Effects of oral zinc administration on long-term ipsilateral and contralateral testes damage after experimental testis ischaemia-reperfusion.

The purpose of this study was to examine potential long-term post-torsion changes that can occur in the histopathology, biochemistry and spermatogenesis of both torsioned and nontorsioned opposite testes. The study also determines the effect of zinc (Zn) administration on the testicular torsion/detorsion (T/D) damage on both testes. Forty-eight male rats, divided equally into eight groups: (SHAM), (SHAM+,Zn+), (T/D+, Zn- 1 month), (T/D+,Zn- 2 months), (T/D+,Zn- 3 months), (T/D+,Zn+ 1 months), (T/D+,Zn+ 2 months), (T/D+,Zn+ 3 months), have been used. Drug administration was carried out by adding 100 µg (0.016 ml/rat) Zn per rat to drinking water in related groups. Testicular damage decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) in the testis tissues of rats, while Zn administration increased SOD and GSH and decreased MDA in the testis tissues in comparison with the SHAM group. The beneficial effect of zinc sulphate was more evident on the nonrotated testis than the rotated testis. In the histopathological study, a significant decrease in torsion and detorsion injuries was observed in the treatment groups compared to the torsion and detorsion groups. We found a protective effect of zinc sulphate on oxidative stress as a result of T/D injuries in rats, especially for the nonrotated testis; results were supported histopathologically.

Quantitative evaluation of metamorphopsia with M-CHARTS™ and evaluation of retinal morphologic changes by optical coherence tomography before and after pars plana vitrectomy in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane.

PURPOSE: We aimed to quantitatively evaluate metamorphopsia pre- and postoperatively in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane(iERM) using M-CHARTS™ and to evaluate the relationship between morphological changes in retinal layers on optical coherence tomography (OCT) and metamorphopsia scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 42 patients followed in Akdeniz University Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic diagnosed with iERM by fundus examination and OCT between 2020-2022. Detailed ophthalmologic findings, visual acuities, metamorphopsia scores, and OCT parameters of all patients were recorded. The relationship between pre- and postoperative visual acuity, metamorphopsia scores and OCT parameters was investigated. Changes in OCT parameters were compared by evaluating patients with stable or increasing metamorphopsia scores as one group (group1) and patients with decreasing metamorphopsia scores as the other group (group 2). RESULTS: In "group 2", preoperative Ganglion Cell Layer+Inner Plexiform Layer (Central) (GCL+IPL (C)) was significantly (P: 0.028) higher than in "group 1". CONCLUSION: A statistically significant preoperative thickness difference in the OCT parameters of the GCL+IPL (C) layer was associated with the quantitative metamorphopsia complaints of the patients. The thickness of the preoperative GCL+IPL (C) layer can be considered an important indicator of symptoms of metamorphopsia determining functional success after surgery.

A Stacked Generalization of 3D Orthogonal Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Networks for Improved Detection of White Matter Hyperintensities in 3D FLAIR Images.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Accurate and reliable detection of white matter hyperintensities and their volume quantification can provide valuable clinical information to assess neurologic disease progression. In this work, a stacked generalization ensemble of orthogonal 3D convolutional neural networks, StackGen-Net, is explored for improving automated detection of white matter hyperintensities in 3D T2-FLAIR images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Individual convolutional neural networks in StackGen-Net were trained on 2.5D patches from orthogonal reformatting of 3D-FLAIR (n = 21) to yield white matter hyperintensity posteriors. A meta convolutional neural network was trained to learn the functional mapping from orthogonal white matter hyperintensity posteriors to the final white matter hyperintensity prediction. The impact of training data and architecture choices on white matter hyperintensity segmentation performance was systematically evaluated on a test cohort (n = 9). The segmentation performance of StackGen-Net was compared with state-of-the-art convolutional neural network techniques on an independent test cohort from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-3 (n = 20). RESULTS: StackGen-Net outperformed individual convolutional neural networks in the ensemble and their combination using averaging or majority voting. In a comparison with state-of-the-art white matter hyperintensity segmentation techniques, StackGen-Net achieved a significantly higher Dice score (0.76 [SD, 0.08], F1-lesion (0.74 [SD, 0.13]), and area under precision-recall curve (0.84 [SD, 0.09]), and the lowest absolute volume difference (13.3% [SD, 9.1%]). StackGen-Net performance in Dice scores (median = 0.74) did not significantly differ (P = .22) from interobserver (median = 0.73) variability between 2 experienced neuroradiologists. We found no significant difference (P = .15) in white matter hyperintensity lesion volumes from StackGen-Net predictions and ground truth annotations. CONCLUSIONS: A stacked generalization of convolutional neural networks, utilizing multiplanar lesion information using 2.5D spatial context, greatly improved the segmentation performance of StackGen-Net compared with traditional ensemble techniques and some state-of-the-art deep learning models for 3D-FLAIR.

