Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Small lung cancers: improved detection by use of bone suppression imaging--comparison with dual-energy subtraction chest radiography.

PURPOSE To determine whether use of bone suppression (BS) imaging, used together with a standard radiograph, could improve radiologists' performance for detection of small lung cancers compared with use of standard chest radiographs alone and whether BS imaging would provide accuracy equivalent to that of dual-energy subtraction (DES) radiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was obtained. The requirement for informed consent was waived. The study was HIPAA compliant. Standard and DES chest radiographs of 50 patients with 55 confirmed primary nodular cancers (mean diameter, 20 mm) as well as 30 patients without cancers were included in the observer study. A new BS imaging processing system that can suppress the conspicuity of bones was applied to the standard radiographs to create corresponding BS images. Ten observers, including six experienced radiologists and four radiology residents, indicated their confidence levels regarding the presence or absence of a lung cancer for each lung, first by using a standard image, then a BS image, and finally DES soft-tissue and bone images. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate observer performance. RESULTS The average area under the ROC curve (AUC) for all observers was significantly improved from 0.807 to 0.867 with BS imaging and to 0.916 with DES (both P < .001). The average AUC for the six experienced radiologists was significantly improved from 0.846 with standard images to 0.894 with BS images (P < .001) and from 0.894 to 0.945 with DES images (P = .001). CONCLUSION Use of BS imaging together with a standard radiograph can improve radiologists' accuracy for detection of small lung cancers on chest radiographs. Further improvements can be achieved by use of DES radiography but with the requirement for special equipment and a potential small increase in radiation dose.
Proposal for a Candidate Core Set of Fitness and Strength Tests for Patients with Childhood or Adult Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies

Objective. Currently there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding fitness and strength tests for patients with childhood or adult idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). This hinders clinicians and researchers in choosing the appropriate fitness- or muscle strength-related outcome measures for these patients. Through a Delphi survey, we aimed to identify a candidate core set of fitness and strength tests for children and adults with IIM. Methods. Fifteen experts participated in a Delphi survey that consisted of 5 stages to achieve a consensus. Using an extensive search of published literature and through the work of experts, a candidate core set based on expert opinion and clinimetrics properties was developed. Members of the International Myositis Assessment and Clinical Studies Group were invited to review this candidate core set during the final stage, which led to a final candidate core set. Results. A core set of fitness- and strength-related outcome measures was identified for children and adults with IIM. For both children and adults, different tests were identified and selected for maximal aerobic fitness, submaximal aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, muscle strength tests, and muscle function tests. Conclusion. The core set of fitness- and strength-related outcome measures provided by this expert consensus process will assist practitioners and researchers in deciding which tests to use in patients with IIM. This will improve the uniformity of fitness and strength tests across studies, thereby facilitating the comparison of study results and therapeutic exercise program outcomes among patients with IIM.
Integrating Buprenorphine Into an Opioid Treatment Program: Tailoring Care for Patients With Opioid Use Disorders.

OBJECTIVES This report identifies the institutional barriers to, and benefits of, buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) integration in an established hospital-based opioid treatment program (OTP). METHODS This case study presents the authors' experiences at the clinic, hospital, and corporation levels during efforts to integrate BMT into a hospital-based OTP in New York City and a descriptive quantitative analysis of the characteristics of hospital outpatients treated with buprenorphine from 2006 to 2013 (N=735). RESULTS Integration of BMT into an OTP offered patients the flexibility to transition between intensive structured care and primary care or outpatient psychiatry according to need. Main barriers encountered were regulations, clinical logistics of dispensing medications, internal cost and reimbursement issues, and professional and cultural resistance. CONCLUSIONS Buprenorphine integration offers a model for other OTPs to facilitate partnerships among primary care and mental health clinics to better serve diverse patients with varying clinical needs and with varying levels of social support.
Inventory Management: An Overview, Canadian Publications, Practical Applications and Suggestions for Future Research

Abstract This paper first presents an overview of inventory management. This includes a categorization, by a number of dimensions, of inventory problems and associated models. Relevant Canadian contributions to fundamental and applied theory are listed within the dimensions. Then substantial evidence is provided of widespread Canadian applications of inventory management. The paper points out the continuing gap between theory and practice, followed by a number of suggested research topics to help bridge the gap.
The role of an accessory atrioventricular pathway in reciprocal tachycardia. Observations in patients with and without the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

