No abstract available.
Anemia* ; Child* ; Hospitalization* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Muscular Atrophy, Spinal* ; Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood*

No abstract available.
Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal*

No abstract available.
Asphyxia* ; Brain Stem*

No abstract available.
Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Mothers*

The role of amino acids in culture media for IVF-ET was examined in a total of 76 cycles. Patients received clomiphene citrate (CC) followed by hMG or GnRH-a combined with gonadotropins (FSH/hMG) for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Severe male (<4 x10(6) motile sperm) or age factor (>39 y) patients were excluded in this study. Pregnancy was classified as clinical if a gestational sac or fetal cardiac activity was seen on ultrasound. No significant differences were found in age, duration of infertility, follicle size, the level of E2 on the day of hCG injection, the mean number of oocytes retrieved, total motile sperm count, fertilization rate and the mean number of embryos transferred between bHTF (without amino acids) and mHTF (with amino acids) groups. However, total ampules of gonadotropins were higher (p<0.01) in mHTF group than bHTF group. Significantly (p<0.05) more clinical pregnancies were recorded in mHTF group (13/30) compared with bHTF group (9/46). The multiple pregnancy rates were 11.1% in bHTF group and 77% in mHTF group. There were one ectopic pregnancy in mHTF group and one heterotopic pregnancy in bHTF group. Abortion rates were 22.2% in bHTF group and 7.7% in mHTF, respectively The ongoing pregnancy or livebirth .ate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in mHTF group (12/30) than bHTF group (7/46). These results suggest that the addition of amino acids in culture media is essential for culture of zygotes in vitro and adjustment of energy substrates in phosphate-free culture media appears to be beneficial for human IVF-ET procedure.
Abortion, Induced ; Age Factors ; Amino Acids* ; Clomiphene ; Culture Media ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Gestational Sac ; Gonadotropins ; Humans* ; Infertility ; Male ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy Rate* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Pregnancy, Heterotopic ; Pregnancy, Multiple ; Sperm Count ; Ultrasonography ; Zygote

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to establish optimal imaging acquisition conditions for the GE Advance(TM) PET imaging system by performing the acceptance tests designed by National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) protocol and General Electric Medical Systems (GEMS) test procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Performance tests were carried out with 18FDG radioactivity source and phantoms by using a standard acquisition mode. Transaxial resolution and scatter fraction tests were performed with a line source and axial resolution with a point source, respectively. A cylindrical phantom made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was used to measure sensitivity, count rate losses and randoms, uniformity correction, and attenuation inserts were added to measure remaining tests. The test results were acquired in a diagnostic acquisition mode and analyzed mainly on high sensitivity mode. RESULTS: Transaxial resolution and axial resolution were measured as average of 4.65 mm and 3.98 mm at 0 cm, and 6.02 mm and 6.71 mm at 20 cm on high sensitivity mode, respectively. Average scatter fraction was 9.87%, and sensitivity was 225.8 kcps/micronCi/cc of trues. Activity at 50% deadtime was 4.6 Ci/cc, and the error of count rate correction at that activity was from 1.49% to 3.83%. Average nonuniformity for total slice was 8.37%. The accuracy of scatter correction was -0.95%. The accuracies of attenuation correction were 5.68% for air, 0.04% for water and -6.51% for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). CONCLUSION: The results satisfied most acceptance criteria, indicating that the GE AdvanceTM PET system can be optimally used for clinical applications.
Electrons* ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Positron-Emission Tomography* ; Radioactivity ; Water

Multilocular thymic cyst (MTC) has been reported to develop in concert with various mediastinal neoplasms that have intrinsic inflammatory components, such as thymoma, thymic carcinoma, Hodgkin's disease, and seminoma. However, development of mediastinal teratoma without intrinsic inflammation in association with MTC has rarely been reported. Here, we report the findings of a case of MTC associated with mediastinal mature cystic teratoma on computed tomography (CT) with CT-histopathologic correlation.
Hodgkin Disease ; Inflammation ; Mediastinal Cyst* ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Mediastinum ; Seminoma ; Teratoma* ; Thymoma

Multilocular thymic cyst (MTC) has been reported to develop in concert with various mediastinal neoplasms that have intrinsic inflammatory components, such as thymoma, thymic carcinoma, Hodgkin's disease, and seminoma. However, development of mediastinal teratoma without intrinsic inflammation in association with MTC has rarely been reported. Here, we report the findings of a case of MTC associated with mediastinal mature cystic teratoma on computed tomography (CT) with CT-histopathologic correlation.
Hodgkin Disease ; Inflammation ; Mediastinal Cyst* ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Mediastinum ; Seminoma ; Teratoma* ; Thymoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: For the development of an arteriogenic gene therapy in peripheral artery occlusive disease, we developed a novel angiogenesis assay, with electroporation-mediated naked DNA delivery to the skeletal muscle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The levels of the expression CAT were compared between pJDK and pcDNA3.1, in HeLa and C2C12 cell lines, and skeletal muscle. The well known angiogenic gene, pJDK-hVEGF165, was injected, intramuscularly, into the tibialis anterior muscle of Balb/C mice, which was followed by electroporation. Two days later, the anterior tibialis muscles were divided into halves, embedded, and cultured in growth factor-reduced Matrigel. The capillary network area formed by the newly sprouting tube-like structures was calculated. For validation of this ex vivo assay, the connective tissue growth factor gene (pJDK-CTGF) was tested both by this new assay, and by the mice-hind limb ischemia model, with Laser Doppler imaging. RESULTS: The pJDK showed a significantly higher level of CAT expression than the pcDNA3.1. From the pJDK-hVEGF165 injected explants, endothelial cell migration and tube-like formation occurred on day 2, and the capillary network formation peaked on day 7. The capillary network formation in the pJDK-hVEGF165 group was markedly increased to that in the pJDK group. From the skeletal muscle assay, the pJDK-CTGF showed no angiogenic activity or attenuated VEGF-induced capillary network formation. The LDI flux ratio, on day 10 in the mice-hind limb ischemia model, for the mice treated with the pJDK-CTGF and pJDK-hVEGF165 was significantly lower than that of the mice treated with the pJDK-hVEGF165 alone. CONCLUSION: The skeletal muscle ex vivo assay, using an electroporation-mediated naked DNA delivery, is a simple, quantitative and reproducible method for assessing angiogenic genes. CTGF could be an anti-angiogenic factor due to its inhibition of VEGF.
Animals ; Arteries ; Capillaries ; Cats ; Cell Line ; Connective Tissue Growth Factor ; DNA* ; Electroporation ; Endothelial Cells ; Extremities ; Genetic Therapy ; Ischemia ; Mice ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Muscles ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A