A case of primary osteosarcoma in the occipital bone: A relatively common tumor in an uncommon location.

Osteosarcomas predominantly manifest in the long bones of the extremities, with rare occurrences in the skull. A case involving of a 53-year-old female who presented to the authors' hospital for examination due to dizziness was incidentally found to have an occipital bone mass, which was initially diagnosed as a benign tumor and did not receive sufficient attention. Two years later, owing to tumor enlargement, the patient underwent further evaluation at the same institution, which revealed evidence of occipital bone destruction. Pathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of osteosarcoma. The patient underwent surgical resection followed by radiotherapy. Despite its infrequency and uncharacteristic initial presentation, skull osteosarcomas should not be overlooked.

Adult congenital horseshoe lung with bilateral pulmonary sequestration: A case report.

Horseshoe lung (HL) is an infrequent congenital lung anomaly. Its main feature is that the lower lungs on both sides extend behind the pericardium and fuse across the midline, usually accompanied by pulmonary dysplasia. It is reported that 80% of HL is relevant to the abnormal return of some pulmonary veins from the right lung to the inferior vena cava or right atrium (scimitar syndrome). Most patients are within 5 years old, most commonly within 1 year old, but HL may also have no apparent clinical symptoms or mild symptoms. This case is a 36-years-old adult female who developed left chest pain more than a month ago and continued to worsen for 10 days. The patient also had repeated pulmonary infection with cough and expectoration.

First Inertial Confinement Fusion Implosion Experiment in Octahedral Spherical Hohlraum.

In inertial confinement approaches to fusion, the asymmetry of target implosion is a major obstacle to achieving high gain in the laboratory. A recently proposed octahedral spherical hohlraum makes it possible to naturally create spherical target irradiation without supplementary symmetry control. Before any decision is made to pursue an ignition-scale laser system based on the octahedral hohlraum, one needs to test the concept with the existing facilities. Here, we report a proof-of-concept experiment for the novel octahedral hohlraum geometry on the cylindrically configured SGIII laser facility without a symmetry control. All polar and equatorial self-emission images of the compressed target show a near round shape of convergence ratio 15 under both square and shaped laser pulses. The observed implosion performances agree well with the ideal spherical implosion simulation. It also shows limitations with using the existing facilities and adds further weight to the need to move to a spherical port geometry for future ignition laser facilities.

Added assessment of middle cerebral artery and atrial fibrillation to FLAIR vascular hyperintensity-DWI mismatch would improve the outcome prediction of acute infarction in patients with acute internal carotid artery occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Whether fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) vascular hyperintensities (FVH)-DWI mismatch could predict the outcome or not remains in debate. The aim of this study was to identify if FVH combined with the other markers improved favorable outcome prediction of acute infarctions in patients with unilateral acute internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion. METHODS: Consecutive 68 adult acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory infarction patients caused by acute ICA occlusion, including favorable (n = 38, mRS ≤ 2) and unfavorable (n = 30, mRS > 2) groups, were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. The diagnostic efficiency of favorable clinical outcome of FVH-DWI mismatch was compared with those of DWI lesions volumetry and the combined marker of FVH-DWI mismatch and other factors. RESULTS: There were more prominent FVH-DWI mismatch (≥ 3 sections) (84%), less atrial fibrillation (AFib) (13%), and more tandem MCA normal or mild stenosis (63%) in favorable outcome group than those (30%, 40%, and 27%, respectively) in unfavorable group. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the prominent FVH-DWI mismatch was the positive predictive factor for favorable outcome (OR = 2.643 and 3.200). Prominent FVH-DWI mismatch, in combination with tandem MCA normal or mild stenosis, and absence of Afib, had better performance (AUC = 0.875) than that of initial DWI lesion volumetry (AUC = 0.854) and any other single factor (AUC = 0.634~0.820) in predicting favorable outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Prominent FVH-DWI mismatch was associated with favorable outcome in acute infarctions in unilateral ICA occlusion patients. Its predictive performance would be improved when combined with the assessment of tandem lesions of MCA and AFib.

