Exploring the Interplay of Dataset Size and Imbalance on CNN Performance in Healthcare: Using X-rays to Identify COVID-19 Patients.

Introduction: Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) systems in healthcare are influenced by unbalanced datasets and varying sizes. This article delves into the impact of dataset size, class imbalance, and their interplay on CNN systems, focusing on the size of the training set versus imbalance-a unique perspective compared to the prevailing literature. Furthermore, it addresses scenarios with more than two classification groups, often overlooked but prevalent in practical settings.

The Significance of Bell's Palsy That Presents as Monocranial Versus Polycranial Neuropathy: A Case Series and Systematic Literature Review.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of Bell's palsy (BP) presenting as polycranial neuropathy (PCN) compared with BP caused by isolated facial nerve (CNVII).

Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study of the medical records of all consecutive patients who were diagnosed with BP at a single tertiary referral center between 2010 and 2017. Included were patients 18 years or older who were clinically diagnosed with BP and completed 7 days of systemic steroidal treatment and at least 6 months of follow-up.

Rates of Malignancy in Cytology Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules: A Single Center Surgical Series.

Background: Due to the high variability in malignancy rate among cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules (Bethesda categories III-V), the American Thyroid Association recommends that each center define its own categorical cancer risk.

Objectives: To assess cancer risk in patients with cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules who were operated at our center.

Methods: In a retrospective study, we analyzed the pathology results of all the patients whose fine needle aspiration results showed Bethesda III-V cytology and who subsequently underwent total thyroidectomy or lobectomy from December 2013 to September 2017.

Ivabradine for Uncontrolled Sinus Tachycardia in Thyrotoxic Cardiomyopathy - Case Report.

Background: Beta-blockers, mainly propranalol, are usually administered to control heart rate in patients with thyrotoxicosis, especially when congestive heart failure presents. However, when thyrotoxicosis is not controlled, heart rate may be difficult to control even with maximal doses of propranolol. This presentation alerts physicians to the possibility of using ivabradine, a selective inhibitor of the sinoatrial pacemaker, for the control of heart rate.

Thyroglobulin is a poor predictor of differentiated thyroid cancer in patients who undergo surgery for thyroid nodular diseases.

Objectives: Thyroglobulin, produced exclusively by thyroid follicular cells, serves as a specific tumor marker for the follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients after thyroidectomy. However, its role as a predictor of malignancy in patients with thyroid nodules is controversial. We assessed the potential role of preoperative serum thyroglobulin concentration to predict DTC in patients without a preoperative diagnosis of malignancy who underwent partial or total thyroidectomy.

Safety and long-term efficacy of tonsillectomy versus subtotal tonsillectomy in children with sleep disordered breathing.

Objectives: to compare safety and long-term symptoms after TE compared to Subtotal Tonsillectomy (STT).

Methods: A retrospective review data of 412 patients, one to twelve years old that underwent either TE or STT, as treatment for sleep disorder breathing, at two different medical centers. Symptoms were assessed by a questionnaire 3-5 years post-surgery.

Assessment of parathyroid gland cellularity by digital slide analysis.

Background: Computer-aided examination of digital tissue images has attracted attention in recent years. Application in the field of parathyroid pathology has not been studied previously. It holds a potential to assist in the examination of parathyroid gland adenoma or hyperplasia.

MEK1/2 inhibition transiently alters the tumor immune microenvironment to enhance immunotherapy efficacy against head and neck cancer.

Background: Although the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway is hyperactive in head and neck cancer (HNC), inhibition of MEK1/2 in HNC patients has not shown clinically meaningful activity. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the effect of MEK1/2 inhibition on the tumor microenvironment (TME) of MAPK-driven HNC, elucidate tumor-host interaction mechanisms facilitating immune escape on treatment, and apply rationale-based therapy combination immunotherapy and MEK1/2 inhibitor to induce tumor clearance.

Methods: Mouse syngeneic tumors and xenografts experiments were used to analyze tumor growth in vivo.

High parathyroid hormone levels after parathyroidectomy for parathyroid adenoma are not related to the cellularity of the remaining glands.

Background: Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) treated surgically occasionally have normalized calcium, but persistently high parathyroid hormone (PTH). We hypothesized that a possible explanation for this phenomenon is an underlying hyperplasia rather than adenoma.

Methods: Retrospective cohort of patients who underwent parathyroidectomy for PHPT with biopsy of a normal-appearing parathyroid gland were included.

Treatment Modality and Second Primary Tumors of the Head and Neck.

Introduction: Second primary tumors (SPTs) in head and neck cancer are thought to occur from premalignant lesions that are present at the time of the primary tumor diagnosis. The association of the modality used to treat the primary lesion with SPT occurrence is not clear.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of SPTs in patients with head and neck malignancies, according to treatment modality.

WITHDRAWN: Ivabradine for Uncontrolled Sinus Tachycardia in Thyrotoxic Cardiomyopathy – Case Report.

Unlabelled: Since the authors are not responding to the editor’s requests to fulfill the editorial requirement, therefore, the article has been withdrawn by the publisher. Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused. The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.

IGF2 Mediates Resistance to Isoform-Selective-Inhibitors of the PI3K in HPV Positive Head and Neck Cancer.

Over 50% of human papilloma positive head-and-neck cancer (HNC) patients harbor genomic-alterations in , leading to hyperactivation of the phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Nevertheless, despite PI3K pathway activation in HNC tumors, the anti-tumor activities of PI3K pathway inhibitors are moderate, mostly due to the emergence of resistance. Thus, for potent and long-term tumor management, drugs blocking resistance mechanisms should be combined with PI3K inhibitors.

Thyroid malignancy rates according to the Bethesda reporting system in Israel - A multicenter study.

