Mammographic over-screening: Evaluation based on probabilistic linkage of records databases from the breast cancer information system (SISMAMA)

The Brazilian Ministry of Health recommends biennial mammographic screening for women aged between 50 and 69 years. Since screening is opportunistic in the country, the actual periodicity varies. This study sought to test a methodology for estimating over-screening due to excessive periodicity, defined as a smaller than recommended interval between exams, and its association with socio-demographic characteristics. A cohort of women who underwent mammography in 2010, and whose result was normal, was assembled through probabilistic linkage SISMAMA records based on a set of personal identifiers. We used data from women living in the micro health region of Juiz de Fora/Lima Duarte/Bom Jardim, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, who were followed in the System until the end of 2012. The rate of over-screening was 150/1,000 women/year (95%CI: 144.9-155.9), affecting 21% of women. Over-screening increased by 24% during Pink October campaigns (adjusted HR = 1.24; 95%CI: 1.15-1.35). The shorter the time passed since the last mammogram, the greater the odds of over-screening. Compared with women who had never had a mammogram prior to 2010, women who had had one in the previous 2 years were two times more likely to be over-screened (adjusted HR = 2.01; 95%CI: 1.74-2.31) whilst those who had had a mammogram ≤ 1 year previously were three times more likely to be over-screened (adjusted HR = 3.27; 95%CI: 2.87-3.73). Over-screening was substantial in this population, excessively exposing women to the risks of screening with no additional benefits and overestimating mammogram coverage. The methodology proved to be successful and should be applied to representative populations in order to guide breast cancer control policies

Unexpected outcome from Trousseau syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Unprovoked superficial thrombophlebitis and subsequent venous thromboembolism are well-described albeit rare presenting features of advanced visceral malignancy that often manifest too late for curative intervention to be beneficial.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We present the first reported case of early gastric carcinoma presenting with these paraneoplastic phenomena in an otherwise healthy farmer. The early presentation allowed for a curative partial gastrectomy, which itself was complicated by the presence of a deep vein thrombosis extending into the inferior vena cava. Fortunately, stabilization of the clot allowed for surgery to proceed without the need for a caval filter. The patient was referred for adjuvant chemotherapy and has since made an excellent recovery.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This case provides new evidence for the presentation of superficial thrombophlebitis in early gastric carcinoma and the potential for curative surgery in such instances. A high index of suspicion and a prompt diagnostic workup are essential for timely planning and execution of surgery in these early albeit rare presentations.</p

An investigation of the predictability of the Brazilian three-modal hand-based behavioural biometric: a feature selection and feature-fusion approach

Abstract: New security systems, methods or techniques need to have their performance evaluated in conditions that closely resemble a real-life situation. The effectiveness with which individual identity can be predicted in different scenarios can benefit from seeking a broad base of identity evidence. Many approaches to the implementation of biometric-based identification systems are possible, and different configurations are likely to generate significantly different operational characteristics. The choice of implementational structure is, therefore, very dependent on the performance criteria, which is most important in any particular task scenario. The issue of improving performance can be addressed in many ways, but system configurations based on integrating different information sources are widely adopted in order to achieve this. Thus, understanding how each data information can influence performance is very important. The use of similar modalities may imply that we can use the same features. However, there is no indication that very similar (such as keyboard and touch keystroke dynamics, for example) basic biometrics will perform well using the same set of features. In this paper, we will evaluate the merits of using a three-modal hand-based biometric database for user prediction focusing on feature selection as the main investigation point. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thought-out analysis of a database with three modalities that were collected from the same users, containing keyboard keystroke, touch keystroke and handwritten signature. First, we will investigate how the keystroke modalities perform, and then, we will add the signature in order to understand if there is any improvement in the results. We have used a wide range of techniques for feature selection that includes filters and wrappers (genetic algorithms), and we have validated our findings using a clustering technique

Search for the neutral Higgs bosons of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for neutral Higgs bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were recorded in 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 to 4.8 fb-1. Higgs boson decays into oppositely-charged muon or τ lepton pairs are considered for final states requiring either the presence or absence of b-jets. No statistically significant excess over the expected background is observed and exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are derived. The exclusion limits are for the production cross-section of a generic neutral Higgs boson, φ, as a function of the Higgs boson mass and for h/A/H production in the MSSM as a function of the parameters mA and tan β in the mhmax scenario for mA in the range of 90GeV to 500 GeV. Copyright CERN

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration