Polymer-based cascaded waveguide Bragg grating for blood glucose sensing.

Waveguide Bragg grating (WBG) blood glucose sensing, as a biological sensing technology with broad application prospects, plays an important role in the fields of health management and medical treatment. In this work, a polymer-based cascaded WBG is applied to glucose detection. We investigated photonic devices with two different grating structures cascaded-a crossed grating and a bilateral grating-and analyzed the effects of the crossed grating period, bilateral grating period, and number of grating periods on the sensing performance of the glucose sensor. Finally, the spectral reflectance characteristics, response time, and sensing specificity of the cascaded WBG were evaluated. The experimental results showed that the glucose sensor has a sensitivity of 175 nm/RIU in a glucose concentration range of 0-2 mg/ml and has the advantages of high integration, a narrow bandwidth, and low cost.

Microring structure for flexible polymer waveguide-based optical pressure sensing.

Flexible pressure sensors provide a promising platform for artificial smart skins, and photonic devices provide a new technique to fabricate pressure sensors. Here, we present a flexible waveguide-based optical pressure sensor based on a microring structure. The waveguide-based optical pressure sensor is based on a five-cascade microring array structure with a size of 1500 µm × 500 µm and uses the change in output power to linearly characterize the change in pressure acting on the device. The results show that the device has a sensing range of 0-60 kPa with a sensitivity of 23.14 µW/kPa, as well as the ability to detect pulse signals, swallowing, hand gestures, etc. The waveguide-based pressure sensors offer the advantages of good output linearity, high integration density and easy-to-build arrays.

Fabrication and characterization of polymer optical waveguide Bragg grating for pulse signal sensing.

Polymer materials have the advantages of a low Young's modulus and low-cost preparation process. In this paper, a polymer-based optical waveguide pressure sensor based on a Bragg structure is proposed. The change in the Bragg wavelength in the output spectrum of the waveguide Bragg grating (WBG) is used to linearly characterize the change in pressure acting on the device. The polymer-based WBG was developed through a polymer film preparation process, and the experimental results show that the output signal of the device has a sensitivity of 1.275 nm/kPa with a measurement range of 0-12 kPa and an accuracy of 1 kPa. The experimental results indicate that the device already perfectly responds to a pulse signal. It has significant potential application value in medical diagnostics and health testing, such as blood pressure monitoring, sleep quality monitoring, and tactile sensing.

The function and mechanism of PSMD14 in promoting progression and resistance to anlotinib in osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Osteosarcoma is a rare bone malignancy that frequently affects adolescents and poses formidable obstacles in its advanced stages. Studies revealed that PSMD14 may be a viable osteosarcoma treatment target. However, PSMD14's function and mechanism in osteosarcoma remain unknown. This study aimed to examine the function and mechanism of PSMD14 in the biological behavior of osteosarcoma and its role in anlotinib resistance. METHODS: Western blotting, qRT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies were used to examine PSMD14 levels. The role of PSMD14 in the malignant phenotype of osteosarcoma and its molecular pathway was explored by a series of studies, including Western blotting, cell amplification assay, transwell assay, and tumor growth. Furthermore, a series of in vitro investigations were done to determine the effect of PSMD14 on anlotinib-resistant osteosarcoma cell lines. RESULTS: PSMD14 expression was elevated in osteosarcoma tissues compared to normal tissues. Overexpression of PSMD14 was associated with osteosarcoma patients' pathological grade and clinical stage, and PSMD14 was an independent poor prognostic factor. PSMD14 knockdown inhibits in vitro cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and in vivo tumor growth. PSMD14 knockdown has the potential to downregulate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, which was regarded as one of the key mechanisms promoting tumor growth. PSMD14 was likewise overexpressed in anlotinib-resistant OS cell lines, and its knockdown not only reduced the proliferation, migration, and invasion of subline cells and triggered cell apoptosis. Importantly, combination therapy with anlotinib enhanced these effects. CONCLUSIONS: PSMD14 is substantially expressed in osteosarcoma and may be an independent risk factor associated with poor prognosis. It can promote tumor progression and anlotinib resistance in osteosarcoma and may promote osteosarcoma progression by modulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

[Evaluation of Extrathyroidal Extension of Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma With Three-Dimensional Tomographic Ultrasound Imaging].

