The location of an acute ischemic stroke is associated with its prognosis. The widely used Gaussian model-based parameter, apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC), cannot reveal microstructural changes in different locati...The location of an acute ischemic stroke is associated with its prognosis. The widely used Gaussian model-based parameter, apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC), cannot reveal microstructural changes in different locations or the degree of infarction. This prospective observational study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Xiamen Second Hospital, China(approval No. 2014002).Diffusion kurtosis imaging(DKI) was used to detect 199 lesions in 156 patients with acute ischemic stroke(61 males and 95 females), mean age 63.15 ± 12.34 years. A total of 199 lesions were located in the periventricular white matter(n = 52), corpus callosum(n = 14), cerebellum(n = 29), basal ganglia and thalamus(n = 21), brainstem(n = 21) and gray-white matter junctions(n = 62). Percentage changes of apparent diffusion coefficient(ΔADC) and DKI-derived indices(fractional anisotropy [ΔFA], mean diffusivity [ΔMD], axial diffusivity [ΔD_a], radial diffusivity ΔDr, mean kurtosis [ΔMK], axial kurtosis [ΔK_a], and radial kurtosis [ΔK_r]) of each lesion were computed relative to the normal contralateral region. The results showed that(1) there was no significant difference in ΔADC, ΔMD, ΔD_a or ΔD_r among almost all locations.(2) There was significant difference in ΔMK among almost all locations(except basal ganglia and thalamus vs. brain stem; basal ganglia and thalamus vs. gray-white matter junctions; and brainstem vs. gray-white matter junctions.(3) The degree of change in diffusional kurtosis in descending order was as follows: corpus callosum > periventricular white matter > brainstem > gray-white matter junctions > basal ganglia and thalamus > cerebellum. In conclusion, DKI could reveal the differences in microstructure changes among various locations affected by acute ischemic stroke, and performed better than diffusivity among all groups.展开更多
Traumatic axonal injury is a progressive process evoked by shear forces on the brain, gradually evolving from focal axonal alteration and cumulating in neural disconnection. Clinical classifiers and conventional neuro...Traumatic axonal injury is a progressive process evoked by shear forces on the brain, gradually evolving from focal axonal alteration and cumulating in neural disconnection. Clinical classifiers and conventional neuroimaging are limited in traumatic axonal injury detection, outcome prediction, and treatment guidance. Diffusion weighted imaging is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that is sensitive to the movement of water molecules, providing additional information on the micro-structural arrangement of tissue. Quantitative analysis of diffusion metrics can aid in the localization of axonal injury and/or de(dys)myelination caused by trauma. Diffusion MRI tractography is an extension of diffusion weighted imaging, and can provide additional information about white matter pathways and the integrity of brain neural networks. Both techniques are able to detect the early micro-structural changes caused by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and can be used to increase understanding of the mechanisms of brain plasticity in recovery after brain injury and possibly optimize treatment planning of patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. This review focuses on the theoretical basis and applied advanced techniques of diffusion weighted imaging, their limitations and applications, and future directions in the application to TBI.展开更多
Damped wave diffusion effects during oxygen transport in islets of Langerhans is studied. Simultaneous reaction and diffusion models were developed. The asymptotic limits of first and zeroth order in Michaelis and Men...Damped wave diffusion effects during oxygen transport in islets of Langerhans is studied. Simultaneous reaction and diffusion models were developed. The asymptotic limits of first and zeroth order in Michaelis and Menten kinetics was used in the study. Parabolic Fick diffusion and hyperbolic damped wave diffusion were studied separately. Method of relativistic transformation was used in order to obtain the solution for the hyperbolic model. Model solutions was used to obtain mass inertial times. Convective boundary condition was used. Sharma number (mass) may be used in evaluating the importance of the damped wave diffusion process in relation to other processes such as convection, Fick steady diffusion in the given application. Four regimes can be identified in the solution of hyperbolic damped wave diffusion model. These are;1) Zero Transfer Inertial Regime, 0 0≤τ≤τinertia;2) Rising Regime during times greater than inertial regime and less than at the wave front, Xp > τ, 3) at Wave front , τ = Xp;4) Falling Regime in open Interval, of times greater than at the wave front, τ > Xp. Method of superposition of steady state concentration and transient concentration used in both solutions of parabolic and hyperbolic models. Expression for steady state concentration developed. Closed form analytic model solutions developed in asymptotic limits of Michaelis and Menten kinetic at zeroth order and first order. Expression for Penetration Length Derived-Hypoxia Explained. Expression for Inertial Lag Time Derived. Solution was obtained by the method of separation of variables for transient for parabolic model and by the method of relativistic transformation for hyperbolic models. The concentration profile was expressed as a sum of steadty state and transient parts.展开更多
Diffusion kurtosis imaging can be used to assess pathophysiological changes in tissue structure and to diagnose central nervous system diseases. However, its sensitivity in assessing hippocampal differences between pa...Diffusion kurtosis imaging can be used to assess pathophysiological changes in tissue structure and to diagnose central nervous system diseases. However, its sensitivity in assessing hippocampal differences between patients with Alzheimer’s disease and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment has not been characterized. Here, we examined 20 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (11 men and 9 women, mean 73.2 ± 4.49 years), 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (10 men and 10 women, mean 71.55 ± 4.77 years), and 20 normal controls (11 men and 9 women, mean 70.45 ± 5.04 years). We conducted diffusion kurtosis imaging, using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner, to compare hippocampal differences among the three groups. The results demonstrated that the right hippocampal volume and bilateral mean kurtosis were remarkably smaller in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease compared with those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and normal controls. Further, the mean kurtosis was lower in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment group compared with the normal control group. The mean diffusion in the left hippocampus was lower in the Alzheimer’s disease group than in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment and normal control groups, while the mean diffusion in the right hippocampus was lower in the Alzheimer’s disease group than in the normal control group. Fractional anisotropy was similar among the three groups. These results verify that bilateral mean kurtosis and mean diffusion are sensitive to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment. This study was approved by the Ethics Review Board of Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China on May 4, 2010 (approval No. 2010(C)-6).展开更多
