Evaluation of Diagnostic Efficiency of Ultrasound Features on Malignant Thyroid Nodules in Chinese Patients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasonic features in predicting the malignancy of thyroid nodules in a group of Chinese patients. METHODS: In all, 762 patients with thyroid nodules (424 malignant and 338 benign) underwent ultrasound (US) check and surgery between March 2011 and July 2014 at Peking University First Hospital were identified. Univariate and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of each US feature, and the accuracy of their combinations for prediction of malignancy. RESULTS: Patients with malignant nodules were younger and without obvious risk history than those in the benign group (P < 0.001, P = 0.93). No individual US sign was fully predictive of a malignant lesion. The Youden indexes of irregular margins and hypoechogenicity were the first and second highest in all US features, which were 51.9% and 45.2%, respectively. The sensitivity of solid components (89.7%) and hypoechogenicity (89.2%) and the specificity of taller-than-wide shape (98.5%) and microcalcifications (90.6%) were the first and second highest in all US features. Intranodular flow on a color Doppler examination was a weak predictor of malignancy. Under ROC analysis excepting intranodular flow, the 95% confidence interval (CI) of areas under the curves of hypoechogenicity and irregular margins with any one of the US features were overlapped that of five-feature combinations (95% CI: 0.850-0.901). CONCLUSIONS: We should be alert with taller-than-wide shape and microcalcifications. Intranodular flow was a weak predictor of malignancy. According to Youden indexes and ROC analysis, irregular margins and hypoechogenicity combined with solid component or taller-than-wide shapes or microcalcifications have a high predicative value for malignant thyroid nodules in Chinese patients.

Factors that affect Pickering emulsions stabilized by graphene oxide.

Stable Pickering emulsions were prepared using only graphene oxide (GO) as a stabilizer, and the effects of the type of oil, the sonication time, the GO concentration, the oil/water ratio, and the pH value on the stability, type, and morphology of these emulsions were investigated. In addition, the effects of salt and the extent of GO reduction on emulsion formation and stability were studied and discussed. The average droplet size decreased with sonication time and with GO concentration, and the emulsions tended to achieve good stability at intermediate oil/water ratios and at low pH values. In all solvents, the emulsions were of the oil-in-water type, but interestingly, some water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) multiple emulsion droplets were also observed with low GO concentrations, low pH values, high oil/water ratios, high salt concentrations, or moderately reduced GO in the benzyl chloride-water system. A Pickering emulsion stabilized by Ag/GO was also prepared, and its catalytic performance for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol was investigated. This research paves the way for the fabrication of graphene-based functional materials with novel nanostructures and microstructures.