Flat Contour Research Articles

3D Modelling and FEM Analysis on Holed Metal Coin Striking Die Mint Error

During last decades, various mints of different countries manufactured a large amount of holed metal coin currency. As main characteristic, these holed metal coins present a central round perforation, which changes some of the initial manufacturing condition, as different coin blank or striking dies model. During the manufacturing process, these coins may encounter some error types which depend by the die dimension, the model flat area size or contour shape. Many pieces wearing these errors were minted and released; in present days these are searched and valuated by collectors. The paper work presents different aspects about the dies damages appeared at the metal holed coin striking process. In the paper beginning part, some particular introductive considerations about the holed metal coins manufactured with cracked dies error are presented; there are presented some examples. Then the simplified blank and the obverse and reverse dies 3D model are introduced, followed by the assembled model which consist in the obverse and reverse negative dies having the coin blank inside them. For these models, the finite element analysis is computed and achieved for different initial inputs. In the last part of the paper work, the analysis results and main conclusions on these are presented.

Long-Term Changes in Thecal Sac Compression and Decreased Cerebrospinal Fluid Space Following Paddle Lead Spinal Cord Stimulation at T9: A Long-Term Follow-Up via Three-Dimensional Myelographic Computed Tomography

ObjectivesTo investigate the long-term changes in thecal sac compression following T9 paddle lead spinal cord stimulation (SCS) using three-dimensional myelographic computed tomography (CT). Materials and MethodsSeventeen patients with five-column paddle lead SCS at T9 underwent three-dimensional myelographic CT scans preoperatively, immediately after surgery, and after an average of 11 months. The cross-sectional areas of thecal sac and spinal cord and the widths of anterior and posterior cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces were repeatedly measured and compared. The contact angle of the lead with long-term pain relief was assessed. ResultsThe cross-sectional areas of thecal sac and spinal cord decreased significantly after lead placement (30.47 ± 9.21% and 4.71 ± 9.84%, respectively). Even after 11 months, a significant reduction was found with the preoperative values (17.97 ± 12.32% and 2.88 ± 7.09%). The widths of anterior and posterior CSF spaces decreased significantly after surgery (43.53 ± 13.17% and 57.13 ± 13.17%, respectively) and the severe decrease persisted long-term (29.13 ± 21.54% and 50.99 ± 16.07%). The average pain relief was 42.27 ± 17.50% with no correlation between the rate of reduction in cross-sectional areas of thecal sac and the widths of CSF spaces. ConclusionsSignificant early reduction and late partial restoration occurred in the thecal sac and spinal cord and the width of the anterior and posterior CSF spaces in the T9 5-column paddle lead SCS. Thecal sac compromise was expected to some extent after paddle lead implantation, but the degree is significant, and the cross-sectional area of the spinal cord as well as the thecal sac is affected. Fortunately, these anatomical changes did not cause any clinical problems except for intercostal root irritation. The shape and flat contours of the five-column paddle leads clearly affected the results.

3D modeling and analysis of gas flow in the interblade channel

Based on the equations obtained from the solution of the differential equation of curvature-inverse problem, processed in Mathcad, curves of flat contours, a geometric model of the blade airfoil profile was created in three sections - root, middle and peripheral. The distribution of velocities along the back and trough of the profile is presented. A 3D model of a blade based on a section and guide lines was built in SolidWorks and exported in the parasolid format to the ANSYS AIM 17.2 software package. For engineering analysis, the boundary conditions were determined - the type of working substance, the absolute temperature, the inlet velocity of the molasses, the static pressure at the outlet, etc. For the interblade channel, a hexagonal (structured) finite element mesh was created in an automated version. Careful selection of the boundary conditions leads to the accuracy of determining the results of the flow parameters. Based on carefully processed results, the blade optimization was carried out. Keywords: curvature; profiling; back curve; ideal gas; numerical simulation; turbulent flow; solid model.

The effect of stimulus timing in compensating for pitch perturbation on flat, rising, and falling contours.

