Objective To investigate the value of spectral CT for the discrimination of benign and malignant lung lesions through multi-parameter quantitative measurement.Methods Eighty-one patients who had lung nodule or mass on X-ray or plain CT were scanned using spectral CT,generating iodine concentration,water concentration and 101 sets of monochromatic images.Iodine concentration,water concentration,spectrum energy curve and CT value at 40 keV were measured with spectral post-processing software.70 eligible patients were divided into pneumonia group and tumor group.ANOVA analysis was used for the statistic analysis in two groups.Results The iodine concentration in pneumonia group and tumor group were (1.47 ± 0.17) and (0.77 ± 0.19) g/L (F =203.97,P ＜ 0.05).The slope rates of spectrum energy curve in pneumonia group and tumor group were 1.65 ± 0.27 and 0.88 ± 0.22 (F =161.59,P ＜0.05).The CT values at 40 keV in pneumonia group and tumor group were (139.00 ± 16.25) and (83.29 ± 17.44) HU (F =160.45,P ＜ 0.05),there were significant differences in iodine concentration,slope rates and CT values at 40 keV between two groups.The water concentration in pneumonia group and tumor group were (1021.56 ± 11.68) and (1022.62 ±8.56) g/L (F=0.19,P＞0.05),there was no significant difference.Conclusion Spectral CT technique has very important value for the discrimination of benign and malignant lung lesions.

Objective To observe the effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) of different intensities on the biomechanical properties of the femur in ovariectomized rats so as to determine the intensity for the best therapeutic efficacy. Methods Fifty female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into (1) a sham-operated control group (no PEMF treatment) , (2) ovariectomized control group (no PEMF treatment) (3) ovariectomized group Ⅰ (PEMF treatment at 8 Hz and 0.77 mT intensity, 40 min daily for 30 days) (4) ovariectomized group Ⅱ (PEMF treatment at 8 Hz and 3.82 mT intensity, 40 min daily for 30 days) and (5) ovariectomized group Ⅲ( PEMF treatment at 8 Hz and 9.87 mT intensity, 40 min daily for 30 days). Except for the 10 rats of the sham-operated control group, all the others received a standard ovariectomy. Serum estradiol (E2) and the biomechanical properties of one femur (peak load, maximum displacement, maximum energy absorption, maximum stress, maximum strain and modulus of elasticity) were assessed after 30 days of PEMF treatment. Results In group Ⅱ the biomechanical properties of the femur were significantly better than in group Ⅰ or the ovariectomized control group. In groups Ⅰ and Ⅲ the biomechanical properties of the femur were not significantly better than in the sham-operated group. In group Ⅱ the biomechanical properties of the femur were significantly better than in groups Ⅰ or Ⅲ. Conclusion PEMFs at 3.82 mT can improve the biomechanical properties of the femur significantly.

Objective To evaluate the image quality of hand tendons by using spectral CT,compared with conventional CT ima-ges.Methods Forty patients scanned with spectral CT were enrolled.The 65keV of optimal contrast-to-noise ratio (Optimal CNR) for viewing hand tendons was selected.The image quality of monochromatic GSI images (65 keV)and conventional CT images were compared with two different methods including subjective method and objective method by two radiologists respectively.Results In subjective method,the image quality in GSI images was superior to conventional CT images (P <0.05).And in objective method, the beam-hardening artifacts in the phalanges of fingers space were reduced markedly with hand tendons displaying more clearly in GSI images (P <0.05 ).There was no significant difference between the two radiologists in both methods with good correlation (Kappa=0.75,Kappa=0.85).Conclusion Spectral CT with the optimal 65keV monochromatic images could reduce the artifacts and increase image quality significantly in hand tendons imaging.It might be a very useful supplementary imaging method in detec-ting tendon diseases in routine work.

