Possible Role of Meckel's Scan Fused with SPECT CT Imaging: Unraveling the Cause of Abdominal Pain and Obscure-Overt Gastrointestinal Bleeding

A 27-year-old male presented with recurrent abdominal pain and high volume hematochezia despite undergoing extensive testing and a right hemicolectomy 3 years prior for a linear bleeding ulceration in the ascending colon. Studies at the University of Michigan included esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), colonoscopy and video capsule endoscopy (VCE), revealing an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the terminal ileum. He was hospitalized for recurrent symptoms. His presentation suggested a small bowel source of obscure-overt GI bleeding based on prior non-diagnostic colonoscopy and EGD and a bilious nasogastric lavage. Tagged red blood cell scan localized bleeding to the right lower quadrant. Colonoscopy showed fresh blood in the terminal ileum without a clear source. Angiography showed no evidence of bleeding or terminal ileal AVM. A novel Meckel's scan fused with SPECT imaging showed focal uptake in the terminal ileum. The patient underwent Meckel's diverticulectomy with sparing of adjacent bowel and has remained asymptomatic for 19 months. This case illustrates that patients with obscure-overt GI bleeding require a step-wise multi-modality diagnostic work-up. Because Meckel's scans are false-positive in 28% of adults, Meckel's scan fused with SPECT imaging may offer an approach to refine diagnostic accuracy of either scan alone, but requires further investigation. Exploratory laparotomy should be reserved as a last option and is best performed with intraoperative endoscopy

Evaluation of short‐term safety of ultrasound‐guided foetal fluid sampling in the dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

Background: In humans, analysis of amniotic fluid is widely used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Amniocentesis has scarcely been used in veterinary medicine to date, despite a tremendous potential for clinical and research applications in dogs. Our study aimed to establish a safe method for foetal fluid sampling in female dogs. Methods: Two transabdominal ultrasound-guided methods were assessed: the "free hand" and the needle-guided bracket sampling. In addition, through a subsequent routinely scheduled ovariohysterectomy, fluid was directly collected. Samples from 98 conceptuses were collected at day 46.7 +/- 7.5 of pregnancy. Results: The amount of fluid retrieved varied between 0.5 and 5.0 ml per collection. Macroscopic examination of the uterus and conceptuses identified 53% of the puncture sites. Neither fluid leakage nor foetal injury was detected, and six hematomas (5.8%) were visible. Ultrasound-guided foetal fluid collection was found to be potentially safe, and it can be performed by using either transabdominal method. Conclusion: Foetal fluid collection is possible with relative ease and low short-term risk, and may open paths for diagnostic, therapeutic and research purposes in dogs. The procedure can provide new insights into prenatal clinical medicine, including diagnostics of foetal deaths, early identification of heritable diseases and so on

Capacity and Autonomy : An Exploration of Fukuyama’s Governance Hypothesis

Peer reviewe

Machine learning for the Zwicky transient facility

The Zwicky Transient Facility is a large optical survey in multiple filters producing hundreds of thousands of transient alerts per night. We describe here various machine learning (ML) implementations and plans to make the maximal use of the large data set by taking advantage of the temporal nature of the data, and further combining it with other data sets. We start with the initial steps of separating bogus candidates from real ones, separating stars and galaxies, and go on to the classification of real objects into various classes. Besides the usual methods (e.g., based on features extracted from light curves) we also describe early plans for alternate methods including the use of domain adaptation, and deep learning. In a similar fashion we describe efforts to detect fast moving asteroids. We also describe the use of the Zooniverse platform for helping with classifications through the creation of training samples, and active learning. Finally we mention the synergistic aspects of ZTF and LSST from the ML perspective

Effects of Attractiveness and Social Status on Dating Desire in Heterosexual Adolescents: An Experimental Study

