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Fast image accessing based on an analysis of the picture archiving and communications system in Kochi Medical School.

A large-scale picture archiving and communication system was developed by Kochi Medical School. Using JPEG to achieve 90% compression, this system was capable of storing several years worth of CT and MR examination records and eliminated the bottleneck in conventional systems caused by slow data access in the filing system. Under the new system, access of image files from client PCs was checked for bottlenecks. The image file retrieval from the image database on the server was found to require the longest time. Two methods were considered to eliminate this bottleneck. One was a multiimages filing into a file. Another was an image transmission with multiparallel transmission sessions, which is proposed in this article. By adopting the latter method, the system can transmit 50 CT images from the image database server to a client PC in about 10 s.

Humans↗

Cloning and sequencing of hydroxylase genes involved in taxol biosynthesis.

Two full-length cDNAs (TCH1 and TCH2) were obtained from a cDNA library of Taxus chinensis mainly by the single specific-primer PCR (SSP-PCR) method. Compared with other reported enzymes from Taxus species, the deduced amino acid sequences of TCH1 and TCH2 exhibit significant homologies to hydroxylases that are involved in taxol biosynthesis. These findings imply that the two new genes are closely related to the biosynthesis of taxol/taxoids. Data Accession No: AF545833 and AY374652.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Sexual abstinence, contraception, and condom use by young African women: a secondary analysis of survey data.

BACKGROUND: Drug therapy for people with AIDS is a humanitarian priority but prevention of HIV infection remains essential. Focusing on young single African women, we aimed to assess trends in a set of behaviours-sexual abstinence, contraceptive use, and condom use-that are known to affect the rates of HIV transmission. METHODS: We did a secondary analysis of public-access data sets in 18 African countries (132,800 women), and calculated changes in a set of behavioural indicators over time. We standardised these trends from nationally representative surveys to adjust for within-country changes in age, education, and type of residential location. FINDINGS: Between about 1993 and 2001, the percentage of women reporting no sexual experience changed little. During the same period, the percentage of sexually experienced women who reported no sexual intercourse in the previous 3 months (secondary abstinence) rose significantly in seven of 18 countries and the median for all 18 countries increased from 43.8% to 49.2%. Use of condoms for pregnancy prevention rose significantly in 13 of 18 countries and the median proportion increased from 5.3% to 18.8%. The median rate of annual increase of condom use was 1.41 percentage points (95% CI 1.12-2.25). In the 13 countries with available data, condom use at most recent coitus rose from a median of 19.3% to 28.4%. Over half (58.5%) of condom users were motivated, at least in part, by a wish to avoid pregnancy. INTERPRETATION: Condom promotion campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa have affected the behaviour of young single women; the pace of change has matched the rise in contraceptive use by married couples in developing countries over recent decades. Thus continuing efforts to promote condom use with emphasis on pregnancy prevention are justified.

Adolescent↗

The use of X-terminals as clinical workstations.

The Medical Computer Facility at the Fox Chase Cancer Center has installed X-terminals in patient examination rooms and at nursing stations for clinical data access by physicians and nurses. The X-terminals are connected to UNIX operating system RISC processors via Ethernet. The RISC processors communicate with databases on a minicomputer cluster. Simultaneous presentation of textual (e.g., pathology and radiology reports) and graphical (e.g., clinical laboratory results) clinical data is provided under X-Windows. CT and MRI images can also be displayed in windows. Our experiences implementing X-terminal clinical workstations in a production environment will be discussed.

Cancer Care Facilities↗

Compaction behaviour and new predictive approach to the compressibility of binary mixtures of pharmaceutical excipients.

The compressibility of three pharmaceutical excipients (microcrystalline cellulose, lactose and anhydrous calcium phosphate) and their binary mixtures was studied. The aim of this work was to observe the impact of the mass composition of the mixture on the compressibility. The single-compound materials and their mixtures were compacted using instrumented presses. It allowed obtaining compression cycles (i.e., force-displacement curves) which were associated with energy measurements (specific compaction energy, Esp cp and specific expansion energy, Esp exp). It was observed that for the mixtures studied, the change of Esp cp with the mass composition could be fitted using a linear relationship (it was not the case with Esp exp). A linear relationship between the porosity of mixture's compacts and the mass composition was also obtained. Heckel's plots were then obtained for the three excipients and the mixtures. The mean yield pressure was calculated with the "in-die-method" and the "out-of-die method". A proportional relationship was not valid for the mean yield pressures. But, a predictive approach was proposed in order to obtain indirectly the mean yield pressure of a binary mixture if the data of the single materials were known. It used the linear mixing rule observed with the porosity. The validity was verified and compared with the experimental values. This comparison showed that it was possible to predict the mean yield pressure of binary mixtures from the accessible data of the single excipients.

