A fully autonomous robotic ultrasound system for thyroid scanning.

The current thyroid ultrasound relies heavily on the experience and skills of the sonographer and the expertise of the radiologist, and the process is physically and cognitively exhausting. In this paper, we report a fully autonomous robotic ultrasound system, which is able to scan thyroid regions without human assistance and identify malignant nod- ules. In this system, human skeleton point recognition, reinforcement learning, and force feedback are used to deal with the difficulties in locating thyroid targets. The orientation of the ultrasound probe is adjusted dynamically via Bayesian optimization. Experimental results on human participants demonstrated that this system can perform high-quality ultrasound scans, close to manual scans obtained by clinicians. Additionally, it has the potential to detect thyroid nodules and provide data on nodule characteristics for American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR TI-RADS) calculation.

[Preparation and bone repair capability of a new plastic bone filler material].

Objective: To prepare a new plastic bone filler material with adhesive carrier and matrix particles derived from human bone, and evaluate its safety and osteoinductive ability through animal tests. Methods: The human long bones donated voluntarily were prepared into decalcified bone matrix (DBM) by crushing, cleaning, and demineralization, and then the DBM was prepared into bone matrix gelatin (BMG) by warm bath method, and the BMG and DBM were mixed to prepare the experimental group's plastic bone filler material; DBM was used as control group. Fifteen healthy male thymus-free nude mice aged 6-9 weeks were used to prepare intermuscular space between gluteus medius and gluteus maximus muscles, and all of them were implanted with experimental group materials. The animals were sacrificed at 1, 4, and 6 weeks after operation, and the ectopic osteogenic effect was evaluated by HE staining. Eight 9-month-old Japanese large-ear rabbits were selected to prepare 6-mm-diameter defects at the condyles of both hind legs, and the left and right sides were filled with the materials of the experimental group and the control group respectively. The animals were sacrificed at 12 and 26 weeks after operation, and the effect of bone defect repair were evaluated by Micro-CT and HE staining. Results: In ectopic osteogenesis experiment, HE staining showed that a large number of chondrocytes could be observed at 1 week after operation, and obvious newly formed cartilage tissue could be observed at 4 and 6 weeks after operation. For the rabbit condyle bone filling experiment, HE staining showed that at 12 weeks after operation, part of the materials were absorbed, and new cartilage could be observed in both experimental and control groups; at 26 weeks after operation, the most of the materials were absorbed, and large amount of new bone could be observed in the 2 groups, while new bone unit structure could be observed in the experimental group. Micro-CT observation showed that the bone formation rate and area of the experimental group were better than those of the control group. The measurement of bone morphometric parameters showed that the parameters at 26 weeks after operation in both groups were significantly higher than those at 12 weeks after operation ( P<0.05). At 12 weeks after operation, the bone mineral density and bone volume fraction in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( P<0.05), and there was no significant difference between the two groups in trabecular thickness ( P>0.05). At 26 weeks after operation, the bone mineral density of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion: The new plastic bone filler material is an excellent bone filler material with good biosafety and osteoinductive activity.

Geopolymer composite spheres derived from graphene-modified fly ash/slag: Facile synthesis and removal of lead ions in wastewater.

Geopolymer composite spheres derived from potassium-activated graphene-modified slag/fly ash powder were produced in a polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) solvent. The effect of graphene type (graphene oxide (GO) and few-layered graphene (GNP)) on the pore structure and lead ions (Pb2+) removal performance of the spheres were evaluated. The results showed that the composite spheres modified with GOs (0.1-0.4 wt%) and GNPs (1-4 wt%) could be spheroidized with an improved performance to adsorb Pb2+ in solution. The graphene-containing spheres reached a maximum BET surface area of 68.85 m2/g. Pseudo-second-order and Langmuir isotherm models could express the adsorption process, which was controlled by both monolayer adsorption and chemisorption. The obtained spheres also showed high adsorption capacities for Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions. Chemical, physical, electrostatic, ion exchange and cation-π interaction were attributed to the adsorption mechanism of the spheres. The spheres showed good cycling ability compared to those without graphene, which had potential application in heavy metal wastewater treatment.

The impact of urbanization on air quality in Africa from time and spatial perspectives.

