Differences In Visibility Research Articles

Mapping Open Access Publishing Trends in Central Universities of North East India: A Scientometric Approach

ABSTRACT The study analyses open access publications across the 10 central universities of North East India, focusing on publication trends, disciplinary distribution, citation impact, collaboration patterns, and open access licensing patterns. It compiles scholarly outputs from the OpenAlex API, integrating various data sources such as Microsoft Academic Graph, ORCID, Crossref, and Unpaywall. A total of 28,832 publications from 2004–2023 were collected and analyzed using statistical methods. The findings reveal a positive trend in research output across the represented universities, with an increasing emphasis on OA publications. However, the proportion of OA publications remains relatively low compared to closed access. Citation impact varies among universities, reflecting differences in research quality and visibility. Open repositories such as SSRN, Research Square, and Zenodo are crucial in promoting OA publishing. The study also reveals common usage of licenses such as CC-BY and CC-BY-NC-ND, with variations across universities. The impact on libraries is also discussed, emphasizing the role of libraries in promoting OA, supporting researchers, and contributing to scholarly communication advancement. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers, academic administrators, and researchers seeking to promote a culture of openness, collaboration, and innovation in scholarly communication within the region, country, and at the global level.

Safety and efficacy of autologous blood tattooing for preoperative colonic localization: a comparative study with conventional India ink tattooing.

India ink has been a popular choice for a tattooing agent in preoperative endoscopic localization but often results in unfavorable effects. Subsequently, autologous blood tattooing has arisen as an alternative option. Due to the limited availability of comparative studies on the matter, we conducted a study to compare the perioperative outcomes associated with India ink tattooing versus autologous blood tattooing. A total of 96 patients who underwent minimally invasive surgical procedures for left-sided colonic neoplasm following preoperative endoscopic localization were included in the study. These patients were categorized into two groups: 36 patients who received India ink tattooing and 60 patients who underwent autologous blood tattooing. The perioperative outcomes including procedure-related outcomes and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. There was no significant difference in visibility and spillage of tattooing agent between India ink group and autologous blood group. However, India ink group showed a higher incidence of post-tattooing fever, higher level of postoperative C-reactive protein level, longer time to first flatus, resumption of surgical soft diet, and duration of hospital stay, and a higher occurrence of postoperative complications including ileus and surgical site infection compared with the autologous blood group. In the multivariate analysis, India ink tattooing was significantly associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications. In the subgroup analysis involving patients with intraperitoneal spillage, the autologous blood group demonstrated significantly favorable perioperative outcomes compared with India ink group. Autologous blood tattooing demonstrated comparable visibility and enhanced safety, establishing it as a potential alternative to India ink for preoperative endoscopic localization.

Enabling AI-Generated Content for Gadolinium-Free Contrast-Enhanced Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

There is increasing interest in utilizing AI-generated content for gadolinium-free contrast-enhanced breast MRI. To develop a generative model for gadolinium-free contrast-enhanced breast MRI and evaluate the diagnostic utility of the generated scans. Retrospective. Two hundred seventy-six women with 304 breast MRI examinations (49 ± 13 years, 243/61 for training/testing). ZOOMit diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), T1-weighted volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (T1W VIBE), and axial T2 3D SPACE at 3.0 T. A generative model was developed to generate contrast-enhanced scans using precontrast T1W VIBE and DWI images. The generated and real images were quantitatively compared using the structural similarity index (SSIM), mean absolute error (MAE), and Dice similarity coefficient. Three radiologists with 8, 5, and 5 years of experience independently rated the image quality and lesion visibility on AI-generated and real images within various subgroups using a five-point scale. Four breast radiologists, with 8, 8, 5, and 5 years of experience, independently and blindly interpreted four reading protocols: unenhanced MRI protocol alone and combined with AI-generated scans, abbreviated MRI protocol, and full-MRI protocol. Results were assessed using t-tests and McNemar tests. Using pathology diagnosis as reference standard, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each reading protocol. A P value <0.05 was considered significant. In the test set, the generated images showed similarity to the real images (SSIM: 0.935 ± 0.047 [SD], MAE: 0.015 ± 0.012 [SD], and Dice coefficient: 0.726 ± 0.177 [SD]). No significant difference in lesion visibility was observed between real and AI-generated scans of the mass, non-mass, and benign lesion subgroups. Adding AI-generated scans to the unenhanced MRI protocol slightly improved breast cancer detection (sensitivity: 92.86% vs. 85.71%, NPV: 76.92% vs. 70.00%); achieved non-inferior diagnostic utility compared to the AB-MRI protocol and full-protocol (sensitivity: 92.86%, 95.24%; NPV: 75.00%, 81.82%). AI-generated gadolinium-free contrast-enhanced breast MRI has potential to improve the sensitivity of unenhanced MRI in detecting breast cancer. 4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 3.