The purpose of this study was to explore vocal responses to pitch perturbation on the flat, rising, and falling contour made of sequences of level tones in Taiwanese Southern Min. Twenty-two native speakers produced nine disyllabic words (flat: high-high, mid-mid, and low-low tone sequences; rising: mid-high, low-high, and low-mid tone sequences; falling: high-mid, high-low, and mid-low tone sequences). Pitch-shift stimuli (200 ms) appeared at either 100 ms (the beginning of the first syllable) or 400 ms (the beginning of the second syllable) after vocal onset. The participants were asked to ignore the pitch perturbation that appeared via auditory feedback. We found their compensation decreased when both syllables had identical level tones (i.e., the flat contour) but was particularly large when the overall contour was falling. Furthermore, pitch compensation at 100 ms was smaller than at 400 ms for the falling contour, but not for the flat and rising contours. Our results suggest that less susceptibility to pitch perturbation in the initial speech planning process is conditioned by the velocity of overall pitch contour.

Effects of F0 contour depth differences on school-age children’s speech recognition in a two-talker masker

This study investigated the extent to which children (ages 5–17) can take advantage of differences in fundamental frequency (F0) contour between target and masker speech to improve speech-in-speech recognition. A number of studies show that differences in F0 and F0 contour between talkers support better speech-in-speech recognition for adults, suggesting it is an important cue for recognizing speech in multitalker environments. However, children’s use of F0 contour differences during speech-in-speech recognition is less well understood. In the present study, sentence recognition was measured adaptively in a two-talker speech masker. Target and masker sentences were recorded with either normal, flat, or exaggerated F0 contours. Results revealed that children’s sentence recognition was impacted by differences in F0 contour depth in both target and masker speech, but the pattern of results differed between children and adults in some conditions. For children, the consistent nature of the flat F0 contour often had a greater impact on speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) than target/masker differences in F0 contour depth. Observed age effects did not appear to be due to limitations in children’s ability to use F0 contour differences in general but are likely related to the perceptual salience of the target contour relative to the masker.

The formation and spatio-temporal variations of a new sand spit in Vaan Island, India—An influence of the multipurpose artificial reefs deployed to restore the sinking island

Sand spits constitute one of the depositional landforms that occur along the coast. This study (conducted from December 2015 to December 2020) investigated the spatio-temporal changes of the newly formed sand spit of Vaan Island in Gulf of Mannar, Southeast India. The investigation was based on morphological variations, bathymetry variations, wave climate, sediment nature and rate of deposition. Morphological variations were monitored using handheld Garmin GPS, and bathymetry variations were studied with low-cost bathymetry survey technique using Garmin echo-sounders. The freely available ECMWF wave data were used to obtain information on wave climate that approaches the study area. Satellite sun glitter imagery interpretation method was used to obtain information on wave direction around the Vaan Island for different time periods. Sand spit sediment characters and sedimentation rate were also estimated. The results indicate that the artificial reef modules, deployed on the windward side of the island for the purpose of restoring it from sinking, hinder the wave action, which has led to the formation of sand spit on the northwest by the long-shore sediment drift. Seasonal variations and morphological changes undergone by the sand spit are associated with the local wave climate. Bathymetry variation and shoreline configuration are also related. On shifting into deep contour the spit breaches into two or more pieces, whereas on shifting into shallow flat contour the area of exposure above sea level increases during the regular seasonal oscillation. The changes that this highly dynamic spit undergoes are cyclic, which indicates that the spit is undisturbed. Higher sediment supply from the nearby reef area will further increase the area of spit and island in future.

Perceptual clustering of high-pitched vowels in Chinese Yue Opera

Numerous studies on Western Opera singing have shown that listeners’ vowel identification performance decreases with an increasing fundamental frequency (fo). This study explores the intelligibility of high-pitched vowels in Yue Opera, the largest dialectal opera in China. Six long vowels (/i y e a o u/) were recorded by a professional female singer at ten fos between 220 and 932 Hz, of which 700-ms nuclei with flat fo contours and resonance trajectories were extracted as stimuli. In a within-subject design, sixteen phonetically trained listeners responded on a free-choice vowel quadrilateral (task 1) and in a two-alternative forced-choice task (task 2) to indicate which vowel was presented. Results show that vowels cluster in the perceptual space into three groups (/i y e/, /u o/, /a/) above 521 Hz and that listeners could identify vowels between but not within groups with high accuracy up to at least 932 Hz. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) of simulated auditory excitation patterns reveals highly differentiable spectral shapes between groups. These findings put into question whether previous results on Western Opera could be generalized to other forms of opera singing.

