Objective To explore the effect of CT slice thickness on the reproducibility of radiomic features in urinary stones.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 30 cases of stones diagnosed by urinary CT.Thin-slice(1 mm)images were reconstructed into two groups of images with thicknesses of 2 mm and 5 mm.Two radiologists conducted manual segmentation independently and then extracted features.The reproducibility of the radiomic features was calculated using the concordance correlation coefficient(CCC).Results Under different slice thickness conditions by the same radiologist,the average CCC of all groups was less than 0.85(P＜0.05).For radiologist A,the proportion of stone features with CCC＜0.85 were 50.13％,79.91％,and 82.38％in the 1 mm vs 2 mm group,2 mm vs 5 mm group,and 1 mm vs 5 mm group,respectively.Corresponding values for radiologist B were 44.55％,79.47％and 82.32％,respectively.Among the seven categories of radiomic features,the morphological features with CCC＜0.85 was 100％in the 1 mm vs 5 mm group.Conclusion CT slice thickness significantly affected the reproducibility of radiomic features in urinary stones,with the greatest effect observed in morphological features.Thin-slice imaging demonstrated more stable reproducibility of stone characteristics.

Objective To observe the value of preoperative CT radiomics models for predicting composition of in vivo urinary calculi.Methods Totally 543 urolithiasis patients were retrospectively enrolled and divided into calcium oxalate monohydrate stone group(group A,n=373),anhydrous uric acid stone group(group B,n=86),carbonate apatite group(group C,n=30),ammonium urate stone group(group D,n=28)and ammonium magnesium phosphate hexahydrate stone group(group E,n=26)according to the composition of calculi,also divided into training set and test set at the ratio of 7:3.Radiomics features were extracted and screened based on plain CT images of urinary system.Five binary task models(model A-E corresponding to group A-E)and a quinary task model were constructed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm for predicting the composition of calculi in vivo.Then receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn,and the area under the curves(AUC)were calculated to evaluate the predictive efficacy of binary task models,while the accuracy,precision,recall and F1 score were used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the quinary task model.Results All binary task models had good efficacy for predicting the composition of urinary calculi in vivo,with AUC of 0.860-0.948 in training set and of 0.856-0.933 in test set.The accuracy,precision,recall and F1 score of the quinary task model for predicting the composition of in vivo urinary calculi was 82.25％,83.79％,46.23％and 0.596 in training set,respectively,while was 80.63％,75.26％,43.48％and 0.551 in test set,respectively.Conclusion Binary task radiomics models based on preoperative plain CT had good efficacy for predicting the composition of in vivo urinary calculi,while the quinary task radiomics model had high accuracy but relatively poor stability.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is one of the independent risk factors for youth cerebral infarction. Gene mutation of key enzymes in homocysteine metabolism is the main cause of HHcy. Few cases of cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) compound heterozygous mutation complicated with pulmonary embolism and lower extremity artery embolism have been reported. This article reported a young cerebral infarction patient complicated with pulmonary embolism and lower extremity artery embolism, who was subsequently detected with significantly elevated blood Hcy, and finally etiologically diagnosed with CBS 833 T>C/1082C>T compound heterozygous mutation. With the treatment of folic acid, methyl cobalt amine, vitamin B 6 and anticoagulant, the blood Hcy has been gradually declined, and no new thrombotic events occurred during the follow-up period of a year.

Objective Exploration of the application value of the third-generation dual source CT low tube voltage (70 kVp) scanning combined with advanced modeling iterative reconstruction (ADMIRE) technique in children with adenoid examination. Methods CT scans were performed in patients with clinically suspected adenoid hypertrophy. They were divided into two groups according to the time of treatment. Group A (40 cases) : low tube voltage (70 kVp) scan, reference tube current 163 mAs, reconstruction with ADMIER, Intensity 3; Group B (40 cases) : conventional 100 kVp, reference tube current 163 mAs, conventional (filtered back-projection, FBP) reconstruction;rest of the scanning parameters remained unchanged. The subjective scores and objective quality indicators of the images (CT value, image noise, signal noise ratio (SNR) , contrast noise ratio (CNR)) and radiation dose of the two groups were compared. Results The difference of radiation dose between group A and group B was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The radiation dose of group A was lower than that of group B by 77.58％.Compared with group B, the image noise of group A increased by 0.002％; the SNR decreased by 0.01％; CNR increased by 0.03％; there was no significant difference in objective quality evaluation index and subjective score between two groups in the image quality (P> 0.05). Conclusion The third-generation dual-source CT low-tube voltage (70 kVp) combined with ADMIRE reconstruction technique for children with adenoid scan can effectively reduce the radiation dose while ensuring image quality.

