Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of an intelligent handheld ultrasound (US) device for assisting non-expert general practitioners (GPs) in detecting carotid plaques (CPs) in community populations. Methods: This prospective parallel controlled trial recruited 111 consecutive community residents. All of them underwent examinations by non-expert GPs and specialist doctors using handheld US devices (setting A, setting B, and setting C). The results of setting C with specialist doctors were considered the gold standard. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and the features of CPs were measured and recorded. The diagnostic performance of GPs in distinguishing CPs was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve. Inter-observer agreement was compared using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC). Questionnaires were completed to evaluate clinical benefits. Results: Among the 111 community residents, 80, 96, and 112 CPs were detected in settings A, B, and C, respectively. Setting B exhibited better diagnostic performance than setting A for detecting CPs (area under the curve, 0.856 vs. 0.749; P<0.01). Setting B had better consistency with setting C than setting A in CIMT measurement and the assessment of CPs (ICC, 0.731 to 0.923). Moreover, measurements in setting B required less time than the other two settings (44.59 seconds vs. 108.87 seconds vs. 126.13 seconds, both P<0.01). Conclusion Using an intelligent handheld US device, GPs can perform CP screening and achieve a diagnostic capability comparable to that of specialist doctors.

This study constructed a LHCGR-CRE-luc-HEK293 transgenic cell line according to the activation of the cAMP signaling pathway after recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin binding to the receptor. The biological activity of recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin was assayed using a luciferase assay system. The relative potency of the samples was calculated using four-parameter model. And the method conditions were optimized to validate the specificity, relative accuracy, precision and linearity of the method. The results showed that there was a quantitative potency relationship of human chorinonic gonadotropin (hCG) in the method and it was in accordance with the four-parameter curve. After optimization, the conditions were determined as hCG dilution concentration of 2.5 μg·mL^-1, dilution ratio of 1∶4, cell number of 10 000-15 000 cells/well, and induction time of 6 h. The method had good specificity, relative accuracy with relative bias ranging from -8.9% to 3.4%, linear regression equation correlation coefficient of 0.996, intermediate precision geometric coefficient of variation ranging from 3.3% to 15.0%, and linearity range of 50% to 200%. This study successfully established and validated a reporter gene method to detect hCG biological activity, which can be used for hCG biological activity assay and quality control.

Objective To develop a deep learning model for automated age estimation based on 3D CT reconstructed images of Han population in western China,and evaluate its feasibility and reliability.Methods The retrospective pelvic CT imaging data of 1 200 samples(600 males and 600 females)aged 20.0 to 80.0 years in western China were collected and reconstructed into 3D virtual bone models.The images of the ischial tuberosity feature region were extracted to create sex-specific and left/right site-specific sample libraries.Using the ResNet34 model,500 samples of different sexes were randomly selected as training and verification set,the remaining samples were used as testing set.Initialization and transfer learning were used to train images that distinguish sex and left/right site.Mean absolute error(MAE)and root mean square error(RMSE)were used as primary indicators to evaluate the model.Results Prediction results varied between sexes,with bilateral models outperformed left/right unilateral ones,and transfer learning models showed superior performance over initial models.In the prediction results of bilateral transfer learning models,the male MAE was 7.74 years and RMSE was 9.73 years,the female MAE was 6.27 years and RMSE was 7.82 years,and the mixed sexes MAE was 6.64 years and RMSE was 8.43 years.Conclusion The skeletal age estimation model,utilizing is-chial tuberosity images of Han population in western China and employing the ResNet34 combined with transfer learning,can effectively estimate adult ischium age.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic performance of different thyroid imaging reporting and data systems (TI-RADS) in the diagnosis of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) .Methods:A total of 160 thyroid nodules diagnosed as MTC by postoperative pathology from Aug. 2011 to Aug. 2022 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were included. Additionally, 160 papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) and 160 benign nodules were randomly selected as controls during the same period. Differences in gender, age, nodule diameter and various ultrasound features were observed. The nodules were classified according to American College of Radiology (ACR) TI-RADS, artificial intelligence (AI) TI-RADS and Chinese (C TI-RADS). Then, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) were plotted to calculate the diagnostic value. The Kendall concordance coefficient was used to evaluate the interobserver consistency of each TI-RADS system.Results:There was no statistically significant difference in gender among the three groups ( χ2=1.17, P=0.558). However, significant differences were observed in age and nodule diameter ( F=12.08,40.12, P<0.001 for both). The area under ROC (AUC) for diagnosing MTC and benign nodules using ACR, AI, and C-TIRADS were 0.762, 0.773, and 0.761, respectively, with no statistically significant differences ( Z=1.33, 0.01, 0.87, P=0.183, 0.994, 0.386). However, the sensitivity of C TI-RADS (87.5%) was lower than that of ACR and AI TI-RADS (both 95.0%) ( P=0.018). After combining the biopsy threshold, the false negative rate of C-TIRADS was lower than that of ACR (30.6% vs. 41.3%) ( P=0.048) and AI TIRADS (30.6% vs. 43.1%) ( P=0.020). The inter-observer diagnostic consistency of C-TIRADS was superior to ACR (0.884 vs. 0.819, P<0.001) and AI TIRADS (0.884 vs. 0.839) ( P<0.001) . Conclusions:AI and ACR TI-RADS have higher sensitivity in diagnosing MTC, while C TI-RADS has a lower puncture missed diagnosis rate. AI has similar diagnostic performance to ACR TI-RADS and can replace ACR TI-RADS.

As interstitial collagen,type Ⅲ collagen(Col Ⅲ)does not express in normal glomeruli.However,in Col Ⅲ nephropathy,a large amount of Col Ⅲ deposit in the mesangial and subendothelial area of the glomeruli.IgA nephropathy with Col Ⅲ deposition was extremely rare.In this article,we reported two cases of such disease.After treating with immunosuppressive agents or traditional Chinese medicine decoction,the renal function of the two patients remained stable and the urinary protein levels reduced significantly.

Objective To study the association of hypercoagulability with urinary protein and renal pathological damage in children with immunoglobulin A vasculitis with nephritis(IgAVN).Methods Based on the results of coagulation function,349 children with IgAVN were divided into a hypercoagulability group consisting of 52 children and a non-hypercoagulability group consisting of 297 children.Urinary protein and renal pathological features were compared between the two groups,and the factors influencing the formation of hypercoagulability in children with IgAVN were analyzed.Results Compared with the non-hypercoagulability group,the hypercoagulability group had significantly higher levels of urinary erythrocyte count,24-hour urinary protein,urinary protein/creatinine,urinary immunoglobulin G/creatinine,and urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase(P<0.05).The hypercoagulability group also had a significantly higher proportion of children with a renal pathological grade of Ⅲ-Ⅳ,diffuse mesangial proliferation,capillary endothelial cell proliferation,or>25％ crescent formation(P<0.05).The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that capillary endothelial cell proliferation and glomerular crescent formation>25％ were associated with the formation of hypercoagulability in children with IgAVN(P<0.05).Conclusions The renal injury in IgAVN children with hypercoagulability is more severe,with greater than 25％ crescent formation and increased proliferation of glomerular endothelial cells being important contributing factors that exacerbate the hypercoagulable state in IgAVN.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):164-168]