To identify the characteristic diagnostic features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) in Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) patients using dynamic gadolinium ...ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Thirty-one FALD patients (mean age, 28.3 ± 7.2 years) with liver nodules who underwent dynamic Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI were enrolled prospectively. Twenty-five patients (mean age, 72.8 ± 11.4 years) with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC constituted the control group. The tumour-to-liver signal intensity (SI) ratio was measured at 30, 60, 100, 180 seconds and 15 minutes, and the SI ratio was compared among FALD-HCC, FALD-FNH, and HCV-HCC.
FALD-HCC exhibited weak early enhancement with mild washout in late phases. FALD-FNH exhibited marked early enhancement that continued until the late phases. The SI ratio was significantly lower for FALD-HCC than for FALD-FNH in all phases. The SI ratio was significantly lower for FALD-HCC than for HCV-HCC only at 30 seconds (p<0.05), whereas poorer washout was seen in FALD-HCC than HCV-HCC in other phases. In 15 minutes, FALD-HCC had a significantly lower SI ratio compared to FALD-FNH (p<0.001).
The time course of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI signal intensity in FALD-HCC was different from that in FALD-FNH or HCV-HCC. This imaging finding may be useful adjunctive information to distinguish FALD-HCC from FALD-FNH.
•FALD-HCC exhibited weak early enhancement on EOB-MRI.•FALD-HCC showed mild washout in delayed phases.•FALD-FNH exhibited marked early enhancement.•Time course of EOB-MRI signal intensity was different in FALD-HCC.
Synopsis A new development aiming experimental studies of isomer-selected gas-phase reactions and photoexcitation processes is being conducted. The experiment is based on isomer separation by an ion ...mobility spectrometry and ion accumulation in a temperature-variable radiofrequency ion trap. The laser plasma light source at Rikkyo University is currently under an upgrade for providing ultraviolet light at the wavelength region from 90 to 200 nm. We report on the details of the experimental setup and current status of the development.
Summary
Objective: Plasma triglyceride (TG) levels were reported to be high in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) treatment. One of the atherogenic causes of ...hypertriglyceridemia is the increase in TG‐rich lipoprotein remnants, which are equivalent to remnant‐like particle cholesterol (RLP‐C). Here, we compared the plasma levels of TG, a representative indicator of TG‐rich lipoproteins and RLP‐C, as well as the TG/RLP‐C ratio between CKD patients undergoing HD and controls, in an effort to elucidate the atherogenicity of TG‐rich lipoproteins in CKD patients on HD.
Materials and methods: Plasma lipid and apo(lipo)protein levels and the TG/RLP‐C ratio were compared between 49 CKD patients undergoing HD and 627 controls. Blood sampling for lipid and apoprotein analysis was performed in a 12‐h fasting state. Controls were divided into four subgroups according to TG level (from highest to lowest). RLP‐C and apo(lipo)proteins were measured using the immunoprecipitation method and turbidimetric immunoassay, respectively. In addition, a comparison between HD patients and age‐, gender‐, and plasma TG level‐matched controls was performed.
Results: Plasma TG levels were 107 ± 70 (mean ± SD) mg/dl in HD patients and 115 ± 72 mg/dl in controls. Plasma RLP‐C levels were 6.7 ± 4.5 mg/dl in HD patients and 4.6 ± 3.5 mg/dl in the controls (p < 0.0001). RLP‐C levels decreased in descending order from the highest to the lowest TG group in controls. RLP‐C levels were higher in HD patients than in controls with plasma TG levels of < 150 mg/dl (p < 0.0001). TG/RLP‐C ratios were 19.0 ± 12.0 in HD patients and 25.9 ± 9.5 in controls (p < 0.0001). This ratio was significantly lower in HD patients than in all four TG subgroups. The comparison between HD patients and age‐, gender‐, plasma TG‐matched controls revealed identical results.
Conclusion: Plasma RLP‐C levels were high, and the TG/RLP‐C ratio was low in CKD patients undergoing HD treatment. These findings indicate that total plasma TG‐rich lipoprotein levels were not increased, but the distribution of plasma TG‐rich lipoproteins were skewed towards remnant fractions in CKD patients undergoing HD treatment; these plasma TG‐rich lipoproteins appear to be more atherogenic than those in controls.
