Feasibility of an Audit System for Canadian Sonographers in Generalist           Ultrasound

The purpose of this research was to employ the audit method to measure performance and identify targets of change, setting a template for future large-scale investigations that may inform decisions involving sonographer role expansion in Canada. The authors conducted an audit of 433 sonographic examinations performed in the ultrasound department of a Canadian hospital. Sonographer reports were contrasted with radiologist final reports, and a degree of agreement (DoA) 1 to 4 was assigned to each exam package. In total, 322 of 429 (75%) exam packages were ranked as DoA 1 (complete agreement between sonographer and radiologist), 86 of 429 (20%) were ranked as DoA 2, 16 of 429 (4%) were ranked as DoA 3, and 5 of 429 (1%) were ranked as DoA 4 (significant discrepancy between sonographer and radiologist). The results revealed a 75% agreement between sonographer and radiologist on imaging findings as they are recorded in technical impression sheets and reports. Discrepancies are usually minor and involve the omission of incidental findings by the radiologist.

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Emissions of Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl<sub>4</sub>) from Europe

10.5194/acp-2016-326 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Francesco Graziosi ◽

Jgor Arduini ◽

Paolo Bonasoni ◽

Francesco Furlani ◽

Umberto Giostra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Tetrachloride ◽

Large Scale ◽

Stratospheric Ozone ◽

Montreal Protocol ◽

Scale Production ◽

Top Down ◽

Significant Discrepancy ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Atmospheric Observations ◽

Global Emissions

Abstract. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a long-lived radiatively-active compound able to destroy stratospheric ozone. Due to its inclusion in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the last two decades have seen a sharp decrease in its large scale emissive use with a consequent decline of its atmospheric mole fractions. However, the Montreal Protocol restrictions do not apply to the use of carbon tetrachloride as feedstock for the production of other chemicals, implying the risk of fugitive emissions from the industry sector. The occurrence of such unintended emissions is suggested by a significant discrepancy between global emissions as derived by reported production and feedstock usage (bottom-up emissions), and those based on atmospheric observations (top-down emissions). In order to better constrain the atmospheric budget of carbon tetrachloride, several studies based on a combination of atmospheric observations and inverse modelling have been conducted in recent years in various regions of the world. This study is focused on the European scale and based on long-term high-frequency observations at three European sites, combined with a Bayesian inversion methodology. We estimated that average European emissions for 2006–2014 were 2.3 (± 0.8) Gg yr−1, with an average decreasing trend of 7.3 % per year. Our analysis identified France as the main source of emissions over the whole study period, with an average contribution to total European emissions of 25 %. The inversion was also able to allow the localisation of emission "hot-spots" in the domain, with major source areas in Southern France, Central England (UK) and Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg), where most of industrial scale production of basic organic chemicals are located. According to our results, European emissions correspond to 4.0 % of global emissions for 2006–2012. Together with other regional studies, our results allow a better constraint of the global budget of carbon tetrachloride and a better quantification of the gap between top-down and bottom-up estimates.

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On the assessment of the national poverty threshold

Национальная безопасность / nota bene ◽

10.7256/2454-0668.2021.3.35821 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Ludmila Aleksandrovna Kormishkina ◽

Eka Revazievna Ermakova

Keyword(s):