First exploration of radiation temperatures of the laser spot, re-emitting wall and entire hohlraum drive source.

This study explores the radiation field temperatures introduced by the laser spot, the re-emitting wall in a hohlraum and the entire hohlraum drive source. This investigation, which is the first of its kind, is based on the radiation fluxes from the laser spot and the re-emitting wall, which have been accurately measured using time- and space-resolving flux detectors in a recent work, and additional flux data. The temperature difference between the laser spot and the entire hohlraum drive source was 6.08-35.35% of the temperature of the latter throughout the entire laser pulse, whilst that for the re-emitting wall was 3.90-12.81%. The radiation temperature of the cooler re-emitting wall had more influence on the temperature increase of the entire hohlraum drive source than the hot laser-spot temperature, which has been quantitatively discussed. Experimentally, we established the average distributions of the temperature fields of all the emitting sources, namely laser spot and re-emitting wall, of the irradiating fluxes on the capsule region in the hohlraum radiation field. This important progress in the exploration of radiation temperature distributions within a hohlraum will provide a foundation for determination of the irradiating radiation on the capsule and evaluation of capsule symmetry.

Maximum lesions area and orthogonal values accessed from DWI images would be alternative imaging markers for predicting the outcome of acute ischemia in the middle cerebral artery territory.

BACKGROUND: Evaluating the acute ischemic volume on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory would predict outcome. PURPOSE: To investigate the correlations between maximum area with restricted diffusion (MaxA), the orthogonal diameters (OD) as well as lesion volume on DWI, and to explore the role of MaxA and OD on predicting unfavorable outcome after an acute MCA ischemic stroke. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty consecutive adult patients, including modified Rankin Scale score (mRS) ≤2 (n = 31) and mRS > 2 (n = 29) groups, were retrospectively enrolled. The MaxA and OD of lesions were assessed at the slice containing the largest infarction size on DWI images. We compared the prediction efficiencies of these methods on unfavorable outcomes. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients between the MaxA and infarction volume and OD and infarction volume were 0.982 ( P < 0.001) and 0.952 ( P < 0.001), respectively. The times required for measuring MaxA (150 s [130-160]) and OD (30 s [20-60]) were much shorter than that for infarction volume measurement (1240 s [180-1480]) ( P = 0.001, P = 0.004). With thresholds of ≥57.3 mL for infarction volume, ≥15.2 cm2 for MaxA, and ≥38.1 for the arithmetic product of OD, the AUCs of infarction volume, MaxA, and OD for predicting an unfavorable outcome were 0.818, 0.821, and 0.820, respectively. CONCLUSION: Since they correlated well with the infarction volume, MaxA and OD assessed on DWI were time-saving and achieved comparable diagnostic efficiencies; thus, they may represent alternative imaging markers for predicting unfavorable outcomes of acute ischemic stroke in MCA territory.

Application of the space-resolving flux detector for radiation measurements from an octahedral-aperture spherical hohlraum.

Space-resolving flux detection is an important technique for the diagnostic of the radiation field within the hohlraum in inertial confinement fusion, especially for the radiation field diagnostic in the novel spherical hohlraum with octahedral six laser entrance holes (LEHs), where localized measurements are necessary for the discrimination of the radiation flux from different LEHs. A novel space-resolving flux detector (SRFD) is developed at the SG-III laser facility for the radiation flux measurement in the first campaign of the octahedral spherical hohlraum energetics experiment. The principle and configuration of the SRFD system is introduced. The radiation flux from the wall of a gas-filled octahedral spherical hohlraum is measured for the first time by placing the SRFD system at the equatorial position of the SG-III laser facility, aiming at the hohlraum wall through one of the six LEHs. The absolute radiation flux from the re-emission area on the hohlraum wall is measured, and good consistency is found between the experimental data and the calculated data from a three-dimensional view factor analysis.

First Octahedral Spherical Hohlraum Energetics Experiment at the SGIII Laser Facility.