The cingulum,connecting the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe,involves in diverse cognition functions including attention,memory,and motivation.To investigate the relationship between the cingulum injur...The cingulum,connecting the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe,involves in diverse cognition functions including attention,memory,and motivation.To investigate the relationship between the cingulum injury and cognitive impairment in patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury,we evaluated the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain using diffusion tensor tractography in 73 patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury(39 males,34 females,age 43.29±11.42 years)and 40 healthy controls(22 males,18 females,age 40.11±16.81 years).The patients were divided into three subgroups based on the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain on diffusion tensor tractography:subgroup A(n=19 patients)– both sides of the anterior cingulum were intact;subgroup B(n=36 patients)– either side of the anterior cingulum was intact;and subgroup C(18 patients)– both sides of the anterior cingulum were discontinued.There were significant differences in total Memory Assessment Scale score between subgroups A and B and between subgroups A and C.There were no significant differences in diffusion tensor tractography parameters(fractional anisotropy,apparent diffusion coefficient,and fiber volume)between patients and controls.These findings suggest that the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain,but not diffusion tensor tractography parameter,can be used to predict the cognitive function of patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury.This study was approved by Yeungnam University Hospital Institutional Review Board(approval No.YUMC-2014-01-425-010)on August 16,2017.展开更多
We report a patient with severe ataxia due to Dandy-Walker malformation, who showed functional recovery over 10 months corresponding to a change in a cerebellar peduncle lesion. A 20-month-old female patient who was d...We report a patient with severe ataxia due to Dandy-Walker malformation, who showed functional recovery over 10 months corresponding to a change in a cerebellar peduncle lesion. A 20-month-old female patient who was diagnosed with Dandy-Walker syndrome and six age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled. The superior cerebellar peduncle, the middle cerebellar peduncle, and the inferior cerebellar peduncle were evaluated using fractional anisotropy and the apparent diffusion coefficient. The patients＇ functional ambulation category was 0 at the initial visit, but improved to 2 at the follow-up evaluation, and Berg＇s balance scale score also improved from 0 to 7. Initial diffusion tensor tractography revealed that the inferior cerebellar peduncle was not detected, that the fractional anisotropy of the superior cerebellar peduncle and middle cerebellar peduncle decreased by two standard deviations below, and that the apparent diffusion coefficient increased by two standard deviations over normal control values. However, on follow-up diffusion tensor tractography, both inferior cerebellar peduncles could be detected, and the fractional anisotropy of superior cerebellar peduncle increased to within two standard deviations of normal controls. The functional improvement in this patient appeared to correspond to changes in these cerebellar peduncles. We believe that evaluating cerebellar peduncles using diffusion tensor imaging is useful in cases when a cerebellar peduncle lesion is suspected.展开更多
Because Broca＇s area and Wernicke＇s area in the brain are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, understanding the anatomical location and morphometry of the arcuate fasciculus can help in the treatment of patients wi...Because Broca＇s area and Wernicke＇s area in the brain are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, understanding the anatomical location and morphometry of the arcuate fasciculus can help in the treatment of patients with aphasia. We measured the horizontal and vertical curvature ranges of the arcuate fasciculus in both hemispheres in 12 healthy subjects using diffusion tensor tractography. In the right hemisphere, the direct curvature range and indirect curvature range values of the arcuate fasciculus horizontal part were 121.13 ± 5.89 and 25.99 ± 3.01 degrees, respectively, and in the left hemisphere, the values were 121.83 ± 5.33 and 27.40 ± 2.96 degrees, respectively. In the right hemisphere, the direct curvature range and indirect curvature range values of the arcuate fasciculus vertical part were 43.97 ± 7.98 and 30.15 ± 3.82 degrees, respectively, and in the left hemisphere, the values were 39.39 ± 4.42 and 24.08 ± 4.34 degrees, respectively. We believe that the measured curvature ranges are important data for localization and quantitative assessment of specific neuronal pathways in patients presenting with arcuate fasciculus abnormalities.展开更多
Quasi-elastic neutron scattering(QENS) has many applications that are directly related to the development of highperformance functional materials and biological macromolecules, especially those containing some water. ...Quasi-elastic neutron scattering(QENS) has many applications that are directly related to the development of highperformance functional materials and biological macromolecules, especially those containing some water. The analysis method of QENS spectra data is important to obtain parameters that can explain the structure of materials and the dynamics of water. In this paper, we present a revised jump-diffusion and rotation-diffusion model(rJRM) used for QENS spectra data analysis. By the rJRM, the QENS spectra from a pure magnesium-silicate-hydrate(MSH) sample are fitted well for the Q range from 0.3 ^(-1) to 1.9 ^(-1) and temperatures from 210 K up to 280 K. The fitted parameters can be divided into two kinds. The first kind describes the structure of the MSH sample, including the ratio of immobile water(or bound water) C and the confining radius of mobile water a_0. The second kind describes the dynamics of confined water in pores contained in the MSH sample, including the translational diffusion coefficient Dt, the average translational residence timeτ0, the rotational diffusion coefficient D_r, and the mean squared displacement(MSD) u^2. The r JRM is a new practical method suitable to fit QENS spectra from porous materials, where hydrogen atoms appear in both solid and liquid phases.展开更多
AIM:To assess the clinical diagnostic value of functional imaging,combining quantitative parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and standardized uptake value(SUV)max,before and after chemo-radiation therapy...AIM:To assess the clinical diagnostic value of functional imaging,combining quantitative parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and standardized uptake value(SUV)max,before and after chemo-radiation therapy,in prediction of tumor response of patients with rectal cancer,related to tumor regression grade at histology.METHODS:A total of 31 patients with biopsy proven diagnosis of rectal carcinoma were enrolled in our study.All patients underwent a whole body ^(18)FDG positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography(CT) scan and a pelvic magnetic resonance(MR)examination including diffusion weighted(DW) imaging for staging(PET1,RM1) and after completion(6.6 wk)of neoadjuvant treatment(PET2,RM2).Subsequently all patients underwent total mesorectal excision and the histological results were compared with imaging findings.The MR scanning,performed on 1.5 T magnet(Philips,Achieva),included T2-weighted multiplanar imaging and in addition DW images with b-value of 0 and 1000 mm^2/s.On PET/CT the SUVmax of the rectal lesion were calculated in PET1 and PET2.The percentage decrease of SUVmax(△SUV) and ADC(△ADC) values from baseline to presurgical scan were assessed and