Thoracic Aorta Measurement Extraction from Computed Tomography Radiology Reports Using Instruction Tuned Large Language Models.

Chest computed tomography (CT) is essential for diagnosing and monitoring thoracic aortic dilations and aneurysms, conditions that place patients at risk of complications such as aortic dissection and rupture. However, aortic measurements in chest CT radiology reports are often embedded in free-text formats, limiting their accessibility for clinical care, quality improvement and research purposes. In this study, we developed a multi-method pipeline to extract structured aortic measurements from radiology reports, and compared the performance of fine-tuned BERT-based models with instruction-tuned Llama large language models (LLMs).

The Impact of Multiarterial Grafting in Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction.

Background:  Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is one of the revascularization modalities available in patients with left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). Multiple arterial grafting (MAG) is associated with improved long-term outcomes. Data on the benefits of MAG in patients with LVD are limited.

Clinical effectiveness of genetic testing guidelines in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of the current genetic testing guidelines for patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Methods: We evaluated genetic tests for thoracic aortic disease (TAD) from 2012 to 2023 in patients aged 18 and older with a thoracic aorta diameter greater than 4 cm. Mutation rates were compared by American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association testing criteria met by patients: age younger than 60 years, syndromic features of connective tissue diseases (CTDs), family history, or none.

Gender representation trends in cardiothoracic surgery journal editorial boards.

Objective: We aimed to characterize chronologic trends of gender composition of the editorial boards of major cardiothoracic surgery journals in the current era.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed of gender representation in editorial board members of 2 North American cardiothoracic surgery journals from 2008 to 2023. Member names and roles were collected from available monthly issues.

Predictors and Long-Term Prognostic Significance of Acute Renal Function Change in Patients Who Underwent Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement.

There are few reports on short-term changes in renal function after surgical aortic valve replacement, and data are scarce regarding its impact on long-term outcomes. This is a retrospective study of patients who underwent isolated aortic valve replacement between 2009 and 2020 in four medical centers. Patients with end-stage renal disease were excluded.

Post-operative anterior diaphragmatic hernias in children with Trisomy 21 after cardiac surgery.

Unlabelled: Morgagni hernias account for less than 5% of congenital diaphragmatic hernias. They are characteristically retrosternal and bilateral, with right-sided predominance. An association between Trisomy 21 and diaphragmatic hernias resembling Morgagni hernia has been reported, but the effect of cardiac surgery on its formation has not been investigated.

Leaf hydraulic maze: Abscisic acid effects on bundle sheath, palisade, and spongy mesophyll conductance.

Leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) facilitates the supply of water, enabling continual CO2 uptake while maintaining plant water status. We hypothesized that bundle sheath and mesophyll cells play key roles in regulating the radial flow of water out of the xylem by responding to abscisic acid (ABA). Thus, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that are insensitive to ABA in their bundle sheath (BSabi) and mesophyll (MCabi) cells.

Procedural Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, and Reoffending: Adjudicating Palestinian Minors in the West Bank's Military Court.

The Juvenile Military Court (JMC), established in 2009 in the West Bank, handles offenses perpetrated by Palestinian minors, consisting mostly of security-related violations. With the establishment of the JMC, and a subsequent three-stage legal reform in handling juvenile offenders, Palestinian minor suspects and defendants have been accorded various procedural rights. This study addresses the impact of these rights on the criminal careers of Palestinian minors appearing in the JMC.

A DNA methylation atlas of normal human cell types.

DNA methylation is a fundamental epigenetic mark that governs gene expression and chromatin organization, thus providing a window into cellular identity and developmental processes. Current datasets typically include only a fraction of methylation sites and are often based either on cell lines that underwent massive changes in culture or on tissues containing unspecified mixtures of cells. Here we describe a human methylome atlas, based on deep whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, allowing fragment-level analysis across thousands of unique markers for 39 cell types sorted from 205 healthy tissue samples.

The Relationship Between Body Mass Index and In-Hospital Mortality in Patients Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery.

The association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and clinical outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains controversial. Our objective was to investigate the real-world relationship between BMI and in-hospital clinical course and mortality, in patients who underwent CABG. A sampled cohort of patients who underwent CABG between October 2015 and December 2016 was identified in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database.

Extreme Rare Events Identification Through Jaynes Inferential Approach.

The identification of extreme rare events is a challenge that appears in several real-world contexts, from screening for solo perpetrators to the prediction of failures in industrial production. In this article, we explain the challenge and present a new methodology for addressing it, a methodology that may be considered in terms of features engineering. This methodology, which is based on Jaynes inferential approach, is tested on a dataset dealing with failures in production in the pulp-and-paper industry.

Hemodynamic Patterns Before Inhospital Cardiac Arrest in Critically Ill Children: An Exploratory Study.

Unlabelled: To characterize prearrest hemodynamic trajectories of children suffering inhospital cardiac arrest.

Design: Exploratory retrospective analysis of arterial blood pressure and electrocardiogram waveforms.

Setting: PICU and cardiac critical care unit in a tertiary-care children's hospital.

Outcomes of sublobar resection vs lobectomy for invasive clinical stage T1N0 non-small-cell lung cancer: A propensity-match analysis.