The first octahedral spherical hohlraum energetics experiment is accomplished at the SGIII laser facility. For the first time, the 32 laser beams are injected into the octahedral spherical hohlraum through six laser entrance holes. Two techniques are used to diagnose the radiation field of the octahedral spherical hohlraum in order to obtain comprehensive experimental data. The radiation flux streaming out of laser entrance holes is measured by six flat-response x-ray detectors (FXRDs) and four M-band x-ray detectors, which are placed at different locations of the SGIII target chamber. The radiation temperature is derived from the measured flux of FXRD by using the blackbody assumption. The peak radiation temperature inside hohlraum is determined by the shock wave technique. The experimental results show that the octahedral spherical hohlraum radiation temperature is in the range of 170-182 eV with drive laser energies of 71 kJ to 84 kJ. The radiation temperature inside the hohlraum determined by the shock wave technique is about 175 eV at 71 kJ. For the flat-top laser pulse of 3 ns, the conversion efficiency of gas-filled octahedral spherical hohlraum from laser into soft x rays is about 80% according to the two-dimensional numerical simulation.

Fewer peripheral asymmetrical cortical veins is a predictor of favorable outcome in MCA infarctions with SWI-DWI mismatch.

BACKGROUND: Outcome prediction of asymmetrical prominent cortical veins (APCVs) on infarction is still debated and may help in selecting patients for reperfusion treatment. PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between fewer peripheral APCVs and the outcome in the patients of acute/subacute middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarctions as well as the relationship between this sign and stenosis of ipsilateral MCA. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective case-control study. POPULATION: We enrolled 41 patients with MCA acute/subacute infarction. Compared to the low sign of cortical veins of contralateral hemisphere on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), these patients were divided into fewer (n = 28) and prominent APCVs (n = 13) groups. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T conventional stroke sequences, including T1 -weighted imaging, T2 -weighted imaging, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (b = 0 and 1000 s/mm2 ), MR angiography (MRA), and SWI. ASSESSMENT: We explored the relationships between fewer peripheral APCVs sign and clinical outcome, as well as the relationship between this sign and the degree of ipsilateral MCA stenosis. STATISTICAL TESTS: Fisher's exact analysis, logistical regression, as well as Cohen's kappa coefficient were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Fewer and prominent peripheral APCVs were detected in 28 (56.10%) and 13 (43.90%) patients. In 28 patients with fewer peripheral APCVs, 23 patients (82.14%) had a favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] ≤2), and five patients (17.76%) had an unfavorable outcome (mRS >2) (P = 0.010). In terms of MCA stenosis, the rate of normal and mild to moderate stenosis of MCA in the fewer APCVs group (82.14%) was higher than that in the prominent APCVs group (23.08%) (P < 0.001). More severe stenosis of ipsilateral MCA was found in patients with prominent APCVs group (76.92%) than that of fewer APCVs group (17.86%). The peripheral APCVs was positively correlated with the degree of MCA stenosis (r = 0.538, P < 0.001). DATA CONCLUSION: Fewer peripheral APCVs may suggest a favorable outcome in unilateral MCA infarction. The patency of ipsilateral MCA may correlate to fewer APCVs and favorable outcome. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 5 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;48:964-970.

Calibration of the linear response range of x-ray imaging plates and their reader based on image grayscale values.

X-ray imaging plates are one of the most important X-ray imaging detectors and are widely used in inertial-confinement fusion experiments. However, their linear response range, which is the foundation of their quantitative data analysis, has not been sufficiently deeply investigated. In this work, we develop an X-ray fluorescer calibration system and carefully explore the linear response range of X-ray imaging plates. For the first time, nearly the entire grayscale range of the X-ray imaging plate linear response-7819-64 879 in the range of 0-65 535-has been observed. Further, we discuss the uncertainties involved in the calibration process. This work demonstrates the excellent linear response qualities of X-ray imaging plates and provides a significant foundation for expanding their quantitative applied range.