Dilemma - An Instant Lexicographer

Dilemma is intended to enhance quality and increase productivity of expert human translators by presenting to the writer relevant lexical information mechanically extracted from comparable existing translations, thus replacing - or compensating for the absence of - a lexicographer and stand-by terminologist rather than the translator. Using statistics and crude surface analysis and a minimum of prior information, Dilemma identifies instances and suggests their counterparts in parallel source and target texts, on all levels down to individual words. Dilemma forms part of a tool kit for translation where focus is on text structure and over-all consistency in large text volumes rather than on framing sentences, on interaction between many actors in a large project rather than on retrieval of machine-stored data and on decision making rather than on application of given rules. In particular, the system has been tuned to the needs of the ongoing translation of European Community legislation into the languages of candidate member countries. The system has been demonstrated to and used by professional translators with promising results.Comment: 3 pages, LaTeX, in proceedings of COLING 9

Topical treatment of equine sarcoids with imiquimod 5% cream or Sanguinaria canadensis and zinc chloride - an open prospective study

Background Equine sarcoids are the most prevalent skin neoplasm in horses worldwide. Although several treatments are available, none are consistently effective and recurrence is common. Objectives To evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical imiquimod 5% cream andSanguinaria canadensis + zinc chloride for treatment of equine sarcoids and investigate possible systemic effects on distant untreated sarcoids. Animals/Tumours Twenty-five client-owned horses with a total of 164 tumours were included in the study. Fifty-seven tumours were treated and 107 tumours were left untreated. Methods and materials Biopsies were taken from a minimum of one tumour per horse and the rest were diagnosed based on clinical appearance as likely sarcoids. Imiquimod 5% (A) was applied three times weekly, whileSanguinaria canadensis + zinc chloride (X) was applied every fourth day after a six day daily initiation phase. Treatment continued until clinical remission or for a maximum of 45 weeks, with a long follow-up period (mean 34 months). Biopsies of sarcoids were re-taken before treatment termination and at follow-up if the owner gave consent. Results Complete remission was recorded in 84.4% (A) and 75.0% (X) of the tumours. Relapse was recorded in 7.3% (A) and 21.4% (X). Spontaneous remission was observed in 1.9% of untreated tumours. No systemic effect on untreated tumours was detected. During treatment varying degrees of local inflammatory reaction were common. Conclusions and clinical relevance Both treatments were considered effective and safe. Smaller tumours responded more favourably to treatment. Relapse rate was low and not observed in sarcoids with repeat biopsies before treatment termination

Randomized clinical trial of bedside ultrasound among patients with abdominal pain in the emergency department: impact on patient satisfaction and health care consumption

Background\ud \ud Previous research shows that surgeon-performed ultrasound for patients presenting with abdominal pain in the emergency department leads both to higher diagnostic accuracy and to other benefits. We have evaluated the level of patient satisfaction, health condition and further health care consumption after discharge from the emergency department.\ud Methods\ud \ud A total of 800 patients who attended the emergency department for abdominal pain were randomized to surgeon-performed ultrasound or not as a complement to standard examination. All patients were interviewed by telephone six weeks after the visit to the emergency department using a structured questionnaire including information about health condition, satisfaction and medical examinations. A regional health register was used to check health care consumption over two years and mortality was checked for in the personal data register.\ud Results\ud \ud We found a higher self-rated patient satisfaction in the ultrasound group when leaving the emergency department. After six weeks the figures were equal. There were fewer patients in the ultrasound group with completed or planned complementary examinations after six weeks (31.1%) compared with the control group (41.4%), p = 0.004. There was no difference found in the two-year health care consumption or mortality between the groups.\ud Conclusion\ud \ud For patients with acute abdominal pain, bedside ultrasound examination is related to higher satisfaction and decreased short-term health care consumption. No major effects were revealed when evaluating effects on a long-term basis, including mortality. The previously proven benefit together with the lack of adverse effects from the method makes ultrasound well worth considering for implementation in emergency departments

