Exopolysaccharides of Paenibacillus polymyxa: A review.

Paenibacillus polymyxa (P. polymyxa) is a member of the genus Paenibacillus, which is a rod-shaped, spore-forming gram-positive bacterium. P. polymyxa is a source of many metabolically active substances, including polypeptides, volatile organic compounds, phytohormone, hydrolytic enzymes, exopolysaccharide (EPS), etc. Due to the wide range of compounds that it produces, P. polymyxa has been extensively studied as a plant growth promoting bacterium which provides a direct benefit to plants through the improvement of N fixation from the atmosphere and enhancement of the solubilization of phosphorus and the uptake of iron in the soil, and phytohormones production. Among the metabolites from P. polymyxa, EPS exhibits many activities, for example, antioxidant, immunomodulating, anti-tumor and many others. EPS has various applications in food, agriculture, environmental protection. Particularly, in the field of sustainable agriculture, P. polymyxa EPS can be served as a biofilm to colonize microbes, and also can act as a nutrient sink on the roots of plants in the rhizosphere. Therefore, this paper would provide a comprehensive review of the advancements of diverse aspects of EPS from P. polymyxa, including the production, extraction, structure, biosynthesis, bioactivity and applications, etc. It would provide a direction for future research on P. polymyxa EPS.

Cortical Deficits are Correlated with Impaired Stereopsis in Patients with Strabismus.

In this study, we explored the neural mechanism underlying impaired stereopsis and possible functional plasticity after strabismus surgery. We enrolled 18 stereo-deficient patients with intermittent exotropia before and after surgery, along with 18 healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected when participants viewed three-dimensional stimuli. Compared with controls, preoperative patients showed hypoactivation in higher-level dorsal (visual and parietal) areas and ventral visual areas. Pre- and postoperative activation did not significantly differ in patients overall; patients with improved stereopsis showed stronger postoperative activation than preoperative activation in the right V3A and left intraparietal sulcus. Worse stereopsis and fusional control were correlated with preoperative hypoactivation, suggesting that cortical deficits along the two streams might reflect impaired stereopsis in intermittent exotropia. The correlation between improved stereopsis and activation in the right V3A after surgery indicates that functional plasticity may underlie the improvement of stereopsis. Thus, additional postoperative strategies are needed to promote functional plasticity and enhance the recovery of stereopsis.

Differentiation of lacrimal gland tumors using the multi-model MRI: classification and regression tree (CART)-based analysis.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) in combination with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for the differentiation of lacrimal gland tumors. PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of DCE and DWI in differentiating lacrimal gland tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: DCE and DWI were performed in 72 patients with lacrimal gland tumors. Time-intensity curve (TIC) patterns were categorized as type A, type B, type C, and type D. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was measured on DWI. Then, the diagnostic effectiveness of TIC in conjunction with ADC was assessed using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. RESULTS: Type A tumors were all epithelial; they could be further separated into pleomorphic adenoma sand carcinomas. Type B tumors were all non-epithelial tumors, which could be further separated into benign inflammatory infiltrates (BIIs) and lymphomas. Type C tumors contained both carcinomas and non-epithelial tumors, which could be diagnosed into carcinomas, BIIs and lymphomas. Type D tumors were all PAs. The mean ADC of epithelial tumors was significantly higher than that of non-epithelial tumors, and the mean ADC values were significantly different between PAs and carcinomas. Besides, the mean ADC value of BIIs was higher than that of lymphomas. Therefore, the CART decision tree made by ADC and TIC had a predictive accuracy of 86.1%, differentiating lacrimal gland tumors effectively. CONCLUSION: Combined DCE and DWI-MRI can efficiently differentiate lacrimal gland tumors which can be of help to ophthalmologists in the diagnosis and treatment of these tumors.

Disrupted neural signals in patients with concomitant exotropia.