Calcium Phosphates↗

An overview of municipal state of the environment reporting in Canada.

State of the Environment (SOE) reporting is an emerging municipal management tool designed to monitor and increase awareness of the current status, changes and trends in the condition of the local environment. A multifaceted investigation was undertaken to examine municipal SOE reporting in Canada and to identify barriers to its widespread implementation. Highlights of the case study and survey components are summarized and a conceptual model for municipal SOE reporting is proposed. Overall, the study revealed considerable interest in environmental reporting, however, the lack of common municipal indicators, organizing frameworks and environmental data accessible at the local level impedes its widespread implementation. Future needs to enhance SOE reporting include: development of common municipal indicators, including environmental sustainability indicators; enhancement of the compatibility of SOE reporting frameworks across municipal, provincial and national levels; and re-examination of the data collected by diverse levels of government to optimize their utilization at the local level.

Canada↗

Historical background: Why is it important to improve automated particle selection methods?

A current trend in single-particle electron microscopy is to compute three-dimensional reconstructions with ever-increasing numbers of particles in the data sets. Since manual--or even semi-automated--selection of particles represents a major bottleneck when the data set exceeds several thousand particles, there is growing interest in developing automatic methods for selecting images of individual particles. Except in special cases, however, it has proven difficult to achieve the degree of efficiency and reliability that would make fully automated particle selection a useful tool. The simplest methods such as cross correlation (i.e., matched filtering) do not perform well enough to be used for fully automated particle selection. Geometric properties (area, perimeter-to-area ratio, etc.) and the integrated "mass" of candidate particles are additional factors that could improve automated particle selection if suitable methods of contouring particles could be developed. Another suggestion is that data be always collected as pairs of images, the first taken at low defocus (to capture information at the highest possible resolution) and the second at very high defocus (to improve the visibility of the particle). Finally, it is emphasized that well-annotated, open-access data sets need to be established in order to encourage the further development and validation of methods for automated particle selection.

Algorithms↗

Nursing informatics: a Victorian survey.

Interviews of selected personnel from a stratified random sample of Victoria's public and private acute care hospitals provided data about current computer systems implementation in nursing departments. Key informants were asked about their hospitals' present level of computerisation and plans for the future. The study found that stand-alone microcomputers are currently driving systems development in nursing. This strategy limits nurses' ability to access data, diminishes their influence in decision-making and undervalues the contribution of nursing information to interdisciplinary health care.

Forecasting↗

Quality assessment of drug sales data: the case of antibacterials in Iceland.

BACKGROUND: Two sets of drug sales data, published by the Icelandic Ministry of Health, did not match for antibacterials in 1989. The search for causes turned out to be a project in itself. OBJECTIVE: To analyze quality problems in the sales data on antibacterials and describe a method for systematic quality assessment of drug sales data. METHODS: Documentary analysis based on the following sources: 1) Nordic Statistics on Medicines, 1975-95; 2) Drug Use (Notkun Iyfja), 1975-93; 3) Icelandic Drug Market, 1975-94; 4) Unpublished data from the Icelandic Ministry of Health. The following framework was developed to evaluate the quality of drug sales data: 1. Completeness of registration; 2. Accuracy and degree of completeness of data; 3. Size and coverage of the data source; 4. Data format; 5. Data accessibility, availability and cost. RESULTS: Four discrepancies were found, two due to changes in DDD, and two larger ones stemming from errors in calculating DDD, resulting in an overestimation of the contribution of the respective products to the total DDD/1000 inhabitants/day. Errors were detected in available sales data at least back to 1980, resulting in sales being overestimated by up to 13%. The reasons for the discrepancies were found mostly under point 2 in the framework. CONCLUSION: The errors uncovered by this study indicate a possible low quality of drug statistics which might lead to wrong conclusions about the level and development of sales of drugs. As a tool, the framework might be used for quality assessment of drug sales data.

Anti-Infective Agents↗

TRED: a Transcriptional Regulatory Element Database and a platform for in silico gene regulation studies.

In order to understand gene regulation, accurate and comprehensive knowledge of transcriptional regulatory elements is essential. Here, we report our efforts in building a mammalian Transcriptional Regulatory Element Database (TRED) with associated data analysis functions. It collects cis- and trans-regulatory elements and is dedicated to easy data access and analysis for both single-gene-based and genome-scale studies. Distinguishing features of TRED include: (i) relatively complete genome-wide promoter annotation for human, mouse and rat; (ii) availability of gene transcriptional regulation information including transcription factor binding sites and experimental evidence; (iii) data accuracy is ensured by hand curation; (iv) efficient user interface for easy and flexible data retrieval; and (v) implementation of on-the-fly sequence analysis tools. TRED can provide good training datasets for further genome-wide cis-regulatory element prediction and annotation, assist detailed functional studies and facilitate the decipher of gene regulatory networks (http://rulai.cshl.edu/TRED).

