Rapid treatment monitoring by field spectroscopy

Agricultural crops are in different physiological conditions caused by fertilizer, pest and disease incidence, drought or frost. Vegetation response to treatments varies with both the type and the degree of treatment. On the other hand, treatment may cause biochemical changes in the cellular or leaf structure, which have an effect on pigment system or the canopy moisture content. A variety of factors, including climate, soil, nutrients, phytomass, water content, disease, weeds, insects and more can be measured using field spectral radiometers, airborne multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal cameras. High resolution remote sensing provides primary source of information for identifying, classifying, mapping, monitoring of agricultural phenomenon. It can provide data for site specific management and precision organic farming. In case of our experiments using foliar fertilization treatments on organic spelt fields, field spectroscopy showed a good potential to predict crop quality, while point measurements (SPAD) could not be correlated with spelt quality data. Investigations will be broadened in 2014 in order to gain more detailed results

Community Health Workers: A Holistic Solution for Individual and Community Health

Community Health Workers (CHWs) go by many names, including outreach workers, patient navigators, peer health educators, and lay health advocates. CHWs help people overcome obstacles by accompanying them through treatment, monitoring needs for food and housing, leading education campaigns and empowering community members to take charge of their own health. As members of the communities they serve, CHWs establish relationships of trust with those they serve, bridging the gap between the clinic and community. Community Health Workers embrace a holistic conception of health, working not only in health care, but also with the social determinants of health such as poverty, education, and housing

Opportunistic Infections, & Hepatitis B treatment & monitoring

This is Session 3 in the PEER Liberia HIV/Viral Hepatitis Lecture Series. This presentation provides an overview of HIV opportunistic infections and Hepatitis B treatment and monitoring

MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery in musculoskeletal diseases: the hot topics

MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a minimally invasive treatment guided by the most sophisticated imaging tool available in today's clinical practice. Both the imaging and therapeutic sides of the equipment are based on non-ionizing energy. This technique is a very promising option as potential treatment for several pathologies, including musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. Apart from clinical applications, MRgFUS technology is the result of long, heavy and cumulative efforts exploring the effects of ultrasound on biological tissues and function, the generation of focused ultrasound and treatment monitoring by MRI. The aim of this article is to give an updated overview on a "new" interventional technique and on its applications for MSK and allied sciences

The importance of circulating tumor products as „liquid biopsies” in colorectal cancer

Liquid biopsies represent an array of plasma analysis tests that are studied to evaluate and identify circulating tumor products, especially circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Examining such biomarkers in the plasma of colorectal cancer patients has attracted attention due to its clinical significance in the treatment of malignant diseases. Given that tissue samples are sometimes challenging to procure or unsatisfactory for genomic profiling from patients with colorectal cancer, trustworthy biomarkers are mandatory for guiding treatment, monitoring therapeutic response, and detecting recurrence. This review considers the relevance of flowing tumor products like circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating messenger RNA (mRNA), circulating micro RNA (miRNA), circulating exosomes, and tumor educated platelets (TEPs) for patients with colorectal cancer

Laser treatment monitoring with reflectance confocal microscopy

Laser treatments have become popular in Dermatology. In parallel to technologic development enabling the availability of different laser wavelengths, non-invasive skin imaging techniques, such as reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), have been used to explore morphologic and qualitative skin characteristics. Specifically, RCM can be applied to cosmetically sensitive skin areas such as the face, without the need for skin biopsies. For these reasons, apart from its current use in skin cancer diagnosis, our systematic review reveals how RCM can be employed in the field of laser treatment monitoring, being particularly suitable for the evaluation of variations in epidermis and dermis, and pigmentary and vascular characteristics of the skin. This systematic review article aims to provide an overview on current applications of RCM laser treatment monitoring, while describing RCM features identified for different applications. Studies on human subjects treated with laser treatments, monitored with RCM, were included in the current systematic review. Five groups of treatments were identified and described: skin rejuvenation, scar tissue, pigmentary disorders, vascular disorders and other. Interestingly, RCM can assist treatments with lasers targeting all chromophores in the skin and exploiting laser induced optical breakdown. Treatment monitoring encompasses assessment at baseline and examination of changes after treatment, therefore revealing details in morphologic alterations underlying different skin conditions and mechanisms of actions of laser therapy, as well as objectify results after treatment

Lupus nephritis management guidelines compared

In the past years, many (randomized) trials have been performed comparing the treatment strategies for lupus nephritis. In 2012, these data were incorporated in six different guidelines for treating lupus nephritis. These guidelines are European, American and internationally based, with one separate guideline for children. They offer information on different aspects of the management of lupus nephritis including induction and maintenance treatment of the different histological classes, adjunctive treatment, monitoring of the patient, definitions of response and relapse, indications for (repeat) renal biopsy, and additional challenges such as the presence of vascular complications, the pregnant SLE patient, treatment in children and adolescents and considerations about end-stage renal disease and transplantation. In this review, we summarize the guidelines, determine the common ground between them, highlight the differences and discuss recent literature

Fluorescence optical imaging for treatment monitoring in patients with early and active rheumatoid arthritis in a 1-year follow-up period

BACKGROUND: Fluorescence optical imaging (FOI) enables visualization of inflammation in the hands in rheumatic joint diseases with currently a lack of long-term follow-up studies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate FOI for treatment monitoring in a homogenous cohort of patients with early (disease duration  3.2) RA over a period of 12 months. METHODS: Thirty-five RA patients (24 (68.6%) females, mean age 53.3 years (SD 13.6)) were investigated clinically by DAS28, tender joint count (TJC) and swollen joint count (SJC) and by FOI in phases 1-3 and PrimaVistaMode (PVM) before therapy change and after 12 months. The FOI activity score (FOIAS) was calculated based on individual joint scores from 0 to 3 in 30 joints per patient, adding up to a sum score (0-90). RESULTS: We found a statistically significant reduction of FOIAS in phase 1 from baseline (median 5.0, IQR 24.96) to follow-up (median 1.0, IQR 4.0) in all patients (p = 0.0045), both in responders and non-responders according to EULAR response criteria by DAS28. Statistically significant reductions over 12 months were found for median DAS28(ESR) 5.61 to 3.31, TJC 7.0 to 1.0, and SJC 5.0 to 1.0 (each p <  0.001). No statistically significant correlations were detected between the FOIAS change in phase 1 and DAS28(ESR), TJC, or SJC. Correlations between the other phases and clinical outcomes were weak to moderate. CONCLUSION: Reduced early enhancement in FOI phase 1 can be observed in clinically responding and non-responding early RA patients under treatment. Regarding potential marker performance, FOI probably shows a reduction of inflammation more objectively