Purpose: This study compared 3D-T1 high resolution isovolumetric examination (3DTHRIVE) multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) imaging of shoulder magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) with conventional MR images and validated the diagnostic agreements of isovolumetric MRA with and without compressed sensing (CS). Materials and Methods: Seventy-three patients who underwent shoulder MRA, including image sets of conventional 2D fast spin echo (FSE) sequences and isotropic 3D-THRIVE sequences with and without CS, were evaluated. The CS acceleration factor was set to 1.5.In the first session, MPR images on the 3D-THRIVE sequence with CS were analyzed using current standard 2D FSE sequences in the axial, oblique-coronal, and oblique-sagittal planes. In the second session, 3D-THRIVE sequences with and without CS were compared with respect to image quality and degree of artifacts. Overall image quality scores and artifacts for conventional 2D images and 3D-THRIVE MPR with CS were analyzed using a paired t-test. The diagnostic agreement for pathological lesions of the shoulder in 3DTHRIVE with and without CS was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: CS in the isotropic 3D-THRIVE showed a reduction in scanning time from 104 s (non-CS) to 81 s (CS). The diagnostic agreement between 2D FSE and 3D-THRIVE for shoulder tendon pathologies was excellent for subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and biceps tendons. The inter-rater agreements were excellent, and CS-3D-THRIVE demonstrated excellent diagnostic agreement for certain tendon pathologies compared with 3D-THRIVE without CS. Conclusion CS-accelerated isotropic 3D-THRIVE shoulder MRA can provide diagnostically acceptable images of tendon pathology with a reduced scan time. Shoulder MRI using 3D-THRIVE with CS may replace standard 2D FSE sequences in patients who require rapid imaging.

Objective: The ratio of 2nd and 4th digit length (2D:4D) is considered to be a sexually dimorphic trait. Low 2D:4D is implicated in alcohol dependence and heroin dependence and correlated with psychological traits such as aggression, physical aggression, and sensation. The purpose of this study is to compare the 2D:4D between methamphetamine (METH) dependence and controls and the 2D:4D ratio that is a potential biomarker for METH dependence. Methods: In this study, 40 patients diagnosed with METH dependence in Eulji University Gangnam Eulji Hospital and 50 healthy volunteers were all employees in the same hospital. Images of participants’ hands were created using a scanning device. The images contained both the right and left hands; computer software was used to measure the 2D:4D ratio for both hands. We compared the ratios, analyzed by t test, between the METH dependence group and the control group. Results: The mean 2D:4D values were 0.941 (right hand) and 0.943 (left hand) for the patients with METH dependence; in contrast, they were 0.961 (right hand) and 0.961 (left hand) for the control group. These values were significantly smaller than the control in patients’ right hands (p = 0.003) and left hands (p = 0.012). Conclusion Patients with METH dependence had smaller 2D:4D ratios than those in the control group, which is similar to the results from the previous substance use disorder studies. Thus, elevated prenatal testosterone levels during the gonadal period could be related to future METH problems. Furthermore, the 2D:4D ratio is a potential marker for the prediction of METH dependence.

The aim of the present study was to examine the functional changes that occur when a rabbit carotid artery is cultured in serum-free medium. In endothelium (EC)-intact arteries cultured under serum-free conditions, acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation responses were partially, yet significantly, reduced when compared with freshly isolated arteries. After pretreatment with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, application of ACh resulted in a significant contraction in organ cultured arteries. The amplitude of the ACh-induced contractions increased with the duration of culture. In EC-denuded arteries cultured under serum-free conditions, ACh induced responses similar to those in EC-intact arteries pretreated with L-NAME. Furthermore, ACh caused a significant increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in EC-denuded arteries cultured under serum-free condition for 7 days. There was little change in either [Ca2+]i or tension in freshly isolated carotid rings. There was no difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced relaxation responses between fresh and cultured arteries. These results suggest that prolonged culture of carotid arteries under serum-free conditions changes the functional properties of vascular reactivity in rabbit carotid arteries.
Time Factors ; Rabbits ; Organ Culture Techniques/*methods ; Nitroprusside/pharmacology ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester/metabolism/pharmacology ; *Muscle Contraction ; Models, Statistical ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Culture Media, Serum-Free/metabolism ; Carotid Arteries/*drug effects/metabolism/*pathology ; Calcium/metabolism ; Animals ; Acetylcholine/*pharmacology