Kyoto - ENFORMA

Även om mindre än 0,1 % Sveriges landareal avskogas årligen är korrekta uppgifter om den avskogade arealen viktiga . Dels är denna uppgift obligatorisk vid rapportering enligt Kyoto protokollet, dels berörs relativt stora mängder kol av avskogningen (ca 1 M ton C per år). Den lilla andelen avskogad areal gör också att skattningen med ett systematiskt stickprov som Riksinventeringen av skog kan få stora medelfel Skogsvårdsorganisationen (SVO) karterar årligen landets ca 50 000 nya hyggen. Karteringen utförs på de lokala SVO distrikten med hjälp av årliga satellitbilder,, avverkningsanmälningar som är lagrade i ett geografiskt informationssystem; samt lokal-kännedom och fältbesök. I denna pilotstudie undersöks om SVO’s rutiner för kartering av nya avverkningar också skulle kunna användas för skattning av avskogad areal enligt Kyoto protokollet. Resultatet från ett tolkningsförsök i denna studie som utgick från kända förändringar visar att endast 1 av 25 avskogningar missades av en tolkare som inte kände till förändringarna i förväg. Resultatet från ett andra försök, där förändringar istället söktes på samma sätt som vid en operationell användning visade att endast 2 av 28 karterade förändringar vid fältkontroll ej kunde anses vara förändringar enligt Kyoto-protokollet. Detta förutsatt att bilderna är molnfria och tolkningen görs under skogsmask1. Sedan tidigare vet vi att avgränsningsnoggrannheten i genomsnitt är god vid kartering av avverkningar med SVO’s ENFORMA2-verktyg för skillnadsanalys i satellitbilder. I denna studie fann vi också att den nuvarande versionen av ENFORMA-verktyget inte är lämpat för kartering av vägar. Detta är naturligt, eftersom programmet har en funktion som automatiskt tar bort mycket långsmala objekt. De nya vägarna syns dock väl vid manuell tolkning av bilder från två olika år och det finns andra program som är lämpade för en halvautomatisk kartering av dem. I rapporten föreslås att karteringen av avskogningar kan göras för ett systematiskt sampel av kartblad om 5 km * 5 km. Karteringen bör stratifieras3 med avseende på närhet till större tätort. För de utlottade kartbladen karteras alla misstänkta avskogningar noggrant. Antalet misstänkta avskogningar förväntas vara i storleksordningen 0,5 per kartblad och år. Förändringarnas orsak tolkas mot bakgrund av avverkningsanmälningar och lokalkännedom. För alla återstående objekt med oklar orsak till förändringarna görs sedan besök i fält eller så tas en kontakt med markägaren. Med ett sampel om 1200 kartblad, så uppskattas kostnaden för denna karatering inklusive fältbesöken till ca 1 milj kr per år. Översiktliga kalkyler visar att medelfelet för den årliga arealen avskogning med denna design blir ca 10 % för en 1-års mängd. En alternativ möjlighet är att använda ett liknande förfarande för kartering av alla avskogningar efter den första åtagandeperioden 2008-2012. Karteringen skulle då också kunna göras på regionnivå inom skogsvårdsorganisationen. Fördelarna med detta alternativ är att goda skattningar, mindre än 5 % medelfel från sampling designen, skulle erhållas med en engångsinsats och med färre inblandade SVO tjänstemän. Nackdelarna är att årliga skattningar ej erhålls och att lokalkännedomen hos SVO distrikten och samordningsmöjligheterna med den årliga ENFORMA analysen ej tas tillvara. Eftersom felkällorna är olika kan resultatet också skilja mellan den RIS baserade och den ENFORMA baserade metoden för avskogningsskattning. 1 Skogsmask är ett digitalt rasterdataskikt som visar vilka områden som enligt Lantmäteriets allmänna kartor (i skala 1:50 000 eller där denna inte finns, i skala 1:100 000) räknas som skogsmark. 2 ENFORMA är ett PC baserat system för att betrakta satellitbilder och göra skillnadsanalyser mellan satellitbilder från olika år, det är speciellt anpassat till SVO’s Kotten system där avverkningsanmälningar hanteras. ENFORMA utvecklades av Rymdbolagets fjärranlysgrupp inom ramen för ett EU projekt och underhålls av samma grupp som numera heter METRIA Miljöanalys. 3 Vid stratifiering görs ett tätare sampelutlägg inom områden där det kan antas finnas mera förändringar, skattningarna för olika strata vägs sedan samman