correlated with pathologic response classified as tumor regression grade(Mandard's criteria;TRG1 = complete regression,TRG5 = no regression).RESULTS:After completion of therapy,all the patients were submitted to surgery.According to the Mandard's criteria,22 tumors showed complete(TRG1) or subtotal regression(TRG2) and were classified as responders;9tumors were classified as non responders(TRG3,4 and5).Considering all patients the mean values of SUVmax in PET 1 was higher than the mean value of SUVmax in PET 2(P < 0.001),whereas the mean ADC values was lower in RM1 than RM2(P < 0.001),with a △SUV and △ADC respectively of 60.2%and 66.8%.The best predictors for TRG response were SUV2(threshold of4.4) and ADC2(1.29 × 10^(-3) mm^2/s) with high sensitivity and specificity.Combining in a single analysis both the obtained median value,the positive predictive value,in predicting the different group category response in related to TRG system,presented R^2 of 0.95.CONCLUSION:The functional imaging combining ADC and SUVmax in a single analysis permits to detect changes in cellular tissue structures useful for the assessment of tumour response after the neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer,increasing the sensitivity in correct depiction of treatment response than either method alone.展开更多
The effects of rotation and gravity on an electro-magneto-thermoelastic medium with diffusion and voids in a generalized thermoplastic half-space are studied by using the Lord-Shulman (L-S) model and the dual-phase-la...The effects of rotation and gravity on an electro-magneto-thermoelastic medium with diffusion and voids in a generalized thermoplastic half-space are studied by using the Lord-Shulman (L-S) model and the dual-phase-lag (DPL) model. The analytical solutions for the displacements, stresses, temperature, diffusion concentration, and volume fraction field with different values of the magnetic field, the rotation, the gravity, and the initial stress are obtained and portrayed graphically. The results indicate that the effects of gravity, rotation, voids, diffusion, initial stress, and electromagnetic field are very pronounced on the physical properties of the material.展开更多
Abstract A system of quasilinear coupled equations which arise from simulation of contamination of geologic nulear waste in porous media is studied. We’ll discuss Galerkin method for the model of compressible flow wi...Abstract A system of quasilinear coupled equations which arise from simulation of contamination of geologic nulear waste in porous media is studied. We’ll discuss Galerkin method for the model of compressible flow with molecular diffusion and dispersion. Some new techniques are introcued to error analysis. Only one dimensional case is considered. The optimal error estimate in both L^2 and H^1 is proved. A contribution of this paper is how the dispersion term can be handled,展开更多
Human motion modeling is a core technology in computer animation,game development,and humancomputer interaction.In particular,generating natural and coherent in-between motion using only the initial and terminal frame...Human motion modeling is a core technology in computer animation,game development,and humancomputer interaction.In particular,generating natural and coherent in-between motion using only the initial and terminal frames remains a fundamental yet unresolved challenge.Existing methods typically rely on dense keyframe inputs or complex prior structures,making it difficult to balance motion quality and plausibility under conditions such as sparse constraints,long-term dependencies,and diverse motion styles.To address this,we propose a motion generation framework based on a frequency-domain diffusion model,which aims to better model complex motion distributions and enhance generation stability under sparse conditions.Our method maps motion sequences to the frequency domain via the Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT),enabling more effective modeling of low-frequency motion structures while suppressing high-frequency noise.A denoising network based on self-attention is introduced to capture long-range temporal dependencies and improve global structural awareness.Additionally,a multi-objective loss function is employed to jointly optimize motion smoothness,pose diversity,and anatomical consistency,enhancing the realism and physical plausibility of the generated sequences.Comparative experiments on the Human3.6M and LaFAN1 datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches across multiple performance metrics,showing stronger capabilities in generating intermediate motion frames.This research offers a new perspective and methodology for human motion generation and holds promise for applications in character animation,game development,and virtual interaction.展开更多
The aberrant pyramidal tract is the collateral pathway of the pyramidal tract through the medial lemniscus in the brainstem. A 21-year-old man presented with right hemiparesis due to a traumatic intracerebral hemorrha...The aberrant pyramidal tract is the collateral pathway of the pyramidal tract through the medial lemniscus in the brainstem. A 21-year-old man presented with right hemiparesis due to a traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata. His motor function recovered almost to the normal state at 10 months after onset. Through diffusion tensor tractography, the pyramidal tract in the affected （left） hemisphere showed discontinuation at the pontine level at 13 months after onset. An aberrant pyramidal tract was observed, which originated from the primary motor cortex and the supplementary motor area and descended through the corona radiata, then through the posterior limb of the internal capsule and the medial lemniscus pathway from the midbrain to the pons, finally entered into the pyramidal tract area at the pontomedullary junction, it suggests that the motor functions of the right extremities in this patient had recovered by this aberrant pyramidal tract.展开更多
Consistency and asymptotic normality of the sieve estimator and an approximate maximum likelihood estimator of the drift coefficient of an interacting particles of diffusions are studied. For the sieve estimator, obse...Consistency and asymptotic normality of the sieve estimator and an approximate maximum likelihood estimator of the drift coefficient of an interacting particles of diffusions are studied. For the sieve estimator, observations are taken on a fixed time interval [0,T] and asymptotics are studied as the number of interacting particles increases with the dimension of the sieve. For the approximate maximum likelihood estimator, discrete observations are taken in a time interval [0,T] and asymptotics are studied as the number of interacting particles increases with the number of observation time points.展开更多
In the present work we study the global solvability of the Kolmogorov-Fisher type biological population task with double nonlinear diffusion and qualitative properties of the solution of the task based on the self-sim...In the present work we study the global solvability of the Kolmogorov-Fisher type biological population task with double nonlinear diffusion and qualitative properties of the solution of the task based on the self-similar analysis. In additional, in this paper we consider the model of two competing population with dual nonlinear cross-diffusion.展开更多
