Association between pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancy and the development of ovarian serous borderline tumor, mucinous borderline tumor and low-grade serous carcinoma

Objective: Risk factors for ovarian borderline tumors and low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC) are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine the association between infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometriosis, ectopic pregnancy, hysterectomy, tubal ligation and parity and the risk of serous borderline tumor (SBT), mucinous borderline tumor (MBT) and LGSC. Methods: This was a population-based cohort study using linked administrative and hospital data. Participants were 441,382 women born between 1945 and 1975 who had been admitted to hospital in Western Australia between 1 January 1980 and 30 June 2014. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). Results: We observed an increased rate of SBT associated with infertility, PID and ectopic pregnancy (HRs and 95% CIs were, respectively, 1.98 (1.20–3.26); 1.95 (1.22–3.10) and 2.44 (1.20–4.96)). We did not detect an association between any of the factors under study and the rate of MBT. A diagnosis of PID was associated with an increased rate of LGSC (HR 2.90, 95% CI 1.21–6.94). Conclusions: The association with PID supports the hypothesis that inflammatory processes within the upper gynaecological tract and/or peritoneum may predispose to the development of SBT and LGSC

Calculating the random guess scores of multiple-response and matching test items

For achievement tests, the guess score is often used as a baseline for the lowest possible grade for score to grade transformations and setting the cut scores. For test item types such as multiple-response, matching and drag-and-drop, determin-ing the guess score requires more elaborate calculations than the more straight-forward calculation of the guess score for True-False and multiple-choice test item formats. For various variants of multiple-response and matching types with respect to dichotomous and polytomous scoring, methods for determining the guess score are presented and illustrated with practical applications. The implica-tions for theory and practice are discussed

First-principles Calculation of the Formation Energy in MgO-CaO Solid Solutions

The electronic structure and total energy were calculated for ordered and disordered MgO-CaO solid solutions within the multiple scattering theory in real space and the local density approximation. Based on the dependence of the total energy on the unit cell volume the equilibrium lattice parameter and formation energy were determined for different solution compositions. The formation energy of the solid solutions is found to be positive that is in agreement with the experimental phase diagram, which shows a miscibility gap.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Comparing computer-generated and pathologist-generated tumour segmentations for immunohistochemical scoring of breast tissue microarrays

BACKGROUND: Tissue microarrays (TMAs) have become a valuable resource for biomarker expression in translational research. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assessment of TMAs is the principal method for analysing large numbers of patient samples, but manual IHC assessment of TMAs remains a challenging and laborious task. With advances in image analysis, computer-generated analyses of TMAs have the potential to lessen the burden of expert pathologist review. METHODS: In current commercial software computerised oestrogen receptor (ER) scoring relies on tumour localisation in the form of hand-drawn annotations. In this study, tumour localisation for ER scoring was evaluated comparing computer-generated segmentation masks with those of two specialist breast pathologists. Automatically and manually obtained segmentation masks were used to obtain IHC scores for thirty-two ER-stained invasive breast cancer TMA samples using FDA-approved IHC scoring software. RESULTS: Although pixel-level comparisons showed lower agreement between automated and manual segmentation masks (κ=0.81) than between pathologists' masks (κ=0.91), this had little impact on computed IHC scores (Allred; [Image: see text]=0.91, Quickscore; [Image: see text]=0.92). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed automated system provides consistent measurements thus ensuring standardisation, and shows promise for increasing IHC analysis of nuclear staining in TMAs from large clinical trials

Transdermal Lidocaine for Perioperative Pain: a Systematic Review of the Literature.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to provide a summary of the perioperative studies that have examined transdermal lidocaine (lidocaine patch) as an analgesic and put the evidence in context of the likely overall benefit of transdermal lidocaine in the perioperative period. RECENT FINDINGS: Several randomized controlled trials have been published in the past 4 years that concluded transdermal lidocaine can reduce acute pain associated with laparoscopic trocar or cannula insertion. Transdermal lidocaine may reduce short-term pain after surgery in selected surgery types and has a low risk of toxicity but its overall clinical utility in the perioperative setting is questionable. Transdermal lidocaine does not consistently reduce opioid consumption after surgery and has not been shown to improve patient function

Tactile Interactions with a Humanoid Robot : Novel Play Scenario Implementations with Children with Autism

Acknowledgments: This work has been partially supported by the European Commission under contract number FP7-231500-ROBOSKIN. Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.The work presented in this paper was part of our investigation in the ROBOSKIN project. The project has developed new robot capabilities based on the tactile feedback provided by novel robotic skin, with the aim to provide cognitive mechanisms to improve human-robot interaction capabilities. This article presents two novel tactile play scenarios developed for robot-assisted play for children with autism. The play scenarios were developed against specific educational and therapeutic objectives that were discussed with teachers and therapists. These objectives were classified with reference to the ICF-CY, the International Classification of Functioning – version for Children and Youth. The article presents a detailed description of the play scenarios, and case study examples of their implementation in HRI studies with children with autism and the humanoid robot KASPAR.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Surveillance of Transmitted HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces, South Africa, 2005-2009

Surveillance of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmitted drug resistance (TDR) was conducted among pregnant women in South Africa over a 5-year period after the initiation of a large national antiretroviral treatment program. Analysis of TDR data from 9 surveys conducted between 2005 and 2009 in 2 provinces of South Africa suggests that while TDR remains low (<5%) in Gauteng Province, it may be increasing in KwaZulu-Natal, with the most recent survey showing moderate (5%-15%) levels of resistance to the nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor drug clas