Objective To explore the qualitative evaluation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules (TNs).Methods Totally 110 outpatients with 132 TNs underwent CEUS were enrolled in this study in Jinling Hospitall Medical School of Nanjing University (Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military).Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military All the nodules underwent ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB).113 TNs were histologically diagnosed,the characteristics of enhancement for each noudle were scored.The characteristicsof enhancement between benign and malignant TNs were compared by chi-square test.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were conducted to determine the diagnostic values of thyroid CEUS.Results Contrast-enhanced patterns were significantly different between benign and malignant TNs in the degree,homogeneity of enhancement,enhanced ring and boundary,shape and size of the enhanced lesions (x2=23.85,P ＜ 0.001;x2=7.43,P=0.04;x2=34.54,P ＜ 0.001;x2=25.7,P ＜ 0.001;x2=53.10,P ＜ 0.001;x2=22.78,P ＜ 0.001;x2=30.90,P ＜ 0.001).Contrast-enhanced patterns were not significantly different between benign and malignant TNs in the process and completeness of enhancement.Malignant lesions had concentric (79.5％),inhomogeneous (89.0％) and low (71.1％) enhanced with irregular (79.5％) and unclear (64.4％) boundary and bigger size (63.0％).The typical CEUS feature of benign nodules was peripheral ring hyperenhancement (34.7％).According to ROC curve,the cut off value was 3.5 points.The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for CEUS was 0.862 (95％CI:0.797-0.927).The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy for CEUS were 80.8％,79.6％,80.3％ respectively.Conclusion The pattem of CEUS may assist in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant TNs.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage) manipulation plus horse-riding squat exercise in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and optimize the combining protocol. Methods: Based on a 2×2 factorial design, 120 eligible KOA patients were randomized into a manipulation group (group A1B2), a manipulation plus horse-riding squat group (group A1B1), a sitting knee-adjustment group (group A2B2 group), and a sitting knee-adjustment plus horse-riding squat group (group A2B1), with 30 cases in each group. The intervention was conducted three times a week, lasting for four weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) was taken as the major measure for efficacy evaluation (including three component scores, pain, stiffness, and daily function, and total score). Results: The three component scores (pain, stiffness, and daily function) and the total score of WOMAC showed significant differences after the intervention in the four groups (P<0.05). There were significant inter-group differences in the WOMAC stiffness score amongst the four groups after the intervention (P<0.05). In group A1B1, the step length, stride, walking speed, and knee joint flexion angle changed significantly after treatment (P<0.05). After the intervention, the step length changed significantly in group A1B2 (P<0.05), and the walking speed changed significantly in group A2B1 (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the step length, stride, walking speed, or knee joint flexion angle among the four groups (P>0.05). The extensor peak torque at 180 °/s changed significantly in group A1B2 after treatment (P<0.05). Neither the intra-group nor the inter-group comparisons of the four groups revealed significant differences in the other isokinetic muscle strength parameters (P>0.05). The main effect of manipulation showed significant in affecting the WOMAC pain and total scores (P<0.05). The main effect of horse-riding squat exercise showed significant in affecting the WOMAC pain and stiffness scores (P<0.05). Conclusion: The four treatment protocols all can improve the symptoms of KOA, for instance, relieving pain and stiffness, and enhancing daily function. Group A2B1 produces the most eminent effect in relieving joint stiffness. The main effects of both manipulation and horse-riding squat exercise are significant in reducing pain. Besides, the main effect of horse-riding squat exercise is significant in relieving joint stiffness.

Objective:To optimize the dispatch of pre-hospital emergency resources and address the assessment challenge of ambulance demand, a pre-hospital emergency demand prediction model based on multi-model fusion was constructed.Methods:The retrospective study design method was adopted, and historical pre-hospital emergency dispatch records and corresponding weather data were extracted. Three types of primary learners were trained by 5-fold cross-validation, and the training results of the primary learners were fused by Stacking. The fusion results were input into the secondary learner as new features, and the final prediction results of ambulance demand were obtained by the secondary learner.Results:By comparison experiments, results showed that the multi-model fusion prediction model based on Stacking was superior to the single model in both mean absolute error and root mean square error, indicating that the model could predict ambulance demand more accurately.Conclusion:The pre-hospital emergency demand prediction model based on multi-model fusion could improve the accuracy and generalization ability of ambulance demand prediction by using historical emergency data and weather data, and provide strong support for the optimization of pre-hospital emergency resources.

