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ObjectiveWe wanted to describe the computed tomography (CT) findings of gallbladder tuberculosis (TB) and to correlate them with pathologic findings.Materials and MethodsThere were seven patients (M:F = 3:4; mean age, 46.3 years; age range, 32 to 78 years) in whom gallbladder TB was eventually diagnosed. All of them underwent cross-sectional imaging with CT, a pathologic examination and a retrospective review. CT imaging evaluation was done in each case, including the findings of a mass versus nodule, wall thickening (uniform or irregular) and the enhancement patterns (homogeneous or heterogeneous).ResultsAll the cases of gallbladder TB revealed the following three different CT findings: micronodular lesion of the gallbladder wall (n = 1), a thickened wall (n = 4) and a gallbladder mass (n = 2). There were three cases of homogeneous enhancement of the lesions, including homogeneous enhancement with nodular lesion, homogeneous uniform thickness enhancement and homogeneous thickness enhancement in one case each, and these cases pathology showed tuberculous granuloma with a little caseating necrosis in one case and tuberculous granuloma with rich fibrous tissue, but little or no evident caseating necrosis in two cases. Four cases of heterogeneous enhancement of the lesions, including heterogeneous uniform-thickness enhancement in two cases, heterogeneous enhancement with a local mass lesion in one case and heterogeneous enhancement with a mass that replaced the gallbladder in one case; in these cases, pathology showed tuberculous granuloma with marked caseation or liquefaction necrosis in three cases and tuberculous granuloma by fibrous and calcifications accompanied by caseating necrosis in one case. Among the seven cases of gallbladder TB, six cases were accompanied by abdominal extra-gallbladder TB, including abdominal lymph node TB in five cases and hepatic TB in four cases.ConclusionGallbladder TB has various CT manifestations, and the enhanced CT findings are well matched with pathological features. An irregularly thickened gallbladder wall or a gallbladder wall mass with multiple-focus necrosis or calcifications accompanied by the typical CT findings of abdominal extra-gallbladder TB should suggest the diagnosis of gallbladder TB.

Air pollution has become an ever more critical issue in Beijing in more recent years. In this study, we use the air quality index (AQI), corresponding primary pollutant types and meteorological data which are collected at 16 monitoring stations in Beijing between January 2013 and December, 2013 studying the spatial and temporal variations of air quality and air pollutants. The results show that PM2.5 was the most serious pollutant, followed by O3. The average PM2.5 mass concentration was 119.5 ± 13.8 μg m(-3) in Beijing. In addition, the air quality varies across different seasons. More specifically, winter season showed the worst air quality. Moreover, while particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations were relatively higher in the spring and winter seasons, gaseous pollutants (O3 and NO2) were more serious in the summer and autumn. In terms of spatial heterogeneity, the findings showed that AQI and PM2.5 concentrations were higher in south and lower in the north of the city, and the O3 showed exactly a pattern with the opposite direction-higher in the north and lower in the south. NO2 was found to have a greater impact on the central region compared with that in other regions. Furthermore, PM2.5 was found to be positively correlated with the relative humidity, but negatively correlated with wind speed and atmospheric pressure (P < 0.01). However, the dominant meteorological factors that influence the PM2.5 concentrations varied in different seasons. The results in this paper provide additional information for the effective control of the air pollution in Beijing.

Primary hepatic sarcomas are rare tumors that are difficult to diagnose clinically. Different primary hepatic sarcomas may have different clinical, morphologic, and radiological features. In this pictorial review, we summarized computed tomography (CT) findings of some relatively common types of hepatic sarcomas, including angiosarcoma, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), liposarcoma, undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma (UES), leiomyosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH), and carcinosarcoma (including cystadenocarcinosarcoma). To our knowledge, hepatic cystadenocarcinosarcoma has not been described in the English literature. The CT findings in our case are similar to that of cystadenocarcinoma, a huge, multilocular cystic mass with a large mural nodule and solid portion. The advent of CT has allowed earlier detection of primary hepatic sarcomas as well as more accurate diagnosis and characterization. In addition, we briefly discuss the MRI findings and diagnostic value of primary hepatic sarcomas.