MATERIAL AND METHODS: 30 normal quadriceps entheses were scanned using SWE to compare the stiffness and coefficient variation by changing the ultrasonic coupling gel thickness, knee position, region of interest size, and scanning plane.
RESULTS: No significant difference in median shear wave velocity (SWV) was observed in different coupling gel thicknesses. The median SWV was higher in the knee flexion position than in the extended position (p 0.05). For interobserver reliability for the proposed protocol, the intraclass correlation coefficients was 0.763.
CONCLUSION: In this study, we determined supine position with the knee extended; using 2.0 mm diameter region of interest and image acquisition at the longitudinal plane with thicker layer coupling gel seems most appropriate to reliably image healthy quadriceps entheses with SWE.
METHODS: A five-tiered workflow of data acquisition; processing; databasing, sharing, version control; visualisation; and monitoring was used. COVID-19 data were initially collated from press releases and then transitioned to official sources.
RESULTS: Key COVID-19 indicators were tabulated and visualised, deployed using open-source hosting in October 2022. The system demonstrated high performance, handling extensive data volumes, with a 92.5% user conversion rate, evidencing its value and adaptability.
CONCLUSION: This cost-effective, scalable solution aids health specialists and authorities in tracking disease burden, particularly in low-resource settings. Such innovations are critical in health crises like COVID-19 and adaptable to diverse health scenarios.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to identify the cranial angles, which are associated with Apert, Crouzon, and Pfeiffer syndromes.
METHODS: The cranial computed tomography scan images of 17 patients with SC and 22 control groups aged 0 to 12 years who were treated in the University Malaya Medical Centre were obtained, while 12 angular measurements were attained using the Mimics software. The angular data were then divided into 2 groups (patients aged 0 to 24 months and >24 months). This work proposes a 95% confidence interval (CI) for angular mean to detect the abnormality in patient's cranial growth for the SC syndromes.
RESULTS: The 95% CI of angular mean for the control group was calculated and used as an indicator to confirm the abnormality in patient's cranial growth that is associated with the 3 syndromes. The results showed that there are different cranial angles associated with these 3 syndromes.
CONCLUSIONS: All cranial angles of the patients with these syndromes lie outside the 95% CI of angular mean of control group, indicating the reliability of the proposed CI in the identification of abnormality in the patient's cranial growth.
METHODS: Electronic searches were conducted in EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang databases using keywords including stroke, depression, and PHQ-9. The assessment tool Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 was utilized to evaluate the risk of bias in diagnostic studies.
RESULTS: A total of 2049 articles were retrieved, with 9 meeting the inclusion criteria. The PHQ-9 demonstrated pooled sensitivity and specificity of 0.84 and 0.90, respectively, and a summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve of 0.93. At the 10-cut-off value, pooled sensitivity, specificity, and sROC were 0.77, 0.85, and 0.86, respectively. At the 9-cut-off value, the sensitivity, specificity, and sROC were 0.87, 0.85, and 0.92, respectively. At the 5-cut-off value, sensitivity, specificity, and sROC are 0.90, 0.91, and 0.96, respectively. No publication bias was identified.
CONCLUSION: The PHQ-9 is an effective tool for screening poststroke depressive symptoms with significant clinical utility. However, further research is needed to establish optimal diagnostic thresholds.