Cervical Cytology–Histology Correlation Based on the American Society of Cytopathology Guideline (2017) at the Russian National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Perinatology

Recent evidence suggests that a cytology–histology correlation (CHC) with discrepancy detection can both evaluate errors and improve the sensitivity and specificity of the cytologic method. We aimed to analyze the errors in cytologic–histologic discrepancies according to the CHC protocol guideline of the American Society of Cytopathology (2017). This retrospective study included 273 patients seen at the National Medical Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology (Moscow, Russia) between January 2019 and September 2021. The patients’ mean age was 34 ± 8.1 years. The cytology–histology agreement was noted in 158 cases (57.9%). Major discrepancies were found in 21 cases (7.6%), while minor discrepancies were noted in 93 cases (34.1%). The reason for 13 (4.8%) discrepancies was a colposcopy sampling error and, in 46 (16.8%) cases, the reason was a Papanicolaou (PAP) test sampling error. The discrepancy between primary and reviewed cytology was due interpretive errors in 13 (4.8%) cases and screening errors in 42 (15.4%) cases. We demonstrated that the ASC guidelines facilitate cervical CHC. A uniform application of these guidelines would standardize cervical CHCs internationally, provide a scope for the inter-laboratory comparison of data, and enhance self-learning and peer learning.

Sea-ice thickness on the northern Canadian polar shelf: A second look after 40 years

This paper presents a systematic record of multi-year sea-ice thickness on the northern Canadian polar shelf, acquired during the winter of 2009–10. The data were acquired by submerged sonar positioned within Penny Strait where they measured floes drifting south from the notional “last ice area”. Ice was moving over the site until 10 December and fast thereafter. Old ice comprised about half of the 1669-km long survey. The average old-ice thickness within 25-km segments of the survey track was 3–4 m; maximum keels were 12–16 m deep. Floes with high average draft were of two types, one with interspersed low draft intervals and one without. The presence or absence of thin patches apparently distinguished aggregate floes comprised of sub-units of various ages and deformation states from units of more homogeneous age and deformation state. The former were larger and of somewhat lower mean thickness (1–5 km; 3.5–4.5 m) than the latter (400–600 m; 6.5–14 m). Calculated ice accretion onto the multi-year ice measured in autumn 2009 was used to seasonally adjust the observations to a date in late winter, when prior data are available. The adjusted mean thickness for all 25-km segments with 4 tenths or more old ice was 3.6 m (sample deviation of 0.4 m), a value indistinguishable within sampling error from values measured in the same area during the 1970s. The recently measured ice-draft distributions were also very similar to those from the 1970s.

Socioeconomic profile of producers and dairy technological of farms in the southern mesoregion of Santa Catarina

This study characterized the socioeconomic profile of milk producers and dairy technological of farms in the southern mesoregion of Santa Catarina. Following a 6.5% sampling of total farms by municipality, 95% confidence level, 5% sampling error, and group heterogeneity, data were collected from 308 farms, 22 of which were excluded due to insufficient data. The farmers were selected randomly, and information extracted from an electronic form, addressing social, economic, technical and technological issues. The data were analyzed using factor, cluster, and discriminant analysis. As farms with the main activity of dairy farming, they have an average area of 20.79 hectares and a production of 12.18 liters per animal per day. I n the factor analysis, the first factor was related to the area and productivity of farms and the second factor to sanitary control and the feed variety of the animals. The cluster analysis formed three clusters; the first and the second were composed of larger farms and areas, and the other consisted of smaller farms, the latter involving more producers. As farms are characterized by low production, there is clearly a deficiency in technical support for producers.

Random noise suppression and super-resolution reconstruction algorithm of seismic profile based on GAN

In this paper, we propose a random noise suppression and super-resolution reconstruction algorithm for seismic profiles based on Generative Adversarial Networks, in anticipation of reducing the influence of random noise and low resolution on seismic profiles. Firstly, the algorithm used the residual learning strategy to construct a de-noising subnet to accurate separate the interference noise on the basis of protecting the effective signal. Furthermore, it iterated the back-projection unit to complete the reconstruction of the high-resolution seismic sections image, while responsed sampling error to enhance the super-resolution performance of the algorithm. For seismic data characteristics, designed the discriminator to be a fully convolutional neural network, used a larger convolution kernels to extract data features and continuously strengthened the supervision of the generator performance optimization during the training process. The results on the synthetic data and the actual data indicated that the algorithm could improve the quality of seismic cross-section, make ideal signal-to-noise ratio and further improve the resolution of the reconstructed cross-sectional image. Besides, the observations of geological structures such as fractures were also clearer.