Збільшення запасу міцності різьбових з’єднань, що працюють при змінних навантаженнях

One of the most common types of plug-in connections are threaded connections. In any machine, unit, the number of parts of threaded connections (bolts, studs, nuts, washers, etc.) is calculated by dozens and hundreds of pieces. It follows from this that the issue of designing and calculating threaded connections is of great importance in the design of machines and devices. One of the most important elements of bolts and screws is the thread, which is the surface of the protrusion formed during the helical movement of an arbitrary flat contour on the side surface of a cylinder or cone. Threaded connections are widely used in various mechanisms (internal combustion engines, etc. products). Their use is due to simplicity, high load-bearing capacity, reliability, as well as the convenience of connecting and disconnecting parts. The calculation of tightened threaded connections operating under alternating stresses is a check calculation. Based on the simplified statement of the problem, the preliminary dimensions of the main elements of the threaded connection are determined. Then the layout of the connecting node is carried out, and after the design is fully determined, they begin to perform the verification calculation. In recent times, we have seen an increase in the interest of designers in the calculations of threaded connections operating under variable stresses. This is explained by the fact that in most mechanisms, in particular in the automotive industry, threaded connections work under variable stresses, but an incorrectly determined margin of strength of threaded connections leads to breakdowns and destruction of mechanisms. Thus, there is a need to study more accurate calculation formulas for determining the margin of strength of threaded connections, which is the result of a verification calculation.

Collimation effects controlled by near-zero refractive indices in highly anisotropic dielectric photonic crystals: Simulation and experiment

We demonstrate that 2D photonic crystals (PhCs), composed of dielectric rods and organized in rectangular lattices with precisely determined lattice constants, can support, at both TM and TE polarization of incident waves, unidirectional wave propagation with near-zero refractive indices (NZRIs) along short sides of unit cells. Wave propagation along the orthogonal direction, i.e., along long sides of unit cells, is fully suppressed that results in collimation of incident divergent waves. We show that the observed promising collimation effect is correlated with flat equi-frequency contours of PhCs, while operating frequency corresponds to the lower edge of the 2nd transmission band of the crystal media. For experimental verification of the simulation results, obtained by using full-wave electromagnetic solvers, we have recorded wave patterns beyond PhC fragment designed for operating frequency in the microwave range. Fabricated samples were composed of ceramic dielectric rods with mm-size diameters. The samples were illuminated by divergent TM polarized electromagnetic waves. Obtained results extend perspectives of low-loss artificial anisotropic media with NZRI properties for microwave and photonic applications.

Prosodic correlates and pragmatic functions of the particle tˤayb in spoken Saudi Arabic

This study describes the prosodic and functional patterns of the particle tˤayb [1] in Spoken Saudi Arabic (SSA; the variety of Arabic spoken in Saudi Arabia) through phonetic and conversational analysis. This particle, literally meaning “good/well/okay,” is one of the most common spoken particles used in SSA . Data were collected by recording four hours of oral spontaneous speech produced by five Saudi speakers. The findings reveal that, structurally, the particle tˤayb can occur independently before questions and before negative and affirmative statements. Moreover, its meaning depends on its context and, sometimes, prosody. The particle is identified 109 times in the corpus, and consistently occupies an initial (i.e., turn-initial) but not a medial or final position. The results provide the pragmatic functions and the prosody of the particle t ˤayb as well as the participants' use frequency of such functions. T ˤayb conveys nine pragmatic functions in the data, which are listed in order from the most frequent (i.e., turn-taking marker) to the least frequent use (i.e., request for patience). From a phonetic perspective, the results show different patterns in the production of the particle tˤayb ; it may show an almost flat contour with medium length, as in the functions representing (turn-taking, change and close topic); a sharp rising/falling contour with medium length, particularly with the functions conveying (reproach and refusal); or a high contour that decreases gradually with long duration, as found in the particle marking Be patient or showing little/no importance . [1] The symbol /tˤ/ represents the voiceless alveolar emphatic stop in Arabic

