Fast Filter Pruning via Coarse-to-Fine Neural Architecture Search and Contrastive Knowledge Transfer.

Filter pruning is the most representative technique for lightweighting convolutional neural networks (CNNs). In general, filter pruning consists of the pruning and fine-tuning phases, and both still require a considerable computational cost. So, to increase the usability of CNNs, filter pruning itself needs to be lightweighted.

Validity of fatty liver prediction scores for diagnosis of fatty liver by Fibroscan.

Background: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (K-NAFLD) score was recently developed with the intent to operationally define nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, there remained an external validation that confirmed its diagnostic performance, especially in patients with alcohol consumption or hepatitis virus infection.

Methods: Diagnostic accuracy of the K-NAFLD score was evaluated in a hospital-based cohort consisting of 1388 participants who received Fibroscan®.

A Multi-Center, Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Phase III Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Antiviral Activity and Safety of DA-2802 (Tenofovir Disoproxil Orotate) and Viread (Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate) in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

Background: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF, Viread) had been used as a standard treatment option of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DA-2802 (tenofovir disoproxil orotate) compared to TDF.

Methods: The present study was a double blind randomized controlled trial.

Knowledge Transfer via Decomposing Essential Information in Convolutional Neural Networks.

Knowledge distillation (KD) from a "teacher" neural network and transfer of the knowledge to a small student network is done to improve the performance of the student network. This method is one of the most popular techniques to lighten convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Many KD algorithms have been proposed recently, but they still cannot properly distill essential knowledge of the teacher network, and the transfer tends to depend on the spatial shape of the teacher's feature map.

Visual Scene-Aware Hybrid and Multi-Modal Feature Aggregation for Facial Expression Recognition.

Facial expression recognition (FER) technology has made considerable progress with the rapid development of deep learning. However, conventional FER techniques are mainly designed and trained for videos that are artificially acquired in a limited environment, so they may not operate robustly on videos acquired in a wild environment suffering from varying illuminations and head poses. In order to solve this problem and improve the ultimate performance of FER, this paper proposes a new architecture that extends a state-of-the-art FER scheme and a multi-modal neural network that can effectively fuse image and landmark information.

Aspartate Aminotransferase-to-Platelet Ratio or Fibros-4 Index Predicts the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients with Sustained Virologic Response to Interferon Therapy.

The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not completely eliminated in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients even after viral eradication. There are few studies in predicting the development of HCC using biomarker in CHC patients with sustained virologic response (SVR). We evaluated the role of the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) in predicting HCC development in 295 patients with SVR after interferon therapy.

Development and surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with sustained virologic response after antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major risk factor for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is a leading cause of liver-related deaths worldwide. Recently available direct-acting antiviral agent is very safe and highly effective (>95% sustained virologic response, SVR) against all genotypes of HCV. Achievement of SVR has been associated with a significant reduction of hepatic decompensation, development of HCC, and liver-related mortality.

Chronic Hepatitis B Infection Is Significantly Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease: a Population-based, Matched Case-control Study.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection leads to hepatic and extrahepatic manifestations including chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the association between HBV and CKD is not clear. This study investigated the association between chronic HBV infection and CKD in a nationwide multicenter study.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Perirectal Abscess Drainage without Drainage Catheter: A Case Series.

A perirectal abscess is a relatively common disease entity that occurs as a postsurgical complication or as a result of various medical conditions. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage was recently described as a promising alternative treatment. Previous reports have recommended placement of a drainage catheter through the anus for irrigation, which is inconvenient to the patient and carries a risk of accidental dislodgement.

Regression of esophageal varices and splenomegaly in two patients with hepatitis-C-related liver cirrhosis after interferon and ribavirin combination therapy.

Some recent studies have found regression of liver cirrhosis after antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver cirrhosis, but there have been no reports of complete regression of esophageal varices after interferon/peg-interferon and ribavirin combination therapy. We describe two cases of complete regression of esophageal varices and splenomegaly after interferon-alpha and ribavirin combination therapy in patients with HCV-related liver cirrhosis. Esophageal varices and splenomegaly regressed after 3 and 8 years of sustained virologic responses in cases 1 and 2, respectively.

Regression of esophageal varices during entecavir treatment in patients with hepatitis-B-virus-related liver cirrhosis.

Recent studies suggest that liver cirrhosis is reversible after administering oral nucleos(t)ide analogue therapy to patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, few studies have addressed whether esophageal varices can regress after such therapy. We report a case of complete regression of esophageal varices during entecavir therapy in patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis, suggesting that complications of liver cirrhosis such as esophageal varices can regress after the long-term suppression of HBV replication.

Erratum.

[This corrects the article on p. 355 in vol. 20, PMID: 25548741.