The dynamics of phase separation in H–He binary systems within gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn exhibit remarkable complexity, yet lack systematic investigation. Through large-scale machine-learning-accelerated ...The dynamics of phase separation in H–He binary systems within gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn exhibit remarkable complexity, yet lack systematic investigation. Through large-scale machine-learning-accelerated molecular dynamics simulations spanning broad temperature-pressure-composition(2000–10000 K, 1–7 Mbar,pure H to pure He) regimes, we systematically determine self and mutual diffusion coefficients in H–He systems and establish a six-dimensional framework correlating temperature, pressure, helium abundance, phase separation degree, diffusion coefficients, and anisotropy. Key findings reveal that hydrogen exhibits active directional migration with pronounced diffusion anisotropy, whereas helium passively aggregates in response. While the conventional mixing rule underestimates mutual diffusion coefficients by neglecting velocity cross-correlations,the assumption of an ideal thermodynamic factor(Q = 1) overestimates them due to unaccounted non-ideal thermodynamic effects—both particularly pronounced in strongly phase-separated regimes. Notably, hydrogen's dual role, anisotropic diffusion and bond stabilization via helium doping, modulates demixing kinetics. Large-scale simulations(216,000 atoms) propose novel phase-separation paradigms, such as “hydrogen bubble/wisp” formation, challenging the classical “helium rain” scenario, striving to bridge atomic-scale dynamics to planetary-scale phase evolution.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the diffusion changes in both the optic nerve and optic tract in orbital space-occupying lesion patients with decreased visual acuity, and its clinical significance using probabilistic diffusion tr...AIM: To investigate the diffusion changes in both the optic nerve and optic tract in orbital space-occupying lesion patients with decreased visual acuity, and its clinical significance using probabilistic diffusion tractography(PDT). METHODS: Twenty patients with orbital space-occupying lesions and 25 age-and gender-matched healthy persons were included. All patients and controls underwent routine orbital magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI), using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner(Trio Tim Siemens). After the image data were preprocessed, each DTI parameters of the optic nerve and optic tract was obtained by PDT, including fractional anisotropy(FA), mean diffusivity(MD), axial diffusivity(AD) and radial diffusivity(RD). The asymmetry index(AI) of each parameter was calculated. Compared the parameters of the affected side optic nerve and ipsilateral optic tract with the contralateral side by paired sample t-test;compared AI of parameters of optic nerve and optic tract between the patient group and the control group by independent sample t-test. Patients were divided into threesubgroups according to the low vision grade standard of WHO, compared the FA and AI of FA between the three subgroups by single factor variance analysis. RESULTS: The affected side optic nerve presented significantly decreased FA, increased MD, AD, and RD values compared to the unaffected side(P<0.05). The AI of FA, MD, AD, and RD of optic nerve in the patients was significantly higher than that of the controls(P<0.05). The comparison results of the optic tract showed that there was no significant difference between the patient group and control group in terms of the bilateral optic tracts in patients(P>0.05). The AIs of the FA value of the optic nerve in the eyesight <0.1 subgroup was significantly higher than that in the other groups(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FA, MD, AD, and RD of the affected side optic nerve of the orbital space-occupying lesions have significantly changed, the FA value is the most sensitive. The PDT could be a useful tool to provide valid quantitative markers of optic nerve injuries and evaluate the severity of orbital diseases, which other examinations cannot be acquired.展开更多
The effect of curing age on chloride diffusion coefficient of recycled aggregate concrete subjected to different compressive stresses was investigated.A compression loading setup was both designed and fabricated.The c...The effect of curing age on chloride diffusion coefficient of recycled aggregate concrete subjected to different compressive stresses was investigated.A compression loading setup was both designed and fabricated.The chloride diffusion coefficients of recycled aggregate concrete under compressive stresses were measured by the rapid chloride ion migration(RCM)method.The experimental results show that the chloride diffusion coefficients of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)under different compressive stress ratios generally decrease with the increase of curing age.For RAC subjected to the same compressive stress ratios,the chloride diffusion coefficients approximately have power functions with curing ages and the relationship models are proposed.Moreover,the influence of curing age on chloride diffusion coefficient firstly decreases and then increases as the compressive stress ratio increases.展开更多
The present study aims to estimate the in vivo anisotropic conductivities of the White Matter (WM) tissues by means of Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) technique. The realistic anisotropic vo...The present study aims to estimate the in vivo anisotropic conductivities of the White Matter (WM) tissues by means of Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) technique. The realistic anisotropic volume conductor model with different conductivity properties (scalp, skull, CSF, gray matter and WM) is constructed based on the Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT- MRI) from a healthy human subject. The Radius Basic Function (RBF)-MREIT algorithm of using only one magnetic flux density component was applied to evaluate the eigenvalues of the anisotropic WM with target values set according to the DT-MRI data based on the Wolter’s model, which is more physiologically reliable. The numerical simulations study performed on the five-layer realistic human head model showed that the conductivity reconstruction method had higher accuracy and better robustness against noise. The pilot research was used to judge the feasibility, meaningfulness and reliability of the MREIT applied on the electrical impedance tomography of the complicated human head tissues including anisotropic characteristics.展开更多
AIM:To evaluate the clinical value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(DW-MRI)in predicting the response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation.METHODS:This prospective study was approved by our i...AIM:To evaluate the clinical value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(DW-MRI)in predicting the response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation.METHODS:This prospective study was approved by our institutional review board,and informed consent was obtained from each patient.Fifteen patients(median age 56 years)with locally advanced rectal cancer were treated in our hospital from June 2006 to December 2007.All patients were stageⅢB-C according to the results of MRI and endorectal ultrasound examinations.All patients underwent pelvic irradiation with 45 Gy/25 fx per 35 days.The concurrent chemotherapy regimen consisted of capecitabine 625mg/m2,bid(Monday-Friday),and oxaliplatin 50 mg/m2,weekly.The patients underwent surgery 5-8 wk after the completion of neoadjuvant therapy.T downstaging was defined as the downstaging of the tumor from cT3to ypT0-2 or from cT4 to ypT0-3.Good regression was defined as TRG 3-4,and poor regression was defined as TRG 0-2.Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained prior to and weekly during the course of neoadjuvant chemoradiation,and the apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)values were calculated from the acquired tumor images.RESULTS:Comparison with the mean pretreatment tumor ADC revealed an increase in the mean tumor ADC during the course of neoadjuvant chemoradiation,especially at the 2ndweek(P=0.004).We found a strong negative correlation between the mean pretreatment tumor ADC and tumor regression after neoadjuvant chemoradiation(P=0.021).In the T downstage and tumor regression groups,we found a significant increase in the mean ADC at the 2ndweek of neoadjuvant therapy(P=0.011;0.004).CONCLUSION:DW-MRI might be a valuable clinical tool to help predict or assess the response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation at an early timepoint.展开更多