Who Could Be Blamed in the Case of Discrepant Histology and Serology Results for Helicobacter pylori Detection?

Background. Discrepancies between histology and serology results for Helicobacter pylori detection could be caused by a variety of factors, including a biopsy sampling error, expertise of the pathologist, natural loss of infection due to advanced atrophy, or a false-positive serology in the case of a previous infection, since antibodies may be present in blood following recovery from the infection. Aims. To identify true H. pylori-positive individuals in discrepant cases by serology and histology using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as a gold standard. Methods. Study subjects with discrepant histology and serology results were selected from the GISTAR pilot study data base in Latvia. Subjects having received previous H. pylori eradication therapy or reporting use of proton pump inhibitors, antibacterial medications, or bismuth containing drugs one month prior to upper endoscopy were excluded. We compared the discrepant cases to the corresponding results of RT-PCR performed on gastric biopsies. Results. In total, 97 individuals with discrepant results were identified: 81 subjects were serology-positive/histology-negative, while 16 were serology-negative/histology-positive. Among the serology-positive/histology-negative cases, 64/81 (79.0%) were false-positives by serology and, for the majority, inflammation was absent in all biopsies, while, in the serology-negative/histology-positive group, only 6.2% were proven false-positives by histology. Conclusions. Among this high H. pylori prevalent, middle-aged population, the majority of discrepant cases between serology and histology were due to false positive-serology, rather than false-negative histology. This confirms the available evidence that the choice of treatment should not be based solely on the serological results, but also after excluding previous, self-reported eradication therapy.

Precision and accuracy of sampling methods in thinned Pinus taeda L. stands

Different sampling methods can be used in forest surveys. It is important to know the precision and accuracy of these sampling methods, and which one is the most appropriate in specific conditions of the forest population. The aim of this study was to compare estimates of a forest inventory performed by different sampling methods with forest census results. The sampling methods evaluated were the fixed-area method and the variable-area methods of Bitterlich, Prodan, and Strand. The data were obtained in a 15-year-old thinned stand of Pinus taeda L., located in the municipality of Teixeira Soares, southern Brazil, with a total area of 12.80 ha. Initially, the forest census was carried out, and subsequently, the sample units for each sampling method were distributed in the stand, with a common starting point. The variables used to compare the sample results with the census means were quadratic diameter, number of trees, basal area, and volume, per hectare. Precision and accuracy were evaluated by sampling error and whether the confidence intervals covered the population means, respectively. The fixed-area and Bitterlich methods stood out in precision for all variables analysed. The fixed-area, Bitterlich and Strand methods with proportion to height provided more accurate estimates. The Prodan method provided inaccurate and imprecise estimates for the variables under analysis, except for the quadratic diameter.

Pemulihan Lanskap Ekonomi Pasca Pandemi Covid-19 Di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu

Tujuan dari kajian ini adalah mendeskripsikan dan menganalisa dampak pandemi Covid-19 terhadap lanskap ekonomi masyarakat Labuhanbatu. Metode dalam kajian ini menggunakan kualitatif yang dideskripsikan dengan didasarkan pada ciri-ciri keilmuan yaitu rasional, empiris, dan sistematis karena berusaha menerangkan fenomena ekonomi. Sumber data sekunder dari publikasi lembaga yang memiliki relevansi dengan kajian, data primer dari kuisoner. Populasi adalah penduduk yang berusia 15 tahun ke atas yang bekerja berdasarkan lapangan usaha di Kabupatan Labuhanbatu tahun 2020. Penentuan sampel didasarkan dengan Two Stage Cluster, Sample primer sebanyak 156.223 orang, asumsi sampling error sebesar 0,22%, asumsi Koefisien Kepercayaan sebesar 1,96 dan asumsi parameter proporsi binomial sebesar 50%-50% sehingga diperoleh sampel sebanyak 797 orang. Waktu penelitian bulan Maret sampai dengan November 2020 dengan lokasi terdiri dari 9 (sembilan) kecamatan se Kabupaten Labuhanbatu. Pengumpulan data dengan survey terhadap instrumen berupa kusioner terbuka yang dibagi menjadi dua bagian, kusioner terbuka bersifat administratif dan kuisioner terbuka bersifat substantif. Temuan administratif masyarakat yang bekerja di lokus studi didominasi laki-laki dengan umur antara 30-49 tahun dan berpendidikan SMA. Temuan substantif dalam studi ini adalah adanya perubahan lanskap ekonomi di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu yang ditandai dengan pergeseran dari pekerjaan yang berkurang, Distribusi bantuan Pemerintah yang meningkat, Kelangkaan kebutuhan pokok, penghasilan yang semakin menurun dan perubahan peta lapangan usaha