Objective To evaluate extrathyroidal extension (ETE) in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) with three-dimensional tomographic ultrasound imaging (3D-TUI). Methods A total of 97 thyroid nodules of 79 patients with PTMC treated in PUMC Hospital from February 2016 to January 2018 were included in this study.Two ultrasound experts performed independent blinded assessment of the relationship between thyroid nodules and thyroid capsule by two-dimensional ultrasound (2D-US) and 3D-TUI.The results of 2D-US and 3D-TUI in evaluating ETE were compared with intraoperative findings and postoperative histological and pathological results. Results Among the 97 nodules,54 (55.7%) nodules had ETE.The diagnostic sensitivity (68.5% vs.37.0%;χ2=10.737,P=0.002),accuracy (74.5% vs.56.7%;χ2=6.686,P=0.015),and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve[0.761 (95%CI=0.677-0.845) vs.0.592 (95%CI=0.504-0.680);Z=3.500,P<0.001] of 3D-TUI were higher than those of 2D-US.However,3D-TUI and 2D-US showed no significant difference in the specificity (84.1% vs.81.4%;χ2=0.081,P=0.776),negative predictive value (67.9% vs.50.7%;χ2=3.645,P=0.066),or positive predictive value (84.1% vs.71.4%;χ2=1.663,P=0.240). Conclusion Compared with 2D-US,3D-TUI demonstrates increased diagnostic efficiency for ETE of PTMC.

Evaluation of Appendicular Muscle Mass in Sarcopenia in Older Adults Using Ultrasonography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of appendicular muscle mass is essential for the diagnosis of sarcopenia. Ultrasonography is an accurate and convenient method used to evaluate muscle mass. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasonography for appendicular muscle mass in sarcopenia in older adults and find out proper ultrasound parameters. METHODS: Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles. Published studies on the validity and/or reliability of ultrasonography for quantifying muscle mass of the limbs in sarcopenia in the older population were included. A systematic review was conducted based on specific muscles and reference methods. A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the validity and reliability of the ultrasonography. RESULTS: Forty articles were included in this review. There were nine, nine, nine, and four studies included in the qualitative synthesis for a diagnostic test, correlation coefficient, intra-class reliability, and inter-class reliability, respectively. The diagnostic value of rectus femoris (RF) or gastrocnemius (GM) thickness on ultrasonography for sarcopenia or low muscle mass was moderate (the area under summary receiver operating characteristic curve [SROC] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.72-0.79, SROC = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.76-0.83, respectively). The pooled correlation between muscle mass on dual-energy X-ray (DXA) or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and muscle thickness (MT) on ultrasound was moderate (r = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.49-0.62). There was a low-to-moderate correlation between muscle mass on DXA or BIA and cross-sectional area (CSA) on ultrasound (r = 0.267-0.584). The correlation was high to very high between muscle mass from DXA and the ultrasound-predicted formula (r = 0.85-0.963). The CSA from ultrasound had a high or very high correlation with that from computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (r = 0.826, intra (inter)-correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.998-0.999). The respective meta-analyses showed good inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities (ICC > 0.9). CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography is a reliable and valid diagnostic method for the quantitative assessment of appendicular muscle mass in sarcopenia in older people. The thickness and CSA of the RF or GM seem to be proper ultrasound parameters to predict muscle mass in sarcopenia. Multicenter studies with large samples and the application of new ultrasonic techniques will be the future research directions.

