Texture spectrum coupled with entropy and homogeneity image features for myocardium muscle characterization

People in middle/later age often suffer from heart muscle damage due to coronary artery disease associated to myocardial infarction. In young people, the genetic forms of cardiomyopathies (heart muscle disease) are the utmost protuberant cause of myocardial disease. Accurate early detected information regarding the myocardial tissue structure is a key answer for tracking the progress of several myocardial diseases. The present work proposes a new method for myocardium muscle texture classification based on entropy, homogeneity and on the texture unit-based texture spectrum approaches. Entropy and homogeneity are generated in moving windows of size 3x3 and 5x5 to enhance the texture features and to create the premise of differentiation of the myocardium structures. Texture is then statistically analyzed using the texture spectrum approach. Texture classification is achieved based on a fuzzy c–means descriptive classifier. The noise sensitivity of the fuzzy c–means classifier is overcome by using the image features. The proposed method is tested on a dataset of 80 echocardiographic ultrasound images in both short-axis and long-axis in apical two chamber view representations, for normal and infarct pathologies. The results established that the entropy-based features provided superior clustering results compared to homogeneity

Umsetzung von Lungenkrebs-Screening

Two large-scale and sufficiently powered randomized-controlled trials and several smaller European trials have provided evidence on the effectiveness and feasibility of screening for lung cancer by means of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for a high-risk population. These findings support the implementation and upscaling of lung cancer screening to nationwide programs in Germany and the rest of Europe. At the same time, lung cancer screening efficiency can still be improved by further personalization and risk stratification, to maintain or improve the benefits while substantially reducing harms and costs (such as CT examinations needed, false-positive results and subsequent follow-up procedures). This review discusses the most pressing issues, such as the further development of adequate recruitment methods, risk-based eligibility and screening intervals, improved nodule detection and management, integrated smoking cessation programs, and a unified approach of the early detection of smoking-related diseases. The 4-IN-THE-LUNG-RUN (acronym for: Towards INdividually tailored INvitations, screening INtervals and INtegrated co-morbidity reducing strategies in lung cancer screening) is the first European multi-centred implementation trial on volume CT lung cancer screening amongst 24,000 high-risk subjects, across five countries. Germany is one of the participating countries, represented by the Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum and the Universitätsklinikum (Ruhrlandklinik) Essen. The trial is expected to provide answers to the remaining issues, so that a high-quality screening program can be made accessible to those who might benefit most from lung cancer screening while keeping individual and societal harms at a minimum.</p

Innovation and Crowdsourcing Contests

In an innovation contest, an organizer seeks solutions to an innovation-related problem from a group of independent agents. Agents, who can be heterogeneous in their ability levels, exert efforts to improve their solutions, and their solution qualities are uncertain due to the innovation and evaluation processes. In this chapter, we present a general model framework that captures main features of a contest, and encompasses several existing models in the literature. Using this framework, we analyze two important decisions of the organizer: a set of awards that will be distributed to agents and whether to restrict entry to a contest or to run an open contest. We provide a taxonomy of contest literature, and discuss past and current research on innovation contests as well as a set of exciting future research directions

Хроническая мигрень, ассоциированная с сахарным диабетом I типа

Catedra Neurologie, USMF „Nicolae Testemiţanu”, Institutul de Neurologie şi NeurochirurgieMigraine is estimated to be found in about 30% of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type I. The migraine associated with DM is a complex scientific and clinical problem. The article is a case presentation of a patient with chronic migraine (ChM) associated with DM type I having clinical manifestations which included daily medium to strong headaches located unilaterally or bilaterally with a compressive or pulsating pattern lasting more than 4 hours, sometimes associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia, phonophobia or osmophobia. Headache attacks were aggravated by physical effort or stress. The patient has a genetic predisposition to migraine (her mother and brother suffered from ChM for many years). The patient underwent a complex examination: EEG, fundoscopy, angio-CT and MRI of the brain, ECG, ultrasound of the abdominal organs, and a radioscopy of the stomach. The psychometric evaluation utilized the Spielberger and Beck questionnaire. The test revealed a moderate level of anxiety and depression, as well as the patient’s histrionic personality. Effective treatment of metabolical changes in DM contributed to the reduction of the intensity and frequency of migraine attacks.Частота распространенности мигрени высока среди пациентов, которые давно страдают сахарным диабетом (СД) I типа, в среднем около 30%. Сопутствующая сахарному диабету мигрень представляет собой сложную и интересную в научном плане задачу. Представлен клинический случай пациентки с хронической мигренью (ХМ) в сочетании с СД I типа. В клинической картине были ежедневные приступы головной боли, средней и сильной интенсивности, одно- или двухсторонние, сжимающего или пульсирующего характера, длительностью более 4-х часов, сочетающиеся с тошнотой, иногда рвотой, фото-, фоно- и осмофобией. Приступы усиливались при физической нагрузке или при психоэмоциональных стрессах. У пациентки присутствовала генетическая предрасположенность к мигрени (мать и брат страдают хронической мигренью в течение многих лет). Больная была многосторонне обследована: ЭЭГ, офтальмоскопия, ангио-КТ, МРТ головного мозга, ЭКГ, УЗИ органов брюшной полости, Rg-скопия желудка и т.д. Психометрические тесты (Спилберг, Бек, DSM-IV опросник), выявили высокий уровень реактивной и личностной тревоги, депрессию средней степени выраженности, а также черты хистрионической личности. Эффективное лечение расстройств способствовало уменьшению интенсивности и частоты сопутствующих мигренозных атак