Influence of the basal core promoter and precore mutation on replication of hepatitis B virus and antiviral susceptibility of different genotypes.

Mutations in the basal core promoter (BCP) and precore (PC) regions of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are more common in genotypes B and C than in genotype A, suggesting that these mutations might affect replication competency depending on genotype. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of these mutations on the capacity of HBV for replication and antiviral drug susceptibility according to genotype. Genotypes A, B, and C of HBV strains with a BCP mutation, PC mutation, or BCP + PC mutation were made by site-directed mutagenesis.

Predictors of spontaneous viral clearance and outcomes of acute hepatitis C infection.

Background/aims: This study evaluated the predictors of spontaneous viral clearance (SVC), as defined by two consecutive undetectable hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA tests performed ≥ 12 weeks apart, and the outcomes of acute hepatitis C (AHC) demonstrating SVC or treatment-induced viral clearance.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with AHC were followed for 12-16 weeks without administering antiviral therapy.

Results: HCV RNA was undetectable at least once in 14 of the 32 patients.

Is it necessary to delay antiviral therapy for 3-6 months to anticipate HBeAg seroconversion in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B in endemic areas of HBV genotype C?

Background/aims: Spontaneous HBeAg seroconversion occurs frequently in the immune reactive phase in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Therefore, observation for 3-6 months before commencing antiviral therapy is recommended in patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels that exceed twice the upper limit of normal (ULN). However, HBeAg seroconversion occurs infrequently in patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C.

Different mechanism of selection of adefovir-resistant mutant viruses during adefovir monotherapy in patients with lamivudine-resistant chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Adefovir (ADV) resistance is more frequent in lamivudine (LMV)-resistant chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients than in nucleos(t)ide analogue-naïve patients. The majority of LMV-resistant mutants harbor the rtM204V/I mutation, while a minor fraction harbor the rtA181V/T mutation. We aimed to elucidate the mechanism of the high rate of ADV resistance in LMV-resistant patients during ADV therapy.

Power-constrained contrast enhancement algorithm using multiscale retinex for OLED display.

This paper presents a power-constrained contrast enhancement algorithm for organic light-emitting diode display based on multiscale retinex (MSR). In general, MSR, which is the key component of the proposed algorithm, consists of power controllable log operation and subbandwise gain control. First, we decompose an input image to MSRs of different sub-bands, and compute a proper gain for each MSR.

[A case of acute pancreatitis and acute hepatitis caused by ingestion of Ceramium kondoi].

In Korea, the use of herbal remedies is a common cause of drug-induced liver injury. However, the occurrence of both acute pancreatitis and acute hepatitis after taking herbal remedies has rarely been reported. Herein, we report a case of concurrent acute pancreatitis and acute hepatitis associated with Ceramium kondoi ingestion.

[Clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori associated with 23S rRNA point mutations in Jeju Island].

Background/aims: The point mutations in 23S rRNA gene accounts for the majority of the clarithromycin resistance of Helicobacter pylori. This study aimed to investigate the association between the clarithromycin-resistance of H. pylori and the failure of primary H.

Comparison of the clinical characteristics of patients with small bowel and gastric anisakiasis in jeju island.

Background/aims: Anisakiasis is frequent in Jeju Island because of the people's habit of ingesting raw fish. This study evaluated the clinical characteristics of patients with small bowel anisakiasis and compared them with those of patients with gastric anisakiasis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 109 patients diagnosed with anisakiasis between May 2003 and November 2011.

A nationwide seroepidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in South Korea.

Background & Aims: The aim of this study was to reveal nationwide seroprevalence of HCV infection in South Korea by a large-scale survey.

Methods: From January to December 2009, a total of 291 314 adults underwent health check-up in 29 centres nationwide. The data concerning anti-HCV antibody and biochemical tests were obtained from all participants.

Massive life-threatening lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by an internal hemorrhoid in a patient receiving antiplatelet therapy: a case report.

A Dieulafoy lesion in the rectum is a very rare and it can cause massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding. An 83-year-old man visited our hospital. He had chronic constipation and had taken aspirin for about 10 years because of a previous brain infarction.

Video deblurring algorithm using accurate blur kernel estimation and residual deconvolution based on a blurred-unblurred frame pair.

Blurred frames may happen sparsely in a video sequence acquired by consumer devices such as digital camcorders and digital cameras. In order to avoid visually annoying artifacts due to those blurred frames, this paper presents a novel motion deblurring algorithm in which a blurred frame can be reconstructed utilizing the high-resolution information of adjacent unblurred frames. First, a motion-compensated predictor for the blurred frame is derived from its neighboring unblurred frame via specific motion estimation.