Correlation of diaphragm surgical findings with preoperative CT scans in ovarian cancer

Correlation of diaphragm surgical findings in ovarian cancer patients with and without diaphragm metastases with pre-operative CT diaphragm findings to assess sensitivity and specificity for diaphragm disease. Material and Methods: A retrospective study of 120 ovarian cancer patients (60 with and 60 without diaphragm metastases at surgery), FIGO Stage IIIC or IV, undergoing cytoreductive surgery at Mayo Clinic, Arizona, between January 2000 and October 2014. All patients had preoperative imaging with CT scan of abdomen and pelvis including the lower lung fields. CTs were not reviewed retrospectively. Results: Among 60 patients with diaphragm metastases, preoperative CTs were positive for diaphragm disease in 17 patients, with a sensitivity rate of 28% (CI 95%: 0.17-0.41). All 60 patients with no diaphragm metastases had negative CTs, with a specificity of 100% (CI 95%: 94.0%-100%). When analyzed by lesion size, CTs were negative in 66.7-80% of patients with diaphragm lesions ranging from 1-15 mm. There was a trend towards increased detection rate with increasing size of lesions, but it did not reach significance (p = 0.529). CT detection rate for single metastatic lesion was 18.2% (6/33) and for multiple lesions it was 25.9% (7/27). There was no difference for CT identification of right, left, or bilateral metastases (p = 0.399). The sensitivity and specificity of CT for pleural effusion was 100% (CI 95%: 72.2%-100%) and 88% (CI 95%: 76.2%- 94.4%), respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.680 (CI 95%: 55.3%-72.2%) for CT detection of diaphragm metastases and 0.957 (CI 95%: 79.9%-95.3%) for pleural effusions. Conclusion: CT has a low sensitivity and a high specificity for the prediction of diaphragm metastases in ovarian cancer. The size, location, and number of diaphragm lesions do not significantly improve CT detection rat

A minimal model for congestion phenomena on complex networks

We study a minimal model of traffic flows in complex networks, simple enough to get analytical results, but with a very rich phenomenology, presenting continuous, discontinuous as well as hybrid phase transitions between a free-flow phase and a congested phase, critical points and different scaling behaviors in the system size. It consists of random walkers on a queueing network with one-range repulsion, where particles can be destroyed only if they can move. We focus on the dependence on the topology as well as on the level of traffic control. We are able to obtain transition curves and phase diagrams at analytical level for the ensemble of uncorrelated networks and numerically for single instances. We find that traffic control improves global performance, enlarging the free-flow region in parameter space only in heterogeneous networks. Traffic control introduces non-linear effects and, beyond a critical strength, may trigger the appearance of a congested phase in a discontinuous manner. The model also reproduces the cross-over in the scaling of traffic fluctuations empirically observed in the Internet, and moreover, a conserved version can reproduce qualitatively some stylized facts of traffic in transportation networks

Interpol and the Emergence of Global Policing

This chapter examines global policing as it takes shape through the work of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization. Global policing emerges in the legal, political and technological amalgam through which transnational police cooperation is carried out, and includes the police practices inflected and made possible by this phenomenon. Interpol’s role is predominantly in the circulation of information, through which it enters into relationships and provides services that affect aspects of governance, from the local to national, regional and global. The chapter describes this assemblage as a noteworthy experiment in developing what McKeon called a frame for common action. Drawing on Interpol publications, news stories, interviews with staff, and fieldwork at the General Secretariat in Lyon, France, the history, institutional structure, and daily practices are described. Three cases are analyzed, concerning Red Notices, national sovereignty, and terrorism, in order to explore some of the problems arising in Interpol’s political and technical operating arrangements. In conclusion, international and global policing are compared schematically, together with Interpol’s attempts to give institutional and procedural direction to the still-evolving form of global policing

Risk Prediction for Acute Kidney Injury in Acute Medical Admissions in the UK

Background Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is associated with adverse outcomes; identifying patients who are at risk of developing AKI in hospital may lead to targeted prevention. This approach is advocated in national guidelines but is not well studied in acutely unwell medical patients. We therefore aimed to undertake a UK-wide study in acute medical units (AMUs) with the following aims: to define the proportion of acutely unwell medical patients who develop hospital-acquired AKI (hAKI); to determine risk factors associated with the development of hAKI; and to assess the feasibility of using these risk factors to develop an AKI risk prediction score. Methods In September 2016, a prospective multicentre cohort study across 72 UK AMUs was undertaken. Data were collected from all patients who presented over a 24-hour period. Chronic dialysis, community-acquired AKI (cAKI) and those with fewer than two creatinine measurements were subsequently excluded. The primary outcome was the development of h-AKI. Results 2,446 individuals were admitted to the AMUs of the 72 participating centres. 384 patients (16%) sustained AKI of whom 287 (75%) were cAKI and 97 (25%) were hAKI. After exclusions, 1,235 participants remained in whom chronic kidney disease (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.96-4.83), diuretic prescription (OR 2.33, 95% CI 1.5-3.65), a lower haemoglobin concentration and an elevated serum bilirubin were independently associated with development of hAKI. Multivariable model discrimination was moderate (c-statistic 0.75), and this did not support the development of a robust clinical risk prediction score. Mortality was higher in those with hAKI (adjusted OR 5.22; 95% CI 2.23-12.20). Conclusion AKI in AMUs is common and associated with worse outcomes, with the majority of cases community acquired. The smaller proportion of hAKI cases, only moderate discrimination of prognostic risk factor modelling and the resource implications of widespread application of an AKI clinical risk score across all AMU admissions suggests that this approach is not currently justified. More targeted risk assessment or automated methods of calculating individual risk may be more appropriate alternatives

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

دراسة بيواستراتجرافية لصخور الطباشيرى العلوي - الثلاثي السفلى الظاهرة على السطح بمنطقة أم رجام - جنوب المملكة الأردنية بستخدام الفورامنيفرا الهائمة

This paper deals with the Biostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous - Lower Tertiary rocks of Dm Rijam area. South Jordan. The study is based on 82 identified planktonic foraminiferal species. Ten foraminiferal biozones are established and correlated with equivalent biozones from other parts of the world.يتضمن البحث دراسة بيواستراتجرافية لصخور الطباشيري العلوى - الثلاثي السفلي الظاهرة على السطح بمنطقة أم رجام جنوب المملكة الأردنية باستخدام الفورامنيفرا الهائمة ، وتعتمد الدراسة على مائة وعشرين عينة صخرية جمعت من قطاعين بالمنطقة ، وقد تم التعرف على 82 نوعا وتحت نوع من الفورامنيفرا الهائمة . ونتيجة لهذه الدراسة أمكن التعرف على عشرة نطق للفورامنيفرا الهائمة يتميز كل منها بأنواع معينة ، وقد وصفت هذه النطق بالتفصيل بما تحتويه من أنواع الفورامنيفرا الهائمة