Assessment of ultrasonic computed tomography in symptomatic breast patients by discriminant analysis

From 95 subjects imaged with both speed of sound and attenuation ultrasonic computed tomography (UCT), quantitative analyses are presented on 40 cases where unequivocal correlating clinical diagnoses are available. Using four attenuation and speed of sound parameters from different regions of interest in the breast, a linear discriminator detects cancer with approximately 90% sensitivity and specificity. Increased confidence in the predictive power of this small study is given by a modern test of predictive power (jackknifing) and by the fact that diagnostic discrimination remains as high as 85% when only two parameters are employed--attenuation and speed of sound in the lesion minus those values in the remaining central mammary tissues. Speed of sound images appear particularly useful in older, fatty breasts where pulse echo ultrasound is particularly lacking. While UCT in the form studied here is not likely to receive wide clinical acceptance in the near future, a combined UCT/pulse echo system might find wide clinical utility if it can be sufficiently convenient and inexpensive.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28104/1/0000552.pd

Generalisability of vaccine effectiveness estimates: an analysis of cases included in a postlicensure evaluation of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the USA

External validity, or generalisability, is the measure of how well results from a study pertain to individuals in the target population. We assessed generalisability, with respect to socioeconomic status, of estimates from a matched case–control study of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine effectiveness for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children in the USA

Attenuation of skeletal muscle and strength in the elderly : the health ABC study

La perte de masse musculaire n'est pas la seule explication à la diminution de la force musculaire chez les personnes âgées, elle résulte également du vieillissement des tissus musculaires. Observation et analys

Fat Infiltration of Muscle, Diabetes, and Clinical Fracture Risk in Older Adults

Context: Older adults with type 2 diabetes are at higher risk for fracture compared with nondiabetic adults after adjustment for their higher bone mineral density. Infiltration of muscle by fat predicts increased risk of hip fracture