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Cases
Kinds of Cases Terms modified by Cases Selected AbstractsUtility of cell blocks in the diagnosis of thyroid aspiratesDIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Niria Sanchez M.D. Abstract Cell blocks (CBs) are often prepared with fine-needle aspirates (FNAs) from multiple organs as an adjunct to smears in the diagnosis of aspirated lesions. However, the literature contains few reports on their utility with regard to specific organ sites. At our institution, CBs are made routinely on FNAs when there is sufficient material remaining after smear preparation, with thyroid representing the largest volume. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of CBs in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions. From January 2002 to April 2004, 546 thyroid FNAs were performed. Eighty-two (15%) cases, from 60 females and 20 males (age range, 17,88 yr; mean, 50 yr), had CBs and formed the basis of this study. Seventy-four (90%) of the cases were performed by the radiologist or the clinician and 8 (10%) by the pathologist, all of which had an immediate assessment for adequacy. One to 7 passes were performed with an average of 3/case. The needles were immediately rinsed in Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution after smear preparation. CBs were made on bloody specimens/those with tissue fragments. Cell-block slides were reviewed for the presence of cellular elements and classified into three categories: (1) contributory, (2) noncontributory, or (3) provides additional information. Of the 82 cases, 23 (28%) were neoplastic, 51 (62%) were nonneoplastic, and 8 (10%) were nondiagnostic. Fifteen of the neoplastic cases had confirmatory biopsies, 9 of which were papillary carcinoma. The overall cellularity of the CBs was low, varying from 0 to 2 follicular groups in the noncontributory CBs and 3 to 6 follicular groups or papillary formations in the contributory CBs. CBs were contributory in 25 (31%) cases: 5 neoplastic (1 follicular neoplasm, 3 papillary carcinoma, and 1 suspicious for papillary carcinoma), 18 nonneoplastic, and 2 nondiagnostic. CBs were noncontributory in 56 (68%) cases: 18 neoplastic (4 papillary carcinomas, 1 suspicious for papillary carcinoma, 4 Hürthle cell neoplasms, and 9 follicular neoplasms), 33 nonneoplastic, and 5 nondiagnostic. One case was categorized as provided additional information because the CB showed material that was not present on the slides; however, it was still nondiagnostic. In summary, CBs did not help in the majority of cases. They were contributory in only 25 (31%) of the 82 cases, and of the 23 neoplastic cases, only 5 (22%) CBs were contributory. The contribution of the CBs in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions was minimal because of the low cellularity. On-site assessment of specimen adequacy often results in fewer passes, thus contributing to the low cellularity present in cell-block preparations. Ancillary studies may require additional passes. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006; 34:89,92. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Amelanotic malignant melanoma disguised as a diabetic foot ulcerDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 8 2004C. L. Gregson Abstract Background/case report A female patient with diet-controlled Type 2 diabetes mellitus, presented with disseminated malignancy. She had a 15-year history of a diabetic foot ulcer, which was subsequently found to be an amelanotic malignant melanoma. She had recently received immunosuppressive treatment for an episode of nephrotic syndrome secondary to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Conclusions This case raises two important points. Firstly, whether non-healing diabetic foot ulcers should be biopsied, and secondly, whether the spread of the malignant melanoma was precipitated by immunosuppressive treatment. [source] MEMORY ORGANIZATION AS THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN CASE-BASED REASONING AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL IN BIOMEDICINECOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 3-4 2006Isabelle Bichindaritz Mémoire proposes a general framework for reasoning from cases in biology and medicine. Part of this project is to propose a memory organization capable of handling large cases and case bases as occur in biomedical domains. This article presents the essential principles for an efficient memory organization based on pertinent work in information retrieval (IR). IR systems have been able to scale up to terabytes of data taking advantage of large databases research to build Internet search engines. They search for pertinent documents to answer a query using term-based ranking and/or global ranking schemes. Similarly, case-based reasoning (CBR) systems search for pertinent cases using a scoring function for ranking the cases. Mémoire proposes a memory organization based on inverted indexes which may be powered by databases to search and rank efficiently through large case bases. It can be seen as a first step toward large-scale CBR systems, and in addition provides a framework for tight cooperation between CBR and IR. [source] ADAPTATION KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION: A CASE STUDY FOR CASE-BASED DECISION SUPPORT IN ONCOLOGYCOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 3-4 2006Mathieu D'Aquin Kasimir is a case-based decision support system in