Yule Coefficient Research Articles

Landslide susceptibility mapping of Noklak Town, Nagaland, North‐east India using bivariate statistical method

The increasing frequency of landslides has become a matter of concern in Nagaland, a north‐eastern state of India. Noklak town, the administrative headquarter of the Noklak district in the eastern part of Nagaland bordering Myanmar, is also affected by slope stability issues. A major landslide in 1980 caused major damage to parts of the township. The problem has grown in magnitude and influence over the last four decades, damaging an area of about 1.84 km2 and several households. Slope movements have caused immense distress to the local populace by posing a constant threat to nearly one‐fourth of the town's built‐up area, roads, and cultivated tracts. Surface instability has also hampered India's Act East policy with South‐east Asian countries by disrupting the sole motorable route to the International Trade Centre at Dan (Pangsha), between India and Myanmar. A landslide susceptibility map (LSM) was generated using the Bivariate Yule coefficient (Yc) method. The LSM delineates the study area into three categories, with 23%, 23%, and 54% in high, moderate, and low susceptible zones, respectively. This was superimposed with elements such as buildings, population, roads, and cultivated tracts to assess the effects of landslides on the population and infrastructure. From the present study, it is estimated that 334 buildings, 1235 people, 2.99 km of roads, and 8 ha of cultivated landfall lie within the moderately and highly susceptible zones. Considering the rapid developmental activities that will ensue with the recent upgradation of the subdivision to that of the district, the data generated will be useful for urban sprawl and land use planning, to minimise and mitigate the loss of life and property due to landslides.

The gender and age differences of persons with suicidal behavior.

The study examines cohort of people with suicidal behavior in the light of gender and age differences. The archive materials of the Kaluga Regional Psychiatric Hospital for the period of 2017-2018 were studied. The allocated 435 cases of hospitalizations with suicidal behavior are allocated to admissions with suicidal ideation and hospitalizations with suicidal attempt and self-harm with specified suicidal intentions. The data obtained was processed using the Microsoft Excel software applying the Yule's coefficient of association and Pearson's contingency coefficient, Pearson's χ2 test and Student's t-test. The results of study established no differences in suicidal manifestations adjusted for gender, but allow to distinguish risk age intervals. Thus, mean age in the group of admission with suicidal ideation was in the range of 29.8-35.2 years and 36.0-41.4 years in the group of suicidal attempt. In the age cohort of 5-19 years, probability of admission with suicidal ideation was higher than with suicidal attempt and self-harm. On the contrary, in the age range of 25-44 years, admission with suicidal attempt and self-harm prevailed. This information complements scientific evidence and points out directions for further research concerning prevention of mortality from external causes (suicide) in this area of public health theory.

Compliance with the criteria of the Child-Friendly Hospital Initiative pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: to analyze compliance with the criteria of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: quantitative study with 12 Baby-Friendly Hospitals in Paraná. Secondary data from 2019 and 2020, available in the monitoring system of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, were used, with analysis of association with the Yule Coefficient. Results: 156 items were analyzed, of which 25 presented changes, of which 12 were fulfilled in 2019 and not fulfilled in 2020, and 13 were not and were now fulfilled. There was a slightly positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fulfillment of Steps 1, 2, 7 and 8, and a negative impact on Steps 3, 5 and 9. Conclusion: This scenario raises a design of measures to protect and encourage breastfeeding by institutions, professionals and health managers in order to develop strategies to support and provide maternal and childcare in accordance with public health policies.

Landslide hazard, vulnerability, and risk assessment (HVRA), Mussoorie township, lesser himalaya, India

In the present study, landslide hazard, vulnerability and the risk assessment of the Himalayan township Mussoorie, located in the lower part of the Lesser Himalaya has been undertaken. The area famous for tourism constitutes > 7000 buildings with ~ 30,000 habitations. Four bivariate statistical approaches viz. Weight of evidence (WoE), Frequency ratio (FR), Yule Coefficient (YC), and Information Value (InV) were used for landslide hazard assessment, and all these approaches with 75%—80% success and predication rate are found to be acceptable for landslide hazard mapping. The analyses indicate that the Nagar Palika Parisad ward, Library ward, Happy valley ward and Bhadraj ward exhibit the maximum area falling under the high and very high landslide hazard zones, whereas Landaur ward, Jalkii ward and Indra Colony ward exhibit a greater part of the area in the low and very low hazard zones. On the basis of the six elements at risk present in the study area viz. settlement, crop land, water body, roads, barren and degraded land, and dense forest, the ~ 40% of the area is very high and high vulnerable, ~ 11% moderate, and ~ 49% is low and very low vulnerable. High and very high vulnerable zones are located in the west and central portion mainly because of higher habitation and more anthropogenic activities. Finally, risk map prepared intersecting hazard and vulnerability maps exhibits that Nagar Palika Parisad ward has the largest part (~ 41%) of the area with 37% buildings falling in the high and very high risk zones, whereas the Landour ward is the safest ward having ~ 83% area in the low and very low risk. Overall ~ 1604 buildings with habitation of ~ 8,000 persons in the township, are prone to high and very high landslide risk. The results of this study may be utilized for further development and planning in the area.

Показники еритрограми та їх констеляції у хворих на цироз печінки різної етіології з остеопенією й остеопорозом: їх зміни і діагностична цінність

Introduction. There is a need to search for new publicly available methods for screening and diagnosing bone lesions in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), one of which the detection of changes in individual parameters of the erythrogram and their combination in a routine general blood test could be. The aim of the study. To characterize the parameters of erythrogram and their constellation in patients with liver cirrhosis of various etiologies with osteopenia and osteoporosis, to find out their diagnostic value. Materials and methods. The study involved 79 patients with LC (women - 22; men - 57 aged 18 to 66 years) with bone mineral density (BMD) disorders (experimental group) (62 (78.48 %) , which is divided into 2 subgroups: patients with LC with osteopenia (38 (48.10 %) and osteoporosis (24 (30.38%)) and without it (comparison group (17 (21.52 %)). The control group consisted of 25 healthy individuals of the same gender and age. We studied the characteristics of changes in individual erythrogram parameters and their constellations: sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), accuracy (Ac), positive and negative predicted values (PPV and NPV), the likelihood ratios of positive and negative result (LR + and LR-), post-test probability of bone damage, the difference between the frequency of cases. The relationship between individual erythrogram parameter or constellation and bone damage was considered statistically confirmed at the modulus of G. U. Yule's