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Robust Noisy Pseudo-Label Learning for Semi-supervised Medical Image Segmentation Using Diffusion Model
No full textObtaining pixel-level annotations in the medical domain is both expensive and time-consuming, often requiring close collaboration between clinical experts and developers. Semi-supervised medical image segmentation aims to leverage limited annotated data alongside abundant unlabeled data to achieve accurate segmentation. However, existing semi-supervised methods often struggle to structure semantic distributions in the latent space due to noise introduced by pseudo-labels. In this paper, we propose a novel diffusion-based framework for semi-supervised medical image segmentation. Our method introduces a constraint into the latent structure of semantic labels during the denoising diffusion process by enforcing prototype-based contrastive consistency. Rather than explicitly delineating semantic boundaries, the model leverages class prototypes centralized semantic representations in the latent space as anchors. This strategy improves the robustness of dense predictions, particularly in the presence of noisy pseudo-labels. We also introduce a new publicly available benchmark: Multi-Object Segmentation in X-ray Angiography Videos (MOSXAV), which provides detailed, manually annotated segmentation ground truth for multiple anatomical structures in X-ray angiography videos. Extensive experiments on the EndoScapes2023 and MOSXAV datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art medical image segmentation approaches under the semi-supervised learning setting. This work presents a robust and data-efficient diffusion model that offers enhanced flexibility and strong potential for a wide range of clinical applications
Devaluation insensitivity of event related potentials associated with food cues
Get PDFEating in the absence of hunger represents a failure of homeostatic mechanisms responsible for energy balance and is a cause of obesity. The pervasive presence of food cues in the modern environment may play a role in this phenomenon. The present study used the technique of satiety-specific selective devaluation to investigate eating in the absence of hunger in the context of a reinforcement learning task. While participants' performance on the task suggested that food on which they had sated no longer held value for them, event related potentials following images of the food were unaffected by the devaluation. Food cues may thus serve as an entry point for over-eating in otherwise healthy individuals
Combining Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium adolescentis can improve GABA production in faecal fermentations
No full textAims This project aimed to investigate production of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from potential probiotic strains. We studied production in co-cultures and faecal fermentations and examined the effect of selected strains on the faecal microbiome composition and metabolome in vitro. Methods and Results Strains of intestinally derived Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum from fermented cereals were grown singly, in co-culture and in faecal fermentations designed to simulate colonic conditions. Isolates synthesized varying amounts of GABA in vitro; GABA production could be increased by co-culture, lactic acid, or reduced pH but was decreased in the presence of high buffering. In faecal fermentations, selected strains inoculated singly or in combination persisted over 24 h and increased the GABA concentration without causing major disruptions in the microbiome or metabolome. Bifidobacterium adolescentis supplementation increased short-chain fatty acids acetate and propionate, and L. plantarum was associated with increased succinate levels, while all treatments exhibited a reduction in Escherichia compared to the controls. Conclusions GABA production from these lactic acid bacteria is strain-specific and the combination of these two species shows potential for future next-generation probiotic development
Juror Decision Making: Does juror stigma, mental health literacy, or the description of a defendant’s mental health status, impact decision-making in a mock criminal trial?
No full textThere has been limited research considering how different types of mental health information can influence juror decisions of guilt. The present study adopted an experimental methodology in which the amount of mental health information presented to contextualise an alleged offence of Criminal Damage was varied. Participants (n=243) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (‘control’: a mental health explanation could be reasonably inferred but was not directly stated; ‘symptoms only’: clear mental health symptoms were described but no diagnosis was provided; ‘symptoms + diagnosis’: which only differed from the ‘symptoms’ condition by additionally describing the condition as ‘paranoid schizophrenia’). Participants watched a series of videos depicting a fictional criminal trial and were asked to make judgements of guilt. Baseline stigma towards mental health conditions and mental health literacy (MHL) were measured using standardised scales. Guilt ratings were measured as the dependent variable. Regression analyses identified that mental health information, stigma, and MHL were all important predictors of guilt, however interaction effects indicated that people with higher MHL were particularly influenced by increasing mental health information (with guilt judgements decreasing more for those with higher MHL). A particularly notable finding was that the addition of a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was associated with a reduction in guilt ratings, even after controlling for all other factors. The results are relevant to the way in which mental health conditions are described in the courtroom, and suggestions are made for future research
