1,720,990 research outputs found
Dermoscopia e microscopia laser confocale di lesioni rosa piatte solitarie: un nuovo score per la diagnosi del melanoma amelanotico
No full textBackground: La diagnosi differenziale del melanoma amelanotico/ipomelanotico tra le lesioni rosa piatte solitarie risulta spesso complessa, a causa dei limitati segni clinici e dermoscopici. L’utilizzo di dermoscopia e microscopia laser confocale migliora l'accuratezza diagnostica, ma la capacità combinata delle due metodiche nello studiuo delle lesioni rosa piatte solitarie deve ancora essere definita.
Obiettivi: Determinare (i) se l'accuratezza diagnostica è superiore utilizzando la dermoscopia combinata alla microscopia laser confocale, (ii) un modello per stimare la probabilità di diagnosticare un melanoma amelanotico/ipomelanotico piatto tra lesioni rosa piatte solitarie della cute.
Metodi: È stato condotto uno studio retrospettivo monocentrico su lesioni rosa piatte solitarie, asportate nel sospetto di malignità tra il 2011-2022. Le immagini sono state valutate in modo indipendente da due dermatologi, in cieco rispetto alla diagnosi istopatologica. La performance diagnostica è stata valutata in base alla curva ROC (receiver operating characteristic) e all'area sotto la curva. Le caratteristiche predittive sono state identificate mediante analisi di regressione logistica univariata e multivariata. Un nomogramma predittivo dei fattori di rischio indipendenti è stato calcolato mediante il backward likelihood ratio. L'ipotesi da testare è stata formulata prima della raccolta dei dati.
Risultati: Sono stati inclusi 184 pazienti (87 femmine, 47,3%); l'età media era di 57,6 anni (19-95). La combinazione di dermoscopia e microscopia laser confocale è risultata più sensibile (83%, CI 69,2-92,4 e 91,5%, CI 79,6-97,6) rispetto alla sola dermoscopia (76,6%, CI 62,0-87,7 e 85,1%, CI 71,7-93,8). Le caratteristiche predittive hanno definito un nuovo modello, comprendente i vasi irregolari lineari (4,26 pieghe, CI 1,5-12,1), il reticolo pigmentato periferico (6,07 pieghe, CI 1,83-20,15), i residui di pigmentazione (4,3 pieghe, CI 1,27-14,55) alla dermoscopia, e l’honeycomb pattern atipico (9,98 pieghe, CI 1,91-51. 96), il pattern epidermico disordinato (15,22 pieghe, CI 2,18-106,23), le cellule pagetoidi dendritiche nell'epidermide (3,77 pieghe, CI 1,25-11,26), le cellule pagetoidi ipopigmentate (27,05 pieghe, CI 1,57-465,5) e i nidi densi e sparsi (3,68 pieghe, CI 1,24-10,96) in microscopia laser confocale. L'accuratezza diagnostica del modello è risultata elevata (AUC 0,91).
Conclusione: L’utilizzo congiunto di microscopia laser confocale e dermoscopia
aumenta la sensibilità diagnostica nella diagnosi differenziale del melanoma amelanotico/ ipomelanotico piatto. Il modello proposto richiederà una successiva validazione.Background: Differential diagnosis of amelanotic / hypomelanotic melanoma among solitary flat pink lesions is challenging, due to limited clinical and dermoscopic clues. Dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy assessments improve diagnostic accuracy, but their combined capacity among solitary flat pink lesions is yet to be defined.
Objectives: To determine (i) whether diagnostic accuracy is improved with combined dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy, (ii) a model to estimate probability of flat amelanotic / hypomelanotic melanoma among solitary flat pink lesions.
Methods: A retrospective single-center study of solitary flat pink lesions, excised for suspected malignancy between 2011-2022 was performed. Images were independently evaluated by two dermatologists, blinded to histopathological diagnosis. Diagnostic performance was evaluated on the receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the curve. Predictive features were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. A final predictive nomogram of independent risk factors was calculated by backward likelihood ratio. Hypothesis being tested was formulated before data collection.