Social Inequality ◽

Russian Federation ◽

Poverty Reduction ◽

Large Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Annual Reports ◽

Significant Discrepancy ◽

Relative Poverty ◽

Poverty Threshold ◽

The Russian Federation

This article explores the peculiarities of the phenomenon of poverty in the post-Soviet Russia as one of the key social indicators of the achieved level of well-being and sustainable development of the country. The subject of this research is the socioeconomic relations that condition the persistence of large-scale absolute and relative poverty, and excessive social inequality in the country. The goal consists in outlining boundaries of the existing methodology of definition of poverty; as well as in substantiating that the use of modern methods leads to lowering the subsistence line and minimum wage. The author forms the databases necessary for displaying the absolute and relative poverty threshold in Russia and other foreign countries for the period 2000 – 2019. The article also employs Data Mining. The information framework is comprised of the official statistics of Rosstat and Eurostat, usa.gov International Monetary Fund, World Bank, legal reference system ConsultantPlus; annual reports of the Credit Suisse Institute, World Inequality Lab; infographics of the information analytical portal Knoema. In the course of an analytical retrospective assessment of dynamics of the key indicators of poverty threshold in the Russian Federation, the author establishes a significant discrepancy between the official and actual threshold, which distorts the relevant picture of poverty, impedes the development of the effective strategy for overcoming poverty, which imparts chronic character to this phenomenon. Relying on the relevant foreign experience of poverty reduction strategy, as well as scientific and practical works of the Russian experts in this field, the author justifies the measures for eradication of poverty in the Russian Federation. Recommendations are given for amending the state policy on promoting reduction of poverty in modern Russia, taking into account the need to overcome excessive social inequality.

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Neuroimaging Features of COVID-19: Retrospective Northern Italy Multicenter Study and a Scoping Review of the Prevalence of COVID-19 Associated Acute Cerebrovascular Diseases

10.21203/rs.3.rs-150229/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrea Giorgianni ◽

Francesco D'Amore ◽

Gabriele Vinacci ◽

Edoardo Agosti ◽

Letterio Politi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Scoping Review ◽

Large Scale ◽

Healthcare Delivery ◽

Chronic Subdural Hematoma ◽

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis ◽

Northern Italy ◽

Neurological Symptoms ◽

Demyelinating Diseases ◽

Imaging Findings ◽

Scoping Reviews

Abstract Background The primary aim of this study was to provide additional data of neuroimaging features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a large-scale population admitted in several northern Italy institutions. The secondary aim was to analyze acute cerebrovascular disease (CVD) prevalence in COVID-19. Methods A database of confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized patients who developed acute neurological symptoms and underwent any neuroimaging was retrospectively gathered from twelve institutions based in Lombardy from February 21st to July 10th. To assess the prevalence of CVD we conducted a scoping review following the PRISMA extension guidelines for scoping reviews. We searched PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS and EMBASE databases for peer-reviewed in-press or published studies from December to January 2021 reporting CVD in COVID-19 patients. Results Out of 90 COVID-19 patients who were referred to neuroimaging, 78 (87%) showed CVD, in particular 65 had acute ischemic strokes (AIS), 8 had intracerebral hemorrhages, 2 subarachnoid hemorrhages (SAH) and 3 showed clinical and imaging findings in keeping with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES); 6 patients (7%) showed clinical and imaging findings highly suggestive of encephalitis; 3 patients (3%) showed demyelinating diseases: 1 case of MS progression, 1 case of newly diagnosed MS and 1 case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM); 2 cases (2%) acuity of chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH); 1 patient (1%) with Guillain Barré syndrome. In addiction two patients with CVD developed cauda polyradiculitis and tetraparesis. In our scoping review out of 3275 studies, 24 satisfied the inclusion criteria: in a pooled total population of 136198 patients, the pooled prevalence of CVD was 0.9%. In particular 0.8% of AIS and 0.1% of ICH and 0.003% of PRES. Conclusions Our study shows a high prevalence of CVD among patients who developed acute neurological symptoms, which is in line with papers reporting data comparable to ours. The heterogeneity of clinical reports, however, constitutes a limitation when comparing our findings with those of the clinical papers. Nonetheless, CVD could be a frightening association with COVID-19, particularly in critically ill patients. Healthcare policymakers and clinicians should be prepared to a likely increase in workload and to rearrange the strategy of healthcare delivery.

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Revealing the dual streams of speech processing

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1614038114 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (52) ◽

pp. 15108-15113 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Julius Fridriksson ◽

Grigori Yourganov ◽

Leonardo Bonilha ◽

Alexandra Basilakos ◽

Dirk-Bart Den Ouden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Speech Processing ◽

Large Scale ◽

A Priori ◽

Dorsal Stream ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Ventral Stream ◽