Yield and qualitative and biochemical characteristics of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) cultivated in different soil, water, and climate conditions

Saffron is highly valued for its unique aroma, taste, color, and medicinal properties. Iran is one of the most important saffron-producing countries. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of climatic and environmental characteristics of six sites (Shirvan, Faruj, Zavareh, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Ghayen, and Birjand) on the yield and qualitative, and biochemical characteristics of saffron. The studied sites were considered as treatments. The obtained data were analyzed based on a nested design, where the village within the site was considered an experimental error, and the farm within the village within each site was considered a sampling error. The Torbat-e Heydarieh treatment with altitudes of ~1323.3 m produced the maximum saffron flower yield (0.83 g m2), stigma yield (0.098 g m2), safranal content (15.8%), picrocrocin content (30.6%), and crocins content (69.3%). Evidently that the low maximum summer temperature in the area is one of the reasons for its superiority. The correlation analysis between traits shows that the maximum summer temperature had a significant negative correlation with saffron flower yield, stigma yield, and picrocrocin and crocin content. Results showed the highest total flavonoid and phenol content and DPPH activity related to Shirvan and Faruj. Although the results showed that selenium could increase the quantitative and qualitative yield of saffron, this requires further studies to confirm it. Based on the findings, it is concluded that I) qualitative and quantitative characteristics of saffron are strongly controlled by the environmental and climatic conditions and II) Razavi Khorasan province had a significant advantage in terms of flower and stigma yield and safranal, picrocrocin and crocin content of saffron and North Khorasan province in terms of biochemical characteristics.

Numerical approaches for the rapid analysis of prophylactic efficacy against HIV with arbitrary drug-dosing schemes

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important pillar to prevent HIV transmission. Because of experimental and clinical shortcomings, mathematical models that integrate pharmacological, viral- and host factors are frequently used to quantify clinical efficacy of PrEP. Stochastic simulations of these models provides sample statistics from which the clinical efficacy is approximated. However, many stochastic simulations are needed to reduce the associated sampling error. To remedy the shortcomings of stochastic simulation, we developed a numerical method that allows predicting the efficacy of arbitrary prophylactic regimen directly from a viral dynamics model, without sampling. We apply the method to various hypothetical dolutegravir (DTG) prophylaxis scenarios. The approach is verified against state-of-the-art stochastic simulation. While the method is more accurate than stochastic simulation, it is superior in terms of computational performance. For example, a continuous 6-month prophylactic profile is computed within a few seconds on a laptop computer. The method’s computational performance, therefore, substantially expands the horizon of feasible analysis in the context of PrEP, and possibly other applications.

Proficiency-based progression intern training to reduce critical blood sampling errors including ‘wrong blood in tube’

Background: Blood sampling errors including ‘wrong blood in tube’ (WBIT) may have adverse effects on clinical outcomes. WBIT errors occur when the blood sample in the tube is not that of the patient identified on the label. This study aims to determine the effect of proficiency-based progression (PBP) training in phlebotomy on the rate of blood sampling errors (including WBIT). Methods: A non-randomised controlled trial compared the blood sampling error rate of 43 historical controls who had not undergone PBP training in 2016 to 44 PBP trained interventional groups in 2017. In 2018, the PBP training programme was implemented and the blood sampling error rate of 46 interns was compared to the 43 historical controls in 2016. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis adjusting for sample timing. Results: In 2016, 43 interns had a total blood sample error rate of 2.4%, compared to 44 interns in 2017, who had error rate of 1.2% (adjusted OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.36-0.70; <0.01). In 2018, 46 interns had an error rate of 1.9% (adjusted OR=0.89, 95% CI 0.65-1.21; p=0.46) when compared to the 2016 historical controls. There were three WBITs in 2016, three WBITs in 2017 and five WBITs in 2018. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that PBP training in phlebotomy has the potential to reduce blood sampling errors. Trial registration number: NCT03577561