Search Results (346)

In this study, we present a visible light communication (VLC) system that analyzes the performance of an optical camera communication (OCC) system, utilizing a mobile phone camera as the receiver and a computer monitor as the transmitter. By creating color channels in the form of a 4 × 4 matrix within a frame, we determine the parameters that affect the successful transmission of data packets. Factors such as the brightness or darkness of the test room, the light color of the lamp in the illuminated environment, the effects of daylight when the monitor is positioned in front of a window, and issues related to dead pixels and light bleed originating from the monitor’s production process have been considered to ensure accurate data transmission. In this context, we utilized the PyCharm, Pydroid, Python, Tkinter, and OpenCV platforms for programming the transmitter and receiver units. Through the application of image processing techniques, we mitigated the effects of daylight on communication performance, thereby proposing a superior system compared to standard VLC systems that incorporate photodiodes. Additionally, considering objectives such as the maximum number of channels and the maximum distance, we regulated the sizes of the channels, the distances between the channels, and the number of channels. The NumPy library, compatible with Python–Tkinter, was employed to determine the color levels and dimensions of the channels. We investigate the effects of RGB and HSV color spaces on the data transmission rate and communication distance. Furthermore, the impact of the distance between color channels on color detection performance is discussed in detail. Full article

This study aimed to count Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia coli in different locations on pig carcasses (shank, loin, abdomen, shoulder, and jowl) from two slaughterhouses (A and B) between September 2019 and July 2021 during different slaughter stages (after bleeding, after passing through the epilator machine, after manual toileting in the dirty area, before and after evisceration, and after the final washing), as well as verify antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation capacity. The main points of Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli contamination were identified in the two slaughterhouses through three collections. The stages with the highest counts were post-bleeding and evisceration in both slaughterhouses and after manual toileting in slaughterhouse B in the first collection. Most E. coli isolates were resistant to multiple antimicrobials, with higher resistance frequencies to amoxicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, sulfonamides, and streptomycin. The virulence genes eae, stx1, and stx2 were also detected. Three isolates had all three genes and exhibited resistance to at least six antimicrobial classes (β-lactams, macrolides, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, amphenicols, and quinolones). E. coli isolates also showed a high frequency of strains with moderate and strong in vitro biofilm-forming capacity. This is the first study to characterize microbial contamination by pig slaughter stage in the Federal District region, demonstrating the critical points for hygienic production. E. coli was isolated from the surface of pig carcasses, as well as the virulence genes stx1, stx2, and eae were detected. The multi-antimicrobial resistant isolates also had a moderate-to-strong biofilm formation capacity, thus demonstrating risks to public health. Full article

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the sixth most diagnosed cancer worldwide and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. The association of HCC and portal vein thrombosis (PVT) represents an advanced stage of the tumor. PVT has a prevalence of about 25–50% in HCC, determining poor prognosis and a remarkable reduction in therapeutic perspectives in these patients, leading to severe complications such as ascites, metastasis, an increase in portal hypertension and potentially fatal gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim of this review is to evaluate the molecular mechanisms that are at the basis of PVT development, trying to evaluate possible strategies in the early detection of patients at high risk of PVT. Full article

Background: Without mechanical cleaning, gingivitis can develop within three weeks. The first clinical sign is bleeding on positive probing. The accumulation of dental biofilm triggers an inflammatory gingival response. In the past decade, attention has focused mainly on interproximal areas and the use of customized interproximal toothbrushes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of individualized oral hygiene education and its role in dental disease prevention among patients with dental problems. Methods: Altogether, 102 patients, 38 males and 64 females, were included in the study. All patients were aged over 18 years. Before treatment, patients were clinically and radiologically examined, their full mouth plaque score (FMPS), full mouth bleeding score (FMBS), and bleeding on brushing (BOB) were recorded, and matrix-metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) was measured by using a chair-side MMP-8 measuring system. Patients in group A had gingivitis but no periodontal damage, and group B had periodontal damage. Patients in both groups were divided into four subgroups based on their toothbrushing habits and the oral health education they received. Three months after the initial examination, each patient was examined three more times (2, 4, and 12 weeks later). Results: It was concluded that subjects in groups A1 and B1 showed a significant reduction in BOB, MMP-8, FMBS, and FMPS levels after two weeks. Solo Prophylaxis (A1 and B1) remained a well-constructed protocol and caused the complete resolution of interdental inflammation after two weeks. Other subgroups achieved significant reductions only after 12 weeks. Conclusions: BOB and MMP-8 tests are valuable complements in preventive dentistry, and are able to detect potential pathological processes. The clinical relevance of BOB testing, in addition to FMBS, FMPS and gingival inflammation testing, can be demonstrated to patients, which may increase compliance. Full article