Complete Agreement ◽

Human Speech ◽

Lexical Semantic ◽

Data Driven Approach

Several dual route models of human speech processing have been proposed suggesting a large-scale anatomical division between cortical regions that support motor–phonological aspects vs. lexical–semantic aspects of speech processing. However, to date, there is no complete agreement on what areas subserve each route or the nature of interactions across these routes that enables human speech processing. Relying on an extensive behavioral and neuroimaging assessment of a large sample of stroke survivors, we used a data-driven approach using principal components analysis of lesion-symptom mapping to identify brain regions crucial for performance on clusters of behavioral tasks without a priori separation into task types. Distinct anatomical boundaries were revealed between a dorsal frontoparietal stream and a ventral temporal–frontal stream associated with separate components. Collapsing over the tasks primarily supported by these streams, we characterize the dorsal stream as a form-to-articulation pathway and the ventral stream as a form-to-meaning pathway. This characterization of the division in the data reflects both the overlap between tasks supported by the two streams as well as the observation that there is a bias for phonological production tasks supported by the dorsal stream and lexical–semantic comprehension tasks supported by the ventral stream. As such, our findings show a division between two processing routes that underlie human speech processing and provide an empirical foundation for studying potential computational differences that distinguish between the two routes.

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Assessment of individual tumor buds using keratin immunohistochemistry: moderate interobserver agreement suggests a role for machine learning

Modern Pathology ◽

10.1038/s41379-019-0434-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 825-833 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. M. Bokhorst ◽

A. Blank ◽

A. Lugli ◽

I. Zlobec ◽

H. Dawson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Machine Learning ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Tumor Budding ◽

Complete Agreement ◽

Kappa Statistics ◽

Computer Algorithms ◽

Machine Learning Approach ◽

Slide Image

AbstractTumor budding is a promising and cost-effective biomarker with strong prognostic value in colorectal cancer. However, challenges related to interobserver variability persist. Such variability may be reduced by immunohistochemistry and computer-aided tumor bud selection. Development of computer algorithms for this purpose requires unequivocal examples of individual tumor buds. As such, we undertook a large-scale, international, and digital observer study on individual tumor bud assessment. From a pool of 46 colorectal cancer cases with tumor budding, 3000 tumor bud candidates were selected, largely based on digital image analysis algorithms. For each candidate bud, an image patch (size 256 × 256 µm) was extracted from a pan cytokeratin-stained whole-slide image. Members of an International Tumor Budding Consortium (n = 7) were asked to categorize each candidate as either (1) tumor bud, (2) poorly differentiated cluster, or (3) neither, based on current definitions. Agreement was assessed with Cohen’s and Fleiss Kappa statistics. Fleiss Kappa showed moderate overall agreement between observers (0.42 and 0.51), while Cohen’s Kappas ranged from 0.25 to 0.63. Complete agreement by all seven observers was present for only 34% of the 3000 tumor bud candidates, while 59% of the candidates were agreed on by at least five of the seven observers. Despite reports of moderate-to-substantial agreement with respect to tumor budding grade, agreement with respect to individual pan cytokeratin-stained tumor buds is moderate at most. A machine learning approach may prove especially useful for a more robust assessment of individual tumor buds.

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Swiss Validation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Database

World Journal of Surgery ◽

10.1007/s00268-020-05926-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Basile Pache ◽

David Martin ◽

Valérie Addor ◽

Nicolas Demartines ◽

Martin Hübner

Keyword(s):

