Biomechanical Computed Tomography analysis (BCT) for clinical assessment of osteoporosis.

The surgeon general of the USA defines osteoporosis as "a skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength, predisposing to an increased risk of fracture." Measuring bone strength, Biomechanical Computed Tomography analysis (BCT), namely, finite element analysis of a patient's clinical-resolution computed tomography (CT) scan, is now available in the USA as a Medicare screening benefit for osteoporosis diagnostic testing. Helping to address under-diagnosis of osteoporosis, BCT can be applied "opportunistically" to most existing CT scans that include the spine or hip regions and were previously obtained for an unrelated medical indication. For the BCT test, no modifications are required to standard clinical CT imaging protocols. The analysis provides measurements of bone strength as well as a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-equivalent bone mineral density (BMD) T-score at the hip and a volumetric BMD of trabecular bone at the spine. Based on both the bone strength and BMD measurements, a physician can identify osteoporosis and assess fracture risk (high, increased, not increased), without needing confirmation by DXA. To help introduce BCT to clinicians and health care professionals, we describe in this review the currently available clinical implementation of the test (VirtuOst), its application for managing patients, and the underlying supporting evidence; we also discuss its main limitations and how its results can be interpreted clinically. Together, this body of evidence supports BCT as an accurate and convenient diagnostic test for osteoporosis in both sexes, particularly when used opportunistically for patients already with CT. Biomechanical Computed Tomography analysis (BCT) uses a patient's CT scan to measure both bone strength and bone mineral density at the hip or spine. Performing at least as well as DXA for both diagnosing osteoporosis and assessing fracture risk, BCT is particularly well-suited to "opportunistic" use for the patient without a recent DXA who is undergoing or has previously undergone CT testing (including hip or spine regions) for an unrelated medical condition

Sentiment Recognition in Egocentric Photostreams

Lifelogging is a process of collecting rich source of information about daily life of people. In this paper, we introduce the problem of sentiment analysis in egocentric events focusing on the moments that compose the images recalling positive, neutral or negative feelings to the observer. We propose a method for the classification of the sentiments in egocentric pictures based on global and semantic image features extracted by Convolutional Neural Networks. We carried out experiments on an egocentric dataset, which we organized in 3 classes on the basis of the sentiment that is recalled to the user (positive, negative or neutral)

The Hybrid Approach to Intervention of Chronic Total Occlusions

The "hybrid" approach to chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was developed to provide guidance on optimal crossing strategy selection. Dual angiography remains the cornerstone of clinical decision making in CTO PCI. Four angiographic parameters are assessed: (a) morphology of the proximal cap (clear-cut or ambiguous); (b) occlusion length; (c) distal vessel size and presence of bifurcations beyond the distal cap; and (d) location and suitability of location and suitability of a retrograde conduit (collateral channels or bypass grafts) for retrograde access. Antegrade wire escalation is favored for short (<20 mm) occlusions, usually escalating rapidly from a soft tapered-tip polymer-jacketed guidewire to a stiff polymer-jacketed or tapered-tip guidewire. Antegrade dissection/re-entry is favored in long (≥20 mm long) occlusions, trying to minimize the dissection length by re-entering into the distal true lumen immediately after the occlusion. Primary retrograde approach is preferred for lesions with an ambiguous proximal cap, poor distal target, good interventional collaterals, and heavy calcification,as well as chronic kidney disease. The "hybrid" approach advocates early change between strategies to enable CTO crossing in the most efficacious, efficient, and safe way. Several early studies are demonstrating high success and low complication rates with use of the "hybrid" approach, supporting its expanding use in CTO PCI

Efusi Pleura Kanan Yang Disebabkan Oleh Carcinoma Mammae Dextra Metastase Ke Paru.

Latar Belakang. Efusi pleura merupakan keadaan di mana cairan menumpuk di dalam rongga pleura. Banyak penyakit yang mungkin mendasari terjadinya efusi pleura antara lain keganasan, tuberculosis, pneumonia, empiema toraks, gagal jantung kongestif, sirosis hepatis. Kasus. Ny S umur 48 tahun datang dengan keluhan sesak nafas sejak 1 minggu yang lalu. Pasien memiliki riwayat kanker payudara pada payudara kanannya 6 tahun yang lalu, pasien telah menjalani mastektomi unilateral. Pemeriksaan fisik didapatkan tekanan darah 110/70 mmHg, pernafasan 26 kali per menit. Status lokalis paru dipalpasi, vokal fremitus kanan lebih lemah dibandingkan kiri. Saat di perkusi, terdengar redup pada paru kanan dan sonor pada paru kiri. Pada auskultasi ditemukan penurunan suara napas vesikuler pada paru kanan. Foto toraks PA, didapatkan gambaran penumpulan sudut kostofrenikus. Diagnosis. efusi pleura kanan e.c keganasan paru. Terapi oksigenisasi 2-3 L/ menit, bed rest total, Racikan Salbutamol 0,5 mg/Metyl Prednisolon 1 mg/Cetirizine ½ tab/GG 1 tab 3 x 1 cap, Ceftriaxone 1 gr/ 12 jam, Pemasangan WSD dan dilakukan pleurodesis. Simpulan. Efusi pleura dapat disebabkan oleh keganasan paru akibat metastasis dari ca mamae. [Medula Unila.2014;2(1) : 22-29