Use of Color Channel Optimization in 3D Heads-Up Vitrectomy vs Standard Operating Microscope for Macular Surgeries.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of color channel optimization with 3-dimensional (3D) heads-up vitrectomy (3D HUD group) vs standard operating microscope vitrectomy (control group) for macular surgery. Methods: This retrospective multicenter comparative study comprised patients having 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy for macular hole, epiretinal membrane (ERM), or vitreomacular traction. The minimum follow-up was 6 months. Surgeons completed a subjective questionnaire after each case. The main outcome measures were safety related (dye reinjection rate, macular ERM or internal limiting membrane [ILM] peeling time, endoillumination intensity). Other outcome measures included total surgical time, surgical outcomes, and subjective surgeon-related parameters. Results: The study included 74 eyes (36 in 3D HUD group; 38 in control group). There were no statistical differences in baseline parameters between groups. Significantly more eyes in the control group than in the 3D HUD group required dye reinjection (23.7% vs 5.6%; P = .03). Less time was required for ERM and ILM peeling in the 3D HUD group (both P < .01); however, the total surgical time was the same between groups. Eyes in the 3D HUD group required lower endoillumination (P < .001). There were no between-group differences in the rates of complications. Surgeons said depth perception was better in the control group (P < .001), with no differences in comfort or visibility. Conclusions: 3D heads-up-based color channel optimization for macular surgeries is safe and effective. Although it may have safety advantages, it did not affect the visual or anatomic outcomes or total surgical time and did not improve surgeon comfort or visibility.

How laws of universal design discriminate between different types of disabilities - Lessons learned from Norway

IntroductionDifferent diseases and disabilities have varying levels of prestige in the society. Is this variance also visible in the legal documents about universal design in the transport sector? MethodsBased on a document analysis of 42 legal documents and guidelines in Norway, we have examined (1) how the laws define universal design and (2) what groups they include when talking about disabilities. Both a qualitative and a quantitative analyses are conducted to answer the research question: do the legal documents discriminate between different types of disabilities – and if this is the case, is this due to difference in prestige or visibility? ResultsFindings suggest that there is a biased focus on physical environment in the definitions of universal design and that visible disabilities, especially mobility impairments and visual impairments, are prioritized over other types of disabilities. ConclusionDisease prestige does not seem to explain the difference in terms of inclusion in legal documents to the extent that visibility does.

DVANet: Disentangling View and Action Features for Multi-View Action Recognition

In this work, we present a novel approach to multi-view action recognition where we guide learned action representations to be separated from view-relevant information in a video. When trying to classify action instances captured from multiple viewpoints, there is a higher degree of difficulty due to the difference in background, occlusion, and visibility of the captured action from different camera angles. To tackle the various problems introduced in multi-view action recognition, we propose a novel configuration of learnable transformer decoder queries, in conjunction with two supervised contrastive losses, to enforce the learning of action features that are robust to shifts in viewpoints. Our disentangled feature learning occurs in two stages: the transformer decoder uses separate queries to separately learn action and view information, which are then further disentangled using our two contrastive losses. We show that our model and method of training significantly outperforms all other uni-modal models on four multi-view action recognition datasets: NTU RGB+D, NTU RGB+D 120, PKU-MMD, and N-UCLA. Compared to previous RGB works, we see maximal improvements of 1.5%, 4.8%, 2.2%, and 4.8% on each dataset, respectively. Our code can be found here: https://github.com/NyleSiddiqui/MultiView_Actions

Geographical and gender inequalities in health sciences studies: testing differences in research productivity, impact and visibility