the domain of breast cancer treatment. For this system, a problem is given by the description of a patient and a solution is a set of therapeutic decisions. Given a target problem, Kasimir provides several suggestions of solutions, based on several justified adaptations of source cases. Such adaptation processes are based on adaptation knowledge. The acquisition of this kind of knowledge from experts is presented in this paper. It is shown how the decomposition of adaptation processes by introduction of intermediate problems can highlight simple and generalizable adaptation steps. Moreover, some adaptation knowledge units that are generalized from those acquired for Kasimir are presented. This knowledge can be instantiated in other case-based decision support systems, in particular in medicine. [source] COALITIONS AMONG INTELLIGENT AGENTS: A TRACTABLE CASECOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 1 2006M. V. Belmonte Coalition formation is an important mechanism for cooperation in multiagent systems. In this paper we address the problem of coalition formation among self-interested agents in superadditive task-oriented domains. We assume that each agent has some "structure," i.e., that it can be described by the values taken by a set of m nonnegative attributes that represent the resources w each agent is endowed with. By defining the coalitional value as a function V of w, we prove a sufficient condition for the existence of a stable payment configuration,in the sense of the core,in terms of certain properties of V. We apply these ideas to a simple case that can be described by a linear program and show that it is possible to compute for it,in polynomial time,an optimal task allocation and a stable payment configuration. [source] STRATEGIC BEHAVIORS TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION: A CASE OF TRUCKING INDUSTRYCONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 1 2007TERENCE LAM We used trucking industry's response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acceleration of 2004 diesel emissions standards as a case study to examine the importance of accounting for regulatees' strategic behaviors in drafting of environmental regulations. Our analysis of the time series data of aggregate U.S. and Canada heavy-duty truck production data from 1992 through 2003 found that heavy-duty trucks production increased by 20%,23% in the 6 mo prior to the date of compliance. The increases might be due to truck operators pre-buying trucks with less expensive but noncompliant engines and behaving strategically in anticipation of other uncertainties. (JEL L51, Q25) [source] PROPOSITION 8 AND CRIME RATES IN CALIFORNIA: THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING DETERRENTCRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 3 2006CHERYL MARIE WEBSTER Research Summary: In 1999, Daniel Kessler and Steven Levitt published an article that purported to provide support for the marginal deterrent effects of harsher sanctions on levels of crime. Specifically, they concluded that sentence enhancements that came into effect in California in June 1982 as a result of Proposition 8 were responsible for a subsequent drop in serious crime in this state. Our article examines the analyses and findings of this article and suggests that their conclusion of a deterrent impact fails to withstand scrutiny when more complete and more detailed crime data are used and the comparability of "control" groups is carefully examined. In particular, the addition of annual crime levels for all years (versus only the odd-numbered years that Kessler and Levitt examine) calls into question the prima facie support for a deterrent effect presented by Kessler and Levitt. Specifically, it demonstrates not only that the crime drop in California began before, rather than after, the passing into law of the sentence enhancements in 1982 but also that the downward slope did not accelerate after the change in law. Furthermore, the comparability of the two "control" groups with the "treatment" group is challenged, rendering suspect any findings based on these comparisons. Policy Implications: Case studies suggesting that crime decreased after the imposition of harsh sentencing policies are often cited as evidence of marginal general deterrence. As has been demonstrated in other contexts, the question that needs to be asked is "Compared with what?" Kessler and Levitt's (1999) article demonstrates that those interested in sentencing policy need to be sensitive not only to the appropriateness of the comparisons that are made, but also to the choice of data that are presented. [source] THE CASE OF THE CRITICS WHO MISSED THE POINT: A REPLY TO WEBSTER ET AL.,CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 3 2006STEVEN D. LEVITT First page of article [source] COLORECTAL INVOLVEMENT OF KAPOSI'S SARCOMA IN A HIV-NEGATIVE CASEDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 2 2008Mehmet Bektas A case of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in a 70-year-old man who was using corticosteroid for the treatment of asthma is presented. KS lesions occurred in the skin, colon, and rectum. Macroscopic appearances of the lesions varied from polypoid, hemorrhagic mucosal nodules and ulcers to red macules in the mucosal plane to plaque-like indurations of the wall. As the case was HIV negative, it is believed that KS developed due to corticosteroid-induced immunosuppression. [source] A CASE OF PYOGENIC GRANULOMA