Purpose: T 1 -Cube (GE HealthCare) is a relatively new 3-dimensional (3D) fast spinecho (FSE)-based magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequence that uses a variable flip angle to acquire gap-free volume scans. We compared the gadolinium enhancement characteristics of a heterogeneous population of brain tumors imaged by T 1 -Cube and then 3D fast spoiled gradient recall acquisition in steady state (3D FSPGR) 3-tesla MR imaging to identify the superior modality for specific diagnostic purposes.Methods: We examined 61 lesions from 32 patients using the 2 sequences after administration of gadopentetic acid (Gd-DTPA; 0.1 mmol/kg). Two neuroradiologists independently measured each lesion twice using a region-of-interest (ROI) method. We measured the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), the difference in signal intensity (SI) between the tumor and normal white matter relative to the standard deviation (SD) of the SI within the lesion, for both post-contrast 3D FSPGR and post-contrast T 1 -Cube images of the same tumor and compared modality-specific CNRs for all tumors and in subgroups defined by tumor size, enhancement ratio, and histopathology.Results: The mean CNR was significantly higher on T 1 -Cube images than 3D FSPGR images for the total tumor population (1.85 « 0.97 versus 1.12 « 1.05, P < 0.01) and the histologic types, i.e., metastasis (P < 0.01) and lymphoma (P < 0.05). The difference in CNR was even larger for smaller tumors in the metastatic group (4.95 to 23.5 mm 2 ) (P < 0.01). In contrast, mean CNRs did not differ between modalities for high grade glioma and meningioma.Conclusions: Gadolinium enhancement of brain tumors was generally higher when imaged by T 1 -Cube than 3D FSPGR, and T 1 -Cube with Gd enhancement may be superior to 3D FSPGR for detecting smaller metastatic tumors.

ObjectiveMolecular imaging of nigrostriatal dopamine transporters (DAT) and sympathetic cardiac innervation with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are useful tools for differentiating idiopathic Parkinson disease (PD) from other degenerative parkinsonian syndromes (non-PD). Nevertheless, these modalities are often insufficient for achieving a definite diagnosis. The aims of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the combination of these tools.Materials and methodsThe SPECT radiotracers [123I]-N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)-nortropane (FP-CIT) and meta-[123I]-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) were used to research presynaptic dopaminergic projections (DAT SPECT) and myocardial adrenergic innervation (MIBG scintigraphy), respectively. PD patients (n=15; age: 61.5±13.6 years) and non-PD patients (n=19; age: 62.6±14.2 years) who underwent both tests were enrolled in this study. Receiver-operating characteristic analyses were used to set the cutoff values of the specific binding ratio in DAT SPECT and the heart to mediastinum ratio in delayed scan in MIBG scintigraphy for differentiating PD from non-PD. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, and test accuracy of the individual methods and also the combination of these two modalities.ResultsWhen DAT SPECT and MIBG scintigraphy were used individually, they showed mild accuracy in differentiating PD from non-PD (DAT, 67.6%; MIBG, 67.6%). The combination of the two approaches using cutoff values of less than 3.24 for the specific binding ratio and less than 2.745 for the delayed heart to mediastinum ratio enabled more accurate differentiation between PD and non-PD. The accuracy of these indices in distinguishing PD from non-PD was 79.4%.ConclusionThese results suggested that the combination of DAT SPECT and MIBG scintigraphy may improve the diagnostic accuracy in differentiating PD from non-PD.

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A combination of a microbial laccase and wood vinegar was used to treat the shell surface of boiled eggs. The laccase enhanced the sterilization effect of phenolic compounds contained in the wood vinegar and resulted in prevention of microbial infection of the boiled eggs after storage for 21 days at 40°C and 75% relative humidity. Significant phenoxy radicals, formed by the catalytic reaction of the laccase, could be detected in the shell of the boiled eggs.