Pulmonary Alveolar Microlithiasis: CT and pathologic findings in 10 patients

Background and Aim. To evaluate CT findings of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis and correlate the CT with the pathologic findings. Methods. The study included 10 patients with pathologically proven microlithiasis. Two independent observers evaluated the presence, extent and distribution of the CT findings. CT findings were compared with those at autopsy in two patients and with transbronchial biopsy in eight patients. Results. All patients had a myriad of calcified nodules measuring approximately 1 mm in diameter. Close apposition of the nodules resulted in areas of ground-glass attenuation and consolidation, which were the predominant abnormality on CT in all 10 patients, involving 41% ± 16.3 (mean ± SD) and 30% ± 4.8 of the lung parenchyma, respectively. Calcifications were also seen along interlobular septa, bronchovascular bundles and pleura. Other findings included interlobular septal thickening, thickening of bronchovascular bundles, nodules, and subpleural cysts. There was a solid agreement between the observers for the presence (kappa value; 0.77) and extent (Spearman rank correlation; r= 0.81 to 1.0 p<0.01) of abnormalities. Autopsy specimens demonstrated microliths in alveolar airspaces and along interlobular septa, bronchovascular bundles and pleura. Subpleural small cysts were shown to represent dilated alveolar ducts. Conclusion. Pulmonary microlithiasis is characterised by the presence of numerous small, calcified nodules, calcifications along interlobular septa, bronchovascular bundles and pleura, ground-glass opacities, consolidation, and subpleural cysts. The cysts represent dilated alveolar ducts

New early Eocene tapiromorph perissodactyls from the Ghazij Formation of Pakistan, with implications for mammalian biochronology in Asia

Early Eocene mammals from Indo-Pakistan have only recently come under study. Here we describe the first tapiromorph perissodactyls from the subcontinent. Gandheralophus minor n. gen. and n. sp. and G. robustus n. sp. are two species of Isectolophidae differing in size and in reduction of the anterior dentition. Gandheralophus is probably derived from a primitive isectolophid such as Orientolophus hengdongensis from the earliest Eocene of China, and may be part of a South Asian lineage that also contains Karagalax from the middle Eocene of Pakistan. Two specimens are referred to a new, unnamed species of Lophialetidae. Finally, a highly diagnostic M3 and a molar fragment are described as the new eomoropid chalicothere Litolophus ghazijensis sp. nov. The perissodactyls described here, in contrast to most other mammalian groups published from the early Eocene of Indo-Pakistan, are most closely related to forms known from East and Central Asia. Tapiromorpha are diverse and biochronologically important in the Eocene there and our results allow the first biochronological correlation between early Eocene mammal faunas in Indo-Pakistan and the rest of Asia. We suggest that the upper Ghazij Formation of Pakistan is best correlated with the middle or late part of the Bumbanian Asian Land-Mammal Age, while the Kuldana and Subathu Formations of Pakistan and India are best correlated with the Arshantan Asian Land-Mammal Age

Digital chest radiography: an update on modern technology, dose containment and control of image quality

The introduction of digital radiography not only has revolutionized communication between radiologists and clinicians, but also has improved image quality and allowed for further reduction of patient exposure. However, digital radiography also poses risks, such as unnoticed increases in patient dose and suboptimum image processing that may lead to suppression of diagnostic information. Advanced processing techniques, such as temporal subtraction, dual-energy subtraction and computer-aided detection (CAD) will play an increasing role in the future and are all targeted to decrease the influence of distracting anatomic background structures and to ease the detection of focal and subtle lesions. This review summarizes the most recent technical developments with regard to new detector techniques, options for dose reduction and optimized image processing. It explains the meaning of the exposure indicator or the dose reference level as tools for the radiologist to control the dose. It also provides an overview over the multitude of studies conducted in recent years to evaluate the options of these new developments to realize the principle of ALARA. The focus of the review is hereby on adult applications, the relationship between dose and image quality and the differences between the various detector systems

A Ceratopsian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Western North America, and the Biogeography of Neoceratopsia

