Objective To compare MRI wi th CT discography (CTD) for diagnostic assessment of lumbar disc disruption. Methods Paired comparative examination in 16 patients with ch ronic lower back pain without radicular pain and no disc herniation was conducte d using CT or MRI. The standard of CTD classification and positive disc was for mulated and the correlation between the induced lower back pain and dosage used in CTD was observed. Results For a total of 21 discs in the 16 patients, CTD showed the disc as type 2 in 12 discs and type 5 in 1 disc with 13 positive discs, while MRI only showed the high-intensity zone of poster ior annulus in 6 discs as the indirect sign of disc disruption and disc degenera tion in 7 discs. Conclusion CTD was the only method for showing the direct sign of disc disruption. The induced lower back pain was rel ated with the type of disc disruption. MRI can show some of the indirect signs of disc disruption and CTD can show the direct sign of disc disruption.

Objective To assess the perioperative change in Quality of Life(QoL)in patients who underwent CABG surgery. Methods The Chinese version of the SF-36 and SAQ were sent to participants at baseline and three and six months after CABG sur- gery.Results Angina stability score,one of the five SAQ domains,was lowest and postoperative SAQ domains scores were with sig- nificant improvement from baseline.Many of the dimensions of the SF-36 in postoperative patients were better than baseline.The SF- 36 was also used to evaluate in groups ONCAB and OPCAB,but no difference of the SF-36 subscale scores between the two groups was observed.Conclusion SAQ domains scores were significantly improved in three months and increased further in six months.Many of the dimensions of the SF-36 in postoperative patients were improved than baseline.No difference of the SF-36 subscale scores between the groups of ONCAB and OPCAB was observed postoperatively.

Objective To investigate the sexual dimorphism in the size and shape of the mandible using geometric morphometric techniques which are based on marker points,to provide a further exploration of morphological characteristics of the mandible,new ideas and theoretical foundation to support sex difference.Methods The craniofacial thin-layer CT images of 164 northern Han Chinese adults(80 males and 84 females)were used in the study,and three-dimensional coordinates of 18 landmarks were acquired.Sex differences in mandibular size and shape were assessed using the generalized procrustes superimposition,principal component analysis,and regression analysis.Results Allometric analysis showed a statistically significant effect of mandible size on shape(P<0.001),the significance of the sex differences were found in size and shape,with male mandibles larger than female mandibles,PCA plots showed considerable overlap of the male and female mandible along the extracted PCs,and logistic regression showed that the overall sex inference accuracy was 67.1%to 89.6%.Conclusion Male and female mandibles differ more in size than in shape,and when shape and size information are combined in the analysis,the accuracy of sex classification is improved to a greater extent.