To study the pathway of tachycardia in patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome and reciprocal tachycardias, results from intracavitary recordings and atrial and ventricular stimulation were reviewed in 71 patients with the WPW syndrome and 54 patients without pre-excitation. In all patients a reproducible tachycardia could be initated and terminated by appropriately timed electrical stimuli. The following findings were accepted as suggesting the participation of an accessory pathway in the tachycardia circuit: 1) no increase in ventriculo-atrial conduction (V-A C) time following ventricular stimuli given with increasing prematurity; 2) activation of right or left atrium (depending upon the location of the atrial end of the accessory pathway) prior to activation of atrium in the His bundle lead; 3) slowing of tachycardia following bundle branch block to the ventricle in which the accessory pathway inserts; 4) V-A C time of early stimuli on the ventricle during the tachycardia equal to or les.
The Influence of the War on Mental Disease: A Psychiatric Study

The number of patients admitted to the mental hospital in 1940 shows a reduction on preceding years. The admission rate has been analysed and discussed. ase histories have been examined showing that war acted as a minor contributory factor in 29 out of 354 admissions. amily or constitutional taints were noticed in most relevant cases. Two cases of confusion following exposure to blast have been described. Reactions of patients in the mental hospital in wartime have been considered. The view is expressed that, up to the present, the war has had little adverse effect on the mental health of the general population, and has been of benefit to certain types of individuals, especially women.
Analysis of Actinic Effect after Radiotherapy in the Uterine Cervix Carcinomas

The boarding more effective for the control of the cancer of the uterine cervix is the precocious diagnosis. However a great number of malignant tumors are identified in very advanced periods of training, reflecting the lack of access to the preventive examination. The control of the effectiveness of the treatment for radiation if makes with the colpocytological analysis, where it is possible to follow the patients, detecting residual or recurrent tumors, allowing in skillful time, the administration of therapies you add. This work had as objective: the identification of the frequency of examinations, with presence of epithelial cells presenting radiotherapy effect and the evaluation the evolution, through the colpocytological, of cases with uterine cervix cancer treated with radiation. For the election of the group of study of the present work, a survey of the cytopathological examinations of control was made radiotherapy, of the 270 patients, through the archive of the Division of Pathology/DIPAT of the National Institute of the Cancer, 112 patients had been excluded, for diverse reasons. The total of colpocytological carried through by the 158 patients, of this retrospective study, was of 307, varying of 2 the 6 examinations for each patient, in a space of 18 months. The diagnostic had been separate in five Groups. Group A: Cells with effect of actinic nature, negative for malignity. Group B: Negative for malignity, normal cytological examination. Group C: Atypical cells with radiotherapy effect, displasia after-irradiation? Group D: Positive for malignity. Group E: Unsatisfactory material and/or no conclusive. Results: Group A - 68.73%, followed of Group C - 15.30%; Group B - 11.73%; Group E- 2.61% and finally Group D with 1.63%, which represents the positive cases. The evolution of the cases of control, after radiotherapy, showed that 81.25% had kept the diagnostic. It was observed that 12.50% had passed of suspicious to negatives; 6.25% had been passed by negative to suspected for and did not have none case that evolved of negatives/suspicious for positives. The last diagnostic had been considered as well as first too. On the basis of the analysis of the control diagnostic cytological after radiotherapy, was possible to conclude that the great majority (81.25%) had kept the result. In 86.07% of the cases, the result was of the Group A and the B (negative for malignity, with presence and absence of cells actinic effect, respectively). Our treatment got an excellent index of tumor reply, exactly being the prognostic directed only to the patients of the study. (The Journal of American Science. 2005;1(1):23-28).
Integrated assessment of ceria nanoparticle impacts on the freshwater bivalve Dreissena polymorpha

Abstract Exposures in realistic environmental conditions are essential to properly assess the effects of emerging pollutants on ecosystems. While ceria nanoparticles (nCeO2) production and use are expanding quickly, ecotoxicity studies remain very scarce. In this study, we set up experimental systems reproducing a simplified ecosystem to assess the effects of a chronic exposure to citrate-coated nCeO2 (ci-CeO2) and bare nCeO2 (ba-CeO2) on the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha using an integrated multibiomarker approach. The fate of nanoparticles was tightly monitored to properly characterize the exposure. Organisms were exposed for 3 weeks and sampled weekly for biomarker analysis. Mussel filter-feeding activity resulted in significant removal of nCeO2 from the water column. At the same time, bioaccumulation was low, reaching its maximum in the first week. Mussels bioaccumulated ci-CeO2 three times more than ba-CeO2, probably due to coating-related differences in their behavior in the water column and in organisms. Meanwhile, biomarker results were integrated and synthesized using linear discriminant analysis, highlighting that pi-glutathione-S-transferase (piGST) mRNA, catalase (CAT) activity and lysosomal system were the most impacted of the seven biomarkers singled out by the discriminant analysis. These biomarker responses indicated that mussels exposed to both forms of nCeO2 were stressed and differentiate from the controls. Moreover, they responded differently to ba-CeO2 and ci-CeO2 exposure. However, biomarkers used in the experimental conditions of this study did not indicate severe nCeO2 toxicity on mussels, as cellular damage biomarkers and mussel filtering activity were left unimpaired. However, further studies are needed to investigate if the slight perturbations observed could lead to populational impacts in the long term.
How will more obesity and less smoking affect life expectancy

