[en] Objective: To analyze the CT findings of benign lymphoepithelial lesion (BLEL) of major salivary glands. Methods: The CT findings of 11 cases with BLEL which were clinically and pathologically confirmed were analyzed. The relevant literatures were reviewed. All the patients received plain CT. Among them, 5 patients had contrast CT as well. The location, number, shape, margin, density, and enhancement characteristics of the lesions were observed. Results: Of 11 BLEL, 8 lesions were located in the parotid gland, three in the submandibular gland. There were 7 cases with bilateral multiple lesions, and 4 cases with unilateral solitary lesion. BLEL of major salivary gland could be classified into three types according to the CT findings, including multinodular type, solitary mass type, and diffusely infiltrating type. Multinodular type was the most common type. The typical CT findings of the lesion included diffusely enlargement of bilateral parotids and (or) submandibular glands, heterogeneous increase of density of the parenchyma with multiple soft tissue density nodules, and multiple cystiform hypodense. On contrast-enhanced CT, the lesions mostly manifested as heterogeneous enhancement. The solid part of the nodules showed moderate or marked enhancement. However, the cystiform hypodense showed no enhancement. Conclusion: Although the CT findings of BLEL of major salivary glands are variable,they still share some common characteristics, which are useful in the clinical diagnosis. (authors)

[en] IgG4-related disease in the head and neck is a newly recognized multi-organ system disease characterized by elevated serum IgG4, infiltration of numerous IgG4-positive plasma cells, tissue fibrosis, and dramatic response to corticosteroid treatment. IgG4-related disease of the head and neck has some relative characteristics on CT and MRI, which can provide valuable information for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis, and are helpful for the clinical treatment, evaluation of therapeutic effects and prediction of prognosis. (authors)

[en] Objective: To promote the diagnostic accuracy of primary CNS lymphoma through emphasis on its imaging features. methods: MR and CT scans of 9 cases with primary CNS lymphoma verified by pathology were retrospectively analysed. 7 patients had both CT and MRI studies. Results: 27 lesions were identified in 9 patients. Except the common location (basal ganglia, temporal lobe, frontal lobe), a few lesions in optical chiasma, pineal region and callous corpus were also found. On CT, 96% of lesions appeared as iso-or high density and 81% are homogeneous. On T₁WI, 89% of lesions were isointense or slightly hypointense while 100% were isointense or slightly hyperintense on T₂WI. Most lymphoma in the brain showed minimal or moderate edema (78%) and mass effect (82%). On contrast-enhanced images, 74% appeared as marked uniform enhancement and 26% had necrosis or cystic change. Conclusions: Primary intracranial lymphoma in immunocompetent patients has typical features on CT and MR images. Misdiagnosis could be decreased if due attention was paid to it

[en] Objective: To investigate the feasibility of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide- enhanced (USPIO)-enhanced MR imaging for monitoring synovitis of antigen-induced arthritis in rabbit model and explore the optimal MR imaging sequences. Methods: Nine female white rabbits with antigen (0.5 ml mBSA, 2 mg/ml) induced arthritis of the right knees were used in the study. The left knees of these rabbits and both knees of another 3 rabbits served as the control. Nine to 28 days (mean 21.3 d) after successful model induction, all knees were imaged before and 24 h after intravenously injection of USPIO (0.3 ml/kg), among which 2 rabbits were also imaged at 48 and 72 h after administration of USPIO respectively. The MR protocol included spin-echo (SE) T₁WI, fast spin-echo (FSE) T₂WI, gradient echo (GRE) T₂^*WI and short tau inversion recovery (STIR). Images were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively based on signal characteristics and patterns of the synovium. Paired t-test was used for the analysis of the signal intensity of inflammatory synovial membrane before and 24 h after injection of USPIO. MR findings were correlated with histopathology. Results: Arthritis was successfully induced in all 9 right knees with intraarticular injection of mBSA. Pathological examination revealed hyperplasia of synovium with infiltration of USPIO-loaded-macrophages. MR depicted synovial thickening (thickness 2.07±0.97 mm) and joint effusion. Synovium and joint fluid appeared as slightly hypo- or iso-intense on T₁WI and hyper- intense on T₂WI or T₂^*WI. Twenty four hours after USPIO injection, significant T₁ enhancement (ΔSNR 41.91%±27.94%), negative T₂ and T₂^* enhancement (SNR-34.92%±11.77% and -57.24%±16.05%) were demonstrated in the region of synovial inflammation respectively. The signal at 48 h and 72 h changed less than that at hour 24. No signs of arthritis occurred in all left knees and in all knees of the artificial model group. Conclusion: Iron oxide phagocytized into macrophages can be a root cause resulted in signal change on USPIO-enhanced MR images. The gradient echo sequence should be the optimal sequence to be used in USPIO-enhanced MR imaging in antigen-induced arthritis. (authors)

