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J Fradin

Publications and source records attributed to J Fradin.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Heterocyclic amines: occurrence and prevention in cooked food.

This article deals with the mutagenic heterocyclic amines, especially the aminoimidazoazaarenes family, isolated from cooked foods. The conditions which lead to their occurrence in foods are discussed. This formation primarily depends on the characteristics of the food, such as the type of the food and the presence of precursors, water, and lipids. Secondarily, it depends on the cooking modes where the temperature is considered to be the most important factor involved in their formation. As their formation during cooking represents a health risk, we present some ways and means to limit their formation by alternative cooking methods that tend to decrease heterocyclic amine concentrations in foods as they are implicated in cancer risks.

Amines↗

Choledocholithiasis: evaluation with MR cholangiography.

OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to evaluate the usefulness of a new T2-weighted MR sequence using a half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) technique in the diagnosis of bile duct stones. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 23 patients with suspected bile duct calculi using HASTE MR cholangiography and compared that imaging technique with endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and sonography. The study group consisted of 15 women and eight men who were 42-89 years old. Patients were imaged in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes with a 1.5-T MR scanner using a body coil. Acquisitions of 13 sec each allowed images to be obtained in a single breath-hold. All images were interpreted by two radiologists in a double-blinded fashion. The presence, number, and size of stones were noted, and common bile duct dilatation was assessed. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 23 patients were proven to have common bile duct stones. Stone size ranged from 3 mm to 35 mm (mean, 11 mm). HASTE MR cholangiography revealed stones in 14 (93%) of 15 patients; sonography revealed stones in nine (60%) of 15 patients. In 12 patients, the common bile duct was dilated, as shown by endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, HASTE MR cholangiography, and sonography. On HASTE MR cholangiograms, we measured the diameter of the bile duct in all patients. The mean diameter was 11 mm, which correlated well (r = .82) with a mean diameter of 13.5 mm as measured on endoscopic retrograde cholangiograms. CONCLUSION: HASTE MR cholangiography can noninvasively and rapidly reveal the presence of stones in the common bile duct and allows readers to assess the degree of biliary dilatation. The sequence should be considered as an alternative to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in patients with clinical evidence of bile duct calculi and in those for whom endoscopic retrograde cholangiography is impossible.

Adult↗

Horizontal saccades induced by stimulation of the central mesencephalic reticular formation.

The central mesencephalic reticular formation (cMRF) was electrically stimulated in the alert monkey. Saccadic eye movements were induced to the contralateral side in the horizontal plane at latencies of 18-35 ms. Smooth or slow eye deviations were not produced by cMRF stimulation. If the stimulus was given during slow phases of nystagmus, rapid eye movements were elicited, and the velocity of the slow phases was not affected. The function of cMRF neurons and/or of pathways that lie within it appear primarily related to generation of rapid eye movements in the horizontal plane. The amplitude of induced saccadic eye movements depended solely on the region of cMRF that was activated. When the stimulation frequency was lower, the latency was longer, but the size and characteristics of the induced movement were the same. The product of latency and stimulus frequency was approximately constant, suggesting that saccades had been triggered after a fixed number of pulses had been given. Stimulation of cMRF at frequencies that were too low to elicit rapid eye movements had a tonic effect on saccade generation. When the animal was having optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), stimulation modulated beat frequency according to the direction of the nystagmus: contralateral quick phases were facilitated and ipsilateral quick phases were suppressed. The frequencies of stimulation necessary to suppress ipsilateral quick phases increased as slow phase eye velocity increased. This demonstrates that both cMRF activity and slow phase velocity affect quick phase triggering. When the cMRF on both sides were simultaneously stimulated, the eyes were fixed in place, and no further rapid movements occurred until the stimulus had ended. Thus, activity in pathways and/or cells in cMRF is not only able to trigger saccades, but can also change the excitability of saccade generating mechanisms and promote fixation by suppressing eye movements. Two types of rapid eye movements were elicited from cMRF. From dorsal portions of cMRF saccades were induced whose size was relatively constant and not dependent on the initial position of the eyes in the orbit. The size of saccades increased from small to large as the stimulating electrode was advanced through cMRF from dorsal to ventral. This suggests that the tecto-bulbo-spinal efferents coursing through cMRF and/or cMRF neurons related to this input, are organized in a topographic fashion, with cells and fibers related to eye movements of increasing size being layered one beneath another.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