Pediatric abdominal masses: diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted MRI

Purpose

To retrospectively identify apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of pediatric abdominal mass lesions, to determine whether measured ADC of the lesions and signal intensity on diffusion-weighted (DW) images allow discrimination between benign and malignant mass lesions.

Materials and Methods

Approval for this retrospective study was obtained from the institutional review board. Children with abdominal mass lesions, who were examined by DW magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in this study. DW MR images were obtained in the axial plane by using a non breath-hold single-shot spin-echo sequence on a 1.5-T MR scanner. ADCs were calculated for each lesion. ADC values were compared with Mann–Whitney U test. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine cut-off values for ADC. The results of visual assessment on b800 images and ADC map images were compared with chi-square test.

Results

Thirty-one abdominal mass lesions (16 benign, 15 malignant) in 26 patients (15 girls, 11 boys, ranging from 2 days to 17 years with 6.9 years mean) underwent MRI. Benign lesions had significantly higher ADC values than malignant ones (P<.001). The mean ADCs of malignant lesions were 0.84±1.7×10⁻³ mm²/s, while the mean ADCs of the benign ones were 2.28±1.00×10⁻³ mm²/s. With respect to cutoff values of ADC: 1.11×10⁻³ mm²/s, sensitivity and negative predictive values were 100%, specificity was 78.6% and positive predictive value was 83.3%. For b800 and ADC map images, there were statistically significant differences on visual assessment. All malignant lesions had variable degrees of high signal intensity whereas eight of the 16 benign ones had low signal intensities on b800 images (P<.001). On ADC map images, all malignant lesions were hypointense and most of the benign ones (n=11, 68.7%) were hyperintense (P<.001).

Conclusion

DW imaging can be used for reliable discrimination of benign and malignant pediatric abdominal mass lesions based on considerable differences in the ADC values and signal intensity changes.     

White matter abnormalities in children and adolescents with temporal lobe epilepsy

Background and Purpose

The widespread propagation of synchronized neuronal firing in seizure disorders may affect cortical and subcortical brain regions. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can noninvasively quantify white matter integrity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the abnormal changes of white matter in children and adolescents with focal temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using DTI.

Materials and Methods

Eight patients with clinically diagnosed TLE and eight age- and sex-matched healthy controls were studied. DTI images were obtained with a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The epileptic foci were localized with magnetoencephalography. Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), parallel (λ_||) and perpendicular (λ_⊥) diffusivities in the genu of the corpus callosum, splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC), external capsule (EC), anterior limbs of the internal capsule (AIC), and the posterior limbs of the internal capsule (PIC) were calculated. The DTI parameters between patients and controls were statistically compared. Correlations of these DTI parameters of each selected structure with age of seizure onset and duration of epilepsy were analysed.

Results

In comparison to controls, both patients' seizure ipsilateral and contralateral had significantly lower FA in the AIC; PIC and SCC and higher MD, λ_|| and λ_⊥ in the EC, AIC, PIC and SCC. The MD, λ_|| and λ_⊥ were significantly correlated with age of seizure onset in the EC and PIC. λ_|| was significantly correlated with the duration of epilepsy in the EC and PIC.

Conclusion

The results of the present study indicate that children and adolescents with TLE had significant abnormalities in the white matter in the hemisphere with seizure foci. Furthermore, these abnormalities may extend to the other brain hemisphere. The age of seizure onset and duration of epilepsy may be important factors in determining the extent of influence of children and adolescents TLE on white matter.     

高功率脉冲非平衡磁控溅射放电特性和参数研究

用线圈电流控制非平衡磁场,用汤森放电击穿形成深度自触发放电,用磁阱捕获放电形成的二次电子和导致漂移电流,形成了高功率非平衡磁控溅射放电。采用偏压为-100V相对磁控靶放置的圆形平面电极收集饱和离子电流;在距离磁控靶14cm的位置由Langmuir探针测量浮置电位;示波器测量磁控靶的脉冲电压、电流、浮置电位和饱和离子电流信号。装置的放电脉冲功率达到0.9MW,脉冲频率最大值为40Hz左右,空间电荷限制条件是控制电子电流和离子电流的主要机制。     

Sub-diffraction-limited far-field imaging in infrared

We investigated a far-field superlens operating at mid-infrared wavelength that allows resolving subwavelength features in the far-field. By utilizing evanescent enhancement provided by surface plasmon excitation of silver nanorods and Moiré effect, we numerically demonstrated that subwavelength information of an object can be converted to propagating information. This information can then be captured by conventional optical components. A simple image reconstruction algorithm can restore the subwavelength object. A sub-diffraction-limited resolution of 2.5 μm at 6-μm wavelength is demonstrated.     