Personal behaviors can have a major influence on how long people live. Two especially damaging behaviors are smoking and the poor nutrition and exercise habits that result in obesity. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that, in 2000, 15 percent of U.S. deaths were caused by obesity and 18 percent by smoking. But obesity is on the rise while smoking is on the decline. The question is whether the benefits from less smoking will outweigh the harm from rising obesity. This brief, based on a recent study, projects how changes in obesity and smoking will impact life expectancy in 2040. The discussion proceeds as follows. The first two sections describe the methodologies for estimating the impact of obesity and smoking on mortality rates and for projecting how the prevalence of these behaviors will change over time. The third section presents the results, expressed as changes in future life expectancy. The final section concludes that, overall, the benefits of reduced smoking will trump the damage from increased obesity. However, the results differ by gender, with men showing a solid net gain, while women see only a small improvement. Length: 7 pages
Association between blood donation frequency, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation

Iron is a pro-oxidant cofactor that may be linked to atherosclerosis progression. Free iron catalyzes the generation of free radicals and free radicals promote the oxidation of lipids. Reduction of body iron stores secondary to blood donation has been hypothesized to reduce lipid peroxidation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between blood donation and antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA). We investigated hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin, MDA level, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the whole blood of 150 male volunteer blood donors aged from 30 to 60 years attending Tehran Blood Transfusion Center. Subjects were divided into 5 groups according to the frequency of blood donation per year. With increasing the number of blood donation in a year, the body iron stores, GPX activities and serum MDA were significantly reduced ( P P of decreased body iron stores, decreased lipid peroxidation and enhanced activity of antioxidant enzymes when compared with low-frequency donors
Right ventricular function and its relation with TIMI frame count in the coronary slow flow phenomenon

Results: The tricuspid annulus peak early diastolic velocity (11.4 ± 2.2 cm/s, 13.9 ± 3 cm/s) and ratio of early to late diastolic velocity (0.70 ± 0.17 cm/s, 1.2 ± 0.38 cm/s) were lower in the patient group than in the controls (P = 0.05, P = 0.002, respectively). Late diastolic velocity (16.4 ± 3 cm/s, 14.4 ± 3 cm/s) and isovolumetric relaxation time (80 ± 9 ms, 66 ± 4 ms) were significantly higher in the patient group than in the controls (P = 0.024, P < 0.001, respectively). Right ventricular myocardial performance index was significantly prolonged in the coronary slow flow group (0.51 ± 0.03, 0.40 ± 0.02, P < 0.001). TIMI frame count was negatively correlated with the tricuspid lateral annulus early diastolic velocity and the ratio of tricuspid lateral annulus early to late diastolic velocity, whereas it was positively correlated with tricuspid isovolumetric relaxation time and right ventricular myocardial performance index. Conclusion: Right ventricular diastolic dysfunction exists in patients with the coronary slow flow phenomenon and it is correlated with TIMI frame count.
A Multi-Oriented Scene Text Detector with Position-Sensitive Segmentation

Scene text detection has been studied for a long time and lots of approaches have achieved promising performances. Most approaches regard text as a specific object and utilize the popular frameworks of object detection to detect scene text. However, scene text is different from general objects in terms of orientations, sizes and aspect ratios. In this paper, we present an end-to-end multi-oriented scene text detection approach, which combines the object detection framework with the position-sensitive segmentation. For a given image, features are extracted through a fully convolutional network. Then they are input into text detection branch and position-sensitive segmentation branch simultaneously, where text detection branch is used for generating candidates and position-sensitive segmentation branch is used for generating segmentation maps. Finally the candidates generated by text detection branch are projected onto the position-sensitive segmentation maps for filtering. The proposed approach utilizes the merits of position-sensitive segmentation to improve the expressiveness of the proposed network. Additionally, the approach uses position-sensitive segmentation maps to further filter the candidates so as to highly improve the precision rate. Experiments on datasets ICDAR2015 and COCO-Text demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods. For ICDAR2015 dataset, the proposed method achieves an F-score of 0.83 and a precision rate of 0.87.
Aortic Stiffness and Disease: Location is Key.