基金supported by the Science and Technology Planned Project from Xiamen Science and Technology Bureau,China,No.3502Z20154065(to LHZ)the Joint Project for Xiamen Key Diseases from Xiamen Science and Technology Bureau,China,No.3502Z20149032(to GG)
文摘The location of an acute ischemic stroke is associated with its prognosis. The widely used Gaussian model-based parameter, apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC), cannot reveal microstructural changes in different locations or the degree of infarction. This prospective observational study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Xiamen Second Hospital, China(approval No. 2014002).Diffusion kurtosis imaging(DKI) was used to detect 199 lesions in 156 patients with acute ischemic stroke(61 males and 95 females), mean age 63.15 ± 12.34 years. A total of 199 lesions were located in the periventricular white matter(n = 52), corpus callosum(n = 14), cerebellum(n = 29), basal ganglia and thalamus(n = 21), brainstem(n = 21) and gray-white matter junctions(n = 62). Percentage changes of apparent diffusion coefficient(ΔADC) and DKI-derived indices(fractional anisotropy [ΔFA], mean diffusivity [ΔMD], axial diffusivity [ΔD_a], radial diffusivity ΔDr, mean kurtosis [ΔMK], axial kurtosis [ΔK_a], and radial kurtosis [ΔK_r]) of each lesion were computed relative to the normal contralateral region. The results showed that(1) there was no significant difference in ΔADC, ΔMD, ΔD_a or ΔD_r among almost all locations.(2) There was significant difference in ΔMK among almost all locations(except basal ganglia and thalamus vs. brain stem; basal ganglia and thalamus vs. gray-white matter junctions; and brainstem vs. gray-white matter junctions.(3) The degree of change in diffusional kurtosis in descending order was as follows: corpus callosum > periventricular white matter > brainstem > gray-white matter junctions > basal ganglia and thalamus > cerebellum. In conclusion, DKI could reveal the differences in microstructure changes among various locations affected by acute ischemic stroke, and performed better than diffusivity among all groups.
文摘Traumatic axonal injury is a progressive process evoked by shear forces on the brain, gradually evolving from focal axonal alteration and cumulating in neural disconnection. Clinical classifiers and conventional neuroimaging are limited in traumatic axonal injury detection, outcome prediction, and treatment guidance. Diffusion weighted imaging is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that is sensitive to the movement of water molecules, providing additional information on the micro-structural arrangement of tissue. Quantitative analysis of diffusion metrics can aid in the localization of axonal injury and/or de(dys)myelination caused by trauma. Diffusion MRI tractography is an extension of diffusion weighted imaging, and can provide additional information about white matter pathways and the integrity of brain neural networks. Both techniques are able to detect the early micro-structural changes caused by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and can be used to increase understanding of the mechanisms of brain plasticity in recovery after brain injury and possibly optimize treatment planning of patients with Traumatic Brain Injury. This review focuses on the theoretical basis and applied advanced techniques of diffusion weighted imaging, their limitations and applications, and future directions in the application to TBI.
文摘Damped wave diffusion effects during oxygen transport in islets of Langerhans is studied. Simultaneous reaction and diffusion models were developed. The asymptotic limits of first and zeroth order in Michaelis and Menten kinetics was used in the study. Parabolic Fick diffusion and hyperbolic damped wave diffusion were studied separately. Method of relativistic transformation was used in order to obtain the solution for the hyperbolic model. Model solutions was used to obtain mass inertial times. Convective boundary condition was used. Sharma number (mass) may be used in evaluating the importance of the damped wave diffusion process in relation to other processes such as convection, Fick steady diffusion in the given application. Four regimes can be identified in the solution of hyperbolic damped wave diffusion model. These are;1) Zero Transfer Inertial Regime, 0 0≤τ≤τinertia;2) Rising Regime during times greater than inertial regime and less than at the wave front, Xp > τ, 3) at Wave front , τ = Xp;4) Falling Regime in open Interval, of times greater than at the wave front, τ > Xp. Method of superposition of steady state concentration and transient concentration used in both solutions of parabolic and hyperbolic models. Expression for steady state concentration developed. Closed form analytic model solutions developed in asymptotic limits of Michaelis and Menten kinetic at zeroth order and first order. Expression for Penetration Length Derived-Hypoxia Explained. Expression for Inertial Lag Time Derived. Solution was obtained by the method of separation of variables for transient for parabolic model and by the method of relativistic transformation for hyperbolic models. The concentration profile was expressed as a sum of steadty state and transient parts.
基金supported by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-Gaofeng Clinical Medicine in China,No.2016427(to YHL)the Clinical Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanghai Shen Kang Hospital Development Center in China,No.SHDC22015038(to YHL)the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission Medical Guide Project in China,No.16411968900(to YHL)
文摘Diffusion kurtosis imaging can be used to assess pathophysiological changes in tissue structure and to diagnose central nervous system diseases. However, its sensitivity in assessing hippocampal differences between patients with Alzheimer’s disease and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment has not been characterized. Here, we examined 20 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (11 men and 9 women, mean 73.2 ± 4.49 years), 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (10 men and 10 women, mean 71.55 ± 4.77 years), and 20 normal controls (11 men and 9 women, mean 70.45 ± 5.04 years). We conducted diffusion kurtosis imaging, using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner, to compare hippocampal differences among the three groups. The results demonstrated that the right hippocampal volume and bilateral mean kurtosis were remarkably smaller in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease compared with those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and normal controls. Further, the mean kurtosis was lower in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment group compared with the normal control group. The mean diffusion in the left hippocampus was lower in the Alzheimer’s disease group than in the amnestic mild cognitive impairment and normal control groups, while the mean diffusion in the right hippocampus was lower in the Alzheimer’s disease group than in the normal control group. Fractional anisotropy was similar among the three groups. These results verify that bilateral mean kurtosis and mean diffusion are sensitive to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment. This study was approved by the Ethics Review Board of Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China on May 4, 2010 (approval No. 2010(C)-6).
