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Biomedical subjects

H Yan

Publications and source records attributed to H Yan.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

Motion artifact suppression: a review of post-processing techniques.

Patient motion during data acquisition in magnetic resonance imaging causes artifacts in the reconstructed image, which for two-dimensional Fourier transform imaging techniques appear as blurring and ghost repetitions of the moving structures. While the problem with intra-view effects has been effectively addressed using gradient moment nulling techniques, there is no corresponding technique for inter-view effects with equal effectiveness and general applicability. A number of techniques have been proposed for correcting the inter-view effects, and these may be divided into those that minimise the corruption of the data, and those that post-process the data to restore the image. The techniques in the former category are briefly reviewed, then those in the latter category are examined in detail. These are analysed in terms of motion model, model parameter estimation, and data correction.

Artifacts↗

Fat suppression with an improved selective presaturation pulse.

Chemical shift selective (CHESS) imaging is an efficient and easily implemented technique for suppression of the fat component in clinical images. A Gaussian pulse is widely used as the selective presaturation pulse in the CHESS technique. However, a Gaussian pulse hardly performs well even if the magnetic field is very carefully shimmed. In clinical applications, the fat and water peaks are always inhomogeneously broadened. We have analyzed the performance of the Gaussian pulse in the presence of magnetic field inhomogeneities and present a more efficient selective presaturation pulse developed by applying the conjugate gradient method. The resulting pulse performs well without any requirement for magnetic field homogeneity greater than needed for routine diagnostic MR imaging.

Adipose Tissue↗

Compression and reconstruction of MRI images using 2D DCT.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the original data are sampled in the spatial frequency domain. The sampled data thus constitute a set of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) coefficients. The image is usually reconstructed by taking inverse DFT. The image data may then be compressed using the discrete cosine transform (DCT). We present here a method of treating the data that combines two procedures, image reconstruction and data compression. This method may be particularly useful in medical picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) where both image reconstruction and compression are important issues.

Fourier Analysis↗

Beneficial effects of berberine on hemodynamics during acute ischemic left ventricular failure in dogs.

In 18 dogs ischemic left ventricular failure characterized by a 30 percent reduction in peak rate of rise of left ventricular pressure (+dp/dt) and elevation of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) to 15 mmHg or more was produced by ligation of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery followed by serial occlusions of the distal left circumflex coronary artery. In 10 days, administration of berberine in an intravenous bolus injection (1 mg/kg, within 3 minutes) followed by a constant infusion (0.2 mg/kg/min, 30 minutes) increased the cardiac output (CO) from 1.25 +/- 0.12 to 1.61 +/- 0.17 L/min (P < 0.05), and +dp/dt from 810 +/- 85 to 1021 +/- 130 mmHg/s (P < 0.01), and decreased LVEDP from 16.5 +/- 1.3 to 12.0 +/- 1.0 mmHg (P < 0.05), diastolic blood pressure from 94 +/- 6 to 84 +/- 5 mmHg (P < 0.01), systemic vascular resistance from 7303 +/- 278 to 5442 +/- 231 dynes.x/cm5 (P < 0.01), but did not affect the heart rate. Injection of 5% glucose with the same volume did not improve CO and dp/dt (P > 0.05) but increased the LVEDP from 17.1 +/- 1.4 to 17.8 +/- 1.6 mmHg (P < 0.01) in 8 dogs. The levels of plasma concentration of berberine was determined with high-performance liquid chromatography. The changes in plasma drug level were found parallel to hemodynamic effects of berberine. The results of this study showed that berberine was able to improve the impaired left ventricular function by its positive inotropic effect and mild systemic vasodilatation.

Animals↗

[Effect of hypoxia on vasodilation induced by substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)].

In this paper, isolated rabbit arteries (renal artery, RA; femoral artery, FA; basilar artery, BA) were used to study the effect of hypoxia on vasodilation induced by substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The results showed that hypoxia caused a marked decrease of the arteries, response to SP (10(-7) mol/L) and CGRP (2.8 x 10(-9) mol/L). Repeated hypoxia even resulted in a complete disappearance of response. On the second hypoxia, CGRP (2.8 x 10(-9) mol/L) induced vasodilation on BA was vanished. On the third hypoxia, vasodilation induced by CGRP (2.8 x 10(-9) mol/L) on FA and that induced by SP (2 x 10(-7) mol/L) on BA were vanished, and CGRP (2.8 x 10(-9) mol/L) induced a lesser extent of vasodilation on RA. At the fourth time, SP (10(-7) mol/L) -induced vasodilation of FA disappeared, and that on RA was small. At the fifth time, the effect of SP (10(-7) mol/L) on RA was nearly vanished. It is concluded that the effect of hypoxia on CGRP-induced vasodilation is stronger than that on SP-induced vasodilation, and the effect is most pronounced on the BA.

Animals↗

An efficient algorithm for MR image reconstruction and compression.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the original data are sampled in the spatial frequency domain. The sampled data thus constitute a set of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) coefficients. The image is usually reconstructed by taking inverse DFT. The image data may then be efficiently compressed using the discrete cosine transform (DCT). We present here a method of using DCT to treat the sampled data, which combines two procedures, image reconstruction and data compression. This method may be particularly useful in medical picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) where both image reconstruction and compression are important issues.

