ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical value of transvaginal elastography in diagnosing cervical cancers.MethodsTotally,124 patients of cervical lesions with definite pathological results were enrolled.Elastograms were collected and the strain ratios of the benign and malignant lesions were record and compared.ROC curve was used to find the best cut-off point.ResultsElastography was useful in differentiating benign and malignant lesions by different color.Values of strain ratio of different pathological lesions were statistically different ( P ＜0.01).The mean value of strain ratio was 2.71 ± 1.56 for benign lesions and 8.32 ± 4.11 for malignant ones.The best cut-off point was 4.99 basing on the ROC curve.The sensitivity and specificity were 80.7％ and 89.6％,respectively.ConclusionsReal-time transvaginal elastography was a new way in differential diagnosing cervical cancers from benign lesions of the cervix.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the genesis of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy and neurokinin B (NKB).Methods The serum NKB levels of 229 women including non-pregnant women (n = 62),normal pregnant women (n = 80) and pregnant women with preeclampsia (n=37) or gestational hypertension (n= 50) were examined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.The umbilical blood levels of NKB and the NKB mRNA expression in the pregnant women were also tested by fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique.ANOVA and paired t-test were applied.Results (1)The maternal plasma NKB levels of normal pregnant women,patients with gestational hypertension or preeclampsia were significantly higher than that of non-pregnant women,respectively [(28.2±6.6)μg/L,(31.5±5.2)μg/L,(70.5±8.9)μg/L vs(3.2±1.8)μg/L,P＜ 0.01].In preeclampsia,gestational hypertension and normal pregnancy group,the NKB level in umbilical blood [(121.4±9.3)μg/L,(60.5±7.2)μg/L,(40.8±6.3)μg/L] were significantly higher than that of maternal plasma(P＜0.01).(2) The maternal plasma NKB level in gestational hypertension group was higher than that in normal pregnancy group,while the difference had no statistical significance (P＞0.05).The maternal plasma NKB level in preeclampsia group was higher than that in gestational hypertension group and normal pregnancy group (P＜0.01).Forty-eight hours after delivery,the maternal plasma NKB levels significantly decreased in the normal pregnant,gestational hypertension and preeclampsia group [ (14.1±4.2) μg/L,(16.4±3.8) μg/L,(25.4±5.2) μg/L],compared to the values before delivery (P＜0.01).(3) The expression of NKB mRNA in placenta of preeclampsia group was significantly higher than that of gestational hypertension group and normal pregnancy group [(3.8±0.6) × 10-3 vs(1.7±0.4) × 10-3 and (1.6±0.3) × 10-3,P＜0.01].No statistical difference was found in the expression of NKB mRNA in placenta between gestational hypertension group and normal pregnancy group (P＞0.05).Conclusions Elevated NKB level in placenta and maternal or umbilical blood might play an important role in the development of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of strain ratio in differential diagnosis of thyroid tumors,compared with the evaluation based on elastography scores.Methods Elastography examinations were performed in 67 patients with 92 thyroid tumors.Ultrasonic elastograms were evaluated according to the four- and five-score system respectively.Strain ratio of the tumor and the surrounding tissue was also calculated.Clinical value of the three evaluations was compared with pathological findings as the reference standard.Results The area under the curve:0.885 for the four-score,0.904 for the five-score,0.961 for the strain ratio.When a cutoff point of 3 was used,four-score and five-score showed a sensitivity of 78.0%,a specificity of 86.3%,an accuracy of 82.6% and a sensitivity of 80.5%,a specificity of 88.2%,an accuracy of 84.8%,respectively.When a cutoff point of 3.57 was introduced,the strain ratio had 92.7% sensitivity,92.2% specificity,92.4% accuracy.Conclusions Strain ratio was more helpful in diagnostic performance of thyroid tumors as a new semi-quantitative method than elastography scores.