Fully Automated Segmentation of Globes for Volume Quantification in CT Images of Orbits using Deep Learning.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Fast and accurate quantification of globe volumes in the event of an ocular trauma can provide clinicians with valuable diagnostic information. In this work, an automated workflow using a deep learning-based convolutional neural network is proposed for prediction of globe contours and their subsequent volume quantification in CT images of the orbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An automated workflow using a deep learning -based convolutional neural network is proposed for prediction of globe contours in CT images of the orbits. The network, 2D Modified Residual UNET (MRes-UNET2D), was trained on axial CT images from 80 subjects with no imaging or clinical findings of globe injuries. The predicted globe contours and volume estimates were compared with manual annotations by experienced observers on 2 different test cohorts. RESULTS: On the first test cohort (n = 18), the average Dice, precision, and recall scores were 0.95, 96%, and 95%, respectively. The average 95% Hausdorff distance was only 1.5 mm, with a 5.3% error in globe volume estimates. No statistically significant differences (P = .72) were observed in the median globe volume estimates from our model and the ground truth. On the second test cohort (n = 9) in which a neuroradiologist and 2 residents independently marked the globe contours, MRes-UNET2D (Dice = 0.95) approached human interobserver variability (Dice = 0.94). We also demonstrated the utility of inter-globe volume difference as a quantitative marker for trauma in 3 subjects with known globe injuries. CONCLUSIONS: We showed that with fast prediction times, we can reliably detect and quantify globe volumes in CT images of the orbits across a variety of acquisition parameters.

Synthesis and molecular modeling of some novel hexahydroindazole derivatives as potent monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

A novel series of 2-thiocarbamoyl-2,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-1H-indazole and 2-substituted thiocarbamoyl-3,3a,4,5,6,7-hexahydro-2H-indazoles derivatives were synthesized and investigated for the ability to inhibit the activity of the A and B isoforms of monoamine oxidase (MAO). The target molecules were identified on the basis of satisfactory analytical and spectra data (IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, (2)D NMR, DEPT, EI-MASS techniques and elemental analysis). Synthesized compounds showed high activity against both the MAO-A (compounds 1d, 1e, 2c, 2d, 2e) and the MAO-B (compounds 1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b) isoforms. In the discussion of the results, the influence of the structure on the biological activity of the prepared compounds was delineated. It was suggested that non-substituted and N-methyl/ethyl bearing compounds (except 2c) increased the inhibitory effect and selectivity toward MAO-B. The rest of the compounds, carrying N-allyl and N-phenyl, appeared to select the MAO-A isoform. The inhibition profile was found to be competitive and reversible for all compounds. A series of experimentally tested (1a-2e) compounds was docked computationally to the active site of the MAO-A and MAO-B isoenzyme. The autodock 4.01 program was employed to perform automated molecular docking. In order to see the detailed interactions of the docked poses of the model inhibitors compounds 1a, 1d, 1e and 2e were chosen because of their ability to reversibly inhibit the MAO-B and MAO-A and the availability of experimental inhibition data. The differences in the intermolecular hydrophobic and H-bonding of ligands to the active site of each MAO isoform were correlated to their biological data. Observation of the docked positions of these ligands revealed interactions with many residues previously reported to have an effect on the inhibition of the enzyme. Excellent to good correlations between the calculated and experimental K(i) values were obtained. In the docking of the MAO-A complex, the trans configuration of compound 1e made various very close interactions with the residues lining the active site cavity these interactions were much better than those of the other compounds tested in this study. This tight binding observation may be responsible for the nanomolar inhibition of form of MAOA. However, it binds slightly weaker (experimental K(i)=1.23 microM) to MAO-B than to MAO-A (experimental K(i)=4.22 nM).