Missing Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

Urinary Catheter ◽

Enhanced Recovery ◽

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery ◽

Length Of Hospital Stay ◽

Prospective Audit ◽

Audit System ◽

Validation Criteria ◽

Eras Protocol

Abstract Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways have considerably improved postoperative outcomes and are in use for various types of surgery. The prospective audit system (EIAS) could be a powerful tool for large-scale outcome research but its database has not been validated yet. Methods Swiss ERAS centers were invited to contribute to the validation of the Swiss chapter for colorectal surgery. A monitoring team performed on-site visits by the use of a standardized checklist. Validation criteria were (I) coverage (No. of operated patients within ERAS protocol; target threshold for validation: ≥ 80%), (II) missing data (8 predefined variables; target ≤ 10%), and (III) accuracy (2 predefined variables, target ≥ 80%). These criteria were assessed by comparing EIAS entries with the medical charts of a random sample of patients per center (range 15–20). Results Out of 18 Swiss ERAS centers, 15 agreed to have onsite monitoring but 13 granted access to the final dataset. ERAS coverage was available in only 7 centers and varied between 76 and 100%. Overall missing data rate was 5.7% and concerned mainly the variables “urinary catheter removal” (16.4%) and “mobilization on day 1” (16%). Accuracy for the length of hospital stay and complications was overall 84.6%. Overall, 5 over 13 centers failed in the validation process for one or several criteria. Conclusion EIAS was validated in most Swiss ERAS centers. Potential patient selection and missing data remain sources of bias in non-validated centers. Therefore, simplified validation of other centers appears to be mandatory before large-scale use of the EIAS dataset.

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Research on the Information Construction of Accounting Audit Based on the Big Data of Computer

International Journal of Information Technology and Web Engineering ◽

10.4018/ijitwe.2017070107 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 74-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dongmei Lin

Keyword(s):

Data Transmission ◽

Large Scale ◽

Main Idea ◽

Distributed Network ◽

Relay Nodes ◽

Audit System ◽

Large Scale Data ◽

Communication Needs ◽

Broadcasting Algorithm ◽

Scale Data

For distributed network content audit system, its communication needs have two important aspects. One is how to let the audit rules sent fast to the entire network, the other is the Internet records data transmission of audit nodes among each other. The above two issues are related to the broadcasting of network news and the large-scale data transmission. This article mainly carries on the thorough research on large-scale data transmission and proposes the approach of large-scale data transmission, and puts forward its application method in the distributed network content audit system. For the large-scale data transmission, the main idea to realize it is by dividing the large-scale data into blocks and combining with various transmission routes to transmit. In this paper, the main methods of the current large-scale data transmission are analyzed and the shortcomings are summarized. Based on the algorithm of task allocation in the reference of grid computing, the large-scale data transmission algorithm is put forward based on node performance. This transmission algorithm uses APDG broadcasting algorithm to find relay nodes, and by judging the performance of the relay nodes, segments different size data blocks to the relay nodes for forwarding. The experimental results show that the large-scale data transmission algorithm based on node performance, compared with the current large-scale data transmission algorithm, has better flexibility and transmission performance.

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Emissions of carbon tetrachloride from Europe

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-12849-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (20) ◽

pp. 12849-12859 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Francesco Graziosi ◽

Jgor Arduini ◽

Paolo Bonasoni ◽

Francesco Furlani ◽

Umberto Giostra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Tetrachloride ◽

Large Scale ◽

Stratospheric Ozone ◽

Montreal Protocol ◽

Scale Production ◽

Top Down ◽

Significant Discrepancy ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Atmospheric Observations ◽

Global Emissions

Abstract. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a long-lived radiatively active compound with the ability to destroy stratospheric ozone. Due to its inclusion in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MP), the last two decades have seen a sharp decrease in its large-scale emissive use with a consequent decline in its atmospheric mole fractions. However, the MP restrictions do not apply to the use of carbon tetrachloride as feedstock for the production of other chemicals, implying the risk of fugitive emissions from the industry sector. The occurrence of such unintended emissions is suggested by a significant discrepancy between global emissions as derived from reported production and feedstock usage (bottom-up emissions), and those based on atmospheric observations (top-down emissions). In order to better constrain the atmospheric budget of carbon tetrachloride, several studies based on a combination of atmospheric observations and inverse modelling have been conducted in recent years in various regions of the world. This study is focused on the European scale and based on long-term high-frequency observations at three European sites, combined with a Bayesian inversion methodology. We estimated that average European emissions for 2006–2014 were 2.2 (± 0.8) Gg yr−1, with an average decreasing trend of 6.9 % per year. Our analysis identified France as the main source of emissions over the whole study period, with an average contribution to total European emissions of approximately 26 %. The inversion was also able to allow the localisation of emission "hot spots" in the domain, with major source areas in southern France, central England (UK) and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg), where most industrial-scale production of basic organic chemicals is located. According to our results, European emissions correspond, on average, to 4.0 % of global emissions for 2006–2012. Together with other regional studies, our results allow a better constraint of the global budget of carbon tetrachloride and a better quantification of the gap between top-down and bottom-up estimates.

