Objective:To explore the effect of different post-processing parameters of digital radiography (DR) on the quality of chest X-ray for pneumoconiosis diagnosis, and to provide suggestions on parameter setting suitable for this kind of DR machine.Methods:From January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, the chest films of 35 workers in the department of radiology of Hangzhou occupational disease prevention and treatment hospital were randomly selected and printed after setting different image post-processing parameters. The quality of chest film was evaluated by the measurement of optical densitometer and the combination of subjective and objective by professional physicians.Results:When the density is set to 2 and the contrast/detail contrast is 4.5, the optical density of each area of DR chest film meets the requirements of chest X-ray quality, and the qualified rate of physician quality evaluation is the highest.Conclusion:Reasonable setting of image post-processing parameters can improve the quality of chest radiograph.

Objective:To explore the effect of different post-processing parameters of digital radiography (DR) on the quality of chest X-ray for pneumoconiosis diagnosis, and to provide suggestions on parameter setting suitable for this kind of DR machine.Methods:From January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, the chest films of 35 workers in the department of radiology of Hangzhou occupational disease prevention and treatment hospital were randomly selected and printed after setting different image post-processing parameters. The quality of chest film was evaluated by the measurement of optical densitometer and the combination of subjective and objective by professional physicians.Results:When the density is set to 2 and the contrast/detail contrast is 4.5, the optical density of each area of DR chest film meets the requirements of chest X-ray quality, and the qualified rate of physician quality evaluation is the highest.Conclusion:Reasonable setting of image post-processing parameters can improve the quality of chest radiograph.

Pneumoconiosis is a serious occupational disease in China. Early imaging examination is one of the important measures for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of pneumoconiosis. Digital radiography (DR) and computed tomography (CT) play an important role in the screening and diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, as well as the recent rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This paper reviews the latest progress in technical parameter debugging and quality control of DR, optimization of AI computer-aided system and CT-aided diagnosis of pneumoconiosis, summarizes the advantages and problems in the application of the three technologies, providing research directions for imaging diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.

Objective:To connect with the measurement data of asbestos dust fiber concentration in foreign countries, improve the accuracy of asbestos fiber detection in China, and understand the dust exposure in the working environment of asbestos and man-made mineral fiber production and processing sites in Zhejiang Province. The fiber count concentrations of working environment in glass fiber, ceramic fiber and asbestos processing plants were measured and compared.Methods:The dust concentration in the working environment of two glass fiber factories, one ceramic fiber factory and eight asbestos products processing factories was measured. The total dust mass concentration was measured according to GBZ/T 192.1-2007, and the fiber count concentration was measured by phase contrast microscope. Kruskal Wallis was used to test and compare the dust concentration in the working environment of each post. The correlation between asbestos mass concentration and fiber count concentration was analyzed by Spearman correlation.Results:Under the phase contrast microscope, there were many short and fine asbestos fibers in the field of vision, and there were many impurities around. The average dust concentration of asbestos processing plant was 3.2 f/ml, and the dust concentration of cotton ginning was the highest (6.68 f/ml) . There was a significantly positive correlation between asbestos fiber count concentration and mass concentration ( r=0.535, P=0.033) . The average fiber count concentration of glass fiber factory was 0.001 f/ml, and the highest was 0.005 f/ml. The average fiber count concentration of ceramic fiber factory was 0.001 f/ml, and the highest was 0.006 f/ml. Conclusion:The fiber count concentration in the working environment of asbestos factory in Zhejiang Province is obviously over the standard, which is one of the important reasons for the high incidence of mesothelioma in this area. Short and small asbestos fibers are easy to be ignored when counting. It is necessary to improve the actual operation process of fiber counting to form a laboratory standard in China.

