The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new tumour classification for the genitourinary system in early 2016 after consensus by pathologists with expertise in these organs. It utilized the ...framework of the 2004 classification, and incorporated the most up‐to‐date information concerning these tumours. In testicular tumours, the majority of the changes occurred in the nomenclature and classification of germ cell tumours; however, several modifications were also made for non‐germ cell tumours. Among sex cord–stromal tumours, sclerosing Sertoli cell tumour (SCT) is no longer recognized as a separate entity but as a morphological variant of SCT not otherwise specified (NOS), as CTNNB1 gene mutations have been noted in both neoplasms but not in the other forms of SCT. Similarly, the lipid cell variant is not separately classified, but is considered to be a morphological variant of SCT NOS. Large‐cell calcifying SCT is recognized as a distinct entity that occurs either sporadically or in association with Carney complex, with the latter patients having a distinct germline PRKAR1A gene mutation. Intratubular large‐cell hyalinizing Sertoli cell neoplasia is also accepted as a separate entity linked with Peutz–Jeghers syndrome. The subcategories of ‘mixed’ and ‘incompletely differentiated’ forms of sex cord/gonadal stromal tumours have been replaced by ‘mixed and unclassified sex cord–stromal tumours’. New entities introduced in the latest WHO revision include: myoid gonadal stromal tumour and ‘undifferentiated gonadal tissue’, a putative precursor lesion of gonadoblastoma, whereas juvenile xanthogranuloma and haemangioma are included in the miscellaneous category of tumours.
In this study, boron removal from boron-containing wastewaters prepared synthetically was investigated. The experiments in which Amberlite IRA 743, boron specific resin was used were carried out in a ...column reactor. The bed volume of resin, boron concentration, flow rate and temperature were selected as experimental parameters.
The experimental results showed that percent of boron removal increased with increasing amount of resin and with decreasing boron concentration in the solution. Boron removal decreased with increasing of flow rate and the effect of temperature on the percent of total boron removal increased the boron removal rate. As a result, it was seen that about 99% of boron in the wastewater could be removed at optimum conditions.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common form of dementia with known genetic and environmental interactions. However, the underlying epigenetic mechanisms which reflect these gene-environment ...interactions are poorly studied. Herein, we measure genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of post-mortem brain tissue (Broadmann area 7) from 15 pathologically confirmed DLB brains and compare them with 16 cognitively normal controls using Illumina MethylationEPIC arrays. We identify 17 significantly differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) and 17 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between the groups. The DMCs are mainly located at the CpG islands, promoter and first exon regions. Genes associated with the DMCs are linked to "Parkinson's disease" and "metabolic pathway", as well as the diseases of "severe intellectual disability" and "mood disorders". Overall, our study highlights previously unreported DMCs offering insights into DLB pathogenesis with the possibility that some of these could be used as biomarkers of DLB in the future.
Abstract
Purpose
Metastases are the most common neoplasm in the adult brain. In order to initiate the treatment, an extensive diagnostic workup is usually required. Radiomics is a discipline aimed at ...transforming visual data in radiological images into reliable diagnostic information. We aimed to examine the capability of deep learning methods to classify the origin of metastatic lesions in brain MRIs and compare the deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods with image texture based features.
Methods
One hundred forty three patients with 157 metastatic brain tumors were included in the study. The statistical and texture based image features were extracted from metastatic tumors after manual segmentation process. Three powerful pre‐trained CNN architectures and the texture‐based features on both 2D and 3D tumor images were used to differentiate lung and breast metastases. Ten‐fold cross‐validation was used for evaluation. Accuracy, precision, recall, and area under curve (AUC) metrics were calculated to analyze the diagnostic performance.
Results
The texture‐based image features on 3D volumes achieved better discrimination results than 2D image features. The overall performance of CNN architectures with 3D inputs was higher than the texture‐based features. Xception architecture, with 3D volumes as input, yielded the highest accuracy (0.85) while the AUC value was 0.84. The AUC values of VGG19 and the InceptionV3 architectures were 0.82 and 0.81, respectively.
Conclusion
CNNs achieved superior diagnostic performance in differentiating brain metastases from lung and breast malignancies than texture‐based image features. Differentiation using 3D volumes as input exhibited a higher success rate than 2D sagittal images.
To investigate the effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on the levels of obestatin and ghrelin hormones and body mass index (BMI) in morbidly obese patients.
The study included 30 morbidly ...obese patients who had LSG. Five cc blood samples were taken from the patients preoperatively and at postoperative months 3 and 6. After serum extraction, the levels of obestatin and ghrelin hormones and the levels of fasting insulin and glucose were studied using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score was calculated. Preoperative and postoperative 3- and 6-month BMI were calculated. Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance, Bonferroni-Dunn Test, Spearman's correlation test, and Pearson's correlation test were used for statistical analysis.
