Towards MRI Differentiation of Recurring Tumor from Delayed Radiation Necrosis
Carlos J Perez-Torres, John A Engelbach, Jeremy Cates, Dinesh K Thotala, Robert E Drzymala, Joseph JH Ackerman, and Joel R Garbow Department of Radiology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, Department of Chemistry, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Assessment of MRI parameters as imaging biomarkers for radiation necrosis in the rat brain.
PURPOSE
Radiation necrosis is a major complication of radiation therapy. We explore the features of radiation-induced brain necrosis in the rat, using multiple MRI approaches, including T(1), T(2), apparent diffusion constant (ADC), cerebral blood flow (CBF), magnetization transfer ratio (MTR), and amide proton transfer (APT) of endogenous mobile proteins and peptides.


METHODS AND MATERIALS
Adult rats (Fischer 344; n = 15) were irradiated with a single, well-collimated X-ray beam (40 Gy; 10 × 10 mm(2)) in the left brain hemisphere. MRI was acquired on a 4.7-T animal scanner at ~25 weeks' postradiation. The MRI signals of necrotic cores and perinecrotic regions were assessed with a one-way analysis of variance. Histological evaluation was accomplished with hematoxylin and eosin staining.


RESULTS
ADC and CBF MRI could separate perinecrotic and contralateral normal brain tissue (p < 0.01 and < 0.05, respectively), whereas T(1), T(2), MTR, and APT could not. MRI signal intensities were significantly lower in the necrotic core than in normal brain for CBF (p < 0.001) and APT (p < 0.01) and insignificantly higher or lower for T(1), T(2), MTR, and ADC. Histological results demonstrated coagulative necrosis within the necrotic core and reactive astrogliosis and vascular damage within the perinecrotic region.


CONCLUSION
ADC and CBF are promising imaging biomarkers for identifying perinecrotic regions, whereas CBF and APT are promising for identifying necrotic cores.
Influence of pressure and fluidization velocity on the hydrodynamics of a fluidized bed containing horizontal tubes
Abstract An experimental investigation of the influence of horizontal tubes on the bubble behaviour and through-flow velocity of gas inside bubbles was carried out and the influence of pressure and fluidization velocity was studied. The visible bubble flow rate and the gas velocity through the bubbles were measured simultaneously in a pressurized fluidized bed, using capacitance and Pitot-static pressures probes respectively. Silica sand with a mean particle diameter of 0.7 mm was fluidized at pressures between 01. and 1.6 MPa, in a bed of 0.2 × 0.3 m cross-section. Six different horizontal tube configurations were used and comparisons were made with results obtained in the same bed operated without tubes. The results from the bed with tubes show that the influence of pressure and fluidization velocity is basically the same as in the bed without tubes; an increase in pressure and fluidization velocity increases the bubble activity. At low excess gas velocities, the influence of immersed tubes on the bubble behaviour is less pronounced than at high excess gas velocities. Measurements and visual observations show that a small tube pitch gives a more uniform distribution of the visible bubble flow over the bed cross-section. At a combination of high pressure, high excess gas velocity and a large tube pitch, a preferred bubble path was observed in the centre of the bed cross-section. The pressure probe measurements show that the through-flow velocity of gas inside the bubbles is in most cases higher when tubes are present in the bed. The through-flow velocity consistently decreases with increasing pressure in the bed without tubes. The tendency is largely the same at a low excess gas velocity when tubes are present, but at a high excess gas velocity the through-flow velocity first decreases and then increases as the pressure is increased.