Search

Background: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) stand as pivotal diagnostic tools for brain disorders, offering the potential for mutually enriching disease diagnostic perspectives. However, the costs associated with PET scans and the inherent radioactivity have limited the widespread application of PET. Furthermore, it is noteworthy to highlight the promising potential of high‐field and ultra‐high‐field neuroimaging in cognitive neuroscience research and clinical practice. With the enhancement of MRI resolution, a related question arises: can high‐resolution MRI improve the quality of PET images? Purpose: This study aims to enhance the quality of synthesized PET images by leveraging the superior resolution capabilities provided by high‐field and ultra‐high‐field MRI. Methods: From a statistical perspective, the joint probability distribution is considered the most direct and fundamental approach for representing the correlation between PET and MRI. In this study, we proposed a novel model, the joint diffusion attention model, namely, the joint diffusion attention model (JDAM), which primarily focuses on learning information about the joint probability distribution. JDAM consists of two primary processes: the diffusion process and the sampling process. During the diffusion process, PET gradually transforms into a Gaussian noise distribution by adding Gaussian noise, while MRI remains fixed. The central objective of the diffusion process is to learn the gradient of the logarithm of the joint probability distribution between MRI and noise PET. The sampling process operates as a predictor‐corrector. The predictor initiates a reverse diffusion process, and the corrector applies Langevin dynamics. Results: Experimental results from the publicly available Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative dataset highlight the effectiveness of the proposed model compared to state‐of‐the‐art (SOTA) models such as Pix2pix and CycleGAN. Significantly, synthetic PET images guided by ultra‐high‐field MRI exhibit marked improvements in signal‐to‐noise characteristics when contrasted with those generated from high‐field MRI data. These results have been endorsed by medical experts, who consider the PET images synthesized through JDAM to possess scientific merit. This endorsement is based on their symmetrical features and precise representation of regions displaying hypometabolism, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Conclusions: This study establishes the feasibility of generating PET images from MRI. Synthesis of PET by JDAM significantly enhances image quality compared to SOTA models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various solvent extracts of Phymatopteris hastata, a traditional Chinese medicinal material, were screened for their antioxidant activities. Four systems of in vitro testing were employed to investigate the antiradical and antioxidant effect, i.e., the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) systems, the hydroxyl radical scavenging assay and the reducing power. In addition, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a widely used synthetic antioxidant, was also studied for comparison. The results revealed that the ethyl acetate extract exhibited outstanding antioxidant activities, which was close or even superior to BHT. Furthermore, the total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) contents of different extracts were measured, expressed as gallic acid and rutin equivalent, respectively. The antioxidant activities and the TP/TF content of different extracts followed the same order: ethyl acetate extract > butyl alcohol extract > petroleum ether extract, showing a good correlation between the antioxidant activities and the TP/TF content. The results showed that these extracts, especially the ethyl acetate extract, were rich in phenolics and flavonoids and could be considered as natural antioxidants.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were functionalized with a hydroxyl-terminated silicone oil (TSO-OH). It is synthesized by the reactions of carbonyl chloride groups on the surface of SWNTs and hydroxyl groups of silicone oil (TSO-OH). The functionaiized product SWNTs-TSO-OH was first used as precursor and selective stationary phase to prepare the sol--gel derived poly(SWNTs-TSO-OH) solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber for determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PB-DEs) in water samples. The possible major reaction of the sol--gel coating process was discussed and confirmed by IR spectra, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Some parameters of SPME fiber for the determination of PBDEs were investigated by headspace SPME/gas chromatography with electron-capture detection (HS-SPME/GC-ECD). Compared with the commercial SPME fiber, the new coated fiber showed higher extraction efficiency to PBDEs, better thermal stability (over 340[degrees]C), and longer life span (over 200 times). All of these advantages are mainly due to the incorporation of SWNTs, which enhanced the r-r interaction with PBDEs and increased the surface area of extraction in contact with the sample. Moreover, the sol-gel coating technology additionally provided the porous structure of the 3-D silica network and the strong chemical binding provided which also will improve the extraction efficiency. Under optimized conditions, the method detection limits for seven PBDEs were 0.08-0.8 ng/L (S/N = 3) and the precision (RSD, n = 5) was 2.2-7.5% at the 50 ng/L level. The linearity of the developed method is in the range of 5-500 ng/L with coefficients of correlation greater than 0.995. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of trace PBDEs in reservoir water and wastewater samples. The recoveries obtained at spiking 50 ng/L were between 74% and 109% (n = 5) for PBDEs in water samples.

Oxidative stress plays a key role in age-related macular degeneration and hereditary retinal degenerations. Light damage in rodents has been used extensively to model oxidative stress-induced photoreceptor degeneration, and photo-oxidative injury from blue light is particularly damaging to photoreceptors. The endogenous factors protecting photoreceptors from oxidative stress, including photo-oxidative stress, are continuing to be elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the effect of blue light exposure on photoreceptors and its relationship to Nrf2 using cultured murine photoreceptor (661W) cells. 661W cells were exposed to blue light at 2500 lux. Exposure to blue light for 6–24 h resulted in a significant increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and death of 661W cells in a time-dependent fashion. Blue light exposure resulted in activation of Nrf2, as indicated by an increase in nuclear translocation of Nrf2. This was associated with a significant induction of expression of Nrf2 as well as an array of Nrf2 target genes, including antioxidant genes, as indicated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). In order to determine the functional role of Nrf2, siRNA-mediated knockdown studies were performed. Nrf2-knockdown in 661W cells resulted in significant exacerbation of blue light-induced reactive oxygen species levels as well as cell death. Taken together, these findings indicate that Nrf2 is an important endogenous protective factor against oxidative stress in photoreceptor cells. This suggests that drugs targeting Nrf2 could be considered as a neuroprotective strategy for photoreceptors in AMD and other retinal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]