Background: The role of sub lobar resection (SLR; either segmentectomy or wedge resection) vs lobectomy (LBCT) for invasive clinical stage T1N0 non-small-cell-lung-cancer (NSCLC) has not been fully established yet.

Aim: We aimed to characterize the preoperative parameters leading to selecting SLR and compare the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of these two surgical approaches.

Methods: Clinical data on 162 patients (LBCT-107; SLR-55) were prospectively entered in our departmental database.

Screening for potential school shooters through the weight of evidence.

The challenge of automatically screening for potential school shooters involves several difficulties. In this paper, we present a simple and interpretable methodology for screening for potential school shooters through (1) the psychological textual signature of the shooter and (2) Jaynes approach for measuring the weight of evidence. We have tested our proposed approach on a dataset of texts written by shooters and non-shooters alike (N = 5047).

Long-Term Aortic Valve Function in Patients With or Without Surgical Treatment for Discrete Subaortic Stenosis.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term function of the aortic valve in patients with discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS), and its prognostic implications. 34 patients with the diagnosis of isolated DSS were treated at our pediatric heart center between 1992 and 2019. Demographic, echocardiographic and surgical data were analyzed.

Senning With Aortic Translocation and Anatomic Repair for Congenitally Corrected Transposition.

Background: Anatomic repair for congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and pulmonic stenosis has been accomplished with atrial switch and Rastelli. Aortic translocation offers a direct left ventricular outflow without an extraanatomic right ventricular-to-pulmonary conduit, which may lead to decreased reoperations. We reviewed our entire experience performing Senning with aortic translocation (SAT).

Palestinian Women in Terrorism: A Double-Edged Sword?

Drawing on a decade of research on terrorism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we show how subjective "rational choices" motivate some women to engage in terrorist activism. Focusing on the motives of young women who engage in terrorism is consistent with feminist theory's insistence on women's agency-even at the extremes. In addition to the well-established motivations for terrorism reported in the literature, interviews with young women involved in terrorism reveal mixed personal motives for their gender-defying choices, including thrill-seeking and some conscious rebellion.

Surgical Treatment of Palestinian Patients With Congenital Heart Disease in a Medical Center in Israel: Challenges and Outcome.

Background: The treatment of congenital heart disease patients in the West Bank and Gaza involves both medical and political challenges. Understanding the difficulties faced in treating the Palestinian population is an important step to improving surgical care, better allocating resources and overcoming the region's unique problems.

Methods: The Hadassah Medical Center congenital heart disease database over the 2011-2017 period was analyzed.

Midterm outcomes of right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction using the Freestyle xenograft.

Objective: Various options exist for right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction in congenital heart disease. The Freestyle porcine aortic root may be used but its longevity is not well defined.

Design: We performed a retrospective review of all non-Ross RVOT reconstructions using the Freestyle root in our institution.

Migration, Agency, and the Sex Industry: Practitioners' Perspectives on Foreign Sex Workers in Turkey.

The article presents the political, economic, and sociocultural factors that make Turkey an attractive destination for foreign sex workers, and reviews trends in official statistics of arrested traffickers, rescued victims, and deportation of migrant illegal sex workers. In-depth interviews of 20 law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations staff members, who in the course of their work come into close contact with foreign sex workers, shed light on the statistics. The interview data provide insights into the structure of the Turkish sex market, the factors that bring foreign women to work in this market, and the impact of legal reforms on the circumstances of foreign sex workers.

Beyond Advocacy: Mapping the Contours of Victim Work.

In contrast to works on victim advocacy in specific organizational contexts, this article introduces the term "victim work" to capture the vast array of victim-related roles and tasks that have proliferated in recent decades. Data are derived from in-depth interviews with 30 "victim workers" in public and private agencies in two Midwestern states. The interviews revealed diverse work experiences that spanned hotlines, crisis response, legal proceedings, and postconviction support.

At the Intersection of Private and Political Conflict Zones: Policing Domestic Violence in the Arab Community in Israel.

This article addresses the challenges posed by state intervention in a multicultural society characterized by intense political conflict, juxtaposing the voices of batterers, victims, community members, and the officials who are involved in policing domestic violence (DV) in the Arab community in Israel. A meta-analysis of interview-based data excerpts appearing in published studies shows how the response to DV in the Arab community, though consistent with Israeli law and policy, creates a sense of paralysis for the police and frustration for the parties to the violence as well as the affected communities. The cultural, social, and political forces that underlie the dynamics, tensions, and pressures experienced by the various parties are analyzed in the context of everyday life amid concerns about the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Radical multidisciplinary approach to primary cardiac sarcomas.

Objectives: Primary cardiac sarcomas are extremely rare, but aggressive, tumours. The median survival with conventional treatment is 6-12 months. Recent data suggest that a radical multidisciplinary approach may improve patient outcome.

Valve-sparing aortic root replacement for patients with a Fontan circulation.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Aortic root aneurysm is an emerging disease related to the treatment of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and other single-ventricle physiology. The authors' experience with valve-sparing aortic root replacement and concomitant procedures in patients with a single ventricle was reviewed.

Methods: Four patients aged 11 to 19 years presented with progressive aortic root dilatation.