PurposeGender and geographical imbalance in production and impact levels is a pressing issue in global knowledge production. Within Health Sciences, while some studies found stark gender and geographical biases and inequalities, others found little empirical evidence of this marginalization. The purpose of the study is to clear the ambiguity concerning the topic.Design/methodology/approachBased on a comprehensive and systematic analysis of Health Sciences research data downloaded from the Scival (Scopus/Scimago) database from 2017 to 2020 (n = 7,990), this study first compares gender representation in research productivity, as well as differences in terms of citation per document, citations per document view and view per document scores according to geographical location. Additionally, the study clarifies whether there is a geographic bias in productivity and impact measures (i.e. citation per document, citations per document view and view per document) moderated by gender.FindingsResults indicate that gender inequalities in productivity are systematic at the overall disciplinary, as well as the subfield levels. Findings also suggest statistically significant geographical differences in citation per document, citations per document view, and view per document scores, and interaction effect of gender over the relation between geography and (1) the number of citations per view and (2) the number of views per document.Originality/valueThis study contributes to scientometric studies in health sciences by providing insightful findings about the geographical and gender bias in productivity and impact across world regions.

Measures to protect and promote elite athletes’ mental health in Swiss sports

Abstract: Introduction: This paper addresses the growing concern surrounding mental health in elite sports. Acknowledging that national sports systems vary in structure and that any evaluation of these issues must necessarily be country-specific, the study explores current mental health provisions in Switzerland. Method: Based on the feedback of 31 experts, including athletes and representatives from sporting organizations, the study evaluates four aspects of existing measures: formulation of a mental health plan, mental health care provision, athlete support systems, and provisions for high-risk events. Results: The findings highlight two key issues. First, experts clearly have different views about mental health initiatives in Swiss sports for reasons that may include variations in access to information, program visibility, regional and sport-specific differences, and emerging strategies that have not yet been widely embraced. Second, despite these disparities, the experts unanimously agreed that some basic mental health measures remain unimplemented. Conclusion: These findings highlight a pressing need for basic interventions such as mental health screening and improved mental health literacy. Another recommended priority is to design and implement a holistic national mental health plan informed by the collaborative contributions of all stakeholders. Furthermore, this discourse on mental health must be in coordination with ongoing dialogues on ethics in sports.

Current food labelling practices in online supermarkets in Australia

BackgroundFood product labelling can support consumer decision-making. Several food product labels (nutrition information panels (NIPs), ingredients lists, allergen declarations and country-of-origin) are mandated for physical product packaging in Australia, with a voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling system, Health Star Ratings (HSRs), also available. However, labelling requirements are not explicitly extended to online settings and the extent to which this information is available in these increasingly important food environments has not been assessed.MethodsData from all individual food product pages was collected from the online stores of the two dominant supermarket retailers in Australia using automated web scraping in April–May 2022 (n = 22,077 products collected). We assessed the proportion of pages displaying NIPs, ingredients, allergens, country-of-origin and HSRs after excluding products ineligible to display the respective label. We also assessed whether HSRs were differentially available for higher- (healthier) and lower-scoring (less healthy) products, with HSR scores drawn from a comprehensive Australian food composition database, FoodSwitch. A manual inspection of randomly selected product pages (n = 100 for each label type per supermarket), drawn from products displaying the relevant label, was conducted to assess whether the labels were immediately visible to users (i.e. without scrolling or clicking). Differences in labelling prevalence and visibility were compared using chi-squared tests.ResultsAcross both supermarkets, country-of-origin labelling was almost complete (displayed on 93% of food product pages), but NIPs (49%), ingredients (34%) and allergens (53%) were less frequently displayed. HSRs were infrequently displayed (14% across both supermarkets) and more likely to be applied to higher-scoring products (22% on products with ≥ 3.5HSR v 0.4% on products with < 3.5HSR, p < 0.001). One supermarket was far more likely to make NIPs (100% v 2%, p < 0.001), ingredients (100% v 19%, p < 0.001) and allergens (97% v 0%, p < 0.001) information immediately visible, though the other made HSRs more apparent (22% v 75%, p < 0.001). Both supermarkets displayed country-of-origin labels prominently (100% v 86%, p < 0.001).ConclusionsFood product labelling varies in online supermarkets in Australia overall and between supermarkets, while the design of online stores resulted in differences in labelling visibility. The near-complete display of country-of-origin labels and differential application of HSRs to higher-scoring products may reflect their use as marketing tools. Our findings highlight an urgent need for food labelling regulations to be updated to better account for online retail food environments.