coefficient of association (YCA) more than 0.5 or contingency coefficient (CC) more than 0.3. Results. We found the confirmed inverse stochastic relationship between the constellation «normal hemoglobin (HGB) + normal mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) + increase in red cell distribution width in percent (RDWC)», which may be combined with normal red blood cells (RBC) and/or normal mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and each of the bone lesions (with osteopenia: YCA = -0.69; CC = -0.33, with osteoporosis: YCA = -1.00, CC = -0.39), which most likely indicates BMD within normal limits. The individual erythrogram parameters and their constellations diagnostically valuable for osteopenia were not identified. We found such changes of the individual erythrogram parameters: revealed highly sensitive decrease in RBC, as the the most valuable (Se = 95.83 %; NPV = 83.33 %; LR- = 0.14; post-test probability of osteoporosis in its absence - 5.82%), decrease in HGB, decrease in hematocrit (HCT), moderately sensitive increase in red cell distribution width standard deviation in femtoliters (RDWS) (Se = 87.50-95.83%; NPV = 66.67-80.00 %; LR- = 0.17-0.35) and highly specific decrease in MCH (Sp = 94.12 %; PPV = 80.00 %; LR + = 2.83), between which and osteoporosis the direct stochastic relationship was confirmed (YCA = 0.52-0.81), being characteristic for the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Among the constellations, «normal RBC + normal mean corpuscular volume (MCV) + normal MCHC» and «normal RBC + normal MCH + normal MCHC + normal RDWS» were found indicating the absence of osteoporosis, as evidenced by the presence of an inverse stochastic relationship between constellations and osteoporosis (YCA = -1.00; CC = -0.33). Also the moderately sensitive constellation «decrease in RBC + increase in RDWS» (Se = 83.33 %; LR- = 0.35) and constellations - highly specific «decrease in MCV + increase in RDWS» and the most specific (most valuable) «decrease in RBC + decrease in MCV + increase in RDWS» were found which can be combined with a decrease in HGB, and/or a decrease in HCT, and/or an increase in RDWC, and/or normal MCHC (Sp = 94.12-100.00 %; PPV = 88.89-100,00 %; LR + = 5.67 - tends to infinity), between which there and osteoporosis there is a confirmed direct stochastic relationship (YCA = 0.63-1.00; SS = 0.33-0.38). Conclusions. The presence of the constellation «normal HGB + normal MCH + increase in RDWC», which may be combined with normal RBC and/or normal MCHC, indicates the absence of bone damage in a patient with liver cirrhosis. The individual erythrogram parameters or their constellations diagnostically valuable for osteopenia were not identified. The absence of such highly sensitive changes of erythrogram parameters as decrease in RBC being of the greatest diagnostic value, or decrease in HGB content, HCT, or moderately sensitive increase in RDWS, or constellation «decrease in RBC + increase in RDWS», or presence of constellations «normal RBC + normal MCV + normal MCHC» or «normal RBC + normal MCH + normal MCHC + normal RDWS» most likely indicates the absence of osteoporosis in patients with liver cirrhosis. The presence of highly specific decrease in MCH and/or constellations - highly specific «decrease in MCV + increase in RDWS», or the most specific and most valuable «decrease in RBC + decrease in MCV + increase in RDWS» which can be combined with decrease in HGB and/or decrease in HCT, and/or increase in RDWC, and/or normal MCHC, indicates that patients with liver cirrhosis have osteoporosis.