Pathological image compression for big data image analysis: Application to hotspot detection in breast cancer.

In this paper, we propose a pathological image compression framework to address the needs of Big Data image analysis in digital pathology. Big Data image analytics require analysis of large databases of high-resolution images using distributed storage and computing resources along with transmission of large amounts of data between the storage and computing nodes that can create a major processing bottleneck. The proposed image compression framework is based on the JPEG2000 Interactive Protocol and aims to minimize the amount of data transfer between the storage and computing nodes as well as to considerably reduce the computational demands of the decompression engine. The proposed framework was integrated into hotspot detection from images of breast biopsies, yielding considerable reduction of data and computing requirements.

Synthesis and studies on antidepressant and anticonvulsant activities of some 3-(2-thienyl)pyrazoline derivatives.

In this study, the synthesis of twelve 3-(2-thienyl)pyrazoline derivatives are described. The structures of all compounds were confirmed by UV, IR, (1)H-NMR, mass spectral data, and microanalyses. In the pharmacological studies, antidepressant and anticonvulsant activities of these compounds have been screened. The antidepressant activities of the compounds were investigated by Porsolt's behavioral despair test (forced swimming) on albino mice and compared with tranylcypromine. Among the compounds examined, the compounds 9 and 12 showed significant antidepressant activity. Anticonvulsant activities of the compounds were determined by maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (metrazol) (scMet.) tests, neurotoxicities were determined by rotarod toxicity test on albino mice. Compound 8 was found to be protective against MES in the range of 30-300 mg/kg dose levels at four hours. None of the synthesized compounds showed neurotoxicity at 30-300 mg/kg dose levels.

Clinical Utility of a Novel Ultrafast T2-Weighted Sequence for Spine Imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: TSE-based T2-weighted imaging of the spine has long scan times. This work proposes a fast imaging protocol using variable refocusing flip angles, optimized for blurring and specific absorption rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A variable refocusing flip angle echo-train was optimized for the spine to improve the point spread function and minimize the specific absorption rate, yielding images with improved spatial resolution and SNR compared with the constant flip angle sequence. Data were acquired from 51 patients (35 lumbar, 16 whole-spine) using conventional TSE and the proposed sequence, with a single-shot variant for whole-spine. Noninferiority analysis was performed to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed technique. RESULTS: The proposed multishot sequence resulted in a 2× shorter scan time with a >1.5× lower specific absorption rate. The variable flip angle sequence was noninferior to the conventional TSE (P < .025) for all image-quality and clinical criteria except signal-to-noise ratio for the lumbar spine protocol. However, mean image scores for the TSE-variable refocusing flip angle were ≥4.3 for all criteria, and concordance analysis showed high agreement (>90%) with the TSE, indicating clinical equivalence. The single-shot sequence resulted in 4× shorter whole-spine scans, and image scores were ≥4.4 for all criteria, attesting to its clinical utility. CONCLUSIONS: We present a fast T2-weighted spine protocol using variable refocusing flip angles, including a single-shot variant. The sequences have better point spread function behavior than their constant flip angle counterparts and, being faster, should be less sensitive to patient motion, often seen in the longer TSE scans.

Synthesis and studies on antidepressant and anticonvulsant activities of some 3-(2-furyl)-pyrazoline derivatives.

Twelve 1-phenyl-, 1-thiocarbamoyl- and 1-N-substituted thiocarbamoyl-3-(2-furyl)-5-phenyl/(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline derivatives were synthesized. The chemical structures of the compounds were proved by IR, (1)H NMR, Mass spectrometric data and microanalyses. The antidepressant activities of the compounds were investigated by Porsolt's behavioural despair (forced swimming) test on albino mice. 1-N-Ethylthiocarbamoyl-3-(2-furyl)-5-phenyl-2-pyrazoline (6) and 1-N-allylthiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (11) reduced 33.80-31.42% duration of immobility times at 10 mg kg(-1) dose level. Anticonvulsant activities of the compounds were determined by maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (metrazol) (scMet.) tests, neurotoxicities were determined by rotarod toxicity test on albino mice. 1,5-Diphenyl-3-(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (2), 1-N-allylthiocarbamoyl-3-(2-furyl)-5-phenyl-2-pyrazoline (7), 1-N-allylthiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (11) and 1-N-phenylthiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (12) were active at 100-300 mg kg(-1) dose levels. 1-Thiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (4), 1-N-methylthiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (9) and 1-N-ethylthiocarbamoyl-3,5-di(2-furyl)-2-pyrazoline (10) were found protective against MES and scMet. at 30-300 mg kg(-1) dose levels.