Assessing Evaluating and Correlating the Clinical Findings of Temporomandibular Joint Pathology with Orthopantomogram and Magnetic Resonance Imaging – A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Because of the anatomic complexity of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) clinician cannot arrive at the accurate diagnosis only by clinical evaluation of TMJ hence would require some special imaging methods and techniques which would facilitate the accurate clinical diagnosis. One such imaging method is orthopantomography (OPG) of TMJ. Even though OPG has various limitations, it provides valuable information of TMJ and seems to be the primary choice of imaging modality for the diagnosis of TMJ pathologies. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is considered to be the one of the best imaging technology to assess the soft tissue structures surrounding the TMJ and evolved as the best imaging modality for the diagnosis of disc displacement of TMJ. Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the clinical findings of the TMJ pathologies and to compare the findings of the OPG and MRI of the TMJ pathologies. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional observational study with comprised of multi-ethnic groups, selected from amongst those attending our dental c. Fifty subjects reporting to the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology with TMJ pathologies were selected. Radiological bone changes were evaluated for flattening (flat bony contour deviating from normal convex form) and erosion (area of decreased density of cortical bone and adjacent subcortical bone) by OPG. After that, MRI of TMJ been taken and changes in the disk position was recorded with the help of radiologist. Statistical Analysis: Statistical presentation and analysis of the present study were done using the p value and Chi-square test by SPSSV20. Results: Result obtained from our study showed that pain was present in 28 (56%) patients and only 44% patients having chief complain other than pain such as noise in front of ear while mastication or restricted mouth opening [Table 1] Out of 28 patients with a chief complain of pain, 22 patients (78.57%) were having abnormal/flattened condylar head surface but out of 22 patients with a chief complain other than pain 18 patients (81.82%) were having abnormal/flattened condylar head surface [Table 2]. Out of 28 patients with a chief complain of pain, 18 patients (64.28%) were with an shortened condylar neck and also out of 22 patients with a chief complain other than pain 16 patients (72.72%) were having shortened condylar neck. The result showed statistically non-significant (P > O.05) [Table 3]. Results also showed that 40% patients with Anterior Disc Displacement With Reduction (ADDR) and 50% with Anterior disc displacement without reduction (ADDWR) had abnormal condylar head surface [Table 4]. About 47.05% patients with ADDR and 41.17% with ADDWR had abnormal condylar neck [Table 5]. Even though there was a positive correlation between the OPG and MRI findings of the TMJ pathologies with the clinical findings of TMJ pathologies, result was not statistically significant which might be due to the reduced sample size. Conclusion: Based on the observation, it can be concluded that OPG and MRI provide valuable information regarding the temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and can play a key role in arriving at accurate clinical diagnosis of complex TMJ pathologies. It also makes the clinical diagnosis easy by correlating the clinical findings of the TMD with this imaging modality and helps clinician to arrive at the proper diagnosis and treatment plan at the earliest. This type of studies should be done on large scale in future based on specific parameters for early diagnosis and treatment planning for patients suffering with TMD to provide quality treatment to the patients at initial stage.

