Objective To assess the clinical value of CT in the identification of the etiology of primary aldosteronism(PA).Methods Seventeen cases who underwent both adrenal vein sampling (AVS)and CT examination were retrospectively investigated.By using results of AVS as gold standard.we evaluated CT in the determination of the etiology of(PA).Results Seven cases showed no abnormalities on CT,and six eases exhibited unilateral or bilateral nodules.Enlarged configuration was found bilaterally in 2 cases and unilaterally in one case.and in another case with contralateral nodules.In 15 cases with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia(BAH)pwved by AVS,7 eases had normal CT ima6ng,5 cases showed CT findings consistent with AVS,and 3 cases showed intermediate findings.Conclusion CT imaging is unreliable in the identification of the etiology of PA,especially in the diagnosis of BAH.

Purpose To investigate the features and diagnostic value of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) in eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG).Materials and Methods The clinical and imaging data of 12 EG patients confirmed by gastrointestinal endoscope and pathological biopsy were analyzed retrospectively.The MSCT features were summarized according to the clinical classification,the location and depth of the invasion.Results Seven of twelve EG cases were mucosa type.Among them,CT of five cases with stomach involvement showed thickening and edema of the gastric wall and submucosal pseudopolyp nodules nodular shadow.Two cases with intestinal involvement showed thickening of'feather like'jejunal duplicature and saw-toothed change.Muscle type was rare and only one case in ileocecus.Thickening and stiffness of the bowel wall with intestinal stenosis and mass like change was observed.One case of serous type with coarse serosal surface,straight small vascular thickening,perienteric fiber fat thickening and small amount of ascites.Three cases of mixed type were found single invasion or multiple invasion and jumped-type development of multiple intestinal tract.Feathers of the intestinal wall stratification and multiple ring enhancement suggested that mucosal and submucosal lesions coexist with serosal lesions.Conclusion Each type of EG has its characteristic MSCT manifestation that provides objective imaging diagnosis and typing basis for the clinical diagnosis of the disease when combined with peripheral blood eosinophilia.Clinical treatment can be based on the classification and the range of involvement of EG,which is of great significance for follow-up evaluation.

Objective:This study was based on digital orthodontic diagnosis work flow for indirect bonding transfer tray model design and three-dimensional (3D) printing, and the aim of this paper was to inspect the dimensional accuracyof 3D printed brackets, which is the foundation of the follow up work and hoped that will illuminate the clinical application of the digital orthodontics work flow.Methods: The samples which consisted of 14 cases of patients with malocclusion from Department of Orthodontics Peking University were selected, including 8 cases with tooth extraction and 6 cases without tooth extraction.All the 14 patients were taken intra-oral scan (Trios 3Shape,Denmark)and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT, NewTom 3G volumetric scanner, Aperio Service,Italy)shooting after periodontal treatment.STL data and DICOM data were obtained from intraoral scans and CBCT images.Data segmentation, registration, fusion, automatic tooth arrangement, virtual positioning of orthodontic appliance and conversion the coordinates of malocclusion model were all done with self-programming software.The data of 3D printing model with brackets on it were output finally and printed out with EDEN260V (Objet Geometries, Israel) to make indirect bonding transfer tray.Digital vernier caliper was used to measure the length and width of upper and lower left brackets and buccal tubes on those 3D models after removal of surrounding supporting material by ultrasonic vibration and water-spray.Intra-examiner reliability was assessed by using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), and one-sample T test was used to compare the measurements with the standard dimensional data of the brackets.Results: There were significant differences which range in 0.04-0.17 mm between the 13 items out of the 19 measurement items.Except for the length of the lower left premolars''brackets, mean values of the other items were greater than the test value.Conclusion: Although the measurement results in the width of brackets and the width and length of the buccal tubes obtained experimentally were slightly larger than the test value,this may not reduce the accuracy of indirect bonding procedure in clinic necessarily.Whether the differences which range in 0.04-0.17 mm would actually affect the retention and positioning of brackets needs to be confirmed by further studies.