Deconvolution for an atomic distribution: rates of convergence

Let $X_1,..., X_n$ be i.i.d.\ copies of a random variable $X=Y+Z,$ where $X_i=Y_i+Z_i,$ and $Y_i$ and $Z_i$ are independent and have the same distribution as $Y$ and $Z,$ respectively. Assume that the random variables $Y_i$'s are unobservable and that $Y=AV,$ where $A$ and $V$ are independent, $A$ has a Bernoulli distribution with probability of success equal to $1-p$ and $V$ has a distribution function $F$ with density $f.$ Let the random variable $Z$ have a known distribution with density $k.$ Based on a sample $X_1,...,X_n,$ we consider the problem of nonparametric estimation of the density $f$ and the probability $p.$ Our estimators of $f$ and $p$ are constructed via Fourier inversion and kernel smoothing. We derive their convergence rates over suitable functional classes. By establishing in a number of cases the lower bounds for estimation of $f$ and $p$ we show that our estimators are rate-optimal in these cases.Comment: 27 page

Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification patterns of side-necked turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira)

Pleurodires or side-necked turtles are today restricted to freshwater environments of South America, Africa– Madagascar and Australia, but in the past they were distributed much more broadly, being found also on Eurasia, India and North America, and marine environments. Two hypotheses were proposed to explain this distribution; in the first, vicariance would have shaped the current geographical distribution and, in the second, extinctions constrained a previously widespread distribution. Here, we aim to reconstruct pleurodiran biogeographic history and diversification patterns based on a new phylogenetic hypothesis recovered from the analysis of the largest morphological dataset yet compiled for the lineage, testing which biogeographical process prevailed during its evolutionary history. The resulting topology generally agrees with previous hypotheses of the group and shows that most diversification shifts were related to the exploration of new niches, e.g. littoral or marine radiations. In addition, as other turtles, pleurodires do not seem to have been much affected by either the Cretaceous– Palaeogene or the Eocene–Oligocene mass extinctions. The biogeographic analyses highlight the predominance of both anagenetic and cladogenetic dispersal events and support the importance of transoceanic dispersals as a more common driver of area changes than previously thought, agreeing with previous studies with other non-turtle lineages.Fil: Ferreira, Gabriel S.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Senckenberg Centre For Human Evolution And Palaeoenvironment; Alemania. Universität Tübingen; AlemaniaFil: Bronzati Filho, Mario. Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie; AlemaniaFil: Langer, Max C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Sterli, Juliana. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Superpixel Convolutional Networks using Bilateral Inceptions

In this paper we propose a CNN architecture for semantic image segmentation. We introduce a new 'bilateral inception' module that can be inserted in existing CNN architectures and performs bilateral filtering, at multiple feature-scales, between superpixels in an image. The feature spaces for bilateral filtering and other parameters of the module are learned end-to-end using standard backpropagation techniques. The bilateral inception module addresses two issues that arise with general CNN segmentation architectures. First, this module propagates information between (super) pixels while respecting image edges, thus using the structured information of the problem for improved results. Second, the layer recovers a full resolution segmentation result from the lower resolution solution of a CNN. In the experiments, we modify several existing CNN architectures by inserting our inception module between the last CNN (1x1 convolution) layers. Empirical results on three different datasets show reliable improvements not only in comparison to the baseline networks, but also in comparison to several dense-pixel prediction techniques such as CRFs, while being competitive in time.Comment: European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV), 201

THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: THE PERSPECTIVE OF FACULTY MEMBERS OF PERIYAR UNIVERSITY, SALEM

The Internet has undergone rapid development, with significant impact on social life and on modes of communication. Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. This study aimed to study the faculty perception of SNS on academic performance of students. The study also focuses to assess the positive and negative impacts of SNS on students’ academic performance. A structured questionnaire designed and was randomly distributed to 110 faculty members of Periyar University, Salem. After collecting the data, SPSS 16 Software was use for the analysis. Percentage analsis, Mean, SD, KMO and Bartlett’s Test and MANCOVA test used to show the interrelationship between variable. More number of faculty members felt that the Addiction to SNSs is problematic issue that affects the students’ academic life and More number of faculty members’ mentioned that help of SNS in the students’ studies because the student can discuss their assignments with friends. The test result there is statistically significant interrelationship between faculty members’ perceptions on negative and positive impacts of SNS on students’ academic performance. The study exposed that there is a significant relationship between gender, age and concern department of the faculty members and their opinion on negative perceptions of SNS on student’s academic performance. However there is no association between the designation of faculty members’ and their opinion on negative perceptions of SNS on student’s performance. It is shows that all the negative opinion is same on SNS. The study pointed that there is no significant relationship between the gender and designation of faculty members’ and their on positive perceptions of SNS on student’s performance. Hence there is a significant relationship between the age and department of faculty members’ and their opinion on positive perceptions of SNS on student’s performance