Objective To investigate the method for the normal three‐dimensional ultrasound imaging and the characteristics of the fetal hard palate .Methods 210 single fetus free of deformity were examined using three‐dimensional ultrasound(3DUS) .Offline analysis was made after reconstruction ,the hard palate was observed and the width was measured .Results With reconstruction ,the fetal palate was clearly displayed 1.97 cases in 210 cases were successfully displayed (93 8.% ) .The front palate and both frontalis processus of maxillary bone composed similar triangular structure in the coronal plane .The retral part showed sustained linear hyperechoic and the radian increased along with the gestational age .Early palate showed flaky hyperechoic in the cross section and it became horse‐shoe shaped in the second or third trimester pregnancy surrounded by alveolar bone .Linear regression yielded the following formula for the hard palate width (PW) according to gestational age (GA):PW= -0 5.47+0 0.13 × GA( r =0 9.82 ,P <0 0.01) .Conclusions 3DUS acquired palate images fast and easily .The hard palate in the coronal ,sagittal and cross plane showed obvious characteristic images in different gestational stages .With increasing gestational age ,the curvature ,width ,trend and the contrast with the surrounding tissue had the corresponding changes . The successful three‐dimensional image reconstruction of the postnasal triangle and the retral part of fetal hard palate would have an important significance in terms of assessing its continuity and integrity .

Objective To explore the relationship between G-protein β3 subunit (GNB3) gene C825T polymor?phism and the weight gain of schizophrenics treated with olanzapine. Methods Ninety schizophrenics of first time hospi?talization were collected and treated with olanzapine for 12 weeks. The changes of body weight and body mass index (BMI) were detected before and after 12-week olanzapine treatment. The GNB3 gene C825T polymorphism in patients was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing technique. The correlation of GNB3 gene C825T polymorphism and change of clinical parameters was analyzed. Results Body weight and BMI in patients were all increased significantly after treatment (all P<0.01). Weight gain rate (WGR) and increase of BMI in the TT genotype group were higher than those in the CC genotype group (all P<0.01). WGR and increase of BMI in the T-allele carrier (TT and CT genotypes) were higher than those in the T-allele non-carrier (CC genotype) (all P<0.01). There was signifi?cant difference in distribution of genotypes between WGR ≥7% group (CC 15.69%, CT 54.90%, TT 29.41%) and WGR <7% group (CC 38.46%, CT 43.59%, TT 17.95%) (P<0.05). The frequency of T-allele in the WGR≥7% group (63.33%) was higher than that in the WGR<7%group (39.74%) (P<0.05). Multi-variable linear regression indicated that TT genotype (contrasted with CC genotype) was an influential factor for change of body weight after treatment with olan?zapine (β=1.83, standardized β=0.29, P<0.01). Conclusions The GNB3 gene C825T polymorphism is associated with olanzapine-induced weight gain.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography in the differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions.

METHODSARFI elastography was performed for 169 lesions from 163 patients with focal liver lesions and 15 healthy volunteers, and the virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI) findings and measured value of shear wave velocity (SWV) of liver lesions were obtained and compared between groups. The t-test was applied for comparison of means between two groups; the one-way analysis of variance was applied for comparison of means between multiple groups, and the Student-Newman-Keuls test was applied for further comparison between any two groups.

RESULTSBenign focal liver lesions were stiffer or softer than or had the same stiffness as the surrounding liver parenchyma. These lesions had a uniform texture, and the ratio between their diameters on elastographic images and two-dimensional images was close to 1. The typical VTI finding of hemangioma lesions was"honeycomb"pattern. Most malignant focal liver lesions were stiffer than the surrounding liver parenchyma, and the ratio between their diameters on elastographic images and two-dimensional images was greater than 1. The typical VTI finding of metastatic lesions was"bull's eye"sign. With a measured SWV of 2.08 m/s as the diagnostic threshold for malignant liver lesions, its sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 90.3%, 76.9%, and 84.2%, respectively. Poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) showed a significant increase in stiffness compared with moderately differentiated HCC (t = 5.319, P = 0.025) and well-differentiated HCC (t = 6.372, P = 0.011).

CONCLUSIONARFI elastography can reflect changes in the stiffness of focal liver lesions accurately, and is useful for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant focal liver lesions.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; diagnosis ; Case-Control Studies ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity