0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was 0.922 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.95]. In external validation, the discrimination was good, with an AUC value of 0.833 (95% CI 0.70–0.92) for this model. Nomogram calibration plots indicated good agreement between the predicted and observed outcomes, exhibiting close approximation between the predicted and observed probability.CONCLUSION: We constructed a scoring model for predicting massive transfusion during cesarean section in women with placenta previa. This model may help in determining the need to prepare an appropriate amount of blood products and the optimal timing of blood transfusion.]]>
Area Under Curve ; Blood Transfusion ; Calibration ; Cesarean Section ; Cohort Studies ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Nomograms ; Placenta Previa ; Placenta ; Placentation ; Postpartum Hemorrhage ; Pregnancy ; ROC Curve ; Ultrasonography

Neuroinflammation is an important process underlying a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Carvacrol (CAR) is a phenolic monoterpene commonly used as a food additive due to its antibacterial properties, but it has also been shown to exhibit strong antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Here, we sought to investigate the effects of CAR on inflammation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects. In our study, lipopolysaccharide was injected into the lateral ventricle of rats to induce memory impairment and neuroinflammation. Daily administration of CAR (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg) for 21 days improved recognition, discrimination, and memory impairments relative to untreated controls. CAR administration significantly attenuated expression of several inflammatory factors in the brain, including interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and cyclooxygenase-2. In addition, CAR significantly increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA, and decreased expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mRNA. Taken together, these results show that CAR can improve memory impairment caused by neuroinflammation. This cognitive enhancement is due to the anti-inflammatory effects of CAR medicated by its regulation of BDNF and TLR4. Thus, CAR has significant potential as an inhibitor of memory degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Cytokines ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Food Additives ; Hippocampus ; Inflammation ; Lateral Ventricles ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Memory ; Necrosis ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Phenol ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger ; Toll-Like Receptor 4

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Prediction of intracranial aneurysm growth risk can assist physicians in planning of follow-up imaging of conservatively managed unruptured intracranial aneurysms. We therefore aimed to externally validate the ELAPSS (Earlier subarachnoid hemorrhage, aneurysm Location, Age, Population, aneurysm Size and Shape) score for prediction of the risk of unruptured intracranial aneurysm growth. METHODS: From 11 international cohorts of patients ≥18 years with ≥1 unruptured intracranial aneurysm and ≥6 months of radiological follow-up, we collected data on the predictors of the ELAPSS score, and calculated 3- and 5-year absolute growth risks according to the score. Model performance was assessed in terms of calibration (predicted versus observed risk) and discrimination (c-statistic). RESULTS: We included 1,072 patients with a total of 1,452 aneurysms. During 4,268 aneurysm-years of follow-up, 199 (14%) aneurysms enlarged. Calibration was comparable to that of the development cohort with the overall observed risks within the range of the expected risks. The c-statistic was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.73) at 3 years, compared to 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.76) in the development cohort. At 5 years, the c-statistic was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.72), compared to 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68 to 0.75) in the development cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The ELAPSS score showed accurate calibration for 3- and 5-year risks of aneurysm growth and modest discrimination in our external validation cohort. This indicates that the score is externally valid and could assist patients and physicians in predicting growth of unruptured intracranial aneurysms and plan follow-up imaging accordingly.
Aneurysm ; Calibration ; Cohort Studies ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Risk Factors ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Estimating the risk of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-induced gastric cancer during endoscopic examination is important. Owing to recent advances in gastrointestinal endoscopy, the gross appearance of the background gastric mucosa has enabled discrimination of subjects with active, chronic, and past H. pylori infection from those with no history of infection. To provide subjective criteria for H. pylori infection-related endoscopic findings with increased risk of gastric cancer, the Kyoto classification of gastritis was proposed at the 85th annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in May 2013 in Kyoto. The main contents focus on determining the gastric cancer risk by scoring the endoscopic findings of the background gastric mucosa from 0 to 8. These important findings are not described in the Kyoto Global Consensus Conference proceedings published in English. To better estimate the gastric cancer risk during screening endoscopy in an H. pylori-prevalent population, knowledge of the Japanese version of the Kyoto classification is important. This new classification emphasizes the discrimination of subjects with H. pylori infection by assessing 19 endoscopic findings (presence of atrophy, intestinal metaplasia, diffuse redness, spotty redness, mucosal swelling, enlarged folds, sticky mucus, chicken skin-like nodularity, foveolar-hyperplastic polyp, xanthoma, depressed erosion, regular arrangement of collecting venules, fundic gland polyp, linear red streak, raised erosion, hematin deposit, multiple white and flat-elevated lesions, patchy redness, and map-like redness). In this review, the validity of the Kyoto classification is summarized in conjunction with several suggestions to resolve emerging H. pylori infection-related problems in Korea.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Atrophy ; Chickens ; Classification ; Consensus ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Gastric Mucosa ; Gastritis ; Helicobacter pylori ; Helicobacter ; Hemin ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Metaplasia ; Mucus ; Polyps ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Venules ; Xanthomatosis

PURPOSE: To validate and update a nomogram for predicting ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) upstaging in preoperative biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of 444 preoperative DCIS patients were evaluated and used to validate a previous version of the Severance nomogram for predicting DCIS upstaging in preoperative biopsy. Patients were divided into two groups according to the final postoperative pathology. Univariate and multivariate analyses with the chi-square test, Student's t-test, and binary logistic regression method identified new significant variables. The updated nomogram was evaluated with the C-index and Hosmer—Lemeshow goodness of fit test. RESULTS: The area under a receiver operating characteristic curve for comparison with the previous nomogram was 0.48. In postoperative pathology, the pure DCIS and invasive cancer groups comprised 345 and 99 cases, respectively. Approximately 22.3% of patients preoperatively diagnosed with DCIS were upstaged to invasive cancer. Significant variables in the univariate analysis were operation type, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 overexpression, comedo necrosis, sonographic mass, mammographic mass, preoperative biopsy method, and suspicious microinvasion in preoperative biopsy. In multivariate analysis, operation type, sonographic mass, mammographic mass, and suspicious microinvasion were risk factors for upstaging. The updated model with these variables showed moderate discrimination and was appropriate in the calibration test. CONCLUSION: The previous nomogram did not effectively discriminate upstaging of preoperative DCIS in an independent cohort. An updated version of the nomogram appears to provide more accurate information for predicting preoperative DCIS upstaging.
Biopsy ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Calibration ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Cohort Studies ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Multivariate Analysis ; Necrosis ; Nomograms ; Pathology ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Risk Factors ; ROC Curve ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Identification of lymph node (LN) metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is critical for disease staging and selection of therapeutic modalities. Sometimes it is not possible to obtain LN core tissue by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspirate (EBUS-TBNA), resulting in low diagnostic yield. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 138 specimens were collected from 108 patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA under the suspicion of LN metastasis of NSCLC. Diagnostic yields of anti-CD45 and anti-methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MRS), immunofluorescent (IF) staining on cytology specimens were compared with those of conventional cytology and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT). RESULTS: MRS was strongly expressed in NSCLC cells metastasized to LNs, but weakly expressed in cells at the periphery of the LN germinal center. The majority of cells were CD20 positive, although a few cells were either CD3 or CD14 positive, indicating that CD45 staining is required for discrimination of non-malignant LN constituent cells from NSCLC cells. When the diagnostic efficacy of MRS/CD45 IF staining was evaluated using 138 LN cellular aspirates from 108 patients through EBUS-TBNA, the sensitivity was 76.7% and specificity was 90.8%, whereas those of conventional cytology test were 71.8% and 100.0%, respectively. Combining the results of conventional cytology testing and those of PET-CT showed a sensitivity and specificity of 71.6% and 100%, and the addition of MRS/CD45 dual IF data to this combination increased sensitivity and specificity to 85.1% and 97.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: MRS/CD45 dual IF staining showed good diagnostic performance and may be a good tool complementing conventional cytology test for determining LN metastasis of NSCLC.
Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Complement System Proteins ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Electrons ; Germinal Center ; Humans ; Ligases ; Lymph Nodes ; Methionine-tRNA Ligase ; Needles ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: To evaluate predictors of severe or moderate coronary artery disease (CAD) in individuals with zero or very low (<10) coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 1175 asymptomatic persons with zero or very low (<10) CAC scores were analyzed for CAD stenosis using coronary computed tomography angiography. Moderate and severe CADs were defined as having more than 50% and more than 70% stenosis in any of the major coronary arteries, respectively. Age, gender, body mass index, hypertension, type II diabetes, dyslipidemia, lipid profile, creatinine, and smoking status were evaluated as predictors for moderate and severe CAD. RESULTS: In the study population, moderate and severe CADs were found in 7.5% and 3.3%, respectively. Among evaluated risk factors, age [odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02−1.07, p<0.001], current smoking status (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.82−5.34, p<0.001), and CAC 1−9 (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.08−3.00, p=0.024) were significantly associated with moderate CAD. Meanwhile, age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02−1.08, p=0.003), low high density lipoprotein (HDL) (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93−0.99, p=0.003), and current smoking status (OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.14−5.30, p=0.022) were found to be significantly associated with severe CAD. Improvement of discrimination power for predicting severe CAD was observed when smoking and HDL cholesterol were serially added into the age model. CONCLUSION: Smoking showed significant correlations with moderate or severe CAD, and low HDL cholesterol also proved to be a predictor of severe CAD in asymptomatic individuals with extremely low CAC scores.
Angiography ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Body Mass Index ; Calcium ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Creatinine ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Dyslipidemias ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lipoproteins ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) are an increasing group of patients thanks to the survival of over 85% of children with CHD. 20% of these patients shall warrant a surgical procedure during their life span. However, currently there is no one risk score that assess correctly the mortality of these procedures. Thus, we analyse the risk scores used at our institution. METHODS: From May 1991 till June 2017, 608 procedures in adults with CHD were performed. The 3 risk scores (risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery [RACHS-1], Aristotle, and Euroscore I) of each procedure were analysed. We used area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (c-index) to measure model discrimination, and Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) statistic along with calibration plots to measure calibration. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference between the area under the curve for the 3 scores (χ²=0.58 with 2 df, p=0.750). There was no evidence of lack of fit for RACHS-1 (H-L, χ²=2.61; p=0.271) and Aristotle score (H-L, χ²=5.69; p=0.459). However, there was evidence in lack of calibration in the Euroscore I scoring system (H-L, χ²=33.69; p<0.001). The calibration slope for RACHS-1 was 0.912, for Aristotle (stratified in risk groups) was −0.14 and for Euroscore 1 (stratified in risk groups) was 0.46. CONCLUSIONS: RACHS-1 seems to be best risk scoring system for calculating mortality applied to surgery in adults with CHD.
Adult ; Calibration ; Child ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Mortality ; ROC Curve ; Thoracic Surgery