Objective To investigate the expressions of the β-catenin/transcription factor 4(TCF4)signaling pathway-related proteins in colon cancer tissues and their relationship with postoperative recurrence and metastasis of colon cancer.Methods A total of 86 patients with colon cancer admitted to Zhumadian Central Hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were selected as the research subjects,all of whom underwent surgical resection of the colon.Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression levels of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 mRNA in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of patients,and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression levels of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4.The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the risk factors of postoperative recurrence and metastasis of colon cancer.Results The relative mRNA expression levels and protein expression positive rates of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissues of colon cancer patients(P＜0.05).The expression positive rates of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 protein were correlated with the degree of tumor invasion,tumor stage and lymph node metastasis(P＜0.05),but not correlated with age,sex,tumor size and differentiation degree(P＞0.05).Cox regression analysis showed that lymph node metastasis,and positive protein expressions of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 were risk factors for postoperative recurrence and metastasis of colon cancer(P＜0.05).Conclusion The mRNA expression levels and protein expression positive rates of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 are higher in colon cancer tissues.The protein expression positive rates of Wnt-1,β-catenin and TCF4 are significantly correlated with the degree of tumor invasion,tumor stage and lymph node metastasis,and are risk factors for postoperative recurrence and metastasis of colon cancer.

Objective:To explore the preventive effect of disposable incision protector on incision infection in patients with hepatolithiasis after open hepatectomy.Methods:A retrospective collection of patients with hepatolithiasis who underwent open hepatectomy with a disposable incision protector from January 2015 to December 2018 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University was used as the intervention group. At the same time, patients with hepatolithiasis who did not use the incision protector to undergo partial hepatectomy from January 2012 and December 2014 were collected as the control group. Propensity matching analysis was used to reduce case selection bias and incidences of postoperative incision infection between the two groups were compared before and after matching.Results:In the primary cohort, there were 245 patients in the intervention group and 201 patients in the control group. Patients in the intervention group were younger than those of the control group ( P<0.05) . The proportion of patients with a history of biliary tract surgery in the intervention group was lower than that of the control group, and the operation time was shorter than that of the control group (all P<0.05) . The incidence of incision infection in the intervention group before matching was 5.7% (14/245) , lower than 15.9% in the control group (32/201) , and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=4.436, P=0.035) . After propensity matching, 165 pairs of patients were generated, there were 165 patients in each group. There was no statistically significant difference in clinical baseline variables between the two groups ( P>0.05) . In the matching cohort, the incidence of incision infection in the intervention group was 7.9% (13/165) , which was lower than 15.2% (25/165) in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=4.283, P=0.039) . Conclusions:The disposable incision protector can effectively prevent postoperative incision infection in patients undergoing open hepatectomy for hepatolithiasis.

Objective To investigate the value of high resolution CT (HRCT) in displaying the anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea.Methods Totally 110 patients (220 ears) who underwent HRCT were collected.The original images were transferred to workstation for image processing.MPR images were acquired.The anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea was observed in oblique coronal MPR images.The bony septum between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea was assessed as definite defect (Type Ⅰ),doubtful defect (Type Ⅱ) or complete (Type Ⅲ),respectively.Results There were 71 ears (71/220,32.27％) of Type Ⅰ,diameters of bone fissure ranged from 0.3-1.3 mm (average diameters [0.64±0.26]mm),86 ears (86/220,39.09％) of Type Ⅱ and 63 ears (63/220,28.64％) of Type Ⅲ,with bony septum thickness ranged from 0.3-1.0 mm (average thickness [0.68±0.15]mm).No statistical difference of rates of the above three types was found between different genders,among age groups and between both side of ears (all P＞0.05).Conclusion HRCT is a reliable method to show the anatomic relationship between labyrinth segment of facial canal and cochlea.

Objective This study was to develop a"Spleen Deficiency Certificate Scale for County Residents"and test its reliability.It was then developed as an objective tool for Chinese medicine evidence and symptoms for the prevention and control of chronic diseases among county residents.Methods The scale was compiled based on the team's previous foundation.The reliability of the scale was evaluated using internal consistency reliability and split-half reliability,while its validity was evaluated using structural validity,content validity,calibration validity,and discriminant validity.Results The study included 213 adults from Lanxi,of whom 155 were tested for intestinal flora.Seven scale entries were identified:Fatigue,fear of cold,bland mouth,loss of appetite,diarrhea,weak bowel movements,and tooth-marked tongue.In the reliability test,Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.828 and McDonald's ω coefficient was 0.825.The"stomach pain"and"bloating"entries did not meet the inclusion requirements and were recommended to be deleted.The Spearman-Brown coefficient was 0.839.The exploratory factor analysis of the two common factors explained 61.6%of the cumulative variance.The calibration validity indicated that the ratio of salivary amylase activity before and after acid stimulation was 0.826±0.253 in the group with spleen deficiency.Significant differences(P<0.05)in the genera Dialister,Shigella,Leuconostoc,Photobacterium,Trabulsiella,and Parvimonas between the spleen deficiency group and the non-spleen deficiency group.Conclusion The Spleen Deficiency Scale for County Residents demonstrates good reliability and validity.