A Comparative Investigation of Light Scattering and Digital Holographic Imaging to Measure Liquid Phase Cloud Droplets

The measurement of cloud microphysical parameters plays an important role in describing characteristics of liquid phase clouds and investigating mutual relationships between clouds and precipitation. In this paper, cloud microphysical parameters at Liupan Mountain Weather Station in Ningxia are measured with a high-resolution coaxial digital holographic imager and a fog monitor 120. There are differences in the measurement results between the two instruments. The number concentration measured by the digital holographic imager is about 1.5 times that of the fog monitor 120. However, their Pearson correlation coefficient is above 0.9. Through analysis, we found that the measurement results of the digital holographic imager and fog monitor 120 are differences in 2–4 µm and 7–50µm. For the droplets with the diameters of 4–7 µm, their measurement results have good consistency. By analyzing the influence of wind field and detection sensitivity on the measurement principle, the reasons which caused the difference are proposed. Advice is given to observe topographic clouds by using the above two instruments. In addition, the differences in liquid water content and visibility are analyzed due to the absence of small and large droplets. The study provides data support for improving the accuracy of instruments in measuring cloud droplets and is useful for research in the field of cloud microphysical processes.

Augmented Reality in Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anaesthesia: An Exploratory Study on Models With Potential Implications for Training.

Introduction Needle tip visualisation is a key skill required for the safe practice of ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia (UGRA). This exploratory study assesses the utility of a novel augmented reality device, NeedleTrainer™, to differentiate between anaesthetists with varying levels of UGRA experience in a simulated environment. Methods Four groups of five participants were recruited (n = 20): novice, early career, experienced anaesthetists, and UGRA experts. Each participant performed three simulated UGRA blocks using NeedleTrainer™ on healthy volunteers (n = 60). The primary aim was to determine whether there was a difference in needle tip visibility, as calculated by the device, between groups of anaesthetists with differing levels of UGRA experience. Secondary aims included the assessment of simulated block conduct by an expert assessor and subjective participant self-assessment. Results The percentage of time the simulated needle tip was maintained in view was higher in the UGRA expert group (57.1%) versus the other three groups (novice 41.8%, early career 44.5%, and experienced anaesthetists 43.6%), but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.05). An expert assessor was able to differentiate between participants of different UGRA experiencewhen assessing needle tip visibility (novice 3.3 out of 10, early career 5.1, experienced anaesthetists 5.9, UGRA expert group 8.7; p < 0.01) and final needle tip placement (novice 4.2 out of 10, early career 5.6, experienced anaesthetists 6.8, UGRA expert group 8.9; p < 0.01). Subjective self-assessment by participants did not differentiate UGRA experience when assessing needle tip visibility (p = 0.07) or final needle tip placement (p = 0.07). Discussion An expert assessor was able to differentiate between participants with different levels of UGRA experience in this simulated environment. Objective NeedleTrainer™ andsubjective participantassessmentsdid not reach statistical significance. The findings are novel as simulated needling using live human subjects has not been assessed before, and no previous studies have attempted to objectively quantify needle tip visibility during simulated UGRA techniques. Future research should include larger sample sizes to further assess the potential use of such technology.

Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Visibility in the Yellow and Bohai Seas Based on Observational Data

In the Yellow and Bohai Seas, the detailed characteristics of visibility are analyzed based on automatic hourly observation data of marine visibility between 2019 and 2021. The results show that the annual average visibility in the Yellow and Bohai Seas is 13.346 km. The average visibility at high latitudes is higher than that at low latitudes in the Yellow and Bohai Seas. The low visibility area is mainly distributed in the southwest of the Yellow Sea. There are obvious seasonal differences in visibility in the Yellow and Bohai Seas. Visibility is high from September to November, with maximum values in October. Visibility is lowest in July when the maximum visibility is low and the minimum visibility is high. The visibility in spring is overall relatively low, and the areas of low visibility appear in the southwest of the Yellow Sea. The visibility in autumn is overall relatively high, and the areas of high visibility occur in the northern part of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. The visibility has significant intraday variation. The visibility around sunset is significantly higher than that around sunrise. The hourly visibility is low between 4:00 and 9:00, with the lowest visibility most likely around 7:00. The hourly visibility is high between 16:00 and 21:00, with the highest visibility most likely around 18:00. Low visibility occurs frequently between November and April, most of all in March. Low visibility most often occurs between 4:00 and 7:00. Low visibility may occur at any time between November and April, and also in mornings between May and August. It occurs less often at other times.