Bioremediation of benzene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes in groundwater under iron-amended, sulfate-reducing conditions.

Elevated concentrations of sulfide in groundwater (approximately 63 mg S(2-)/L in water and 500 mg dissolved H2S/L dissipating from the wellhead) at a field site near South Lovedale (OK, USA) were inhibiting the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) that are known to degrade contaminants, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes. Elevated concentrations of these contaminants, except for toluene, also were present in this groundwater. Microcosms were established in the laboratory using groundwater and sediment collected from the field site and amended with various nutrient, substrate, and inhibitor treatments. All microcosms initially were amended with FeCl2 to induce FeS precipitation and, thereby, to reduce aqueous sulfide concentrations. Complete removal of benzene, ethylbenzene, and m+p-xylenes (BEX; o-xylene not detected) was observed within 39 d in treatments with various combinations of nutrient and substrate amendments, including treatments with no amendments (other than FeCl2). This indicates that the elevated concentration of sulfide is the only limiting factor to BEX biodegradation at this site under anaerobic conditions and that treating the groundwater with FeCl2 may be a simple remedy to both facilitate and enhance BEX degradation by the indigenous SRB population.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders in transplant recipients.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a serious complication of organ transplantation, with a reported incidence between 0.8% and 32%. The incidence of PTLD mainly depends on the transplanted organ, the immunosuppressive drugs, the viral serology, and the age of the recipient. The aim of our study was to analyze our patients diagnosed with PTLD. Among 1040 transplantations, including 931 renal, 14 heart, 55 liver and 40 allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC), 8 patients (7 male, 1 female) were diagnosed with PTLD. Five patients had undergone renal, one cardiac, one liver, and one PBSC transplantations. Four patients were diagnosed within the first year of transplantation. Six patients presented with abdominal disease, one with convulsions, and one with peripheral lymph node involvement. According to the World Health Organization classification system, six patients were diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, one patient Burkitt's lymphoma, and one polymorphic PTLD. At the time of diagnosis, 7 patients showed positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) Ig G and negative Ig M; one patient, positive EBV Ig M and negative CMV Ig G and M. EBV viral load was extremely high in the plasma of two patients by polymerase chain reaction. One of these patient's pathologic tissue revealed positive EBV DNA, which was not detected in six of the other eight patients. This patient was an 8-year-old boy diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma at 31 months after liver transplantation. Seven patients died of disease or complications of chemotherapy. Only one patient survived after the diagnosis of PTLD. In conclusion, even with treatment the mortality rate was high among our patients with PTLD. To decrease the incidence of PTLD and related mortality, risk factors must be evaluated in multicenter studies.

1-N-Substituted thiocarbamoyl-3-phenyl-5-thienyl-2-pyrazolines: a novel cholinesterase and selective monoamine oxidase B inhibitors for the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

Twelve 1-N-substituted thiocarbamoyl-3-phenyl-5-thienyl-2-pyrazoline derivatives were synthesized and their biological interactions with human plasma and erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzymes were assessed. Compounds 3i-3l of newly synthesized N-substituted pyrazolines, which were presented as selective and irreversible MAO-B inhibitors in our previous report, were found to inhibit human erythrocyte and plasma AChE activities selectively and non-competitively suggesting that these compounds may interact with a region close to the peripheral site of the enzyme molecule which could shift the proper positioning of the catalytic center. Compounds 3e-3h inhibited both AChE and BuChE activities of human erythrocytes, but the inhibitory potencies of these compounds towards BuChE were found to be higher than that of towards AChE. Inhibition was found to be non-competitive and reversible. These data suggested that newly synthesized N-substituted pyrazoline derivatives can be evaluated as both MAO-B and cholinesterase inhibitors which may have promising features in the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in young patients.