Landslide susceptibility mapping using bivariate statistical method for the hilly township of Mussoorie and its surrounding areas, Uttarakhand Himalaya

Landslide is a normal geomorphic process that becomes hazardous when interfering with any development activity. It has been noted that ~400 causalities occur in the Himalayan region every year due to this phenomenon. The frequency and magnitude of the landslides increase every year, particularly in the hilly townships. This demands the large scale landslide susceptibility, hazard, risk, and vulnerability assessment of the region to be carried out. In the present study, Mussoorie Township and its surrounding areas located in the Lesser Himalaya has been chosen for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (LSM) that involved bivariate statistical Yule coefficient (YC) method. It calculates the binary association between landslides and its various possible causative factors like lithology, land use-landcover (LULC), slope, aspect, curvature, elevation, road-cut, drainage, and lineament. The results indicate that ~44% of the study area falls under very high, high and moderate landslide susceptible zones and ~56% in the low and very low landslide susceptible zones. The dominant part of the area falling under high and moderate landslide susceptible zones lies in the area covered by highly fractured Krol limestone exhibiting slope ranging between 65° and 77°. The study would be useful to the planners for the land-use planning of the area.

Полиморфизм генов цитокинов как фактор предрасположености к развитию хронического гнойного среднего отита

В последние десятилетия распространенность хронического гнойного среднего отита (ХГСО) заметно выросла. Значительная роль при воспалении, в том числе в патогенезе ХГСО, отводится клеточным медиаторам - цитокинам. Доказана роль полиморфизма генов цитокинов в развитии заболеваний, ассоциированных с воспалительными процессами. Цель работы - проанализировать взаимосвязь полиморфизма генов IL1В (С3953Т, С511Т, Т31С), IL10 (G1082A, C592A, C819T), IL6 (С174G) и TNFА (G308A) с развитием ХГСО и возрастным фактором начальных его проявлений. Методика. Распределение генотипов аллельных вариантов генов цитокинов (IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 и TNF-α) анализировали у 299 пациентов с ХГСО в зависимости от сроков начала заболевания (в возрасте до 14 лет, от 15 до 30 лет, старше 30 лет). Контрольную группу составили 183 здоровых добровольца с сопоставимым распределением по полу и возрасту. Для определения полиморфных вариантов генов IL1В (-3953, -511, -31), IL10 (-1082, -592, -819), IL6 (-174) и TNFА (-308) применяли метод ПЦР в режиме реального времени. Об ассоциации генотипов с заболеванием судили по величине отношения шансов (Odds Ratio (OR)) и коэффициентов Юла (Q) и контингенции (Фи, Φ). За критический уровень значимости при проверке статистических гипотез принимался p≤0,05. Результаты. Выявлено, что к развитию ХГСО предрасполагают полиморфные варианты генов цитокинов IL1В, IL10 и TNFА. Наиболее значимыми в формировании предрасположенности к развитию заболевания являются генотипы С/С полиморфизмов С3953Т и Т31С гена IL1В, А/А полиморфизма G1082A и Т/Т полиморфизма С819Т гена IL10. Полиморфные варианты генов IL1В (генотип C/C полиморфизмов С3953Т и Т511С) и IL10 (генотип А/A полиморфизма G1082A) сочетаются с дебютом ХГСО в возрасте до 14 лет. Полиморфизм C174G гена IL6 не оказывает предрасполагающего влияния на развитие болезни. Протективный эффект в отношении развития ХГСО связан с носительством гомозиготного генотипа Т/Т полиморфизмов С511Т и Т31С гена IL1В и гомозиготного генотипа G/G полиморфизма G1082A гена IL10. Заключение. К развитию ХГСО предрасполагают полиморфизмы генов про- и противовоспалительных цитокинов, дисбаланс которых обусловливает патологическое течение иммунного ответа и раннюю (в детском возрасте) клиническую манифестацию болезни. In recent decades, prevalence of chronic purulent otitis media has increased markedly. A significant role in inflammation, including the pathogenesis of chronic purulent otitis media, is assigned to the cellular mediators, cytokines. The predisposing role of cytokine gene polymorphism in development of inflammatory-associated diseases has been proven. Aim. To analyze the relationship of IL1B (C3953T, C511T, T31C), IL10 (G1082A, C592A, C819T), IL6 (C174G), and TNFA (G308A) gene polymorphisms with development of chronic purulent otitis media and the age of its primary manifestation. Methods. Distribution of genotypes of allelic variants in cytokine (IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α) genes was analyzed in 299 patients (129 men and 170 women aged 38.0 ± 4.3) based on the age of disease onset (with chronic purulent otitis media diagnosed at age of 14, from 15 to 30, and older than 30). The control group consisted of 183 sex- and age matched healthy volunteers. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood leukocytes. Real-time PCR was used for determination of polymorphic variants in IL1B (-3953, -511, -31), IL10 (-1082, -592, -819), IL6 (-174), and TNFA (-308) genes. The association of genotypes with the disease was evaluated by the odds ratio (OR) and the values of Yule (Q) and contingent (Phi, Φ) coefficients. The critical significance level for the statistical hypotheses tests was taken as <0.05. Results. IL1B, IL10, and TNFA cytokine gene polymorphisms predisposed to development of chronic purulent otitis media. The genotypes C/C of C3953T and T31C polymorphisms in the IL1B gene, A/A of G1082A polymorphism, and T/T of C819T polymorphism in the IL10 gene are the most significant ones in the predisposition to disease development. Polymorphic variants of IL1B (C/C genotype of C3953T and T511C polymorphisms) and IL10 (A/A genotype of G1082A polymorphism) genes are associated with the onset of chronic purulent otitis media at age of 14. The C174G polymorphism in the IL6 gene does not predispose to the disease. Protection from the development of chronic purulent otitis media is associated with carriage of the T/T homozygous genotype of C511T and T31C polymorphisms in the IL1B gene and the G/G homozygous genotype of G1082A polymorphism in the IL10 gene. Conclusion. Polymorphisms of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine genes predispose to the development of chronic purulent otitis media. An imbalance of these cytokines results in a pathological course of immune response and early (children) clinical manifestation of the disease.