Objective To study anxiety and depression among the abused children and their association with psychological resilience.Methods Self-rated questionnaires including the screen questionnaire of child abuse(SQCA),the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorder(SCARED),self-rating depression scale for children(DSRSC),Resilience Scale and General information questionnaire were applied to 447 children.Results (1) The score and rating of SCARED and DSRSC in the group of abused children(respectively(20.39 ± 12.79),(11.65 ± 5.44) and 40.26％,27.27％) was higher than that in control group(respectively(14.74 ± 10.91),(10.18 ± 4.75) and 22.43％,12.97％),the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.01).(2) The score of psychological resilience of abused children in group of anxiety and depression (respectively (80.13 ± 12.82),(74.67 ± 10.71)) was lower than that in control group (respectively (93.91 ± 16.08),(93.50 ± 15.00)),the difference was statistically significant(P＜ 0.01).(3) Emotion control was a significantly negative predictor of anxiety among the abused children.Social assistance,family support and emotion control was a significantly negative predictor of depression among the abused children.Conclusion The abused children have more anxiety and depression problems.psychological resilience is an important predictive variable for anxiety and depression among the abused children.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between characteristics of cervical cancer at contrast-enhanced ultrasound and prognostic factors.Methods Thirty-five patients with pathologically confirmed cervical cancer were enrolled in this retrospective analysis.All the patients accepted contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination before the surgery.Relationships between the characters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and the expression of ki-67 antigen(cell proliferation marker),tumor diameter,lymph node metastasis and histologic grade were studied.Results (1)Compared to the surrounding normal tissue, the cervical cancer had statistically significant differences in time to peak and peak intensity(P <0.05),the former was shortened,and the latter was increased.(2 )The ratio of perfusion defect and heterogeneous enhancement were significantly higher in tissues,including the ki-67 positive expression tissue,poorly differentiated or larger tumors (≥ 2.0 cm in diameter)(P < 0.05 ).(3 )Compared to the ki-67 negative expression group,time to peak of the ki-67 positive expression group was shorter and the peak intensity was higher,the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05 ).(4 )The peak intensity of poorly differentiated cervical cancers was significantly higher than that of the other groups (P <0.05).Conclusions Enhancement patterns and parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasound were associated with prognosis, which may be useful in noninvasive prediction of the patients with cervical cancers.

Objective To design a new method of determining optical properties of biological tissue by measuring light intensity distribution.Methods The light distribution in Intralipid-10％ suspension at 650 nm was measured by optical fiber probe.The optical parameters were derived from nonlinear regression of the diffusion equation for intensity.The distribution and anisotropy of intensity was abtained by the determined optical parameters and the diffusion equation for intensity.ResultsThis new method was feasible by comparing the experimental data with published results.ConclusionThe experiment results would provide useful information for radiative transfer equation,marine optical remote sensing measurement and laser therapeutic applications.-

Objective To explore the value of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) elastography and its influencing factors in identifying benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 210 cases of 240 thyroid nodules.Their images,including 2D ultrasound,color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and VTQ elastography,were reviewed,and the scanning view,the maximum diameter of the nodule,inside blood flow,calcifications and its depth beneath the skin were recorded.The value of shear wave velocity(SWV) in identifying benign and malignant thyroid nodules was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.The influences of the maximum diameter of the nodules,calcifications,internal blood flow,the depth beneath skin and scanning views as well as type of pathology on the value of SWV were analyzed using multiple linear regressions (MLR).Results The sensitivity and specificity of VTQ in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules was 74.8％ and 73.4％,respectively,and the area under ROC curve was 0.799.MLR indicated that the maximum diameter of the nodule,the type of pathology and internal blood flow were correlated with the SWV value (P ＜0.05),of which,the type of pathology was the important factor (standardized coefficient was-0.312).Microcalcifications,the depth of the nodules located and the scanning surface were not significantly related to SWV value (P ＞0.05).Conclusions VTQ can quantitatively provide the information on the hardness of thyroid tissue,which is of a definite value in the differential diagnosis of the nodules.The pathology of the nodule,its internal blood flow and maximum diameter are the factors that affect the value of SWV,and not its depth,scanning views and microcalcifications.

Objective To provide valuable references for ultrasonic diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapsed (POP) by finding an eas ily detecting referential line based on MRI.Methods Data of 107 patients who underwent pelvic MRI were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients were divided into 6 groups according to age:Group 1 (20 29 years old),group 2 (30-39 years old),group 3 (40-49 years old),group 4 (50-59 years old),group 5 (60-69 years old) and group 6 (≥70 years old group).Four reference lines were set basing on the median sagittal view of T2WI:PS-PS line (the line connecting the two endpoint of the pubic symphysis),PIAS line (the line connecting the inferior margin of pubic symphysis and the bottom of sphincter internal anal sphincter),PPC line (the line connecting of the inferior margin of pubic symphysis and the point of the pubococcygeous attached on the rectum) and PM line (the line connecting of the inferior margin of pubic symphysis and the M point [the midpoint of the line from the crosspoint of PPC line and the front wall of the rectum mucosa to the bottom of sphincter internal anal sphincter]).The angles between the horizontal line and PS-PS line,PIAS line,PM line,PPC line (angle 1,angle 2,angle 3,angle 4) were measured,respectively.The differences of the angle among various age-groups were compared.The consistency between the two observes were evaluated.Results PM line was the closest line to the horizontal line.There was no statistical differences of angle 1,angle 2 and angle 3 among the 6 groups (all P＞0.05).The difference of angle 4 among the 6 groups were significant (F=3.42,P=0.01).Intergroup pairwise comparisons showed that significant differences were found between group 1 and group 4,group 5,group 6,between group 2 and group 4,group 5,group 6,between group 3 and group 4,group 5,group 6,respectively (all P＜0.05).And no significant difference was found in the other comparisons.The consistency of the two observers in meaning angle 1,angle 3 and angle 4 were good,but the consistency of angle 2 was poor.Conclusion Of all the referential lines,PM is the closest to the horizontal line and is less influenced by the patient's age.However,the feasibility of using PM lines as the ultrasound referential line is still unclear.

