-
Frontiers in Neurology 2024The aim of this study is to develop a predictive model utilizing deep learning and machine learning techniques that will inform clinical decision-making by predicting...
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to develop a predictive model utilizing deep learning and machine learning techniques that will inform clinical decision-making by predicting the 1-year postoperative recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation.
METHODS
The clinical data of 470 inpatients who underwent tubular microdiscectomy (TMD) between January 2018 and January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed as variables. The dataset was randomly divided into a training set ( = 329) and a test set ( = 141) using a 10-fold cross-validation technique. Various deep learning and machine learning algorithms including Random Forests, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machines, Extra Trees, K-Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Light Gradient Boosting Machine, and MLP (Artificial Neural Networks) were employed to develop predictive models for the recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation 1 year after surgery. The cure rate score of lumbar JOA score 1 year after TMD was used as an outcome indicator. The primary evaluation metric was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), with additional measures including decision curve analysis (DCA), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and others.
RESULTS
The heat map of the correlation matrix revealed low inter-feature correlation. The predictive model employing both machine learning and deep learning algorithms was constructed using 15 variables after feature engineering. Among the eight algorithms utilized, the MLP algorithm demonstrated the best performance.
CONCLUSION
Our study findings demonstrate that the MLP algorithm provides superior predictive performance for the recovery of patients with lumbar disk herniation 1 year after surgery.
PubMed: 38919973
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1255780 -
International Ophthalmology Jun 2024Papilledema is the optic disc swelling caused by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) that can damage the optic nerve and cause subsequent vision loss.... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Papilledema is the optic disc swelling caused by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) that can damage the optic nerve and cause subsequent vision loss. Pseudopapilledema refers to optic disc elevation without peripapillary fluid that can arise from several optic disc disorders, with optic disc drusen (ODD) being the most frequent cause. Occasionally, pseudopapilledema patients are mistakenly diagnosed as papilledema, leading to the possibility of unneeded procedures. We aim to thoroughly examine the most current evidence on papilledema and pseudopapilledema causes and several methods for distinguishing between both conditions.
METHODS
An extensive literature search was conducted on electronic databases including PubMed and google scholar using keywords that were relevant to the assessed pathologies. Data were collected and then summarized in comprehensive form.
RESULTS
Various techniques are employed to distinguish between papilledema and pseudopapilledema. These techniques include Fundus fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Lumbar puncture and other invasive procedures may be needed if results are suspicious.
CONCLUSION
Papilledema is a sight-threatening condition that may lead to visual affection. Many disc conditions may mimic papilledema. Accordingly, differentiation between papilledema and pseudopailledema is crucial and can be conducted through many modalities.
Topics: Papilledema; Humans; Diagnosis, Differential; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Fluorescein Angiography; Optic Disk; Eye Diseases, Hereditary; Optic Nerve Diseases; Fundus Oculi; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Optic Disk Drusen
PubMed: 38916684
DOI: 10.1007/s10792-024-03215-5 -
One Health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Jun 2024Livestock associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can reduce productivity and cause economic losses, threatening the livelihoods of poor farming communities in...
Livestock associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can reduce productivity and cause economic losses, threatening the livelihoods of poor farming communities in low-income settings. We investigated the practices and risk factors for increased antibiotic use, and AMR in including resistance to human critically important antibiotics like cefotaxime and colistin in semi-intensive and free-range poultry farms in Uganda. Samples and farm management data were collected from 402 poultry farms in two districts between October 2021 to March 2022. Samples were processed to isolate and to quantify cefotaxime (CTX) and colistin (COL) resistant coliforms The identification of presumptive isolated on MacConkey agar without antibiotics, was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion using EUCAST guidelines. Our models indicated that antibiotic use was associated with production intensity, and type of feed used. Moreover, semi-intensive farmers had better knowledge on antibiotic use compared to farmers in the free-range system. In semi-intensive farms, 52% harbored COL and 57% CTX coliforms. In free-range farms, 54% had COL and 67% CTX coliforms. Resistance to tetracycline, ampicillin and enrofloxacin were more frequent in semi-intensive farms compared to the free-range farms. Multi-drug resistant were identified in both poultry production systems despite different management and antibiotic use practices. There was no significant relationship between antibiotic use and resistance for the six antibiotics tested.
PubMed: 38910948
DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100762 -
ACS Measurement Science Au Jun 2024Electrochemical advanced oxidation (EAO) systems are of significant interest due to their ability to treat a wide range of organic contaminants in water. Boron doped...
Electrochemical advanced oxidation (EAO) systems are of significant interest due to their ability to treat a wide range of organic contaminants in water. Boron doped diamond (BDD) electrodes have found considerable use in EAO. Despite their popularity, no laboratory scale method exists to quantify anodic corrosion of BDD electrodes under EAO conditions; all are qualitative using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy. In this work, we present a new method which can be used to quantify average corrosion rates as a function of solution composition, current density, and BDD material properties over relatively short time periods. The method uses white light interferometry (WLI), in conjunction with BDD electrodes integrated into a 3D-printed flow cell, to measure three-dimensional changes in the surface structure due to corrosion over a 72 h period. It is equally applicable to both thin film and thicker, freestanding BDD. A further advantage of WLI is that it lends itself to large area measurements; data are collected herein for 1 cm diameter disk electrodes. Using WLI, corrosion rates as low as 1 nm h can be measured. This enables unequivocal demonstration that organics in the EAO solution are not a prerequisite for BDD anodic corrosion. However, they do increase the corrosion rates. In particular, we quantify that addition of 1 M acetic acid to 0.5 M potassium sulfate results in the average corrosion rate increasing ∼60 times. In the same solution, microcrystalline thin film BDD is also found to corrode ∼twice as fast compared to freestanding polished BDD, attributed to the presence of increased sp carbon content. This methodology also represents an important step forward in the prediction of BDD electrode lifetimes for a wide range of EAO applications.
PubMed: 38910859
DOI: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.3c00069 -
Vision Research Jun 2024Short-term monocular deprivation in normally sighted adult humans produces a transient shift of ocular dominance, boosting the deprived eye. This effect has been...
Short-term monocular deprivation in normally sighted adult humans produces a transient shift of ocular dominance, boosting the deprived eye. This effect has been documented with both perceptual tests and through physiological recordings, but no previous study simultaneously measured physiological responses and the perceptual effects of deprivation. Here we propose an integrated experimental paradigm that combines binocular rivalry with pupillometry, to introduce an objective physiological index of ocular dominance plasticity, acquired concurrently with perceptual testing. Ten participants reported the perceptual dynamics of binocular rivalry, while we measured pupil diameter. Stimuli were a white and a black disk, each presented monocularly. Rivalry dynamics and pupil-size traces were compared before and after 2 h of monocular deprivation, achieved by applying a translucent patch over the dominant eye. Consistent with prior research, we observed that monocular deprivation boosts the deprived-eye signal and consequently increases ocular dominance. In line with previous studies, we also observed subtle but systematic modulations of pupil size that tracked alternations between exclusive dominance phases of the black or white disk. Following monocular deprivation, the amplitude of these pupil-size modulations increased, which is consistent with the post-deprivation boost of the deprived eye and the increase of ocular dominance. This provides evidence that deprivation impacts the effective strength of monocular visual stimuli, coherently affecting perceptual reports and the automatic and unconscious regulation of pupil diameter. Our results show that a combined paradigm of binocular rivalry and pupillometry gives new insights into the physiological mechanisms underlying deprivation effects.
PubMed: 38909478
DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108449 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Jun 2024This research focused on assessing the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants and antimicrobial susceptibility in Salmonella strains...
AIMS
This research focused on assessing the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants and antimicrobial susceptibility in Salmonella strains isolated from Thai canal water.