Results: A total of 184 patients (87 females, 47.3%) were included; mean age was 57.6 years (19-95). Combined dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy was more sensitive (83%, CI 69.2-92.4 and 91.5%, CI79.6-97.6) than dermoscopy alone (76.6%, CI 62.0-87.7 and 85.1%, CI 71.7-93.8). Predictive features defined the new model, including linear irregular vessels (4.26 folds, CI 1.5-12.1), peripheral pigment network (6.07 folds, CI 1.83-20.15), remnants of pigmentation (4.3 folds, CI 1.27-14.55) at dermoscopy, and atypical honeycomb (9.98 folds, CI 1.91-51.96), disarranged epidermal pattern (15.22 folds, CI 2.18-106.23), dendritic pagetoid cells in the epidermis (3.77 folds, CI 1.25-11.26), hypopigmented pagetoid cells (27.05 folds, CI 1.57-465.5), and dense and sparse nests (3.68 folds, CI 1.24-10.96) in reflectance confocal microscopy. Diagnostic accuracy of the model was high (AUC 0.91).
Conclusions: Adjunctive reflectance confocal microscopy increases diagnostic sensitivity of flat amelanotic/hypomelanotic melanoma differential diagnosis. The proposed model requires validation
Objects are not Slaves. Envisioning an Aesthetic Approach to the Design of an Interactive Dialogue with Objects
No full textStress protocol and accuracy of myocardial perfusion imaging: Is it better to start from the end?
No full textSketching interactive experiences: Video scenarios to support imagination and co-design
No full textThe paper presents the use of video-scenarios to support co-design of smart systems for public
spaces. Video-scenarios are commonly employed in the design of innovative services and
systems to visualize the main features of the designed solutions; we explored, instead, an
early use of videos as a tool to support imagination, to favour the cooperation between the
members of the project team from the real beginning of the project process, and to orient the
project efforts toward an optimal solution in terms of human satisfaction. We created videos
in order to sketch the main emotional and cognitive factors conditioning the user experience,
before the actual functionalities were defined and described. The videos, ambiguous from the
technology and functional points of view indicate the emotional factors of the users
experience, enable co-design between engineers and designers for further research activities and elicit creative inspiration.
The paper presents main the phases of the design process and some results achieved
Foretelling and Shaping the Future of Technology: the Role of Communication Designers in the Design of Innovation
No full texthis paper explores the role of communication designers in a multidisciplinary project team aimed to the development of smart systems (internet of things and digital solutions for public spaces), and it is based on a two year long experience during which the authors cooperated with researchers from academic and industrial institutions. In this experience, we faced the challenge of designing innovative solutions working with researchers characterized by different backgrounds, different expectations, values, priorities and design methodologies. To cope with this complex design context, and to exploit the potentials of the multicultural contributions, we experimented the early adoption of communication design tools and we demonstrated that the early production of video-scenarios illustrating meaningful aspects of the user experience, can be effectively employed to build a common ground in multicultural design teams, and to orient the development of innovative solutions toward a design driven process even in technology oriented project teams. We believe that, in order to produce desirable innovative solutions, the invention of metaphors, meanings and languages defining the aesthetic attributes of a digital product or system should be afforded before the definitions of the functional characteristics so to inspire and guide the following project steps
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Italian tailored assessment of lung indeterminate accidental nodule by proposing a segmental Pet/computed tomography (S-Pet/Ct): Rationale and study design of a retrospective, multicenter trial
No full textBACKGROUND: The Italian Tailored Assessment of Lung Indeterminate Accidental Nodule (ITALIAN) is a retrospective, multicenter trial designed to compare the diagnostic information provided by segmental positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) (s-PET/CT) with those of whole body (wb)-PET/CT in patients with single pulmonary nodules (SPN). This report describes the details and implications of the ITALIAN trial design.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Between September 2016 and May 2017, 502 consecutive patients (302 men, mean age 67±12 years) with SPN undergoing 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT were enrolled. PET/CT images will be visually and semiquantitatively evaluated. For visual analysis, a 4-point scoring system (1=absent; 2=mild; 3=moderate and 4=intense) will be used; for semiquantitative analysis, maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) in the SPN and mean SUV in the mediastinal blood pool and in the liver will be computed.
CONCLUSION: The results of this trial might help to define the role of s-PET/CT in patients with SPN. This trial will also evaluate the impact on radiobiology and costs subsequent the introduction of this alternative imaging acquisition modality
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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