Background/Objectives: Relatively little has been established about the association of rapid ventricular response (RVR) with further recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). This study investigated the impact of RVR on the recurrence of AF. Methods: Data were obtained from a multicenter, prospective registry of non-valvular AF patients. RVR was defined as AF with a ventricular rate > 110 bpm. The primary endpoint was the recurrence of AF, defined as the first AF detected on 12-lead electrocardiography during follow-up. Secondary endpoints included manifestation of AF during follow-up and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), a composite of thromboembolic events, major bleeding, myocardial infarction, and death. Results: Among 5533 patients, 493 (8.9%) presented RVR. Patients with RVR were younger, had smaller left atrial diameters, and more frequently had paroxysmal AF. During the mean follow-up duration of 28.6 months, the RVR group exhibited significantly lower recurrence of AF (hazard ratio: 0.58, 95% confidence interval: 0.53–0.65, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of MACEs between patients with RVR and those without RVR (0.96, 0.70–1.31, p = 0.800). AF with RVR was identified as an independent negative predictor of AF recurrence (0.61, 0.53–0.71, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In patients with AF, those with RVR had a significantly lower recurrence of AF without an increase in MACEs. RVR is a favorable marker that may benefit from early rhythm control. Full article

The risk of post-operatory hypothyroidism and hypocalcaemia, along with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, is lower following a less-than-total thyroidectomy; however, a previously unsuspected carcinoma or a disease progression might be detected after initial surgery, hence indicating re-intervention as mandatory (so-called “redo” surgery) with completion. This decision takes into consideration a multidisciplinary approach, but the surgical technique and the actual approach is entirely based on the skills and availability of the surgical team according to the standard protocols regarding a personalised decision. We aimed to introduce a review of the most recently published data, with respect to redo thyroid surgery. For the basis of the discussion, a novel vignette on point was introduced. This was a narrative review. We searched English-language papers according to the key search terms in different combinations such as “redo” and “thyroid”, alternatively “thyroidectomy” and “thyroid surgery”, across the PubMed database. Inclusion criteria were original articles. The timeframe of publication was between 1 January 2020 and 20 July 2024. Exclusion criteria were non-English papers, reviews, non-human studies, case reports or case series, exclusive data on parathyroid surgery, and cell line experiments. We identified ten studies across the five-year most recent window of PubMed searches that showed a heterogeneous spectrum of complications and applications of different surgeries with respect to redo interventions during thyroid removal (e.g., recurrent laryngeal nerve monitoring during surgery, other types of incision than cervicotomy, the use of parathyroid fluorescence, bleeding risk, etc.). Most studies addressing novel surgical perspectives focused on robotic-assisted re-intervention, and an expansion of this kind of studies is expected. Further studies and multifactorial models of assessment and risk prediction are necessary to decide, assess, and recommend redo interventions and the most adequate surgical techniques. Full article

The aim of the present work was to evaluate retrospectively, after seven years of function, the efficacy of a conometric retention to stabilize complete prostheses (CPs) on four implants. Data from twenty-three patients with CPs supported by four implants, with at least seven years of follow up were retrieved. All the CPs were immediately fixed to the implants using a conometric retention. Outcome measures were prosthesis and implant success, biological and prosthetic complications, probing pocket depth changes, marginal bleeding, and plaque index changes. A total of 92 implants were evaluated. No fixture or abutment fractures were reported. No abutment unscrewing was reported. Four framework fractures occurred after three, four, six, and seven years of function. The overall success rate of the rehabilitation was 82.6%. Mucositis was observed in eight patients and 13 implants. No peri-implantitis was recorded. A 0.55 mm difference of PPD and 0.74 mm of MBL was recorded after seven years (p < 0.001). The present implant-supported conometric retention system proved to be effective in giving fixed retention to a CP supported by four implants. Biological complications were easily detected and treated. An adequate metal framework should be provided to the definitive restoration to avoid fractures in the long term. Full article

