Multiparametric simultaneous hybrid 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (18F-FDG PET/MRI) incorporating intratumoral and peritumoral regions for grading of glioma.

Background: Preoperative grading gliomas is essential for therapeutic clinical decision-making. Current non-invasive imaging modality for glioma grading were primarily focused on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) of the tumor region. However, these methods overlook the peritumoral region (PTR) of tumor and cannot take full advantage of the biological information derived from hybrid-imaging. Therefore, we aimed to combine multiparameter from hybrid 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/MRI of the solid component and PTR were combined for differentiating high-grade glioma (HGG) from low-grade glioma (LGG). Methods: A total of 76 patients with pathologically confirmed glioma (41 HGG and 35 LGG) who underwent simultaneous 18F-FDG PET, arterial spin labelling (ASL), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with hybrid PET/MRI were retrospectively enrolled. The relative maximum standardized uptake value (rSUVmax), relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF), and relative minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (rADCmin) for the solid component and PTR at different distances outside tumoral border were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were applied to assess the grading performance. A nomogram for HGG prediction was constructed. Results: HGGs displayed higher rSUVmax and rCBF but lower rADCmin in the solid component and 5 mm-adjacent PTR, lower rADCmin in 10 mm-adjacent PTR, and higher rCBF in 15- and 20-mm-adjacent PTR. rSUVmax in solid component performed best [area under the curve (AUC) =0.865] as a single parameter for grading. Combination of rSUVmax in the solid component and adjacent 20 mm performed better (AUC =0.881). Integration of all 3 indicators in the solid component and adjacent 20 mm performed the best (AUC =0.928). The nomogram including rSUVmax, rCBF, and rADCmin in the solid component and 5-mm-adjacent PTR predicted HGG with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.906. Conclusions: Multiparametric 18F-FDG PET/MRI from the solid component and PTR performed excellently in differentiating HGGs from LGGs. It can be used as a non-invasive and effective tool for preoperative grade stratification of patients with glioma, and can be considered in clinical practice.

Air activation of charcoal monoliths for capacitive energy storage.

Charcoal monoliths derived from waste wood were activated with air for the application of electrochemical capacitor electrodes and an insight was given into the activation mechanism. The mild air activation is effective and pollution-free compared to the common chemical activation using KOH etc. for the preparation of crack-free carbon monoliths. The activation process was controlled by altering the activation temperature and time, and their effects on the nanostructure of charcoal monoliths were studied. As the activation temperature or time increased, air eroded the defective surface of charcoal layer-by-layer, with the oxygen atoms being introduced by chemisorption and oxidation reactions and removed by dehydration and decomposition reactions. Meanwhile, micro-pores were produced. The electrode activated at 300 °C for 1 h, with a specific surface area of 567 m2 g-1 and a high micro-porosity of 86%, exhibited a specific capacitance of 203 F g-1 and 35.5 F cm-3. Moreover, it presented a higher total capacitance of 3.6 F cm-2 than most reported pellet electrodes. These findings give a reasonable picture of the air activation process and are instructive to prepare activated carbon monoliths under an oxidizing environment.

Lipoprotein A, combined with alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, contributes to predicting the occurrence of NASH: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progresses from simple nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and has a poor prognosis. Abnormal lipid metabolism is closely related to the occurrence and development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to study the relationships between serum lipid metabolites and NASH, and to improve the early diagnosis of NASH. METHODS: This study included 86 NAFLD patients (23 NASH and 63 NAFL), and 81 unaffected individuals as controls from West China Hospital between October 2018 and May 2019. With lipid metabolites as the focus of the study, the differences in lipid metabolites were compared between the control group, NAFL patients, and NASH patients. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the risk factors of NASH. Finally, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to analyze the efficacy of the metabolites in NASH prediction. RESULTS: The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lipoprotein A (LPA) increased with the severity of NAFLD. In NAFLD patients, LPA (OR:1.61; 95%CI: 1.03-2.52) was a potential risk factor for NASH, and ROC analysis showed that the combination of LPA, ALT, and AST had a greater predictive efficiency for NASH. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal apolipoprotein/lipoprotein is closely related to lipid metabolism disorder in patients with NAFLD. In NAFL, the combination of LPA, ALT, and AST contributes to predicting the occurrence of NASH. LPA may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for diagnosing and treating NASH.