Impact on the physical activity level of adults at high and very high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus: email follow-up intervention

Abstract Aims: The present study aimed to assess the effect of a 24-week intervention on the physical activity level among adults at risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). Methods: It was included 129 individuals of both sexes who underwent the Preventive Health Check-up at the Albert Einstein Israelita Hospital between January and August 2010 and who were at high and very high risk of developing DM2. The risk of developing DM2 was assessed according to the FINDRISC criteria. All participants were evaluated by the International Physical Activity Questioner (IPAQ). Subjects were followed-up for 24 weeks by a physical education professional through emails during a 6 month period. The IPAQ was sent by email after 3 and 6 months of follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test with p<0.05 and the Yule Coefficient test. Results: At baseline of the follow-up period, 80.3% of individuals failed to comply with the recommended weekly physical activity. In the end, motivational intervention by e-mail encouraged 74.2% of individuals to comply with the weekly-recommended physical activity and only 1.5% were classified as sedentary. Conclusion: Therefore, the follow-up protocol conducted by periodic and personalized e-mails proved to be effective in promoting physical activity among people at risk of developing metabolic diseases.

Health Care Practices of Urban Tribal Women of Arunachal Pradesh in India: A Case Study

&lt;p&gt;Medical needs of women are more important from the point of view of their position in society. Method adopted by women to satisfy these needs also depends on many structural, social and socio-psychologic factors. Influences of hereditary conditions, inherent biological traits, contributions of culture and the potential sentimental factors are contributors to these phenomena. &lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;The objective of the study is to examine the health care practices of urban tribal women in view of different socio-economic conditions at different age groups.&lt;strong&gt; Method and Materials: &lt;/strong&gt;The survey was conducted among 100 tribal women through proportionate and stratified random sampling technique with the help of pre-designed and pre-structured questionnaire through direct interaction with the respondents. The respondents were divided into 1:1 ratio i.e., 50 respondents were from the age group of (20-50) years and another 50 from the age group of above 50 years. Graphical presentation and simple statistical techniques like percentages, standard deviation, co-efficient of variation, Yule Coefficient of Variation and regression analysis with requisite tests including Chi-square have been used to analyse the data. &lt;strong&gt;Result and Discussion: &lt;/strong&gt;Men is more consciousness about their health with the increasing in age in comparison to women, that is why; the women suffer more than men and they fell ill more. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/strong&gt; Women’s health and their active involvement in health care programmes are essential keys to the general health. In addition to their own special health problem, the major challenges they face during every day life, particularly during pregnancy and child-birth.&lt;/p&gt;

Change Detection Algorithms for Surveillance in Visual IoT: A Comparative Study

The VIoT (Visual Internet of Things) connects virtual information world with real world objects using sensors and pervasive computing. For video surveillance in VIoT, ChD (Change Detection) is a critical component. ChD algorithms identify regions of change in multiple images of the same scene recorded at different time intervals for video surveillance. This paper presents performance comparison of histogram thresholding and classification ChD algorithms using quantitative measures for video surveillance in VIoT based on salient features of datasets. The thresholding algorithms Otsu, Kapur, Rosin and classification methods k-means, EM (Expectation Maximization) were simulated in MATLAB using diverse datasets. For performance evaluation, the quantitative measures used include OSR (Overall Success Rate), YC (Yule's Coefficient) and JC (Jaccard's Coefficient), execution time and memory consumption. Experimental results showed that Kapur's algorithm performed better for both indoor and outdoor environments with illumination changes, shadowing and medium to fast moving objects. However, it reflected degraded performance for small object size with minor changes. Otsu algorithm showed better results for indoor environments with slow to medium changes and nomadic object mobility. k-means showed good results in indoor environment with small object size producing slow change, no shadowing and scarce illumination changes.