PURPOSE: Decreased binocular and oculomotor function in strabismics has recently been considered as cortical in origin. This study aimed to investigate functional abnormalities using a frequency-specific neuroimaging method in patients with concomitant exotropia (XT), and to demonstrate the clinical implications. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected in 26 XT patients and 26 matched controls. To evaluate the local spontaneous neural activity, the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was calculated in the typical frequency band (0.01-0.08 Hz) as well as five narrowly-defined frequency bands (slow-6: 0-0.01 Hz, slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz, slow-4: 0.027-0.073 Hz, slow-3: 0.073-0.167 Hz, and slow-2: 0.167-0.25 Hz), respectively. RESULTS: Patients with XT showed decreased ALFF in the bilateral parieto-occipital sulcus (POS), and increased ALFF in the bilateral thalamus within the typical frequency band. Frequency-dependent ALFF alterations were found in the higher visual areas such as the right lateral occipital complex (LOC). Furthermore, ALFF in the right LOC in the slow-5 band was positively correlated with fusion control score (r = 0.70, p < 0.0001) and binocular function score (r = 0.67, p = 0.0002). Regression analyses showed that early age of onset remained the only significant explanatory factor for ALFF reduction in the right POS in the typically-measured frequency band (also referred to as the typical frequency band) (Odds ratio, 0.038; 95% confidence interval, 0.001 to 0.075). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide spatial information regarding the functionally disrupted regions in XT. Moreover, the frequency-dependent ALLF alteration in the right LOC might reflect a potential plastic capacity in binocular function, which could be a potential objective index for evaluating disease severity.

Readout-segmented echo-planar imaging in the evaluation of sinonasal lesions: A comprehensive comparison of image quality in single-shot echo-planar imaging.

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging using parallel imaging and a two-dimensional (2D) navigator (RESOLVE) in the evaluation of sinonasal lesions and to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the image qualities of single-shot echo-planar imaging (SS-EPI) and RESOLVE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both sinonasal SS-EPI and RESOLVE images were acquired from 32 patients on a 3-T MR scanner. Image quality, lesion conspicuity and the distortions of the SS-EPI and RESOLVE images were qualitatively evaluated by two radiologists. Distortion was also quantitatively evaluated by comparing the distances between the same anatomic points on TSE-T1WI, TSE-T2WI, SS-EPI and RESOLVE images. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of the two DWIs were compared. RESULTS: The comparisons of the qualitative scores indicated that RESOLVE significantly improved the image quality and lesion conspicuity and reduced the distortion of the sinonasal diseases. The orbit, skull base, temporal bone and upper neck were also better displayed on RESOLVE. Quantitative evaluations revealed that RESOLVE greatly reduced but did not completely remove the distortion. The ADC values of the sinonasal lesions on RESOLVE were lower than those on SS-EPI, whereas no differences were found in the brainstem. The SNR of RESOLVE was lower than that of SS-EPI. There were no differences in the CNRs of the two diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) techniques. CONCLUSION: RESOLVE significantly improved the image quality for evaluations of sinonasal lesions by reducing the susceptibility artifacts, distortion and blurring compared with SS-EPI. RESOVLE offers more accurate ADC values of sinonasal lesions than SS-EPI.

Role of magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging in differentiating lacrimal masses.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in discriminating lacrimal masses, including neoplastic and nonneoplastic entities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with lacrimal masses underwent conventional MRI and DWI. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of each mass and the ipsilateral temporal lobe were measured and the ratios of the lesion to temporal lobe ADC were calculated. RESULTS: Pleomorphic adenomas had significantly higher ADC values (1.37 ± 0.22 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec) and ADC ratios (1.85 ± 0.34) than malignant tumors (1.03 ± 0.19 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec, 1.37 ± 0.27) (P < 0.001), inflammatory pseudotumors (0.9 ± 0.08 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec, 1.19 ± 0.07) (P < 0.01), reactive lymphoid hyperplasias (RLHs) (0.6 ± 0.06 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec, 0.79 ± 0.07) (P < 0.001), and lymphomas (0.55 ± 0.06 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec, 0.74 ± 0.08) (P < 0.001). RLHs and lymphomas had significantly lower ADC values and ADC ratios than malignant tumors (P < 0.05) and inflammatory pseudotumors (P < 0.05). An ADC value of less than 1.14 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec and an ADC ratio of less than 1.6 were optimal for differentiating malignant tumors from benign tumors (sensitivity: 80 and 90%, specificity: 100 and 88.9%, respectively). An ADC value of less than 0.76 × 10(-3) mm(2) /sec and an ADC ratio of less than 1.0 were optimal for distinguishing lymphoproliferative disorders from inflammatory pseudotumors (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 100% for both). CONCLUSION: DWI can help differentiate lacrimal masses and provides a potential clinical tool for noninvasive tissue characterization.