[en] Objective: To evaluate the dynamic changing and prognosis of aortic intramural hematoma (IMH) by electron beam CT(EBCT). Methods: A retrospective study was performed during a period of time from January. 2002 to September 2004. Twenty-three patients with aortic IMH were scanned by EBCT more than 2 times. The patients were followed-up for 4-405 days (mean 105.8 days). Mean follow-up was 105.84 days. In this group 23 patients (19 men and 4 women, aged from 30 to 81 years, mean 57.78 years) who had been undergone EBCT were diagnosed with IMH. EBCT scanner was used with a model of Imatron C-150XP. Contrast-enhanced continuous volume scanning (CVS) was performed. The slice thickness was 6 mm or 3 mm with an acquisition time of 100 milliseconds. A total amount of contrast media (Ultravist 300 or 320, or Ominpaque 300 or 320 mg/ml) of 80-100 ml was used with the rate of 3.5- 4.5 ml/s. The scan delayed time was 18-30 s. Results: Four patients with Standford A IMH were diagnosed. Among them, 3 patients were observed in complete regression, 1 patient was observed without changing. Nineteen patients with Standford B IMH were diagnosed. Among them, 9 patients were observed in complete regression, 4 patients were observed in incomplete regression, 4 patients were observed without changing, 2 patients were observed in progression on EBCT. From 4 days to 15 days, IMH was observed without change or worse. From 16 days to 30 days IMH was observed in regression. Conclusion: EBCT was a very useful tool for detecting and following up of IMH. The different features of the involved aortic walls shown on EBCT were used for planning surgery. (authors)

[en] PurposeCurrently, almost all adrenal venous sampling (AVS) procedures are performed by femoral vein access. The purpose of this study was to establish the technique of AVS via an antecubital approach and evaluate its safety and feasibility.Materials and MethodsFrom January 2012 to June 2015, 194 consecutive patients diagnosed as primary aldosteronism underwent AVS via an antecubital approach without ACTH simulation. Catheters used for bilateral adrenal cannulations were recorded. The success rate of bilateral adrenal sampling, operation time, fluoroscopy time, dosage of contrast, and incidence of complications were calculated.ResultsA 5F MPA1 catheter was first used to attempt right adrenal cannulation in all patients. Cannulation of the right adrenal vein was successfully performed in 164 (84.5%) patients. The 5F JR5, Cobra2, and TIG catheters were the ultimate catheters for right adrenal cannulation in 16 (8.2%), 5 (2.6%), and 9 (4.6%) patients, respectively. For left adrenal cannulation, JR5 and Cobra2 catheters were used in 19 (9.8%) and 10 (5.2%) patients, respectively, while only TIG catheters were used in the remaining 165 (85.1%) patients. The rate of successful adrenal sampling on the right, left, and bilateral sides was 91.8%, 93.3%, and 87.6%, respectively. The mean time of operation was (16.3 ± 4.3) minutes, mean fluoroscopy time was (4.7 ± 1.3) minutes, and the mean use of contrast was (14.3 ± 4.7) ml. The incidence of adrenal hematoma was 1.0%.ConclusionsThis study showed that AVS via an antecubital approach was safe and feasible, with a high rate of successful sampling.

[en] The equilibrium structure of the compound Li₈Al₃Si₅ has been obtained via the minimization of the total energy within local spin density approximation (LSDA) based on density functional theory (DFT). The calculated lattice constant and bond length are in good agreement with available experimental values, and the phonon band structure is also described. In the meantime, the thermodynamic properties are investigated applying Debye model combining with the first principle theory in the quasi-harmonic approximation. The evaluated lattice constant and bulk modulus using this model both well agree with the values from ab intio and from the experiment. Our results demonstrate that this method can provide reliable predictions for the temperature and pressure dependence of these quantities, such as the equation of state, the bulk modulus, the Debye temperature, the heat capacity and the thermal expansion in detail