Negative Probability Research Articles

The observed relationship between the degree of parasite aggregation and the prevalence of infection within human host populations for soil-transmitted helminth and schistosome infections.

Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and schistosome parasites are highly aggregated within the human population. The probability distribution of worms per person is described well by the negative binomial probability distribution with aggregation parameter, k, which varies inversely with parasite clustering. The relationship between k and prevalence in defined populations subject to mass drug administration is not well understood. We use statistical methods to estimate k using two large independent datasets for STH and schistosome infections from India and Niger, respectively, both of which demonstrate increased aggregation of parasites in a few hosts, as the prevalence of infections declines across the dataset. A greater attention needs to be given in monitoring and evaluation programmes to find and treat the remaining aggregates of parasites.

THE USE OF NEGATIVE PROBABILITIES IN ECONOMICS

The concept of „negative probability” has become one of interest in research. Initially developed in connection with physics (negative probabilities are important in the analysis of quantum phenomena), nowadays it has applications in many other scientific disciplines. Its main advantage is that it extends the classical probability theory, which involves values between 0 and 1, allowing negative or supraunitary values. From this point of view, negative probabilities are a useful tool that facilitates the calculation and makes analysis more flexible through models. This paper aims to present the theoretical framework, the principles in relation to which the use of negative probabilities in economics, in general, can be understood. The existing literature highlights that the negative probabilities are appropriate in the analysis of stochastic processes and, from this perspective, has developed applications especially in the field of finance. In this sense, negative probabilities are used in models such as the binomial CRR model (The Cox-Ross-Rubinstein Market Model), that evaluate the price of derivatives on the capital market, those that include hidden variable (non-observable) etc. In our analysis we describe these models and, based on them, we try to identify the features of the negative probabilities that can be used in the economic field. The research is a theoretical one, leading the way for new approaches in the direction of using negative probabilities in macroeconomic modelling.

Evaluation of MRI Signal Changes of the Distal Biceps Tendon in Asymptomatic Patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used widely for complete ruptures of the distal biceps tendon. The validity of this investigation for bicipital bursitis and tendinosis is unknown. The purpose of present study was to assess the prevalence of incidental (asymptomatic) signal changes in the distal biceps tendon in patients who underwent MRI including the elbow. Our null hypothesis was that signal changes of the distal biceps tendon do not occur in asymptomatic patients. This would empower MRI as a diagnostic tool for bicipital bursitis and tendinosis as well as complete and partial distal biceps tendon ruptures. We evaluated 1,191 elbow MRI scans including the distal biceps tendon insertion. The prevalence of incidental findings was calculated and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive probability, and false negative probability were calculated. Signal changes of the distal biceps tendon or bursitis were identified in 8 of 1,191 asymptomatic patients (prevalence 0.6%). The sensitivity of MRI for distal biceps pathology was 97% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93%-99%), specificity 99% (95% CI, 98%-99%), positive predictive value 94% (95% CI, 89%-97%), negative predictive value 99% (95% CI, 99%-99%), false positive probability 6% (95% CI, 3%-10%), and false negative probability 0.3% (95% CI, 0.1%-0.9%). There was no correlation between explanatory variables, including age, sex, race, occupation, and inflammatory disease and incidental distal biceps tendon signal changes. The prevalence of distal biceps tendon signal changes on MRI in asymptomatic patients is very low. The negative predictive value of 99% shows that patients without signal changes on MRI may be assumed to have no distal biceps tendon pathology. MRI investigation of distal biceps tendon is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of tendinosis and bicipital bursitis.

Performance of Chimeric Trypanosoma cruzi Antigens in Serological Screening for Chagas Disease in Blood Banks.

