We present a 3D stylization algorithm that can turn an input shape into the style of a cube while maintaining the
content
of the original shape. The key insight is that cubic style sculptures can be ...captured by the
as-rigid-as-possible
energy with an ℓ
1
-regularization on rotated surface normals. Minimizing this energy naturally leads to a detail-preserving, cubic geometry. Our optimization can be solved efficiently without any mesh surgery. Our method serves as a non-realistic modeling tool where one can incorporate many artistic controls to create stylized geometries.
This paper introduces a new method to stylize 3D geometry. The key observation is that the surface normal is an effective instrument to capture different geometric styles. Centered around this ...observation, we cast stylization as a shape analogy problem, where the analogy relationship is defined on the surface normal. This formulation can deform a 3D shape into different styles within a single framework. One can plug‐and‐play different target styles by providing an exemplar shape or an energy‐based style description (e.g., developable surfaces). Our surface stylization methodology enables Normal Captures as a geometric counterpart to material captures (MatCaps) used in rendering, and the prototypical concept of Spherical Shape Analogies as a geometric counterpart to image analogies in image processing.
The spectrum of the Laplace‐Beltrami operator is instrumental for a number of geometric modeling applications, from processing to analysis. Recently, multiple methods were developed to retrieve an ...approximation of a shape that preserves its eigenvectors as much as possible, but these techniques output a subset of input points with no connectivity, which limits their potential applications. Furthermore, the obtained Laplacian results from an optimization procedure, implying its storage alongside the selected points. Focusing on keeping a mesh instead of an operator would allow to retrieve the latter using the standard cotangent formulation, enabling easier processing afterwards. Instead, we propose to simplify the input mesh using a spectrum‐preserving mesh decimation scheme, so that the Laplacian computed on the simplified mesh is spectrally close to the one of the input mesh. We illustrate the benefit of our approach for quickly approximating spectral distances and functional maps on low resolution proxies of potentially high resolution input meshes.
Objectives/Hypothesis
Although the benefits of expanding health insurance coverage are clear, there are limited studies comparing the different types of insurance. This study aims to determine the ...association between insurance type and outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing reconstructive surgery in the United States.
Methods
Population‐based cross‐sectional study of the 2012–2014 National Inpatient Sample. We identified 1,314 patients with head and neck cancers undergoing tumor ablative surgery followed by pedicled or free flap reconstruction of oncologic defects. Insurance type was classified as private, Medicare, Medicaid, self‐pay, or other. The primary outcome was extended length of stay (LOS), defined as greater than 14 days, which represented the 75th percentile of the study sample. Secondary outcomes included acute medical complications, surgical complications, morbidities, and costs. Analyses were adjusted for gender, geographic location, and various medical comorbidities.
Results
In univariate analysis, insurance type was associated with extended LOS (P = .001), medical complications (P = <.001), and mortalities (P = .020). After controlling for other covariates in the multivariate analysis, compared to private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid were both associated with significantly higher odds of extended LOS (adjusted odds ratio OR 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.73 1.09–2.76 and 2.22 1.38–3.58, respectively). Medicare was associated with significantly higher odds of medical complications, but Medicaid was not (adjusted OR 95% CI = 1.53 1.02–2.31 and 1.64 0.97–2.78, respectively).
Conclusions
Medicaid and Medicare were independently associated with extended LOS after reconstructive head and neck cancer surgery. Medicare was associated with higher rates of medical complications. Efforts to address LOS should target care planning and coordination.
Level of Evidence
NA Laryngoscope, 132:1946–1952, 2022
This study takes advantage of a “natural experiment” to show how institutionalization shapes economic outcomes in China. Beijing introduced the mandatory retirement age for provincial leaders in the ...1980s, but the rule was not enforced across all provinces until 2000. I use this window to construct a difference-in-differences design and show how the enforcement of mandatory retirement rule leads to better economic outcomes. Provincial leaders eligible for promotion are now motivated to perform better on growth in order to succeed under the performance-based promotion system. But this institution is not perfect, as it results in poorer performances among lame-duck leaders near the retirement age. I also find that leaders with central connection tend to have worse performances. This suggests that when politicians have connection with the center, they hold the key to promotion already, so they do not need to worry about the Chinese-style yardstick competition.
