Analysis of factors affecting the length of hospitalization of patients with Clostridioides difficile infection: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is an infectious disease caused by the gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium C. difficile. The vulnerable populations for CDI include the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and hospitalized patients, especially those undergoing antimicrobial therapy, which is a significant risk factor for this infection.

Protocol: a randomized parallel-group study of women after hallux valgus correction surgery to compare the effects of "core foot system" training vs. traditional rehabilitation methods.

: The aim of this study is to compare the effects of Core Foot System muscle training vs. traditional rehabilitation methods in female patients after a hallux valgus correction surgery. : The project will involve 60 women who have undergone a Scarf osteotomy to correct the deformity.

Positive antiphospholipid antibodies increase the risk of ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), including lupus anticoagulant, antibodies against β glycoprotein I (anti-β2GPI), and anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies are associated with ischemic stroke (IS). Their prevalence and clinical relevance in atrial fibrillation (AF) remain unclear.

Objectives: To assess whether aPL are associated with increased risk of IS in AF patients despite anticoagulation.

Mortality in clostridioides difficile infection among patients hospitalized at the university clinical hospital in Wroclaw, Poland - a 3-year observational study.

Background: In the last two decades, a significant increase in the number of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) cases has been observed. It is understandable to attempt to determine the factors that can predict the severity of the course of the infection and identify patients at risk of death. This study aimed to analyze the factors affecting the incidence and mortality of CDI in inpatient treatment at the University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław in 2016-2018.

Prothrombotic plasma fibrin clot phenotype is associated with spontaneous echo contrast in atrial fibrillation: The role of protein carbonylation.

Introduction: Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) and left atrial appendage thrombus (LAAT) increase the risk of stroke and its severity in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Formation of denser fibrin networks and impaired fibrinolysis are associated with stroke risk in AF. This study investigated whether the prothrombotic fibrin clot phenotype characterizes patients with SEC/LAAT.

Biomechanical comparison of two surgical methods for Hallux Valgus deformity: Exploring the use of artificial neural networks as a decision-making tool for orthopedists.

Hallux Valgus foot deformity affects gait performance. Common treatment options include distal oblique metatarsal osteotomy and chevron osteotomy. Nonetheless, the current process of selecting the appropriate osteotomy method poses potential biases and risks, due to its reliance on subjective human judgment and interpretation.

Isodoses-a set theory-based patient-specific QA measure to compare planned and delivered isodose distributions in photon radiotherapy.

Background: The gamma index and dose-volume histogram (DVH)-based patient-specific quality assurance (QA) measures commonly applied in radiotherapy planning are unable to simultaneously deliver detailed locations and magnitudes of discrepancy between isodoses of planned and delivered dose distributions. By exploiting statistical classification performance measures such as sensitivity or specificity, compliance between a planned and delivered isodose may be evaluated locally, both for organs-at-risk (OAR) and the planning target volume (PTV), at any specified isodose level. Thus, a patient-specific QA tool may be developed to supplement those presently available in clinical radiotherapy.

Do commonly used postoperative orthopaedic shoes help off-load the forefoot?

Purpose: The aim of the experiment presented in this study was to determine the pressure distribution within the forefoot depending on the type of orthopaedic footwear used.

Methods: The study included 27 women aged 20 to 25. The Zebris FDM-2 dynamographic platform was used in foot pressure measurements.

Are gamma passing rate and dose-volume histogram QA metrics correlated?

Purpose: The quality of a measured distribution of dose delivered against its corresponding radiotherapy plan is routinely assessed by gamma index (GI) and dose-volume histogram (DVH) metrics. Any correlation between error detection rates, as based on either of these approaches, while argued, has never been convincingly demonstrated. The dependence of the strength of correlation between the GI passing rate ( ) and DVH quality assurance (QA) metrics on various elements of the therapy plan has not been systematically investigated.

Statistical approach to the selection of the tolerances for distance to agreement improves the quality control of the dose delivery in radiotherapy.

In the study, a local approach to setting reference tolerance values for the distance-to-agreement (DTA) component of the gamma index is proposed. The reference tolerance values are calculated in simulations, following a dose delivery model presented in a previous work. An analytical model for determining the quantiles of DTA distribution is also proposed and verified.

A simulation-based method for evaluating geometric tests of a linac c-arm in quality control in radiotherapy.

Purpose: Assessment of the accuracy of geometric tests of a linac used in external beam therapy is crucial for ensuring precise dose delivery. In this paper, a new simulation-based method for assessing accuracy of such geometric tests is proposed and evaluated on a set of testing procedures.

Methods: Linac geometry testing methods used in this study are based on an established design of a two-module phantom.

Use of statistical approaches to improve the quality control of the dose delivery in radiotherapy.

The gamma index is a measure used routinely for the quality control of dose delivery in radiotherapy, implemented in commercial systems for the verification of treatment plans. It involves comparison of the difference between planned and delivered doses to a single reference. The same reference value is selected for all points in the plan that can potentially hide dose delivery errors, especially in medium and low dose areas.

Application of Computational Intelligence Methods for the Automated Identification of Paper-Ink Samples Based on LIBS.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an important analysis technique with applications in many industrial branches and fields of scientific research. Nowadays, the advantages of LIBS are impaired by the main drawback in the interpretation of obtained spectra and identification of observed spectral lines. This procedure is highly time-consuming since it is essentially based on the comparison of lines present in the spectrum with the literature database.