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Rapid detection of phenotypes Bombay sedel and nonsecretor rs200157007 SNP (302C > T) by real-time PCR-based methods

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-94659-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mikiko Soejima ◽

Yoshiro Koda

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Real Time Pcr ◽

Large Scale ◽

Association Studies ◽

Melting Curve ◽

Curve Analysis ◽

Complete Agreement ◽

Melting Curve Analysis ◽

Duplex Pcr ◽

Pcr Assay

AbstractThe sedel allele is one of the nonsecretor alleles (se) of FUT2 generated by an Alu-mediated recombination event and was first found in Indian Bombay phenotype individuals who have anti-H, anti-A, and anti-B antibodies in their serum. As well as anti-A, and anti-B antibodies, anti-H is clinically significant because it causes sever hemolytic transfusion reactions. Like sedel, se302 having a missense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 302C > T, is characteristic of South Asians with a frequency of 10–30%. We developed a real-time PCR melting curve analysis for detection of sedel using a 127-bp amplicon encompassing the breakpoint junction. In addition, by performing duplex PCR by amplifying a 65-bp amplicon of the FUT2 coding region at the same time, we could determine the zygosity of sedel in a single tube. We also developed an Eprobe-mediated PCR assay (Eprobe-PCR) for detection of 302C > T of FUT2. These methods were validated by analyzing 58 Tamils and 54 Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. Both the duplex PCR melting curve analysis for determination of sedel zygosity and the Eprobe-PCR assay for detection of 302C > T exactly determined three genotypes. In addition, the results of the present methods were in complete agreement with those obtained by previously established methods. The two present methods were reliable and seem to be advantageous for large-scale association studies of FUT2 polymorphisms in South Asian populations.

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Molecular Detection of Bartonella spp. in China and St. Kitts

Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology ◽

10.1155/2019/3209013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ke Huang ◽

Patrick John Kelly ◽

Jilei Zhang ◽

Yi Yang ◽

Weiguo Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Bartonella Henselae ◽

Variable Region ◽

Positive Control ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Complete Agreement ◽

Copy Numbers ◽

Specificity And Sensitivity ◽

Or Groups ◽

Pcr Products

Bartonella are vector-borne hemotropic bacteria that infect a wide variety of hosts, including people. While there are PCR assays that can identify individual or groups of Bartonella, there is no reliable molecular method to simultaneously detect all species while maintaining genus specificity and sensitivity. By comparing highly conserved 16S rRNA sequences of the better-recognized Bartonella spp. on GenBank, we selected primers and probes for a genus-specific pan-Bartonella FRET-qPCR. Then, a gltA-based Bartonella PCR was established by selecting primers for a highly variable region of gltA, of which the sequenced amplicons could identify individual Bartonella spp. The pan-Bartonella FRET-qPCR did not detect negative controls (Brucella spp., Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii, and Wolbachia) but reliably detected as few as two copies of the positive control (Bartonella henselae) per reaction. There was complete agreement between the pan-Bartonella FRET-qPCR and the gltA-based Bartonella PCR in detecting Bartonella in convenience test samples from China and St. Kitts: cats (26%; 81/310), Ctenocephalides felis (20%; 12/60), cattle (24%; 23/98), and donkeys (4%; 1/20). Sequencing of the gltA-based Bartonella PCR products revealed B. henselae (70%; 57/81) and B. clarridgeiae (30%; 24/81) in cats and C. felis (67%; 8/12, and 33%; 4/12, respectively) and B. bovis in cattle (23.5%; 23/98) and donkeys (4.0%; 1/24). The pan-Bartonella FRET-qPCR and gltA-based Bartonella PCR we developed are highly sensitive and specific in detecting recognized Bartonella spp. in a single reaction. The pan-Bartonella FRET-qPCR is convenient requiring no gel electrophoresis and providing copy numbers, while the gltA-based Bartonella PCR reliably differentiates individual Bartonella species. The use of these PCRs should greatly facilitate large-scale surveillance studies and the diagnosis of infections in clinical samples.

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