Results showed that its action was satisfactory.Theclinical effects of all three kinds of disease were betterthan that of the control group,especially on the im-provement of deficiency of blood and Qi(P

Objective To evaluate the value of spectral CT imaging for the differential diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SQCC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) of the esophagogastric junction. Methods Forty-five patients with a mass in the esophagogastric junction proved by pathology underwent enhanced scan with spectral CT, including 20 cases of SQCC and 25 cases of ADC. Iodine concentration (IC) , water concentration (WC) , effective atomic number (Eff-Z) and spectral curve slope (λHU) of arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) in the ROI of the mass were measured with gemstone spectral imaging post-processing software. The independent samples t test was used to compare the quantitative parameters above between two groups on the premise of satisfying normal distribution. ROC curves were drawn for the parameters which showed statistical differences and area under the curve (AUC) was used to measure and compare their respective differential diagnostic performance as well as the best threshold value. Results In AP,the average IC, Eff-Z, andλHU of ADC were (1.75±0.40) mg/ml, 8.65±0.22, and 3.33±0.74, respectively. The corresponding parameters of SQCC were (1.40 ± 0.35) mg/ml, 8.50 ± 0.20, and 2.71 ± 0.66, respectively. These parameters of ADC were significantly higher than that of SQCC (t=-2.833,-2.879,-2.678;P<0.05) . In VP, the average IC, Eff-Z, and λHU of ADC were (2.17 ± 0.23) mg/ml, 8.87 ± 0.11, and 4.10 ± 0.44, respectively. The corresponding parameters of SQCC were (1.67 ± 0.20) mg/ml, 8.60 ± 0.11, and 3.19 ± 0.41, respectively. The difference between ADC and SQCC was statistically significant (t=-6.963,-7.218,-6.521;P<0.05). For the average WC, No difference between the two groups in AP and VP was found. ROC curve analysis showed that IC, Eff-Z, andλHU in VP had better differential diagnostic performances than IC, Eff-Z, and λHU in AP, especially Eff-Z in VP. The AUC for it was 0.97. Using 8.72 as a threshold value, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis were 88.9% and 94.7% , respectively. Conclusion Multi-parameters quantitative analysis with spectral CT could be useful in the differential diagnosis of SQCC and ADC of the esophagogastric junction.

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between NB4 cell apoptosis induced by tanshinone IIA (TanIIA) and the cell mitochondrial transmembrane potential (DeltaPsim).

METHODSNB4 cells were treated with TanIIA, As(2)O(3), TanIIA plus 1.0 micro g/ml CsA and As(2)O(3) plus 1.0 micro g/ml CsA, respectively. Morphological changes were observed under light microscope and transmission electron microscope. The percentages of sub-G(1) cells and DeltaPsim of cells doublely stained with PI and Rh123 were assayed by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe percentages of sub-G(1) cells after treatment with 1.0 micro g/ml and 2.0 micro g/ml TanIIA had no significant difference but was higher than that of 0.5 micro g/ml. After treatment with TanIIA, NB4 cells appeared the classical apoptotic morphology. The percentages of sub-G(1) cells were increased, while the DeltaPsim reduced (P < 0.01) and there was a linear correlation between them. The increment of sub-G(1) cell percentages and decrement of DeltaPsim induced by TanIIA were partly inhibited by CsA (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSTanIIA can induce NB4 cells apoptosis through opening the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and reducing DeltaPSgr;m, and this effect could be inhibited by CsA.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; DNA ; metabolism ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; Humans ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Mitochondria ; drug effects ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Previous case-control studies have shown various degrees of inverse correlation between osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between osteophytes at the cervical , lumbar vertebrae and knee, and the bone mineral density (BMD) of lumbar spine. We analyzed the data on 4091 female patients (aged 13 to 92 years). Osteophyte was defined by X ray examination. BMD of the lumbar spine (LS) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar DPX). The association of osteophytes with BMD and osteophytes at different sites and different degrees were assessed by covariance analysis. Adjustments were made for age and body mass index. The relationship between osteophytes and BMD was analyzed by Binary Logistic Regression. BMD at each site was greater in the female with osteophytes (L4 BMD: P < 0.01, Mean BMD: P < 0.05); the relationship between osteophytes and osteoporosis and that between duration of osteophytes and osteoporosis were inversely correlated (P < 0.01). It confirms the existence of an inverse relationship between osteophytes and OP while a positive relationship is between age, body mass index and osteoporosis.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bone Density ; Female ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; metabolism ; pathology ; Middle Aged ; Osteophyte ; metabolism ; Osteoporosis ; metabolism ; Young Adult