METHODS AND RESULTS
From 2016 to 2020, 333 water samples were collected from six canals across Bangkok, Thailand. Salmonella spp. was isolated, PMQR genes were detected through polymerase chain reactions, and the antimicrobial susceptibility was examined using the disk diffusion method. The results indicated a 92.2% prevalence of Salmonella spp. in canal water, being serogroups B and C the most frequently detected. Overall, 35.3% of isolates harbored PMQR genes, being qnrS the most prevalent gene (97.2%, n = 137/141). Other PMQR genes, including qnrB, qnrD, oqxAB, and aac(6')-Ib-cr, were detected. Notably, six isolates harbored multiple PMQR genes. Furthermore, 9.3% and 3.8% of the overall isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid (NAL) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), respectively. PMQR-positive isolates showed higher rates of non-susceptibility to both NAL (48.2%, n = 68/141) and CIP (92.2%, n = 130/141) compared to PMQR-negative isolates (NAL: 8.9%, n = 23/258; CIP: 11.2%, n = 30/258).
CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of Salmonella spp., significant PMQR-positive, and reduced susceptibility isolates in canal water is of public health concern in Bangkok.
Topics: Thailand; Salmonella; Quinolones; Plasmids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Water Microbiology; Bacterial Proteins; Ciprofloxacin; Genes, Bacterial
PubMed: 38908908
DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxae134 -
Physical Review. E May 2024We study the spectral properties of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator and the related Steklov problem in spheroidal domains ranging from a needle to a disk. An explicit...
We study the spectral properties of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator and the related Steklov problem in spheroidal domains ranging from a needle to a disk. An explicit matrix representation of this operator for both interior and exterior problems is derived. We show how the anisotropy of spheroids affects the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the operator. As examples of physical applications, we discuss diffusion-controlled reactions on spheroidal partially reactive targets and the statistics of encounters between the diffusing particle and the spheroidal boundary.
PubMed: 38907385
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.109.055306 -
International Ophthalmology Jun 2024To characterize glaucoma progression in early-stage patients with retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) using the change analysis software (CAS), which was utilized to track...
PURPOSE
To characterize glaucoma progression in early-stage patients with retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) using the change analysis software (CAS), which was utilized to track RNFL thinning.
METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed 92 eyes of 92 patients with early-stage glaucoma. Patients were divided into two subgroups based on their diagnosis of pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). A complete ophthalmologic examination was performed on all patients. Additionally, automated perimetry was conducted on each patient. Furthermore, Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) was employed to measure RNFL and central corneal thickness. Using the OCT device's CAS, we computed the annual rate of total and glaucomatous RNFL thinning for each patient.
RESULTS
A total of 44 PEG and 48 POAG patients were included in the study. The right eye measurements of these patients were analyzed and compared. The two groups were not significantly different in age, gender, and the number of visits per year (p > 0.05, for each). However, the difference between the mean RNFL thickness at baseline (91.39 ± 10.71 and 96.9 ± 8.6 µm) and at the last visit (85.2 ± 15.76 µm and 91.56 ± 9.58 µm) was statistically significant between the two groups (p = 0.043, p = 0.039, respectively). Additionally, the difference in annual RNFL thinning rates (1.43 ± 0.81 µm and 1.07 ± 0.32 µm) between the two groups was statistically significant (p = 0.009).
CONCLUSION
The annual rate of glaucomatous RNFL loss in early-stage PEG patients (1.23 µm) was higher than in POAG patients (0.87 µm). However, despite these loss rates, scotoma was not detected in the visual field tests of these patients. Therefore, using CAS in the follow-up of early-stage glaucoma patients is a useful alternative for monitoring glaucomatous progression. Furthermore, this method can be utilized in future research for the diagnosis and follow-up of glaucoma in special populations (e.g., those with pathological myopia or high hyperopia) that are not included in normative databases.
