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Category: biotech/medical – Page 969

Before a machine-learning model can complete a task, such as identifying cancer in medical images, the model must be trained. Training image classification models typically involves showing the model millions of example images gathered into a massive dataset.

However, using real image data can raise practical and : The images could run afoul of copyright laws, violate people’s privacy, or be biased against a certain racial or ethnic group. To avoid these pitfalls, researchers can use image generation programs to create for model training. But these techniques are limited because expert knowledge is often needed to hand-design an image generation program that can create effective training data.

Researchers from MIT, the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and elsewhere took a different approach. Instead of designing customized image generation programs for a particular training task, they gathered a dataset of 21,000 publicly available programs from the internet. Then they used this large collection of basic image generation programs to train a computer vision model.

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Summary: Researchers have identified two new genes, ATP8B4 and ABCA1, that are implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The genes impact the brain’s immune system and cholesterol processing, leading to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Source: Cardiff University.

Two new genes that raise a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease have been discovered by researchers.

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It’s difficult to trace the epidemiology since the patient didn’t travel, the mutations in the viruses are small and international travel in and out of New York is heavy, he said.

“With a single case there’s no way to know exactly how many infections there were between the vaccine vial and the paralyzed person,” Oberste said.

It’s unlikely public health authorities will figure out the origin of the virus that paralyzed the patient in New York, Oberste said. Dozens of countries around the world — primarily in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia — are still using oral vaccines that contain the Sabin Type 2 strain.

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Evidence-Based And Actionable Health, Wellness And Longevity Solutions — Dr. Renee DeHaan, Ph.D. — VP, Science & AI, InsideTracker

Dr. Renée Deehan, Ph.D. is the VP of Science & Artificial Intelligence at InsideTracker (https://www.insidetracker.com/), and leads a science team that builds and mines the world’s largest data set of blood, DNA, fitness tracking and phenotypic data from healthy people, creating evidence-based solutions that are simple, clear, and actionable.

Dr. Deehan has spent her career working in the precision medicine and personalized nutrition domains, previously serving as the VP of Computational Biology & Translational Informatics at QuartzBio and as the VP of Biology and Bioinformatics at PatientsLikeMe, the world’s largest integrated community, health management, and real-world data platform.

Continue reading “Dr Renée Deehan — VP, Science & AI, InsideTracker — Evidence-Based And Actionable Wellness Solutions” | >

They then used QUARTZ to analyze retinal images from 7,411 more people, these aged 48 to 92, and combined this data with information about their health history (such as smoking, statin use, and previous heart attacks) to predict their risk of heart disease. Participants’ health was tracked for seven to nine years, and their outcomes were compared to Framingham risk score (FRS) predictions.

A common tool for estimating heart disease risk, the FRS looks at age, gender, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking habits, and systolic blood pressure to estimate the probability someone will develop heart disease within a given span of time, usually 10 to 30 years.

The QUARTZ team compared their data to 10-year FRS predictions and said the algorithm’s accuracy was on par with that of the conventional tool.

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Veteran actor Tabassum Govil best known for hosting India’s first TV talk show Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan passed away at the age of 78 following a cardiac arrest on Friday (November 18). Elderly or people over 70 are more at risk of sudden cardiac arrest than the rest as one may have more chronic conditions like diabetes, high BP, smoking, previous heart attacks, weak heart. According to studies, elderly individuals have lower resuscitation and survival rates than younger individuals after in-hospital cardiac arrest. Staying active, eating healthy — food rich in fibre, devoid of saturated fats, added sugar and salt and high in whole grains can help keep your heart strong and healthy. Managing risk factors for heart attack is also advisable. (Also read: Tabassum of Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan fame dies at 78)

“In elderly, we have to identify the risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest, like, diabetes, high BP, smoking, previous heart attacks, weak heart. If any of these are present, a cardiologist’s consultation should be taken who would conduct simple tests like ECG, Echo and TMT to ascertain risk of sudden cardiac arrest. If the risk is high, they should be counselled to control their diabetes, blood pressure, and regular medical check-ups to detect any red flags,” says Dr. Nishith Chandra, Principal Director — Interventional Cardiology, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla Road, New Delhi.

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Circa 2006

To analyze the clinical and histological findings in boys with bilateral anorchia and the response to testosterone treatment on penis length.

Patients were divided into two groups according to the absence (group A, n = 29) or the presence (group B, n = 26) of palpable intrascrotal or inguinal mass at first clinical examination.

A micropenis was found in 46% of patients (n = 24) with a similar proportion in both groups. Testosterone treatment induced a mean penis length gain of 1.9 ± 1.3 SDS (standard deviation score). However, micropenis persisted in six patients. Histological examination (n = 18) confirmed the absence of any testicular structure with deferent ducts being present unilaterally or bilaterally in all but three patients. In these three patients, a hemorrhagic testis, probably as a result of a mechanical torsion, was found.

Continue reading “Bilateral anorchia in infancy: Occurence of micropenis and the effect of testosterone treatment” | >

Circa 2021:3

Surgical management of breast cancer often results in the absence of the breast. However, existing breast reconstruction methods may not meet the need for a replacement tissue. Tissue engineering with the use of emerging materials offers the promise of generating appropriate replacements. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has seen a significantly increased interest and application in medically-related fields in the recent years. This has been especially true in complex medical situations particularly when abnormal or complicated anatomical surgical considerations or precise reconstructive procedures are contemplated. In addition, 3D bio-printing which combines cells with bio-material scaffolds offers an exciting technology with significant applications in the field of tissue engineering. The purpose of this manuscript was to review a number of studies in which 3D printing technology has been used in breast reconstructive surgical procedures, and future directions and applications of 3D bio-printing.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among US women and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death among women as of 2019. Because ~268,600 (almost six times than DCIS) new cases prove to be an invasive type of breast cancer (1), many women had to choose the removal of the breast, with immediate consideration for a replacement tissue. Although this was satisfactory in many patients, either saline or gel-filled breast implants (2) do carry real risks of complications such as infection, capsular contracture, implant dislocation, or deformities (3, 4). The option of autologous reconstruction can be more texturally natural aesthetically, but it requires a more complex procedure, significant time and expense, and possible muscle weakness or hernia formation at the tissue donor site (5). Tissue engineering intends to address these limitations by combining the 3D printing technology with synthetic or natural structural elements.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), was based on digital model files using metal powder or plastic and other adhesive materials to construct objects with a computer guided precision, printing layer upon layer. Simplistically, it uses a computer aided design (CAD) program to convert the virtual model of an object into a printable object using an STL (Standard Tessellation Language or STereoLithography) file. The object then gradually and precisely takes shape as each thin layer is added according to the design file, and composed of the desired material for that object in the form of “ink” using the 3D printer. Not only in cases of intraoperative 3D printed models serving as templates, but this technology has extended to implanted scaffolds that have been used to correct defect-specific sites, clearly enhancing patient treatment (6, 7).

Continue reading “3D Printing in Breast Reconstruction: From Bench to Bed” | >