Interactive Tool for Researching Large Unstructured Document Collections

Reviewing large document collections is an activity that arises commonly in certain professional contexts such as investigative journalism. Such document collections can arise in many use contexts such as investigative journalism; academic research; litigation, arbitration or other legal context; audit; research using document archives; etc. The collections may include a large number of documents, including scanned images of documents or handwritten documents, and are often devoid of structure or organization. This makes it difficult to sift through such collections and identify important pieces of information. This disclosure describes a tool that enables easier access to such collections and features that support review and research based on such document collections. Automated techniques such as optical character recognition, entity recognition, indexing, etc. are utilized to process the document collection to index the documents and to generate timelines, connection graphs, or other views on the collection. A user interface is provided that enables users to search the collection, view event timelines, make annotations, take notes, and collaborate with others. The described techniques facilitate sensemaking and can help surface latent insight

Thermal Expansion of MgTiO3 Made by Sol-Gel Technique at Temperature Range 25–890 °C

MgTiO3 is a material commonly used in the industry as capacitors and resistors. The high-temperature structure of MgTiO3 has been reported only for materials synthesized by the solid-state method. This study deals with MgTiO3 formed at low temperatures by the sol-gel synthesis technique. Co-precipitated xerogel precursors of nanocrystalline magnesium titanates, with Mg:Ti ratio near 1:1, were subjected to thermal treatment at 1200 °C for 5 h in air. A sample with fine powders of MgTiO3 (geikielite) as a major phase with Mg2TiO4 (qandilite) as a minor phase was obtained. The powder was scanned on a hot-stage X-ray powder diffractometer at temperatures between 25 and 890 °C. The lattice parameters and the atomic positions of the two phases were determined as a function of temperature. The thermal expansion coefficients of the geikielite were derived and compared with previously published data using the solid-state synthesis technique, providing insights on trends in materials properties at elevated temperature as a function of synthesis. It was found that the deviation of the present results in comparison to previously reported data do not originate from the method of synthesis but rather from the fact that there is an asymmetric solubility gap in geikielite. The lattice parameters of this study present the property of stoichiometric MgTiO3 and are compared to previously reported non-stoichiometric MgTiO3 with excess of Ti. The values of lattice parameters of the non-stoichiometric versus temperature of geikielite found the same for both solid-state reaction and sol-gel products

Perioperative Team-Based Morbidity and Mortality Conferences: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Objective:. This systematic review aimed to identify key elements of perioperative team-based morbidity and mortality conferences (TBMMs) and their impact on patient safety, education, and quality improvement outcomes. Background:. Patient safety in the perioperative period is influenced by system, team, and individual behaviors. However, despite this recognition, single-discipline morbidity and mortality conferences remain a mainstay of educational and quality improvement efforts. Methods:. A structured search was conducted in MEDLINE Complete, Embase, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane CENTRAL, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global in July 2022. Search results were screened, and the articles meeting inclusion criteria were abstracted. Results:. Seven studies were identified. Key TBMM elements were identified, including activities done before the conference—case selection and case investigation; during the conference—standardized presentation formats and formal moderators; and after the conference—follow-up emails and quality improvement projects. The impacts of TBMMs on educational, safety, and quality improvement outcomes were heterogeneous, and no meta-analysis could be conducted; however, improvement was typically shown in each of these domains where comparisons were made. Conclusions:. Recommendations for key TBMM elements can be drawn from the reports of successful perioperative TBMMs. Possible benefits of structured TBMMs over single-discipline conferences were identified for further exploration, including opportunities for rich educational contributions for trainees, improved patient safety, and the potential for system-wide quality improvement. Design and implementation of TBMM should address meticulous preparation of cases, standardized presentation format, and effective facilitation to increase the likelihood of realizing the potential benefits