Objective To explore the value of ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash scan mode in the diagnosis of tracheal foreign body in infants.Methods The imaging data of 60 infants with foreign body in trachea confirmed by bronchus endoscopy were analyzed retrospectively. The 60 infants were equally divided into 2 groups according to the scanning time.For group A,the routine scan with the mode of CARE Dose 4D/CARE kV and pitch as 1.9 was performed.For group B,the scan with ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash model was performed.The scanning time,volume CT dose index (CTDIvol)and dose length product (DLP)of each patient were recorded in both groups and statistically analyzed.Results The scanning time,DLP and CTDIvol of group A and group B were statistically significant.CTDIvol and DLP of group B were significantly lower than those of group A (P＜0.05).The diagnostic accuracy of group A and B were 100%(30/30),respectively (P＞0.05).The foreign body display of group A and B were 100% (30/30),respectively (P＞0.05).Conclusion Ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash can be used to detect tracheal foreign body in infants.It can significantly reduce radiation dose,shorten examination time and obtain satisfactory image quality.

Objectives: To investigate the expression of phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 (PSAT1) in pancreatic cancer tissues, and its potential role in pancreatic cancer. Methods: The expression of PSAT1 in 98 human pancreatic cancer tissues, which were collected from the People＇s Hospital of Guizhou, between July 2013 to July 2017, and the corresponding adjacent normal tissues was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining. Additionally, the relationship between the expression of PSAT1 and the clinicopathological parame-ters, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with pancreatic cancer was evaluated. The human pancreatic can-cer cell lines, BxPC-3 and SW1990, were transfected with PSAT1-siRNA, to investigate the effect of PSAT1 knockdown on cell prolifera-tion, migration, and invasion. Additionally, we performed Western blot to assess the expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR-related proteins in PSAT1-knockdown cells. Results: The percentages of PSAT1-positive cells in pancreatic cancer and adjacent non-tumor tissues were 69.4% (68/98) and 5.0% (5/98), respectively, indicating a significantly higher expression of PSAT1 in pancreatic cancer tissues com-pared to adjacent non-tumor tissues (P<0.05). The increased expression of PSAT1 in pancreatic cancer tissues correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. Kaplan-Meier analysis suggested that a high expression of PSAT1 correlated with a poor OS and DFS compared to a low expression of PSAT1 (P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that the expression of PSAT1 is an independent prog-nostic marker for OS and DFS in pancreatic cancer patients (P<0.05, all). Transient transfection of BxPC-3 and SW1990 cells with PSAT1-siRNA markedly reduced the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of these cells compared to transfection with NC-siRNA (P<0.05). Knockdown of PSAT1 in pancreatic cancer cells also inhibited the expression of p-Akt and p-mTOR (P<0.05). Conclusions: The expression of PSAT1 increases in human pancreatic cancer tissues and cell lines. Additionally, PSAT1 regulates cell proliferation and in-vasion through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of T2 mapping in evaluating the composition of shoulder cartilage,and to quantitatively analyze T2 values of articular cartilage in healthy young volunteers.Methods Oblique coronal T2 mapping imaging with 8 echo was performed in bilateral shoulder of 16 young healthy volunteers.The pseudo-color map was obtained with post-processing.The shoulder joint cartilage was equally divided into the external,central and internal zones,and T2 values were measured quantitatively.T2 values in the external,central and internal zones were analyzed and compared.T2 values of cartilage between male and female volunteers as well as between left and right sides were analyzed.Resuits T2 values in the external,central and internal zones of cartilage were (38.67 ± 2.82)ms,(38.41 ± 2.52)ms and (36.49± 1.80)ms,respectively.The overall difference was statistically significant (F=7.789,P=0.001).T2 values in the external and central zones of cartilage were larger than those in the internal zone (both P＜0.05).T2 values of cartilagehad no significant differences between the left and right sides in the external,central and internal zones (all P＞0.05).There was significant difference of T2 value in the central zone (P＜0.05),while no significant difference of T2 value in the external and internal zones between different genders was found (both P＞0.05).Conclusion T2 mapping imaging can be used to evaluate the composition of shoulder cartilage changes.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of chest examination using ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash in Force CT in preschool children without sedative.Methods A total of 90 preschool children evaluated as nervous or frightened were equally divided into 3 groups according to the scanning time.For group A,the routine scan with the mode of CARE Dose 4D/CARE kV was performed,and the sedative was used.For group B,the scan with ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash model and pitch as 3.0 was performed,and the sedative was used.For group C,the same scan mode as group B was performed but without sedative.The scanning time,radiation dose,image quality and the diagnostic efficiency were compared among 3 groups.Results There were no significant differences of the CT values of the aorta root,spinal posterior muscles and subcutaneous fat,the noise of the aorta root,SNR and CNR among 3 groups (all P＞0.05).Moreover,no significant differences of the subjective score of image quality in pulmonary window and mediastinum window images were found among 3 groups (both P＞0.05).The scanning time and radiation dose indexes (CT dose index volume [CTDIvo1],doselength product [DLP],effective dose [ED]) of group A were significantly higher than those of group B and group C (all P ＜0.05),while there were no significant differences between group B and group C (all P＞0.05).There were no significant differences between the CT diagnosis and clinical diagnosis results in all 3 groups (all P＞0.05).Conclusion It can shorten the scanning time and decrease the radiation dose by using the mode of ultra-large pitch Turbo Flash.And the satisfactory image quality can be obtained without sedative for nervous or frightened preschool children.

