BACKGROUND Melanomas and melanocytic nevi that change over time display different change patterns, correlated with histopathological features. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of the dermoscopic images corresponding to 86 lesions excised due to the changes occurred during the follow-up period in patients at high risk for melanoma, and we drew a comparison between the changes occu...

wall thickness (B) can be calculated by CASCADE automatically. Fig 2-3: Cross-sectional T1 weighted images show examples of atherosclerotic femoral arteries with eccentricity index of 0.27 and 0.83. They have remarkably different morphologies, but the NWI values are similar (0.80vs.0.85). (Outer wall: light blue; Lumen: red circle; Calcification: dark blue) Reference: 1. Ohara T, et al. AJNR, 2...

We evaluated the NCCLS M44-P fluconazole disk diffusion method in comparison with the NCCLS M27-A2 broth microdilution method for determining the susceptibility of 276 isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans. Disk diffusion testing was performed using Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 2% glucose and 0.5 microg of methylene blue/ml. Among the 276 isolates, 259 (93.8%) were susceptible, 16 (5.8%)...

Medicare spending for the elderly is much higher in McAllen, Texas, than in El Paso, Texas, as reported in a 2009 New Yorker article by Atul Gawande. To investigate whether this disparity was present in the non-Medicare populations of those two cities, we obtained medical use and expense data for patients privately insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. In contrast to the Medicare popu...

background although the number of infectious diseases has sharply decreased in last few decades, parasitic diseases persist in developing countries. on the other hand, chronic psychiatric patients tend to have low self-control, poor personal hygiene, long term institutionalization and extremely low self-care should be monitored for parasitic diseases since psychosocial conditions can contribute...