Objective To explore the correlation between quantitative parameters of blood perfusion with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and microvessel density (MVD),microvessel area (MVA) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).And to investigate the value of CEUS in evaluating the angiogenesis in PTC before operation.Methods Totally 69 cases of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma were selected from April 2014 to October 2016 in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University.The CEUS characteristics of 69 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma confirmed by pathology were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into three groups according to maximum diameter of lesions (＜ 1 cm group,1-2 cm group and ＞ 2.0 cm group),and two groups according to pathologic reports (neck lymph node metastatic and nonmetastatic groups).The blood perfusion parameters between or among different groups were evaluated by ttest or one-way ANOVA.Immunohistochemical staining were performed to evaluate the MVD,MVA in the surgical specimens,and the correlation of quantitative parameters with MVD,MVA were assessed by Spearman.Results (1) Peak Intensity (Peak),area under the curve (AUC),MVD and MVA of thyroid carcinoma were lower than the surrounding normal thyroid tissue (14.95 ± 4.96 vs 22.67±6.11,970.01±263.20 vs 1798.35±563.67,118.91±31.32 vs 206.27±39.58,8.58±-2.68 vs 18.47±3.13),and the differences were statistically significant (t=-8.700,-11.061,-14.377 and-20.532,all P ＜ 0.05).(2)With the increase of the lesion's maximum diameter,Peak,AUC,MVD and MVA increased,and the differences were statistically significant (t=0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000;t=0.027,0.044,0.033,0.000;t=0.027,0.044,0.033,0.000,all P ＜ 0.05).(3) Papillary thyroid carcinoma with lymphatic involvement had significantly higher values of Peak,AUC,MVD and MVA than those without lymphatic involvement (16.86±4.36 vs 13.80±3.55,1128.16±290.85 vs 874.39±192.27,114.12±30.69 vs 103.67±22.19,10.30 ± 2.44 vs 7.54 ± 2.29),and the differences were statistically significant (t=3.177,4.366,6.336 and 4.742,all P ＜ 0.05).(4) A positive correlation existed between the Peak,AUC and MVD,and the differences were statistically significant (r=0.506,0.478,all P ＜0.05).Peak,AUC and MVA showed positive correlation,and the differences were statistically significant (r=0.648,0.653,all P ＜ 0.05).TP,MTT and MVD,MVA showed no correlations (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The values of Peak and AUC calculated from CEUS were correlated to MVD and MVA.CEUS may be used to evaluated the angiogenesis of PTC before operation.And CEUS is helpful for prediction of prognosis of PTC.

Objective To summarize the characters of the elastograms of different pathological nodules, and to observe the value of elastography in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid solid nodules. Methods One hundred and sixteen patients with thyroid nodules were enrolled in the study and 122 nodules were detected in total. All of them were examined by elastography and conventional ultrasound. Five sonographers were invited to evaluate the nodules double blinded basing on the images and the four-point system proposed by Fukunari. The interobserver agreement was evaluated by Kappa coefficient. Diagnostic performances of the five readers were compared by the ROC curves. Distributions of elastography scores of different pathological nodules were compared by one-way ANOVA. Results Interobserver agreements on scoring the nodules were moderate. Mean value of benign nodules was obvious lower than that of the malignant ones. The mean score of nodular goiters was 2.67 ± 0.89, range from 1 to 3. Most of the adenomas got score of 2, but the score of thyroiditis was quite high. No significant differences were found between the comparison of thyroiditis and thyroid cancers. Areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of the five readers were 0.82,0.81,0.79,0.73 and 0.83 respectively. When 3.5 was choosen as the cut-off point, the sensitivity of elastography was 82.4%, and specificity was 71.6%. Conclusions Elastography was really a useful technique for it can provide a new index for the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules. However, the 4-point score system is not comprehensive enough.