The cerebral ventricles have been studied since the fourth century BC and were originally thought to harbor the soul and higher executive functions. During the infancy of neuroradiology, alterations ...to the ventricular shape and position on pneumoencephalography and ventriculography were signs of mass effect or volume loss. However, in the current era of high-resolution cross-sectional imaging, variation in ventricular anatomy is more easily detectable and its clinical significance is still being investigated. Interpreting radiologists must be aware of anatomic variations of the ventricular system to prevent mistaking normal variants for pathology. We will review of the anatomy and development of the lateral ventricles and discuss several ventricular variations.
Organic matter (OM) in mineral–organic associations (MOAs) represents a large fraction of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems which is considered stable against biodegradation. To assess the role of ...MOAs in carbon cycling, there is a need to better understand (i) the time-dependent biogeochemical evolution of MOAs in soil, (ii) the effect of the mineral composition on the physico-chemical properties of attached OM, and (iii) the resulting consequences for the stabilization of OM. We studied the development of MOAs across a mineralogical soil gradient (0.3–4100
kyr) at the Hawaiian Islands that derived from basaltic tephra under comparable climatic and hydrological regimes. Mineral–organic associations were characterized using biomarker analyses of OM with chemolytic methods (lignin phenols, non-cellulosic carbohydrates) and wet chemical extractions, surface area/porosity measurements (N
2 at 77
K and CO
2 at 273
K), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results show that in the initial weathering stage (0.3
kyr), MOAs are mainly composed of primary, low-surface area minerals (olivine, pyroxene, feldspar) with small amounts of attached OM and lignin phenols but a large contribution of microbial-derived carbohydrates. As high-surface area, poorly crystalline (PC) minerals increase in abundance during the second weathering stage (20–400
kyr), the content of mineral-associated OM increased sharply, up to 290
mg C/g MOA, with lignin phenols being favored over carbohydrates in the association with minerals. In the third and final weathering stage (1400–4100
kyr), metastable PC phases transformed into well crystalline secondary Fe and Al (hydr)oxides and kaolin minerals that were associated with less OM overall, and depleted in both lignin and carbohydrate as a fraction of total OM. XPS, the N
2 pore volume data and OM–mineral volumetric ratios suggest that, in contrast to the endmember sites where OM accumulated at the surfaces of larger mineral grains, topsoil MOAs of the 20–400-kyr sites are composed of a homogeneous admixture of small-sized PC minerals and OM, which originated from both adsorption and precipitation processes. The chemical composition of OM in surface-horizon MOAs, however, was largely controlled by the uniform source vegetation irrespective of the substrate age whereas in subsoil horizons, aromatic and carboxylic C correlated positively with oxalate-extractable Al and Si and CuCl
2-extractable Al concentrations representing PC aluminosilicates and Al-organic complexes (
r
2
>
0.85). Additionally, XPS depth profiles suggest a zonal structure of sorbed OM with aromatic carbons being enriched in the proximity of mineral surfaces and amide carbons (peptides/proteins) being located in outer regions of MOAs. Albeit the mineralogical and compositional changes of OM, the rigidity of mineral-associated OM as analyzed by DSC changed little over time. A significantly reduced side chain mobility of sorbed OM was, however, observed in subsoil MOAs, which likely arose from stronger mineral–organic bindings. In conclusion, our study shows that the properties of soil MOAs change substantially over time with different mineral assemblages favoring the association of different types of OM, which is further accentuated by a vertical gradient of OM composition on mineral surfaces. Factors supporting the stabilization of sorbed OM were (i) the surface area and reactivity of minerals (primary or secondary crystalline minerals versus PC secondary minerals), (ii) the association of OM with micropores of PC minerals (via ‘sterically’ enhanced adsorption), (iii) the effective embedding of OM in ‘well mixed’ arrays with PC minerals and monomeric/polymeric metal species, (iv) the inherent stability of acidic aromatic OM components, and (iv) an impaired segmental mobility of sorbed OM, which might increase its stability against desorption and microbial utilization.
The content of trans fat in foods is most commonly determined by summing the levels of individual trans fatty acids (FAs), analyzed as FA methyl esters (FAME) by gas chromatography. Current Official ...Methods of the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) enable quantitation of total trans fat in foods but were not designed for the determination of trans FA isomeric compositions. In the present study, the content of trans fat in 32 representative fast food samples ranged from 0.1 to 3.1 g per serving, as determined according to AOCS Official Method Ce 1j-07. Further analysis of FAME using the 200 m SLB-IL111 ionic liquid column yielded quantitative results of total, trans, saturated, and cis unsaturated fat that were comparable to those of Method Ce 1j-07 and also allowed for the complementary determination of individual trans 18:1, trans 18:2, and trans 18:3 FA isomeric compositions under conditions suitable for routine sample analysis.
Purpose
Risk classification of primary prostate cancer in clinical routine is mainly based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, Gleason scores from biopsy samples, and tumor-nodes-metastasis ...(TNM) staging. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in vivo models for predicting low-vs-high lesion risk (LH) as well as biochemical recurrence (BCR) and overall patient risk (OPR) with machine learning.
Methods
Fifty-two patients who underwent multi-parametric dual-tracer
18
FFMC and
68
GaGa-PSMA-11 PET/MRI as well as radical prostatectomy between 2014 and 2015 were included as part of a single-center pilot to a randomized prospective trial (NCT02659527). Radiomics in combination with ensemble machine learning was applied including the
68
GaGa-PSMA-11 PET, the apparent diffusion coefficient, and the transverse relaxation time-weighted MRI scans of each patient to establish a low-vs-high risk lesion prediction model (M
LH
). Furthermore, M
BCR
and M
OPR
predictive model schemes were built by combining M
LH
, PSA, and clinical stage values of patients. Performance evaluation of the established models was performed with 1000-fold Monte Carlo (MC) cross-validation. Results were additionally compared to conventional
68
GaGa-PSMA-11 standardized uptake value (SUV) analyses.