Objective To investigate the performance of dual source CT scanning combined with low-tube-voltage iterative reconstruction (SAFIRE) for demonstrating coronary artery calcium plaques. Methods 70 patients with clinically suspected coronary atherosclerosis and with normal BMI received SAFIRE-3 or filtered back projection (FBP) for reconstruction after undergoing CT scans with tube voltage range of 100 kV. The CT images (average CT values, noise, SNR, and CNR) and subjective scores (number of calcium plaque, calcium plaque adjacent artifacts, and image quality) were compared between the two groups. Results The average CT value of the aortic root did not differ significantly between the two procedures for reconstruction (P > 0.05). Ob jective evaluation of the images (noise, SNR, and CNR) between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05 for all comparisons), so was image subjective rating (number of calcium plaque and rate of calcium plaque edge)(P < 0.05 for all comparisons). SAFIRE-3 reconstruction was markedly superior to FBP reconstruc-tion. Conclusions Low kilovoltage combined with reconstruction of SAFIRE-3 can reduce calcium plaque adja-cent artifacts and enhance quality of images , which is better than FBP in displaying the morphology and adjacent conditions of calcified plaque; therefore it is worth popularizing.

Objective Based on the teeth in vitro skull specimen to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of CARE kV CT scan for reducing radiation dose. Methods Of eight fixed and preserved skull teeth were scanned repeatedly in groups of A, B, C. In expose factors of 100 kVp/150 mAs in conventional scanning of group A, open CARE Dose 4D scan of group B and CARE kV scan of group C. We assessed the radiation dose in the group A, B and C, the average CT values of the images, noise, SNR, CNR and subjective ratings. Results Three groups of actual scan tube current, tube voltage and radiation dose were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Compared with group A, the radiation dose in the group B was reduced by about 13.76% and 26.61%reduced in the C group. The average CT values of the images and the noise SNR, CNR and subjective ratings hasd no significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusion CARE kV technology based on the use specimens tooth can reduce the radiation dose, protect image quality, and be consistent to the reports of previous researches.