IN THE SIGMOID COLON TREATED WITH ARGON PLASMA COAGULATIONDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 3 2005Tomoko Morita Pyogenic granuloma (PG) with hemorrhagic tendency, is often recognized in the oral mucosa and skin, but rare in the gastrointestinal tract. Only 20 cases have been reported in the gastric mucosa. There have been no reports of gastrointestinal PG treated by argon plasma coagulation (APC). We report here the first case of PG in the sigmoid colon treated by APC. The patient was a 64-year-old woman complaining of constipation who was referred to a university hospital of Kochi Medical School. She presented with easily bleeding mucosa, as revealed by a total colonoscopic study in the sigmoid colon. Magnifying colonoscopic examination showed two sessile small polyps in the sigmoid colon. Pathological examination of the biopsy specimens revealed pyogenic granuloma. We treated this lesion by endoscopic APC. No recurrence has been found as of 9 months after APC therapy. [source] A CASE OF DUODENAL LIPOMA REMOVED BY ENDOSCOPIC POLYPECTOMYDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 4 2004Tuyoshi Shoji A rare case of duodenal lipoma removed by endoscopic polypectomy is presented herein. A 64-year-old female was found to have a polypoid lesion in the duodenum on gastrointestinal endoscopic examination. Endoscopy revealed a submucosal tumor located on the second portion. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) demonstrated a homogenous, hyperechoic mass continuous with the submucosal layer, suggesting a lipoma. Because of the likelihood of the tumor ultimately causing obstruction or bleeding, endoscopic polypectomy was performed. There were no complications after treatment. [source] SOLITARY PEDUNCULATED GASTRIC GLAND HETEROTOPIA TREATED BY ENDOSCOPIC POLYPECTOMY: REPORT OF A CASEDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 1 2001Kazuo Kitabayashi The patient, a 68-year-old woman with a long-standing history of schizophrenia, was admitted to our hospital complaining of vomiting which had lasted approximately 3 weeks. Endoscopic examination of the stomach revealed a solitary pedunculated submucosal tumor, of approximately 2 cm in diameter, on the anterior wall of the upper body, close to the greater curvature. The lesion was endoscopically excised using a polypectomy snare without any complication. Microscopic examination was compatible with the diagnosis of gastric gland heterotopia showing submucosal proliferation of pseudopyloric glands, fundic glands and foveolar epithelium with fibromuscular stromal framework. The proliferating foveolar epithelium and fibromuscular stroma were in continuity with the overlaying gastric mucosa and muscularis mucosae, respectively. The lesion was entirely covered by normal gastric epithelium. No atypical cells were revealed in the lesion. The clinical significance of gastric gland heterotopia is unclear because of its controversial histogenesis and carcinogenetic potential. We herein report a rare case of solitary pedunculated gastric gland heterotopia with some review of scientific reports. [source] VASCULAR ECTASIA OF THE COLON TREATED BY ARGON PLASMA COAGULATION: REPORT OF A CASEDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 1 2001Yoshie Tada A 72-year-old woman presented with hematochezia. Colonoscopy revealed branch-like vasodilation in the ascending colon and chronic hemorrhage from vascular ectasia of the colon was suspected. Argon plasma coagulation was performed. After treatment, epithelialization of the lesion site was noted and her anemia improved. Vascular ectasia of the colon is recognized as the etiology of lower gastrointestinal bleeding with increasing frequency. Infrared ray electronic endoscopy is useful for determining the extent of disease and argon plasma coagulation, a new hemostatic technique, is suitable for treatment of this condition. [source] ILEITIS AS A MAIN RECURRENT LESION IN A PATIENT WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS: REPORT OF A CASEDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 2 2000Shuichi Sano We report a case of ulcerative colitis complicating ileitis that endoscopically and histologically resembled a colonic lesion. Eight years prior to the time of writing, the patient had undergone proctosigmoidectomy and ileocecal resection because of severe hemorrhagic lesions of ulcerative colitis. A month prior to the time of writing, bleeding from the stoma occurred. Endoscopy revealed erosions on easy-bleeding mucosa in the ileum but no active inflammatory lesions in colonic mucosa except for small erosions in the descending colon beneath the stoma. Histologic findings of biopsy specimens from the ileal mucosa showed marked inflammation including neutrophile infiltration and crypt abscesses. This is a rare case of ulcerative colitis showing ileitis as a main recurrent lesion, suggesting that careful observation of the small intestine will be required after ileocecal resection in ulcerative colitis patients. [source] MISGUIDED CORPORATE VIRTUE: THE CASE AGAINST CSR, AND THE TRUE ROLE OF BUSINESS TODAY1ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2009David Henderson The doctrine of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has now been accepted across the world , not only by businesses and business organisations, together with an array of commentators and NGOs, but also by many governments. This is a worrying development. The doctrine rests on