Evaluation of peripheral vasodilative indices in skin tissue of type 1 diabetic rats by use of RGB images

Optical Review - We investigated a method to evaluate the arterial inflow and the venous capacitance in the skin tissue of streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic rats from RGB digital color images....     

An Unusual Terpene Cyclization Mechanism Involving a Carbon–Carbon Bond Rearrangement

Terpene cyclization reactions are fascinating owing to the precise control of connectivity and stereochemistry during the catalytic process. Cyclooctat‐9‐en‐7‐ol synthase (CotB2) synthesizes an unusual 5‐8‐5 fused‐ring structure with six chiral centers from the universal diterpene precursor, the achiral C₂₀ geranylgeranyl diphosphate substrate. An unusual new mechanism for the exquisite CotB2‐catalyzed cyclization that involves a carbon–carbon backbone rearrangement and three long‐range hydride shifts is proposed, based on a powerful combination of in vivo studies using uniformly ¹³C‐labeled glucose and in vitro reactions of regiospecifically deuterium‐substituted geranylgeranyl diphosphate substrates. This study shows that CotB2 elegantly demonstrates the synthetic virtuosity and stereochemical control that evolution has conferred on terpene synthases.     

Simulation of spectral reflectances in human skin tissue using ray tracing and GPU-based Monte Carlo method

We study a simulation of spectral reflectance in human skin tissue using ray-tracing software and the Monte Carlo method on the basis of a graphics processing unit (GPU). An analysis of light propagation using ray-tracing software has several advantages in that it can readily reproduce the complex structure of skin tissue, such as grooves of the skin surface or the boundaries of skin tissue layers, and perform optical simulation with optical elements close to those in a real experiment using only the ray-tracing software. Meanwhile, it has a serious disadvantage in that the simulation time is extremely long because the algorithm is CPU-based. To overcome this disadvantage, we propose a simulation method using the ray-tracing software and a GPU-based Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The results of the simulation are shown and discussed.     

Monte Carlo simulation of spectral reflectance using a multilayered skin tissue model

A nine-layered skin tissue model is newly developed for the Monte Carlo simulation of spectral reflectance. The derivation of the necessary parameters for each of the nine layers in the simulation is presented, in which the parameters used in the conventional three-layered model are modified on the basis of some histological findings on skin and reported examples. Using appropriate optical and geometrical parameters, simulated spectra can be produced that agree well with measured spectra. This approach provides a flexible means of spectral fitting to measured results and of estimating changes in the parameters of skin tissue.     

Retrospective analyses of atmospheric polycyclic and nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an industrial area of a western site of Japan.

Thirteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and four nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) on the surfaces of airborne particulates, which were collected at an industrial area of a western site of Japan during periods from 1976 to 1998, were retrospectively analyzed. PAHs and NPAHs were extracted from airborne particulates using hexane with ultrasonication, and then analyzed by HPLC systems with fluorescence detection and chemiluminescence detection, respectively. The total concentrations (mean +/- SD, n = 34) were 15.54 +/- 21.24 ng/m3 for PAHs and 5.85 +/- 8.16 pg/m3 for NPAHs. The concentrations of PAHs and NPAHs were found to be highest during the period between 1979 and 1982, and then reduced. The annual concentrations of PAHs and NPAHs were highly correlated with those of air pollutants from motor vehicle origin, such as carbon monoxide, suspended particulates and non-methane hydrocarbons. The results suggested that motor vehicle emissions were one of the predominant sources of atmospheric PAHs and NPAHs.     

Detection of the reaction intermediates catalyzed by a copper amine oxidase

To reveal the chemical changes and geometry changes of active-site residues that cooperate with a reaction is important for understanding the functional mechanism of proteins. Consecutive temporal analyses of enzyme structures have been performed during reactions to clarify structure-based reaction mechanisms. Phenylethylamine oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis (AGAO) contains a copper ion and topaquinone (TPQ(ox)). The catalytic reaction of AGAO catalyzes oxidative deaminations of phenylethylamine and consists of reductive and oxidative half-reactions. In the reduction step, TPQ(ox) reacts with a phenylethylamine (PEA) substrate giving rise to a topasemiquinone (TPQ(sq)) formed Schiff-base and produces phenylacetaldehyde. To elucidate the mechanism of the reductive half-reaction, an attempt was made to trap the reaction intermediates in order to analyze their structures. The reaction proceeded within the crystals when AGAO crystals were soaked in a PEA solution and freeze-trapped in liquid nitrogen. The reaction stage of each crystal was confirmed by single-crystal microspectrometry, before X-ray diffraction measurements were made of four reaction intermediates. The structure at 15 min after the onset of the reaction was analyzed at atomic resolution, and it was shown that TPQ(ox) and some residues in the substrate channel were alternated via catalytic reductive half-reactions.     

Motion imaging of objects in layers hidden by scattering media using low-coherence speckle interferometry

A novel method is proposed for motion imaging of objects in layers hidden by a scattering medium in a depth-resolved manner by means of the intensity difference in a temporal sequence of low-coherence speckle images. Depth-resolved motion imaging was demonstrated with a semi-transparent scattering plate and an aluminum diffusive plate behind Intralipid solution. Experimental results confirmed feasibility of the proposed method for imaging of moving objects by their relative velocity.     

Measurements of blood flow and blood concentration change using laser speckle in fiber illumination and its application to estimation of stress condition

Optical Review - Speckle imaging method is useful for monitoring of blood flow in living bodies. We have proposed so far the method for simultaneous imaging of blood flow and blood concentration...     

Measurements of velocity using a lenticular grating

A new method is reported for measuring the velocity using a lenticular grating. The principle of the method is theoretically described on the basis of transmission-grating velocimetry. The theoretical studies are performed to estimate the deflection and collection characteristics of the light passing through the lenticular grating. The method is used to measure the velocity of a rotating random pattern. The experimental results show the usefulness of the method for measurements of the velocity.     

Noninvasive spectral imaging of skin chromophores based on multiple regression analysis aided by Monte Carlo simulation

In order to visualize melanin and blood concentrations and oxygen saturation in human skin tissue, a simple imaging technique based on multispectral diffuse reflectance images acquired at six wavelengths (500, 520, 540, 560, 580 and 600 nm) was developed. The technique utilizes multiple regression analysis aided by Monte Carlo simulation for diffuse reflectance spectra. Using the absorbance spectrum as a response variable and the extinction coefficients of melanin, oxygenated hemoglobin, and deoxygenated hemoglobin as predictor variables, multiple regression analysis provides regression coefficients. Concentrations of melanin and total blood are then determined from the regression coefficients using conversion vectors that are deduced numerically in advance, while oxygen saturation is obtained directly from the regression coefficients. Experiments with a tissue-like agar gel phantom validated the method. In vivo experiments with human skin of the human hand during upper limb occlusion and of the inner forearm exposed to UV irradiation demonstrated the ability of the method to evaluate physiological reactions of human skin tissue.