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Objectives: To mitigate the incidence of misdiagnosis and distinguish between gastric fundic tumors (GFTs) and thickened diaphragmatic crura (TDC). Materials and methods: Computed tomographic enterography (CTE) data from 3844 cases and computed tomographic gastrography (CTG) data from 4351 cases were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 105 cases were selected and categorized into three groups: 47 cases with TDC examined via CTE, 31 with adenocarcinoma, and 27 with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) examined via CTG. Inter-group differences in age, sex distribution, mass dimensions, massstomach interface (MSI), chief complaints, gastric underlying diseases, and enhancement patterns were analyzed. Results: The misdiagnosis rate of TDC as a tumor by radiologists is approximately 1.2% (47/3844). Age (p<0.05), sex ratio (p<0.05), mean mass size (p<0.05), chief complaint (p<0.05) and mass-stomach interface (MSI, p<0.05) were significantly different among patients with GIST, adenocarcinoma and TDC. The contrast enhancement pattern of TDC markedly differed from that observed in adenocarcinoma (p<0.05) and GIST (p<0.05) patients. Conclusions: Misdiagnosis of GFTs is occasionally and may be challenging to differentiate from TDC using CTE. To drastically lower the chance of misdiagnosis, this research aimed to assist radiologists in identifying and considering the possibility of TDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To characterize the inferior adrenal artery (IAA) pulsatility index (PI) in intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses without brain sparing.Methods: Twenty-three IUGR fetuses with a normal Doppler cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) and 23 normal controls were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. The PI of the IAA was recorded using routine transabdominal Doppler ultrasound. The differences in Doppler characteristics, perinatal outcomes, and steroidogenesis in the umbilical vein at birth (adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH] and cortisol [F] levels) were compared between the 2 groups. The correlations between IAA-PI and steroidogenesis were assessed in the IUGR group.Results: IAA-PI was significantly lower in IUGR fetuses than in normal controls (0.85 vs 1.18 at first scan, 0.78 vs 0.92 at last scan; both P < 0.001). The plasma F and ACTH levels in IUGR cases were significantly higher than those of the normal controls (18.2 vs 12.4 µg/dL and 280.5 vs 125.6 pg/mL for F and ACTH, respectively; both P < 0.001). There were negative correlations between IAA-PI and plasma F values and between IAA-PI and ACTH values in the IUGR group (r = -0.774 and -0.82 at first scan, r = -0.525 and -0.45 at last scan, respectively; P < 0.001).Conclusion: Increased adrenal gland blood flow with concomitant increases in ACTH and F levels were observed in IUGR fetuses. IAA-PI is useful to assess early blood redistribution and may be beneficial for evaluating the steroidogenic response in high-risk pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Full life-cycle housing management system involve numerous issues: i) many business parts, ii) the need for quick change, iii) complex workflow, and iv) hard customization. In this paper, the meta workflow model is proposed with a method of workflow customization based on metadata base. We attempt to solve the problems of standardization for business workflow and workflow-customization adaptability to dynamic policy change. Workflows are abstracted as managed metadata of process order information. We propose that workflow management and customization should be based on metadata base, thus the standardization of business workflow is assured. It is also makes it more convenient for business staff to renew and update workflow. The meta workflow model removes the restrictions of dependence on specific programming platform or commercial workflow engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high p-type conductivity in Cu-excess CuAlS2 reported from a recent experimental paper is not well understood as it is not supported by earlier theoretical studies. We found that Cu can be heavily doped at the Al site and can form compensated defect bands to shift up the valence band, leading to shallow acceptor levels under a Cu-excess condition. In particular, Zn doping at the Al site in Cu-excess CuAlS2 has been suggested as a promising approach to improving the p-type conductivity in Cu-excess CuAlS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]