Search results for "cura"
showing 10 items of 624 documents
Accurate estimation of retinal vessel width using bagged decision trees and an extended multiresolution Hermite model.
2012
We present an algorithm estimating the width of retinal vessels in fundus camera images. The algorithm uses a novel parametric surface model of the cross-sectional intensities of vessels, and ensembles of bagged decision trees to estimate the local width from the parameters of the best-fit surface. We report comparative tests with REVIEW, currently the public database of reference for retinal width estimation, containing 16 images with 193 annotated vessel segments and 5066 profile points annotated manually by three independent experts. Comparative tests are reported also with our own set of 378 vessel widths selected sparsely in 38 images from the Tayside Scotland diabetic retinopathy scre…
Water content of latent fingerprints - Dispelling the myth.
2016
Abstract Changing procedures in the handling of rare and precious documents in museums and elsewhere, based on assumptions about constituents of latent fingerprints, have led the author to an examination of available data. These changes appear to have been triggered by one paper using general biological data regarding eccrine sweat production to infer that deposited fingerprints are mostly water. Searching the fingerprint literature has revealed a number of reference works similarly quoting figures for average water content of deposited fingerprints of 98% or more. Whilst accurate estimation is difficult there is no evidence that the residue on fingers could be anything like 98% water, even…
Quantitative evaluation of the phenolic profile in fruits of six avocado (Persea americana) cultivars by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography…
2016
The phenolic profiles of six varieties of avocado (Persea americana) grown in Sicily were investigated. The ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-heated electrospray-mass spectrometry method was developed to determine qualitative and quantitative changes in fruits at two different ripening stage. Nineteen individual phenolic compounds were detected in avocado pulp extracts. Gallic acid, sinapinic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, and gentisic acid were present only in ripe fruits. On the contrary, epicatechin decreased with fruit ripening, whereas protocatechuic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, and benzoic acid were relatively stable or exhibited erratic changes with fru…
Determination of knee joint cartilage thickness using three-dimensional magnetic resonance chondro-crassometry (3D MR-CCM)
1996
The objective of this article was to analyze the accuracy and precision with which the quantitative distribution of articular cartilage can be determined in the knee joint using MRI. A three-dimensional (3D) technique that accounts for the out-of-plane deviation of the interface normal in strongly curved joint surfaces (3D MR-CCM) has been developed for cartilage thickness measurements. Eight cadaveric knee-joint specimens and six volunteers were imaged using a fat-suppressed gradient-echo sequence at a resolution of 2 x 0.31 x 0.31 mm3. Cartilage volumes and topographical thickness maps were obtained and compared with those derived from anatomical sections by image analysis. The deviation …
Diagnostic accuracy and potential clinical value of the LightCycler SeptiFast assay in the management of bloodstream infections occurring in neutrope…
2011
Summary Objectives The objectives of this study were to compare the performance of the LightCycler SeptiFast Test MGRADE and conventional blood culture in the etiological diagnosis of febrile episodes occurring in neutropenic and critically ill patients (in the intensive care unit; ICU), and to assess the potential clinical value of the SeptiFast test in patient management. Methods A total of 86 febrile episodes occurring in 33 neutropenic patients and 53 ICU patients were analyzed. Blood samples for blood culture and SeptiFast testing were obtained at the onset of fever, before the implementation of empirical antimicrobial therapy. Results The overall microorganism-to-isolate agreement bet…
Dermoscopy of cutaneous smooth muscle neoplasms: a morphological study of 136 cases
2019
BACKGROUND: A variety of cutaneous smooth muscle neoplasms may arise in the skin and are frequently unrecognized by clinicians. There is sparse data relating to the dermoscopy of piloleiomyomas (PL), and nothing has been published about the dermoscopy of angioleiomyomas (AL) and leiomyosarcomas (LS). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the morphological findings of a large series of cutaneous PL, AL and LS under dermoscopic observation, comparing these findings among them. METHODS: Digital dermoscopic images of 136 histopathologically confirmed cases of cutaneous smooth muscle neoplasms (114 PL, 13 AL and 9 LS) collected from 10 Hospitals in Spain, Austria and Italy were evaluated for the presence of d…
Serial combination of non-invasive tools improves the diagnostic accuracy of severe liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD
2017
SummaryBackground The accuracy of available non-invasive tools for staging severe fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is still limited. Aim To assess the diagnostic performance of paired or serial combination of non-invasive tools in NAFLD patients. Methods We analysed data from 741 patients with a histological diagnosis of NAFLD. The GGT/PLT, APRI, AST/ALT, BARD, FIB-4, and NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) scores were calculated according to published algorithms. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was performed by FibroScan. Results LSM, NFS and FIB-4 were the best non-invasive tools for staging F3-F4 fibrosis (AUC 0.863, 0.774, and 0.792, respectively), with LSM ha…
A clinical evaluation of the DSM-5 criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder and a pilot study on their applicability to further Internet-related disorde…
2019
Background and aims Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and other Internet-related disorders (IRDs) have become growing health concerns in our today’s lives. Based on defined diagnostic criteria, IGD has been recognized as a condition for further research in the DSM-5; however, other IRDs have been excluded. Since the release of the DSM-5, representativeness and appropriateness of the nine diagnostic criteria have been debated. Although some first evidence has been published to evaluate these criteria, our knowledge is still limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide data on the clinical validity of the DSM-5 criteria for IGD and other types of IRD. We were also interested in exami…
Use of the Distress Thermometer in Cancer Survivors: Convergent Validity and Diagnostic Accuracy in a Spanish Sample
2019
Objectives To explore the performance of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer (DT) as a distress screening tool in cancer survivors. Sample & setting 236 Spanish adult-onset cancer survivors who visited the Fundacion Instituto Valenciano de Oncologia in Valencia, Spain, for follow-up appointments. Methods & variables Survivors completed the DT and the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), which has established a cutoff score for identifying clinically significant distress. Results Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the DT scores relative to the BSI-18 cutoff score showed good overall accuracy. For a score of 5 or greater, sensitivity, specificity, p…
Orderly display of limb lead ECGs raises Chinese intern’s diagnostic accuracy when determining frontal plane QRS axis
2019
Background: There is limited information on whether the orderly display of limb lead ECGs (electrocardiograms) can facilitate students to determine frontal plane QRS complex wave electrical axis. Objectives: The study investigated whether the orderly display of limb lead ECGs can raise Chinese undergraduate intern’s diagnostic accuracy when determining frontal plane axis. Design: A total of 147 fifth-year undergraduate interns aged between 21 and 25 years were randomly arranged into 2 groups: one group was given classically displayed ECGs of limb leads while the other group was given orderly displayed ECGs of limb leads. They were then taught to determine frontal plane axis with one of the …