A comparison of the performance of the Assessment of SpondyloArhritis international Society (ASAS) classification criteria, European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) classification criteria, and Modified New York (MNY) criteria in a cohort of Chinese spondyloarthritis patients

BACKGROUND: The existing Modified New York (MNY) criteria and European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria are defective in early diagnosis of patients with spondyloarthritis. The objective of this study was to reclassify a Chinese cohort of patients with previous expert-diagnosed spondyloarthritis according to the recently issued Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) classification criteria for axial spondyloarthritis and the two existing criteria, the ESSG criteria and MNY criteria and to compare the clinical characteristics including disease duration, disease activity, and spinal mobility between patients fulfilling these criteria. METHODS: Consecutive patients diagnosed by expert opinion from a tertiary centre were classified into three groups: the Ankylosing Spondyloarthritis (AS) by MNY criteria; undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (USpA) by ESSG criteria (USpA/ESSG), and those by ASAS classification criteria only (USpA/ASAS). Functional status was studied by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). Disease activity was evaluated by Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and C-reactive protein. Spinal mobility including modified Schober test and chest expansion was determined. RESULTS: A total of 128 spondyloarthritis patients (92 male and 36 female) were recruited. USpA/ASAS group identified patients with shortest disease duration (9.2±2.3 years, 11.6±3.8, 18.7±2.2 years in USpA/ASAS group, USpA group, and AS group respectively; P<0.01). USpA/ASAS and USpA/ESSG groups were better than AS group in terms of BASFI, modified Schober test and chest expansion. C-reactive protein and BASDAI were similar in the three groups. CONCLUSION: The ASAS classification criteria are shown to identify spondyloarthritis patients at an earlier stage when spinal mobility and functional status are preserved. This group of USpA patients demonstrated comparable disease activity to other groups, suggesting a need and predictably better outcome for early treatment.published_or_final_versionThe 15th Medical Research Conference (15th MRC), Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 16 January 2010. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2010, v. 16 n. 1, suppl. 1, p. 18, abstract no. 2

Automated Hierarchical Image Segmentation Based on Merging of Quadrilaterals

Proceedings of the 6th WSEAS International Conference on Signal Processing, Computational Geometry & Artifical Vision, 2006, p. 135-140This paper proposes a quadrilateral-based and automated hierarchical segmentation method, in which quadrilaterals are first constructed from an edge map, where neighboring quadrilaterals with similar features of interest are then merged together in a hierarchical mode to form regions. When evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively, the proposed method outperforms three traditional and commonly-used techniques, namely, K-means clustering, seeded region growing and quadrilateral-based segmentation. It is shown by experimental results that our proposed method is robust in both recovering missed important regions while preventing unnecessary over-segmentation, and offers an efficient description of the segmented objects conducive to content-based applications.postprintThe 6th WSEAS International Conference on Signal Processing, Computational Geometry & Artificial Vision (ISCGAV'06), Crete, Greece, August 2006. in Conference Proceedings, 2006, p. 135-14

Quadrilateral-based region segmentation for tracking

We propose a novel quadrilateral based region segmentation method that is favorable for object tracking. Instead of using groups of pixels or regular blocks, it uses groups of connected quadrilaterals to represent regions. The proposed method derives the vertices of each quadrilateral from the edge map using the concept of center of masses. By merging the quadrilaterals, regions can be represented. The proposed method offers better data reduction than pixelwise region representation and better boundary approximation than block-based segmentation methods. Experimental results show that it generates a more reasonable region map, which is more suitable for object tracking, and a smaller number of regions than the seeded region growing, K-means clustering, and constrained gravitational clustering methods. © 2002 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.published_or_final_versio

Adaptive search center non-linear three step search

This paper presents a new motion estimation algorithm using an adaptive search center predicted from its adjacent blocks, and a non-linear center biased search point pattern. It does not have the problem of being trapped by local minimum, and is characterized by finding the majority motion vector in one step. When compared with six other block-based search algorithms including the full-search and three-step-search, the new algorithm has an average PSNR very close to that of full-search, yet an average search time faster than the three-step-search.published_or_final_versio

Little girl who conquered the 'ALPPS'

© 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. An insufficient future liver remnant (FLR) is associated with post-hepatectomy liver failure. Associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for stage hepatectomy (ALPPS) has been shown to be effective for the induction of rapid FLR hypertrophy so as to improve the resectability in patients with insufficient FLR. We hereby report our experience of this novel approach for a 6-year-old patient with hepatoblastoma. Computed tomography showed a hepatoblastoma measuring 12.5 cm x 9.9 cm x 11.7 cm in the right liver (Couinaud segment IV, V and VIII). Volumetric assessment of the FLR i.e., left lateral section was 112.6 mL i.e., 21.2% of the estimated total liver volume. In view of the small-for-size FLR, ALPPS was contemplated. An anterior approach was adopted for the in-situ parenchymal split without mobilisation of the right liver. FLR volumetry on the seventh postoperative day was 160.7 mL, which represented a 46.1% gain in volume, and a FLR/ESLV ratio of 30.2%. A right trisectionectomy was performed on the eighth postoperative day. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. Patient was discharged on day 16 after the first operation. To our knowledge, this was the first report that showed the applicability of ALPPS to a paediatric patient.published_or_final_versio

A Novel Quadrilateral-based Tracking Method

This paper proposes a novel tracking method based on quadrilateral-based segmentation. The tracking method matches quadrilaterals in a region with those in a reference frame to construct region correspondences, from which trajectory of each region can be obtained. The Table Tennis sequence has been used to evaluate the tracking method. Experiment results show that the proposed tracking method can track the ping-pong ball and the racket reasonably well over a series of images, indicating matching quadrilaterals to track region is a viable approach.published_or_final_versio

A Novel Object Segmentation Method for Silhouette Tracker in Video Surveillance Application

In recent years, surveillance cameras are deployed almost everywhere. More and more video analytics features have been developed and incorporated with video surveillance system for conducting intelligence tasks, such as motion detection, human identification, etc. One typical requirement is to track suspicious humans or vehicles in the cameras' live or recorded footages, and over the years researchers have proposed different tracking methods, such as point tracking, kernel tracking and silhouette tracking to support this requirement. In particular, silhouette tracker has received considerable attention because it works well for objects with a large variety of shape, provided that reasonably good object masks or contours are initialized properly for the silhouette tracker. A properly initialized object mask and contour, however, cannot be obtained easily. On one hand, a simple bounding box contains too much irrelevant background objects, while a manually specified mask could provide accurate silhouette but this also requires lots of interactive which greatly limits its practicality. In this paper, we present a novel block based object mask segmentation method for silhouette tracker initialization. Essentially, the proposed method re-uses the motion information extracted during the video encoding phase, which provides approximated object masks for silhouette tracker. Experimental results confirm that such a block-based object masks is sufficient for a robust silhouette tracker to reliably track moving objects. © 2014 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Identification of a novel nuclear export sequence of OREBP / TonEBP / NFAT5 that controls cytoplasmic localization

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Peanut aspiration: an avoidable life-threatening condition

Foreign body aspiration is a potentially fatal condition. Yet, an accurate diagnosis may not be easy. Management is also challenging and requires a high level of expertise with proper instruments. In this article, we report our experience in the management of peanut aspiration in two young children by means of a ventilating bronchoscope.published_or_final_versio