Entrepreneurship Determinants among the Students of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin in the Light of the Conducted Research

Purpose – The goal of this article is to present results of the research conducted among the students of the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin with regard to factors stimulating their entrepreneurship or constituting a barrier in that area. The research covered one of the dimensions of entrepreneurship, i.e. the conducting of one’s own business. Design/Methodology/Approach – The following questions were asked as a part of the research procedure: 1) What is the entrepreneurial activity level of the MCSU students? 2) What factors motivate them to start their businesses? 3) What factors discourage them from managing their firms? The sample-based study method was applied; because of that, it was necessary to get the empirical material from individuals belonging to a representative research sample. Students from all MCSU departments participated in the research. Data were collected in 2014–2016 with the use of a categorized interview questionnaire on 1,219 respondents selected at random. Thanks to the information contained in the metrics, it was possible to divide participants in the research on the basis of the following criteria: sex, study degree, field of studies, degree of financial dependency on third parties, business experience of parents or caretakers. The statistical materiality of differences in participants’ declarations was determined with the use of the chi-square test and derivative measures such as V-Cramer, T-Czuprow or Yule coefficients. An analysis of the structural similarity index had a supporting significance in that area. Findings – Levels of entrepreneurial activity among the MCSU students were analysed. Factors stimulating and discouraging them from being entrepreneurs were identified. Materiality of these factors was also determined for the entire research sample and for distinguished groups of respondents. The dependence of the entrepreneurship levels among students on their participation in individual groups was analysed. Practical implications – Results obtained in this manner and conclusions drawn from this research will allow one to work out an end-to-end program of academic entrepreneurship development aimed at the development of entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviours among students and graduates as well as the promotion of entrepreneurial culture in academic circles. Original value – The originality of the analysis results from the specific nature of the research conducted. It was the first time when the entrepreneurship research covered students of all MCSU faculties. The exploration took place in groups distinguished from the research sample, which allowed for a greater integrity of analyses. The obtained results constitute a stimulus to continue the research with the use of focus groups. The final goal of the research will consist of an original training curriculum relating to academic entrepreneurship. Article type – Research paper.

Demographic factors contributing to online movie piracy of Hindi films produced in Mumbai

The aim of this paper is to investigate the demographic factors contributing to online movie piracy. Does the age play any role, or is it occupation that drives people to resort at online piracy through downloading movies or file sharing? Is there any difference between the piracy behaviour of males and females? These three demographic factors have been taken to examine their impact on piracy behaviour of individuals. The primary data collected administering a questionnaire on 515 respondents between the ages of 16 to 60 years with the aim to identify the factors namely age, occupation, and gender. The respondents were moviegoers. Using chi-square test and Yule's coefficient of association we are able to predict the factors responsible for online movie piracy.

Landslide susceptibility analysis using remote sensing and GIS in the western Ecuadorian Andes

In this paper we created and validated a predictive model for assessing the susceptibility of landslides along highway E-20 in Ecuador, by measuring the degree of spatial association of a landslide inventory with a set of spatial factors in an empirical way. The main aims of this paper are to: (1) determine what spatial factors are most associated with landslide occurrence, (2) determine whether the E-20 has any type of influence on landslide occurrence and, if so, up to what distance. For this, we created a landslide inventory based on multi-temporal images from different sources and used the Yule coefficient and the distance distribution analysis, which enabled us to determine which spatial factors are more closely related to the occurrence of landslides. The findings support the idea that landslides are not randomly distributed, but are associated (positively or negatively) to the different geo-environmental conditions of the study area; in this case, landslides have shown positive association with areas of active erosive processes, granitic rocks, volcanic sandstone and rainfall ranging from 1500 to 1750 mm. The statistical significance of the model was tested in two different ways; thus, it can be considered as valid, showing that each spatial factor has some influence on the occurrence of landslides.