Introduction: The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology was developed in 2007 to facilitate an accurate, reproducible communication of thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) interpretations between clinicians and cytopathologists and to serve as a guide for treatment. Based on large patient series, the system details the risk of malignancy for each category as well as a suggested management for each FNA result. Though this system has been widely adopted, there are only few studies to determine whether results are applicable for Israel.

CDK 4/6 Inhibition Overcomes Acquired and Inherent Resistance to PI3Kα Inhibition in Pre-Clinical Models of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Activating alterations in , the gene coding for the catalytic subunit of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K), are prevalent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and thought to be one of the main drivers of these tumors. However, early clinical trials on PI3K inhibitors (PI3Ki) have been disappointing due to the limited durability of the activity of these drugs. To investigate the resistance mechanisms to PI3Ki and attempt to overcome them, we conducted a molecular-based study using both HNSCC cell lines and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs).

Trauma-induced vestibular dysfunction: Possible functional repair under α1-antitrypsin-rich conditions.

Transient vestibular organ deafferentation, such that is caused by traumatic tissue injury, is presently addressed by corticosteroid therapy. However, restoration of neurophysiological properties is rarely achieved. Here, it was hypothesized that the tissue-protective attributes of α1-antityrpsin (AAT) may promote restoration of neuronal function.

Cerebral Venous Stenting for Pulsatile Tinnitus After Unsuccessful Jugular Ligation: Case Report and Literature Review.

Pulsatile tinnitus constitutes up to 10% of all tinnitus cases. Cerebral venous stenosis is a known etiology of pulsatile tinnitus. Treatment of pulsatile tinnitus secondary to venous stenosis with venous stenting has been reported in the literature but is not performed routinely.

Limitations of ultrasound in predicting bilaterality vs unilaterality of well-differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of ultrasonography in the differentiation of a bilateral and a unilateral WDTC to help physicians decide on performing a total or a partial thyroidectomy.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective chart review of all patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma following a total thyroidectomy or a complete thyroidectomy between January 2013 and December 2015 at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery in Soroka University Medical Center in southern Israel. The preoperative ultrasound images of the thyroid were compared to the final pathology in the contralateral lobe.

Endogenous α1-antitrypsin levels in the perilymphatic fluid correlates with severity of hearing loss.

Objectives: To determine the levels of endogenous α1-antitrypsin in the perilymph of patients undergoing cochlear implant (CI), and its reverse association with the severity of hearing loss.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary care university hospital.

TGF-Beta-Activated Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Limit Cetuximab Efficacy in Preclinical Models of Head and Neck Cancer.

Most head and neck cancer (HNC) patients are resistant to cetuximab, an antibody against the epidermal growth factor receptor. Such therapy resistance is known to be mediated, in part, by stromal cells surrounding the tumor cells; however, the mechanisms underlying such a resistance phenotype remain unclear. To identify the mechanisms of cetuximab resistance in an unbiased manner, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) of HNC patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) was performed.

INTRAMEDULLARY SPINAL CORD METASTASIS AS THE PRESENTING FEATURE OF PAPILLARY THYROID CARCINOMA.

Objective: The objective of this report is to present an unusual case of intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) as the presenting feature of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Methods: The presented case includes clinical, biochemical, and imaging findings as well as surgical and pathology reports. Treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI) and the response to this treatment are presented.

Inhibition of the NKp44-PCNA Immune Checkpoint Using a mAb to PCNA.

mAb-based blocking of the immune checkpoints involving the CTLA4-B7 and PD1-PDL1 inhibitory axes enhance T-cell-based adaptive immune responses in patients with cancer. We show here that antitumor responses by natural killer (NK) cells can be enhanced by a checkpoint-blocking mAb, 14-25-9, which we developed against proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). PCNA is expressed on the surface of cancer cells and acts as an inhibitory ligand for the NK-cell receptor, NKp44-isoform1.

Repression of AXL expression by AP-1/JNK blockage overcomes resistance to PI3Ka therapy.

AXL overexpression is a common resistance mechanism to anti-cancer therapies, including the resistance to BYL719 (Alpelisib) - the p110α isoform specific inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) - in esophagus and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC, HNSCC respectively). However, the mechanisms underlying AXL overexpression in resistance to BYL719 remain elusive. Here we demonstrated that the AP-1 transcription factors, c-JUN and c-FOS, regulate AXL overexpression in HNSCC and ESCC.

Tumor Tissue Explant Culture of Patient-Derived Xenograft as Potential Prioritization Tool for Targeted Therapy.

Despite of remarkable progress made in the head and neck cancer (HNC) therapy, the survival rate of this metastatic disease remain low. Tailoring the appropriate therapy to patients is a major challenge and highlights the unmet need to have a good preclinical model that will predict clinical response. Hence, we developed an accurate and time efficient drug screening method of tumor analysis (TEVA) system, which can predict patient-specific drug responses.

MET activation confers resistance to cetuximab, and prevents HER2 and HER3 upregulation in head and neck cancer.

An understanding of the mechanisms underlying acquired resistance to cetuximab is urgently needed to improve cetuximab efficacy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Here, we present a clinical observation that MET pathway activation constitutes the mechanism of acquired resistance to cetuximab in a patient with HNSCC. Specifically, RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry analysis of cetuximab-sensitive (Cetux ) and cetuximab-resistant (Cetux ) tumors indicated MET amplification and overexpression in the Cetux tumor compared to the Cetux lesion.

Assessment of the Association Between Post-tonsillectomy Hemorrhage and Weather Conditions.

Background: The most common complication after tonsillectomy is bleeding. We investigated whether performing the procedure during the summer or the winter affects the bleeding rate.

Objectives: To investigate whether there is an association between meteorological conditions and the occurrence of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) in the southern Israel Negev region.