Fusion imaging can improve the conspicuity of HCCs and the feasibility of percutaneous RFA of HCCs not visible on conventional ultrasound. Peritumoral anatomic landmarks can be used for electrode placement in HCCs that are still not visible even after image fusion.

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Background and PurposeTo correlate changes of various CT parameters after the neoadjuvant treatment in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with pathologic responses, focused on their relationship with different therapeutic options, particularly of EGFR-TKI and concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) settings.Materials and MethodsWe reviewed pre-operative CT images of primary tumors and surgical specimens obtained after neoadjuvant therapy (TKI, n = 23; CCRT, n = 28) from 51 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Serial changes in tumor volume, density, mass, skewness/kurtosis, and size-zone variability/intensity variability) were assessed from CT datasets. The changes in CT parameters were correlated with histopathologic responses, and the relationship between CT variables and histopathologic responses was compared between TKI and CCRT groups.ResultsTumor volume, mass, kurtosis, and skewness were significant predictors of pathologic response in CCRT group in univariate analysis. Using multivariate analysis, kurtosis was found to be independent predictor. In TKI group, intensity variability and size-zone variability were significantly decreased in pathologic responder group. Intensity variability was found to be an independent predictor for pathologic response on multivariate analysis.ConclusionsQuantitative CT variables including histogram or texture analysis have potential as a predictive tool for response evaluation, and it may better reflect treatment response than standard response criteria based on size changes.

We report on the fabrication and measurements of a superconducting junction of a single-crystalline Au nanowire, connected to Al electrodes. The current-voltage characteristic curve shows a clear supercurrent branch below the superconducting transition temperature of Al and quantized voltage plateaus on application of microwave radiation, as expected from Josephson relations. Highly transparent (0.95) contacts very close to an ideal limit of 1 are formed at the interface between the normal metal (Au) and the superconductor (Al). The very high transparency is ascribed to the single crystallinity of a Au nanowire and the formation of an oxide-free contact between Au and Al. The subgap structures of the differential conductance are well explained by coherent multiple Andreev reflections (MAR), the hallmark of mesoscopic Josephson junctions. These observations demonstrate that single crystalline Au nanowires can be employed to develop novel quantum devices utilizing coherent electrical transport.