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease and events associated with aortic stiffening has been attributed both to the hemodynamic consequences of stiffening and to this being a marker for an age-related degeneration of the arterial wall predisposing to arterial disease.1 There are several measures of arterial stiffness. Indeed, the term stiffness, which does not have a physical definition, was coined to encompass properties of arteries that tend to lead to an increase in many biomechanical measures of stiffness, particularly the speed of propagation of the pulse wave, pulse-wave velocity (PWV). For any individual segment of an idealized artery, PWV is determined not only by the intrinsic stiffness of the arterial wall as represented by its Young elastic modulus (E, the ratio of stress to strain) but also by the effective thickness of the arterial wall, and PWV is inversely related to (the square root of) arterial diameter.2 PWV measured between accessible points in the arterial tree such as the carotid and femoral arteries provides an average measure of stiffening over the whole of this carotid-femoral pathway but is a simple robust measure of large-artery stiffening that is closely related to major adverse cardiovascular events.3 E is also inversely related to the distensibility of the artery: the fractional change in arterial diameter produced by a given pressure change. This provides a measure of stiffness at a single location but requires knowledge of the local pulse pressure, which is often difficult to obtain. Although E is the property most closely related to the behavior of the arterial wall, it represents the behavior of a composite material comprising individual elements that each have differing elastic properties and thus behaves in a very different fashion from a homogeneous elastic material. One consequence is the pressure dependence of stiffness: As the arterial wall …
Long-term visual damage after acute methanol poisonings: Longitudinal cross-sectional study in 50 patients

Context. Visual disturbances due to the toxic effect of formic acid in acute methanol poisonings are generally transient. The subjective symptoms of visual toxicity may resolve within few weeks and fundoscopic signs of acute optic neuropathy subside within 1–2 months; therefore, the prevalence of long-term visual sequelae in the population of survivors of poisonings may be underestimated. Objective. To study the prevalence and character of long-term visual sequelae of acute methanol poisonings based on the data from the Czech mass methanol outbreak in 2012. Patients and methods. A total of 50 patients with confirmed methanol poisoning were included in this longitudinal cross-sectional study, median age: 48 (range, 23–73) years. The following tests were performed: optical coherence tomography or OCT with evaluation of the retinal nerve fibers layer (RNFL), visual evoked potentials (VEP), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain, complete ocular examination (visual acuity/field, color vision, contrast sensitivity, and fundus), neurological examinations, and biochemical tests. Results. Of 50 patients, 7/50 (14%) were discharged with diagnosed visual sequelae and 6/50 (12%) were discharged with both visual and central nervous system sequelae of poisoning. On the follow-up examination, 20/50 (40%) of the patients had long-term visual sequelae, with 8% of blindness. A total of 38% of the patients had abnormal (28% borderline) findings on RNFL, and 40% had abnormal (18% borderline) VEP. Among the patients discharged without detected visual sequelae, 8/37 (22%) had abnormal RNFL and VEP. Patients with visual sequelae had brain lesions more often (70% vs. 27%, p < 0.01). MRI identified optic nerve lesions in 2/20 cases with abnormal VEP only. The groups with and without visual sequelae differed in serum methanol, ethanol, HCO3-, formate, pH, anion gap, and base deficit (all p < 0.01). Visual disturbances on admission and coma were more prevalent in the patients with visual sequelae (p < 0.05). Patients with positive serum ethanol on admission were 93% less likely to have optical axonal damage (OR: 0.07 (95% CI: 0.01–0.8); p < 0.05). No association was found between visual sequelae and type of antidote administered, mode of hemodialysis, or folate substitution. Pre-hospital administration of ethanol seemed beneficial: these patients were 90% less likely to have abnormal RNFL findings (OR: 0.10 (95% CI: 0.02–0.52); p < 0.01). Conclusions. The long-term visual sequelae were clearly underestimated on discharge, suggesting a significantly higher amount of patients with long-term sequelae than earlier reported. Thorough examinations before discharge and during follow-up will likely uncover a higher morbidity also after methanol poisonings in general.