Smooth Muscle Tumor of Uncertain Malignant Potential (STUMP) is a rare uterine tumor primarily affecting perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, typically aged between 45 and 55 years. Characterized by ambiguous histological features, STUMPs present diagnostic challenges as they cannot be definitively classified as benign or malignant based on morphology alone. This systematic review aims to elucidate the clinical, pathological, immunohistochemical, and treatment-related characteristics of STUMPs through an analysis of the literature from the past 20 years. The study follows PRISMA guidelines, utilizing comprehensive searches of PubMed and Scopus databases, yielding 32 studies that meet the inclusion criteria. From the analysis of these studies, it was revealed that the clinical presentations vary from common symptoms such as abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic pain to incidental detection of uterine mass. Histologically, STUMPs demonstrate features overlapping with both leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas, including mild nuclear atypia, low mitotic indices, and focal necrosis. Immunohistochemical markers such as p16 and p53 have been investigated for prognostic significance. Elevated p16 expression, often associated with aggressive behavior, was observed in a subset of STUMPs. Surgical management, typically involving hysterectomy or tumorectomy, is the primary treatment, though the extent of resection is variable. Adjuvant therapies are not routinely recommended, but long-term surveillance is advised, especially for high-risk patients. Recurrence rates for STUMPs are approximately 12%, with factors such as high mitotic counts and coagulative necrosis indicating higher risk. This review highlights the complexity of STUMP diagnosis and management, emphasizing the need for more precise diagnostic criteria and individualized treatment strategies. Understanding the morphological, immunohistochemical, and clinical behavior of STUMPs can improve patient outcomes and guide future research in this diagnostically challenging area. Full article

We aim (a) to introduce an easy-to-perform multi-echo gradient-echo sequence (mGRE) for the detection of hemosiderin deposition in the ankle joints of boys with haemophilia (b) to explore the associations between the presence and severity of hemosiderin deposition and the other components of haemophilic arthropathy, the clinical score, and the number and chronicity of joint bleeds. An MRI of 41 ankle joints of 21 haemophilic boys was performed on a 3 T MRI system using an mGRE sequence in addition to the conventional protocol. Conventional MRI and mGRE were separately and independently assessed by three readers, namely, two musculoskeletal radiologists and a general radiologist for joint hemosiderin. We set as a reference the consensus reading of the two musculoskeletal radiologists, who also evaluated the presence of synovial thickening, effusion, and osteochondral changes. Excellent inter-reader agreement was obtained using the mGRE sequence compared to the conventional protocol (ICC: 0.95–0.97 versus 0.48–0.89), with superior sensitivity (90–95% versus 50–85%), specificity (95.2–100% versus 76.2–95.2%), and positive (95–100% versus 71–94.4%) and negative predictive value (91.3–95.5% versus 87–63%). Hemosiderin deposition was associated with osteochondral changes, synovial thickening, clinical score, and the total number of ankle bleeds, while it was inversely related with the time elapsed between the last joint bleed and MRI. (p < 0.05). The application of an mGRE sequence significantly improved hemosiderin detection, even when performed by the less experienced reader. Joint hemosiderin deposition was associated with the other components of haemophilic arthropathy and was mostly apparent in recent joint bleeds. Full article

Despite a higher safety profile compared to vitamin K antagonists, rivaroxaban therapy is still connected with multiple adverse effects, such as a high risk of bleeding. Thus, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of rivaroxaban concentrations is suggested. An alternative to plasma samples can be dried blood spots (DBS), which minimize the cost of sample storage and transport. In this study, we developed a UPLC-MS/MS method for the analysis of rivaroxaban in DBS and plasma samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm; 3.5 µm, Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA) with a mobile phase consisting of water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% formic acid. The analytes were detected using a positive ionization mode by multiple reaction monitoring. We validated the method according to ICH guidelines. The precision and accuracy were satisfactory. Extraction recovery was approximately 57% and 66% for DBS and plasma samples, respectively. A high correlation between rivaroxaban concentrations in plasma and DBS samples collected from patients was confirmed with Deming regression. The suitability of both sampling techniques for the rivaroxaban TDM was also verified by Bland–Altman plots based on DBS-predicted and observed plasma concentrations. In addition, we found a significant relationship between rivaroxaban concentrations and coagulation parameters, including prothrombin time (PT) and international normalized ratio (INR). Full article

Background: Chronic endometritis (CE) is a persistent inflammation of the uterine lining. Although it has a minimal clinical presentation, CE adversely affects the reproductive ability of women. The aims of this study were to detect pathological endometrial patterns in D&C biopsies and to evaluate chronic endometritis in patients living in a high-altitude area (1800 m above sea level) in order to determine the clinical pathological features and prevalence. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at King Faisal Maternity Hospital included 100 samples of D&C biopsies from women complaining of various gynecological symptoms not due to gestational causes. The biopsies underwent tissue processing, H&E staining, and CD138 detection. Blood samples were taken for serological detection of infectious diseases, complete blood count, and chemical parameters. Results: The mean age of women in the study with CE was 48.5 ± 8.5 years, and that of those without CE was 46.9 ± 9.7 years. The most common complaints were abnormal uterine bleeding, accounting for 83%. CE was present in 8% of cases, and there was a nonsignificant difference in hematological parameters between women with CE and those with other pathological diagnoses. There were also nonsignificant differences in chemical parameters, except for FSH and LH levels, which showed a significant difference, with p-values of 0.05 and 0.02, respectively. It can be concluded that the most common gynecological complaint of women in this study was abnormal uterine bleeding. Conclusions: The most commonly diagnosed pathological endometrial disorder in D&C biopsies was disordered proliferative endometrium, followed by endometrial polyps and endometrial hyperplasia. All of these are usually associated with hormonal disturbance, which appeared to be very common in the women in this study. The prevalence of chronic endometritis detected in our study was 8%, which is relatively high. Full article