In vitro metabolic fate of nine LSD-based new psychoactive substances and their analytical detectability in different urinary screening procedures

The market of new psychoactive substances (NPS) is characterized by a high turnover and thus provides several challenges for analytical toxicology. The analysis of urine samples often requires detailed knowledge about metabolism given that parent compounds either may be present only in small amounts or may not even be excreted. Hence, knowledge of the metabolism of NPS is a prerequisite for the development of reliable analytical methods. The main aim of this work was to elucidate for the first time the pooled human liver S9 fraction metabolism of the nine d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) derivatives 1-acetyl-LSD (ALD-52), 1-propionyl-LSD (1P-LSD), 1-butyryl-LSD (1B-LSD), N6-ethyl-nor-LSD (ETH-LAD), 1-propionyl-N6-ethyl-nor-LSD (1P-ETH-LAD), N6-allyl-nor-LSD (AL-LAD), N-ethyl-N-cyclopropyl lysergamide (ECPLA), (2′S,4′S)-lysergic acid 2,4-dimethylazetidide (LSZ), and lysergic acid morpholide (LSM-775) by means of liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Identification of the monooxygenase enzymes involved in the initial metabolic steps was performed using recombinant human enzymes and their contribution confirmed by inhibition experiments. Overall, N-dealkylation and hydroxylation, as well as combinations of these steps predominantly catalyzed by CYP1A2 and CYP3A4, were found. For ALD-52, 1P-LSD, and 1B-LSD, deacylation to LSD was observed. The obtained mass spectral data of all metabolites are essential for reliable analytical detection particularly in urinalysis and for differentiation of the LSD-like compounds as biotransformations also led to structurally identical metabolites. However, in urine of rats after the administration of expected recreational doses and using standard urine screening approaches, parent drugs or metabolites could not be detected

Association of transcript levels of 10 established or candidate-biomarker gene targets with cancerous versus non-cancerous prostate tissue from radical prostatectomy specimens

Objectives: The benefits of PSA (prostate specific antigen)-testing in prostate cancer remain controversial with a consequential need for validation of additional biomarkers. We used highly standardized reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR assays to compare transcript levels of 10 candidate cancer marker genes - BMP6, FGF-8b, KLK2, KLK3, KLK4, KLK15, MSMB, PCA3, PSCA and Trpm8 - in carefully ascertained non-cancerous versus cancerous prostate tissue from patients with clinically localized prostate cancer treated by radical prostatectomy. Design and methods: Total RNA was isolated from fresh frozen prostate tissue procured immediately after resection from two separate areas in each of 87 radical prostatectomy specimens. Subsequent histopathological assessment classified 86 samples as cancerous and 88 as histologically benign prostate tissue. Variation in total RNA recovery was accounted for by using external and internal standards and enabled us to measure transcript levels by RT-PCR in a highly quantitative manner. Results: Of the ten genes, there were significantly higher levels only of one of the less abundant transcripts, PCA3, in cancerous versus non-cancerous prostate tissue whereas PSCA mRNA levels were significantly lower in cancerous versus histologically benign tissue. Advanced pathologic stage was associated with significantly higher expression of KLK15 and PCA3 mRNAs. Median transcript levels of the most abundantly expressed genes (i.e. MSMB, KLK3, KLK4 and KLK2) in prostate tissue were up to 10(5)-fold higher than those of other gene targets. Conclusions: PCA3 expression was associated with advanced pathological stage but the magnitude of overexpression of PCA3 in cancerous versus non-cancerous prostate tissue was modest compared to previously reported data. (C) 2013 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved