300 research outputs found
An Unsupervised Method for Suspicious Regions Detection in Mammogram Images
Over the past years many researchers proposed biomedical imaging methods for computer-aided detection
and classification of suspicious regions in mammograms. Mammogram interpretation is performed by
radiologists by visual inspection. The large volume of mammograms to be analyzed makes such readings
labour intensive and often inaccurate. For this purpose, in this paper we propose a new unsupervised method
to automatically detect suspicious regions in mammogram images. The method consists mainly of two
steps: preprocessing; feature extraction and selection. Preprocessing steps allow to separate background
region from the breast profile region. In greater detail, gray levels mapping transform and histogram
specifications are used to enhance the visual representation of mammogram details. Then, local keypoints
and descriptors such as SURF have been extracted in breast profile region. The extracted keypoints are
filtered by proper parameters tuning to detect suspicious regions. The results, in terms of sensitivity and
confidence interval are very encouraging
Survival of Viral Biowarfare Agents in Disinfected Waters
Protecting civilian and military water supplies has received more attention since the United States began its war on terror in 2001. Both chlorine and bromine are used by branches of the U.S. military for disinfecting water supplies; however, limited data exists as to the effectiveness of these additives when used against viral biowarfare agents. The present study sought to evaluate the survival of selected viral biothreat agents in disinfected water. Disinfected water samples were spiked with vaccinia virus strain WR and Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus strain TC-83 each separately to a final concentration of approximately 1 × 106 PFU/mL, and survival was assessed by plaque assay. Both viruses were inactivated by 1 mg/L free available chlorine (FAC) and 2mg/L total bromine within one hour. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that both chlorine and bromine are effective disinfectants against vaccinia virus and VEE strain TC-83 at the concentrations tested
Transmission of Group B Streptococcus in late-onset neonatal disease: a narrative review of current evidence
Group B streptococcus (GBS) late-onset disease (LOD, occurring from 7 through 89 days of life) is an important cause of sepsis and meningitis in infants. The pathogenesis and modes of transmission of LOD to neonates are yet to be elucidated. Established risk factors for the incidence of LOD include maternal GBS colonisation, young maternal age, preterm birth, HIV exposure and African ethnicity. The mucosal colonisation by GBS may be acquired perinatally or in the postpartum period from maternal or other sources. Growing evidence has demonstrated the predominant role of maternal sources in the transmission of LOD. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) to prevent early-onset disease reduces neonatal GBS colonisation during delivery; however, a significant proportion of IAP-exposed neonates born to GBS-carrier mothers acquire the pathogen at mucosal sites in the first weeks of life. GBS-infected breast milk, with or without presence of mastitis, is considered a potential vehicle for transmitting GBS. Furthermore, horizontal transmission is possible from nosocomial and other community sources. Although unfrequently reported, nosocomial transmission of GBS in the neonatal intensive care unit is probably less rare than is usually believed. GBS disease can sometime recur and is usually caused by the same GBS serotype that caused the primary infection. This review aims to discuss the dynamics of transmission of GBS in the neonatal LOD
Disease activity states, reasons for discontinuation and adverse events in 1038 Italian children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis treated with etanercept
The advent of biologic medications has increased considerably the potential for treatment benefit in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), with clinical remission being now achievable in a substantial proportion of patients. However, there is a need of data from the real world of clinical practice to evaluate thoroughly the efficacy and safety profile of the biologic agents currently approved
PReS-FINAL-2232: Long-term follow-up in a national cohort of MKD patients: search for clinical predictors of a spontaneous improvement
No abstract availabl
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in nonapneic asthma: A clinical review of current evidence
© 2020 by Turkish Thoracic Society-. The use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in asthma has been a point of debate over the past several years. Various studies, including those on animals and humans have attempted to understand the role and pathophysiology of CPAP in patients with either well controlled or poorly controlled asthma. The aim of this manuscript is to review the currently available literature on the physiologic and clinical effects of CPAP in animal models of asthma and on humans with stable asthma
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