Optimal Resource Allocation over Networks via Lottery-Based Mechanisms

We show that, in a resource allocation problem, the ex ante aggregate utility of players with cumulative-prospect-theoretic preferences can be increased over deterministic allocations by implementing lotteries. We formulate an optimization problem, called the system problem, to find the optimal lottery allocation. The system problem exhibits a two-layer structure comprised of a permutation profile and optimal allocations given the permutation profile. For any fixed permutation profile, we provide a market-based mechanism to find the optimal allocations and prove the existence of equilibrium prices. We show that the system problem has a duality gap, in general, and that the primal problem is NP-hard. We then consider a relaxation of the system problem and derive some qualitative features of the optimal lottery structure

Laparoscopic surgical education -the experience of the First Surgical Unit Iaaei

Rezumat Trainingul în chirurgia laparoscopicã -experienåa Clinicii I Chirurgie Iaaei Învãåãmântul chirurgical, dupã principiile clasice, se desfãaeoarã în sala de operaåie sub coordonarea unui chirurg cu exeperienåã. De-a lungul timpului aei în special dupã introducerea tehnicilor de chirurgie minim invazivã ca abord standard pentru multe afecåiuni, au fost dezvoltate multiple metode care sã asigure însuaeirea cunoaetinåelor. Din punct de vedere al comportamentului uman, se disting trei niveluri de cunoaaetere: 1) comportament uman bazat pe abilitãåi de bazã; 2) comportament bazat pe reguli; 3) comportament bazat pe cunoaaetere. Abilitãåile necesare chirurgiei minim-invazive sunt dificil de însuaeit folosind modelul clasic de învãåãmânt chirurgical, datoritã a numeroase motive: etice, medico-legale aei economice. De aceea, au fost dezvoltate multiple tipuri de simulatore destinate învãåãmântului chirurgical minim-invaziv. Actualmente, simulatoarele sunt acceptate peste tot în lume pentru trainingul tehnicilor minim-invazive asigurând îmbunãtãåirea performanåelor tinerilor chirurgi. Simulatoarele folosite curent asigura însã numai însuaeirea abilitãåilor practice de bazã aei, paråial, a comportamentului bazat pe reguli. Totuaei, folosirea modelelor animale ca aei a viitoarelor modele de simulatoare de realitate virtualã vor oferi posibilitatea însuaeirii aei a comportamentului bazat pe cunoaaetere. Cu toate acestea nu existã o curriculã general acceptatã pentru trainingul în chirurgia minim-invazivã. Lucrarea prezintã experienåa de peste 10 ani a Clinicii I Chirurgie Iaaei aei evoluåia diverselor metode aei tehnici de antrenament. De asemenea, s-a realizat un review al literaturii despre noile concepte aei probleme ale învãåãmântului chirurgical. Cuvinte cheie: chirurgie minim-invazivã, învãåãmânt medical, simulatoare, training laparoscopic, realitate virtualã Abstract The classic apprenticeship model for surgical training takes place into the operating theater under the strict coordination of a senior surgeon. During the time and especially after the introduction of minimally invasive techniques as gold standard treatment for many diseases, other methods were developed to successful fulfill the well known three stages of training: skillbased behavior, rule-based behavior and knowledge-based behavior. The skills needed for minimally invasive surgery aren&apos;t easily obtained using classical apprenticeship model due to ethical, medico-legal and economic considerations. In this way several types of simulators have been developed. Nowadays simulators are worldwide accepted for laparoscopic surgical training and provide formative feedback which allows an improvement of the performances of the young surgeons. The simulators currently used allow assimilating only skill based behavior and rule-based behavior. However, the training using animal models as well as new virtual reality simulators and augmented reality offer the possibility to achieve knowledgebased behavior. However it isn&apos;t a worldwide accepted laparoscopic training curriculum. We present our experience wit

Quantum information processes in protein microtubules of brain neurons

We study biologically ‘orchestrated’ coherent quantum processes in collections of protein microtubules of brain neurons, which correlate with, and regulate, neuronal synaptic and membrane activity. In this situation the continuous Schrodinger evolution of each such process terminates in accordance with the specific Diosi-Penrose (DP) scheme of ‘objective reduction’ (‘OR’) of the quantum state. This orchestrated OR activity (‘Orch OR’) is taken to result in moments of conscious awareness and/or choice. We analyze Orch OR in light of advances and developments in quantum physics, computational neuroscience and quantum biology. Much attention is also devoted to the ‘beat frequencies’ of faster microtubule vibrations as a possible source of the observed electroencephalographic (‘EEG’) correlates of consciousness