Construction and Validation of a Nomogram Based on the Log Odds of Positive Lymph Nodes to Predict the Prognosis of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma After Surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to explore the prognostic impact that the log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) has on medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and to develop a nomogram incorporating LODDS to predict the cancer-specific survival (CSS) of MTC. METHODS: Data from 1110 MTC patients after total thyroidectomy were collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and divided into training and validation cohorts. The prognostic efficiency of N status from the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system, the number of positive lymph nodes (PLNN), and LODDS were compared using the Harrell concordance index (C-index), the Akaike information criterion (AIC), and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). A multivariate Cox analysis was performed to determine the independent prognostic factors, and a nomogram based on LODDS was constructed. The nomogram's performance was assessed with the C-index, AUC, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: Among the three lymph node (LN) staging systems, LODDS showed the highest accuracy in predicting CSS for MTC. In the training cohort, the C-index of the LODDS-based nomogram was 0.895. The AUCs were 0.949, 0.917, 0.925, and 0.901 for predicting 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year CSS, respectively. The calibration plots and DCA showed the superior clinical applicability of the nomogram. These results were verified in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: As an independent prognostic factor for MTC, LODDS demonstrated superior prognostic efficiency over N status and PLNN. This LODDS-based nomogram yielded better performance than the AJCC tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system in predicting CSS after surgery for MTC.

Ultrasonographic Multimodality Diagnostic Model of Thyroid Nodules.

The aim of this study was to identify independent risk factors for thyroid cancer, establish an ultrasonographic multimodality diagnostic model for thyroid nodules, and explore the diagnostic value of the model. From November 2011 to February 2015, 307 patients with a total of 367 thyroid nodules underwent conventional ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), and ultrasound elastography examinations before surgery. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for thyroid cancer and to establish a multimodality diagnostic model for thyroid nodules. The diagnostic performance of conventional ultrasound, CEUS, ultrasound elastography, and the multimodality diagnostic model was assessed and compared. The following seven independent risk factors were included in the logistic regression models: age, irregular shape, hypoechoic pattern, marked hypoechoic pattern, irregular blood flow distribution, heterogeneous enhancement, and an elastic score of 3/4. The multimodality diagnostic model had a diagnostic accuracy of 86.9%, with a sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 77.3%. The multimodality diagnostic model improved the diagnostic accuracy compared with that of conventional ultrasound, CEUS, and ultrasound elastography. Independent risk factors for thyroid cancer included age, irregular shape, hypoechoic pattern, marked hypoechoic pattern, irregular blood flow distribution, heterogeneous enhancement, and an elastic score of 3/4. The multimodality diagnostic model was demonstrated to be effective in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

Diagnostic Value of Elastography for Thyroid Nodules in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic performance of elastography in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules in the context of Hashimoto's thyroiditis(HT). Methods The study evaluated 43 thyroid nodules by conventional ultrasound (CU) and elastography in 38 patients co-existed with HT who were referred for operation. The patients underwent CU and elastography before operation. The sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive values,and accuracy for CU,elastography,and combination of these two techniques were assessed by using histopathological results as the gold standard. Results Among these 43 thyroid nodules,pathology confirmed 29 (67.4%) malignant nodules and 14 (32.6%) benign ones. There were statistically significant differences between malignant and benign groups in features such as solid shape (96.6% vs. 64.0%;OR:15.6,95%CI:1.600-151.262,P=0.004),irregularity (90.0% vs. 42.9%;OR:11.6,95%CI:2.341-57.032,P=0.001),taller than wide shape (72.0% vs. 21.4%;OR:9.6,95% CI:2.117-43.753,P=0.002),microcalcification (69% vs. 28.6%;OR:5.6,95% CI:1.368-22.556,P=0.012) and irregular blood flow (90.0% vs. 28.6%;OR:17.3,95%CI:3.186-94.290,P=0.000). The diagnostic performance of elastography and CU was as follows:sensitivity (86.2 % vs.96.6%),specificity (71.4% vs.42.9%),positive predictive value (86.2% vs.77.8%),negative predictive value (71.4% vs.85.7%),and accuracy (81.4% vs.79.0%). The combination of these two techniques had a sensitivity of 93.1%,a specificity of 71.4%,a positive predictive value of 87.1%,a negative predictive value of 83.3%,and an accuracy of 86.0%. Conclusions Elastography has a higher specificity in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules in HT,while its sensitivity is slightly lower than that of CU. Combination of these two techniques can increase the specificity and accuracy.