Objective To improve the CT diagnostic rate of malignant ovarian tumor(MOT).Methods The CT appearences of 42 cases with MOT confirmed by operation and pathology were analyzed retropectively.The CT findings and types,differential diagnosis were emphatically discussed.Results (1)Ovanian tumors were most frequently located in the adnexal and the pouch of Douglas(78.6%);(2)The size of tumors was mostly beyond 5 cm in diameter(95.2%);(3)The most of tumors apperared flower-shaped(71.4%);(4)The tumors were classified as cystic,cyst-solid and solid types,but cyst-solid type was common(61.9%);(5)The solid and solid portion of the mass were enhanced obviously(90.8%);(6)Ascites and invasion of the adjacent organs were common appearences of the metastasis;(7)Arched,small nodelar and nodular calcification in a solid mass or solid portion of mass could be found.Conclusion CT examination is of great value in diagnosis of MOT,which may predict the pathologic characteristics of MOT.

OBJECTIVETo investigate polymorphisms in the gene for lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in Chinese populations with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to inquire into the relationship between these polymorphisms in LPL gene and CHD.

METHODSGenomic DNA was extracted from patients with CHD and normal control subjects using a salting out method. The entire coding region and flanking sequences of all coding exons of the LPL gene were amplified by PCR technique and PCR products were detected by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and sequenced with a dideoxy terminal termination method.

RESULTSA novel polymorphic site, G830A, that is within the fifth exon of the LPL gene was found. The 192 codon CGA was changed into CAA and resulted in the substitution of glutamine for arginine. Between the control and CHD groups, chi-square test showed no significant difference in the frequencies of the A/A genotype and A allele (P > 0.05). However, the frequencies of A/A genotype and A allele (0.653 and 0.786) in CHD patients with high plasma triglyceride/lowed plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol were higher than those (0.415 and 0.642) in CHD patients without hyperlipidemia (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONNo direct association was found between the LPL Arg192-->Gln substitution polymorphism and CHD, but there is a significant positive correlation between the A/A genotype of the LPL gene and CHD associated with high triglyceride/lowed high density lipoprotein cholesterol. This study may provide new data for exploring the molecular mechanism of CHD.

Alleles ; Apolipoproteins ; blood ; Cholesterol, HDL ; blood ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Coronary Disease ; blood ; enzymology ; genetics ; DNA ; chemistry ; genetics ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Gene Frequency ; Humans ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; blood ; genetics ; Lipoprotein Lipase ; genetics ; Lipoproteins ; blood ; Polymorphism, Genetic

Purpose To explore CT and MRI representation of aggressive fibromatosis (AF) with key focus on analyzing its enhancement characteristics and pathological relations in order to improve diagnostic accuracy.Materials and Methods Imaging data of 33 AF patients confirmed by pathology was analyzed retrospectively and compared with postoperative pathological results to explore pathological basis of characteristics imaging.Results Of 33 patients,17 were the type of outside abdomen,four abdominal wall and 12 within abdomen,15 of infiltrative growth and 18 of expansive growth.Eight cases scanned by CT showed balanced and progressive enhancement.One case showed enhancement around the nidus but no obvious enhancement of the center.One case showed envelop enhancement ofnidus edges.23 cases showed unbalanced and progressive enhancement of the nidus,among which nine showed obvious enhancement on the lower density area after enhancement and slight enhancement of higher density area,representing characteristics of density reverse.MRI showed that unbalanced signal of seven nidus,most of which were with longer T1 and T2 signal.Among them,irregular short T2 signal area could be seen in five cases,with obvious enhancement of longer T1 and longer T2 signal area and slight enhancement of short T2 signal area after enhancement.Pathologically,tumor was comprised of spindle fibroblast and collagen fiber of different proportions.Cell dense region corresponds to long T2 signal area with relative lower density,which was obviously enhanced after enhancement.While collagen fiber rich region corresponded to short T2 signal area with relative higher density,which is slightly enhanced after enhancement.Conclusion CT and MRI enhancement method of AF are of certain characteristics,which are helpful for diagnosis before surgery.