The present study examined to what extent adolescent dating desire is based on attractiveness and social status of a potential short-term partner. Further, we tested whether self-perceived mate value moderated the relationship between dating desire and attractiveness of a potential partner. Data were used from a sample of 1,913 adolescents aged 13–18. Participants rated the importance of various characteristics of a potential partner and also participated in an experimental vignette study in which dating desire was measured with either low or high attractive potential partners having either a high or low social status. The results showed that boys rated attractiveness as more important than girls, while social status was rated as relatively unimportant by both sexes. In addition, in the experimental vignette study, it was found that attractiveness was the primary factor for boys’ dating desire. Only when a potential partner was attractive, social status became important for boys’ dating desire. For girls, on the other hand, it appeared that both attractiveness and social status of a potential partner were important for their dating desire. Finally, boys and girls who perceived themselves as having a high mate value showed more dating desire toward an attractive potential partner compared to adolescents who perceived themselves as having a low mate value. The present results extend previous research by showing that attractiveness of a potential partner is important to both adolescent boys and girls, but social status does not strongly affect dating desire during this particular age period

Reliability and validity of the Infant and Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL) in a general population and respiratory disease sample

Objective: To evaluate feasibility, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminative validity of the Infant and Toddler Quality of Life Questionnaire (ITQOL) for parents of pre-school children with 12 scales (103-items) covering physical and psychosocial domains and impact of child health on parents, in comparison with the TNO-AZL Pre-school Children Quality of Life Questionnaire (TAPQOL). Methods: Parents of children from a random general population sample (2 months-4 years old; n = 500) and of an outpatient clinic sample of children with respiratory disease (5 months-51/2 years old; n = 217) were mailed ITQOL and TAPQOL questionnaires; a retest was sent after two weeks. Results: Feasibility: The response was ≥80% with few missing and non-unique ITQOL-answers (25% at maximum score). Internal consistency: All Cronbach's α >0.70. Test-retest Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were moderate or adequate (≥0.50; p < 0.01) for 10 ITQOL-scales. Validity: ITQOL-scales, with a few exceptions, correlated better with predefined parallel TAPQOL scales than with non-parallel scales. Five to eight ITQOL-scales discriminated clearly between children with few and with many parent-reported chronic conditions, between children with and without doctor-diagnosed respiratory disease and with a low and a high parent-reported medical consumption (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study supported the evidence that the ITQOL is a feasible instrument with adequate psychometric properties. The study provided reference ITQOL scores for gender/age subgroups. We recommend repeated evaluations of the ITQOL in varied populations, especially among very young children, including repeated assessments of test-retest characteristics and evaluations of responsiveness to change. We recommend developing and evaluating a shortened ITQOL version

Incipient Social Groups: An Analysis via In-Vivo Behavioral Tracking

Social psychology is fundamentally the study of individuals in groups, yet there remain basic unanswered questions about group formation, structure, and change. We argue that the problem is methodological. Until recently, there was no way to track who was interacting with whom with anything approximating valid resolution and scale. In the current study we describe a new method that applies recent advances in image-based tracking to study incipient group formation and evolution with experimental precision and control. In this method, which we term "in vivo behavioral tracking," we track individuals' movements with a high definition video camera mounted atop a large field laboratory. We report results of an initial study that quantifies the composition, structure, and size of the incipient groups. We also apply in-vivo spatial tracking to study participants' tendency to cooperate as a function of their embeddedness in those crowds. We find that participants form groups of seven on average, are more likely to approach others of similar attractiveness and (to a lesser extent) gender, and that participants' gender and attractiveness are both associated with their proximity to the spatial center of groups (such that women and attractive individuals are more likely than men and unattractive individuals to end up in the center of their groups). Furthermore, participants' proximity to others early in the study predicted the effort they exerted in a subsequent cooperative task, suggesting that submergence in a crowd may predict social loafing. We conclude that in vivo behavioral tracking is a uniquely powerful new tool for answering longstanding, fundamental questions about group dynamics

Gender differences in the clinical management of patients with angina pectoris: a cross-sectional survey in primary care

Non peer reviewedPublisher PD