Chagas disease (CD) is among the top 10 causes of inability to blood donation. Blood donation centers screen for anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies using highly sensitive immunoenzymatic (ELISA) or chemiluminescent methods, which can lead to false positive results. Since positive samples cannot be used, to avoid the loss of valuable blood donations, it is necessary to improve specificity without reducing the sensitivity of the tests used for blood screening. For this purpose, our group has developed four chimeric proteins (IBMP-8.1, IBMP-8.2, IBMP-8.3, and IBMP-8.4) that have been evaluated in phase I and II studies with high performance and low cross-reactivity rates. The study included a panel of 5,014 serum samples collected from volunteer blood donors at the Hematology and Hemotherapy Foundation of the State of Bahia (Brazil). They were subjected to the detection of anti-T. cruzi antibodies, using all four IBMP antigens individually and latent class analysis (LCA) as a reference test, since there is no gold standard test for this purpose. Considering the sample size analyzed, LCA classified 4,993 (99.6%) samples as T. cruzi-negative and 21 (0.42%) as T. cruzi-positive. Sensitivity values ranged from 85.71% for IBMP-8.1 and 90.48% for IBMP-8.2–95.24% for IBMP-8.3 and 100% for IBMP-8.4, while specificity ranged from 99.98% for IBMP-8.3 and IBMP-8.4–100% for IBMP-8.1 and IBMP-8.2. Accuracy values ranged from 99.4 to 99.98%. The pretest probability for the molecules was 0.42, whereas the positive posttest probability ranged from 95.24 to 99.95% and the negative posttest probability ranged from 0.00001 to 0.0006% for all antigens. The higher odds ratio diagnosis was found for IBMP-8.4, which has been shown to be a safe single antigen for serological screening of CD in blood samples. The use of chimeric IBMP antigens is an alternative to reduce the number of bags discarded due to false-positive results. These molecules have high diagnostic performance and were shown to be suitable for use in screening CD in blood banks, isolated (IBMP-8.4) or in combination; and their use in blood banks could significantly reduce unnecessary disposal of blood bags or the risk of T. cruzi transmission.

Outcomes of pregnancies at high-risk for placenta accreta spectrum following negative diagnostic imaging.

To assess the pretest and negative post-test probability for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) in a group of patients with high-risk clinical factors. We included patients with suspected and/or confirmed PAS at our institution over 8 years. Sonography performed by maternal-fetal medicine specialists, and selected patients underwent MRI. Imaging was considered positive if either sonography or MRI suggested PAS. Histopathology was the gold standard for diagnosis of PAS. We assessed the pretest and negative imaging-test probability, and resources required. We identified 82 high-risk patients with the following: (1) a history of≥1 cesarean section and/or intrauterine gynecologic procedure and placenta previa in the index pregnancy; (2) a history of >3 cesarean deliveries and/or gynecologic procedures regardless of placental location; (3) prior PAS disorder, or retained placenta requiring manual extraction and/or curettage, complicated by postpartum hemorrhage; and (4) suspected cesarean section scar pregnancy. Histopathology confirmed PAS in 52 patients, with pretest probability of 63%. Imaging correctly identified 44/50 cases with PAS, and excluded this condition in 24/30 cases. Thus, the positive and negative post-test probability for PAS following negative imaging was 88 and 20%, respectively. Of the six patients with false-negative imaging, all had either surgical complications or required care beyond that for routine cesarean section. Although diagnostic imaging is sensitive, the negative posttest probability remains high in women with high pretest probability for PAS. Therefore, women at high risk for PAS should be managed in experienced centers by a multidisciplinary team even if imaging is negative.

Prostate MRI quality: clinical impact of the PI-QUAL score in prostate cancer diagnostic work-up.

