Search results for "sensitivity and specificity"
showing 10 items of 1080 documents
Methods for diagnosing bile acid malabsorption: a systematic review
2019
Abstract Background Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) and bile acid-related diarrhea represent an under-recognized cause of chronic diarrhea mainly because of limited guidance on appropriate diagnostic and laboratory tests. We aimed to perform a systematic review of the literature in order to identify and compare the diagnostic accuracy of different diagnostic methods for patients with BAM, despite a proven gold standard test is still lacking. Methods A PubMed literature review and a manual search were carried out. Relevant full papers, evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of different methods for BAM, were assessed. Available data were analyzed to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of each…
Antidoping Science
2018
The ineffectiveness of antidoping programs in elite sport, largely due to human and political factors, is leading to a new resolve and greater transparency of antidoping authorities and those stakeholders interested in drug-free sport. The perception by the public, athletes, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of antidoping science and current drug testing programs in elite sport varies widely from "ineffective" to "robust and reliable." Here, we discuss why a careful and considered reevaluation of the underlying premise of antidoping science is needed to bring this unique application of predictive/diagnostic science more in line with other areas of medicine. We show how the validity of…
Analytical characterization of diterpenoid resins present in pictorial varnishes using pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry with on line tr…
2005
Abstract A procedure based on the technique of the pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py–GC–MS) has been applied, in this work, in order to determine the composition of diterpenoid resin employed in art works. The method is based on the on line derivatization of these resins using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS). Results obtained were compared with those previously reported in literature from Venice turpentine, Strasbourg turpentine, colophony, sandarac and Manila copal using this same method and with those others from in situ thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). Canada balsam, copper resinate and Copaiba balsam have been also ana…
Combined use of sonographic and elastosonographic parameters can improve the diagnostic accuracy in thyroid nodules at risk of malignancy at cytologi…
2019
BACKGROUND Thyroid nodules diagnosed as Thy3B at fine-needle aspiration biopsy have a relevant risk of malignancy (15-30%) and are usually addressed to surgery. However surgery will result unnecessary in most cases. The present study aims at evaluating the possible increase of diagnostic accuracy for predicting malignancy using novel sonographic and elastographic parameters. METHODS In fifty patients undergoing thyroidectomy because of a Thy3B thyroid nodule, sonographic and elastosonographic evaluation was carried out by single operator before surgery. Five sonographic parameters (echogenicity, irregular margins, microcalcifications, intra-nodule blood flow and its irregularity) and two el…
Performance of EU-TIRADS in malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules. A meta-analysis
2020
Objective: Several thyroid imaging reporting and data systems (TIRADS) have been proposed to stratify the malignancy risk of thyroid nodule by ultrasound. The TIRADS by the European Thyroid Association, namely EU-TIRADS, was the last one to be published. Design: We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the prevalence of malignancy in each EU-TIRADS class and the performance of EU-TIRADS class 5 vs 2, 3 and 4 in detecting malignant lesions. Methods: Four databases were searched until December 2019. Original articles reporting the performance of EU-TIRADS and adopting histology as reference standard were included. The number of malignant nodules in each class and the number of nodules classifi…
A study of electron transfer in Ru(dcbpy)2(NCS)2 sensitized nanocrystalline TiO2 and SnO2 films induced by red-wing excitation.
2008
Excited state dynamics and electron transfer from the Ru(dcbpy)2(NCS)2 (RuN3) sensitizer to semiconductor nanoparticles were studied using time-resolved femtosecond absorption spectroscopy. We found that excitation of the red wing of the absorption spectrum of the sensitizer populates the (3)MLCT state directly, both in solution and attached on semiconductor nanoparticle films. Electron injection is slowed down and becomes gradually less efficient as excitation moves towards red from the absorption maximum at 535 nm. At 675 nm the injection is non-exponential and characterized by 5, 30 and 180 ps time constants. The non-exponential electron injection observed is assigned to injection from a…
Analysis of complex autoantibody repertoires by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry
2003
Normal sera contain a large number of naturally occurring autoantibodies which can mask important disease-associated ones. Western blotting has evolved as the most important tool to demonstrate autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases, because of its ability to simultaneous screening for a wide spectrum of different antigens. In previous studies we have shown the diagnostic potential of the analysis of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases by means of multivariate statistics and artificial neural networks. However, the Western blotting procedure remains very time-consuming and is also limited in sensitivity. Therefore, we used an on-chip approach for the analysis of autoantibodies. This Protei…
Micellar liquid chromatography in doping control.
2010
The issue of doping control in sport involves the development of reliable analytical procedures and efficient strategies to process a large number of samples in a short period of time. Reversed-phase LC techniques with aqueous–organic mobile phases and MS or diode-array detection yield satisfactory results for the identification of prohibited substances in sport. However, time-consuming sample pretreatment steps are required, which reduces sample throughput. Micellar LC (MLC) that uses hybrid mobile phases of surfactant above its critical micellar concentration and organic solvent has been revealed as an interesting alternative. The surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate solubilizes the protein…
Introduction to coronary imaging with 64-slice computed tomography
2005
The aim of this article is to illustrate the main technical improvements in the last generation of 64-row CT scanners and the possible applications in coronary angiography. In particular, we describe the new physical components (X-ray tube-detectors system) and the general scan and reconstruction parameters. We then define the scan protocols for coronary angiography with the new generation of 64-row CT scanners to enable radiologists to perform a CT study on the basis of the diagnostic possibilities.
Detection and identification Fabavirus species by one-step RT-PCR and multiplex RT-PCR
2014
The genus Fabavirus of the family Secoviridae comprises a group of poorly characterized viruses. To date, only five species have been described: Broad bean wilt virus 1 (BBWV-1), Broad bean wilt virus 2 (BBWV-2), Lamium mild mosaic virus (LMMV), Gentian mosaic virus (GeMV) and Cucurbit mild mosaic virus (CuMMV). The development is described of two RT-PCR procedures for the detection and identification of Fabavirus species: a one-step RT-PCR using a single pair of conserved primers for the detection of all fabaviruses, and a one-step multiplex RT-PCR using species-specific primers for the simultaneous detection and identification of the above-mentioned species of the genus Fabavirus. These m…