Long-term outcomes of drug-coated balloons vs. drug-eluting stents in coronary chronic total occlusion angioplasty: the SPARTAN-CTO study
No full textAim: The role of drug-coated balloon (DCB)–only strategy in de novo chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains uncertain. We compared DCB with drug-eluting stent (DES) strategies in patients undergoing CTO angioplasty. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 170 patients with de novo CTO undergoing PCI between 2013 and 2019. Patients were treated with either DCB-only (n = 85) or DES-only (n = 85) strategies. The primary endpoint was target vessel revascularization (TVR); secondary endpoints included all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, target vessel-myocardial infarction (TV-MI), any MI, and a composite of all-cause mortality, MI, and TVR. Median follow-up was 3.67 years. Results: TVR occurred in 11 (12.9%) DCB vs. 5 (5.9%) DES patients (HR 2.33, 95% CI 0.81–6.74, p = 0.118). All-cause mortality (7.1% vs. 12.9%; HR 0.56, p = 0.262) and the composite endpoint (21.2% vs. 20.0%; HR 1.15, p = 0.686) did not differ significantly. After adjustment for creatinine, J-CTO score, and vessel diameter, outcomes remained comparable between groups. Creatinine was independently associated with mortality and the composite endpoint. No acute vessel closure or thrombosis occurred within 30 days. During follow-up, no target lesion thrombosis was observed in the DCB group, while one late stent thrombosis (1.2%) occurred in the DES group. Conclusion: In this single-center study, a DCB-only strategy for de novo CTO PCI demonstrated long-term efficacy and safety outcomes comparable to DES, supporting DCB as a potential alternative
Psychometric properties of the CES-D and four of its short-forms among South African primary care patients with a chronic condition
No full textBackground: To enhance practicality of routine depression screening in primary care, shorter versions of the 20-item CES-D have been created. However, providers lack evidence to guide their choice of short-form as their psychometric properties have not been systematically compared to the full scale. We compared the reliability, criterion validity, and dimensionality of four CES-D short-forms with the full CES-D in a South African primary care population. Methods: Using the CES-D, we screened 4010 adults receiving HIV and/or diabetes treatment in primary care, of which 882 were rescreened prior to enrolment in a psychological intervention trial. We assessed the internal consistency and temporal stability, of the CES-D-12, -10, -9, and -8, and evaluated each short-form’s criterion validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis tested multiple factor solutions for the full CES-D and each short-form. Results: All short-forms demonstrated high internal consistency (a > .85) and moderate temporal stability (intraclass correlations: .73-.75) comparable to the full CES-D. While all short-forms had excellent criterion validity (area under the receiver operator curve [AUROC] > .90), the CES-D-12 and CES-D-10 had superior criterion validity (AUROC = .99) and classification accuracy (93.1% and 93.7% respectively). The CES-D-12 emerged as the short-form with the closest conceptual alignment to the full scale, both optimally fitted by a three-factor model. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the CES-D-10 and -12 are the best alternatives to the full CES-D. While the CES-D-10 offers efficiency advantages for case detection, the CES-D-12 may provide more insight into depression symptom profiles
The relationship between cognitive processes and psychopathology following a trauma in children and adolescents:A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textIntroduction Cognitive models highlight the role of maladaptive appraisals and rumination in the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents. Recent research has highlighted that such factors may also be linked to the development of depression post-trauma. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the role of maladaptive appraisals and rumination in the development and maintenance of PTSD and depression following trauma. Method A systematic search was conducted across three databases; PsycInfo, MEDLINE and PTSDpubs. Forty-seven studies were identified which met inclusion criteria, comprising 14,194 children and adolescents. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted. Results Strong cross-sectional relationships were identified between appraisals and both PTSD (r = 0.54 [95 %CI = 0.47, 0.61]; k = 29) and depression (r = 0.60 [95 % CI = 0.47, 0.70; k = 12). This relationship retains strength across trauma types. A medium-sized relationship between rumination and PTSD (r = 0.40 [95 % CI = 0.27, 0.51]; k = 14) was identified. These findings were consistent prospectively, suggesting that maladaptive appraisals (r = 0.60 [95 % CI = 0.44, 0.73]; k = 4) and rumination (r = 0.38 [95 % CI = 0.28, 0.48]; k = 8) are predictive of PTSD. There was not enough evidence to comment on the link between rumination and depression. All estimates were characterised by a high degree of heterogeneity. Conclusion The relevance and impact of maladaptive appraisals goes beyond PTSD alone and is also linked to the development of depression post-trauma. Targeting maladaptive appraisals in treatment following a traumatic experience may therefore help to reduce both PTSD and depression symptoms. The role of rumination in post-traumatic depression has received insufficient attention and is not clearly understood