The problem of air pollution caused by urbanization in fast-growing countries has begun to receive widespread attention. Africa is facing serious air pollution problem and is experiencing rapid urbanization. However, due to the backward economy and the difficulty of obtaining data, there have been few studies on the impact of urbanization on air quality in Africa. In this paper, we use remote sensing data aerosol optical depth (AOD) to characterize air quality, and night lights to characterize urbanization. We aim to analyze the characteristics of air quality distribution in Africa and investigate the relationship between urbanization and AOD from the perspective of time by random forest and space by adopting the geographically weighted regression models (GWR). The results show that (1) in the past 10 years, though not obvious, the AOD in the African region has a slight downward trend from 2011 to 2020. And a significant spatial correlation between urbanization and AOD is confirmed; (2) treating Africa as a whole, AOD has spatial spillover effects and could be affected significantly and positively by urbanization; (3) locally, taking each country as the scale, urbanization could have different impacts on AOD for different countries. In Central Africa, the increase in urbanization will bring about an increase in AOD; and in Western Africa, the increase in urbanization will help reduce AOD; (4) improving power facilities, increasing per capita income, and strengthening commodity trade are conducive to improving air quality in Africa.

[Preliminary study on true bone ceramics for alveolar ridge preservation in dogs].

OBJECTIVE: To study the preservation effect of true bone ceramics (TBC) prepared by high-temperature calcination of bovine bone on alveolar ridge of canine extraction socket. METHODS: Six healthy Beagle dogs (aged 1.5-2 years) were selected to extract the second and fourth premolars of both mandibles and the second premolars of the maxilla. The left extraction socket was implanted with TBC as the experimental group, and the right side was implanted with the calcined bovine bone (CBB) as the control group, to observe the alveolar ridge preservation effect. Three dogs were euthanized after general observation at 1 and 6 months after operation respectively. After separating the maxilla and mandible, cone beam CT (CBCT) was performed to measure the average gray value of the graft site and the adjacent reference area (the area between the roots of the adjacent third premolar) and calculate the gray scale ratio between the bone graft site and the reference area. Histological observation was made on the bone graft site to evaluate the new bone formation. RESULTS: General observation showed that the wounds of both groups were basically healed at 2 weeks after operation, and the bone graft materials were not exposed. The wounds healed well at 1 and 6 months after operation without swelling. The results of CBCT showed that the residual material was found in both groups at 1 month after operation, and no significant residual material was found in both groups at 6 months after operation, and the alveolar ridge height of the bone graft area was not significantly reduced. There was no significant difference in the bone mineral density between the experimental group and the control group. The gray scale ratios of the experimental group at 1 month and 6 months after operation were 0.97±0.14 and 0.93±0.06, respectively, and were 0.99±0.16 and 0.94±0.05 in control group, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( t=-1.030, P=0.333; t=-0.770, P=0.466). HE staining observation showed that a large number of bone graft materials did not degrade and new bone formed around the grafts in both groups at 1 month after operation; the bone graft materials were absorbed and a large number of new bones were formed in both groups at 6 months after operation. CONCLUSION: TBC can maintain bone mineral density and have good osteoconductivity in the alveolar ridge site preservation experiment of dogs, and can be used for alveolar ridge site preservation.

[Biocompatibility research of true bone ceramics].

Objective: To investigate the biocompatibility of true bone ceramic (TBC) and provide experimental basis for clinic application. Methods: TBC was prepared from healthy adult bovine cancellous bone by deproteinization and high temperature calcinations. Mouse fibroblast cell line (L929 cells) were cultured with the leaching liquor of TBC in vitro, and the cytotoxicity was evaluated at 2nd, 4th, and 7th days. L929 cells were inoculated into the TBC and cultured for 4 days. The cell adhesion and proliferation on the surface of the TBC were observed by scanning electron microscopy, and evaluated the cell compatibility of TBC. Ten New Zealand white rabbits were divided into 2 groups, and drilled holes at the tibia of both hind limbs. TBC and hydroxyapatite (HA) were implanted into the left side (experimental group) and the right side (control group), respectively. And the biocompatibility of TBC was evaluated by general observation and histological observation at 4 and 26 weeks after implantation. Results: Cytotoxicity test showed that the cytotoxicity level of leaching liquor of TBC was grade 0-1. Cell compatibility experiments showed that the L929 cells adhered well on the surface of TBC and migrated into the pores. The implantation test in vivo showed that experimental group and control group both had mild or moderate inflammatory response at 4 weeks, and new bone formation occurred. At 26 weeks, there was no inflammatory reaction observed in both groups, and new bone formation was observed in varying degrees. Conclusion: TBC have good biocompatibility and can be used to repair bone defect in clinic.