Two-colour HgCdTe infrared detectors operating above 200 K

The performance of dual waveband HgCdTe photodiodes fabricated using metaloorganic chemical vapour deposition operated at high temperatures is presented. The effect of additional separating layer on the quantum efficiency and cross-talk of the photodiodes is analyzed. The photodiodes with cutoff wavelengths up to 6 μm, good R₀A product, and high quantum efficiency at 200 K have been demonstrated. The temperature dependence of the differential resistance is discussed. It is shown that the multilayer heterojunction P-n-N-n-P structure operating in a simultaneous mode has better performance than a structure operating in a sequential mode.     

基于可见-近红外光谱技术预测茶鲜叶全氮含量

为快速无损监测茶树氮素营养及其生长状况,基于可见-近红外光谱技术建立了茶鲜叶全氮含量的预测模型。以茶鲜叶为对象,田间试验使用便携式光谱仪采集叶片漫反射光谱信息,通过不同预处理和统计分析,建立茶鲜叶全氮含量预测的光谱模型。试验共采集111个样品,其中86个样品作校正集,25个样品作预测集。通过一阶导数与滑动平均滤波相结合的预处理方法,用7个主成分建立的偏最小二乘模型最好,其校正集均方根误差(RMSEC)为0.097 3,预测集的相关系数为0.888 1,预测均方根误差(RMSEP)为0.130 4,预测的平均相对误差为4.339%。研究结果表明,利用可见-近红外光谱技术可以很好地预测茶鲜叶全氮含量,对于快速实时监测茶树长势和施肥管理具有重要指导意义。     

Deterministic Secure Quantum Communication with Cluster State and Bell-Basis Measurements

We present a novel protocol for deterministic secure quantum communication by using the lour-qubit cluster state as quantum channel. It is shown that two legitimate users can directly transmit the secret messages based on Bellbasis measurements and classical communication. The present protocol makes use of the ideas of block transmission and decoy particle checking technique. It has a high capacity as each cluster state can carry two 5its of information, and has a high intrinsic efficieney 5ecause almost all the instances except the decoy checking particles （its numSer is negligible） are useful. Furthermore, this protocol is feasible with present-day technique.     

声光调制实验的一种CCD成像改进方法

提出了声光调制实验的一种CCD成像改进的实验方法,即声光调制的入射光和衍射光成像于CCD上,对光斑图像进行编程处理,计算机给出光斑的位置。给出了实验步骤、图像处理算法和实验结果。     

Abdominal apparent diffusion coefficient measurements: effect of diffusion-weighted image quality and usefulness of anisotropic images

This study aimed to assess the effect of diffusion-weighted image (DWI) quality on abdominal apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements and the usefulness of anisotropic images. Twenty-six patients (10 men and 16 women; mean, 58.1 years) who underwent DW imaging and were diagnosed not to have any abdominal diseases were analyzed. Single-shot spin-echo echo-planar DW imaging was performed, and one isotropic and three orthogonal anisotropic images were created. ADCs were calculated for liver (four segments), spleen, pancreas (head, body, tail) and renal parenchyma. Image quality for each organ part was scored visually. We estimated the correlation between ADC and image quality and evaluated the feasibility of using anisotropic images. ADCs and image quality were affected by motion probing gradient directions in the liver and pancreas. A significant inverse correlation was found between ADC and image quality. The r values for isotropic images were −.46, −.48, −.70 and −.28 for the liver, spleen, pancreas and renal parenchyma, respectively. Anisotropic images had the best quality and lowest ADC in at least one organ part in 17 patients. DWIs with the best quality among isotropic and anisotropic images should be used in the liver and pancreas.     

An iterative reconstruction technique for geometric distortion-corrected segmented echo-planar imaging

In this article, we present a modified interleaved segmented echo-planar imaging (SEPI) sequence with a center-out k-space trajectory that is especially designed for susceptibility-weighted imaging applications. We introduce a simple and efficient technique to phase correct the acquired SEPI data in the presence of moderate field inhomogeneities. This phase correction reduces the distortion in the phase-encoding direction without requiring an extra reference scan. With the use of a center-out k-space trajectory and a low-spatial-frequency phase map, phase discontinuities between segments can be eliminated, in principle, iteratively using a fast Fourier transform from the center segment to the outermost segment in k-space. With an extra echo added in front of the echo train, neither phase unwrapping nor an extra reference scan is required to obtain a low-spatial-frequency phase map. The method is shown to remove blurring and reduce geometric distortion caused by phase changes from echo to echo in both phantom and human data. The method is most useful for high-resolution imaging applications and moderate factors of speed improvement.