Objectives
To evaluate the utility of CT-based radiomics signatures in discriminating low-grade (grades 1–2) clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC) from high-grade (grades 3–4) and low TNM stage ...(stages I–II) ccRCC from high TNM stage (stages III–IV).
Methods
A total of 587 subjects (mean age 60.2 years ± 12.2; range 22–88.7 years) with ccRCC were included. A total of 255 tumors were high grade and 153 were high stage. For each subject, one dominant tumor was delineated as the region of interest (ROI). Our institutional radiomics pipeline was then used to extract 2824 radiomics features across 12 texture families from the manually segmented volumes of interest. Separate iterations of the machine learning models using all extracted features (full model) as well as only a subset of previously identified robust metrics (robust model) were developed. Variable of importance (VOI) analysis was performed using the out-of-bag Gini index to identify the top 10 radiomics metrics driving each classifier. Model performance was reported using area under the receiver operating curve (AUC).
Results
The highest AUC to distinguish between low- and high-grade ccRCC was 0.70 (95% CI 0.62–0.78) and the highest AUC to distinguish between low- and high-stage ccRCC was 0.80 (95% CI 0.74–0.86). Comparable AUCs of 0.73 (95% CI 0.65–0.8) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.7–0.84) were reported using the robust model for grade and stage classification, respectively. VOI analysis revealed the importance of neighborhood operation–based methods, including GLCM, GLDM, and GLRLM, in driving the performance of the robust models for both grade and stage classification.
Conclusion
Post-validation, CT-based radiomics signatures may prove to be useful tools to assess ccRCC grade and stage and could potentially add to current prognostic models.
Summary statement
Multiphase CT-based radiomics signatures have potential to serve as a non-invasive stratification schema for distinguishing between low- and high-grade as well as low- and high-stage ccRCC.
Key Points
•
Radiomics signatures derived from clinical multiphase CT images were able to stratify low- from high-grade ccRCC, with an AUC of 0.70 (95% CI 0.62–0.78).
•
Radiomics signatures derived from multiphase CT images yielded discriminative power to stratify low from high TNM stage in ccRCC, with an AUC of 0.80 (95% CI 0.74–0.86).
•
Models created using only robust radiomics features achieved comparable AUCs of 0.73 (95% CI 0.65–0.80) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.70–0.84) to the model with all radiomics features in classifying ccRCC grade and stage, respectively
.
Pediatric chronic sinusitis: diagnosis and management Ge, Marshall; Liu, Derek H; Ference, Elisabeth H
Current opinion in otolaryngology & head and neck surgery,
2022-Feb-01, Letnik:
30, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Review the diagnosis and management of pediatric chronic sinusitis given recent advances in both surgical and medical management.
Balloon catheter dilation (BCD) of the sinuses has been used as an ...adjunct to adenoidectomy or in lieu of traditional endoscopic sinus surgery. BCD has been shown to be a safe technique in children although its efficacy compared to maxillary sinus irrigation or traditional sinus surgery cannot be determined based on current studies.
New advances in BCD and biologics may serve as useful adjuncts in surgical and medical therapy respectively with additional research needed to better delineate the optimal indications for each in the treatment continuum.
Objective
To determine the intra‐, inter‐ and test‐retest variability of CT‐based texture analysis (CTTA) metrics.