Results
The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of the M
LH
model (0.86) was higher than the AUC of the
68
GaGa-PSMA-11 SUV
max
analysis (0.80). MC cross-validation revealed 89% and 91% accuracies with 0.90 and 0.94 AUCs for the M
BCR
and M
OPR
models respectively, while standard routine analysis based on PSA, biopsy Gleason score, and TNM staging resulted in 69% and 70% accuracies to predict BCR and OPR respectively.
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate the potential to enhance risk classification in primary prostate cancer patients built on PET/MRI radiomics and machine learning without biopsy sampling.
The genus
includes several phytopathogenic species that cause common scab, a devastating disease of tuber and root crops, in particular potato. The diversity of species that cause common scab is ...unknown. Likewise, the genomic context necessary for bacteria to incite common scab symptom development is not fully characterized. Here, we phenotyped and sequenced the genomes of five strains from a poorly studied
lineage. These strains form a new species-level group. When genome sequences within just these five strains are compared, there are no polymorphisms of loci implicated in virulence. Each genome contains the pathogenicity island that encodes for the production of thaxtomin A, a phytotoxin necessary for common scab. Yet, not all sequenced strains produced thaxtomin A. Strains varied from nonpathogenic to highly virulent on two hosts. Unexpectedly, one strain that produced thaxtomin A and was pathogenic on radish was not aggressively pathogenic on potato. Therefore, while thaxtomin A biosynthetic genes and production of thaxtomin A are necessary, they are not sufficient for causing common scab of potato. Additionally, results show that even within a species-level group of
strains, there can be aggressively pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains despite conservation of virulence genes.
Adverse health effect of trans fatty acids (TFAs) are well recognized, which has precipitated efforts to reduce their content in food products. With the decline of dietary TFAs derived from partial ...oil hydrogenation, interest is focused on the remaining sources of dietary TFAs derived from ruminants (rTFA), deodorized vegetable oils, trans isomerization during frying, and synthetic conjugated FA (CFA) supplements. Partial hydrogenation and heat‐treated oils result in a random distribution of TFA isomers, whereas rTFAs contain specific isomers resulting from enzymatic processes. Reviews of human observational and metabolic intervention studies have suggested that consumption of rTFAs at current levels should not raise health concerns. However, these studies were not based on rTFA levels currently sold in retail markets. Current feeding practices of ruminants result in higher total TFAs with trans‐18:1 isomers other than vaccenic acid, and many CFAs other than rumenic acid. The definition of TFA adopted by several countries does not distinguish among isolated TFAs of concern and ignores CFAs that should be included in total TFA due to their negative health effects. Accurate TFA definition establishment and nutritional assessment of individual TFA isomers is needed for labeling purposes. Also required are adoptions of analytical methods to resolve all TFA isomers. This information can then be used to construct a database and as a basis for meaningful recommendations.
Practical applications: Areas that require further investigations have been identified: 1) Establish a uniform TFA nomenclature based on chemical structure. 2) Standardize, assess and normalize appropriate methodologies for the analysis of TFAs. 3) Synthesize pure reference standards for TFA identification. 4) Report total TFA levels with undesirable biological activities rather than total TFA content. 5) Assess the nutritional characteristics of individual TFAs independent of their origin. 6) Develop strategies to increase the content of desirable TFA isomers in ruminants. 7) Identify potential bioactive trans metabolites produced from PUFAs in ruminants. 8) Develop labeling regulations based on specific chemical structures and physiological effects regardless of their origin. 9) Construct an accurate database complemented with specific surveys of ruminant product fatty acid (FA) composition that can be accessed by regulatory agencies to make appropriate TFA recommendations.
GC/FID analysis of the backfat from beef steaks from Ontario, Canada (n = 33) and Cleveland, Ohio (n = 30). Separation of the 18:1 and conjugated fatty acid (CFA) region of the same backfats selected based on their increased content of t10‐18:1 in the 63 samples. The total TFA (% of total FAMEs, conjugated fatty acids not included) and relative vaccenic acid (VA) content within the trans 18:1 isomers are shown.
The fatty acid and tocopherol compositions of three heartnut (Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis) varieties (Imshu, Campbell CW1, and Campbell CW3) were examined and compared with those of two ...Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) varieties (Combe and Lake). The major fatty acids found in heartnuts and walnuts were identified by gas chromatography as linoleic (18:2n-6), α-linolenic (18:3n-3), oleic (18:1n-9), palmitic (16:0), and stearic acid (18:0). Polyunsaturated fatty acids were the main group of fatty acids found in both heartnut and walnut, ranging from 73.07 to 80.98%, and were significantly higher in heartnut than in Persian walnuts (P < 0.001). In addition, heartnuts had significantly higher levels of 18:2n-6 and lower levels of 18:3n-3 compared to the Persian walnuts. γ-Tocopherol was the main tocopherol homologue present in both types of nuts, followed by δ- and α-tocopherol. The highest concentration of γ-tocopherol was found in Combe Persian walnut at 267.87 μg/g, followed by Lake Persian walnut and Imshu, Campbell CW1, and CW3 heartnut at 205.45, 187.33, 161.84, and 126.46 μg/g, respectively. Tocopherols, particularly the γ-tocopherol, were found to contribute the most to the strong total antioxidant activities of both walnut and heartnut oils using either the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay or the photochemiluminescence method. Keywords: Walnut; heartnut; fatty acid; tocopherol; antioxidant activities; Juglans ailanthifolia var. cordiformis; Juglans regia L.
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