基金supported by the Medical Research Center Program(2015R1A5A2009124)through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Ministry of Science,ICT and Future Planning(to SHJ and SHK)
文摘The cingulum,connecting the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe,involves in diverse cognition functions including attention,memory,and motivation.To investigate the relationship between the cingulum injury and cognitive impairment in patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury,we evaluated the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain using diffusion tensor tractography in 73 patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury(39 males,34 females,age 43.29±11.42 years)and 40 healthy controls(22 males,18 females,age 40.11±16.81 years).The patients were divided into three subgroups based on the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain on diffusion tensor tractography:subgroup A(n=19 patients)– both sides of the anterior cingulum were intact;subgroup B(n=36 patients)– either side of the anterior cingulum was intact;and subgroup C(18 patients)– both sides of the anterior cingulum were discontinued.There were significant differences in total Memory Assessment Scale score between subgroups A and B and between subgroups A and C.There were no significant differences in diffusion tensor tractography parameters(fractional anisotropy,apparent diffusion coefficient,and fiber volume)between patients and controls.These findings suggest that the integrity between the anterior cingulum and the basal forebrain,but not diffusion tensor tractography parameter,can be used to predict the cognitive function of patients with chronic mild traumatic brain injury.This study was approved by Yeungnam University Hospital Institutional Review Board(approval No.YUMC-2014-01-425-010)on August 16,2017.
基金supported by the Basic Scientific Research Program of National Research Foundation of Korea Funded by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, No.2011-0003426
文摘We report a patient with severe ataxia due to Dandy-Walker malformation, who showed functional recovery over 10 months corresponding to a change in a cerebellar peduncle lesion. A 20-month-old female patient who was diagnosed with Dandy-Walker syndrome and six age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled. The superior cerebellar peduncle, the middle cerebellar peduncle, and the inferior cerebellar peduncle were evaluated using fractional anisotropy and the apparent diffusion coefficient. The patients＇ functional ambulation category was 0 at the initial visit, but improved to 2 at the follow-up evaluation, and Berg＇s balance scale score also improved from 0 to 7. Initial diffusion tensor tractography revealed that the inferior cerebellar peduncle was not detected, that the fractional anisotropy of the superior cerebellar peduncle and middle cerebellar peduncle decreased by two standard deviations below, and that the apparent diffusion coefficient increased by two standard deviations over normal control values. However, on follow-up diffusion tensor tractography, both inferior cerebellar peduncles could be detected, and the fractional anisotropy of superior cerebellar peduncle increased to within two standard deviations of normal controls. The functional improvement in this patient appeared to correspond to changes in these cerebellar peduncles. We believe that evaluating cerebellar peduncles using diffusion tensor imaging is useful in cases when a cerebellar peduncle lesion is suspected.
基金supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government,MOEHRD,No.KRF-2007-313-E00395
文摘Because Broca＇s area and Wernicke＇s area in the brain are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, understanding the anatomical location and morphometry of the arcuate fasciculus can help in the treatment of patients with aphasia. We measured the horizontal and vertical curvature ranges of the arcuate fasciculus in both hemispheres in 12 healthy subjects using diffusion tensor tractography. In the right hemisphere, the direct curvature range and indirect curvature range values of the arcuate fasciculus horizontal part were 121.13 ± 5.89 and 25.99 ± 3.01 degrees, respectively, and in the left hemisphere, the values were 121.83 ± 5.33 and 27.40 ± 2.96 degrees, respectively. In the right hemisphere, the direct curvature range and indirect curvature range values of the arcuate fasciculus vertical part were 43.97 ± 7.98 and 30.15 ± 3.82 degrees, respectively, and in the left hemisphere, the values were 39.39 ± 4.42 and 24.08 ± 4.34 degrees, respectively. We believe that the measured curvature ranges are important data for localization and quantitative assessment of specific neuronal pathways in patients presenting with arcuate fasciculus abnormalities.
文摘Quasi-elastic neutron scattering(QENS) has many applications that are directly related to the development of highperformance functional materials and biological macromolecules, especially those containing some water. The analysis method of QENS spectra data is important to obtain parameters that can explain the structure of materials and the dynamics of water. In this paper, we present a revised jump-diffusion and rotation-diffusion model(rJRM) used for QENS spectra data analysis. By the rJRM, the QENS spectra from a pure magnesium-silicate-hydrate(MSH) sample are fitted well for the Q range from 0.3 ^(-1) to 1.9 ^(-1) and temperatures from 210 K up to 280 K. The fitted parameters can be divided into two kinds. The first kind describes the structure of the MSH sample, including the ratio of immobile water(or bound water) C and the confining radius of mobile water a_0. The second kind describes the dynamics of confined water in pores contained in the MSH sample, including the translational diffusion coefficient Dt, the average translational residence timeτ0, the rotational diffusion coefficient D_r, and the mean squared displacement(MSD) u^2. The r JRM is a new practical method suitable to fit QENS spectra from porous materials, where hydrogen atoms appear in both solid and liquid phases.