Animals↗

Traumatic deaths during U.S. Armed Forces basic training, 1977-2001.

BACKGROUND: A Recruit Mortality Registry, linked to the Department of Defense Medical Mortality Registry, was created to provide comprehensive medical surveillance data for deaths occurring during enlisted basic military training. METHODS: Recruit deaths from 1977 through 2001 were identified and confirmed through redundant sources. Complete demographic, circumstantial, and medical information was sought for each case and recorded on an abstraction form. Mortality rates per 100,000 recruit-years were calculated by using recruit accession data from the Defense Manpower Data Center. RESULTS: There were 276 recruit deaths from 1977 through 2001 and age-specific recruit mortality rates were less than half of same-age U.S. civilian mortality rates. Only 28% (77 of 276) of recruit deaths were classified as traumatic (suicide, unintentional injury, and homicide), in comparison to three quarters in both the overall active duty military population and the U.S. civilian population (ages 15-34 years). The age-adjusted traumatic death rates were highest in the Army (four times higher than the Navy and Air Force, and 80% higher than the Marine Corps). The majority (60%) of traumatic deaths was due to suicide, followed by unintentional injuries (35%), and homicide (5%). The overall age-adjusted traumatic mortality rate was more than triple for men compared with women in all military services (rate ratio=3.9; p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There was a lower proportion of traumatic deaths in recruits compared to the overall active duty military population and same-age U.S. civilian population. This finding could be attributed to close supervision, emphasis on safety, and lack of access to alcohol and motor vehicles during recruit training.

Accidents↗

A toxicokinetic model for predicting the tissue distribution and elimination of organic and inorganic mercury following exposure to methyl mercury in animals and humans. I. Development and validation of the model using experimental data in rats.

The objective of this study was to develop a biologically based dynamic model for predicting the distribution and elimination of methyl mercury and its metabolite, inorganic mercury, under a variety of exposure scenarios in rats. A model is proposed based on a multicompartment approach; each compartment represents an organ or a group of organs or an excreta. The model translates into a set of coupled differential equations taking into account interorgan rates of exchanges and excretion together with the biotransformation process. The free parameters of the model are determined from statistical fits to the experimental data of the Farris et al. (Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 119, 74-90, 1993) study on the time profiles of blood and tissue concentrations and cumulative excretions. The vast range of time scales that govern tissue absorption, distribution, biotransformation, and excretion served to solve the model step by step. This interplay of time scales in the rates explains the buildups and slow attrition of inorganic mercury in certain key organs such as the brain and the kidney, which are also the sites of the more important toxic effects. The model was validated on additional experimental data provided by Norseth and Clarkson (Arch. Environ. Health 21, 717-727, 1970) and Thomas et al. (Environ. Res. 41, 219-234, 1986; Environ. Res. 43, 203-216, 1987). This approach, when adapted to humans, allows the reconstruction of the time course of blood and tissue concentrations, starting from easily accessible data on hair, urine, and feces.

Animals↗

Using benchmarking data to determine vascular access device selection.

Benchmarking data has validated that patients with planned vascular access device (VAD) placement have fewer device placements, less difficulty with device insertions, fewer venipunctures, earlier assessment for placement of central VADs, and shorter hospital stays. This article will discuss VAD program planning, early assessment for VAD selection, and benchmarking of program data used to achieve positive infusion-related outcomes.

Benchmarking↗

The AI Revolution: Shaping the Present and Future of Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

The transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the pharmaceutical industry is examined, with a focus on its significant contributions to drug discovery, development, and clinical trial processes. It highlights the inefficiencies and high costs associated with traditional drug development and explores how AI and machine learning (ML) can enhance these processes by analyzing extensive biological datasets. The historical context of AI in pharmaceutical development is examined, noting how advances in computational power and data accessibility have facilitated innovative methodologies, such as predictive analytics and natural language processing. Contemporary trends reveal the integration of AI technologies in drug design, repurposing, and patient response forecasting. This study also addresses the challenges of participant recruitment for clinical trials and proposes AI-driven solutions to optimize patient selection and data management. Furthermore, it discusses AI's role in tailored medicine, emphasizing its potential for advancing precision therapy through targeted drug development and personalized treatment strategies. The importance of digital tools, genomic data analysis, and AI-driven imaging technologies for customizing therapeutic approaches is underscored, along with the regulatory and ethical challenges posed by AI deployment in healthcare. This study illustrates the complexities of AI applications in the pharmaceutical sector, offering insights into both successful and unsuccessful initiatives. The findings suggest that the digitalization of the pharmaceutical industry and enhanced AI integration hold promise for developing safer and more effective therapeutic strategies, while also identifying obstacles to their widespread adoption and optimal functionality.