We reviewed past studies on the identification of familial relationships using 22 short tandem repeat markers. As a result, we can obtain a high discrimination power and a relatively accurate cut-off value in parent-child and full sibling relationships. However, in the case of pairs of uncle-nephew or cousin, we found a limit of low discrimination power of the likelihood ratio (LR) method. Therefore, we compare the LR ranking method and data mining techniques (e.g., logistic regression, linear discriminant analysis, diagonal linear discriminant analysis, diagonal quadratic discriminant analysis, K-nearest neighbor, classification and regression trees, support vector machines, random forest [RF], and penalized multivariate analysis) that can be applied to identify familial relationships, and provide a guideline for choosing the most appropriate model under a given situation. RF, one of the data mining techniques, was found to be more accurate than other methods. The accuracy of RF is 99.99% for parent-child, 99.44% for full siblings, 90.34% for uncle-nephew, and 79.69% for first cousins.
Classification ; Data Mining ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Forests ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Methods ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Siblings ; Support Vector Machine ; Trees

“Yong-yi” means “quack” in English, which generally refers to a doctor who does not have good medical skills. In the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, various criticism about “Yong-yi” became popularized, and by the late Qing period, “quacks” had become a serious social issue. The theory of traditional Chinese medicine was developed during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and local medical resources also increased. Moreover, the prevalence of medical book publishing led to the openness and generalization of medical knowledge. As a result, not only the number of doctors increased, but also the number of doctors who lack medical knowledge and clinical experience increased. However, at the outset, “Yong-yi” did not only mean doctors with poor medical skills. “Yong-yi” also reflected conflicts and contradictions between doctors. Doctors consistently criticized quacks in an attempt to maintain their identity as a “good” doctor or a Confucian doctor. In this sense, “Yong-yi” was used among physicians as an expression of discrimination and exclusion. The concept of “quackery” was also determined by the relationship between patients and doctors. In general, itinerant doctors, midwives and shaman doctors were regarded as “Yong-yi”; however, they served the medical needs of various patients. Thus, to some extent, “Yong-yi” were also useful medical resources. On the contrary, in certain situations, “shiyi,” physicians who serviced a family for generations and were generally believed to be reliable and as trustworthy doctors, were also labelled as quacks, especially when the patient did not trust them or was not satisfied with the treatment. Therefore, doctors' thoughts about “Yong-yi” did not always coincide with patients' thoughts about “Yong-yi.” However, by the late Qing period, the description of quacks in media reports found a singular connotation, and the divergent social image of quacks disappeared. By this time, quacks were uniformly described as ignorant and irresponsible Chinese medicine practitioners. Specifically, in one murder case in which a “Yong-yi” was accused as the murderer, the report unilaterally reported the patient's claims. Consequently, Chinese medicine practitioners who failed in their treatment of patients became labeled as “quack” doctors. In newspaper reports, “Yong-yi” no longer simply referred to individual cases of “quacks” but had come to represent the entirety of the Chinese medicine practitioner community. On the contrary, Western medical doctors who replaced the status of traditional doctors were positively portrayed. Pictorials also had similar perspectives with newspapers, supporting the narrative of the news with ironic drawings and articles. Overall, media reports regarding “Yong-yi” did not focus on reporting facts, but they had the purpose of making quacks a serious social problem.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Family Characteristics ; Generalization (Psychology) ; Homicide ; Humans ; Iron ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Midwifery ; Periodicals ; Prevalence ; Social Perception ; Social Problems