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Early studies have demonstrated the potential of deep learning in bringing revolutionary changes in medical analysis. However, it is unknown which deep learning based diagnostic pattern is more effective for differentiating malignant and benign breast lesions (BLs) and can assist radiologists to reduce unnecessary biopsies.A total of 506 malignant BLs and 557 benign BLs were enrolled in this study after excluding incomplete ultrasound images. 396 malignant BLs and 447 benign BLs were included in the training cohort while 110 malignant and 110 benign BLs were included in the validation cohort. All BLs in the training and validation cohort were biopsy-proven. The most common convolutional neural networks (VGG-16 and VGG-19) were applied to identify malignant and benign BLs using grey-scale ultrasound images. Two radiologists determined the malignant (suggestion for biopsy) and benign (suggestion for follow-up) BLs with a 2-step reading session. The first step was based on conventional ultrasound (US) images alone to make a biopsy or follow-up decision. The second step was to take deep learning results into account for the decision adjustment. If a deep learning result of a first-classified benign BL was above the cut-off value, then it was re-classified as malignant.In terms of area under the curve (AUC), the VGG-19 model yielded the best diagnostic performance in both training [0.939, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.924-0.954] and testing dataset (0.959, 95% CI: 0.937-0.982). With the aid of deep learning models, the AUC of radiologists improved from 0.805 (95% CI: 0.744-0.865) to 0.827 (95% CI: 0.771-0.875, VGG-16) and 0.914 (95% CI: 0.871-0.957, VGG-19). The unnecessary biopsies decreased from 10.0% (11/110) to 8.2% (9/110) (assisted by VGG-16) and 0.9% (1/110) (assisted by VGG-19).The application of deep learning patterns in breast US may improve the diagnostic performance of radiologists by offering a second opinion. And thus, the assist of deep learning algorithm can considerably reduce the unnecessary biopsy rate in the clinical management of breast lesions.

An extruded profile of Al-Mg-Si alloy was metal-inert-gas-welded (MIG-welded) with an ER5356 filler wire and the microstructures, mechanical properties and fatigue behavior of the joints were investigated. Compared with the base material (BM), coarser grains are present in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) as a result of abnormal growth in the welding process. The average grain sizes of the weld zone (WZ) and BM were 40.8 µm and 16.8 µm, respectively. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the MIG-welded joint and BM were 210.3 MPa and 274.8 MPa, respectively, thus, the weld joint efficiency was approximately 76.5%. Fracture appeared at the location with the minimum hardness in the HAZ of the MIG-welded joint during tensile tests. Based on the fatigue testing experiment with 107 cycles, the conditional fatigue strengths of the MIG-welded joint and BM were 61.7 MPa and 141.3 MPa, respectively. Welding defects, such as coarse secondary phase, welding pores and incomplete fusion, caused local stress concentration which initiated fatigue crack and apparently increased the fatigue crack growth rate of the MIG-welded joint, ultimately causing the premature fracture of the joint at the WZ.

Influence of ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation on the corrosion behavior of electrodeposited Ni and Cu nanocrystalline foils in 3.5% NaCl solution was studied by means of electrochemical methods, electron work function (EWF) analysis, and characterization with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was demonstrated that the influence of solar light on corrosion of the metals was non-negligible, which could be very different for different materials. The UV light irradiation resulted in an increase in corrosion resistance of the Cu foil but showed an opposite influence on that of the Ni foil. Based on surface state analysis, it was concluded that the UV irradiation altered the surface oxide films. The UV light induced the formation of Cu2O on Cu, which is more stable and compacted than naturally formed CuO film. However, the UV light accelerated the formation of Ni2O3, which is loose, porous and brittle, compared to naturally formed NiO on Ni. The changes in oxide films were responsible for the opposite variations in the corrosion behavior of the Cu and Ni nanocrystalline foils caused by the UV light irradiation.

Effects of ultraviolet (UV) light illumination on the corrosion behavior, surface state, and activities of electrodeposited micro-TiO2/Ni and nano-TiO2/Ni composite foils in 3.5% NaCl solution were investigated by means of polarization measurement, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), electron work function mapping (EWF) and XPS spectra analysis using an electrochemical system, the atom force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The UV light illumination resulted in a considerable decrease in corrosion resistance of the nano-TiO2/Ni composite foil but showed much less effect on the micro-TiO2/Ni composite foil. Surface state analysis demonstrated that the UV illumination stimulated the nano-TiO2 semiconductor with elevated conductivity in favor of passing corrosion current. The UV illumination increased the fraction of Ni2O3 component in formed oxide film on the nano-TiO2/Ni foil, which is porous, loose, brittle and less protective, compared to the naturally formed NiO film on Ni. The changes in surface state were responsible for variations in the corrosion behavior of micro-TiO2/Ni and nano-TiO2/Ni composite foils caused by the UV light illumination.