Artificial intelligence↗

Nontraumatic deaths during U.S. Armed Forces basic training, 1977-2001.

BACKGROUND: A Recruit Mortality Registry, linked to the Department of Defense Medical Mortality Registry, was created to provide comprehensive medical surveillance data for deaths occurring during enlisted basic military training. METHODS: Recruit deaths from 1977 through 2001 were identified and confirmed through redundant sources. Complete demographic, circumstantial, and medical information was sought for each case and recorded on an abstraction form. Mortality rates per 100,000 recruit-years were calculated by using recruit accession data from the Defense Manpower Data Center. RESULTS: There were 276 recruit deaths from 1977 through 2001 and age-specific recruit mortality rates were less than half of same-age U.S. civilian mortality rates. The majority (72%) of recruit deaths were classified as nontraumatic and 70% of these deaths (139 of 199) were related to exercise. Of the exercise-related deaths, 59 (42%) were cardiac deaths, and heat stress was a primary or contributory cause in at least 46 (33%). Infectious agents accounted for only 49 (25%) of the nontraumatic deaths. Nontraumatic death rates increased with age (rate ratio is 2.5 for 25+ v <25 years; p<0.001). The age- and gender-adjusted nontraumatic death rates were 2.6 times higher for African American than non-African American recruits (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although recruit mortality rates are lower than the same-age U.S. civilian population, preventive measures focused on reducing heat stress during exercise might be effective in decreasing the high proportion of exercise-related death. The availability of 25 years of comprehensive recruit mortality data will permit the ongoing evaluation of cause-of-death trends, effectiveness of preventive measures, and identification of emerging threats during basic military training.

Adolescent↗

PRISM-G: an interpretable privacy scoring framework for assessing risk in synthetic human genome data.

MOTIVATION: Synthetic genomic data promises broader data access, but unresolved privacy risks remain a major concern. Existing evaluations often rely on similarity-based metrics that measure proximity between real and synthetic genomes, overlooking additional mechanisms through which genomic information may leak. RESULTS: We introduce PRISM-G, a model-agnostic framework that quantifies privacy exposure in synthetic genomic data across three complementary components: proximity to real genomes in genetic-coordinate space, replay of familial or population-structure patterns, and trait-linked exposure through rare variants and membership-inference signals. These components are normalized and combined through a risk-averse aggregation into a single 0-100 PRISM-G score. By pairing PRISM-G with downstream utility metrics, the framework also enables analysis of privacy-utility trade-offs across generative models. We evaluated PRISM-G on synthetic cohorts generated by a generative adversarial network (GAN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), and a logic-based SAT solver (Genomator). Our results show that privacy vulnerabilities arise along different axes across models and marker densities, demonstrating that a single similarity-based metric is insufficient to characterize genomic privacy risk. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The source code of PRISM-G is available at https://github.com/alejocrojo09/prismg.

Humans↗

Computer-based case tracing (COMTRAC).

To assist clinical assessment and decision making, a computer-based system has been developed to organize key data of individual medical records and display these data in a standard graphic format for each disease. A program for multiple myeloma has been completed and 150 case records entered. The data accessed by computer-based case tracing on all cases of a particular disease are available for cumulative and comparative analyses of different therapeutic regimens.

Data Display↗

TNM-classification of carcinomas of the oral cavity-efficacy of clinically available data (TN).

Using adequate number of cases, the influence of the spread of primary tumour and the degree of regional metastasis on prognosis were investigated. Assuming a practicable classification as a prerequisite for clinico-therapeutic cancer research, experience has shown that the assessment of the spread of primary tumour alone does not suffice for the establishment of comparable homogenous data. The investigation on the importance of the degree of regional metastasis has shown, above all, that the percentage of N3-metastasis within the T-groups contributes essentially to the fact that these show a marked difference in their prognosis. It would therefore appear necessary also to examine the importance of other clinically accessible data in the assessment of prognosis. Only then could we be in a position to judge whether, and to what extent a clinically practicable classification and integration into special groups is possible on the basis of clinically available data. The inclusion of more clinics in the joint investigation is encouraged.

Adolescent↗