mistaken presumptions about recent economic developments and their implications for the role and conduct of enterprises, while putting it into effect would make the world poorer and more over-regulated. [source] PENSION REFORM, POLITICAL PRESSURE AND PUBLIC CHOICE , THE CASE OF FRANCEECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2008Laura Thompson An ageing population and generous public sector pensions have put significant pressure on the funding of the French pension system making a reduction in the scope of state pension schemes imperative. Yet, as public-choice theory would predict, lobbying by interest groups has made reform difficult to achieve. [source] LIBERATION BIOLOGY: THE SCIENTIFIC AND MORAL CASE FOR THE BIOTECH REVOLUTION by Ronald BaileyECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2007Terence Kealey No abstract is available for this article. [source] PAYING FOR CROSSRAIL : THE BUSINESS CASEECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2005Michael Schabas A new railway is being planned across London. Incremental fares revenue will only pay about a quarter of the £10 billion1 expected cost, so the Greater London Assembly (GLA) is considering ,alternative funding mechanisms'. These include new taxes on businesses that are presumed to benefit from the scheme. Taxes would deter the very investment Crossrail is supposed to support. The GLA would do better to change the scheme to reduce the need for subsidy and strengthen the business case. [source] COMPETITION AMONG STAKEHOLDER GROUPS FOR POLITICAL INFLUENCE OVER BUSINESS REGULATION: THE CASE OF THE UK PENSIONS INDUSTRYECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2003Paul Klumpes This paper applies a stakeholder perspective to estimate various types of costs (taxes) and benefits (subsidies) affecting stakeholder groups whose constituents are most affected by recent, major reforms to the public regulation of the UK pensions industry. Both direct and indirect subsidies and taxes arising from regulation distinguishes groups representing both sophisticated and vulnerable investors. The analysis suggests that financial intermediaries, and industry regulators, are all effectively subsidised by other stakeholder groups. [source] REGULATING CARS AND BUSES IN CITIES: THE CASE OF PEDESTRIANISATION IN OXFORDECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2003Graham Parkhurst Debates about whether traffic regulations that limit car use will enhance or hinder a particular urban economy are complex and often emotive. The present article considers evidence from the implementation of a radical traffic restraint and pedestrianisation scheme in Oxford in 1999. The most important achievement was a 17% reduction in car trips to the centre, which did not affect overall visitor numbers. The local economy did though experience a period of difficult trading around the time of implementation. [source] ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: THE FRENCH CASEECONOMIC INQUIRY, Issue 4 2010RAPHAËL FRANCK This article provides a test of the secularization hypothesis, which argues that economic growth, industrialization, increased literacy, and low fertility decrease religiosity. It focuses on the elections of the secular politicians who voted in favor of the separation between Church and State in the French Parliament in 1905. If the secularization hypothesis is correct, these secular politicians should have been elected in the most developed areas of France at the turn of the twentieth century. Contrary to the predictions of the secularization hypothesis, we find that the support for secular politicians originated in the rural areas of France. (JEL Z12, D72, N43) [source] THIRD-PARTY ACCESS TO INFRASTRUCTURE: THE CASE OF THE MT NEWMAN RAIL LINE IN THE PILBARAECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 4 2007PAUL KOSHY Australia is continuing to develop a legal and administrative framework for facilitating third party access to important infrastructure. This paper examines the workings of the organisation charged with assessing requests for access,the National Competition Council,in the context of the Council's Final Recommendation on an application by the Fortescue Metals Group for access to the Mt Newman Rail Line, owned and operated by BHP Billiton Iron Ore. The discussion draws on submissions to the Council and the recent literature on rail access in order to critique this decision. It concludes by observing that further research is needed to develop a methodology for a more formal approach to determining certain key questions. [source] THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE CASE OF RURAL CHINA, 1979,1987ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2006IAN WILLS This is an extended and slightly revised version of an article by Wills and Yang published in Policy, Vol. 9, No. J, Autumn 1993. The article was derived from a paper by Yang, Wang and Wills published in the China Economic Review in 1992. The idea for the empirical study, the analytical model and the procedure for quantifying changes in property rights came from Xiaokai Yang. The study illustrates his ability to apply inframarginal concepts to real problems. [source] THE VALUE OF PRIVATISATION: THE CASE OF THE STATE BANK OF NSWECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 1 2001C.V. CURRIE First page of article [source] HUMAN CAPITAL AND THE LABOR OF LEARNING: A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITYEDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 