BiomedGrid

  Substance Identification in Anti-Doping Control-Some Issues Introduction When an athlete is accused of an anti-doping rule violation according to the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), usually the only evidence available to the ruling body is the presence of a prohibited substance, metabolite or marker in the athlete’s sample, as determined by a laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The laboratory enjoys a presumption, which means that if the analysis has been conducted according to WADA’s International Standard for Laboratories and technical documents, it cannot be challenged by the athlete. It speaks for itself that given the enormous consequences for an athlete to be found guilty of an antidoping violation, and the singular importance attributed to the laboratory, the analysis procedure and the underpinning science must be impeccable. Small molecules such as anabolic steroids and their metabolites are usually detected by means of Gas Chromatography (GC) cou...

  Managing Crohn’s Disease in The Older Adult: A Case Study Approach Abstract Crohn’s Disease is a chronic bowel disease that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract. Both genetics and environmental factors may contribute to a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. This case study highlights how older adults with Crohn’s Disease may face different challenges compared to younger populations. A multidisciplinary healthcare team is needed to initiate a plan of care for this vulnerable population. With ongoing evaluation of the plan of care, positive health outcomes may be likely to occur for older adults with Crohn’s Disease. Introduction Crohn’s Disease is defined as a bowel disease that is chronic and can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract [1]. Crohn’s Disease may manifest by inheriting genes that causes the immune system to malfunction as it reacts to specific environmental factors [1]. These environmental factors may include chemicals, stress, air pollutants, viruses, ...

  The Incidence of Sarcopenia is Low Among Israeli Liver Transplantation Patients and Associated with Lower Survival Estimates Abstract Purpose:  Sarcopenic patients have reduced musculoskeletal capacity and have poorer post- surgical outcomes. High rates of sarcopenia have been reported among Western liver transplantation candidates. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of sarcopenia in an Israeli liver transplant program and assess its effect on post-transplant outcomes. Methods:  An observational retrospective study was performed using an updated database which included demographic and outcome measures of 100 consecutive liver transplant patients from deceased donors at the Hadassah Medical Center 2002-2012. Sarcopenia was assessed for those with available pre transplant abdominal CT studies. Psoas muscle measurements were obtained via CT and Lean Psoas Area (LPA) was calculated. Subjects were classified into sarcopenic according to an accepted conv...

  Rickettsiosis: A Case Series on Different Clinical Presentation in Children Abstract Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is an acute febrile, zoonotic disease caused by Rickettsia conorii. This is transmitted to humans by the brown dogtick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Although therapy is easy and unexpensive, the different clinical presentation, the lack tick bite in the history or the frequent absence of skin manifestations, often make diagnosis difficult. We here reported four clinical cases of MSF, occurred in a region of central Italy (Abruzzo) with different clinical characteristics, but common epidemiological and anamnestic characteristics. Keywords:  Raoult Score; Rickettsia Conorii; Tick Bite; Tache Noir Keywords:  MFS: Mediterranean Spotted Fever; Nv: Normal Value; CRP: C-Reactive Protein; ERS: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; EBV: Ebstein-Barr Virus Introduction Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) is a tick-borne acute febrile disease caused by Rickettsia conorii. Thi...

  Definition of a Novel Imaging Quality Measure for the Evaluation of Emergency Department Patients with Suspected Pulmonary Embolism: Use of AI NLP to Validate and Automate It Abstract CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) utilization rates for patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) in the Emergency Department (ED) have increased steadily with associated radiation exposure, costs and overdiagnosis. A quality measure is needed to precisely assess efficiency of CTPA utilization, normalized to numbers of patients presenting with suspected PE and based on patient signs and symptoms. This study used Artificial Intelligence approaches such as ontology-driven natural language processing (NLP) to develop, automate, and validate SPE (“Suspected Pulmonary Embolism [PE]”), a measure determining CTPA utilization in ED patients with suspected PE. This retrospective study was conducted 4/1/2013-3/31/2014 in a Level-1 ED. A NLP engine processed “Chief Complaint” sections of ED documentation, ...