Rectal Cancer after Prostate Radiation: A Complex and Controversial Disease

A small proportion of rectal adenocarcinomas develop in patients many years after the treatment of a previous cancer using pelvic radiation, and the incidence of these rectal cancers depends on the length of follow-up from the end of radiotherapy. The risk of radiation-associated rectal cancer (RARC) is higher in patients treated with prostate external beam radiotherapy than it is in patients treated with brachytherapy. The molecular features of RARC have not been fully investigated, and survival is lower compared to non-irradiated rectal cancer patients. Ultimately, it is unclear whether the worse outcomes are related to differences in patient characteristics, treatment-related factors, or tumor biology. Radiation is widely used in the management of rectal adenocarcinoma; however, pelvic re-irradiation of RARC is challenging and carries a higher risk of treatment complications. Although RARC can develop in patients treated for a variety of malignancies, it is most common in patients treated for prostate cancer. This study will review the incidence, molecular characteristics, clinical course, and treatment outcomes of rectal adenocarcinoma in patients previously treated with radiation for prostate cancer. For clarity, we will distinguish between rectal cancer not associated with prostate cancer (RCNAPC), rectal cancer in non-irradiated prostate cancer patients (RCNRPC), and rectal cancer in irradiated prostate cancer patients (RCRPC). RARC represents a unique but understudied subset of rectal cancer, and thus requires a more comprehensive investigation in order to improve its treatment and prognosis

Retinoid Signaling in Progenitors Controls Specification and Regeneration of the Urothelium

The urothelium is a multilayered epithelium that serves as a barrier between the urinary tract and blood, preventing the exchange of water and toxic substances. It consists of superficial cells specialized for synthesis and transport of uroplakins that assemble into a tough apical plaque, one or more layers of intermediate cells, and keratin 5-expressing basal cells (K5-BCs), which are considered to be progenitors in the urothelium and other specialized epithelia. Fate mapping, however, reveals that intermediate cells rather than K5-BCs are progenitors in the adult regenerating urothelium, that P cells, a transient population, are progenitors in the embryo, and that retinoids are critical in P cells and intermediate cells, respectively, for their specification during development and regeneration. These observations have important implications for tissue engineering and repair and, ultimately, may lead to treatments that prevent loss of the urothelial barrier, a major cause of voiding dysfunction and bladder pain syndrome

Oncologic Outcomes of Salvage Abdominoperineal Resection for Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Initially Managed with Chemoradiation

Background: Abdominoperineal resection (APR) has been advocated for persistent or recurrent disease after failure of chemoradiation (CRT) for anal squamous cell cancer (SCC). Treatment with salvage APR can potentially achieve a cure. This study aimed to analyze oncological outcomes for salvage APR in a recent time period at a comprehensive cancer center. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent APR for biopsy-proven persistent or recurrent anal SCC between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2020 was performed. Patients with stage IV disease at the time of initial diagnosis and patients with missing data were excluded. Univariate analysis was used with a chi-square test for categorical variables, and non-parametric tests were used for continuous variables. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was performed to evaluate disease-specific (DSS), post-APR local recurrence-free (RFS), and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: A total of 96 patients were included in the analysis: 39 (41%) with persistent disease and 57 (59%) with recurrent SCC after chemoradiation had been completed. The median follow-up was 22 months (IQR 11–47). Forty-nine patients (51%) underwent extended APR and/or pelvic exenteration. Eight (8%) patients developed local recurrence, 30 (31%) developed local and distant recurrences, and 16 (17%) developed distant recurrences alone. The 3-year DSS, post-APR local recurrence-free survival, and disease-free survival were 53.8% (95% CI 43.5–66.5%), 54.5% (95% CI 44.4–66.8%), and 26.8% (95% CI 18.6–38.7%), respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, positive microscopic margin (OR 10.0, 95% CI 2.16–46.12, p = 0.003), positive nodes in the surgical specimen (OR 9.19, 95% CI 1.99–42.52, p = 0.005), and lymphovascular invasion (OR 2.61 95% CI 1.05–6.51, p = 0.04) were associated with recurrence of disease. Gender, indication for APR (recurrent vs. persistent disease), HIV status, extent of surgery, or type of reconstruction did not influence survival outcomes. Twenty patients had targeted tumor-sequencing data available. Nine patients had PIK3CA mutations, seven of whom experienced a recurrence. Conclusions: Salvage APR for anal SCC after failed CRT was associated with poor disease-specific survival and low recurrence-free survival. Anal SCC patients undergoing salvage APR should be counseled that microscopic positive margins, positive lymph nodes, or the presence of lymphovascular invasion in the APR specimen are prognosticators for disease relapse. Our results accentuate the necessity for additional treatment strategies for the ongoing treatment challenge of persistent or recurrent anal SCC after failed CRT