Objective:To connect with the measurement data of asbestos dust fiber concentration in foreign countries, improve the accuracy of asbestos fiber detection in China, and understand the dust exposure in the working environment of asbestos and man-made mineral fiber production and processing sites in Zhejiang Province. The fiber count concentrations of working environment in glass fiber, ceramic fiber and asbestos processing plants were measured and compared.Methods:The dust concentration in the working environment of two glass fiber factories, one ceramic fiber factory and eight asbestos products processing factories was measured. The total dust mass concentration was measured according to GBZ/T 192.1-2007, and the fiber count concentration was measured by phase contrast microscope. Kruskal Wallis was used to test and compare the dust concentration in the working environment of each post. The correlation between asbestos mass concentration and fiber count concentration was analyzed by Spearman correlation.Results:Under the phase contrast microscope, there were many short and fine asbestos fibers in the field of vision, and there were many impurities around. The average dust concentration of asbestos processing plant was 3.2 f/ml, and the dust concentration of cotton ginning was the highest (6.68 f/ml) . There was a significantly positive correlation between asbestos fiber count concentration and mass concentration ( r=0.535, P=0.033) . The average fiber count concentration of glass fiber factory was 0.001 f/ml, and the highest was 0.005 f/ml. The average fiber count concentration of ceramic fiber factory was 0.001 f/ml, and the highest was 0.006 f/ml. Conclusion:The fiber count concentration in the working environment of asbestos factory in Zhejiang Province is obviously over the standard, which is one of the important reasons for the high incidence of mesothelioma in this area. Short and small asbestos fibers are easy to be ignored when counting. It is necessary to improve the actual operation process of fiber counting to form a laboratory standard in China.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value and the impact on treatment decision of 18F-FDG PET/CT in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients with elevated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels and negative radioiodine 131I post-therapy whole body scan (131I-RxWBS).Methods Totally 72 patients with DTC who had elevated serum Tg levels and negative 131I-RxWBS were enrolled,and 18F-FDG PET/CT was performed.The imaging results of 18F-FDG PET/CT were compared with the clinical results of surgical pathology or 6 to 36 months follow up.The diagnostic efficacy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in detection of recurrence and/or metastasis of DTC with elevated Tg levels and negative 131I-RxWBS was evaluated.Results The accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive prediction value and negative prediction value of 18F-FDG PET/CT in diagnosis of DTC with elevated Tg levels and negative 131I-RxWBS was 83.33％ (60/72),89.47％ (34/38),76.47％ (26/34),80.95％ (34/42) and 86.67％ (26/30),respectively.18F-FDG PET/CT changed the treatment strategies of 35 patients (35/72,48.61 ％) among 72 patients,while recurrence or metastasis of DTC was not found during clinical follow-up in 23 of these 35 patients (23/35,65.71％) who underwent reoperation,but was detected in the other 12 patients (12/35,34.29％).Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT is a valuable method for detection of recurrence and/or metastasis of DTC with elevated Tg levels and negative 131I-RxWBS,also for guiding the follow-up treatment strategy.

Objective To analyze the CT features of osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma and to explore the value of CT differential diagnosis.Methods The CT findings of 35 cases with osteosarcoma and 22 cases with chondrosarcoma confirmed by operation and pathology were analyzed retrospectively.P<0.05 for the difference was statistically significant.Results Periosteal reaction, Codman triangle, radial spicule, type Ⅰ and Ⅳ calcium-like density, long tubular soft tissue mass around greater than 1/2, the ratio of tumor CT to muscle CT (△T/△M) was statistically significant.Of all the above image performance, the sensitivity and specificity of the type I calcium-like density were the highest, while those of the type Ⅳ calcium-like density were the lowest.Conclusion The osteosarcoma is more likely to have the signs of periosteal reaction, Codman triangle, radial spicule and type Ⅰ calcium-like density, while the chondrosarcoma is more likely to have the signs of type Ⅳ calcium-like density.