Narrow Band Imaging in Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing-How Does It Work?

The purposes of this study were to compare the visibility of various color groups in different dilutions using narrow band imaging (NBI) and white light (WL) and to determine an optimal color combination using NBI and WL for multicolor flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), for example, to test different consistencies. Preliminary examinations were performed in the oral cavity of two healthy volunteers. Various dyes were tested using NBI and WL to evaluate their visibilities. In the case of a clearly discernible color change, the visibility differences in the dilution series under WL and NBI were recorded and compared. Subsequently, an abbreviated dilution series with NBI and WL was performed in a volunteer as part of a swallow endoscopy to determine whether the results from the oral cavity could be transferred to the hypopharynx. The enhancement of visibility using NBI compared with WL can be proven. When NBI was used, yellow and red food dyes and their mixtures showed distinct color changes. The reacting dyes were still visible under NBI, even at a 10-times-higher dilution, requiring a lower dye concentration for FEES. For increased visibility, the dyes used for FEES with NBI must contain colors from a small range in the yellow and red spectra, which are close to the filter maxima of NBI. Both colors are well visible under WL when combining red and green (secondary color of yellow). Certain food colorings are visible 10 times more diluted under NBI than under WL. In a multicolored approach, optimal visibility under NBI and WL can be achieved by combining green and red. This new high-sensitivity FEES should be highlighted to allow an instant distinction from WL-FEES; we suggest "FEES+." https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23280290.

Interim evaluation of insertable cardiac monitor signal quality in the LUX-Dx PERFORM study

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Boston Scientific Corporation Background The LUX-Dx PERFORM Study is designed to evaluate safety and performance of the LUX-Dx Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) in a general patient population. Although follow-up is ongoing, enrollment is complete, and at least half of the patients have completed 180 days of follow-up. The visibility (or absence) of P-waves in the ICM-recorded S-ECG is an important feature in the diagnosis of atrial arrhythmias. Objective Evaluate the visibility of P-waves in patients enrolled in the LUX-Dx PERFORM study. Methods P-wave visibility was evaluated from the first 356 patients enrolled in the LUX-Dx PERFORM study. The daily presenting S-ECGs (10 second rhythm) nearest to Day 7 (+/- 1) and Day 180 (+/- 7) after implant were blindly adjudicated by independent electrophysiologists to calculate the percentage of beats with clearly visible P-waves. Results Of 636 reviewed S-ECGs, 24 (3.7%) were excluded from analysis for presence of AF rhythm (11), or unavailable data (8 with insufficient adjudication and 5 with no detected R-waves from which to calculate the percentage of beats with visible P-waves). Figure 1 shows an example of a presenting S-ECG rhythm with clearly visible P-waves from the patient management system LATITUDE Clarity. The P-waves were found to be clearly visible in 89.1% of the total heart cycles (Day 7: 90.4%, Day 180: 87.8%). The average difference in percent visibility between Day 7 and Day 180 was approximately 2.2% (p=.248). At a patient level, 88% of patients had visible P-waves in at least one presenting ECG for more than 90% of beats, as shown in Figure 2. In addition, 69% of patients had visible P-waves in both presenting ECGs (Day 7 and Day 180) for at least 90% of beats. Conclusion The LUX-Dx showed consistent visibility of P-waves in the first half of patients enrolled in the LUX-Dx PERFORM study, which represents a general patient population. Adequate P-wave visibility is an important clinical feature in diagnosing atrial arrhythmias and may aid in analysis and clinic workflow efficiency.

Effect of Transparency Levels and Real-World Backgrounds on the User Interface in Augmented Reality Environments

With the introduction of the metaverse, augmented reality (AR) is expected to become the next interface between people and computers. Research is conducted to improve the usability of AR applications and devices. Color transparency and background effect are the two critical factors to consider while developing AR applications. Ten user interface conditions (5 color transparency levels × 2 background conditions) were evaluated in an AR environment. The task completion time and mean error were noted along with the subjective scores of button visibility, background visibility, and motion sickness. The results revealed a significant difference in task completion time, button visibility, and background visibility between transparency conditions, but not in the number of errors and total motion sickness. The transparency level of T0.5 and T0.75 is recommended for the interface of AR applications. This study could be helpful when creating augmented reality applications for the metaverse and other platforms.