Role of Superb Micro-Vascular Imaging in the Preoperative Evaluation of Thyroid Nodules: Comparison With Power Doppler Flow Imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether Superb Micro-Vascular Imaging (SMI; Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Tochigi, Japan) is superior to power Doppler flow imaging (PDFI) in depicting thyroid nodular vascularity and to primarily explore the diagnostic performance of vascularity on SMI integrated with grayscale sonographic features for diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules. METHODS: Ninety-two resident patients with 113 nodules for surgery were included in the study. Thirty-four nodules were benign, and 79 nodules were malignant. Vascularity was classified as none, peripheral, mixed, and intranodular. Grayscale features, including calcifications, echogenicity, margins, shape, and internal components, were evaluated. The distribution of vascular patterns was compared between PDFI and SMI to determine the superior technique for diagnosing malignancy. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the accuracy of SMI combined with grayscale sonography for thyroid malignancy. RESULTS: The 92 patients had a male-to-female ratio of 12:11 and a median age of 42 years (range, 20-75 years). Intranodular vascularity on SMI had 91.2% specificity and 75.9% sensitivity, which were superior to PDFI, at 82.3% and 41.8%, respectively (P < .01). We attribute this finding to the fact that peripheral vessels of many nodules on PDFI were actually intense small penetrating vessels around the lesion on SMI. A taller-than-wide shape, microcalcifications, and SMI intranodular vascularity were independent risk factors for thyroid malignancy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the logistic regression model was 0.92, which was higher than that for a single suspicious sonographic feature (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Intranodular vascularity on SMI is useful for determining thyroid carcinoma. Furthermore, a combination of SMI and grayscale features performs better than any single sonographic feature alone.

Comparison of Ultrasound Features of Primary Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Recurrent/Persistent Metastatic Cervical Lymph Nodes.

Objective To explore the ultrasound features and levels of cervical lymph node metastases in primary and recurrent/persistent papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 2181 patients who underwent cervical lymph nodes dissection for PTC from January 1st 2015 to January 1st 2016.Totally 418 PTC patients (with 622 lymph nodes) who met the inclusion criteria entered the final analysis.Patients who had not received any prior thyroid treatment (surgery with or without radioactive iodine) were categorized as the primary group (352 patients with 527 metastatic lymph nodes),and patients who had received prior treatment (thyroidectomy with or without radioactive iodine) for PTC were categorized as recurrent/persistent group (66 patients with 95 metastatic lymph nodes).Pathological results from lymph node dissections were used as the gold standards by means of level-to-level analysis.Results The mean of the minimum axis diameter of the lymph nodes in the primary group was (6.7±3.6)mm,and that of the recurrent/persistent group was (6.6±3.1)mm (U=0.180,P=0.857).The proportion of metastasis in the central area of primary group was 40.0%,which was significantly higher than that in the recurrent/persistent group (12.6%);the proportion of metastasis in the lateral area was 60.6% in the primary group,which was significantly lower than that in the recurrent/persistent group (87.4%)(χ2=26.288,P<0.001).In lateral metastatic lymph nodes,Ⅲ level was the most common place in both groups.Level Ⅴ metastatic lymph was rare in both primary group and recurrent/persistent group.Calcifications (63.1% vs. 48.2%;χ2=7.207,P=0.007) and peripheral vascularity (81.1% vs. 59.4%;χ2= 16.147, P<0.001) were more common in the recurrent/persistent group.The round shape,absence of an echogenic hilum,hyperechogenicity,and cystic aspects were not significantly different between these two groups (all P>0.05).Conclusions Primary metastatic lymph nodes often occur in the central area of lymph nodes,while lateral metastatic lymph nodes are more common in recurrent/persistent PTC.For metastatic lymph nodes,calcifications and peripheral vascularity are more common in recurrent/persistent PTC.

