Sharps and needlestick injuries within the operating room: Risk prone procedures and prevalence meta-analysis.

Background: Sharps and needlestick injuries pose a serious risk to operating theatre personnel with considerable morbidity, mortality and healthcare implications. The cost of prophylaxis and post-exposure treatment is a significant institutional economic burden.

Aim: The aim of the review was to identify the prevalence of sharps and needlestick injury within the operating theatre and to establish the most common critical steps.

Diagnosing Prostate Cancer: The Role of Intravesical Prostatic Gland Protrusion on Accuracy of Prostate Biopsies.

Purpose: We evaluated the association between intravesical prostate protrusion (IPP) and the detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) fusion targeted biopsy (TB).

Materials And Methods: A total of 538 consecutive men who underwent MRI-TRUS fusion TB and concomitant systematic biopsy were evaluated. IPP on MRI was independently measured by 4 blinded reviewers.

Automatic Segmentation of Kidneys and Kidney Tumors: The KiTS19 International Challenge.

Clinicians rely on imaging features to calculate complexity of renal masses based on validated scoring systems. These scoring methods are labor-intensive and are subjected to interobserver variability. Artificial intelligence has been increasingly utilized by the medical community to solve such issues.

Prognostic significance of low muscle volume in patients undergoing surgery for oesophageal cancer.

Background & Aims: This study aimed to determine the prognostic significance of low muscle volume (LMV) Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), defined skeletal muscle index (SMI, Kg/m male ≤8.75, female ≤5.75) in patients undergoing potentially curative surgery for Oesophageal Cancer (OC).

The state of the art in kidney and kidney tumor segmentation in contrast-enhanced CT imaging: Results of the KiTS19 challenge.

There is a large body of literature linking anatomic and geometric characteristics of kidney tumors to perioperative and oncologic outcomes. Semantic segmentation of these tumors and their host kidneys is a promising tool for quantitatively characterizing these lesions, but its adoption is limited due to the manual effort required to produce high-quality 3D segmentations of these structures. Recently, methods based on deep learning have shown excellent results in automatic 3D segmentation, but they require large datasets for training, and there remains little consensus on which methods perform best.

Public Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Medicine.

To understand better the public perception and comprehension of medical technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic surgery. In addition to this, to identify sensitivity to their use to ensure acceptability and quality of counseling. A survey was conducted on a convenience sample of visitors to the MN Minnesota State Fair ( = 264).

Randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study of perifosine combined with bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed, refractory multiple myeloma previously treated with bortezomib.

Perifosine, an investigational, oral, synthetic alkylphospholipid, inhibits signal transduction pathways of relevance in multiple myeloma (MM) including PI3K/Akt. Perifosine demonstrated anti-MM activity in preclinical studies and encouraging early-phase clinical activity in combination with bortezomib. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study was conducted to evaluate addition of perifosine to bortezomib-dexamethasone in MM patients with one to four prior therapies who had relapsed following previous bortezomib-based therapy.

Plutonium Bioassay Testing of United States Atmospheric Nuclear Test Participants and Occupation Forces of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

The pilot urine plutonium bioassay testing program engaged 100 atomic veterans and 58 persons representative of the United States general population using the fission track analysis technique, developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory. The methodology, collected data, scientific challenges, and test results are presented herein. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency and its predecessor agencies conducted this program in the late 1990s to the mid-2000s to determine the feasibility of bioassay testing to supplement dose reconstruction to estimate atomic veterans' doses under the agency's Nuclear Test Personnel Review Program.

Non-vitamin-K oral anticoagulants and laboratory testing: now and in the future: Views from a workshop at the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

In contrast to vitamin K antagonists, no routine coagulation monitoring is required in patients taking non-vitamin-K oral anticoagulants (NOACs). However, dosing must take into account factors such as patient age, renal function, and accompanying haemorrhagic risk. There has been considerable debate about when laboratory measurement might be appropriate and which tests should be used.

Transparency in drug regulation: public assessment reports in Europe and Australia.

Openness and transparency are important considerations for medicines regulators, where public health is of paramount concern. As part of their commitment to transparency, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia publish information relating to their evaluation of medicines via public assessment reports. European Public Assessment Reports (EPARs) and Australian Public Assessment Reports (AusPARs) provide information about the considerations that led the regulator to approve or refuse the application.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of enhanced recovery programmes in gastric cancer surgery.

This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the influence of enhanced recovery programmes (ERPs) on outcomes after gastric cancer surgery. Medline, Embase, the Cochrane library and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for studies on outcomes of gastrectomy in enhanced recovery or fast-track programmes.

Studies examining the relationship between the chemical structure of protoxin II and its activity on voltage gated sodium channels.

The aqueous solution structure of protoxin II (ProTx II) indicated that the toxin comprises a well-defined inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) backbone region and a flexible C-terminal tail region, similar to previously described NaSpTx III tarantula toxins. In the present study we sought to explore the structure-activity relationship of the two regions of the ProTx II molecule. As a first step, chimeric toxins of ProTx II and PaTx I were synthesized and their biological activities on Nav1.