The effect of a single dose of intravenous tranexamic acid on visual clarity in knee arthroscopic meniscectomy without a tourniquet

Background/Aim: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is known to reduce intra-articular bleeding during arthroscopic procedures, which can improve visibility and reduce postoperative pain and knee joint swelling from hemarthrosis. However, insufficient data supports the routine use of TXA in arthroscopic meniscectomy. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a single dose of intravenous (IV) TXA on visual clarity in arthroscopic meniscectomy without a tourniquet.&#x0D; Methods: A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was conducted to assess the use of TXA for visibility in routine arthroscopic meniscectomy without a tourniquet. Between January 2021 and February 2022, 53 patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscectomy were randomly assigned to either the TXA group (n=27), who received 1 g IV-TXA, or the control group (n=26), who received 100 ml of normal saline. Visual clarity was evaluated using a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Patients were also assessed for the need for a tourniquet, tourniquet time, total operative time, volume of irrigation fluid, postoperative pain, hemarthrosis, and knee function on postoperative day 3 and weeks 1, 2, and 4, using the Lysholm knee scoring scale.&#x0D; Results: There was no significant difference in intra-operative arthroscopic visibility between the TXA and control groups (P=0.394). Tourniquet was required in three cases in the TXA group and four cases in the control group (P=0.646). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding postoperative pain, grade of postoperative hemarthrosis, knee motion, or the Lysholm Knee Score after the operation.&#x0D; Conclusion: The administration of IV-TXA in arthroscopic meniscectomy without a tourniquet did not provide any benefits such as enhanced surgical visualization, reduction in the need to inflate the tourniquet due to obstructed visibility, or decrease in hemarthrosis, VAS pain score, or improved range of motion of the knee in the postoperative period when compared to the control group.

MP09-20 CONTRAST AGENTS FOR UROLOGIC FLUOROSCOPY: A COMPARATIVE PHANTOM STUDY

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023MP09-20 CONTRAST AGENTS FOR UROLOGIC FLUOROSCOPY: A COMPARATIVE PHANTOM STUDY Anahita Heshmat, Gene Austin, Manuel Arreola, and Benjamin Canales Anahita HeshmatAnahita Heshmat More articles by this author , Gene AustinGene Austin More articles by this author , Manuel ArreolaManuel Arreola More articles by this author , and Benjamin CanalesBenjamin Canales More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003224.20AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The recent international shortage of iodinated contrast agents has driven many clinicians to search for alternative agents to image a variety of urologic conditions in order to maintain clinic workflow. We sought to standardize these agents by a quantitative comparison using a phantom model. METHODS: A donut shape gel phantom with 10-mm wide plastic rods filled with Omnipaque-300, Omnipaque-350, Visipaque-270, Isovue-370, Gadavist, Eovist, and liquid water, was used to represent a patient being imaged for an urethrogram study utilizing a mobile fluoroscopy. The phantom was imaged with various acquisitions (Auto tube voltage (kVp), tube current (mA), and various dose modes, frame rates, and magnification modes) to compare and asses image quality for different contrast agents. Quantitative evaluations were performed with extracting regions of interest (ROIs) of each contrast rod to gather mean pixel values and standard deviations. These ROI measurements were then utilized to calculate contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) as the metric appropriate for image quality evaluation. RESULTS: The mean pixel and CNR values of Omnipaque-300, Omnipaque-350, Visipaque-270, Isovue-370, and Gadavist showed no difference in visibility among these five contrast agents while using different dose modes, frame rates, and magnification modes. However, that was not the case for Eovist as its mean pixel value and CNR value were close to those of liquid water. Furthermore, changing magnification from normal to magnification 1 and magnification 2 increased the mean pixel values and CNR values at normal dose and continuous frame rate. CONCLUSIONS: With the exception of Eovist, the iodinated and gadolinium-based contrast agents we tested can be interchanged without compromising visibility or image quality based upon this comparative phantom study. Source of Funding: None © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e113 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Anahita Heshmat More articles by this author Gene Austin More articles by this author Manuel Arreola More articles by this author Benjamin Canales More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Differences in Glottal Closure and Visibility of the Anterior Commissure during Rigid-90°, Rigid-70°, and Flexible Laryngostroboscopy

