Intrinsic ligament and triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears of the wrist: comparison of isovolumetric 3D-THRIVE sequence MR arthrography and conventional MR image at 3 T

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to validate the diagnostic performance of high-resolution isovolumetric magnetic resonance arthrography (MRA) for intrinsic ligament and triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears of the wrist as compared to conventional MR imaging (MRI).

Materials and methods

Forty-eight patients with traumatic TFCC tears at arthroscopy were enrolled. All patients had underwent proton-density- and T2-weighted MRI before arthrography and three-dimensional T1 high-resolution isovolumetric examination (3D-THRIVE) MRA on a 3-T MR. We assessed the presence of scapholunate interosseous ligament (SLIL)/lunotriquetral interosseous ligament (LTIL) or TFCC tears using the arthroscopy as a gold standard.

Results

Arthroscopy revealed 37 TFCC central tears, 15 TFCC peripheral tears, 20 SLIL tears and 13 LTIL tears. Sensitivities of MRI and MRA were 70.3% and 94.6% for detection of TFCC central tears, 60.0% and 93.3% for detection of TFCC peripheral tears, 65.0% and 85.0% for SLIL tears, and 61.5% and 84.6% for LTIL tears. The specificity of the MRI was 100% for the detection of ligaments and TFCC tears. The specificities of the MRA for detection of TFCC central tears, TFCC peripheral tears, SLIL tears and LTIL tears were 100%, 97%, 96.4% and 100%, respectively.

Conclusion

Isovolumetric 3D-THRIVE wrist MRA provided better results for depiction of intrinsic ligament and TFCC tears than wrist MRI.     

Gd complexes of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugates of low-molecular-weight chitosan oligosaccharide as a new liver-specific MRI contrast agent

This study was to describe the synthesis of complexes of gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid conjugates of low-molecular-weight chitosan oligosaccharide Gd-DTPA-CSn (n = 6, 8, 11) as a new class of contrast agent as well as its magnetic property in a pilot magnetic resonance imaging. The efficacy of the contrast agent was assessed by measuring the longitudinal relaxivity (r₁), FLASH imaging in phantoms in vitro and signal intensity in vivo of the rat abdominal axial imaging. The r₁ of Gd-DTPA-CS₁₁ was up to 11.65 mM^− 1·s^− 1, which was 3 times higher than that of the analogous MRI contrast agent Gd-DTPA in commercial use. In vivo MR images of rat obtained with Gd-DTPA-CS₁₁ showed strong signal enhancement in liver and the vessels of the liver parenchyma during the extended period of time. The present study suggests that the new synthesized gadolinium complexes can be used as a new class of practical liver-specific MRI contrast agent because of its superior performance compared with Gd-DTPA.     

Semipolar (11\bar 2\bar 2) ZnO thin films grown on LaAlO3‐buffered LSAT (112) single crystals by pulsed laser deposition

Semipolar (11\bar 2 \bar 2) ZnO was successfully grown on (112) LaAlO₃/(LaAlO₃)_0.29(Sr₂AlTaO₆)_0.35 substrate by pulsed laser deposition. The epitaxial relationship is [11\bar 23]_{\rm ZnO} // [11\bar 1]_{\rm LAO/LSAT} with the polar axis of [000\bar 1]_{\rm ZnO} pointing to the surface. For ZnO films with thickness of 1.6 μm, the threading dislocation density is ～1 × 10⁹ cm^–2, and the density of basal stacking faults is below 1 × 10⁴ cm^–1. The (11\bar 2 \bar 2) ZnO exhibits strong D⁰X emissions with a FWHM of 9 meV and very few green–yellow emissions in the low‐temperature (10 K) and room‐temperature photoluminescence spectra, respectively.

     

Preparation and Characterization of Electroactive Anion‐Exchange Acrylic Polymer–Gold Composites

The characteristics and performance of an ionic polymer–metal composite (IPMC), prepared with an anion‐exchange acrylic copolymer, was examined. The acrylic copolymer was synthesized by the radical copolymerization of fluoroalkyl methacrylate and 2‐(dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate(AMA). Effects of the AMA repeating unit's content in the copolymer and effects of the anion type present on the actuation of the IPMC were observed. The optimal content of 19.4 wt% AMA in the IPMC copolymer yielded the best actuation. The actuation also improved according to the type of anion present in the composite, in the following order: Br^???4 ^?.     

Precursor Based on Polyborylborazine for BN Fiber: Preparation and Rheology Properties

A polyborylborazine precursor for hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was obtained by reaction of boron trichloride with methylamine and its structure was characterized by ¹¹BNMR, ¹³CNMR, ¹HNMR, and FTIR. The results show that the molecular precursor consists of borazine rings connected via a cross-linked network. The results of shear rheological tests indicated that the polymer is capable of being melt spun at moderate temperature, which implies that the structure of the molecular chains of the precursor polymer is branched. The precursor polymer was spun into a continuous polymer fiber in the melt state and then subsequently heat-treated under NH₃ up to 1000°C for conversion into BN fibers. Its surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); the fiber was free of defects and cavities.     