Customer Brand Preference towards Men's Apparel with reference to South Indian Market

In the current business scenario, both men's and women's apparel market is facing the tough competition to grow rapidly. Marketers started realizing the potential for the prime product in men's apparel is footwear. It is vital to know the relationship between Brand preference and brand choice that leads to purchase decision. Knowing consumer preferences across the demographic segmentation forms the critical input for culminating innovative marketing strategies. Consumers brand preference represents the preliminary stage in understanding consumer preference towards the product. A deeper understanding of such preference help marketers’ to design better marketing program and build a long term relationship with customers. The Descriptive research was chosen and simple random sampling for data collection was adopted. The Chi-square test and Yule's co-efficient were used to analyze the data. The results of the study suggested the factors (such as awareness level towards the various brands, quality, brand image, price, availability, looks, style and comfort) that influence the consumers brand choice. It also emphasizes enhancement of the advertisement and promotional activities, as it has the major impact on their decision making.

SAT0390 Axial Involvement in Early Psoriatic Arthritis: Magnetic Resonance Imaging and X-RAY of Sacroiliac Joints, Inflammation Back Pain and Hla-B27

BackgroundEarly psoriatic arthritis (EPsA) is predominantly peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA), but certain patients (pts) may have axial involvement with inflammatory back pain (IBP) and sacroiliitis (SI). Active inflammation of sacroiliac joints...

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF THE SACROILIAC JOINT IN DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF EARLY POLYARTICULAR PSORIATIC AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (STUDY DATA REMARKA)

Diagnosis of lesions of the spine and sacroiliac joints may be helpful in discrimination between early psoriatic arthritis (ePsA) and early rheumatoid arthritis (eRA). Objective. To assess the significance of inflammatory back pain (IBP), HLA-B27, and active sacroiliitis (ASI) confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differential diagnosis of polyarticular ePsA and eRA. Materials and Methods. The study included 29 patients with ePsA (13 males and 16 females, mean age 36.52 ± 11.27 years, average duration of the disease 13.03 ± 9.77 months) and 25 patients with eRA (7 males and 18 females, mean age 52.68 ± 14.7 years, average duration of the disease 4.0 ± 1.72 months). Presence of IBP (according to the ASAS criteria) and HLA-B27 were assessed (in 27 patients with PsA and in 20 patients with RA); ASI signs were assessed based on the MRI data (bone marrow edema/osteitis). DAS, DAS28, M ± SD, Fisher's exact test, t-test, χ2, the Yule coefficients of association (Q: level from -1 to +1) and Phi were calculated; differences were considered to be statistically significant at p <0.05. Results. In patients with ePsA, ASI was detected by MRI significantly more frequently than in patients with eRA (41.4% and 12% of cases respectively, p < 0.016). No correlation between the presence of ASI and DAS28 was observed in both groups. In the ePsA group, IBP was detected in 17 patients (58.6%); it was long-term in 10 (58.8%) of the patients and episodic – in 7 (41.2%) patients. Back pain with mechanical rhythm was observed in 3 (12%) patients with eRA. HLA-B27 was detected in 9 (33.3%) of 27 patients with ePsA and in 3 (15%) of 20 patients with eRA (p < 0.014). In patients with ePsA, a very high level of association between ASI and IBP (Q = 0.91, Phi = 0.56; p < 0.003) and a high level of association between ASI and HLA-B27 (Q = 0.75, Phi = 0.56; p < 0.039) were detected. MRI showed no association between the presence of HLA-B27 and ASI signs in patients with RA. Conclusions. ASI is detected by MRI significantly more often in patients with ePsA; however, it can also be observed in patients with eRA. In patients with ePsA, ASI is closely associated with IBP and HLA-B27; this fact can be used for differential diagnosis of polyarticular ePsA and eRA. The activity level of peripheral arthritis does not affect detectability of ASI by MRI in patients with ePsA.

