The student-teacher framework guided by self-training and consistency regularization for semi-supervised medical image segmentation.

Due to the high suitability of semi-supervised learning for medical image segmentation, a plethora of valuable research has been conducted and has achieved noteworthy success in this field. However, many approaches tend to confine their focus to a singular semi-supervised framework, thereby overlooking the potential enhancements in segmentation performance offered by integrating several frameworks. In this paper, we propose a novel semi-supervised framework named Pesudo-Label Mean Teacher (PLMT), which synergizes the self-training pipeline with pseudo-labeling and consistency regularization techniques. In particular, we integrate the student-teacher structure with consistency loss into the self-training pipeline to facilitate a mutually beneficial enhancement between the two methods. This structure not only generates remarkably accurate pseudo-labels for the self-training pipeline but also furnishes additional pseudo-label supervision for the student-teacher framework. Moreover, to explore the impact of different semi-supervised losses on the segmentation performance of the PLMT framework, we introduce adaptive loss weights. The PLMT could dynamically adjust the weights of different semi-supervised losses during the training process. Extension experiments on three public datasets demonstrate that our framework achieves the best performance and outperforms the other five semi-supervised methods. The PLMT is an initial exploration of the framework that melds the self-training pipeline with consistency regularization and offers a comparatively innovative perspective in semi-supervised image segmentation.

Characteristics and Risk Factors of Functional Dyspepsia Fulfilling the Rome IV Criteria Overlapping With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Functional Constipation in South China.

Background/Aims: Functional dyspepsia (FD) overlapping with other gastrointestinal disorders are quite common. The characteristics of FD overlap in Chinese population with latest Rome IV criteria were unclear. This large-scale outpatient-based study assessed the characteristics of FD overlap in South China. Methods: Consecutive FD patients visited the Gastroenterology Clinic at 2 tertiary medical centers in Hangzhou, China who fulfilled the Rome IV criteria were enrolled. Complete questionnaires related to the gastrointestinal symptoms (Rome IV criteria), Reflux Disease Questionnaire, anxiety and depression, quality of sleep and life, and demographic information were collected. Results: Among the total of 3281 FD patients, 50.69% overlapped with gastroesophageal reflux disease, 21.46% overlapped with irritable bowel syndrome, 6.03% overlapped with functional constipation. FD overlap had higher proportion of single/divorced/widowed rate, high education level, being employed, drinking, night shift, unhealthy dietary habit than FD only (P < 0.05). They had higher frequency of consultation and economic burden, as well as lower scores in quality of life (P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression showed that increasing age, female, low body mass index, history of gastroenteritis, anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality were independent risk factors for FD overlap. Conclusions: FD overlap was quite common in China with high economic burden and poor quality of life, FD patients with history of gastroenteritis, anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality were more likely to have overlap disorders. Awareness of the physical and psychosocial stressors in overlapping condition would help optimize the management of FD overlap in clinical practice.

Associations between screen time, negative life events, and emotional and behavioral problems among Chinese children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems among children and adolescents are a pressing public health issue. This study aimed to investigate the associations between screen time (ST), negative life events (NLEs), and emotional and behavioral problems (EBPs) among Chinese children and adolescents. METHODS: A total of 5959 boys and girls from 14 elementary and junior high schools of four cities in China were included in this study. EBPs were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), NLEs were evaluated by the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), and ST data were obtained through self-reporting. Descriptive analyses, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression were performed using SPSS 23.0. RESULTS: There were significant associations between ST/NLEs and EBPs. Participants with high exposure to ST or NLEs were more likely to have EBPs than those with low exposure to ST or NLEs. The simultaneous associations of ST and NLEs on EBPs were stronger than those of ST or NLEs, individually. LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional research study; therefore, it could not judge causality or direction. ST and NLEs were retrospective and might have recall biases. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed positive associations between ST, NLEs, and EBPs. The results indicate that interventions should be considered to decrease ST and NLEs for children and adolescents.

Gender specific association between body composition and early puberty among adolescent / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the association between the content and distribution of body fat and early puberty among children and adolescents, and to provide a basis for the study of the mechanism of early puberty.@*Methods@#The questionnaire survey and physical examination were conducted among the students from 2 primary schools with girlsof 3 rd-4 th grade and boys of 4 th-5 th grade and boys and girls in 7 th-8 th grade from 2 middle schools with by purposive sampling in Beijing in early January 2016. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the general information of samples. Logistic regression analyses were used to test the effects of body composition on the early puberty.@*Results@#A total of 1 527 students were included, of which 177 were early puberty and the prevalence of early puberty was 11.6%. The prevalence was 12.2% for girls and 11.0% for boys. The average value of the three skinfold thicknesses of the participants was 15.2±4.8 mm (triceps skinfold), 13.4±6.3 mm (subscapular skinfold), 14.6±6.6 mm (suprailiac skinfold), the average value of the body fat was 22.2 ± 6.2 kg, and the average value of the total fat weight was 11.2 ± 6.2 kg. After adjusting for age, single-child, family economic level and parental education level, multivariate logistic regression showed that girls with high triceps skinfold, subscapular skinfold and suprailiac skinfold were more likely to be early puberty (for triceps skinfold: OR=2.03, 95%CI=1.26-3.27; for subscapular skinfold: OR=2.14, 95%CI=1.32-3.46; for suprailiac skinfold: OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.26-3.31). Body fat content and total fat weight were also the risk factor of early puberty in girls (for body fat content: OR=1.88, 95%CI=1.17-3.02; for total fat weight: OR=2.08, 95%CI=1.31-3.32). For boys, only high subscapular skinfold increased the risk of early puberty(OR=1.90, 95%CI=1.16-3.10).@*Conclusion@#Body fat content and body fat distribution were positive associated with early puberty in children and adolescents, and there are significant gender differences.