Aerobic exercise is the critical variable in an enriched environment that increases hippocampal neurogenesis and water maze learning in male C57BL/6J mice.

Previous studies have shown that housing mice with toys and running wheels increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis and enhances performance on the water maze. However, the relative contribution of running versus enrichment to the neurogenic and pro-cognitive effects is not clear. Recently, it was demonstrated that enrichment devoid of running wheels does not significantly enhance adult hippocampal neurogenesis in female C57BL/6J mice. However, novel toys were not rotated into the cages, and dietary enrichment was not included, so it could be argued that the environment was not enriched enough. In addition, only females were studied, and animals were group-housed, making it impossible to record individual running behavior or to determine the time spent running versus exploring the toys. Therefore, we repeated the study in singly housed male C57BL/6J mice and enhanced enrichment by rotating novel tactile, visual, dietary, auditory, and vestibular stimuli into the cages. Mice were housed for 32 days in one of four groups: running-only, enrichment-only, running plus enrichment, and standard cage. The first 10 days bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was administered to label dividing cells. The last 5 days mice were tested on the water maze, and then euthanized to measure number of BrdU cells co-labeled with neuronal nuclear marker (NeuN) in the dentate gyrus. Mice in the running-only group ran, on average, equivalent distances as animals in the running plus enrichment group. The combination of enrichment and running did not significantly increase hippocampal neurogenesis any more than running alone did. Animals in the running-only condition were the only group to show enhanced acquisition on water maze relative to standard cage controls. We confirm and extend the conclusion that environmental enrichment alone does not significantly increase hippocampal neurogenesis or bestow spatial learning benefits in male C57BL/6J mice, even when the modalities of enrichment are very broad.

The significance and management of incidental [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron-emission tomography uptake in the thyroid gland in patients with cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Incidental positron-emission tomography (PET) uptake in the thyroid bed represents a diagnostic dilemma. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the significance of this finding or the most appropriate approach to management. The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of incidental fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the thyroid gland on [(18)F]FDG-positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in patients being initially staged for lymphomas and/or cancers other than of thyroid origin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who were incidentally found to have focal FDG uptake in the thyroid bed on initial staging for cancer. Patient records were assessed for age, sex, clinical presentation, standard uptake values (SUV(max)), on FDG-PET/CT, and CT findings in those patients undergoing FDG-PET/CT, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, and surgical pathologic examination. RESULTS: Thirty patients were identified with incidental FDG-PET uptake in the thyroid bed from 630 studies performed for evaluation of cancer between March 2004 and June 2006. Complete records were available for 18 patients (6 men, 12 women). Five (27.8%) of 18 patients with incidental focal FDG-PET/CT uptake in the thyroid gland demonstrated papillary thyroid carcinoma on final pathologic findings. The mean and SD of SUV(max) was 3.0 +/- 1.8 (range, 1.1-7.4) overall, 2.9 +/- 1.6 (range, 1.1-6.8) in the patients without malignant growth, and 3.4 +/- 2.6 (range, 1.1-7.4) in the 5 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. No statistical difference in SUV(max) was noted between patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma and patients with benign pathologic findings (P = .63). CONCLUSIONS: Incidental FDG-PET uptake in the thyroid gland in patients with cancer of nonthyroidal origin is associated with a 27.8% risk for well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma; however, there seems to be no correlation between intensity of FDG uptake and the risk for a malignant process.

Desorption kinetics of oxygen in plasma treated SWNTs by in situ thermoelectric power measurements.

The functionalization and defect formation of SWNTs caused by isotropic plasma treatments were studied using oxygen desorption/adsorption kinetics by measuring the time dependence of the in situ thermoelectric power (TEP). It is shown that the plasma treatments result in the formation of low binding energy sites for oxygen adsorption. Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data are in good agreement with the results.

Racial variations in normal ureteric course.

Three hundred consecutive normal intravenous urograms were studied. The position of the ureter relative to the vertebral pedicles was assessed at different levels in patients from different racial groups. Medial placement of the ureter (where it overlay or was medial to a pedicle) was considerably commoner in black patients of African origin than in white Northern Europeans. In both races it occurred more frequently in males and in the young, and it was more common on the right side than on the left. The recognition of this normal variant, particularly in the black patient, is important in the interpretation of intravenous urograms.

Bladder shape and racial origin.

The shape of the full bladder was studied during the course of 70 consecutive normal intravenous urograms. A conical or pear-shaped bladder was more frequently seen in patients of black African origin than in white Northern Europeans and more frequently in males than in females. This configuration was found in the absence of pelvic pathology and is considered a normal variant. Non-pathological medial deviation of the ureters is not closely associated, suggesting that the mechanisms for medial placement of the ureters and conical bladder are not necessarily interrelated.

Epidemiologic approach to community dermatology.

A survey on communicable dermatoses in economically weak villages in India showed wide variations in prevalence rates in similar ecologic setup. A skin diseases, on-spot-treatment, 1-day-camp was organized to treat 1787 subjects in five villages. Two applications of 1% lindane 1 week apart was the only treatment used without attending to hygiene for scabies and pediculosis. Application of 1% gentian violet with four daily doses of sulfamethoxy-pysidazine was administered for pyoderma. The cure rate for scabies and pediculosis was 86%. Epidemiologic determinants of communicable dermatoses are the most important factors in the practice of community dermatology.