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Our study introduces a novel MR sequence sensitive to the short T2* components of the sciatic nerve and may be used for the study of peripheral nerve disorders.
Our study introduces a novel MR sequence sensitive to the short T2* components of the sciatic nerve and may be used for the study of peripheral nerve disorders.
In local SAR compression algorithms, the overestimation is generally not linearly dependent on actual local SAR. This can lead to large relative overestimation at low actual SAR values, unnecessarily constraining transmit array performance.
Two strategies are proposed to reduce maximum relative overestimation for a given number of VOPs. The first strategy uses an overestimation matrix that roughly approximates actual local SAR; the second strategy uses a small set of pre-calculated VOPs as the overestimation term for the compression.
Comparison with a previous method shows that for a given maximum relative overestimation the number of VOPs can be reduced by around 20% at the cost of a higher absolute overestimation at high actual local SAR values.
The proposed strategies outperform a previously published strategy and can improve the SAR compression where maximum relative overestimation constrains the performance of parallel transmission.
The proposed strategies outperform a previously published strategy and can improve the SAR compression where maximum relative overestimation constrains the performance of parallel transmission.
Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (anti-CCP) is one of the most important serologic markers for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to compare the analytical and clinical performances of the second- and third-generation anti-CCP assays.
Four automated anti-CCP assays were evaluated Chorus anti-CCP (Diesse Diagnostica), Elecsys anti-CCP (Roche Diagnostics), Atellica® IM anti-CCP IgG (Siemens Healthineers), and Quanta Flash® CCP3 (Inova Diagnostics Inc.). Analytical performance included the precision, linearity, correlation, and concordance rate. For evaluating the clinical performance, 240 patient samples (120 positive and 120 negative samples, determined by the Chorus anti-CCP assay) were used, including those with a diagnosis of RA (n = 132) and non-RA (n = 108). Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the sensitivity and specificity were evaluated.
All four assays that were evaluated showed good precision and linearity, and their correlation and concornformation to institutions that adopt these specific testing systems.
All four anti-CCP assays showed good analytical and diagnostic performances for diagnosing RA. After adjusting the cutoff values, these assays are expected to show enhanced sensitivity and specificity. Key Points • Previous studies have described the diagnostic performance of a few immunologic markers in RA diagnosis, but nothing has been proven to be sufficiently good in clinical practice. • All four automated anti-CCP assays showed good analytical and diagnostic performances for diagnosing RA in clinical practice. • After adjusting the cutoff values, these assays are expected to show enhanced sensitivity and specificity. CBR-470-1 mouse • The present study provides reassuring evidence that any of the studied commercially available anti-CCP tests for detecting rheumatoid arthritis provide similar diagnostic information to institutions that adopt these specific testing systems.Women at risk of developing ovarian cancer because of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variant are candidates for prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO). While BSO surgeries are routinely performed, to our knowledge there are no studies that have examined patient-reported experiences following laparoscopic BSO performed in an ambulatory care setting. The objective of this study was to examine whether women undergoing prophylactic laparoscopic BSO felt they were adequately informed about post-operative outcomes. A telephone interview was conducted among 46 women undergoing laparoscopic BSO to collect detailed information regarding surgical outcomes, complications, symptoms, and time to return to daily activities. The average age at surgery was 45.0 years (range 34-66) and 67% of women underwent BSO prior to age 50. The mean reported hospital stay was 7.2 h (range 4-12 h) and at time of discharge, 78% of the women felt well enough to go home. None of the women required a readmission to hospital. Forty-three percent (n = 20) of the women did not feel well informed about what to expect post-operatively. Most of the patient-reported outcomes (including pain, vaginal bleeding, and nausea/vomiting) were expected and patient-reported menopausal symptoms were more common among women who were premenopausal at surgery. In terms of returning to regular activities, premenopausal women (n = 36) resumed sexual activity on average at 43 days (range 2-365), which is later than postmenopausal women (n = 15) at 19 days (range 7-30). On average, women returned to full-time work in 16 days (range 1-56 days). Despite patients receiving pre-surgery counselling, our findings suggest that there is a need to provide supplemental, reinforcing patient materials in preparing patients for what to expect after surgery.
This was to compare the early outcome of closed femoral shaft fractures treated with locked intramedullary nailing and plating atthe National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu.
The study was a prospective study over 12-month period atthe National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu. Ethical clearance was obtained from the hospital ethical committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all prospectively recruited participants. Patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected by simple balloting into either intramedullary nailing group or plating group. The patients were evaluated at presentation and postoperatively within 48hours, then at twoweeks, sixweeks, 12weeks and 18weeks, respectively. Participants were evaluated using Thoresen criteria.
A total of 52 femoral shaft fractures in 50 patients were included and analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Bone union was obtained in all the patients in the intramedullary nailing group at 12weeks and in 84.6% patients in the plating group between 12 and 18weeks.