Discrepancy of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Sizes Measured by Ultrasonography and Pathology.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the size of papillary thyroid carcinoma on ultrasonography(US)and the actual size measured during histological examination and to discuss the potential causes of such discrepancy. METHODS: A total of 148 patients with histologically confirmed papillary thyroid carcinoma underwent thyroid surgery in our center from December 2012 to May 2013. Patients were stratified based on the size,morphology,margin,cystic component,and presence of Hashimoto's disease to compare the discrepancy of the US and pathalogical measurements. RESULTS: The mean sizes of the nodules measured by US and pathology were(1.58±0.94)cm and(1.33±0.84)cm,respectively(P=0.000). In 70.9%(105/148)of the nodules,the sizes measured by US were larger than those measured by pathology. In 17.6%(26/148)of the nodules,the sizes measured by US were smaller than those measured by pathology. In 1.1-1.4 cm size subgroup,the difference between mean ultrasound diameter and pathologic diameter was not significant [(1.21±0.11)cm vs.(1.11±0.32)cm,P=0.062]. In 0.1-1.0 cm size subgroup,the mean sizes of the nodules measured by US and pathology were(0.75±0.19)cm and(0.62±0.23)cm,respectively(P=0.000). In ≥1.5 cm size subgroup,the mean sizes of the nodules measured by US and pathology were(2.48±0.70)cm and(2.03±0.81)cm(P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant discrepancy between US and pathologic size measurements for papillary thyroid carcinoma. However,for nodules sized 1.1-1.4 cm,the ultrasound and pathologic measurements are more likely to be consistent.

Diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound of thyroid nodules coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in diagnosing thyroid nodules coexisting with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). METHODS: Totally 62 thyroid nodules in 48 HT patients were retrospectively analyzed. The CEUS characteristics were reviewed, and diagnostic value of enhancement pattern and peak intensity were calculated. RESULTS: Peak intensity (P=0.002) and enhancement pattern (P<0.001) differed significantly between malignant and benign thyroid nodules. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of heterogeneous enhancement were 97.6%, 85.7%, 93.0%, 94.7%, and 93.5%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of low intensity at peak time were 85.4%, 52.4%, 77.8%, 64.7%, and 74.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneous enhancement is effective in the diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules coexisting with HT. CEUS can improve the diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing thyroid nodules with unknown malignancy under the conventional ultrasound.

Comparison of ultrasonic features between anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the difference of the ultrasonic features between anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma. METHODS: The ultrasound data of 7 patients with histopathologically confirmed anaplastic thyroid carcinomas who were treated in PUMC Hospital from April 2001 to June 2014 were retrospectively studied. In addition, 21 sex-and age-matched patients with histopathologically confirmed papillary thyroid carcinomas during the same period were enrolled as the control group. The pathologic results were regarded as the gold standard. The ultrasonic features of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and papillary thyroid carcinoma were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: Patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma were predominantly females (5/7,71.4%), with an average age of (64.9 ± 11.3) years. Large mass [(5.17 ± 1.26) cm vs. (1.85 ± 1.89)cm, P<0.001], anteroposterior-to-transverse diameter ratio less than 1(100.0% vs. 47.6%, P ＝ 0.03), and punctuate calcification (100.0% vs. 52.4%, P ＝ 0.03) were more frequently associated with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma than with papillary thyroid carcinoma. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the shape, margin, cystic change, echogenicity, echotexture,vascularity,and envelope (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: In elderly women with common malignant features on ultrasound, the thyroid nodules with a maximum diameter greater than 5 cm,anteroposterior-to-transverse diameter ratio less than 1,and microcalcifications are highly likely to be anaplastic thyroid carcinoma.

Ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodules accompanied by Hashimoto thyroiditis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the ultrasound imaging characteristics of benign and malignant thyroid nodules on the background of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). METHODS: Totally 120 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed benign (n=60) or malignant (n=60) thyroid nodules in Peking Union Medical College Hospital since January 2013 were retrospectively analyzed, and their preoperative ultrasound images were reviewed. RESULTS: Sixty cases (100%) of the malignant nodules were papillary thyroid cancers. In the benign group, 33 cases (55.0%) had nodular changes of HT, 26 (43.3%) had nodular goiter, and one (16.7%) had adenoma. Compared with the benign ones,the malignant nodules were more likely to be solid (91.7% vs. 68.3%, P=0.001), hypoechoic (96.7% vs. 48.3%, P=0.000), ill defined (95.0% vs. 41.7%, P=0.000), irregular (96.7% vs. 43.4%, P=0.000), and more easily to have such characteristics as micro-calcification (71.7% vs. 30.0%, P=0.000), absence of regular halo (96.7% vs. 65.0%, P=0.000), taller-than-wide sign (46.7% vs. 13.3%, P=0.000), and locally increased or irregular blood flow (61.7% vs. 26.7%, P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound has an ideal overall sensitivity in differentiating nodules on the background of HT. Solid structure, hypo-echogenicity, ill-defined margin, irregular shape, and absence of regular halo are good screening ultrasound markers. Except for the A/T≥1, the other variables have less satisfactory diagnostic specificity.

[Diagnostic values of ultrasound and (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography/computerized tomography for patients with suspected thyroid carcinoma and lymph node metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic values of ultrasound (US) and (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG PET)/computerized tomography (CT) in diagnosing suspected thyroid carcinoma and lymph node metastasis. METHODS: The clinical data of 28 patients who had undergone total or subtotal thyroidectomy with or without neck dissection from December 2011 to December 2012 in PUMC Hospital and had undergone US and FDG PET/CT before surgery were retrospectively analyzed. In each patient, US and FDG PET/CT images were retrospectively reviewed to determine the presence of carcinoma with or without loco-regional metastasis by level-by-level analysis. The potential correlation between imaging results and histopathology were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 11 benign lesions,15 papillary carcinomas, one follicular carcinoma, and one medullary carcinoma. For thyroid carcinoma,the sensitivity and specificity were 88.2% and 63.6% for US and 76.5% and 54.5% for FDG PET/CT(P>0.05). For lymph node metastasis, the sensitivity was 68.0% for US and 60.0% for FDG PET/CT (P>0.05), and the specificity was 96.7% for US and FDG PET/CT.FDG PET/CT could provide more diagnostic information than US for patients with level 2 or 5 metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Combination of US and FDG PET/CT is typically not needed for differentiating thyroid lesions.However, for patients with suspected lymph node metastasis of infrequently involved levels, the combination of US and FDG PET/CT may be a good choice.

[Ultrasonographic and general pathologic features assessment of small intestinal lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the ultrasonographic and morphologic features of intestinal lymphoma. METHODS: The ultrasonographic and morphologic features of 19 patients with intestinal lymphoma were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS All the patients were confirmed as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by endoscopy or pathology. Of these 19 cases,the involved locations included ileum(n=14),duodenum(n=3),and ileocecum(n=2). The main sonographic types included mass type(n=12),bowel wall thickening type(n=1),and nonspecific signs(n=6). The mass type was characterized by solid and cystic-solid hypoechoic(including marked hypoechoic)foci,with well-defined margin,and rich blood signals were visible in large masses. The bowel wall thickening type was characterized by the thicking of bowel walls,showing hypoechoic(including marked hypoechoic),along with posterior acoustic enhancement. The nonspecific signs included e.g. dilatation of intestine and mesenteric lymph node enlargement. Morphologically,the tumor was featured by intestinal mass in intestinal mucosa or the circumferential thickening of intestinal wall. CONCLUSION: Small intestinal lymphoma has typical ultrasonographic features,and ultrasonography can provide useful information in the diagnosis of small intestinal lymphoma.

