Increased range and contrast in fog with circularly polarized imaging.

Fogs, low lying clouds, and other highly scattering environments pose a challenge for many commercial and national security sensing systems. Current autonomous systems rely on optical sensors for navigation whose performance is degraded by highly scattering environments. In our previous simulation work, we have shown that polarized light can penetrate through a scattering environment such as fog. We have demonstrated that circularly polarized light maintains its initial polarization state better than linearly polarized light, even through large numbers of scattering events and thus ranges. This has recently been experimentally verified by other researchers. In this work, we present the design, construction, and testing of active polarization imagers at short-wave infrared and visible wavelengths. We explore multiple polarimetric configurations for the imagers, focusing on linear and circular polarization states. The polarized imagers were tested at the Sandia National Laboratories Fog Chamber under realistic fog conditions. We show that active circular polarization imagers can increase range and contrast in fog better than linear polarization imagers. We show that when imaging typical road sign and safety retro-reflective films, circularly polarized imaging has enhanced contrast throughout most fog densities/ranges compared to linearly polarized imaging and can penetrate over 15 to 25 m into the fog beyond the range limit of linearly polarized imaging, with a strong dependence on the interaction of the polarization state with the target materials.

HPV Screening Test for the Detection of Precancerous Cervical Lesions and Cervical Cancer in Israeli Women.

OBJECTIVES: This work is aimed to summarize the first year of the high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) screening test and compare it to the cytology screening test, regarding positivity rates and premalignant lesions diagnosed in the Israeli population. A specific consideration is for the age group 25-30 that is not considered mandatory for the HPV primary screening testing. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed in women who were screened for prevention of cervical cancer in Maccabi HealthCare HMO from March 2017 to March 2019. Screening methods included hrHPV typing for types 16, 18, and the other 12 hrHPV types and the PAP LBC test. RESULTS: A total of 115,807 cervical samples were tested for HPV presence and 91% (105,225) were found negative for hrHPV. The other 9% (10,582) were positive for one or more of the 14 hrHPV types tested, and 37% (3,916) of them showed abnormal PAP LBC results. In the age group of 25-30, 3,104 (17.5%) women were found positive for hr-HPV (825 had hrHPV types 16 and/or 18), of which 42% (1,293) of them showed abnormal PAP LBC results. During the hrHPV versus PAP LBC screening era, 258 more women were diagnosed with precancerous cervical lesions (CIN2/3), 70% increased detection versus cytology screening. CONCLUSIONS: The hrHPV screening test is currently the best method for the detection of precancerous cervical lesions and cervical cancer, and it is better started at age 25.

Trends in Continuity of Pregnancy in Women with Positive Cytomegalovirus IgM during the First Trimester, 2008-2009.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy is the most common cause of intrauterine infection, and is a common cause of sensorineural hearing loss and mental retardation. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate trends in amniocentesis and pregnancy outcome in women with suspected cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during the first trimester. METHODS: All blood tests for CMV immunoglobulin M (IgM) done between 2008 and 2009 on pregnant women who were enrolled in the Maccabi Healthcare Services were retrieved from laboratory database. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) avidity was measured and women were classified according to the risk of acquiring CMV infection. For each patient, performance of amniocentesis and whether pregnancy came to term were recorded. RESULTS: Of 109,439 pregnant women evaluated during the study period, 76,712 (70.1%) were tested for CMV IgM, and 792 (1.03%) were found to be positive. Among women with positive IgM, only 205 (25.9%) underwent amniocentesis. When compared with women with negative CMV IgM, the rate of pregnancy cessation was doubled in women with positive CMV IgM (28.3% vs. 14.3%, P < 0.05) and mostly elevated in women with a high risk of acquiring CMV (42.3% pregnancy cessation). Among women with positive CMV IgM, those who did not undergo amniocentesis were more likely to abort than those who performed amniocentesis (35.6% vs. 7.3%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: More women with suspected CMV infection during the first trimester of pregnancy aborted before all means of detection were utilized to rule out or confirm fetal infection with CMV.

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: a diagnostic challenge.

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma (VGA) is a rare subtype of cervical adenocarcinoma. It tends to appear in younger women and its indolent behavior permits fertility-preserving treatments. Pathologically, VGA presents a diagnostic challenge. The aim of our study was to evaluate the reliability of histological assessment for pre-treatment diagnosis of VGA. The data from the outpatient files of 12 patients in whom VGA had been diagnosed were reviewed. Median age at diagnosis was 38.8 years (range 27-65). Final pathology results confirmed VGA in nine patients. Of these, only two had been correctly diagnosed preoperatively, while in three, the initial biopsies were benign or pre-malignant. In four patients, the biopsy results had been interpreted as an invasive malignant tumor necessitating hysterectomy. The final histological report on the remaining three patients was invasive cervical adenocarcinoma. We conclude that pre-treatment diagnosis should not be based solely on a simple punch biopsy because of its low rate of diagnostic accuracy.

Patient, therapist, and supervisor in a psychiatric institution: inner freedom and inner structure.

The authors discuss issues concerning the psychotherapeutic process in a psychiatric institution. They develop the concept of the institution as an internalized object in addition to its being an objective object. As such, it has an effect on the inner freedom and the internal structure of the patient, the therapist, and the supervisor. It is claimed that it is crucial for the development of an identity as a psychotherapist that the supervisor be aware of the institution as an inner and real object. The authors raise questions about what kind of "space" is possible in a psychiatric institution and what influence that may have on the therapeutic process. The impact on the therapist's professional identity is discussed. They point to the process of becoming a therapist via supervision and examine some relevant dilemmas. The authors conclude by discussing the duality of inner freedom and internal structure, and their specific manifestations within an institution.