Purpose To explore the clinical value of131I-whole body scan (131I-WBS) and 18F-FDG PET/CT on the metastatic management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after operation.Materials and Methods Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) of 27 patients after DTC surgery was measured one day before131I therapy, and the patients underwent131I-WBS on 3-5 days after131I therapy. According to the results of Tg and 131I-WBS, all the patients were divided into 4 types as follows: type I: Tg (+),131I-WBS (-); type II: Tg (+),131I-WBS (+); type III: Tg (-),131I-WBS (+); and type IV: Tg (-), 131I-WBS (-). Then the patients received18F-FDG PET/CT scan within a week after 131I-WBS. The results of131I-WBS and18F-FDG PET/CT scan were analyzed according to histopathologic findings or clinical and imaging follow-up of at least 6 months as diagnosis standard.Results The examinations uncovered that metastasis occurred in 52 lesions of 22 cases out of the 27 cases.131I-WBS revealed 24 metastatic lesions (46.2%) in 8 cases (36.4%), and18F-FDG PET/CT showed 35 metastatic lesions (67.3%) in 15 cases (68.2%), the difference with statistic significance (χ2=4.46 and 4.74,P<0.05). Metastasis were confirmed in 13 type I cases (100.0%); 5 type II cases (100.0%); 3 type III cases (100.0%) and 1 type IV case (16.7%), respectively. The rate of detecting metastasis by 18F-FDG PET/CT was 100.0% in type I, 20.0% in type II, 0% in type III respectively, the difference with statistic significance (χ2=9.14 and 10.11,P<0.05); and 100.0% in type IV, the difference without statistic significance (χ2=1.25,P>0.05). Based on that, therapeutic plans were modified for 13 patients with type I metastasis and 1 patient with type IV metastasis.Conclusion131I-WBS and18F-FDG PET/CT are complementary for detecting metastatic lesion and help to decide the following treatment of DTC patients after surgery. Moreover,18F-FDG PET/CT shows advantages in detecting metastatic lesion in Tg-positive and negative131I-WBS type of DTC patients after surgery, thus can provide an important clinical guidance for this type of patients.

AIM: To explore the expressive role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A_2, high sensitive C-reactive protein and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques in a rabbit model. METHODS: Forty eight New Zealand white male rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups (12 rabbits each): control group, stable plaque group, p53 group, and p53+drug group. Rabbits in control group were fed with a regular diet and underwent sham operation. Rabbits in stable plaque group, p53 group and p53+drug group underwent balloon induced arterial wall injury and then were fed on a diet with 1% cholesterol. The animals were all fed for 3 months, then the rabbits in p53 group and p53+drug group underwent Ad5-CMV p53 transfection at 10th week. Before killed, the animals in p53+drug group underwent pharmacological triggering with Russell's viper venom (RVV) and histamine to induce the rupture of the atherosclerotic plaques. At the 1st day and before sacrifice, the serum was collected for measuring Lp-PLA_2, hs-CRP, MMP-9, HDL, LDL and VLDL. The expressions of Lp-PLA_2, hs-CRP and MMP-9 in tissues were determined by the methods of hybridization and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: At the end of 12th week, the serum and tissue levels of Lp-PLA_2 and MMP-9 in stable plaque group, p53 group and p53+drug group were significant different from those in control group and in each group at the first day (P<0.05). The serum levels of Lp-PLA_2 and hs-CRP in p53 group and p53+drug group were significantly higher than those in control group and stable group (P<0.05). The serum levels of Lp-PLA_2, hs-CRP and MMP-9 were all significantly different between p53 group and p53+drug group (P<0.05). At the end of 12th week, pathological results showed that 4 groups were normal artery, stable plaque, vulnerable plaque and rupture plaque, respectively. The fabric cap was thicker in plaque groups than that in normal group (P<0.05). The rupture and formation of thrombus were more significant in p53+drug group than those in p53 group. The serum level of Lp-PLA_2 had negative interrelated relationship with fabric cap in plaque groups (r=-0.710, P<0.01), and hs-CRP, MMP-9 had no interrelated relationships with fabric cap in plaque groups. CONCLUSION: Base on the successful establishment of the atherosclerotic plaque animal model, serum Lp-PLA_2 shows better interrelated relationships to plaques stability. Combination with hs-CRP and MMP-9, we can exactly evaluate the nature of plaques.

w biomarker to predict the presence of vulnerable plaque.