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AIM To evaluate contrast medium delivery protocols for the optimal enhancement profile of the aorta with both a reduced dose of radiation and contrast medium, called double-low computed tomography (CT) angiography (DLCTA). MATERIALS AND METHODS DLCTA was performed with 70 kVp and 200 mg iodine/kg in 205 patients following four protocols, namely slow rate (n=52), short duration (n=52), low concentration (n=50), and combined method (n=51), in comparison with a conventional group (120 kVp, 400 mg iodine/kg, n=51). The quantitative measurement of aortic attenuation, homogeneity, and subjective scores were evaluated. RESULTS Overall, in the four DLCTA groups, the radiation dose was reduced by 62%, and the iodine dose was reduced by 50%. Among the four DLCTA groups, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) of the thoracic aorta were similar, but a significant difference was noted in the abdominal aorta. The short-duration group had the highest peak enhancement, least homogeneity, and worst subjective scores. Good contrast enhancement and good homogeneity were significantly more frequent in the slow-rate (86.6% and 90.4%, respectively) and low-concentration groups (78% and 96.0%, respectively). Subjective scores exhibited a trend of higher scores in the low-concentration group and lower scores in the slow-rate group (p=0.071). CONCLUSION DLCTA with 70 kVp and 200 mg iodine/kg is feasible for whole-aortic CT angiography. The low-concentration protocol is recommended owing to its most consistent optimal aortic enhancement profile. Alternatively, the slow-rate protocol can be considered for patients with limited venous access.

The receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL)/RANK/osteoprotegerin system is dysregulated in hyperparathyroid bone diseases. The introduction of denosumab preceding elective surgery as an alternative option when surgery is not possible immediately. The effects of denosumab on vascular calcification in patients with chronic renal failure and low bone mass have been a subject of interest. Therefore, this investigation aimed to determine the short-term changes in vascular calcification after denosumab treatment using a serial electrocardiography-gated computed tomography (CT) to measure coronary artery calcification (CAC) in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) and low bone mass. This 6-month study enrolled patients with SHPT and low bone mass (T-score

AIM To test the diagnostic performance of a deep learning-based system for the detection of clinically significant pulmonary nodules/masses on chest radiographs. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using a retrospective study of 100 patients (47 with clinically significant pulmonary nodules/masses and 53 control subjects without pulmonary nodules), two radiologists verified clinically significantly pulmonary nodules/masses according to chest computed tomography (CT) findings. A computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) software using a deep-learning approach was used to detect pulmonary nodules/masses to determine the diagnostic performance in four algorithms (heat map, abnormal probability, nodule probability, and mass probability). RESULTS A total of 100 cases were included in the analysis. Among the four algorithms, mass algorithm could achieve a 76.6% sensitivity (36/47, 11 false negative) and 88.68% specificity (47/53, six false-positive) in the detection of pulmonary nodules/masses at the optimal probability score cut-off of 0.2884. Compared to the other three algorithms, mass probability algorithm had best predictive ability for pulmonary nodule/mass detection at the optimal probability score cut-off of 0.2884 (AUCMass: 0.916 versus AUCHeat map: 0.682, p CONCLUSION In conclusion, the deep-learning based computer-aided diagnosis system will likely play a vital role in the early detection and diagnosis of pulmonary nodules/masses on chest radiographs. In future applications, these algorithms could support triage workflow via double reading to improve sensitivity and specificity during the diagnostic process.

A simple hydrothermal process combined with carbon coating is attempted to prepare nano particle LiFePO4 cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. A carbon coating process with glucose is used to make LiFePO4/C composites. The structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and constant current charge/discharge. The X-ray diffraction pattern indicates that the pure phase LiFePO4 material could be prepared at different reaction temperatures, and the pure phase LiFePO4 material could not be prepared with the reaction time of 6 h. SEM test shows that the dispersion of LiFePO4 particles become better with the increase of reaction temperatures and the morphology is more regular with the increase of reaction temperature. But when the reaction temperature increases to 200 °C, LiFePO4 particles reaggregate severely. As the reaction time increases, the particles of the sample gradually grow. The electrochemical performance indicates that the sample synthesized at 180 °C for 10 h has the highest specific capacity of 139.5 mAh·g−1 at 0.1 C. This study shows that proposed process can be a potential promising way to prepare high performance LiFePO4 cathode materials.

Phenolic compounds enter soil as a result of root exudation and plant residue decomposition, but their impacts on soil microbial communities are poorly understood. In this experiment, effects of syringic acid on cucumber rhizosphere microbial communities were evaluated. Rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community structures and abundances were analyzed with PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative PCR, respectively. Results showed that syringic acid inhibited cucumber seedling growth at concentrations of 0.05 to 0.2 μmol/g soil, and increased rhizosphere soil dehydrogenase activity, microbial biomass carbon content, bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal ITS rRNA gene densities, and decreased the bacteria-to-fungi ratio at concentrations of 0.02 to 0.2 μmol/g soil. Syringic acid also changed rhizosphere bacterial and fungal community structures: it decreased the richness, evenness, and diversity indices of rhizosphere bacterial community but had no significant influences on that of fungal community, indicating that syringic acid had different influence on bacterial and fungal communities. Taken together, these results showed that syringic acid inhibited cucumber growth and altered rhizosphere microbial communities, suggesting that syringic acid plays some role in the communication between plants and soil microorganisms.