Materials and methods
In this study, we conducted a series of CT imaging experiments ...using a texture phantom to evaluate the performance of a CTTA panel on routine abdominal imaging protocols. The phantom comprises of three different regions with various textures found in tumors. The phantom was scanned on two CT scanners viz. the Philips Brilliance 64 CT and Toshiba Aquilion Prime 160 CT scanners. The intra‐scanner variability of the CTTA metrics was evaluated across imaging parameters such as slice thickness, field of view, post‐reconstruction filtering, tube voltage, and tube current. For each scanner and scanning parameter combination, we evaluated the performance of eight different types of texture quantification techniques on a predetermined region of interest (ROI) within the phantom image using 235 different texture metrics. We conducted the repeatability (test‐retest) and robustness (intra‐scanner) test on both the scanners and the reproducibility test was conducted by comparing the inter‐scanner differences in the repeatability and robustness to identify reliable CTTA metrics. Reliable metrics are those metrics that are repeatable, reproducible and robust.
Results
As expected, the robustness, repeatability and reproducibility of CTTA metrics are variably sensitive to various scanner and scanning parameters. Entropy of Fast Fourier Transform‐based texture metrics was overall most reliable across the two scanners and scanning conditions. Post‐processing techniques that reduce image noise while preserving the underlying edges associated with true anatomy or pathology bring about significant differences in radiomic reliability compared to when they were not used.
Conclusion
Following large‐scale validation, identification of reliable CTTA metrics can aid in conducting large‐scale multicenter CTTA analysis using sample sets acquired using different imaging protocols, scanners etc.
Background
Craniopharyngiomas are uncommon benign sellar and parasellar tumors with high overall survival (OS) and recurrence rates. Treatment is often surgical but may include adjuvant therapies. ...The impact of adjuvant therapy and surgical approach have been evaluated, however, facility volume and type have not. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of facility volume and type on treatment modalities, extent of surgery and survival of craniopharyngioma.
Methods
The 2004–2016 National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients diagnosed with craniopharyngioma. Facilities were classified by type (academic vs. non-academic) and low-volume center (LVC) (Treating < 8 patients over the timeline) versus high-volume center (HVC), (Treating ≥ 8 patients over the timeline). Differences in treatment course, outcomes, and OS by facility type were assessed.
Results
3730 patients (51.3% female) with mean age 41.2 ± 22.0 were included with a 5-year estimated OS of 94.8% (94.0–95.5%). 2564 (68.7%) patients were treated at HVC, of which 2142 (83.5%) were treated at academic facilities. Patients treated at HVC’s were more likely to undergo both surgery and radiation. Surgical approach at HVC was more likely to be endoscopic. Patients treated at HVC demonstrated significantly higher 5-year OS compared to patients treated at LVC (96% 95% CI 95.6–97.1% versus 91.2% 95% CI 89–92.7% with lower risk of mortality (Hazard ratio 95% CI = 0.69 0.56–0.84).
Conclusion
Treatment of craniopharyngioma at HVC compared to LVC is associated with improved OS, lower 30- and 90-day postoperative mortality risk, and more common use of both radiotherapy and endoscopic surgical approach.
Introduction: This study investigates how quantitative texture analysis can be used to non-invasively identify novel radiogenomic correlations with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) biomarkers. ...Methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas-Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma open-source database was used to identify 190 sets of patient genomic data that had corresponding multiphase contrast-enhanced CT images in The Cancer Imaging Archive. 2,824 radiomic features spanning fifteen texture families were extracted from CT images using a custom-built MATLAB software package. Robust radiomic features with strong inter-scanner reproducibility were selected. Random forest, AdaBoost, and elastic net machine learning (ML) algorithms evaluated the ability of the selected radiomic features to predict the presence of 12 clinically relevant molecular biomarkers identified from the literature. ML analysis was repeated with cases stratified by stage (I/II vs. III/IV) and grade (1/2 vs. 3/4). 10-fold cross validation was used to evaluate model performance. Results: Before stratification by tumor grade and stage, radiomics predicted the presence of several biomarkers with weak discrimination (AUC 0.60–0.68). Once stratified, radiomics predicted KDM5C, SETD2, PBRM1, and mTOR mutation status with acceptable to excellent predictive discrimination (AUC ranges from 0.70 to 0.86). Conclusions: Radiomic texture analysis can potentially identify a variety of clinically relevant biomarkers in patients with ccRCC and may have a prognostic implication.
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