Clinical Phenomenology of Fibromyalgia Syndrome in Male Patients: Same But Different.

The majority of knowledge about fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) derives from studies of female patients. Little is known about the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of male patients with FMS. In this retrospective cohort study with a prospective posttreatment follow-up, we investigated whether male patients with FMS differ from female patients in terms of 1) symptom burden, 2) psychological characteristics, and 3) clinical treatment response. We identified 263 male (4%) out of 5,541 patients with FMS completing a 3-week multimodal pain-treatment program. Male patients (51.3 ± 9.1 years) were age- and time-matched (1:4) with female patients (N = 1,052, 51.3 ± 9.0 years). Data on clinical characteristics, psychological comorbidities, and treatment responses were obtained from medical records and validated questionnaires. Levels of perceived pain, psychological comorbidity, and functional capacity were similar between genders, although male patients with FMS showed a higher prevalence of alcohol abuse. Compared to female patients, male patients experienced themselves less often as overly accommodating (Cohen's d = -.42) but more often as self-sacrificing (d = .26) or intrusive (d = .23). Regarding pain coping, male patients were less likely to utilize mental distraction, rest- and relaxation techniques, or counteractive activities (d = .18-.27). Male patients showed a slightly worse overall response rate than women (69% vs 77%), although differences between individual outcome measures were small (d < .2). Although male and female patients in our cohort were similar in clinical presentation and treatment response, the gender-specific differences in interpersonal problems and pain coping suggest consideration of these aspects in the treatment of male patients with FMS. PERSPECTIVE: Knowledge about fibromyalgia mostly derives from studies of female patients. Identifying and understanding gender-specific differences in fibromyalgia is an important roadmap in the treatment of this syndrome by focusing on specific gender aspects such as differences in interpersonal problems and pain coping mechanisms.

Standardized spectral and radiometric calibration of consumer cameras.

Consumer cameras, particularly onboard smartphones and UAVs, are now commonly used as scientific instruments. However, their data processing pipelines are not optimized for quantitative radiometry and their calibration is more complex than that of scientific cameras. The lack of a standardized calibration methodology limits the interoperability between devices and, in the ever-changing market, ultimately the lifespan of projects using them. We present a standardized methodology and database (SPECTACLE) for spectral and radiometric calibrations of consumer cameras, including linearity, bias variations, read-out noise, dark current, ISO speed and gain, flat-field, and RGB spectral response. This includes golden standard ground-truth methods and do-it-yourself methods suitable for non-experts. Applying this methodology to seven popular cameras, we found high linearity in RAW but not JPEG data, inter-pixel gain variations >400% correlated with large-scale bias and read-out noise patterns, non-trivial ISO speed normalization functions, flat-field correction factors varying by up to 2.79 over the field of view, and both similarities and differences in spectral response. Moreover, these results differed wildly between camera models, highlighting the importance of standardization and a centralized database.

Reduced PTEN expression in gastric cancer and in the gastric mucosa of gastric cancer relatives.

OBJECTIVES: Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and the genetic and molecular alterations underlying its pathogenesis are largely unknown. PTEN, a tyrosine phosphatase, is frequently mutated in brain and breast cancers but not in gastric cancers. In order to assess the role of PTEN in gastric carcinogenesis, we analysed the expression of PTEN in human gastric cancer and in the gastric mucosa of cancer relatives. METHODS: Gastric cancer tissues were obtained from 26 patients with gastric cancer undergoing upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy or resection for gastric cancer. Furthermore, 21 first-degree relatives of gastric cancer patients and 12 healthy individuals agreed to undergo upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy. In all cases, biopsies were taken from the antrum and corpus. PTEN expression was assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: PTEN expression was reduced or absent in 21/26 gastric cancers compared with the matched non-malignant gastric biopsy (P < 0.001). Furthermore, PTEN expression was reduced significantly in the antrum biopsy of first-degree relatives compared with healthy controls (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Reduced expression of PTEN in gastric cancer points to another mechanism apart from PTEN mutation that may be involved in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. The reduction of PTEN expression was also observed in first-degree relatives.