To assess the reproducibility and impact of prostate imaging quality (PI-QUAL) scores in a clinical cohort undergoing prostate multiparametric MRI. PI-QUAL scores were independently recorded by three radiologists (two senior, one junior). Readers also recorded whether MRI was sufficient to rule-in/out cancer and if repeat imaging was required. Inter-reader agreement was assessed using Cohen's κ. PI-QUAL scores were further correlated to PI-RADS score, number of biopsy procedures, and need for repeat imaging. Image quality was sufficient (≥PI-QUAL-3) in 237/247 (96%) and optimal (≥PI-QUAL-4) in 206/247 (83%) of males undergoing 3T-MRI. Overall PI-QUAL scores showed moderate inter-reader agreement for senior (K = 0.51) and junior-senior readers (K = 0.47), with DCE showing highest agreement (K = 0.47). With PI-QUAL-5 studies, the negative MRI calls increased from 50 to 87% and indeterminate PI-RADS-3 rates decreased from 31.8. to 10.4% compared to lower quality PI-QUAL-3 studies. More patients with PI-QUAL scores 1-3 underwent biopsy for negative (47%) and indeterminate probability (100%) MRIs compared to PI-QUAL score 4-5 (30 and 75%, respectively). Ability to rule-in cancer increased with PI-QUAL score, from 50% at PI-QUAL 1-2 to 90% for PI-QUAL 4-5, with a similarly, but greater effect for ruling-out cancer and at a lower threshold, from 0% for scans of PI-QUAL 1-2 to 67.1% for PI-QUAL 4 and 100% for PI-QUAL-5. Higher PI-QUAL scores for image quality are associated with decreased uncertainty in MRI decision-making and improved efficiency of diagnostic pathway delivery. This study demonstrates moderate inter-reader agreement for PI-QUAL scoring and validates the score in a clinical setting, showing correlation of image quality to certainty of decision making and clinical outcomes of repeat imaging and biopsy of low-to-intermediate risk cases.

Predication and Photon Statistics of a Three-Level System in the Photon Added Negative Binomial Distribution

Statistical and artificial neural network models are applied to forecast the quantum scheme of a three-level atomic system (3LAS) and field, initially following a photon added negative binomial distribution (PANBD). The Mandel parameter is used to detect the photon statistics of a radiation field. Explicit forms of the PANBD are given. The prediction of the Mandel parameter, atomic probability of the 3LAS in the upper state, and von Neumann entropy are obtained using time series and artificial neural network methods. The influence of probability success photons and the number of added photons to the NBD are examined. The total density matrix is used to compute and analyze the time evolution of the initial photonic negative binomial probability distribution that governs the 3LAS–field photon entanglement behavior. It is shown that the statistical quantities are strongly affected by probability success photons and the number of added photons to the NBD. Also, the prediction of quantum entropy is achieved by the time series and neural network.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of syphilis in pregnant women and congenital syphilis in the state of S\xe3o Paulo, Brazil

We aimed to estimate the occurrence of syphilis in pregnant women (SPW) and congenital syphilis (CS) in the municipalities of the state of São Paulo (SP) and evaluate their relationship with socioeconomic, demographic, and health care variables. We developed an ecological study based on secondary data of SPW and CS with spatiotemporal components from 645 municipalities in SP including data from 2007 to 2018. We modeled the data in a Bayesian context, considered spatial and temporal random effects, and used binomial negative probability distributions. We found a continuous increase in the relative temporal risk of SPW, from 2007 to 2018, and CS, from 2007 to 2017, when their incidences increased by 8.6 and 6.6 times, respectively. This increase occurred en bloc in practically all municipalities of SP. The increase in SPW was associated with teenage pregnancy, municipalities with a large number of inhabitants, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) incidence. The increase in CS was associated with municipalities with a large number of inhabitants, incomplete antenatal care, and AIDS incidence. Although actions to control these diseases are required in all municipalities of SP, the identification of high-risk areas points to priority regions for development.

An Ensemble Prognostic Method of Francis Turbine Units Using Low-Quality Data under Variable Operating Conditions.