Simultaneously Enhancing Mechanical Properties and Melt Flow Ability of Polyamide 6 by Blending with a Hyperbranched Polymer

A series of polyamide 6/hyperbranched polymers (PA6/HBP) blends with different HBP contents was prepared by melt processing using a twin-screw extruder. The HBP was synthesized on the basis of pentaerythritol and dimethyl terephthalate according to a one-step method. The melt flow behavior, crystallization behavior, morphology, and mechanical properties of the PA6/HBP blends were investigated. The results showed that the melt flow index of the blends was greatly improved by a small amount of HBP. The yield strength, tensile modulus, Izod impact strength, and flexural strength of samples were simultaneously enhanced from 54.6 MPa, 0.5 GPa, 3.8 kJ/m², 56.9 MPa for pure PA6 to 61.1 MPa, 0.7 GPa, 5.3 kJ/m², 67.1 MPa for PA6 blends with 2.0 wt% HBP, respectively. The PA6/HBP blends showed the higher content of α-form crystal and a higher degree of crystallinity than those of pure PA6.     

Vibrational Spectroscopic Investigation and Theoretical Calculations of (E)-3-Phenyl-N-[4-(Phenyl-Amino) Quinazoline-7-yl] Acrylamide

ABSTRACT

Optimized geometrical structure and harmonic vibration frequencies of prior synthesized (E)-3-phenyl-N-[4-(phenyl-amino) quinazoline-7-yl] acrylamide were computed by ab initio HF and DFT/B3LYP methods using both 6-31G* and 6-311G** basis sets and the Moller–Plesset second-order perturbation (MP2) method merely at the 6-31G* level. The infrared (IR) spectrum of the title compound has been measured in the range of 400–4000 cm^?1. Complete vibrational assignments of the IR spectra were proposed. Moreover, the calculated wavenumbers of the title compound were compared with the experimental data. The correlation analyses indicate that good linearity relationships exist between the scaled theoretical vibration frequencies and the experimental values. Additionally, the atoms in molecules (AIM) method was applied to explore the possible intramolecular interactions in the title compound.     

Modified Spectral Neugebauer Model for Printer Characterization

Spectral Neugebauer model is widely used for spectral reflectance prediction during printer characterization. However, several factors reduce the predication precision. Thus, an improved cellular Yule-Nielson spectral Neugebauer (CYNSN) model is proposed, which modifies the traditional spectral Neugebauer model in three main aspects: (1) First, in order to adjust the nonlinearities between the predicated and measured spectral reflectance, an iteratively calculated Yule-Nielson exponent is added to the reflectance values within the Neugebauer equations. (2) Second, the quantity of Neugebauer primaries is increased by dividing the CMY colorant space into 4³ uniform cellular subdomains. (3) Third, the mapping functions are developed to map the area coverages' theoretical values to their effective values within the subdomains, and the mapped values highly improve the matching degree of the predicated and measured reflectance values. In the experiment, four related spectral Neugebauer models are employed during printer characterization, which are the traditional spectral Neugebauer model, Yule-Nielson spectral Neugebauer (YNSN) model, traditional CYNSN model, and the modified CYNSN model, respectively. And the experimental results show the modified CYNSN model yields a significant improvement over the other spectral Neugebauer models, by comparing the characterization errors in the form of colorimetry and spectroscopy.     

A Modified Technique for the Preparation of SO2 from Sulphates and Sulphides for Sulphur Isotope Analyses

Abstract

A modified technique for the conversion of sulphates and sulphides to SO₂ with the mixture of V₂O₅—SiO₂ for sulphur isotopic analyses is described. This technique is more suitable for routine analysis of large number of samples. Modification of the reaction vessel and using manifold inlet system allows to analyse up to 24 samples every day. The modified technique assures the complete yield of SO₂, consistent oxygen isotope composition of the SO₂ gas and reproducibility of δ³⁴S measurements being within 0.10‰. It is observed, however, oxygen in SO₂ produced from sulphides differs in δ¹⁸O with respect to that produced from sulphates.     

Addition of multiwalled carbon nanotube and graphene nanosheet in cobalt oxide film for enhancement of capacitance in electrochemical capacitors

In order to enhance the capacitance of electrochemical capacitors, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanosheets (GNS) were added to cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) paste. The composite film based on Co₃O₄/MWCNT/GNS (95:4:1 wt%) exhibited a capacitance of 294 F/g while the capacitance of Co₃O₄/MWCNT (95:5 wt%) and pure Co₃O₄ film is 205 and 163 F/g, respectively. The enhanced capacitance of Co₃O₄/MWCNT/GNS composite film was attributed to the electrochemical contributions of the Co₃O₄ nanoparticle attached to the GNS as well as their significantly increased specific surface areas by MWCNTs. Furthermore, the composite films showed faradaic redox capacitive behavior to double-layer capacitive behavior due to the different nanostructures of the composites.