文摘AIM:To assess the clinical diagnostic value of functional imaging,combining quantitative parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC) and standardized uptake value(SUV)max,before and after chemo-radiation therapy,in prediction of tumor response of patients with rectal cancer,related to tumor regression grade at histology.METHODS:A total of 31 patients with biopsy proven diagnosis of rectal carcinoma were enrolled in our study.All patients underwent a whole body ^(18)FDG positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography(CT) scan and a pelvic magnetic resonance(MR)examination including diffusion weighted(DW) imaging for staging(PET1,RM1) and after completion(6.6 wk)of neoadjuvant treatment(PET2,RM2).Subsequently all patients underwent total mesorectal excision and the histological results were compared with imaging findings.The MR scanning,performed on 1.5 T magnet(Philips,Achieva),included T2-weighted multiplanar imaging and in addition DW images with b-value of 0 and 1000 mm^2/s.On PET/CT the SUVmax of the rectal lesion were calculated in PET1 and PET2.The percentage decrease of SUVmax(△SUV) and ADC(△ADC) values from baseline to presurgical scan were assessed and correlated with pathologic response classified as tumor regression grade(Mandard's criteria;TRG1 = complete regression,TRG5 = no regression).RESULTS:After completion of therapy,all the patients were submitted to surgery.According to the Mandard's criteria,22 tumors showed complete(TRG1) or subtotal regression(TRG2) and were classified as responders;9tumors were classified as non responders(TRG3,4 and5).Considering all patients the mean values of SUVmax in PET 1 was higher than the mean value of SUVmax in PET 2(P < 0.001),whereas the mean ADC values was lower in RM1 than RM2(P < 0.001),with a △SUV and △ADC respectively of 60.2%and 66.8%.The best predictors for TRG response were SUV2(threshold of4.4) and ADC2(1.29 × 10^(-3) mm^2/s) with high sensitivity and specificity.Combining in a single analysis both the obtained median value,the positive predictive value,in predicting the different group category response in related to TRG system,presented R^2 of 0.95.CONCLUSION:The functional imaging combining ADC and SUVmax in a single analysis permits to detect changes in cellular tissue structures useful for the assessment of tumour response after the neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer,increasing the sensitivity in correct depiction of treatment response than either method alone.
文摘The effects of rotation and gravity on an electro-magneto-thermoelastic medium with diffusion and voids in a generalized thermoplastic half-space are studied by using the Lord-Shulman (L-S) model and the dual-phase-lag (DPL) model. The analytical solutions for the displacements, stresses, temperature, diffusion concentration, and volume fraction field with different values of the magnetic field, the rotation, the gravity, and the initial stress are obtained and portrayed graphically. The results indicate that the effects of gravity, rotation, voids, diffusion, initial stress, and electromagnetic field are very pronounced on the physical properties of the material.
基金This work is suported by National Science Foundation
文摘Abstract A system of quasilinear coupled equations which arise from simulation of contamination of geologic nulear waste in porous media is studied. We’ll discuss Galerkin method for the model of compressible flow with molecular diffusion and dispersion. Some new techniques are introcued to error analysis. Only one dimensional case is considered. The optimal error estimate in both L^2 and H^1 is proved. A contribution of this paper is how the dispersion term can be handled,
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.72161034).
文摘Human motion modeling is a core technology in computer animation,game development,and humancomputer interaction.In particular,generating natural and coherent in-between motion using only the initial and terminal frames remains a fundamental yet unresolved challenge.Existing methods typically rely on dense keyframe inputs or complex prior structures,making it difficult to balance motion quality and plausibility under conditions such as sparse constraints,long-term dependencies,and diverse motion styles.To address this,we propose a motion generation framework based on a frequency-domain diffusion model,which aims to better model complex motion distributions and enhance generation stability under sparse conditions.Our method maps motion sequences to the frequency domain via the Discrete Cosine Transform(DCT),enabling more effective modeling of low-frequency motion structures while suppressing high-frequency noise.A denoising network based on self-attention is introduced to capture long-range temporal dependencies and improve global structural awareness.Additionally,a multi-objective loss function is employed to jointly optimize motion smoothness,pose diversity,and anatomical consistency,enhancing the realism and physical plausibility of the generated sequences.Comparative experiments on the Human3.6M and LaFAN1 datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches across multiple performance metrics,showing stronger capabilities in generating intermediate motion frames.This research offers a new perspective and methodology for human motion generation and holds promise for applications in character animation,game development,and virtual interaction.
基金supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Ministry of Education,Science and Technology,No.2012R1A1A4A01001873
文摘The aberrant pyramidal tract is the collateral pathway of the pyramidal tract through the medial lemniscus in the brainstem. A 21-year-old man presented with right hemiparesis due to a traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata. His motor function recovered almost to the normal state at 10 months after onset. Through diffusion tensor tractography, the pyramidal tract in the affected （left） hemisphere showed discontinuation at the pontine level at 13 months after onset. An aberrant pyramidal tract was observed, which originated from the primary motor cortex and the supplementary motor area and descended through the corona radiata, then through the posterior limb of the internal capsule and the medial lemniscus pathway from the midbrain to the pons, finally entered into the pyramidal tract area at the pontomedullary junction, it suggests that the motor functions of the right extremities in this patient had recovered by this aberrant pyramidal tract.
文摘Consistency and asymptotic normality of the sieve estimator and an approximate maximum likelihood estimator of the drift coefficient of an interacting particles of diffusions are studied. For the sieve estimator, observations are taken on a fixed time interval [0,T] and asymptotics are studied as the number of interacting particles increases with the dimension of the sieve. For the approximate maximum likelihood estimator, discrete observations are taken in a time interval [0,T] and asymptotics are studied as the number of interacting particles increases with the number of observation time points.
文摘In the present work we study the global solvability of the Kolmogorov-Fisher type biological population task with double nonlinear diffusion and qualitative properties of the solution of the task based on the self-similar analysis. In additional, in this paper we consider the model of two competing population with dual nonlinear cross-diffusion.