The prognostic is the key to the state-based maintenance of Francis turbine units (FTUs), which consists of performance state evaluation and degradation trend prediction. In practical engineering environments, there are three significant difficulties: low data quality, complex variable operation conditions, and prediction model parameter optimization. In order to effectively solve the above three problems, an ensemble prognostic method of FTUs using low-quality data under variable operation conditions is proposed in this study. Firstly, to consider the operation condition parameters, the running data set of the FTU is constructed by the water head, active power, and vibration amplitude of the top cover. Then, to improve the robustness of the proposed model against anomaly data, the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) is introduced to clean outliers and singularities in the raw running data set. Next, considering the randomness of the monitoring data, the healthy state model based on the Gaussian mixture model is constructed, and the negative log-likelihood probability is calculated as the performance degradation indicator (PDI). Furthermore, to predict the trend of PDIs with confidence interval and automatically optimize the prediction model on both accuracy and certainty, the multiobjective prediction model is proposed based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and Gaussian process regression. Finally, monitoring data from an actual large FTU was used for effectiveness verification. The stability and smoothness of the PDI curve are improved by 3.2 times and 1.9 times, respectively, by DBSCAN compared with 3-sigma. The root-mean-squared error, the prediction interval normalized average, the prediction interval coverage probability, the mean absolute percentage error, and the R2 score of the proposed method achieved 0.223, 0.289, 1.000, 0.641%, and 0.974, respectively. The comparison experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is more robust to low-quality data and has better accuracy, certainty, and reliability for the prognostic of the FTU under complex operating conditions.

Desert bighorn sheep habitat selection, group size, and mountain lion predation risk

AbstractBighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) evolved for thousands of years in the presence of numerous predators, including mountain lions (Puma concolor). Bighorn sheep have presumably developed predator avoidance strategies; however, the effectiveness of these strategies in reducing risk of mountain lion predation is not well understood. These strategies are of increasing interest because mountain lion predation on bighorn sheep has been identified as a leading cause of mortality in some sheep populations. Therefore, we investigated how mountain lions affect both bighorn sheep habitat selection and risk of mortality in Arizona, USA. We used 2 approaches to investigate the predator‐prey relationship between mountain lions and bighorn sheep. We fit 103 bighorn sheep (81 females and 22 males) with global positioning system radio‐collars in 2 Arizona populations from 2013 to 2017, and used a negative binomial resource selection probability function to evaluate whether bighorn sheep selected for habitat features in accordance with presumed predator avoidance strategies, including terrain ruggedness, slope, topographic position, and horizontal obstruction, in 2 seasons (winter and summer). We then estimated how habitat features such as terrain ruggedness, slope, horizontal obstruction, and group size, influence the risk of mortality due to mountain lion predation using an Andersen‐Gill proportional hazards model. Generally, both sexes selected areas with lower horizontal obstruction and intermediate ruggedness and slope, but selection patterns differed between seasons and sexes. The use of more rugged areas and steeper slopes decreased the risk of mortality due to mountain lion predation, consistent with presumed predator avoidance strategies. Increased group size decreased risk of bighorn sheep mortality due to mountain lion predation but this effect became marginal at approximately 10 individuals/group. We did not identify a relationship between horizontal obstruction and bighorn sheep mortality risk. Our findings can be used in habitat and population management decisions such as the prioritization of habitat restoration sites or selection of translocation sites. In addition, we suggest that augmentation of low‐density bighorn sheep populations may reduce mountain lion predation risk by increasing group size, and that releasing large groups of bighorn sheep in population augmentation and reintroduction efforts may help to reduce mountain lion predation.

Exceptional Bound States and Negative Entanglement Entropy.

This Letter introduces a new class of robust states known as exceptional bound (EB) states, which are distinct from the well-known topological and non-Hermitian skin boundary states. EB states occur in the presence of exceptional points, which are non-Hermitian critical points where eigenstates coalesce and fail to span the Hilbert space. This eigenspace defectiveness not only limits the accessibility of state information but also interplays with long-range order to give rise to singular propagators only possible in non-Hermitian settings. Their resultant EB eigenstates are characterized by robust anomalously large or negative occupation probabilities, unlike ordinary Fermi sea states whose probabilities lie between 0 and 1. EB states remain robust after a variety of quantum quenches and give rise to enigmatic negative entanglement entropy contributions. Through suitable perturbations, the coefficient of the logarithmic entanglement entropy scaling can be continuously tuned. EB states represent a new avenue for robustness arising from geometric defectiveness, independent of topological protection or nonreciprocal pumping.

