Evaluation of thalamus echogenicity by ultrasound as a marker of fetal lung maturity

The present study evaluated fetal thalamic echogenicity by ultrasound as a possible marker of fetal lung maturity in comparison with other ultrasound makers. A prospective longitudinal study performed in Al-Elwiya Maternity Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq during the period from April 2010 to March 2011. One hundred and forty two pregnant women (36 to 42 weeks of gestation) who were admitted for elective cesarean section and referred for an obstetric ultrasound scan at the same day of their elective cesarean section were included. Scanning with linear ultrasound with convex transducer frequency of 3.5 MHz was utilized to measure the biparietal diameter and the state of echogenicity was recorded as echogenic or echolucent, in addition to amniotic fluid vernix and the placental changes. The presence of echogenic thalamus as a sign of fetal lung maturity had a specificity of 86.53% which is higher than the three other signs of lung maturity;the positive predictive value was (89.6%) which is also higher than the three other signs, but the sensitivity was 63.33% and negative predictive value was 57.69% which is lower than the presence of vernix in the amniotic fluid, 86.66 and 67.56 respectively. In conclusion, evaluation of echogenic thalamus is beneficial, and can be considered as a new marker of fetal lung maturity;however, further studies are required to strengthen such idea.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in diagnosis of gallbladder adenoma

BACKGROUND：Gallbladder adenoma is a pre-cancerous neoplasm and needs surgical resection.It is difficult to differentiate adenoma from other gallbladder polyps using imaging examinations.The study aimed to illustrate characteristics of contrast-enhanced ultrasound（CEUS）and its diagnostic value in gallbladder adenoma.METHODS： Thirty-seven patients with 39 gallbladder adenoma- toid lesions （maximal diameter _〉10 mm and without metastasis） were enrolled in this study. Lesion appearances in conventional ultrasound and CEUS were documented. The imaging features were compared individuaUy among gallbladder cholesterol polyp, gallbladder adenoma and malignant lesion. RESULTS： Adenoma lesions showed iso-echogenicity in ul- trasound, and an eccentric enhancement pattern, ＂fast-in and synchronous-out＂ contrast enhancement pattern and homo- geneous at peak-time enhancement in CEUS. The homogenic- ity at peak-time enhancement showed the highest diagnostic ability in differentiating gallbladder adenoma from cholesterol polyps. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy and Youden index were 100%, 90.9%, 92.9%, 100%, 95.8% and 0.91, respectively. The characteristic of continuous gallbladder wall shown by CEUS had the highest diagnostic ability in differentiating adenoma from malignant lesion （100%, 86.7%, 86.7%, 100%, 92.9% and 0.87, respectively）. The characteristic of the eccentric enhance- ment pattern had the highest diagnostic ability in differenti- ating adenoma from cholesterol polyp and malignant lesion, with corresponding indices of 69.2%, 88.5%, 75.0%, 85.2%, 82.1% and 0.58, respectively.CONCLUSIONS： CEUS is valuable in differentiating gallbladder adenoma from other gallbladder polyps （〉_10 mm in diameter）. Homogeneous echogenicity on peak-time enhancement, a continuous gallbladder wall, and the eccentric enhancement pattern are important indicators of gallbladder adenoma on CEUS.

Relationship between Dermal Structural Changes on Ultrasonographic Images and Skin Viscoelasticity in Overweight and Obese Japanese Males

It has been reported that overweight Japanese males have poorly organised dermis and their skin may be fragile to external forces because of decreased dermal echogenicity. However, it is unknown whether the changes in the dermal structure actually affect the dermal function. The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between dermal structural parameters and dermal functional parameters in overweight and obese Japanese males. A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted on Japanese male volunteers. Two ultrasound scanners, a 20-MHz Dermascan C® and an 18-MHz MylabTM five® were used to evaluate dermal structure. Echogenicity of the lower dermis and dermal thickness of the participants’ abdomens and thighs were measured. A Cutometer® MPA580 was used to evaluate skin viscoelasticity, skin deformation (R0) and elasticity (R2, R7). The correlation between dermal structural parameters and skin viscoelasticity were validated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient or Spearman’s correlation coefficient by rank test. A total of 79 male volunteers were recruited of which 43 were control subjects with BMI <25 (age, 22 - 63 years), 25 were overweight subjects with BMI ≥ 25 to <30 (age, 23 - 64 years) and the 11 obese subjects had a BMI ≥ 30 (age, 26 - 47 years). There was no correlation between dermal structural parameters and skin viscoelasticity in the abdomens or thighs of all 79 participants. On the other hand, in the 36 overweight and obese participants, thigh dermal echogenicity was significantly and negatively correlated with R0 (r = -0.456, p < 0.01) and dermal thickness in the abdomen was significantly and positively correlated with R0 (r = 0.464, p < 0.01). The dermal functional parameter was significantly correlated with dermal structural parameters in overweight and obese males;in other words, a decrease in dermal function may be caused by structural changes in the dermis during obesity.

超临界CO_2废热回收系统

本文重点介绍了超临界CO2废热回收系统,首先分析了Echogen电力系统的基本工资原理及其应用的优势,然后详细的分析了EPS100系统及其子系统的具体结构成分。