Topics: Humans; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Glaucoma, Open-Angle; Male; Female; Retrospective Studies; Nerve Fibers; Retinal Ganglion Cells; Aged; Exfoliation Syndrome; Middle Aged; Visual Fields; Intraocular Pressure; Disease Progression; Visual Field Tests; Follow-Up Studies; Optic Disk
PubMed: 38907173
DOI: 10.1007/s10792-024-03214-6 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Jun 2024The purpose of this work was to study extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) in freshwaters, hospital effluents and wastewaters during two sampling...
AIMS
The purpose of this work was to study extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) in freshwaters, hospital effluents and wastewaters during two sampling campaigns in 2021.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Water sampling was performed in 24 stations of the Ourthe watershed in Belgium. A total of 644 ESBL (n = 642) and AmpC (n = 2) E. coli strains were isolated. Disk-diffusion assays were performed following the EUCAST's recommendations. All strains were tested for the presence of blaCTX-M-1, blaCTX-M-2 and blaCTX-M-9 gene's group by PCR. Genes belonging to blaCTX-M-1 and blaCTX-M-9 groups were detected respectively in 73.6% and 14.9% of the strains. No blaCTX-M-2 group's gene was found. A subset of strains (n = 40) was selected for whole genome sequencing. E. coli serotype O18: H7 ST 1463 was predominant (n = 14) in the sequenced strains and showed pathogenicity in the Galleria mellonella larvae model. β-lactamase genes identified were blaCTX-M (n = 21), with blaCTX-M-15 mostly represented (n = 15), as well as blaTEM (n = 11), blaOXA (n = 7) and blaSHV (n = 9) and carbapenemase (CP) genes were observed in several strains-blaKPC-3 (n = 19), blaNDM-1 (n = 1), blaVIM-1 (n = 2) and blaOXA-244 (n = 2)-even from freshwaters.
CONCLUSIONS
ESBL-EC are widely distributed in the aquatic environment in Belgium and contain a variety of ESBL and CP genes.
PubMed: 38906843
DOI: 10.1093/jambio/lxae144 -
Journal of Dentistry Jun 2024To investigate how postpolymerization time (PPT) and atmosphere (PPA) influence the surface properties, protein adsorption, and microbial adhesion of two types of...
OBJECTIVES
To investigate how postpolymerization time (PPT) and atmosphere (PPA) influence the surface properties, protein adsorption, and microbial adhesion of two types of additively manufactured (AM) resins used for definitive restorations.
METHODS
Two different types of commercially available AM resins for definitive restorations (UR and CR) were used to create disk-shaped specimens. These specimens were divided into eight groups based on resin type (UR and CR), PPT (standard or extended), and PPA (air or nitrogen). After postpolymerization, the surface roughness (R and S) and surface free energy (SFE) of all specimens were measured. The study also evaluated protein adsorption, microbial attachment, and cytotoxicity. A non-parametric factorial analysis of variance with post-hoc analyses was conducted, using a significance level (α) of 0.05.
RESULTS
The R and S values for CR were higher than those for UR, regardless of PPT or PPA (P < 0.05). For UR, SFE was higher with extended PPT compared to standard PPT. CR had higher SFE than UR under standard PPT. The interaction between PPT and PPA had a significant effect on protein adsorption (P < 0.05). When PPT was standard, nitrogen significantly increased protein adsorption compared to air. The interaction between resin type and PPA, and between resin type and PPT, significantly affected microbial adhesion (P < 0.05). The changes in PPT or PPA did not affect the cytotoxicity of either AM resin.
CONCLUSION
Surface properties, protein adsorption, and microbial attachment were influenced by the interactions among PPT, PPA, and resin type. These factors can have implications for resin-based definitive restorations.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCES
Clinicians should understand the impact of PPT and PPA on the surface properties of AM resins for definitive restorations, particularly regarding protein adsorption and microbial adhesion. Additionally, the type of AM resin (based on chemical composition) could affect its biological properties.
PubMed: 38906456
DOI: 10.1016/j.jdent.2024.105143