The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between histologic grade and shear-wave elastography in evaluating invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (NST). A total of 84 breast lesions in 80 patients (age range, 32-64 years) were retrospectively evaluated. The patients underwent B-mode ultrasound and virtual touch tissue quantification diagnosis. A semi-quantitative method was then applied in order to determine the histologic grade of the invasive carcinoma of NST according to the grading system published by the World Health Organization. Among the 84 breast lesions, 14 (16.7%) were classified as Grade I, while 29 (34.5%) and 41 (48.8%) were determined to be of Grade II and Grade III, respectively. The size of the breast lesions increased with the increase in histological grade (P

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the conductivity and processability of polyaniline (PANI). Design/methodology/approach The study opted for synthesis of the conductive PANI/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite film, co-doped with 5-sulphosalicylic acid and sulphuric acid. Using an electrochemical method, a small amount of silver (Ag) was electrodeposited on the film. The PVA/PANI and PVA/PANI/Ag composite films were characterised by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and infrared. The composite deposition mechanism of the composite film was investigated by cyclic voltammetry for the first time. Findings The conductivity of the optimum PVA/PANI composite film reached 21.2 S · cm−1.Then, a small amount of Ag was deposited on the PVA/PANI film, and the conductivity significantly increased by 1250 S · cm−1. Through appropriate degree of stretching, the conductivity of the films was enhanced. The results indicate that uniform PVA/PANI fibres and dendritic Ag can combine to form complete three-dimensional conductive networks that exhibit better conductivity and mechanical properties. The cyclic voltammetry curves reveal that the dedoping potential of PANI was more negative than the reduction potential of Ag. Therefore, the procedure for the deposition of Ag on the PANI/PVA composite film cannot decrease the conductivity. Practical implications This paper for the first time described and revealed the effective and practical synthesis approach and composite mechanism to prepare multi-types metal-conductive polymer composites and improve the conductivity of a conductive polymer with a less expense and one-step electrochemical method. Originality/value This paper first explored galvanostatic oxidation to synthesise a PANI composite film to resolve the processability and conductivity of PANI by co-doped with mixed acids and deposited Ag on film. Furthermore, for the first time, the composite mechanism of metal and conductive polymer was studied.

This prospective study aimed to explore the diagnostic value of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in differentiating Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 4 breast lesions compared with conventional ultrasonography (US). A total of 111 patients with 116 breast lesions underwent grayscale ultrasound (US), colour Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) and SMI breast imaging between February 2016 and May 2018. CDFI and SMI were performed to evaluate vascular quantity, morphology, and distribution characteristics. The detection of malignancy was compared between grayscale US alone, US + CDFI and US + SMI in terms of the BI-RADS stratification system. SMI was observed to be significantly more accurate in distinguishing malignant breast lesions (86.67%) compared with CDFI (80.00%) (P

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve anti-corrosion, self-cleaning, hydrophily and sterilization properties of aluminum (Al) alloy. Design/methodology/approach – A multifunctional coating for medical external application on Al alloy had been prepared by anodic oxidation, electrolytic coloring silver (Ag) and sealed in boiling water with nano-sized titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles. The multifunctional coating was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Other properties such as corrosion-resistance, wipe-resistance, hydrophilicity, photochemical decomposition and bactericidal antiseptic effect were also investigated. Findings – The results demonstrate that a golden film with multi-function had been obtained for medical external application. The main phase of coating is amorphous Al2O3, and nano-sized silver particle is electrodeposited in bottom of film hole, while nano-sized TiO2 is sealed on the external surface of coating. The properties of film, such as anti-corrosion, self-cleaning, hydrophily, sterilization are better than those of Al alloy substrate. Originality/value – Considering about this usage for medical external application, a multifunctional coating which has the properties such as decoration, anti-corrosion, sterilize and self-cleaning has been first prepared on Al alloy surface in the study. This coating would meet the requirements of medical external using and provide theoretical and practical foundation about Al alloy for medical use.

In order to obtain optimizing microarc oxidation coating on Mg alloy from a friendly-enviormental electrolyte free of Cr6+ and PO 4 3− , constant potential regime was applied to produce it. The influence of potential on the morphology, composition, structure and other properties, such as microhardness and corrosion resistance were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscope (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), hardness tester and electrochemical method. The results clearly show that oxidation potential plays an important role in the formation of coating’s structure and properties. The microarc oxidation coating is smooth and white, which consists of two layers. The external layer is loose and porous and enriched in Al and Si. Moreover, its content of Al and Si increases with the increasing operated potential. While the inner layer is compact and the content of Al and Si are lower than that of the external layer. The coating is composed of several phases and the major phases are MgAl2O4 and MgO, and the minor phases are Al2O3 and SiO2 when the potential is higher. The microhardness of coating is obtained the maximum at the potential of 45 V, so does the corrosion resistance.