Reversible signal abnormalities in the hippocampus and neocortex after prolonged seizures

PURPOSE: To investigate the phenomenon of reversible increased signal intensity of medial temporal lobe structures and cerebral neocortex seen on MR images of six patients with recent prolonged seizure activity. METHODS: After excluding patients with known causes of reversible signal abnormalities (such as hypertensive encephalopathy), we retrospectively reviewed the clinical findings and MR studies of six patients whose MR studies showed reversible signal abnormalities. MR pulse sequences included T2-weighted spin-echo coronal views or conventional short-tau inversion-recovery coronal images of the temporal lobes. RESULTS: All six MR studies showed increased signal intensity within the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus in five studies. All follow-up MR examinations showed partial or complete resolution of the hyperintensity within the medial temporal lobe and the neocortex. In one patient, results of a brain biopsy revealed severe cerebral cortical gliosis. Temporal lobectomy performed 4 years later showed moderate cortical gliosis and nonspecific hippocampal cell loss and gliosis. CONCLUSION: Significant hyperintensity within the temporal lobe is demonstrable on MR images after prolonged seizure activity, suggestive of seizure-induced edema or gliosis. Damage to medial temporal lobe structures by prolonged seizure activity indicates a possible mechanism of epileptogenic disorders.     

A new bath for the electrodeposition of aluminium. II. Kinetics and mechanism of the deposition and dissolution processes

The electrodeposition of aluminium was carried out successfully in AlCl₃-LiAlH₄/tetrahydrofuran-toluene solutions. The kinetic parameters controlling the cathodic deposition and anodic dissolution of aluminium were derived. The effect of the total concentration of aluminium and the molar ratio of AlCl₃ to LiAlH₄ on the current density-potential behaviour of the rotating disc aluminium electrode was also studied. A detailed mechanism for the electrode reactions was suggested.     

True Three-Dimensional Reconstruction (TTR) Application of Algorithm toward Full Utilization of Oblique Rays

The true three-dimensional reconstruction (TTR) algorithm previously proposed by the authors is extended to an algorithm with which full utilization of all the oblique rays is possible. Through this extended TTR (ETTR) algorithm, it is now possible not only to reconstruct an image of a larger object but also possible to obtain images which have substantially better signal-to-noise ratio. The basic TTR algorithm, as well as its extended version, will be discussed together with computer simulation results. In the appendixes, a new two-dimensional Fourier domain weighting function necessary for the implementation of the TTR and ETTR algorithms as well as the generality of the proposed TTR algorithm are discussed.     

A New Support Film for Cryo Electron Microscopy Protein Structure Analysis Based on Covalently Functionalized Graphene

Protein adsorption at the air–water interface is a serious problem in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) as it restricts particle orientations in the vitrified ice-film and promotes protein denaturation. To address this issue, the preparation of a graphene-based modified support film for coverage of conventional holey carbon transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids is presented. The chemical modification of graphene sheets enables the universal covalent anchoring of unmodified proteins via inherent surface-exposed lysine or cysteine residues in a one-step reaction. Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) trough approach is applied for deposition of functionalized graphene sheets onto commercially available holey carbon TEM grids. The application of the modified TEM grids in single particle analysis (SPA) shows high protein binding to the surface of the graphene-based support film. Suitability for high resolution structure determination is confirmed by SPA of apoferritin. Prevention of protein denaturation at the air–water interface and improvement of particle orientations is shown using human 20S proteasome, demonstrating the potential of the support film for structural biology.     

In situ stabilization of chromium(VI) in polluted soils using organic ligands: the role of galacturonic, glucuronic and alginic acids

Laboratory batch sorption and column experiments were performed to investigate the role of organic ligands such as galacturonic, glucuronic and alginic acids (main constituents of bacterial exopolymeric substances (EPS)) on Cr(VI) uptake and transport in heterogeneous subsurface media. Our batch sorption experiments demonstrate the addition of galacturonic, glucuronic and alginic acids to soils enhances Cr(VI) uptake by soil at pH values <7.7 depending on the concentration of the ligand and pH used. The enhanced Cr(VI) uptake at pH values <7.7 may be explained through either the catalytic reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by the surface-bound organic matter/Fe oxides and/or the dissolved metal ions (e.g., Fe(III)) from the soil. On the other hand, organic ligands have no or little effect on Cr(VI) uptake under highly alkaline pH conditions since the catalytic Cr(VI) reduction decreases with increasing pH. Similarly, the results from column experiments show that, depending on the concentration of organic ligands, the Cr(VI) breakthrough curves were significantly retarded relative to the organic acid-free systems at pH 7.6. A significant portion of Cr(VI) initially added to the feed solution was not readily recoverable in the effluent, indicating Cr(VI) reduction in columns, most probably catalyzed by surface-bound metal-oxides (e.g., Fe oxides) or dissolved metal ions such as Fe(II; III). The overall results suggest that EPS constituents such as glucuronic, galacturonic and alginic acids may play a significant role on Cr(VI) stabilization in subsurface systems under acidic to slightly alkaline pH conditions.     