Competing interests: Andrew A. Farke has read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: Andrew A. Farke is a volunteer section editor and academic editor for PLOS ONE. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.Acknowledgments It is a pleasure to offer our most heartfelt thanks to Scott K. Madsen, who found OMNH 34557 and prepared it with consummate skill. We are grateful to James Taylor, Jack Owen, the Keebler family, and the Montana Bureau of Land Management for access to outcrops of the Cloverly Formation. We thank Xu Xing (IVPP) and Hai-Lu You (formerly CAGS-IG) for facilitating access to specimens, Mark Loewen, Joseph Frederickson, Darren Naish, and Leonardo Maiorino for productive discussion and comments, and Roger Burkhalter for assistance in photography. Gary Wisser, from the scientific visualization center at Western University of Health Sciences, is gratefully acknowledged for the high resolution scan of the cranium. Reviews by Peter Makovicky, Hai-Lu You, and editor Peter Wilf improved the manuscript.Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: AAF WDM RLC. Performed the experiments: AAF WDM RLC. Analyzed the data: AAF WDM RLC MJW. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: AAF WDM RLC MJW. Wrote the paper: AAF WDM RLC MJW.The fossil record for neoceratopsian (horned) dinosaurs in the Lower Cretaceous of North America primarily comprises isolated teeth and postcrania of limited taxonomic resolution, hampering previous efforts to reconstruct the early evolution of this group in North America. An associated cranium and lower jaw from the Cloverly Formation (?middle–late Albian, between 104 and 109 million years old) of southern Montana is designated as the holotype for Aquilops americanus gen. et sp. nov. Aquilops americanus is distinguished by several autapomorphies, including a strongly hooked rostral bone with a midline boss and an elongate and sharply pointed antorbital fossa. The skull in the only known specimen is comparatively small, measuring 84 mm between the tips of the rostral and jugal. The taxon is interpreted as a basal neoceratopsian closely related to Early Cretaceous Asian taxa, such as Liaoceratops and Auroraceratops. Biogeographically, A. americanus probably originated via a dispersal from Asia into North America; the exact route of this dispersal is ambiguous, although a Beringian rather than European route seems more likely in light of the absence of ceratopsians in the Early Cretaceous of Europe. Other amniote clades show similar biogeographic patterns, supporting an intercontinental migratory event between Asia and North America during the late Early Cretaceous. The temporal and geographic distribution of Upper Cretaceous neoceratopsians (leptoceratopsids and ceratopsoids) suggests at least intermittent connections between North America and Asia through the early Late Cretaceous, likely followed by an interval of isolation and finally reconnection during the latest Cretaceous.Funding was received from the National Science Foundation (DEB 9401094, 9870173, http://www.nsf.gov); National Geographic Society (5918-97, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/); and American Chemical Society (PRF #38572-AC8, http://www.acs.org). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

Estimating body mass from the astragalus in mammals

Astragalar fossils have been intensively studied as an indicator of the functional morphology and phylogenetic relation-ships of mammals. However, relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between astragalar size and body mass, usually with a focus on a particular taxonomic group. Here, univariate and multiple regression models are used to analyze the relationship between astragalar size and body mass based on an extensive sample of extant land mammals (11 orders, 48 species, 80 individuals; body mass ranging from 18 g to 3.4 t). The analyses revealed the size of the tibial trochlea to be a better predictor of body mass than the total size of the astragalus. Based on these results, estimates of the body mass of several Paleogene land mammals were calculated and compared to those of previous studies. Thus, for ex-ample, the body mass of “Baluchitherium”, the largest terrestrial mammal known to date, was estimated at about 10–15 t

A new tritylodontid synapsid from Mongolia

The Upper Jurassic Ulaan Malgait Beds in the Shar Teg locality of southwestern Mongolia have yielded remains of a new tritylodontid therapsid (Synapsida), Bienotheroides shartegensis sp. nov. The specimen consists of a fragmentary skull associated with lower jaws. It is assigned to Bienotheroides based on its short snout, a premaxilla−palatine contact, very reduced maxilla, relatively rounded corner of upper postcanine teeth (PC), and PC cusp formula of 2−3−3. It differs from the other species of Bienotheroides in having a much more reduced middle mesial cusp of PC. It further differs from B. zigongensis and B. ultimus in having shorter and wider PC, from B. ultimus in lacking a projection at the middle mesial margin of PC, and from B. wansienensis in lacking the vestigialmost mesiobuccal cusp of PC and in lacking a diastema between upper I1 and I2. This is the first discovery of the Tritylodontidae in Mongolia. This discovery extends the taxonomic (morphological) diversity and geographic range of Bienotheroides and underlies the success of the genus in the Middle to Late Jurassic biota of eastern Eurasia