Which morphological abnormalities better define the elongation of transverse aortic arch: a magnetic resonance angiography study

Background: The aim of the study is to investigate the relation between morphological abnormalities that might indicate elongation of transverse aortic arch (ETA) and various aortic and thoracic measurements, and to determine which morphological criteria define the elongated transverse arch better.Materials and methods: Patients under 40 years of age who underwent contrast enhanced thoracic magnetic resonance angiography were included in the study. Images were evaluated for the presence of morphological arch abnormalities such as late take off (LTO) of left subclavian artery (LSA), flattening of the arch, and kinking at the posterior or anterior contour of the lesser curvature. Various aortic and thoracic measurements, including the distance between the orifices of the left common carotid artery (LCCA) and LSA, were made. Statistical relation between morphological abnormalities and these measurements was analysed. The effect of morphological abnormalities and their combinations on the distance between LCCA and LSA orifices was evaluated by linear regression analysis.Results: Ninety three cases were included in the study. All morphological abnormalities and most of their combinations show statistically significant relation with longer LCCA to LSA distance. The parameters that most affected this distance were combination of flattening with LTO of LSA, anterior kinking and combination of anterior kinking with both flattening and LTO, respectively.Conclusions: Our study showed that the finding which best defines ETA is the combination of LTO and arch flattening. Therefore, we recommend using this combination in the diagnosis of ETA instead of the classical diagnostic criteria including combination of LTO and posterior kinking

Comparison Of Extended Field Of View And Dual Image Ultrasound Techniques For The Measurement Of The Longitudinal Dimension Of Enlarged Thyroid Glands

Scopu

Simultaneous Determination of Selected Flavonoids from Different Cistus Species by Hplc-Pda

Scopu

THE ROLE OF CHITOTRIOSIDASE ACTIVITY AS A PROGNOSTIC BIOMARKER IN SARCOIDOSIS

Introduction: Chitotriosidase (ChT) is a chitinase that is massively expressed by lipid-laden tissue macrophages in human beings. The aim of this study was to compare ChT activities in the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum ChT levels with serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) levels in patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis (SARC), pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), all of which create difficulties in the differential diagnosis in daily practice. Materials and methods: ACE concentration and ChT activity were measured in pulmonary TB (n=28), SARC (n=37), and different types of ILD (n=23). ChT activities in the serum, BAL fluid and serum ACE concentrations were determined using ELISA kits. Results: Serum ACE levels were significantly higher in the SARC patients than those in the TB and ILD patients (p<0.001). There were no differences among patients regarding ChT activities in serum and BAL fluid. ChT activities in the BAL fluid and serum did not correlate with serum ACE levels. Conclusion: Our results indicate that, ChT cannot be considered as a specific marker of SARC since ChT activities were also increased in TB and ILD. ACE level seemed to be a more specific biomarker for SARC than ChT. Further studies are required to better understand the role of ChT and ACE concentrations in the pathogenesis of SARC and their involvement in fibrotic remodeling in certain types of diffuse lung diseases.WOS:0003753370000152-s2.0-8495028735

Boiling heat transfer enhancement in mini/microtubes via polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (pHEMA) coatings on inner microtube walls at high mass fluxes

In this experimental study, flow boiling in mini/microtubes was investigated with surface enhancements provided by polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (pHEMA) coatings (of ~30 nm thickness) on inner microtube walls. Flow boiling heat transfer experiments were conducted on microtubes (with inner diameters of 249 µm, 507 µm and 998 µm) having inner surfaces with pHEMA coatings, which increases heat transfer surface area, enable liquid replenishment upon bubble departure, provide additional nucleation sites, and serve for extending Critical Heat Flux (CHF) and enhancing boiling heat transfer. De-ionized water was utilized as the working fluid in this study. pHEMA nanofilms of thickness ~30 nm on the microtube walls were coated through initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) technique. Experimental results obtained from coated microtubes were compared to their plain surface counterparts at two mass flux values (10,000 kg/m2s and 13,000 kg/m2s). In comparison to the plain surface microtubes, coated surfaces demonstrate an increase up to 24% and 109% in CHF and heat transfer coefficients, respectively. These promising results support the use of pHEMA coated microtubes/channels as a surface enhancement technique for microscale cooling applications