The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a dynamic multicellular interface that regulates the transport of molecules between the circulation and the brain. Transcytosis across the BBB regulates the delivery of hormones, metabolites, and therapeutic antibodies to the brain parenchyma. Here, we present a protocol that combines immunofluorescence of free-floating sections with laser scanning confocal micr...

This paper proposes a Contourlet Transform based approach to the segmentation of corneal blood vessels that is of clinical importance in the treatment of corneal neovascularisation. The quantification of blood vessels provides means for monitoring the affect of any treatment process being followed. The proposed approach initially uses semi-automated algorithm to detect the corneal area of a hig...

A significant factor that affects the value of the Ki-67 proliferation index (IK) is the interpretation and implementation approach. This method is based on visual or automated methods to count tumor nuclei labeled with Ki-67 antigen, and is prone to errors. Detection of Ki-67 is a useful tool in breast cancer and contributes to its molecular classification. The current study proposes a method ...

The presence and role of melatonin in plants are still under debate owing to difficulties of identification and quantification. Accordingly, although it has been frequently proposed that melatonin acts as an antioxidant in phototrophic organisms, experimental data on its physiological role are scarce. This study describes the use of a rapid and simple new method for quantification of melatonin ...

Recently it has been shown that regional lung perfusion can be assessed using time-resolved contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Quantification of the perfusion images has been attempted, based on definition of small regions of interest (ROIs). Use of complete lung segmentations instead of ROIs could possibly increase quantification accuracy. Due to the low signal-to-noise ratio, ...

Several methods of analysis are available for quantification of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction using three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography. This study compared the accuracy and reproducibility of five methods of analysis in a novel, irregularly shaped dynamic heart phantom with excellent image quality. Five 3D datasets were acquired on a Philips IE33 platform using an X5-1 3D ...

BACKGROUND The extent of surgical scarring in Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) may be a marker of adverse outcomes and provide substrate for ventricular arrhythmia. In this study we evaluate the feasibility of high resolution three dimensional (3D) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for volumetric scar quantification in patients with surgically corrected TOF. M...

Reverse transcription (RT) followed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) represents the most powerful technology to amplify and detect trace amounts of mRNA (Heid et al., 1996; Lockey, 1998). To quantify these low abundant expressed genes in any biological matrix the real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) is the method of choice. Real-time qRT-PCR has advantages compared with conventionally pe...

RATIONALE Accurate measurement of subsolid pulmonary nodules (SSN) is becoming increasingly important in the management of these nodules. SSNs were previously quantified with time-consuming manual measurements. The aim of the present study is to test the feasibility of semi-automatic SSNs measurements and to compare the results to the manual measurements. METHODS In 33 lung cancer screening p...

PURPOSE To quantify fibrin degradation products after topical and subconjunctival administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in rabbits. METHODS Fibrin formation was induced in the anterior chamber in 25 rabbits. Subsequently, five rabbits received an injection of r-TPA (positive control) in the anterior chamber, another 10 received a subconjunctival injection of r-TPA, and th...