Occasionally intravenous insertion forms a challenge to a number of patients. Inserting an IV needle is a difficult task that requires a lot of skill. At the moment, only doctors and medical personnel are allowed to do this because it requires finding the right vein, inserting the needle properly, and carefully injecting fluids or drawing out blood. Even for trained professionals, this can be done incorrectly, which can cause bleeding, infection, or damage to the vein. It is especially difficult to do this on children, elderly people, and people with certain skin conditions. In these cases, the veins are harder to see, so it is less likely to be done correctly the first time and may cause blood clots. In this research, a low-cost embedded system utilizing Near-Infrared (NIR) light technology is developed, and two novel approaches are proposed to detect and select the best candidate veins. The two approaches utilize multiple computer vision tools and are based on contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE). The accuracy of the proposed algorithm is 91.3% with an average 1.4 s processing time on Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. Full article

Heyde’s syndrome (HS) represents an association between aortic stenosis and intestinal angiodysplasias, and it has been demonstrated that acquired von Willebrand disease plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of this syndrome. In patients with HS, von Willebrand factor deficiency represents an additional risk factor, further contributing to the risk of bleeding and anemia. We present the case of an 86-year-old patient diagnosed with HS and von Willebrand deficiency in 2018. Four years prior, the patient underwent surgical aortic valve replacement. Since then, she has been receiving chronic oral anticoagulation therapy with a vitamin K antagonist. The patient was admitted to the Internal Medicine Clinic due to semi-solid dark stools, diffuse abdominal pain, and asthenia. Upon examination, the patient presented with an altered general status and clinical signs suggestive of anemia. Laboratory findings revealed anemia with elevated INR and aPTT values. Colonic angiodysplasias were identified during a colonoscopy, although no sources of active bleeding were detected. On the 9th day of hospitalization, the patient experienced an episode of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. The pharmacological management was adjusted, and argon plasma coagulation was recommended. Following treatment of the angiodysplastic lesions, the patient’s clinical evolution was favorable, with the correction of the anemia. Full article

The increase in the use of filler treatments within minimally invasive cosmetic surgery has correspondingly escalated the variety and frequency of associated side effects. Initially, unregulated procedures led to primary side effects such as infections, foreign body reactions, and granuloma formation. However, severe vascular complications like skin and tissue necrosis and blindness have emerged as recognized risks. Side effects from filler treatments can range from mild to life-threatening, including edema, pain, tenderness, numbness, bleeding, bruising, hematoma, redness, erythema, pigmentation, allergic reactions, itching, pruritus, the Tyndall effect, asymmetry, irregularity, migration, skin and soft tissue infections, nodules, granulomas, and vascular compromise. These side effects are categorized into early and delayed types. Many complications, particularly those related to vascular abnormalities, are frequently linked to procedural issues, emphasizing the importance of understanding filler properties, injection techniques, and facial anatomy. Preventing side effects is ideal, but early detection and treatment are crucial. Recognizing potential side effects based on their timing and understanding appropriate preemptive treatment methods is essential. This discussion addresses non-vascular side effects, highlighting their onset, symptoms, and management strategies. The comprehensive understanding and careful management of these side effects are vital for minimizing complications and ensuring patient safety in filler treatments. Full article

Intracranial aneurysm (IA) is now a common term closely associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage. IA is the bulging of a blood vessel caused by a weakening of its wall. This bulge can rupture and, in most cases, cause internal bleeding. In most cases, internal bleeding leads to death or other fatal consequences. Therefore, the development of an automated system for detecting IA is needed to help physicians make more accurate diagnoses. For this reason, we have focused on this problem. In this paper, we propose a 2D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on a network commonly used for data classification in medicine. In addition to our proposed network, we also tested ResNet 50, ResNet 101 and ResNet 152 on a publicly available dataset. In this case, ResNet 152 achieved better results than our proposed network, but our network was significantly smaller and the classifications took significantly less time. Our proposed network achieved an overall accuracy of 98%. This result was achieved on a dataset consisting of 611 images. In addition to the mentioned networks, we also experimented with the VGG network, but it was not suitable for this type of data and achieved only 20%. We compare the results in this work with neural networks that have been verified by the scientific community, and we believe that the results obtained by us can help in the creation of an automated system for the detection of IA. Full article