APPLICATION OF CIRCLES FOR CONJUGATION OF FLAT CONTOURS OF THE FIRST ORDER OF SMOOTHNESS

In geometric modeling of contours, especially for conjugation of sections of flat contours of the first order of smoothness, arcs of circles can be applied. The article proposes ways to determine the equations of a circle for two ways of its problem: the problem of a circle with a point and two tangents, none of which contains a given point, and the problem of a circle with three tangents. The equations of the circles were determined in both cases using a projective coordinate system.
 In the first case, when a circle is given by a point and two tangents, neither of which contains this point, the center of the conjugation circle is defined as the point of intersection of two locus of points - the bisector of the angle between the tangents and the parabola, the focus of which is a given point. given tangents. In the general case, there are 2 conjugation circles for which canonical equations are defined. Parametric equations of conjugate circles, the parameters of which are equal to 0 and ∞ on tangents and equal to one at a given point, with the help of affine and projective coordinates of points of contact are determined first in the projective coordinate system, and then translated into affine system.
 For the second case, when specifying a circle using three tangent lines, the equation of the second-order curve tangent to these lines is first determined in the projective coordinate system. The tangent lines are taken as the coordinate lines of the projective coordinate system. The unit point of the projective coordinate system is selected in the metacenter of the thus obtained base triangle. The equation of the tangent to the base lines of the second order contains two unknown variables, positive or negative values ​​which determine the location of four possible tangents of the second order. After writing the vector-parametric equation of the tangent curve of the second order in the affine coordinate system, the equation is written to determine the parameters of cyclic points. In order for the equation of the tangent curve of the second order obtained in the projective plane to be an equation of a circle, it must satisfy the coordinates of the cyclic points of the plane, which allows to write the second equation to determine the parameters of cyclic points. By solving a system of two equations, we obtain the required equations of circles tangent to three given lines.

Arc-shaped pitch contours facilitate item recognition in non-human animals

Acoustic changes linked to natural prosody are a key source of information about the organization of language. Both human infants and adults readily take advantage of such changes to discover and memorize linguistic patterns. Do they so because our brain is efficiently wired to specifically process linguistic stimuli? Or are we co-opting for language acquisition purposes more general principles that might be inherited from our animal ancestors? Here, we address this question by exploring if other species profit from prosody to better process acoustic sequences. More specifically, we test whether arc-shaped pitch contours defining natural prosody might facilitate item recognition and memorization in rats. In two experiments, we presented to the rats nonsense words with flat, natural, inverted and random prosodic contours. We observed that the animals correctly recognized the familiarization words only when arc-shaped pitch contours were implemented over them. Our results suggest that other species might also benefit from prosody for the memorization of items in a sequence. Such capacity seems to be rooted in general principles of how biological sounds are produced and processed.

Sentence Context Differentially Modulates Contributions of Fundamental Frequency Contours to Word Recognition in Chinese-Speaking Children With and Without Dyslexia.

Previous work has shown that children with dyslexia are impaired in speech recognition in adverse listening conditions. Our study further examined how semantic context and fundamental frequency (F0) contours contribute to word recognition against interfering speech in dyslexic and non-dyslexic children. Thirty-two children with dyslexia and 35 chronological-age-matched control children were tested on the recognition of words in normal sentences versus wordlist sentences with natural versus flat F0 contours against single-talker interference. The dyslexic children had overall poorer recognition performance than non-dyslexic children. Furthermore, semantic context differentially modulated the effect of F0 contours on the recognition performances of the two groups. Specifically, compared with flat F0 contours, natural F0 contours increased the recognition accuracy of dyslexic children less than non-dyslexic children in the wordlist condition. By contrast, natural F0 contours increased the recognition accuracy of both groups to a similar extent in the sentence condition. These results indicate that access to semantic context improves the effect of natural F0 contours on word recognition in adverse listening conditions by dyslexic children who are more impaired in the use of natural F0 contours during isolated and unrelated word recognition. Our findings have practical implications for communication with dyslexic children when listening conditions are unfavorable.

Сomparative study of the formation of concepts using real geometric figures and contour images as stimuli in children at the age of 4 to 5 years

Background. In preschool age, age-related changes in the principles of information processing are observed. The formation of concepts is a convenient approach for the comparative study of the cognitive abilities of healthy children and children with a high risk of the impairment of the intelligence formation. Objective. The goal of the work was to conduct the comparative study of the formation of concepts using real geometric figures and flat contour images as stimuli in 4–5-year-old children. Design and methods. The original method was used in which a child independently revealed a certain pattern of choosing stimuli under the conditions of the simultaneous presentation of four objects or images. Results. The speed of forming the concepts of the "size" and "shape"/"contour shape" did not significantly differ in the 4-5-year-old children. However, the formation of both the concepts required the longer learning period with using the contour images compared to the the learning period with using real objects as stimuli. The heterogeneity of the 4–5-year-old children group was related to the difference of the speed of forming concepts. This fact implies the qualitative differences in the processing of information. In the children with long-lasting training, the synthesis of separate empirical representations took place due to the inductive function of abstract thinking. Some children probably have already possessed those concepts and they could quickly relate rewarded concrete stimuli to those concepts using the deductive function of abstract thinking. Conclusion. Our experimental psychological method using contour images can be used in clinical practice with the subsequent transition to stimuli on a computer screen with the simultaneous recording of brain activity to study the dynamics of the children mental development, as well as to identify delays and deviations in their cognitive sphere.