Objective To study the properties and antimicrobial activity of the novel self-assembled antimicrobial peptide(AMP)CR-16,and to provide experimental evidence for the treatment of bacterial infections.Methods CR-16 was designed and synthesized based on the structure of antimicrobial peptides Buforin Ⅱ and LfcinB.Dynamic light scattering(DLS),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and X-ray diffraction(XRD)were used to characterize CR-16.Based on the results of critical micelle concentration(CMC),the self-assembled properties of CR-16 were investigated using atomic force microscopy(AFM)and circular dichroism(CD).The minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC)was used to study the inhibitory effect of CR-16 while transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was adopted to observe the interactions between CR-16 and the outer membrane of bacteria.Results AMP CR-16 was prepared as self-assemblies,which were regularly spherical in shape and stable in activity.CR-16 could inhibit both the growth of Escherichia coli and,more importantly,the growth of NDM-1-producing carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli,promising good prospects in treating infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.Conclusion CR-16 can be self-assembled and deliver antibacterial effects against Escherichia coli.

Objective To evaluate the Mandarin tracking of noise tolerance(TNT)test material and compare the differences between the average tolerable noise level(aTNL)value obtained from assessment and the program-estimated tolerable noise level(eTNL).Methods A total of 25 subjects with normal hearing and aural communica-tional ability were selected to undergo two of the mandarin TNT tests successively(respectively test 1,C1;test 2,C2),and 13 of them completed the third test(C3)under the same test condition as test 2 at least 1 week later.The stimulus for the three test conditions was presented with"speech 0°,continuous noise 180°".Results The aTNL of 25 participants for C1 and C2 was 83.42±3.09 dB SPL and 83.50±3.18 dB SPL,respectively.The eTNL of 25 participants for C1 and C2 were 84.08±3.53 dB SPL and 83.95±3.85 dB SPL,respectively.The aTNL and eT-NL for 13 subjects who participated in C3 was 83.16±2.13 dB SPL and 83.18±2.64 dB SPL,respectively.The intra-session(C1 vs C2)and inter-session(C2 vs C3)test-retest reliability were 2.36 dB and 2.75 dB,respectively.Pearson correlation analysis showed that intra-session(r=0.837,P＜0.001)and inter-session(r=0.867,P＜0.001)test-retest reliability was good.There was no statistical difference between aTNL and eTNL in the other TNT tests(P＞0.05 for both)except that aTNL and eTNL were statistically different in C1(P＜0.01),and more than 90％of the subjects could obtain eTNL within 1 minute.Conclusion The test-retest reliability of Mandarin tracking of noise tolerance test is good,with advantages of high reliability and efficiency.

Objective:A dose verification system of two-dimensional semiconductor matrix(SRS MapCHECK)was used to verify the dose of the clinical treatment plan of patients who underwent CyberKnife(CK),which realized rapid verification for individualization of radiotherapy plans of patients through analyzed the γ-passing rates of them.Methods:A total of 253 patients with tumor who received CK clinical treatment in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from March 2021 to May 2023 were selected.Among of them,121 cases received CK treatment on head,and 30 cases received that on lung,and 102 cases received CK treatment on abdomen and other metastatic tumor.In the MultiPlan treatment plan system,the plan of patient was mapped to the integrated model composed of StereoPHAN model and SRS MapCHECK matrix dose verification system by the means of the plan image center overlap.The dose verification was conducted on the plan of each patient on the basis of ensuring the consistency of the number of beam,direction of beam and the monitor unit.The different γ analysis standards(1%/1 mm,2%/1 mm,3%/1 mm,1%/2 mm,2%/2 mm,3%/2 mm,1%/3 mm,2%/3 mm and 3%/3 mm)were adopted to conduct global analysis of absolute dose for each verification plan,and the threshold(TH)of low dose was set as 10%.Results:The γ passing rates of phantom verification plans of 253 patients were respectively(88.64±5.91)%,(95.43±3.40)%,(97.90±2.06)%,(96.51±2.35)%,(98.15±1.68)%,(99.06±1.12)%,(98.30±1.39)%,(99.09±0.97)%and(99.52±0.63)%under different analysis standards.The γ passing rates of other standards of patients with tumor on different parts were larger than 95%except the analysis result of 1%1 mm standard.The overall analysis result of the deviation of central point dose was(-1.30±2.17)%,among of which the tumor of head,abdominal tumors and other metastatic tumor were about approximately-2%,while that of lung tumors were approximately-3%.The deviation of abdominal and other metastatic tumor was the minimum.The correlation analysis showed that the target volume and the size of the minimum collimator were respectively correlated to the dose deviation of the center.Conclusion:SRS MapCHECK dose verification system can conveniently and quickly realize the individualized verification for the plan of patients who receive CK treatment.