Enantioselective effect of trifloxystrobin in early-stage zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos: Cardiac abnormalities impacted by E,E-trifloxystrobin enantiomer.

Trifloxystrobin (TFS) is one of the extensively used strobilurin fungicides, which is composed of four enantiomers and its active form is E,E-TFS. In this study, we assess the acute toxicity of four enantiomers, E,E-, E,Z-, Z,E-, and Z,Z-TFS in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Among the four enantiomers, only E,E-TFS was found to be acutely toxic, with an estimated LC50 value of 0.68 mg/L. Treatment with E,E-TFS resulted in various phenotypic changes in the embryos, including pericardial and yolk-sac edema, spine curvature, and blood pooling. And it shortened the whole body length in the treated embryos by increasing the total intersegmental vessel numbers using a Tg(fli1a:EGFP) zebrafish line. Further study using Tg(cmlc2:EGFP) zebrafish line revealed that E,E-TFS treatment was associated with cardiac malformations, a failure of heart function, and a lowered heartbeat rate at the concentration of 0.25 mg/L. Also, the differential gene expression analysis identified significant down-regulation of vmhc and cacna1c genes encoding ventricular myosin heavy chain and calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha 1C, which are crucial for heart development. These results suggest the need for regular monitoring of E,E-TFS enantiomers after field application and further research into their potential chronic effects on environmental organisms.

Dissipation and Removal of the Etofenprox Residue during Processing in Spring Onion.

The dissipation and removal of the etofenprox residue was studied in spring onion grown under greenhouse conditions. Samples of spring onion were collected at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 days after last application, and removal rates of etofenprox by washing and drying processes were measured. Samples were extracted with acetone and partitioned with dichloromethane. The dichloromethane layer was then concentrated, cleaned up with florisil column chromatography, and analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UVD). At the fortification levels of 0.5, 1.0, and 10 mg/kg, recoveries ranged from 92.0 to 107.7%, with a coefficient of variation of 4.3-7.9% (n = 3). The method limit of quantification (MLOQ) was found to be 0.05 mg/kg in spring onion. The half-lives of etofenprox in spring onion were found to be 9.5 and 7.9 days, at the single or double application rates. Removal rates of etofenprox were 21.6-43.9 and 66.6-88.5% by various washing or drying processes, respectively.

Which phantom is better for assessing the image quality in full-field digital mammography?: American College of Radiology Accreditation phantom versus digital mammography accreditation phantom.

OBJECTIVE: To compare between the American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation phantom and digital mammography accreditation phantom in assessing the image quality in full-field digital mammography (FFDM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In each week throughout the 42-week study, we obtained phantom images using both the ACR accreditation phantom and the digital mammography accreditation phantom, and a total of 42 pairs of images were included in this study. We assessed the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in each phantom image. A radiologist drew a square-shaped region of interest on the phantom and then the mean value of the SNR and the standard deviation were automatically provided on a monitor. SNR was calculated by an equation, measured mean value of SNR-constant coefficient of FFDM/standard deviation. Two breast radiologists scored visible objects (fibers, specks, and masses) with soft-copy images and calculated the visible rate (number of visible objects/total number of objects). We compared SNR and the visible rate of objects between the two phantoms and calculated the k-coefficient for interobserver agreement. RESULTS: The SNR of the ACR accreditation phantom ranged from 42.0 to 52.9 (Mean, 47.3 ± 2.79) and that of Digital Phantom ranged from 24.8 to 54.0 (Mean, 44.1 ± 9.93) (p = 0.028). The visible rates of all three types of objects were much higher in the ACR accreditation phantom than those in the digital mammography accreditation phantom (p < 0.05). Interobserver agreement for visible rates of objects on phantom images was fair to moderate agreement (k-coefficients: 0.34-0.57). CONCLUSION: The ACR accreditation phantom is superior to the digital mammography accreditation phantom in terms of SNR and visibility of phantom objects. Thus, ACR accreditation phantom appears to be satisfactory for assessing the image quality in FFDM.

Reversible lansoprazole-induced interstitial lung disease showing improvement after drug cessation.

Lansoprazole is an acid proton-pump inhibiting drug that is used for the treatment of duodenal or gastric ulcers, H. pylori infection, gastroesophageal reflux disease or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Although lansoprazole is well known for its gastrointestinal and dermatologic adverse effects, mild pulmonary symptoms are also known to develop from taking this drug. There have been no reports about lansoprazole-induced interstitial lung disease. We report here a case of lansoprazole-induced interstitial lung disease that developed in a 66-year-old man.

Hemodynamic depression during carotid angioplasty with stenting: potential risk factors determined by multidetector computed tomography angiography and related clinical factors.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate potential risk factors for hemodynamic depression (HD) in elective carotid angioplasty with stenting (CAS) by using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiographic findings and clinical data. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted for 32 patients that underwent MDCT angiography before CAS in our hospital. We reviewed the MDCT angiographic findings to evaluate parameters including total plaque volume, composition and the composition ratio of plaque, degree of stenosis, and distance of the most stenotic portion from carotid bifurcation. Clinical data such as patient age, presence of neurological symptoms, underlying medical disease, smoking history, and previous stroke history were noted. The MDCT angiographic parameters and clinical data were then analyzed to determine a prediction for periprocedural HD (systolic blood pressure, <90 mm Hg; or heart rate, <40 beats/min). RESULTS: Periprocedural HD was observed in 9 patients (28.1%). Among the MDCT angiographic parameters, the hemodynamic unstable group of patients had a smaller total plaque volume than that of stable group of patients (P = 0.04). The other MDCT parameters and clinical data did not show statistically significant difference between 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, only the total volume of plaque was a positive factor for predicting HD during CAS. Multidetector computed tomography angiography can be helpful for predicting HD during CAS.

Medullary carcinoma of the breast after radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease in a young woman: report of a case.

A 28-year-old woman who had received mantle-field radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease (HD) almost 10 years earlier was referred to our hospital for investigation of a palpable mass in her left breast. Mammography, sonography, and fine-needle aspiration were done and the results showed medullary carcinoma of the breast, an uncommon type of breast cancer in young women. We review the literature on the secondary development of breast cancer after radiation therapy for HD.