Basis risk in the pasture, rangeland, and forage insurance program: Evidence from California

AbstractAgricultural producers who are reliant upon rangelands and pasturelands are some of the most vulnerable to weather‐related risk given their dependence on climate‐sensitive resources. Index‐based insurance products, like the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance Program, are considered to be an adaptation strategy for mitigating climatic risks. Given that indices are imperfect predictors of losses, residual (basis) risk persists. This study quantifies basis risk and assesses insurance contract quality for nearly 63 million acres of rangelands in California. Basis risk can be summarized by considering false negative probabilities—the probability that an insured producer suffers a loss without receiving an indemnity payment. On California rangelands the false negative probabilities associated with one (both) of insured time intervals failing to indemnify a loss are 31% to 46% (14%–25%). When indemnities were paid, in 36% of the cases the payments are not sufficient to compensate for forage‐related losses; the average shortfall in indemnity‐related compensation ranged from $1.74/acre to $2.73/acre depending upon the location and underlying value of forage.

Study of Shock Structures Using the Unified Gas-Kinetic Wave-Particle Method with Various BGK Models

Recently, the unified gas-kinetic wave-particle (UGKWP) method was proposed to describe rarefied flows efficiently in all Knudsen numbers. However, the initial UGKWP method with the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) model has its own limitations due to the unit Prandtl number. To further improve its performance in non-equilibrium flows, the UGKWP method is extended for the ellipsoidal statistical model (ESBGK) and Shakhov model (SBGK) in this paper. The numerical results of shock structures of the above BGK-type models show that the SBGK model fits the reference data best except the asymmetry parameter, and the ESBGK model comes the second. Meanwhile, in order to overcome the deficiency of negative probability density function (PDF) in SBGK, the UGKWP method with positive-preserving Shakhov PDF is also constructed. It weakens the early rising of temperature phenomenon that existed in the SBGK model, and improves the performance in predicting the stress and heat flux evidently at high Mach numbers.

Logical entropy and negative probabilities in quantum mechanics

The concept of Logical Entropy, SL = 1-Σni=1 pi2, where the pi are normalized probabilities, was introduced by David Ellerman in a series of recent papers. Although the mathematical formula itself is not new, Ellerman provided a sound probabilistic interpretation of SL as a measure of the distinctions of a partition on a given set. The same formula comes across as a useful definition of entropy in quantum mechanics, where it is linked to the notion of purity of a quantum state. The quadratic form of the logical entropy lends itself to a generalization of the probabilities that include negative values, an idea that goes back to Feynman and Wigner. Here, we analyze and reinterpret negative probabilities in the light of the concept of logical entropy. Several intriguing quantum-like properties of the logical entropy are derived and discussed in finite dimensional spaces. For infinite-dimensional spaces (continuum), we show that, under the sole hypothesis that the logical entropy and the total probability are preserved in time, one obtains an evolution equation for the probability density that is basically identical to the quantum evolution of the Wigner function in phase space, at least when one considers only the momentum variable. This result suggest that the logical entropy plays a profound role in establishing the peculiar rules of quantum physics.

D-ARP: An Efficient Scheme to Detect and Prevent ARP Spoofing

Nowadays, cyber-attack is a severe criminal violation, and it is one of the most active fields of research. Man-in-the-middle attack (MITM) is a type of cyber-attack in which an unauthorized third party secretly accesses the communication between two hosts in the same network to read=modify the transferred data between them. ARP spoofing-based MITM attack exploits ARP protocol weakness where the attacker associates its MAC address with the IP address of an intended legitimate host. Although there are many defense approaches for ARP spoofing based-MITM attacks, these methods are uncompleted or have a performance overhead since they modify the original ARP protocol. Also, some of these approaches depend on the centralized server which leads to a single point of failure. This paper presents a detection scheme for ARP spoofing-based MITM attack called D-ARP which is compatible with the original ARP protocol. The main idea of D-ARP is to send an ARP packet signed with a key in parallel with the original ARP packets to make a correlation between requests and replies. Each host records the signed ARP packets whether it is a request or a reply in a log file. Based on this correlation, D-ARP matches the injected key to detect ARP spoofing if there is a duplicate or conflict in the MAC address. For more reliability, D-ARP uses the DHCP server and the Nmap feature to detect the MAC addresses of MITM attackers. Moreover, this scheme also offers a module for Admin to create a trusted list of hosts. The experimental results show that D-ARP is very effective to detect and prevent ARP spoofing with zero false positives and zero false negative probabilities without any modifications in the original ARP protocol.

