A Comparative Study of the Diagnostic Utility of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (EUS-FNA) versus Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Biopsy (EUS-FNB) in Pancreatic and Non-Pancreatic Lesions.

OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has become the procedure of choice to obtain samples from pancreatic lesions. However, it still has limitations affecting its diagnostic yield. The endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) needle was developed to allow acquisition of histological core. We conducted this study to compare the diagnostic yield of the Echotip 22Gauge FNA needle with the 22Gauge acquire FNB needle in pancreatic and non-pancreatic lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study was carried out on 100 cases of pancreatic and non-pancreatic lesions referred to El-Ebrashi unit of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, internal medicine department, Kasr Al-Aini hospital. The patients included were then randomized for sampling using either the standard Echotip 22Gauge FNA needle or 22Gauge acquire FNB needle. RESULTS: Patients were 57 males and 43 females with a mean age of 58±15 years. Seventy-eight patients had pancreatic lesions, while twenty-two patients had non-pancreatic lesions. Half of the patients (50 cases) underwent EUS-FNA, and the other half (50 cases) underwent EUS-FNB. The presence of adequate tissue core was significantly higher in the FNB group. In contrast, smear cellularity was not significantly different between both groups. FNB had more sensitivity and accuracy depending on cell block/tissue core examination only for diagnosing pancreatic lesions. Blood contamination was higher in cell blocks of the FNA group. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in the combined cytologic and histologic evaluation were 100%. Based on smear only or tissue only, the specificity was 100%, but the sensitivity and accuracy were decreased in both techniques. No complications were reported in both techniques. CONCLUSION: EUS-guided FNA and FNB are safe with comparable diagnostic accuracy in pancreatic and non-pancreatic lesions. FNB improved the histopathological quality of specimens with little blood contamination. Depending on tissue examination only in diagnosing pancreatic lesions, FNB had more sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy.

Hyperspectral polarimetric imaging of the water surface and retrieval of water optical parameters from multi-angular polarimetric data.

Total and polarized radiances from above the ocean surface are measured by a state-of-the-art snapshot hyperspectral imager. A computer-controlled filter wheel is installed in front of the imager allowing for recording of division-of-time Stokes vector images from the ocean surface. This system, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time provided a capability of hyperspectral polarimetric multi-angular measurements of radiances from above the water surface. Several sets of measurements used in the analysis were acquired from ocean platforms and from shipborne observations. Measurements made by the imager are compared with simulations using a vector radiative transfer (VRT) code showing reasonable agreement. Analysis of pixel-to-pixel variability of the total and polarized above-water radiance for the viewing angles of 20°-60° in different wind conditions enable the estimation of uncertainties in measurements of these radiances in the polarized mode for the spectral range of 450-750 nm, thus setting requirements for the quality of polarized measurements. It is shown that there is a noticeable increase of above-water degree of linear polarization (DoLP) as a function of the viewing angle, which is due both to the larger DoLP of the light from the water body and the light reflected from the ocean surface. Results of measurements and VRT simulations are applied for the multi-angular retrieval of the ratio of beam attenuation coefficient (ctot) to absorption coefficient (atot) in addition to the other parameters such as absorption and backscattering coefficients retrieved from traditional unpolarized methods.

Quality of life and its determinants among hemodialysis patients: A single-center study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between selected demographic and clinical characteristics and quality of life (QOL) scores in patients with end-stage renal disease who receive dialysis. We conducted the study at one hemodialysis (HD) unit in Bahrain from May 2018 to July 2018. We used standard QOL Index (QOLI) score instrument in Arabic form. This study included 100 patients (66 men and 34 women), aged 22 to 80 years on treatment with maintenance HD for four to 190 months. Inclusion criteria were as follows: those aged >18 years with no severe morbidities or psychological diseases and were on dialysis for at least three months. The following QOL scores were recorded: the health and functioning domain (64.8 ± 15.3), the social and economic domain (65.6 ± 14.1), the psychological/spiritual domain (74.9 ± 14.3), and the family subscale domain (75.9 ± 14.5). Male patients had reduced QOL though not statistically significant and younger patients had better QOL scores. The QOL scores revealed a decreasing trend with decreasing level of education, and they were higher among those who were not working and stayed at home. In addition, the family subclass scores were significantly higher among the married patients. Correlations between the demographic characteristics and QOL scores showed that there was a significant negative correlation between family domain and educational level and marital status, while there was a significant positive correlation between residence and psychological domain. Age, gender, marital status, residence, ethnicity, education level, employment status, income, and duration on HD nonsignificantly affected one or more domains of QOLI scores in such patients. Adequate management of these factors could influence patient outcomes.