Introduction: The conventional rigid-90° and rigid-70° laryngostroboscopy has been so far considered the gold standard in assessing the vibratory behavior of the vocal folds and the glottal closure configuration during phonation. Meanwhile, this rigid laryngostroboscopy is more and more replaced by flexible chip-on-tip systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of these different endoscopic techniques on glottal closure configuration and on visibility of the complete focal fold length including anterior commissure during phonation. Methods: Twenty-one euphonic subjects were enrolled (mean age 34.6 ± 9.5; m = 10, f = 11). They were examined with the three laryngoscopic techniques (conventional rigid-90°, rigid-70°, and flexible chip-on-tip laryngoscopy during low and high voice pitch with soft and loud voice intensity). For evaluating the degree of glottal closure, a modified classification of Södersten et al. was applied and the visibility of the anterior commissure was evaluated. The correlation of the three endoscopic techniques was assessed with Cohen and Fleiss’ kappa. Results: In even low loud phonation, the rigid-90° and rigid-70° endoscopies revealed a complete closure of the glottis in only 47.6% of subjects but with flexible endoscopy in 81%. The complete vocal fold length with anterior commissure was best visible with flexible endoscopy in 90.5% in low-soft and high-soft phonation. The rigid-90° endoscopy showed a slight agreement in comparison with the flexible endoscopy in regard to the types of vocal fold closure with a Cohen’s kappa coefficient k = 0.199. The rigid-90° endoscopy showed an almost perfect agreement with k = 0.84 when compared to the rigid-70° endoscopy. The flexible endoscopy compared to the rigid-70° endoscopy showed a fair agreement with k = 0.346. Conclusion: We found mainly corresponding results in both rigid-90° and rigid-70° endoscopic techniques which can be explained by the same transoral approach with the tongue pulled out, whereas the flexible transnasal endoscopy mainly gives a better view on the anterior commissure. The influence of transorally or transnasally guided endoscopic techniques needs to be considered in interpretation of laryngostroboscopic parameters like vocal fold closure and supraglottal hyperactivity.

Why does researchers' collaboration matter in research activities?

AbstractThere has been a global increase in research and discussions surrounding research collaboration in recent years. This study mainly establishes why collaboration matters in research activities. Specifically, the study has ascertained patterns of collaboration, exposed moderating factors of collaboration and established the perceived importance of collaboration in research activities. This has been done using a cross‐sectional descriptive design that employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study used questionnaires and interview methods to collect data from 236 researchers. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20) was used to analyse quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The study notes different patterns of collaboration between researchers. The findings also suggest that researchers with high ranks such as lecturers, senior lecturers and professors have multiple collaboration patterns than those in the lower ranks. Besides this, the study ascertains several moderating factors that foster collaboration in research activities. Apart from this, the study discloses different perceived impacts of collaboration on research activities. Based on its findings, the study recommends that university managements should not underestimate the domestic and international collaborations their researchers establish, manage and maintain. To see a difference in research performance, visibility and reputation, university managements should encourage their researchers to establish domestic and international research collaborations.

Sonographic visibility of the UltraCorTM TwirlTM tissue marker.

Tissue markers are inserted into the breast after percutaneous biopsy to mark the site of the lesion to facilitate potential re-localisation. Tissue markers are increasingly developed with improved sonographic visibility due to benefits conferred by ultrasound-guided localisation. We aim to study the sonographic visibility of the recently-introduced UltracorTM TwirlTM tissue marker and feasibility of its pre-operative localisation under ultrasound guidance. All patients who underwent insertion of the UltracorTM TwirlTM tissue marker in our institution from July 2017 to December 2018 were reviewed. Retrospective data including sonographic visibility, evidence of migration and rate of successful surgical excision were collected. All tissue markers were visible on subsequent ultrasound with 198 (85.0%) well-visualised with high degree of confidence while 35 (15.0%) were moderately well-visualised with moderate level of confidence. None of the tissue markers were poorly visualised and none demonstrated migration. No statistical difference in sonographic visibility is seen based on interval duration between deployment and subsequent ultrasound assessment or depth of tissue marker. UltracorTM TwirlTM demonstrates consistent sonographic visibility, identifiable with a high or moderate level of confidence with no associated migration. Its use in pre-operative localisation with ultrasound guidance is therefore both reliable and feasible.