients having a weekly average of ≥3 SCBMs during the 12-week treatment (P < 0.001). Respective percentages were 34.5%vs 11.1% over first 4 weeks (P < 0.001). On other secondary endpoints, clinical improvement was generally larger and statistically superior (P < 0.001) in the prucalopride group. Most frequently reported adverse events were diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and headache.

CONCLUSION & INFERENCES

Prucalopride 2 mg given once-daily significantly improved bowel function, associated symptoms, and satisfaction in CC over a 12-week treatment period, and was safe and well tolerated by patients in the Asia-Pacific region.