Demarcation of arteriopulmonary segments: a novel and effective method for the identification of pulmonary segments

ObjectiveEach pulmonary segment is an anatomical and functional unit. However, it is fundamentally difficult to precisely distinguish every pulmonary segment using the conventional pulmonary intersegmental planes from computed tomography images. Building arteriopulmonary segments is likely to be an effective way to identify pulmonary segments.MethodsThe thoracic computed tomography images of 40 patients were collected. The anatomic structures of interest were extracted in the transverse, sagittal, and coronal planes using the semi-automated segmentation tools provided by Amira software. The intrapulmonary vessels were subsequently segmented and reconstructed. The distributions of the pulmonary arteries, veins, and bronchi were observed. In patients with pulmonary masses, the mass was also reconstructed.ResultsThe three-dimensional reconstructed images showed the branches of the pulmonary artery ramified up to their eighth order covering the entire lung as well as evident intersegmental gaps without pulmonary arteries. The segmental artery was closely accompanied by the segmental bronchi in 486 pulmonary segments (90% of total number of segments). The size and spatial location of the pulmonary mass within a pulmonary segment were also clearly visible.ConclusionsDemarcation of arteriopulmonary segments can be used to precisely distinguish every pulmonary segment and provide its detailed anatomical structure before pulmonary segmentectomy.     

Reoperation rates and risk factors for revision 4 years after dynamic stabilization of the lumbar spine

Background Context

The concept of dynamic stabilization (DS) of the lumbar spine for treatment of degenerative instability has been introduced almost two decades ago. Dynamic stabilization follows the principle of controlling movement in the coronal plane by providing load transfer of the spinal segment without fusion and, at the same time, reducing side effects such as adjacent segment disease (ASD). So far, only little is known about revision rates after DS due to ASD and screw loosening (SL).

Phase-constrained data extrapolation method for reduction of truncation artifacts

The authors present an improvement to a sigma-filter extrapolation method for the reconstruction of magnetic resonance (MR) images from symmetric discrete Fourier data. By making use of the phase information in the image data, the proposed method can overcome the data inconsistency problem of the original method for handling MR image data with large phase variations, such as those obtained in gradient-echo pulse sequences. Reconstruction results show that its performance is comparable with that of the modified complex sigma-filter method proposed previously to handle the inconsistency problem. However, the new approach has the advantage of reducing computation time by a factor of two with use of a sigma filter applied to real instead of complex images. It is expected that this method will be more practical for use in clinical MR imaging systems.     

海绵窦上段动眼神经的应用解剖研究

目的：探讨海绵窦上段动眼神经的应用解剖并讨论其临床意义。方法：经血管灌注后观测10例尸颅的海绵窦上段动眼神经及其毗邻与血供。结果：海绵窦上段动眼神经与海绵窦上段背侧紧邻海马钩回，内侧与视交叉、后交通动脉毗邻，外上与脉络膜前动脉相邻，腹侧紧贴鞍背突。海绵窦上段动眼神经80％未见神经外营养血管，可见20％后交通动脉发出1～2根分支进入神经。结论：海绵窦上段动眼神经毗邻结构复杂，滋养血管细小；在海绵窦上缘手术时，应特别注意辨认和保护动眼神经。     

Spectral characteristics of early receptor potential in congenital red-green color blindness

The spectral response curve (amplitude versus wavelength) of the R₂ of the early receptor potential (ERP) was studied in normal, protan, and deutan subjects. The R₂ amplitude peaked at 520nm in most normal subjects. The R₂ at long wavelengths was smaller than normal in protans and larger than normal in deutans when the maximum amplitudes were normalized to 100% at the peak. The ratio of the R₂ amplitude at 460 nm to that at 600 nm clearly differed between protans and deutans. The ERP and the rapid off-response, which is mainly due to the cessation of the late receptor potential, were recorded in the same subjects. The ratio of the sensitivity of the rapid off-response at 500 nm to that at 600 nm was correlated with the ratio of the R₂ amplitude at 460 nm to that at 600nm (correlation coefficient, 0.823, p < 0.001). This study, in conjunction with our previous study, indicates that the abnormality is in the outer segments of the cones in protans and deutans.     

气功对冠心病人CM_5ST段/心率斜率的影响

37名冠心病患者随机分为气功治疗组(22人)和对照组(15人)。气功治疗组接受12周动功治疗,对照组接受安慰剂治疗,治疗前后均测定CM_5 ST段/心率斜率。结果发现动功治疗组CM_5 ST段/心率斜率减少,而对照组不变或增大,两组有显著性差异,ST段下移及常规分级运动试验其它指标在两组间无显著差异。表明CM_5ST段/心率斜率是一个敏感的心肌缺血指标。     

Ultrasonography in the detection of cervical incompetency

In 80 pregnancies with clinical and ultrasonic signs of cervical incompetency, the length of the cervix and the thickness of the anterior wall of a lower uterine segment have been evaluated ultrasonically. We have also measured the width of the endocervical canal and studied the prolapse of fetal membranes (with fetal parts) into the endocervical canal. We evaluated these same parameters in 80 healthy pregnancies. The length of the cervix, the thickness of the anterior wall of a lower uterine segment, and the width of the endocervical canal were followed longitudinally in the patients from the 10th to the 36th gestation week. No statistically significant differences between age groups were found. In four age groups at risk for cervical incompetency, cervical lengths and wall thickness were significantly different (p less than 0.001) from those in comparable controls. Forty-five percent of the patients in the at-risk group, with cervical cerclage, delivered at 37.3 (range: 32 to 41) weeks and 6.25% of pregnancies ended in abortion when the amniotic membrane herniated into the cervical canal, with or without some part of the fetus.     

Simulating realistic zero loop pedigrees using a bipartite Prufer code and graphical modelling.

Graph algorithms previously developed by the authors are adapted to simulate pedigrees similar to those used in genetic linkage studies which associate disease phenotypes with specific genomic locations. Pedigrees are chosen uniformly at random from the set of those with specified numbers of individuals and matings and which contain no loops. Summary statistics from pedigrees generated in this way can be used to check real pedigrees for anomalies due to biased sampling or phenotypic effects on the pedigree structure.