[Usefulness of ultrasonography in the differential diagnosis of thyroidal follicular tumor].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonography in distinguishing follicular carcinoma from adenoma. METHODS: The ultrasound data of 37 patients with histopathologically confirmed follicular carcinomas who were treated in PUMC Hospital from January 2000 to November 2012 were retrospectively studied. In addition, 74 sex-and age-matched patients with histopathologically confirmed adenomas during the same period were enrolled as the control group. The pathologic results were regarded as the gold standard. RESULTS: Irregular shape (32.4% of follicular carcinoma vs 5.4% of adenoma), absence of thin halo (67.6% vs 36.5%), indistinct margin (21.6% vs 1.4%), hypoechoic appearance (64.9% vs 39.2%), punctuate calcification(40.5% vs 13.5%), absence of cystic change (78.4% vs 54.1%), and being complicated with other thyroid disease (56.8% vs 28.4%) were more frequently associated with follicular carcinoma than with benign adenoma (P<0.05). No significant difference in the echotexture and internal flow was observed between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Although follicular carcinoma and adenoma share many sonographic features, irregular shape, absence of thin halo, indistinct margin, hypoechoic appearance, punctuate calcification, absence of cystic change, and being complicated with other thyroid disease favor a follicular carcinoma diagnosis.

FCOS-LSC: A Novel Model for Green Fruit Detection in a Complex Orchard Environment.

To better address the difficulties in designing green fruit recognition techniques in machine vision systems, a new fruit detection model is proposed. This model is an optimization of the FCOS (full convolution one-stage object detection) algorithm, incorporating LSC (level scales, spaces, channels) attention blocks in the network structure, and named FCOS-LSC. The method achieves efficient recognition and localization of green fruit images affected by overlapping occlusions, lighting conditions, and capture angles. Specifically, the improved feature extraction network ResNet50 with added deformable convolution is used to fully extract green fruit feature information. The feature pyramid network (FPN) is employed to fully fuse low-level detail information and high-level semantic information in a cross-connected and top-down connected way. Next, the attention mechanisms are added to each of the 3 dimensions of scale, space (including the height and width of the feature map), and channel of the generated multiscale feature map to improve the feature perception capability of the network. Finally, the classification and regression subnetworks of the model are applied to predict the fruit category and bounding box. In the classification branch, a new positive and negative sample selection strategy is applied to better distinguish supervised signals by designing weights in the loss function to achieve more accurate fruit detection. The proposed FCOS-LSC model has 38.65M parameters, 38.72G floating point operations, and mean average precision of 63.0% and 75.2% for detecting green apples and green persimmons, respectively. In summary, FCOS-LSC outperforms the state-of-the-art models in terms of precision and complexity to meet the accurate and efficient requirements of green fruit recognition using intelligent agricultural equipment. Correspondingly, FCOS-LSC can be used to improve the robustness and generalization of the green fruit detection models.

Inhibitory effects of longan seed extract on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation and muscle oxidation in baked mutton kebabs.

Longan seeds, rich in phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties, are an underestimated by-product of longan processing. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic and mutagenic, are produced during the cooking of meat products at high temperatures. The effects of different concentrations of longan seed extract (LSE, 0.2, 0.6, 1.0 mg/mL) on the formation of PAHs and muscle oxidation in mutton kebabs were investigated. Mutton kebabs were baked at 150, 200, 250 °C for 20 min, respectively, and the contents of PAHs, the degree of lipid and protein oxidation were evaluated. The results showed that LSE exhibited positive effects in inhibiting total PAHs formation (range from 14.9 to 48.8 %), decreasing the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values (range from 17.1 to 39.1 %), reducing carbonyl content (range from 22.0 to 51.2 %) and increasing sulfhydryl content (range from 18.6 to 51.8 %). This study provided a guidance and potential solution for reducing the content of PAHs and muscle oxidation levels in baked meat.