Role of pulses to modulate the nutritive,bioactive and technological functionality of cereal-based extruded snacks: a review

Pulses hold excellent nutritive potential owing to high-quality protein content, dietary fibre, minerals, vitamins, oligosaccharides, polyphenols, tannins, phytosterols and several other bioactive constituents. These bio-functional compounds impart significant health benefits by reducing the risk of several chronic complications such as hypertension, cancers, cardiovascular diseases and neurological concerns mainly through anti-oxidative and radical scavenging mechanisms. These high protein ingredients when added to cereal-based extruded snacks not only enhance the nutritive and bioactive profile of the resultant snacks but also modulate the techno-functional attributes of the extrudates. Protein interactions with cereal-based starch and other constituents result in structural variation at the macromolecular level consequently varying the physical, mechanical and techno-functional properties including expansion ratio, bulk density, hydration properties, pasting characteristics and texture. The present review aimed at elaborating the nutritive and bio-functional potential of pulses enriched cereal-based expanded snacks. Further, significant emphasis has been given to the impact of pulse flour incorporation on functional, structural and mechanical properties of the cereal-based extrudates.     

An Optimized Algorithm for CR-MIMO Wireless Networks

With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, the spectrum resources are increasingly strained which needs optimal solutions. Cognitive radio (CR) is one of the key technologies to solve this problem. Spectrum sensing not only includes the precise detection of the communication signal of the primary user (PU), but also the precise identification of its modulation type, which can then determine the a priori information such as the PU’ service category, so as to use this information to make the cognitive user (CU) aware to discover and use the idle spectrum more effectively, and improve the spectrum utilization. Spectrum sensing is the primary feature and core part of CR. Classical sensing algorithms includes energy detection, cyclostationary feature detection, matched filter detection, and so on. The energy detection algorithm has a simple structure and does not require prior knowledge of the PU transmitter signal, but it is easily affected by noise and the threshold is not easy to determine. The combination of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) with CR improves the spectral efficiency and multi-path fading utilization. To best utilize the PU spectrum while minimizing the overall transmit power, an iterative technique based on semidefinite programming (SDP) and minimum mean squared error (MMSE) is proposed. Also, this article proposed a new method for max-min fairness beamforming. When compared to existing algorithms, the simulation results show that the proposed algorithms perform better in terms of total transmitted power and signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR). Furthermore, the proposed algorithm effectively improved the system performance in terms of number of iterations, interference temperature threshold and balance SINR level which makes it superior over the conventional schemes.     

Characterization of molecular markers indicative of cervical cancer progression

Cervical cancer originates with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and progresses via histologically defined premalignant stages. Here we compare normal cervical epithelium and patient‐matched high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) with cervical carcinoma tissue from the same patient population (n = 10 per group). Specimens were analyzed by combined laser capture microdissection and 2‐D DIGE. Significant expression changes were seen with 53 spots resulting in identification of 23 unique proteins at the molecular level. These include eight that uniquely distinguish normal epithelium and HSIL and four that uniquely distinguish HSIL and carcinoma. In addition, one protein, cornulin, distinguishes all three states. Other identified proteins included differentiation markers, oncogene DJ‐1, serpins, stress and interferon‐responsive proteins, detoxifying enzymes, and serum transporters. A literature review, performed for all identified proteins, allowed most changes to be assigned to one of three causes: direct or indirect HPV oncoprotein interactions, growth selection during latency, or interactions in the lesion microenvironment. Selected findings were confirmed by immunohistochemistry using either frozen sections from the same cohort or formalin fixed paraffin embedded samples from a tissue microarray. Novel markers described here have potential applications for increasing the predictive value of current screening methods.