Algorithms↗

Disruption of cysteine-rich repeats of the p75 nerve growth factor receptor leads to loss of ligand binding.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) binds to a low affinity cell surface receptor (p75NGFR) which contains four extracellular repeats, rich in cysteine residues and negatively charged. We have made mutations in the receptor cDNA by inserting linkers in specific domains of the receptor. Nearly all the mutations caused a change in the predicted charge, and resulted in either an insertion or deletion in the primary sequence. Stably transfected fibroblasts were assayed for NGF binding by affinity cross-linking with 125I-NGF. Appropriate expression of the mutated receptors was monitored by rosetting with monoclonal antibodies and by metabolic labeling followed by immunoprecipitation. Although the mutant receptors were recognized by monoclonal antibodies, insertions and deletions in the third and fourth cysteine-rich regions of the receptor had a detrimental effect upon NGF binding. Insertions made outside the cysteine-rich region or in the cytoplasmic domain did not inhibit the ability of 125I-NGF to bind to the receptor, as assessed by affinity cross-linking. A chimeric human-rat NGF receptor transfected into fibroblasts indicates that NGF binding and monoclonal antibody recognition sites are separated but contained within the four cysteine repeats.

Affinity Labels↗

Chimeric NGF-EGF receptors define domains responsible for neuronal differentiation.

To determine the domains of the low-affinity nerve growth factor (NGF) receptor required for appropriate signal transduction, a series of hybrid receptors were constructed that consisted of the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) fused to the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the human low-affinity NGF receptor (NGFR). Transfection of these chimeric receptors into rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells resulted in appropriate cell surface expression. Biological activity mediated by the EGF-NGF chimeric receptor was assayed by the induction of neurite outgrowth in response to EGF in stably transfected cells. Furthermore, the chimeric receptor mediated nuclear signaling, as evidenced by the specific induction of transin messenger RNA, an NGF-responsive gene. Neurite outgrowth was not observed with chimeric receptors that contained the transmembrane domain from the EGFR, suggesting that the membrane-spanning region and cytoplasmic domain of the low-affinity NGFR are necessary for signal transduction.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

Image reconstruction from Fourier domain data sampled along a zig-zag trajectory.

When the conventional Fourier transform (FT) algorithm is applied to reconstruct a magnetic resonance (MR) image from data sampled along a zig-zag trajectory in the Fourier space, the nonuniform sampling in the spatial frequency direction may give rise to artifacts. In this paper the nature of the artifacts is analyzed and an alternative reconstruction algorithm is developed to produce artifact-free images. Methods for reducing noise level in the reconstructed image are discussed. Our approach is compared with another method based on the interlace sampling theorem.

Algorithms↗

A clinically viable technique of fat suppression for abdomen and pelvis.

Chemical-shift selective imaging with an improved selective presaturation pulse can be used to suppress the fat signal uniformly across the entire abdominal cavity. The required magnetic field homogeneity is no higher than for a routine diagnostic scan. Therefore, no extra setup time for shimming is needed. The technique has been implemented on our clinical system for routine fat suppression scans.

Abdomen↗

Mcm2 and Mcm3, two proteins important for ARS activity, are related in structure and function.

MCM2 and MCM3 are essential genes believed to play important roles in the initiation of DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mutants defective in Mcm2 or Mcm3 are remarkably similar in phenotype. They both show an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS)-specific minichromosome maintenance defect, although their ARS specificities are not identical. In addition, these mutants exhibit a premitotic cell cycle arrest and an increase in chromosome loss and recombination. Genetic studies suggest that the two MCM gene products play interacting or complementary roles in DNA replication. Double mutants of mcm2-1 and mcm3-1 are inviable at the permissive growth temperature (23 degrees C) for each of the single mutants. Furthermore, overproduction of Mcm3 accentuates the deleterious effect of the mcm2-1 mutation, whereas overproduction of Mcm2 partially complements the mcm3-1 mutation. MCM2 encodes a protein of 890 amino acids containing a putative zinc-finger domain that is essential for Mcm2 function. Mcm2 shows striking homology to Mcm3 and three other proteins, Cdc46 of S. cerevisiae, and Nda4 and Cdc21 of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The phenotypes of mutants defective in these proteins suggest that they belong to a protein family involved in the early steps of DNA replication.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparative study of affective disorders in three Asian countries. II. Differences in prevalence rates and symptom presentation.

This study used standardized diagnostic criteria and method to investigate both prevalence rates and nature of symptoms of depressive disorders in three Asian centres--Nagasaki, Shanghai and Seoul. Of the patients who visited a psychiatric clinic in each of the 3 centres for the first time, over 20% suffered from depression. Unlike previous reported prevalence rates for Asian countries, these results suggest that rates in Asia may not be much lower than those reported in Western countries. Although prevalence rates of depression were similar in all 3 centres, differences in symptoms were noted.

Adolescent↗