Feasibility study of computed vs measured high b-value(1400 s/mm2) diffusion-weighted MR images of the prostate

AIM: To evaluate the impact of computed b = 1400 s/mm2(C-b1400) vs measured b = 1400 s/mm2(M-b1400) diffusion-weighted images(DWI) on lesion detection rate, image quality and quality of lesion demarcation using a modern 3T-MR system based on a small-field-of-view sequence(sFOV). METHODS: Thirty patients(PSA: 9.5 ± 8.7 ng/mL; 68 ± 12 years) referred for magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) of the prostate were enrolled in this study. All measurements were performed on a 3T MR system.For DWI, a single-shot EPI diffusion sequence(b = 0, 100, 400, 800 s/mm2) was utilized. C-b1400 was cal-culated voxelwise from the ADC and diffusion images. Additionally, M-b1400 was acquired for evaluation and comparison. Lesion detection rate and maximum lesion diameters were obtained and compared. Image quality and quality of lesion demarcation were rated accord-ing to a 5-point Likert-type scale. Ratios of lesion-to-bladder as well as prostate-to-bladder signal intensity(SI) were calculated to estimate the signal-to-noise-ratio(SNR). RESULTS: Twenty-four lesions were detected on M-b1400 images and compared to C-b1400 images. C-b1400 detected three additional cancer suspicious lesions. Overall image quality was rated significantly better and SI ratios were significantly higher on C-b1400(2.3 ± 0.8 vs 3.1 ± 1.0, P < 0.001; 5.6 ± 1.8 vs 2.8 ± 0.9, P < 0.001). Comparison of lesion size showed no significant differences between C- and M-b1400(P = 0.22). CONCLUSION: Combination of a high b-value extrap-olation and sFOV may contribute to increase diagnostic accuracy of DWI without an increase of acquisition time, which may be useful to guide targeted prostate biopsies and to improve quality of multiparametric MRI(mMRI) especially under economical aspects in a pri-vate practice setting.

Optimization of the Production Process of Flash-Spinning UHMWPE Superfine Fiber by Response Surface Methodology

In this paper, statistical optimization method was used to optimize the flash-spinning process conditions. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) superfine fiber was fabricated by flash-spinning method using UHMWPE as the fiber-forming polymer, 1, 2-dichloroethane as the main solvent. The important parameters of the flash-spinning were filtered by Plackett-Burman experimental design based on the single factor experiments. After determining the best regions of the fiber properties, the optimum level of the important parameters were determined by Box-Behnken design. The results of the design showed that the important parameters influencing on the properties of the flash-spinning fiber were spinning temperature, spinning pressure, and spinning solution concentration. The optimum technical parameters were: spinning temperature 186.4 ℃, spinning pressure 6.16 MPa, spinning solution concentration 3.06%. The highest combination property of the flash-spinning fiber was 86.39 under this condition.

Effects of ultrahigh pressure extraction on yield and antioxidant activity of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside extracted from flower buds of Lonicera japonica

The present study was designed to establish and optimize a new method for extracting chlorogenic acid and cynaroside from Lonicera japonica Thunb. through orthogonal experimental designl. A new ultrahigh pressure extraction(UPE) technology was applied to extract chlorogenic acid and cynaroside from L. japonica. The influential factors, including solvent type, ethanol concentration, extraction pressure, time, and temperature, and the solid/liquid ratio, have been studied to optimize the extraction process. The optimal conditions for the UPE were developed by quantitative analysis of the extraction products by HPLC-DAD in comparison with standard samples. In addition, the microstructures of the medicinal materials before and after extraction were studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Furthermore, the extraction efficiency of different extraction methods and the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) radical scavenging activities of the extracts were investigated. The optimal conditions for extracting chlorogenic acid and cynaroside were as follows: ethanol concentration, 60%; extraction pressure, 400 MPa; extraction time, 2 min; extraction temperature, 30 °C; and the solid/liquid ratio, 1 : 50. Under these conditions, the yields of chlorogenic acid and cynaroside were raised to 4.863% and 0.080%, respectively. Compared with other extraction methods, such as heat reflux extraction(HRE), ultrasonic extraction(UE), and Sohxlet extraction(SE), the UPE method showed several advantages, including higher extraction yield, shorter extraction time, lower energy consumption, and higher purity of the extracts. This study could help better utilize L. japonica flower buds as a readily accessible source of natural antioxidants in food and pharmaceutical industries.

An oxygen isotope study of quartz veins within eclogites from the Dabie terrane

The oxygen isotope composition of minerals from quartz veins and host eclogites in the Dabie terrane was measured in order to place geochemical constraints on the origin and transport of metamorphic fluid. The results are discussed together with structural and petrological relationships between quartz vein and wallrock. The quartz veins can be temporally classified into three groups: (1) synmetamorphic vein which would be formed prior to eclogite-facies recrystallization when they were exhumated from mantle depths to deep crustal levels; (2) early retrogressive vein which was formed in the early stage of eclogite exhumation subsequent to the recrystallization, the vein-forming fluid is still relevant to the eclogites; (3) late retrogressive vein which was formed in the late stage of eclogite exhumation from deep crustal to upper crustal levels, oxygen isotope fractionation between vein quartz and host eclogite significantly deviates from equilibrium values and the vein-forming fluid was principally derived from granitic gneiss hosting the eclogites. For the synmetamorphic vein, it appears that local advective transport of fluid is the predominant mechanism in the processes of vein precipitation; the scale of oxygen isotope homogenization within the veins is much larger than that within the associated eclogites. The vein-forming fluid would be derived from the exsolution of dissolved hydroxyls within eclogite minerals due to significant pressure decrease. Fluid flow prior to the eclogite-facies recrystallization and the early retrogression may occur mainly along pressure gradients.

Sure feature screening for high-dimensional dichotomous classification

The curse of high-dimensionality has emerged in the statistical fields more and more frequently.Many techniques have been developed to address this challenge for classification problems. We propose a novel feature screening procedure for dichotomous response data. This new method can be implemented as easily as t-test marginal screening approach, and the proposed procedure is free of any subexponential tail probability conditions and moment requirement and not restricted in a specific model structure. We prove that our method possesses the sure screening property and also illustrate the effect of screening by Monte Carlo simulation and apply it to a real data example.