We report on instrumentation-related challenges of applying graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GF-AAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We show that a ...significant amount of polyatomic species derived from silicon sample solution in the plasma, such as SiO, SiOH, SiOH
2·SiOH
3, SiO
2, SiO
2H, SiO
2H
2 and SiO
2H
3, can hamper the detection limits of many elements of interest. This paper describes a method for eliminating these polyatomic ions. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of vapor phase decomposition method (VPD), drop etching method (DE) and drop sandwich-etching method (DSE) for the recovery of metal impurities from a silicon wafer surface. We report the application of the DSE method for the evaluation of near-surface metal impurities, used for gettering studies. We describe the direct acid bulk decomposition (DABD) and the room temperature acid vapor phase decomposition method (RT-AVPD) for the determination of metal impurities in bulk silicon. Finally, we report concentration of trace metal contamination in several chemical reagent solutions.
Patients with Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve (EA) are at risk of tachyarrhythmia, congestive heart failure and sudden cardiac death. We sought to determine the value of cardiovascular ...magnetic resonance (CMR) for predicting these outcomes.
Seventy-nine consecutive adult patients (aged 37±15 years) with unrepaired EA underwent CMR and were followed prospectively for a median 3.4 (range 0.4-10.9) years for clinical outcomes, namely major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs: sustained ventricular tachycardia/heart failure hospital admission/cardiac transplantation/death) and first-onset atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT).
CMR-derived variables associated with MACE (n=6) were right ventricular (RV) or left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) (HR 2.06, 95% CI 1.168 to 3.623, p=0.012 and HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.348 to 4.082, p=0.003, respectively), LV stroke volume index (HR 2.82, 95% CI 1.212 to 7.092, p=0.028) and cardiac index (HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.002 to 1.366, p=0.037); all remained significant when tested solely for mortality. History of AT (HR 11.16, 95% CI 1.30 to 95.81, p=0.028) and New York Heart Association class >2 (HR 7.66, 95% CI 1.54 to 38.20, p=0.013) were also associated with MACE; AT preceded all but one MACE, suggesting its potential role as an early marker of adverse outcome (p=0.011).CMR variables associated with first-onset AT (n=17; 21.5%) included RVEF (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.103 to 2.160, p=0.011), total R/L volume index (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.32, p=0.002), RV/LV end diastolic volume ratio (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.14 to 2.10, p=0.005) and apical septal leaflet displacement/total LV septal length (HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.07, p=0.041); the latter two combined enhanced risk prediction (HR 6.12, 95% CI 1.67 to 22.56, p=0.007).
CMR-derived indices carry prognostic information regarding MACE and first-onset AT among adults with unrepaired EA. CMR may be included in the periodic surveillance of these patients.
Temperature of heat transfer fluid flowing in latent heat storage medium could be kept near the melting temperature due to the latent heat. Therefore, latent heat storage technology has possibility ...to be used to reduce thermal load change of heat utilization system connected to HTGR (High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor), which can improve reliability of the system including the reactor. This paper treated heat transfer characteristics of heat storage annular pipe as a simulation of heat exchanger pipe. Time dependent wall and gas temperatures and radial position of liquid solid boundary were studied by numerical and approximate analysis with thermal conductivity of phase change material (PCM) as a parameter. The analytical results were applied to estimate the possibility of the latent heat storage technique to reduce thermal load change for two heat utilization systems with 10MW connected to HTGR. When temperature difference of 100K from normal operation temperature occurred, a thermal load absorber with volume of about 15m3 can reduce 100K within 5K for three hours, which would be sufficient for operators to recognize the accident and to treat adequately. Therefore, latent heat storage technology has possibility for the application to thermal load absorber.
We measured the yield of Auger electrons emitted through Coster–Kronig transitions from Rydberg states 1s2p(3P)nl (n=7,8) and 1s22p(2P)nl (n=5,6,7) of emergent atomic ions Cq+ under irradiation of ...3.5-MeV/atom C+ and C2+ ions on thin C foil targets. The Auger electron yields are suppressed for C2+ irradiation compared with C+ irradiation and the relative yield becomes larger as n increases. Thus, amount of scattered electrons having lower relative energy in the projectile rest frame becomes larger. The results obtained in this study support the influence of projectile velocity on the cluster effect of secondary electron yields.
PDF