2 2007Alexander M Sidorkin Specifically, human capital theorists underestimate the private cost of schooling by taking low-level manual labor as the basis for estimating students' forgone earnings. This does not take into consideration the nature of students' labor of learning. In the essay, Sidorkin describes student work as a form of labor, not an investment activity, and considers the implications such an understanding of student work has for school reform. [source] A SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL DOCTORS TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF A GROWING ADDICTION PROBLEM IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES: THE CASE IN MEXICOADDICTION, Issue 2 2009MARIA ELENA MEDINA-MORA No abstract is available for this article. [source] DISCOVERING EXCEPTIONAL DIVERSIFICATIONS AT CONTINENTAL SCALES: THE CASE OF THE ENDEMIC FAMILIES OF NEOTROPICAL SUBOSCINE PASSERINESEVOLUTION, Issue 7 2010Santiago Claramunt The study of continental adaptive radiations has lagged behind research on their island counterparts in part because the mere identification of adaptive radiations is more challenging at continental scales. Here, I demonstrate a new method based on simulations for discovering clades that show exceptionally high phenotypic diversity. The method does not require a phylogeny but accounts for differences in age and species richness among clades and incorporates effects of the phylogenetic structure of data. In addition, I developed a new multivariate measure of phenotypic diversity, which has the advantage over other measures of disparity in that it takes covariation into account. I applied these methods to a clade of endemic Neotropical suboscine passerines, within which the family Furnariidae has been considered an adaptive radiation. I found that the families Thamnophilidae, Furnariidae, and Dendrocolaptidae have experienced a higher rate of cladogenesis than have other clades. Although Thamnophilidae is exceptionally diverse in body size, only Furnariidae and Dendrocolaptidae are exceptionally diverse in shape. The combination of high rates of cladogenesis and high morphometric diversity in traits related to feeding and locomotion suggest that the clade Furnariidae-Dendrocolaptidae represent an authentic continental adaptive radiation. [source] ONE CASE,ONE SPECIALIZED JUDGE: WHY COURTS HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO MANAGE ALIENATION AND OTHER HIGH-CONFLICT CASESFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Hon. Donna J. Martinson This article challenges the traditional approach to alienation and other high-conflict cases in which many different generalist judges deal with the case. The objectives of the judicial process, dealing with cases in a just, timely, and affordable way that instils confidence in the public and litigants, cannot be met unless high-conflict cases are actively managed by one specialist family law judge. Allowing parents in high-conflict cases to decide when and how often their case should come before the court exacerbates the negative effects of the litigation on children. This article concludes that, unless the litigation is properly managed by specialist judges, the justice system unintentionally causes harm to children. [source] A CASE FOR REFORM OF THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEMFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 4 2007Miriam Aroni Krinsky There are more than half a million children in our nation's foster care system. While foster care is intended to provide a temporary safe harbor for abused and neglected children, too many of these youth spend years in foster care limbo,experiencing a turbulent life in motion as they move from placement to placement, community to community, and school to school. Youth in foster care commonly fail to receive basic health and psychological care, and nearly 20,000 youth age out of foster care every year to an adult path of homelessness, unemployment, and despair. Our entire community must work together to more responsibly parent these youth. This article will address how lawyers and child advocates can advocate for new approaches and enhanced support on behalf of the voiceless and most vulnerable members of our community. It will address existing hurdles and systemic challenges that have helped to create the current disheartening status quo. The article will then discuss strategies that advocates can employ to turn the corner on behalf of these youth at risk. [source] ALIGNING INCENTIVES AND MOTIVATIONS IN HEALTH CARE: THE CASE OF EARNED AUTONOMYFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007Russell Mannion Delegating greater authority and decision making power to front line organisations, including devolution of control through the system of ,Earned Autonomy' is a key component of the UK Government's modernisation agenda for the public services. The principle of Earned Autonomy is that the highest performing organisations are subject to less central control and allowed increased operating freedoms. This paper explores the implementation of Earned Autonomy in the English NHS and addresses the question of whether the incentives implicit within Earned Autonomy are both sufficiently powered and aligned to the motivations of senior hospital managers to secure the desired improvements in organisational performance. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||