PURPOSE: To determine and report the demographic and clinical features of patients younger than 50 years with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this comparative study, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 120 patients with NAION. Patients were divided into two groups according to their age; in group I, 44 patients were younger than 50 years, and in group II, 76 patients were older than 50 years. RESULTS: The gender distribution was similar in both main groups. Involvement was bilateral in 50% and 26.3% of patients, respectively (P<0.0001). Diabetes mellitus was present in 63.6% of patients in group I and 47.3% of patients in group II (P=0.009). We found hypertension as a frequent risk factor in group II (P=0.019). There was no significant difference in the initial and final visual acuities of patients between the two groups. Both groups had a significantly thinner peripapillary nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in every quadrant. The relative loss was greatest in the superior quadrant in both groups. We generally observed inferior altitudinal defect and superior RNFL thinning in two groups. In group I, 30 eyes (68.1%) demonstrated angiographically diffuse optic disc filling delay of ≥5seconds after choroidal filling confirming ischemia, and 14 (31.8%) eyes with segmental optic disc filling delay. In group II, diffuse optic disc filling delay was seen in 56 of 76 (73.6%) eyes. Segmental optic disc filling delay was present in 20 eyes (26.3%). There was no significant difference in angiographic findings between the two groups (P=0.67). CONCLUSION: We observed that age did not play a significant role in prognosis of NAION. Diabetes is an increased risk for NAION in the young age group, and HT for NAION in the older group. Fellow eye involvement is more frequent in young patients. These patients should be followed closely.

Progressive image coding using trellis coded quantization.

In this work, we present coding techniques that enable progressive transmission when trellis coded quantization (TCQ) is applied to wavelet coefficients. A method for approximately inverting TCQ in the absence of least significant bits is developed. Results are presented using different rate allocation strategies and different entropy coders. The proposed wavelet-TCQ coder yields excellent coding efficiency while supporting progressive modes analogous to those available in JPEG.

Scalable image coding using reversible integer wavelet transforms.

Reversible integer wavelet transforms allow both lossless and lossy decoding using a single bitstream. We present a new fully scalable image coder and investigate the lossless and lossy performance of these transforms in the proposed coder. The lossless compression performance of the presented method is comparable to JPEG-LS. The lossy performance is quite competitive with other efficient lossy compression methods.

Lapped nonlinear interpolative vector quantization and image super-resolution.

This correspondence presents an improved version of an algorithm designed to perform image restoration via nonlinear interpolative vector quantization (NLIVQ). The improvement results from using lapped blocks during the decoding process. The algorithm is trained on original and diffraction-limited image pairs. The discrete cosine transform is again used in the codebook design process to control complexity. Simulation results are presented which demonstrate improvements over the nonlapped algorithm in both observed image quality and peak signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, the nonlinearity of the algorithm is shown to produce super-resolution in the restored images.

A vector quantizer for image restoration.

This paper presents a novel technique for image restoration based on nonlinear interpolative vector quantization (NLIVQ). The algorithm performs nonlinear restoration of diffraction-limited images concurrently with quantization. It is trained on image pairs consisting of an original image and its diffraction-limited counterpart. The discrete cosine transform is used in the codebook design process to control complexity. Simulation results are presented that demonstrate improvements in visual quality and peak signal-to-noise ratio of the restored images.

A survey of the management of neuromuscular blockade monitoring in Australia and New Zealand.

This survey of anaesthetists in Australia and New Zealand aimed to investigate their attitudes and practice relating to the management of neuromuscular blockade monitoring. All medical practitioner members (3188) of the Australian and New Zealand Societies of Anaesthetists were invited to complete an anonymous survey, which was available online for two months. A total of 678 survey questionnaires were completed (response rate 21%). Most respondents (71.4%) underestimated the incidence of residual neuromuscular blockade and 63.2% believed this to be a significant clinical problem. Objective monitoring of neuromuscular function was used routinely only by 17% of respondents, although 70% believed routine monitoring would reduce the incidence of residual neuromuscular blockade. Only 25% of respondents correctly indicated that quantitative train-of-four counts of greater than 90% were the accepted criteria for safe extubation, with 52% using clinical judgement only. Only 29% of respondents believed neuromuscular function monitors should be part of minimum monitoring standards; quantitative neuromuscular function monitors were not available in 42% of the hospitals in which the respondents practiced. Despite the low response rate, the large sample size and heterogeneity of respondents make the findings of this survey concerning. There is a need for more education, availability of appropriate monitoring equipment and evidence-based guidelines for management of neuromuscular blockade in Australia and New Zealand.