Calibrating the linearity between grayscale and element content for X-ray KES imaging of alloys

Doped elements in alloys significantly impact their performance.Conventional methods usually sputter the surface material of the sample,or their performance is limited to the surface of alloys owing to their poor penetration ability.The X-ray K-edge subtraction(KES)method exhibits great potential for the nondestructive in situ detection of element contents in alloys.However,the signal of doped elements usually deteriorates because of the strong absorption of the principal component and scattering of crystal grains.This in turn prevents the extensive application of X-ray KES imaging to alloys.In this study,methods were developed to calibrate the linearity between the grayscale of the KES image and element content.The methods were aimed at the sensitive analysis of elements in alloys.Furthermore,experiments with phantoms and alloys demonstrated that,after elaborate calibration,X-ray KES imaging is capable of nondestructive and sensitive analysis of doped elements in alloys.

Extrapontine myelinolysis caused by rapid correction of pituitrin-induced severe hyponatremia: A case report

BACKGROUND Severe hyponatremia is considered a rare complication of pituitrin,which is widely used for the treatment of pulmonary hemorrhage.However,the management of pituitrin-associated hyponatremia can be challenging because a rapid correction of hyponatremia may cause the development of osmotic demyelination syndrome,resulting in life-threatening neurological injuries.CASE SUMMARY A 20-year-old Chinese man with massive hemoptysis developed symptomatic hyponatremia(116 mmol/L)after therapy by a continuous intravenous drip of pituitrin.To normalize his serum sodium,a hypertonic saline infusion was applied for 3 d,and the pituitrin administration was stopped concurrently.Then,an overly rapid increase in serum sodium level(18 mmol/L in 24 h)was detected after treatment.One day later,the patient experienced a sudden onset of generalized tonic-clonic seizures,as well as subsequent dysarthria and dystonia.Magnetic resonance imaging revealed increased signal intensity in the bilateral symmetric basal ganglia on the T2-weighted images,compatible with a diagnosis of extrapontine myelinolysis.The patient received an intravenous administration of high-dose corticosteroids,rehabilitation,and neurotrophic therapy.Finally,his clinical abnormalities were vastly improved,and he was discharged with few residual symptoms.CONCLUSION Physicians should be fully aware that pituitrin can cause profound hyponatremia and its correction must be performed at a controlled rate to prevent the development of osmotic demyelination syndrome.

Case Report:Pure word deafness associated with extrapontine myelinolysis

Extrapontine myelinolysis and pure word deafness are very uncommon disorders.Here,we report a case of a 19-year-old woman who suffered from osmotic demyelination syndrome with coincidence of typical pure word deafness.As a consequence of rapid correction of hyponatremia,the patient demonstrated an initial onset of cortical deafness,and then progressed to generalized auditory agnosia,which eventually developed into confined verbal auditory agnosia(pure word deafness) .Bilateral extrapontine myelinolysis was confirmed using brain magnetic resonance imaging.This case suggests that verbal and nonverbal stimuli may involve separate thalamocortical pathways.