Напрями формування та використання доходів місцевих бюджетів

У статті обґрунтовано основні завдання та проблеми у формуванні доходів, їх використання органами місцевого самоврядування і запропоновано напрями їх вирішення. Досліджено фінансову децентралізацію, податковий потенціал регіонів України. Розкрито поняття самостійності місцевих бюджетів.Substantiate the main tasks and challenges and suggested directions for their solution in the formation of revenues and their use by local governments. Investigate the financial decentralization, fiscal capacity of regions of Ukraine and the independence of local budgets

Accurate Coregistration between Ultra-High-Resolution Micro-SPECT and Circular Cone-BeamMicro-CT Scanners

Spatially registering SPECT with CT makes it possible to anatomically localize SPECT tracers. In this study, an accurate method for the coregistration of ultra-high-resolution SPECT volumes andmultiple cone-beam CT volumes is developed and validated, which does not require markers during animal scanning. Methods. Transferable animal beds were developed with an accurate mounting interface. Simple calibration phantoms make it possible to obtain both the spatial transformation matrix for stitching multiple CT scans of different parts of the animal and to register SPECT and CT. The spatial transformation for image coregistration is calculated once using Horn’s matching algorithm. Animal images can then be coregistered without using markers. Results. For mouse-sized objects, average coregistration errors between SPECT and CT in X, Y, and Z directions are within 0.04 mm, 0.10 mm, and 0.19 mm, respectively. For rat-sized objects, these numbers are 0.22 mm, 0.14 mm, and 0.28 mm. Average 3D coregistration errors were within 0.24mm and 0.42mm for mouse and rat imaging, respectively. Conclusion. Extending the field-of-view of cone-beam CT by stitching is improved by prior registration of the CT volumes. The accuracy of registration between SPECT and CT is typically better than the image resolution of current ultra-high-resolution SPECT.Radiation, Radionuclides and ReactorsApplied Science

Performance of Semiautomatic Assessment of Carotid Artery Stenosis on CT Angiography: Clarification of Differences with Manual Assessment

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Semiautomated methods for (CA stenosis measurements have the potential to reduce interobserver variability and to speed up its analysis. In this study, we estimate the precision and accuracy of a semiautomated measurement for carotid artery stenosis degree and identify and explain differences compared with the manual method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study involving 90 patients, 2 observers determined the stenosis degree twice, with both the semiautomated and the manual method. Intra- and interobserver correlations were calculated for both methods. The accuracy was estimated by comparing average semiautomated with manual measurements. The semiautomated stenosis calculations were performed using either the minimal or maximal intersection at the reference site. Individual cases with large differences in measurement were retrospectively inspected by 3 observers. RESULTS: Intra- (R = 0.93, 0.96) and interobserver (R = 0.98) correlations for the semiautomated method were excellent and exceeded the manual performance correlations (R = 0.87, 0.86). The semiautomated measurements correlated well with the manual measurements (13 = 0.87) with high specificity of 96% and lower sensitivity of 63%. Large differences were caused by misinterpretations of the semiautomated method associated with calcified plaques, resulting in overestimations of the minimal diameter, underestimation of stenosis degree, and incorrect centerlines. The effect of using the minimal diameter at the reference position resulted in a small, but significant, underestimation of the stenosis degree by the semiautomated method. CONCLUSIONS: The semiautomated method showed an excellent reproducibility and good correlation with manual measurements with a high specificity and lower sensitivity for detecting a significant stenosis. Erroneous semiautomatic stenosis measurements were associated with the presence of calciu

The relation of carotid calcium volume with carotid artery stenosis in symptomatic patients

Recent research showed a strong correlation of calcium volume scores with degree of stenosis, suggesting that calcium volume could be used in the diagnosis of carotid artery stenosis. We investigated the accuracy of the use of calcium volume scores to diagnose carotid artery stenosis in our target population of recently symptomatic patients. Ninety symptomatic patients suspected of having carotid artery stenosis underwent CTA, resulting in images of 159 evaluable arteries. The correlation between calcium volume and degree of stenosis was calculated by using the Pearson correlation coefficient. With thresholds of 0.03 and 0.09 mL, we assessed the diagnostic performance of a calcium volume-based evaluation of stenosis for a previously reported stenosis cutoff of 40% and for the clinically important cutoffs of 50% and 70%. In our patients series, the calcium volume score was not related to the stenosis degree on the symptomatic side (R = 0.04, P = .7) and was weakly related on the asymptomatic side (R = 0.29, P = .005). The diagnostic accuracy of the calcium volume score to estimate 40% stenosis was relatively low: a sensitivity of 47% or 64% and a specificity of 52% or 82%, for the 0.09 and 0.03 mL thresholds, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy decreased with increasing degree of stenosis. We could not confirm the previously reported strong correlation of calcium volume with stenosis degree in our population of patients with recent neurologic symptoms. We conclude that in this particular domain, calcium volume cannot be used to estimate the degree of stenosi