Métodos diagnósticos para lesões de cárie com sulcos pigmentados em superfície oclusal

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to compare methods for in vitro diagnosis of pigmented pits and fissures on the occlusal surface. Methods: Forty-one human molars and premolars extracted with pigmentation in pits and fissures were used. The teeth were evaluated with artificial illumination for classification according to ICDAS, followed by fluorescent laser evaluation. For the radiographic evaluation, the teeth were positioned to obtain interproximal images, adopting the criterion of Rodrigues et al. 2008 for diagnosis of lesions. For histological evaluation, the teeth were sectioned in the mesiodistal direction in the occlusal sulcus region and evaluated in a 20-fold stereoscopic magnifying glass, using the criterion of Ekstrand et al. (1997) for evaluation. The methods were compared with the histological evaluation, obtaining values of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity regarding the response variables “presence / absence” of enamel caries. Results: When comparing visual inspection with histological analysis, 65.85% accuracy, 40% sensitivity and 90.48% specificity were observed with false positive and negative probability of 20% and 38.71%. When comparing the fluorescent laser with the histological analysis, the accuracy was 58.54%, sensitivity 70% and specificity 47.62%. Comparing the radiographic analysis with the histological analysis, it was obtained 53.66% accuracy, sensitivity of 42.11% and specificity of 73.68%. Conclusion: The ROC curve and the Yuden index showed that visual inspection presented the best combination of sensitivity and specificity than fluorescent laser and radiographic analysis for diagnosis, which represented the best method for detecting inactive carious lesions in enamel.

Monte Carlo Study of Online Cleaning Cycles of Hydrogenerator Heat Exchangers

Related to an innovative cleaning device for cleaning hydrogenerator heat exchangers that does not require the interruption of generation (turning off the turbines), this article discusses two alternative schemes to estimate the minimum number of cleaning cycles required to ensure that all tubes of the heat exchanger will be visited at least once by the cleaning artifacts used by the conceived online cleaning system. The technique makes use of abrasive sponge balls transported by the cold working fluid of the exchanger to remove scale that accumulates inside the exchanger tubes during its operation. The main purpose of this study is to guide the hydrogenerator field operator in setting up the automation system of the exchanger cleaning system. In a first attempt, a negative binomial probability distribution function was investigated to estimate the number of tries needed to obtain a number of success events, with equal probability of success, after running a number of Bernoulli's experiments, where the last is considered the success case. Getting closer to the physical reality of the problem studied, a Monte Carlo method simulation, making use of a high number of repetitions (10 x 106), appeared to be a consistent mathematical formulation to anticipate the smallest number of cleaning cycles meeting the posed assumption.

Comparison of Ultrasonography with other Imaging Modalities for Detection of Adnexal Torosion: A Systematic Review