[en] A novel topology of current mirror (CM) with tunable output current is proposed. Two methods for output current tuning are presented. The first one utilizes an analog input voltage for linear current output, and the second one has an N-bit digital input signal for 2^N un-continuous current outputs. A linearization method for low noise amplifier (LNA) is proposed and realized with this tunable CM. As the provider of the bias current, the CM has brought the LNA a lower NF (noise figure) and a higher IIP3 (input-referred third-order intercept point) compared with a conventional one. The experimental results show that the LNA achieves 1.47 dB NF and +19.83 dBm IIP3 at 860 MHz. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

[en] This paper presents a realization of a silicon-based standard CMOS, fully differential optoelectronic integrated receiver based on a metal-semiconductor-metal light detector (MSM photodetector). In the optical receiver, two MSM photodetectors are integrated to convert the incident light signal into a pair of fully differential photogenerated currents. The optoelectronic integrated receiver was designed and implemented in a chartered 0.35 μm, 3.3 V standard CMOS process. For 850 nm wavelength, it achieves a 1 GHz 3 dB bandwidth due to the MSM photodetector's low capacitance and high intrinsic bandwidth. In addition, it has a transimpedance gain of 98.75 dBΩ, and an equivalent input integrated referred noise current of 283 nA from 1 Hz up to -3 dB frequency.

[en] A standard CMOS optical interconnect is proposed, including an octagonal-annular emitter, a field oxide, metal 1-PSG/BPSG-metal 2 dual waveguide, and an ultra high-sensitivity optical receiver integrated with a fingered P+/N-well/P-sub dual photodiode detector. The optical interconnect is implemented in a Chartered 3.3-V 0.35-μm standard analog CMOS process with two schemes for the research of the substrate noise coupling effect on the optical interconnect performance: with or without a GND-guardring around the emitter. The experiment results show that the optical interconnect can work at 100 kHz, and it is feasible to implement optical interconnects in standard CMOS processes.

[en] A monolithically integrated optical receiver, including the photodetector, has been realized in Chartered 0.35 μm EEPROM CMOS technology for 850 nm optical communication. The optical receiver consists of a differential photodetector, a differential transimpedance amplifier, three limiting amplifiers and an output circuit. The experiment results show that the receiver achieves an 875 MHz 3 dB bandwidth, and a data rate of 1.5 Gb/s is achieved at a bit-error-rate of 10^-9. The chip dissipates 60 mW under a single 3.3 V supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

[en] Objective: To determine the characteristics and trends of radiological research by analyzing the original articles published in Chinese Journal of Radiology between 2001 and 2010. Methods: All 2378 original articles published in Chinese Journal of Radiology between 2001 and 2010 were evaluated. The following information was obtained from each article: radiologic subspecialty, imaging technique used, type of research, sample size, study design, statistical analysis, study outcome, declared funding, number of authors, geographic information and affiliation of the first author. In addition, all the variables presented were examined to show the trend over time. Results: The most common subspecialty of study was neuroradiology (403, 16.9%), followed by vascular/interventional (369, 15.5%) and abdominal radiology (331, 13.9%). 834 (35.1%) original articles used magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and 678 (28.5%) used computed tomography (CT). 2034 (85.5%) were clinical research articles. Eight hundred and nineteen (34.4%) researches had sample size of between 20 and 50, 1838 (77.3%) were retrospective, 1309 (55%) performed statistical analysis, and 2337 (98.3%) showed positive study outcome. Most of researches (1744, 77.3%) were not funded, 1529 (64.3%) had four to seven authors, and 2283 (96%) were written by the primary author who was from a department of radiology or radiology-related specialties. The top 3 cities where most papers were originated were Beijing (663, 27.9%), Guangzhou (349, 14.7%) and Shanghai (281, 11.8%). Breast subspecialty, MR imaging, basic research, sample size of more than 50, papers with more than seven authors, and first author from Jiangsu, Fujian and Xinjiang provinces showed a significantly positive trend with time. On the other hand, vascular interventional subspecialty, papers without statistical analysis or with less than 4 authors and papers from Shanxi province had a significantly negative trend. Conclusion: The bibliometric analysis of the articles published in Chinese Journal of Radiology between 2001 and 2010 revealed characteristics and trends of the current radiology research, which may provide useful information to researchers and editorial staff in radiology. (authors)

[en] Objective: To explore the imaging features of chest radiography and CT in patients with avian influenza A (H7N9). Methods: The imaging data of chest radiography and CT in 4 patients with H7N9 confirmed by real-time RT-PCR assay were retrospectively analyzed. All patients had chest radiography at first and 3 underwent CT examination, 3 had follow-up radiography. Results: Chest radiographs showed increased lung markings with pulmonary consolidation and interstitial change in 4 cases and consolidations were bilaterally distributed in 3 cases. The imaging appearances changed quickly during the follow-up. The bilateral consolidations, multiple ground-glass opacities, pleural effusion, hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy were found on CT. Conclusions: Avian influenza A (H7N9) has certain imaging features on chest radiography and CT, which is similar to those of H1N1 influenza. The final diagnosis of the avian influenza A (H7N9) depends on epidemiology and laboratory test. (authors)