Poisson bracket and integrals of motion in the problem of viscous fluid flow around an arbitrary flat contour

The Poisson bracket is used to find the integrals of motion. A numerical and analytical method is suggested to solve Navier-Stokes equations in Helmholtz form. The approximation of the sought solution by a linear combination of basis functions lies in this method’s core. The main idea behind this method is to select basis functions and generalized independent variables. A functional series is taken as the required solution, found from the equation’s solution obtained by equating the Poisson bracket to zero. The substitution of the selected solution into the Helmholtz equation reduces it to a nonlinear algebraic system. This system is solved analytically for a range of cases due to its structure. The authors present an algorithm for solving the boundary problem of viscous incompressible fluid flow around an arbitrary flat contour. In laminar flow around the body, the geometric dimension decreases, and the boundary problem is reduced to a linear system of algebraic equations. The solutions were tested on solving viscous fluid flow around a wedge and a thin plate.

Palpebral lobe of the human lacrimal gland: morphometric analysis in normal versus dry eyes

AimTo study the morphological features of the palpebral lobe of the main lacrimal gland in normal and dry eyes.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 25 healthy subjects and 83 patients with dry...

ФОРМИРОВАНИЕ БАЗИСНЫХ ТРЕУГОЛЬНИКОВ ПРИ МОДЕЛИРОВАНИИ ОБВОДА ПО ЗАДАННЫМ УСЛОВИЯМ

The formation of complex functional surfaces based on an array of points is an urgent task of geometric modeling. Creating a geometric model of such a surface involves the formation of a discrete ruled framework. The linear elements of the frame are one-dimensional contours. The paper solves the problem of modeling flat one-dimensional contours with a monotonic change in curvature. The source data for modeling the contour is an ordered point series that represents a discretely presented curve (DPC). The contour is formed by thickening the initial point series of an arbitrary configuration in areas where it is possible to provide a monotonic change in the values of characteristics. After assigning the positions of the tangents in the initial points, we get a chain of basic triangles (BT) bounded by the tangents passing through two consecutive points and the chord that connects these points. After that, the ranges of radiuses of curvature are determined, which can be obtained on the basis of the formed BT chain. Within the obtained ranges, the radiuses of curvature in the initial points are assigned. Assigned characteristics are provided as a result of local thickening of the curve section. Inside the BT, the position of the tangent condensation and the condensation point on it are assigned. As a result, we get two new BT. The positions of the point and the tangent of the condensation are assigned within the ranges providing a second order of smoothness and a monotonic change of radiuses of curvature along the contour. The formed sections of monotonous DPC are joined with the second order of smoothness at the points of change of increase and decrease of the radius of curvature and inflection points. The developed algorithm will allow the formation of contours with a regular change in the curvature of various fixation orders. Keywords: discretely presented curve (DPC), radius of curvature, monotonicity of change of characteristics, method of condensation, barycentric coordinates, basic triangle.

Design of phoxonic virtual waveguides for both electromagnetic and elastic waves based on the self-collimation effect: an application to enhance acousto-optic interaction.

The dual beam guides for transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic polarizations of electromagnetic (EM) wave and elastic wave in defect-free phoxonic crystals are reported. The realization for phoxonic virtual waveguides relies on dual flat equifrequency contours (EFCs) enabling self-collimation for EM and elastic waves. As a possible application of our work, the enhanced acousto-optic (AO) interaction in this kind of defect-free phoxonic waveguide, just as it does in defect-based waveguides, is further studied. Results show that obvious shifts of the transmission peaks of EM waves exist for both polarizations during one period of the elastic wave, and single-phonon exchange dominates the AO interaction. This kind of phoxonic virtual waveguide provides an effective platform to enhance AO interaction and exhibits some advantage over defect-based waveguides by properly manipulating the photonic and phononic dispersion surfaces.