Background: Adnexal Torsion (AT), serious emergency of gynecology, frequently shows among nonspecific signs prominent to late analysis. Aim: To compare the test accuracy of Ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for diagnosis of adnexal torsion. Methodology: We observed google scholar as well as Radiographics key till Dec 2019. Assortment standards studies report upon Imaging Modality accuracy (index test) within paediatric and adult females alleged of adnexal torsion matched by clinical analysis or usual clinical or radiological follow up duration till symptoms firmness (reference standard). Results: We mark off 3836 references, comprised 18 Studies (1654 females, 665-cases), as well as comprised 15 into meta analyses, ultrasound pooled-sensitivity (n =12, 1187 females) was 0.79 (95% CI= 0.63 to 0.92) as well as specificity was 0.76 (95% CI= 0.54 to 0.93), by means of positive as well as negative probability fractions 4.35 (95% CI= 2.03 to 9.32) and 0.29 (95% CI= 0.13 to 0.66), correspondingly. By Doppler Ultrasound (n=7, 845 females) produced alike and specificity (0.88, 95% CI= 0.72 to 1.00) and sensitivity (0.80, 95% CI= 0.67 to 0.93). For magnetic resonance imaging (n=3, 99 females), pooled-sensitivity was 0.81 (95% CI=0.63 to 0.91) as well as specificity was 0.91 (95% CI= 0.80 to 0.96). Meta-analysis for Computed Tomography was impossible by 2 case control-studies as well as one cohort-study (n=3, 232 females). Its range of sensitivity was 0.74 to 0.95 as well as specificity 0.80 to 0.90. Conclusions: As a first line analytic examination for alleged AT, ultrasound has good performance. Increment in quantity of AT cases needs precise, rapid, as well as correct analytic extent. It has been utmost popular method as allied with further Imaging Modalities. MRI might compromise better specificity for investigating intricate morphology of ovary, nonetheless further proof is wanted. Beside with medical doubt as well as approximations. This study will offer sufficient appreciated evidence to understand sonographic markers impact during OT analysis precisely. Keywords: Adnexa, Computed Tomography, Doppler, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Meta-analysis, Ovary, Test Accuracy,

The limited screening accuracy of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 in detecting depression among perinatal women in Italy.

The PHQ-2 was recently recommended by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement as a form of initial perinatal screening, followed by the EPDS only for women with positive PHQ-2 score. However, the accuracy of the PHQ-2 in perinatal clinical practice has been barely researched, to date. In the present study, we aim to assess the accuracy of the PHQ-2 against the EPDS in a large sample of perinatal women. A total of 1155 consecutive women attending eleven primary or secondary health care centres throughout Italy completed the EPDS and the PHQ-2 during pregnancy (27-40-weeks) or postpartum (1-13-weeks). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, post-test probabilities and area under the curve (AUC) of the PHQ-2, using a cut-off of ≥ 3, were calculated. During pregnancy, PHQ-2 revealed low sensitivity (39.5%) and PPV (39.4%) but high specificity and NPV (97.5%). In postpartum, it revealed very low sensitivity (32.7%) and moderately high NPV (80.9%), but high specificity (99.3%) and PPV (94.4%). Given the low sensitivity despite the high specificity, the PHQ-2 demonstrated poor accuracy (AUC from 0.66 to 0.68). Initial screening by means of PHQ-2 failed to identify an acceptable number of perinatal women at-risk of depression in Italian clinical practice. The PHQ-2 performance suggested that it has insufficient sensitivity and discriminatory power, and may be inadequate as a screening tool for maternal depression.

MicroRNA-21 was a promising biomarker for lung carcinoma diagnosis: An update meta-analysis.

ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic performance of microRNA‐21 detected in serum or sputum as a biomarker for lung carcinoma identification through pooling the open published data.MethodsClinical diagnostic studies related to microRNA‐21 as a biomarker for lung carcinoma identification were electronically searched in the databases of Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and Google Scholar. The data of the included studies was extracted and made pooling of diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) (AUC) for microRNA‐21 expression in serum or sputum as a biomarker for lung carcinoma identification. The publication bias was evaluated by Deek's funnel plot.ResultsSeventeen diagnostic studies were finally included and made data pooling. For the included 17 studies, 4 investigated the microRNA‐21 expression in sputum and 13 studies in serum. The pooled diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 0.73 (95% CI, 0.67–0.78) and 0.81 (95% CI, 0.75–0.85), respectively, under random effect model. The combined DOR was 9.65 (95% CI, 6.64–14.03) with the AUC of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80–0.87). Given a pre‐test probability of 50%, the post‐test positive probability and post‐test negative probability were 79% and 25%, respectively, by using microRNA‐21 as a biomarker for lung carcinoma diagnosis. Deek's funnel was obviously asymmetry and indicated significant publication bias (p < 0.05).ConclusionMicroRNA‐21 in serum or sputum was a promising biomarker for lung cancer identification with relative high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.