BMI of the patients were statistically significantly reduced at postoperative months 3 and 6 compared to preoperative values, and at postoperative month 3 compared to month 6 values (p < 0.001). Ghrelin values were higher at postoperative month 6 compared to the preoperative and postoperative month 3 values (p < 0.001). Obestatin values of the patients were lower at postoperative month 6 compared to the preoperative and postoperative month3 values (p < 0.001). Insulin and glucose values were statistically significantly lower at postoperative months 3 and 6 compared to preoperative values (p < 0.001), whereas there was no difference between months 3 and 6. HOMA-IR score was significantly lower at postoperative month 3 compared to preoperative values (p < 0.001).
LSG enables effective weight loss and glucose regulation in obese patients. LSG has also effects on obestatin and ghrelin hormones, which are coded by the same gene and have opposing effects, and the associated mechanisms of which are still controversial. Obestatin produces a feeling of satiety, whereas ghrelin initiates eating by producing a feeling of hunger. The patients were observed to have increased ghrelin and reduced obestatin postoperatively due to a negative energy balance.
In this study, the added utility of nonlinear rescaling methods relative to linear methods in the framework of creating a homogenous soil moisture time series has been explored. The performances of ...31 linear and nonlinear rescaling methods are evaluated by rescaling the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM) soil moisture datasets to station-based watershed average datasets obtained over four United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) watersheds. The linear methods include first-order linear regression, multiple linear regression, and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), whereas the nonlinear methods include cumulative distribution function matching (CDF), artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machines (SVM), Genetic Programming (GEN), and copula methods. MARS, GEN, SVM, ANN, and the copula methods are also implemented to utilize lagged observations to rescale the datasets. The results of a total of 31 different methods show that the nonlinear methods improve the correlation and error statistics of the rescaled product compared to the linear methods. In general, the method that yielded the best results using training data improved the validation correlations, on average, by 0.063, whereas ELMAN ANN and GEN, using lagged observations methods, yielded correlation improvements of 0.052 and 0.048, respectively. The lagged observations improved the correlations when they were incorporated into rescaling equations in linear and nonlinear fashions, with the nonlinear methods (particularly SVM and GEN but not ANN and copula) benefitting from these lagged observations more than the linear methods. The overall results show that a large majority of the similarities between the LPRM and watershed average datasets are due to linear relations; however, nonlinear relations clearly exist, and the use of nonlinear rescaling methods clearly improves the accuracy of the rescaled product.
•ANN, copula, genetic algorithm, MARS used for the first time in rescaling soil moisture.•Inter-comparison of linear/non-linear rescaling methods performed for the first time.•Offers improvements to decade long used soil moisture rescaling practices.
Diabetes mellitus can cause cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy and is associated with increased cardiovascular deaths. We investigated cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in diabetics and healthy ...controls by analysis of heart rate variability. Thirty-one diabetics and 30 age- and sex-matched controls were included. In the time domain we measured the mean R-R interval (NN), the standard deviation of the R-R interval index (SDNN), the standard deviation of the 5-min R - R interval mean (SDANN), the root mean square of successive R - R interval differences (RMSSD) and the percentage of beats with a consecutive R - R interval difference > 50 ms (pNN50). In the frequency domain we measured high-frequency power (HF), low-frequency power (LF) and the LF/HF ratio. Diabetes patients had lower values for time-domain and frequency-domain parameters than controls. Most heart rate variability parameters were lower in diabetes patients with chronic complications than in those without chronic complications.
The paper models the first stage of the process of pillar extraction in a coal mine. The problem of understanding how a coal mine roof collapses after secondary cutting of the supporting pillars to ...create small supporting snooks is considered. The fracture of the roof is considered when a set of snooks have failed and the roof must support itself between two pillars. Models that account for the relative importance of the overburden weight on the roof and the compressive stresses in the roof are examined using a simple strut and beam theory.
•Roof fracture in secondary coal mining.•Tensile fracture of an Euler–Bernoulli beam subjected to a compressive axial force.•Transition from a continuous elastic beam to a voussoir beam.•Maximum curvature and bending moment of a clamped Euler–Bernoulli beam.
Background and Aims
Electronic health record (EHR)‐based research allows the capture of large amounts of data, which is necessary in NAFLD, where the risk of clinical liver outcomes is generally low. ...The lack of consensus on which International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes should be used as exposures and outcomes limits comparability and generalizability of results across studies. We aimed to establish consensus among a panel of experts on ICD codes that could become the reference standard and provide guidance around common methodological issues.
Approach and Results
Researchers with an interest in EHR‐based NAFLD research were invited to collectively define which administrative codes are most appropriate for documenting exposures and outcomes. We used a modified Delphi approach to reach consensus on several commonly encountered methodological challenges in the field. After two rounds of revision, a high level of agreement (>67%) was reached on all items considered. Full consensus was achieved on a comprehensive list of administrative codes to be considered for inclusion and exclusion criteria in defining exposures and outcomes in EHR‐based NAFLD research. We also provide suggestions on how to approach commonly encountered methodological issues and identify areas for future research.
Conclusions
This expert panel consensus statement can help harmonize and improve generalizability of EHR‐based NAFLD research.
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