基金supported by the National University of Defense Technology Research Fund Projectthe National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 12047561 and 12104507+1 种基金the NSAF under Grant No. U1830206the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province under Grant No. 2021RC4026。
文摘The dynamics of phase separation in H–He binary systems within gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn exhibit remarkable complexity, yet lack systematic investigation. Through large-scale machine-learning-accelerated molecular dynamics simulations spanning broad temperature-pressure-composition(2000–10000 K, 1–7 Mbar,pure H to pure He) regimes, we systematically determine self and mutual diffusion coefficients in H–He systems and establish a six-dimensional framework correlating temperature, pressure, helium abundance, phase separation degree, diffusion coefficients, and anisotropy. Key findings reveal that hydrogen exhibits active directional migration with pronounced diffusion anisotropy, whereas helium passively aggregates in response. While the conventional mixing rule underestimates mutual diffusion coefficients by neglecting velocity cross-correlations,the assumption of an ideal thermodynamic factor(Q = 1) overestimates them due to unaccounted non-ideal thermodynamic effects—both particularly pronounced in strongly phase-separated regimes. Notably, hydrogen's dual role, anisotropic diffusion and bond stabilization via helium doping, modulates demixing kinetics. Large-scale simulations(216,000 atoms) propose novel phase-separation paradigms, such as “hydrogen bubble/wisp” formation, challenging the classical “helium rain” scenario, striving to bridge atomic-scale dynamics to planetary-scale phase evolution.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.81471649)Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission (No. Z171100000117001)
文摘AIM: To investigate the diffusion changes in both the optic nerve and optic tract in orbital space-occupying lesion patients with decreased visual acuity, and its clinical significance using probabilistic diffusion tractography(PDT). METHODS: Twenty patients with orbital space-occupying lesions and 25 age-and gender-matched healthy persons were included. All patients and controls underwent routine orbital magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI), using a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner(Trio Tim Siemens). After the image data were preprocessed, each DTI parameters of the optic nerve and optic tract was obtained by PDT, including fractional anisotropy(FA), mean diffusivity(MD), axial diffusivity(AD) and radial diffusivity(RD). The asymmetry index(AI) of each parameter was calculated. Compared the parameters of the affected side optic nerve and ipsilateral optic tract with the contralateral side by paired sample t-test;compared AI of parameters of optic nerve and optic tract between the patient group and the control group by independent sample t-test. Patients were divided into threesubgroups according to the low vision grade standard of WHO, compared the FA and AI of FA between the three subgroups by single factor variance analysis. RESULTS: The affected side optic nerve presented significantly decreased FA, increased MD, AD, and RD values compared to the unaffected side(P<0.05). The AI of FA, MD, AD, and RD of optic nerve in the patients was significantly higher than that of the controls(P<0.05). The comparison results of the optic tract showed that there was no significant difference between the patient group and control group in terms of the bilateral optic tracts in patients(P>0.05). The AIs of the FA value of the optic nerve in the eyesight <0.1 subgroup was significantly higher than that in the other groups(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FA, MD, AD, and RD of the affected side optic nerve of the orbital space-occupying lesions have significantly changed, the FA value is the most sensitive. The PDT could be a useful tool to provide valid quantitative markers of optic nerve injuries and evaluate the severity of orbital diseases, which other examinations cannot be acquired.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central UniversitiesFoundation of Graduate Innovation Center in Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (No.kfjj20150105)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51279074)
文摘The effect of curing age on chloride diffusion coefficient of recycled aggregate concrete subjected to different compressive stresses was investigated.A compression loading setup was both designed and fabricated.The chloride diffusion coefficients of recycled aggregate concrete under compressive stresses were measured by the rapid chloride ion migration(RCM)method.The experimental results show that the chloride diffusion coefficients of recycled aggregate concrete(RAC)under different compressive stress ratios generally decrease with the increase of curing age.For RAC subjected to the same compressive stress ratios,the chloride diffusion coefficients approximately have power functions with curing ages and the relationship models are proposed.Moreover,the influence of curing age on chloride diffusion coefficient firstly decreases and then increases as the compressive stress ratio increases.
文摘The present study aims to estimate the in vivo anisotropic conductivities of the White Matter (WM) tissues by means of Magnetic Resonance Electrical Impedance Tomography (MREIT) technique. The realistic anisotropic volume conductor model with different conductivity properties (scalp, skull, CSF, gray matter and WM) is constructed based on the Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DT- MRI) from a healthy human subject. The Radius Basic Function (RBF)-MREIT algorithm of using only one magnetic flux density component was applied to evaluate the eigenvalues of the anisotropic WM with target values set according to the DT-MRI data based on the Wolter’s model, which is more physiologically reliable. The numerical simulations study performed on the five-layer realistic human head model showed that the conductivity reconstruction method had higher accuracy and better robustness against noise. The pilot research was used to judge the feasibility, meaningfulness and reliability of the MREIT applied on the electrical impedance tomography of the complicated human head tissues including anisotropic characteristics.
文摘AIM:To evaluate the clinical value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(DW-MRI)in predicting the response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation.METHODS:This prospective study was approved by our institutional review board,and informed consent was obtained from each patient.Fifteen patients(median age 56 years)with locally advanced rectal cancer were treated in our hospital from June 2006 to December 2007.All patients were stageⅢB-C according to the results of MRI and endorectal ultrasound examinations.All patients underwent pelvic irradiation with 45 Gy/25 fx per 35 days.The concurrent chemotherapy regimen consisted of capecitabine 625mg/m2,bid(Monday-Friday),and oxaliplatin 50 mg/m2,weekly.The patients underwent surgery 5-8 wk after the completion of neoadjuvant therapy.T downstaging was defined as the downstaging of the tumor from cT3to ypT0-2 or from cT4 to ypT0-3.Good regression was defined as TRG 3-4,and poor regression was defined as TRG 0-2.Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained prior to and weekly during the course of neoadjuvant chemoradiation,and the apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)values were calculated from the acquired tumor images.RESULTS:Comparison with the mean pretreatment tumor ADC revealed an increase in the mean tumor ADC during the course of neoadjuvant chemoradiation,especially at the 2ndweek(P=0.004).We found a strong negative correlation between the mean pretreatment tumor ADC and tumor regression after neoadjuvant chemoradiation(P=0.021).In the T downstage and tumor regression groups,we found a significant increase in the mean ADC at the 2ndweek of neoadjuvant therapy(P=0.011;0.004).CONCLUSION:DW-MRI might be a valuable clinical tool to help predict or assess the response of rectal cancer to neoadjuvant chemoradiation at an early timepoint.