MRI findings in primary vaginal melanoma-a report of four cases.

Primary vaginal melanoma is a rare malignant tumor. We review the clinical presentation and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of this entity in four patients. The MRI findings in vaginal melanoma are various and may be confused with other malignant vaginal tumor. Pelvic MRI is helpful for accurate preoperative staging of vaginal melanoma.

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings of malignant solid pseudopapillary tumors of the pancreas with macroscopic venous tumor thrombosis: a report of 4 cases.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the imaging findings of malignant pancreatic solid pseudopapillary tumors (SPTs) with macroscopic venous tumor thrombi. METHODS: The clinical features and imaging findings of 4 cases of malignant pancreatic SPT with venous tumor thrombi were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The tumor thrombi were located in the splenic vein (n = 3) or the main portal vein and the proximal splenic vein (n = 1). Venous thrombi were connected with the main pancreatic tumors and showed venous filling defects on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Tumor thrombi primarily consisting of necrotic component and/or hemorrhage displayed no enhancement after contrast injection (n = 3). The enhancement pattern of the tumor thrombi that consisted mainly of tumor nests was consistent with pancreatic SPT (n = 1), that is, a slight enhancement in the arterial phase and a progressive enhancement in the portal venous phase and the equilibrium phase. Venous tumor thrombi associated with hemorrhage were hyperintense on both T1-weighted and T2-weighted images. CONCLUSIONS: It is uncommon for pancreatic SPTs to spread by invading the venous system and forming macroscopic venous tumor thrombi.

Synthesis and magnetic property of iron ions-doped hydroxyapatite.

Magnetic Hydroxyapatite (HAP) particles were successfully synthesized at different concentration of Fe2+ by a co-precipitation method. The influences of concentration of doped ions and calcination temperature on the morphology and magnetic property were studied. The iron ions-doped HAP still kept its structure similar to conventional HAP and no second phases were detected. Results indicated that the doping of iron ions decreased the crystallinity and inhibited the c-axis growth and promoted the a-axis growth. HAP particles incorporated with 10% and 50% iron ions exhibited superparamagnetic and with 30% iron ions exhibited weak ferromagnetic characters. In addition, calcination temperature also increased the remnant.

Effect of polyvinyl alcohol additive on the pore structure and morphology of the freeze-cast hydroxyapatite ceramics.

Porous hydroxyapatite (HAP) ceramics with different morphologies were fabricated by the freeze casting method. The morphologies of HAP ceramics were modified by adjusting the concentration of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) additive in the HAP slurries. HAP ceramics without PVA additive were composed of non-interconnected macroscopic lamellar pores and porous ceramic walls. With PVA additive, the HAP ceramics were made up of small lamellar pores or three-dimensional reticulate pores and porous ceramic walls. PVA additive had no effect on the phase composition of HAP ceramics. The open porosity and pore connectivity were improved because of the addition of PVA.

[Investigation on the quality indicators of beers using NIR].

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) has been used to determine important indicators of the quality of undeaired beers by a partial least squares (PLS) regression and stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR). The indicators are original, real extract and alcohol contents. Absorbance spectra in transmission mode of 83 samples were obtained with 1 mm and 5 mm path-length quartz cell. The selected resolving powers are 8, 16 and 32 cm(-1). Air and water were used as background respectively. It was concluded that the calibration and prediction results are similar with different background, pathlength and resolving power. The SMLR method seems to be better than PLS method. The results of this paper provide a foundation for the application and further development of NIR on-line beer analyzer.