More than one-third of PET/CT-positive sarcoidosis patients had osseous abnormalities on PET/CT. The majority of these lesions (94%) could not be detected on low-dose CT. No single localization of preference was found. These preliminary results stress the value of PET/CT imaging in the assessment of bone/bone marrow involvement in sarcoidosis patients.

presented F-18 FDG PET/CT data may indicate an inflammatory origin of Charcot disease, with secondary bone resorption, possibly due to decreased inhibitory neurogenic inflammatory responses as a result of small fiber neuropathy. If these findings can be confirmed in future studies, F-18 FDG PET/CT scanning may be added to the diagnostic arsenal in Charcot disease, and anti-inflammatory drugs may be added to the therapeutic arsenal.

Metabolic activity of the abdominal aorta and visceral fat is increased in COPD patients compared to peers. The degree of visceral fat metabolic activity is associated with aortic inflammation. More prospective research is warranted concerning the role of visceral fat in the development of vascular comorbidity in COPD.

~~ ~~By use of two-parameter flow cytometry of rat testis cell suspensions stained with mithramycin for DNA (the peak amplitude of the fluorescence signal versus total fluorescence intensity integrated over time), eight cell Key terms: Two-parameter flow cytometry, compartments could be distinguished without cell sorting, octaploid cells, rat spermpre-enrichment of the samples. Cells in these atogenesis compartments were identified by sorting and subsequent microscopic examination.Flow cytometric (FCM) analysis of human (13,171 and animal (24,7,8,11,15) + M levels of DNA are primary spermatocytes and spermatogonia (12). Meistrich and associates (12) reported distinguishing seven subpopulations of testicular cells that were identified by FCM and cell sorting.Because of the highly complex effects of both physiological and pharmacological stimuli on the subpopulations of germ cells, a more detailed analysis of these subpopulations would be useful in FCM measurement of changes in testicular function. A possible solution to this problem is offered by the fact that the chromatin structure of the various germ cells as well as the size and shape of their nuclei vary widely in the different stages of maturation from spermatogonia to elongated spermatids (1). These differences can be measured using simple DNA staining if the peak and the area of the DNA fluorescence signal are analyzed as separate parameters in a two-parameter FCM system.The aim of the present study is to identify the different populations observed by two-parameter FCM analysis of would be more useful in giving detailed information on the various phases of the complex process of spermatogenesis in comparison with the single parameter usually used. MATERIALS AND METHODSAll experiments were performed with 3-mo-old male outbred Wistar rats (Cpb:WU) each weighing approximately 300 gm. Cell DispersalThe testis was dissected free from fat and connective tissue. After decapsulation, the tissue was finely minced with scissors in 15 ml phosphate buffer (pH = 7.4; P043-23.8 mg/ml) and sieved through a 50-pm mesh filter. The mincing and preparations were done at room temperature. This cell suspension was passed through a 25-gauge, 1-inch needle, centrifuged (370 x g) for 10 min, and resuspended in 10 ml phosphate buffer by vortexing.Debris was removed by filtration through a nylon filter (pore size: 50 pm). The suspension was again centrifuged (370 x g) for 10 min and the supernatant discarded. All aliquots were fixed in 50% ethanol (-ZOO C) and stored at 4" C until analysis.

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