Ультразвукові та цитологічні характеристики вузлових утворень щитоподібної залози за хвороби Грейвса

Мета — дослідити ультразвукові та цитологічні характеристики вузлових утворень щитоподібної залози (ЩЗ) за хвороби Грейвса. Матеріал і методи. Клінічні, лабораторні, ультразвукові, цитологічні, імуноцитохімічні, цитохімічні дослідження проведено в 59 пацієнтів із вузлами в ЩЗ на тлі хвороби Грейвса. Оцінювали такі клінічні параметри, як вік хворих на момент дебюту хвороби Грейвса, тривалість хвороби, а також лабораторні показники — рівні тиреотропного гормону гіпофіза (ТТГ) та антитіл до рецептора ТТГ; ультразвукові характеристики — об’єм ЩЗ, кількість вузлових утворень, ехогенність, ехоструктуру, наявність кістозних змін і гіперехогенних включень. Цитологічні та імуноцитохімічні дослідження проводили на пункційному матеріалі вузлів ЩЗ, забарвленому за Романовським. Використовували непрямий імунопероксидазний метод із моноклональними антитілами до тиреоїдної пероксидази, тиреоглобуліну та цитокератину‑17. Цитохімічні дослідження проводили на нефіксованих пунктатах. Статистичний аналіз виконано за t-критерієм Стьюдента, розрахунки — у програмі Statistica 10.0. Результати. За даними клінічного дослідження пацієнти з вузлами в ЩЗ мали вірогідно більший вік на час дебюту хвороби Грейвса, ніж пацієнти з дифузно зміненою залозою без вузлових утворень (р<0,05). Наявність вузлів не була пов’язаною з такими показниками, як тривалість хвороби, рівні ТТГ та антитіл до рецептора ТТГ. У більшості пацієнтів виявлено багатовузловий зоб (88,1%). За даними ультразвукового дослідження всі вузли мали чіткі межі з рівним контуром, більшість — ізоехогенну структуру (87,5%) і кістозні зміни (67,8%). За результатами цитологічного дослідження вузловий зоб (BSRTC‑2) виявле- но в 15 випадках (25,42%), аденоматозний вузловий зоб (BSRTC‑2) — у 32 (54,24%), вузловий зоб із Б-клітин (BSRTC‑2) — у 4 (6,78%); 6 випадків (10,17%) були малоінформативними (BSRTC‑1), в 1 випадку (1,69%) встановлено папілярну карциному та ще в 1 (1,69%) — підозру на малігнізацію. Імуноцитохімічні та цитохімічні дослідження продемонстрували високу активність тиреоїдної пероксидази та тиреоглобуліну в пунктатах вузлових та аденоматозних зобів. Водночас у пунктатах папілярних карцином ЩЗ тиреоїдну пероксидазу виявлено лише у 18-22% епітеліоцитів, тиреоглобулін — у 69-70% тиреоцитів, цитокератин‑17 — у 4,7% клітин, що дозволило встановити цитологічний діагноз. Висновки. Вузлові утворення ЩЗ на тлі хвороби Грейвсачастіше виявляються у хворих старшого віку на момент дебюту хвороби Грейвса. Серед пацієнтів із хворобою Грейвса кількість хворих із багатовузловим зобом перевищує кількість осіб із поодинокими вузлами в ЩЗ (88,1% проти 11,9%), а переважаючими ехографічними характеристиками останніх є чіткі межі, рівний контур і кістозні зміни. Цитологічні дослідження дозволили встановити більшу частоту випадків аденоматозного вузлового зоба (BSRTC‑2) за хвороби Грейвса. Папілярну карциному за результатами цитологічних досліджень пунктатів встановлено в 1 випадку, підозру на малігнізацію також в 1 випадку. Встановленню цитологічного діагнозу папілярної карциноми за відсутності чітких цитологічних ознак малігнізації сприяє виявлення високого вмісту цитокератин‑17-позитивних клітин і низького вмісту в пунктатах ЩЗ тиреоїдної пероксидази та тиреоглобуліну.