To investigate the clinical efficacy of radiofrequency ablation(RFA)combined with (125)I seed in patients with multiple nodular hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).The clinical data of 47 patients with multiple nodular HCC confirmed clinically or pathologically in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between January 2009 and September 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups depending on treatment: RFA group(n=29); RFA combined with (125)I seed group(n=18). Survival time was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier analysis. The survival curve was compared by Log-rank test.The clinical data and tumor situation of patients between two groups did not show significant differences. The follow-up time ranged from 2 to 55 months. At the end of the study, the median progression-free survival of two groups were 18 months and 11 months, and the differences were statistically significant(P=0.036). The overall survival rates in RFA combined with (125)I seed group at 1, 2, and 3 years (94.4%, 78.0%, 66.8%, respectively) were higher than those in RFA group (88.5%, 68.6%, 57.1%, respectively). However, the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant(P=0.554).For multiple nodular HCC, RFA combined with (125)I seed can prolong progression-free survival, have an advantage in local control rate, and is better than single RFA at short-term curative effect.However, its long-term outcomes should be further explored by a large-sample, multi-center and randomized trial.

Mulching with vegetative residue is an effective soil conservation practice. A better understanding of sediment characteristics associated with various mulch rates would improve the use of this practice for soil conservation. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of straw mulch on runoff, erosion, and the particle-size distribution (PSD) of eroded sediment. Straw mulch rates of 0, 15, 30, 50, 70, and 90% cover were tested using simulated rainfall. The effective PSD of sediment (undispersed) was compared with equivalent measurements of the same samples after dispersion (ultimate PSD) to investigate the detachment and transport mechanisms involved in sediment mobilization. The maximum stream occurred at a different time from the peak sediment concentration during rainstorms under low mulch rates, which indicated the predominance of supply-limited conditions. However, at higher mulch rates the erosion processes were typical of a transport-limited sediment regime. The ratio of the sediment transported as primary clay to the soil matrix clay content was always less than 1, meaning that most of the clay was eroded in the form of aggregates. Transport selectivity was reflected by the silt enrichment, and silt-sized particles were transported mainly as primary particles since their effective-ultimate ratio was close to 1. The enrichment ratios for the sand-sized fractions decreased from 0.98 to 0.38 with increased mulch rates, and effective-ultimate ratios for sand-sized particles were always greater than 1, indicating that most of these particles were predominantly aggregates of finer particles, especially at high mulch rates. The findings reported in this study have important implications for the assessment and modeling of interrill erosion processes.

Summary Sediment size distribution greatly affects sediment transport and deposition. A better understanding of sediment sorting will improve understanding of erosion and sedimentation processes, which in turn will improve erosion modeling. To address this issue, a total of 12 rainfall simulation experiments were conducted in a 1 m by 5 m box with varying steep slopes (10°, 15°, 20° and 25°), and the simulated rainfall lasted for 1 h at a rate of 90 mm h−1. For each simulated event, runoff and sediment were sampled at 3-min intervals, which were performed to study in detail the temporal change in size distribution of the eroded materials. These data were used to interpret the real-time sequence of transport mechanisms acting in response to the simulated rainfall. Total soil loss is the sum of suspended, saltating and contact loads. The proportion of sediment

Orthogonal experiments were conducted to study the effect of each single factor on the desulfurization rate and leaching rate of Mn2+ to obtain improved process parameters. The results showed that the use of pyrolusite flue gas and the process method of by-product MnSO4 can not only effectively remove the sulfur in the gas, thereby controlling environmental pollution, but can also recover sulfur.

We analyzed the different cold-resistance species Spiraea trichocarpa Nakai and Spiraea bumalda ‘Goldmound’ for low-temperature protein expression, protein types identification, and investigated the cold resistance mechanisms under different levels of low temperature by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry. An average of 668 and 559 protein spots were detected by 2-DE of S. bumalda ‘Goldmound’ and S. trichocarpa Nakai, respectively, under different low-temperature treatments. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy identified 48 proteins, with varying expression, related to metabolism, amino acid synthesis, transportation, stress responses and oxidation–reduction reactions. The results showed that the photosynthesis of S. bumalda ‘Goldmound’ had been affected, enzymes (RuBisCO large and small subunits) involved in the Calvin cycle were up- and down-regulated, and ATP synthase in photophosphorylation was down-regulated. Cytosolic malate dehydrogenase expression weakened in the TCA cycle, while amino acid synthesis strengthened. The activity of four antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [Cu–Zn], L-ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase and peroxidase) was reduced under varying low temperatures. Enzymes (ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase and RuBisCO small chain precursor) involved in the photosynthesis of S. trichocarpa Nakai showed obvious up- and down-regulation under low temperatures. Cold treatment influenced the photosynthesis of S. trichocarpa Nakai and S. bumalda ‘Goldmound’, but the results showed significant differences between the two species, which were supposed to the fact that low temperature modified the metabolic mechanisms and led to the weaker cold resistance in S. bumalda ‘Goldmound’ than in S. trichocarpa Nakai.

A 45-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 3-day history of abdominal pain. He reported no nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. On examination, the patient was febrile (38.5°C) and the abdomen was diffusely tender with muscle guarding. Laboratory results showed leukocytosis (36 000 per cubic millimeter). Plain abdominal radiography was unrevealing. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen disclosed mesenteric fatty infiltration in the vicinity …