DWI-MRI: Single, Informative, and Noninvasive Technique for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Aim. To evaluate diffusion weighted image-MRI (DWI) as a single diagnostic noninvasive MRI technique for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. Material and Methods. A prospective study was conducted between July 2008 and July 2009. Candidates patients were equal or more than 40 years old, with suspicious digital rectal examination (more than clinical T2) or PSA >4 ng/mL. Informed consent was signed. DWI-MRI was performed at 1.5 T with a body coil combined with a spine coil in consecutive 100 cases. The histopathology of biopsies has been used as reference standard. Two examiners were evaluating MRI and TRUS, both of them were blinded regarding pathological findings. Accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity were statistically analyzed. Results. Based on pathological diagnosis: group A (cancerous); 75 cases and group B (non-cancerous); 25 cases. Mean age was 65.3 and 62.8 years in groups A and B, respectively. Mean PSA was 30.7 and 9.2 ng/mL in groups A and B, respectively. Sensitivity of DWI was 58.3% while specificity was 83.8%. Accuracy of lesion detection was 52.4–77.8% (P < 0.05). Moreover, DWI at ADC value 1.2 × 10−3 mL/sec could determine 82.4% of true positive cases (P < 0.05). ADC values were lower with Gleason score ≥7 (P < 0.05). Conclusion. DWI could represent a non invasive single diagnostic tool not only in detection and localization but also in prediction of Gleason score whenever DWI is used prior to invasive TRUS biopsy. Furthermore, targeted single biopsy could be planned after DWI to minimize patient morbidity by invasive techniques

Peste des petits ruminants in large ruminants, camels and unusual hosts

Since its first report in 1942, peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) has caused several epidemics in a wide range of susceptible hosts around the world. In the last 30 years, the evidence of natural and experimental infections and virus isolation were reported from novel but unusual hosts such as camel, cattle, buffalo, dogs, Asiatic lion and pigs. In addition, PPRV in a potential vector, biting midges (Culicoides imicola), has been reported. Either presented as clinical and/or subclinical infections, the presence of the virus in an extended range of susceptible hosts highlights the cross-species transmission and supports the hypothesis of an endemic circulation of PPRV among susceptible hosts. However, the potential role of large ruminants, camels and unusual hosts for PPRV epidemiology is still obscure. Therefore, there is a need for molecular and epidemiological investigations of the disease among usual and unusual hosts to achieve the goals of disease control and eradication programmes initiated by national and international organisations, such as the FAO and OIE. This review is the first to summarise the scattered data on PPR in large ruminants, camels and unusual hosts to obtain the global scientific communities' attention for further research on epidemiological aspects, not only in its native hosts, but also in large ruminants, camels and other unusual hosts

Breast Cancer Segmentation From Ultrasound Images Using Deep Dual-Decoder Technology With Attention Network

This paper introduces a deep learning approach for breast cancer segmentation from ultrasound imaging using a Dual Decoder Attention ResUNet (DDA-AttResUNet). DDA-AttResUNet utilizes a Dual Decoder Attention structure to simultaneously focus on tumor segmentation while also capturing supplementary contextual information, leading to enhanced segmentation accuracy. An Attention mechanism is incorporated to enhance the representation of segmented regions by effectively combining information from multiple sources. The model&#x2019;s performance is validated on a public challenging dataset of 780 Breast Ultrasound Images (BUSI), achieving a Dice similarity coefficient of 92.92&#x00B1;0.69&#x0025;, Intersection over Union of 87.39 &#x00B1; 1.10&#x0025;, Sensitivity of 92.16 &#x00B1; 0.92&#x0025;, Precision of 93.90 &#x00B1; 0.40&#x0025;, and Accuracy of 98.82 &#x00B1; 0.10&#x0025;, using 10-fold cross-validation. These results, comparable to other leading methods, indicate that our DDA-AttResUNet can significantly advance breast tumor segmentation in BUS imaging, with implications for improved diagnosis and patient outcomes

Effect of MgSO4 Solution on the Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of OPC-Metakaolin and OPC-Metakaolin-Limestone Blends

This study aims to investigate the effect of MgSO4 solution on the durability of the pastes made of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) blended with 10, 20 and 30 wt.% metakaolin (MK) and the pastes made by partial substitution of metakaolin in the mix containing 30% metakaolin by 5 and 10 wt.% limestone (LS). All pastes were prepared using the suitable amount of water for standard consistency. The pastes cured in tab water for 28 days then divided into two sets; the first one continued for hydration in tab water up to two years. The second set was immersed in 5% MgSO4 solution for the same period of hydration. Compressive strength, chemically combined water content and free lime content of the two sets of the hardened cement pastes were determined and compared to each other. Also, mass change of the set samples immersed in sulphate solution was investigated. In addition, phase composition and microstructure of some selected samples in the two solutions were examined by using XRD and SEM techniques respectively. It was found that the paste made of (70% OPC + 20% MK + 10% LS) represent the most durable against sulphate attack

Effect of strengthening materials on the behavior of curved beams with openings

This study investigates the impact of openings on the behavior of arched beams and the effectiveness of different strengthening materials in enhancing their performance. The study involves three stages. The first stage focuses on the effect of openings on the behavior of curved beams. The second stage examines the effect of different strengthening materials, including carbon fiber sheets, glass fiber sheets, and steel plates, on the deflection and failure load in the presence of openings. In the third stage, Finite Element models are used to simulate the tested beams with different strengthening materials, and the differences between beams with and without openings are analyzed. The results show that the presence of openings negatively affects the ultimate load, deflection, and ductility ratio of arched beams. Regarding strengthening, beams strengthened with steel plates demonstrate a higher ultimate load, approximately 5.6% and 21% higher than beams strengthened with carbon fiber and glass fiber sheets, respectively. Moreover, the deflection of beams strengthened with steel plates is 6.4% and 8.9% higher than beams strengthened with CFRP and GFRP. The presented work is introduced to offer a valuable solution to some developed systems for controlling, repairing, and supporting structures