Application of similarity coefficients to SIFT-MS data for livestock emission characterization

Animal farming emissions from pig and broiler chicken livestock activities were analyzed by means of selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) using full mass scans in the m/z range 15–250 with H3O+, NO+ and O2+ as precursor ions. The generated set of data was used to investigate the similarity between samples using raw experimental SIFT-MS data by means of similarity coefficients, which was the main goal of this paper. The so-called ‘Yule coefficient’ is chosen as the best tool to identify the similarity between samples. The proposed methodology is successfully applied on an artificially constructed data set as well as on data from different experimental sampling campaigns. From an engineering point of view, it is considered to be a promising technique to evaluate whether a sample corresponds to one of the catalogued library data sets.

Corrélation entre la scintigraphie osseuse et le taux du marqueur tumoral CA15-3 dans le cancer du sein. À propos de 100 cas

AimTo display the correlation between the rate of tumor marker CA15-3 and the bone scintigraphy for extension or supervision check-up in breast cancer. MethodologyIn this study, we have randomly included 100 patients with a serum dosage of CA15-3 and a bone scintigraphy. ResultsWe compared the results of the bone scintigraphy and the rate of CA15-3. Among the 77 patients with elevated CA15-3, 57 presented a bone scintigraphy exhibiting secondary bone locations. Among 23 patients with a normal rate of CA15-3, 18 women presented a normal bone scintigraphy. The sensitivity of bone scintigraphy was estimated at 91.74%, while the specificity was estimated at 47.37%, and calculating the coefficient, which measures the intensity of linking the two variables, CA15-3 and bone scintigraphy, the Yule coefficient was 0.82. ConclusionIn this study, the intensity of the correlation between bone scintigraphy and the rate of CA15-3 proved very strong.

분할과 중첩 기법을 이용한 항공 사진 상의 빌딩 경계 추출

Buildings become complex and diverse with time. It is difficult to extract individual buildings using only an optical image, because they have similar spectral characteristics to objects such as vegetation and roads. In this study, we propose a method to extract building area and boundary through integrating airborne Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR) data and aerial images. Firstly, a binary edge map was generated using Edison edge detector after applying Adaptive dynamic range linear stretching radiometric enhancement algorithm to the aerial image. Secondly, building objects on airborne LiDAR data were extracted from normalized Digital Surface Model and aerial image. Then, a temporary building areas were extracted by overlaying the binary edge map and building objects extracted from LiDAR data. Finally, some building boundaries were additionally refined considering positional accuracy between LiDAR data and aerial image. The proposed method was applied to two experimental sites for validation. Through error matrix, F-measure, Jaccard coefficient, Yule coefficient, and Overall accuracy were calculated, and the values had a higher accuracy than 0.85.

A prospective survey of patient drop-outs in a palliative care setting

Aim:A prospective survey of patient drop-outs was carried out in a palliative care setting to understand the background of patients in the drop-out category. This was to understand the background of patients who drop out and why they drop out.Materials and Methods:The survey was conducted on 425 patients who had registered in the clinic in 2009 and subsequently persistently dropped out. Patients were classified on the basis of age, gender, education, disease, socioeconomic class, distance from clinic to home, family size, general health on the basis of symptoms on first arrival, reasons subsequently found for missing the appointment, primary caregiver details, and social support. The data were collected, and analyzed statistically using chi-square tests and percentages.Results:Majority of patients presented in the 41- to 60-year age group had secondary level education, with a family size of four. The drop-out rate was 25.06%. There was a significant association (P = 0.026) between reasons for dropping out and social support. A P-value < 0.05 shows that these are two related attributes. Yule's coefficient of association shows a negative correlation. When social support increases, the drop-out rate decreases. Majority of patients discontinued because a similar facility became available nearer their residence.Conclusion:A number of palliative care clinics have been created in the district and this has resulted in the significant drop-out rate.