Characterization of radiance from the ocean surface by hyperspectral imaging.

A novel snapshot hyperspectral imager is introduced for ocean color (OC) applications and its capabilities are demonstrated. The instrument provides hyperspectral radiance images with a wide field-of-view (FOV) and short exposure time, which is valuable for the direct characterization of the wind-roughened surface in various illumination conditions and wind speeds. Uncertainties in the total(Lt), sky (Ls) and derived water-leaving (Lw)radiances at viewing angles of 20-60° are determined as a function of wind speed together with associated correlation coefficients and variances of the sea surface reflectance coefficient ρ. Estimated Lw uncertainties can partially explain the inaccuracy of satellite retrievals in the blue bands in the coastal waters. It is shown that in above-water measurements in no-glint conditions with viewing and azimuth angles of 40° and 90°, respectively, for both Lt(λ) and Ls(λ) the impact of FOV is minimal at least up to measured W = 5.7 m/s for full-angle FOV of 4° and larger. Implications of uncertainties for the derivation of water leaving radiance in above-water ship-borne and AERONET-OC measurements are discussed.

Airborne and shipborne polarimetric measurements over open ocean and coastal waters: intercomparisons and implications for spaceborne observations.

Comprehensive polarimetric closure is demonstrated using observations from two in-situ polarimeters and Vector Radiative Transfer (VRT) modeling. During the Ship-Aircraft Bio-Optical Research (SABOR) campaign, the novel CCNY HyperSAS-POL polarimeter was mounted on the bow of the R/V Endeavor and acquired hyperspectral measurements from just above the surface of the ocean, while the NASA GISS Research Scanning Polarimeter was deployed onboard the NASA LaRC's King Air UC-12B aircraft. State-of-the-art, ancillary measurements were used to characterize the atmospheric and marine contributions in the VRT model, including those of the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL), the AErosol RObotic NETwork for Ocean Color (AERONET-OC), a profiling WETLabs ac-9 spectrometer and the Multi-spectral Volume Scattering Meter (MVSM). An open-ocean and a coastal scene are analyzed, both affected by complex aerosol conditions. In each of the two cases, it is found that the model is able to accurately reproduce the Stokes components measured simultaneously by each polarimeter at different geometries and viewing altitudes. These results are mostly encouraging, considering the different deployment strategies of RSP and HyperSAS-POL, which imply very different sensitivities to the atmospheric and ocean contributions, and open new opportunities in above-water polarimetric measurements. Furthermore, the signal originating from each scene was propagated to the top of the atmosphere to explore the sensitivity of polarimetric spaceborne observations to changes in the water type. As expected, adding polarization as a measurement capability benefits the detection of such changes, reinforcing the merits of the full-Stokes treatment in modeling the impact of atmospheric and oceanic constituents on remote sensing observations.

Interferon therapy in hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C: study of tolerance, efficacy and post-transplantation course.

BACKGROUND: The potential benefit of pre-transplant treatment of chronic hepatitis C on long-term evolution after renal transplantation is not clear. METHODS: Fifty successive renal transplant candidates had their sera positive for HCV RNA and a biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis. Out of these, 18 patients received a standard course of interferon-alpha2b (IFN; 3 MU three times weekly after hemodialysis sessions for 6 months). RESULTS: IFN was discontinued in 2 patients (11%) due to persistent leukopenia. HCV RNA turned negative in 10 patients of the treatment group and in none of the control group. Two patients of the IFN group had a virological relapse post-transplantation. Post-transplant follow-up periods were 41.5 +/- 15 and 50 +/- 16 months for the treated and control groups respectively. Transaminases remained normal in all patients of the IFN group after transplantation. In contrast, biochemical evidence of acute and chronic hepatitis was observed in 5 (p = 0.03) and 13 (p = 0.002) patients, respectively, of the control group. Logistic regression analysis identified non-receiving IFN before transplantation as a risk factor for post-transplant hepatic dysfunction (odds ratio = 11.7, p = 0.003) and for chronic allograft nephropathy (odds ratio = 11.6, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: IFN-treated patients had a significantly better post-transplant hepatic function and significantly lower rates of chronic allograft nephropathy.