Prognostic significance of novel ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT defined tumour variables in patients with oesophageal cancer.

Purpose: (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) is now established as a routine staging investigation of oesophageal cancer (OC). The aim of the study was to determine the prognostic significance of PET/CT defined tumour variables including maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax), tumour length (TL), metastatic length of disease (MLoD), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and total local nodal metastasis count (PET/CT LNMC).

Materials And Methods: 103 pre-treatment OC patients (76 adenocarcinoma, 25 squamous cell carcinoma, 1 poorly differentiated and 1 neuroendocrine tumour) were staged using PET/CT.

Radiation exposure of U.S. military individuals.

The U.S. military consists of five armed services: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation improves quality of reaching movements more than traditional reaching therapy following stroke.

Background: Adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation (AMRR) is a novel integration of motion capture technology and high-level media computing that provides precise kinematic measurements and engaging multimodal feedback for self-assessment during a therapeutic task.

Objective: We describe the first proof-of-concept study to compare outcomes of AMRR and traditional upper-extremity physical therapy.

Methods: Two groups of participants with chronic stroke received either a month of AMRR therapy (n = 11) or matched dosing of traditional repetitive task therapy (n = 10).

A novel adaptive mixed reality system for stroke rehabilitation: principles, proof of concept, and preliminary application in 2 patients.

This article presents the principles of an adaptive mixed reality rehabilitation (AMRR) system, as well as the training process and results from 2 stroke survivors who received AMRR therapy, to illustrate how the system can be used in the clinic. The AMRR system integrates traditional rehabilitation practices with state-of-the-art computational and motion capture technologies to create an engaging environment to train reaching movements. The system provides real-time, intuitive, and integrated audio and visual feedback (based on detailed kinematic data) representative of goal accomplishment, activity performance, and body function during a reaching task.

Interactive tools for risk reduction and efficiency improvements in medicinal chemistry.

There are many decisions and risks associated with the design and development of new pharmaceutical agents. To help improve decision-making, and reduce the associated risks--prior to synthesis, we have developed interactive web-browser tools for: (i) tracking, searching, clustering and categorizing (by reactive moieties) chemical reactants, (ii) interactively assessing risks, either synthetic--based on prior experience, absorption following oral administration--based on rules of 5, or diversity, and (iii) a complete architecture for enumerating, analyzing, submitting and plating large combinatorial or small biased libraries. We believe the implementation of this highly interactive system has given our scientists a competitive advantage by maintaining their focus on the lowest risk, highest quality molecules throughout the research process.

Trends in infectious diseases and the male to female ratio: possible clues to changes in behavior among men who have sex with men.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a priority population for HIV care and prevention programs. This report describes HIV and other sexually transmitted disease (STD) trends among MSM in metropolitan Atlanta by analyzing nine databases. We describe the use of the male-to-female (M:F) ratio, a surrogate marker for MSM in databases without standardized MSM variables that is recommended as an indirect measure of HIV risk behavior in the CDC/HRSA Integrated Guidelines for Developing Epidemiologic Profiles.

Shigellosis among swimmers in a freshwater lake.

Objective: Shigella infection is highly communicable; however, outbreaks associated with swimming in recreational fresh water are rarely identified.

Materials And Methods: A cohort study of lake visitors was performed.

Results: Seventeen (24.

Population-based surveillance for Yersinia enterocolitica infections in FoodNet sites, 1996-1999: higher risk of disease in infants and minority populations.

Active surveillance for laboratory-confirmed Yersinia enterocolitica (YE) infections was conducted at 5 Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) sites in the United States during 1996-1999. The annual incidence averaged 0.9 cases/100,000 population.

Genotype-specific carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in Georgia counties with hyper- and hyposporadic rates of meningococcal disease.

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in a Georgia county with hypersporadic incidence of meningococcal disease ("hypersporadic county") and in a county with no cases of meningococcal disease was determined by a cross-sectional pharyngeal culture study of high school students. Among 2730 students from whom culture samples were obtained, meningococcal carriage was 7.7% (140/1818) in the hypersporadic county and 6.

Cholera in the Americas: Foodborne Aspects.

Over 100 serotypes of Vibrio cholerae exist, but generally the toxigenic strains of the serogroup O1 cause cholera and possess documented epidemic potential. The main symptom of cholera is a profuse diarrhea resulting in dehydration, that if untreated, leads to death. Seven pandemics of this contagious disease have been recorded during the last 200 years.

Trends in Foodborne Salmonellosis Outbreaks: 1963-1975.

Since 1963 651 outbreaks of human salmonellosis have been reported to the Center for Disease Control. The vehicle of transmission was identified in 463 (71%) of the reported outbreaks. The three most important vehicles have been poultry, meat, and eggs, which accounted for 99 (21%), 69 (15%), and 53 (11%) of the outbreaks respectively.