Efficiency of six different octenol-baited traps for collecting horseflies (Diptera: Tabanidae).

The efficiency and the potential species preference for six different horsefly trap types was studied. A total of 2401 horseflies were collected during this study. The most effective trap was the modified box trap with (27.9%), followed by the Nzi trap with (24.5%), Malaise trap (Townes design 1972) with (22.5)%, canopy trap with (17.9%), modified small canopy trap with (7.0%) and Malaise trap (Townes design 1962) with (0.2%). The Nzi and Malaise trap (Townes design 1972) did not differ significantly in the number of collected horseflies. The comparison of all other traps revealed significant differences in the number of collected horseflies. Tabanus bromius was the most abundant species with (58.6%) of the collected sample. The modified box trap was the most successful in collecting of T. bromius, while the Malaise trap (Townes design 1972) was the most successful in collecting the species Haematopota pluvialis, T. maculicornis and T. tergestinus. This study demonstrated that different trap designs influenced the quantity, species and taxonomic diversity of horseflies that were collected. Variables in the trap design included cloth type and colour and size and shape of trap. More detailed studies should be done to determine which factor or factors are most significant.

[PERSONALIZED APPROACH TO PATIENT WITH CHRONIC WOUND IN FAMILY MEDICINE].

It can be said that the occurrence and development of wounds, healing, delayed healing, and the notion of chronic wound are some of the basic characteristics of all living beings. When it comes to people, there are a number of processes that take place during wound healing, and even under ideal circumstances, they create a functionally less valuable skin tissue, along with structural and functional changes. Fibrosis in the form of hypertrophic scars and keloids, contractures and adhesions are examples of excessive healing. Microcirculation is significantly different from healthy skin circulation with consequential formation of local hypoxia and stagnation in lymph flow with edema. Poor functionality of the scar tissue, particularly in the areas exposed to stronger forces, can cause forming of wounds. Such wounds are hard to heal despite the inexistence of other possible reasons for delayed healing, precisely because of their poor functionality and placement. The presence of wound requiring long-term treatment affects all areas of patient life and leads to decline in the quality of life. Exemplified by case presentation of a patient with post-traumatic wound in the scar area, in our office we showed a model of care based on the principle of overall personalized care with the biopsychosocial approach. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures included wound assessment, biofilm and lymphedema detection, assessment of the patient's psychosocial status, risk factors for wound healing, vascular ultrasound diagnostics, carboxytherapy as specialized adjuvant therapy, use of modern wound dressings, and compression therapy. Supportive psychotherapy was conducted in positive communication environment during treatment. In this way, in an atmosphere of cooperation with the patient, it was possible not only to influence the process of wound healing as the primary objective, but also to improve the quality of the patient's life, as well as to influence our professional satisfaction with the results achieved. Family doctors are involved in the care of chronic wound patients as part of the multidisciplinary team of experts. Additional specific knowledge and skills are required for such care in order to ensure overall quality care as a supplement of the existing knowledge, skills and working experience in family medicine.

Model building and intelligent acquisition with application to protein subcellular location classification.

MOTIVATION: We present a framework and algorithms to intelligently acquire movies of protein subcellular location patterns by learning their models as they are being acquired, and simultaneously determining how many cells to acquire as well as how many frames to acquire per cell. This is motivated by the desire to minimize acquisition time and photobleaching, given the need to build such models for all proteins, in all cell types, under all conditions. Our key innovation is to build models during acquisition rather than as a post-processing step, thus allowing us to intelligently and automatically adapt the acquisition process given the model acquired. RESULTS: We validate our framework on protein subcellular location classification, and show that the combination of model building and intelligent acquisition results in time and storage savings without loss of classification accuracy, or alternatively, higher classification accuracy for the same total acquisition time. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The data and software used for this study will be made available upon publication at http://murphylab.web.cmu.edu/software and http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/jelenak/Software. CONTACT: jelenak@cmu.edu.

Local Histograms for Classifying H&E Stained Tissues.

We introduce a rigorous mathematical theory for the analysis of local histograms, and consider the appropriateness of their use in the automated classification of textures commonly encountered in images of H&E stained tissues. We first discuss some of the many image features that pathologists indicate they use when classifying tissues, focusing on simple, locally-defined features that essentially involve pixel counting: the number of cells in a region of given size, the size of the nuclei within these cells, and the distribution of color within both. We then introduce a probabilistic, occlusion-based model for textures that exhibit these features, in particular demonstrating how certain tissue-similar textures can be built up from simpler ones. After considering the basic notions and properties of local histogram transforms, we then formally demonstrate that such transforms are natural tools for analyzing the textures produced by our model. In particular, we discuss how local histogram transforms can be used to produce numerical features that, when fed into mainstream classification schemes, mimic the baser aspects of a pathologist's thought process.

Long-term results of conventional-dose salvage chemotherapy in patients with refractory and relapsed Hodgkin's disease (Croatian experience).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze outcome of patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) in whom first-line chemotherapy with mustine/vincristine/procarbazine/prednisone (MOPP) had failed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1982 to December 1989 among 210 patients treated with MOPP and radiotherapy to initial bulky sites, 65 patients were primary refractory to or relapsed after initial treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-nine of 65 patients (44%) were primary refractory to initial chemotherapy, 20 relapsed within 12 months after complete remission (CR) and 16 relapsed after CR that lasted more than 12 months. Patients with primary refractory HD and early relapse (<12 months after CR) were treated with doxorubicin/bleomycin/vinblastine/darcarbazine. In patients with late relapse (>12 months after CR) MOPP was repeated. The median follow-up for all patients was 115 months. The overall response rate was 63%. Thirty-three patients (51%) achieved a second CR and eight patients (12%) partial response. Remission rate was greatest in patients with late relapse (CR >12 months) (75 versus 55% for early relapse versus 35% for primary refractory HD) (P <0.01). At 10 years, overall and failure-free survival rates were 21 and 16%, respectively. Patients who were in first remission longer than 12 months had a superior overall survival (37 versus 18% for early relapse) and failure-free survival (24 versus 10% for early relapse). No patient with primary refractory HD was alive beyond 52 months after initial treatment failure (P <0.01). Main prognostic factors were duration of the first remission and tumor bulk at relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm previous observations that a significant proportion of patients with HD who experience induction treatment failure cannot be cured with conventional treatment and probably need more aggressive therapy.

[Development and organization of the Education Center at the Institute of Emergency Medical Services in Sarajevo]. / Razvoj i organizacija Edukacionog centra Zavoda za hitnu medicinsku pomoc Sarajevo.

This paper presents an experience of the Educational Centre of EMSC Sarajevo in the postgraduate training of the various profiles of medical personnel (medical doctors and medical technicians) that are employed in the emergency services of the pre-hospital and hospital type in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A period of the last four years (1996-2000) when the Educational Centre was restructured, becoming a one of the most active services in the medical sector of the EMSC Sarajevo has been emphasised in particular. Educational Centre of EMSC was participating in a number of international projects related to the education. Forty-five (45) courses of the various levels and with different programs: BLS, ALS, ACLS, ACLS-instructor course, ATLS, EMT-course, EMT-advanced, EMT-instructor and EMT-dispatcher course were carried out in the mentioned period. Seven thousand eight hundred and twelve (7812) hours of theoretical teaching and practical training were provided for the 570 candidates who successfully completed training in various programs. First aid training for civilian population was also conducted. Twenty one first.aid courses were carried out and successfully achieved by 324 candidates. On this way, 196 hours of theoretical teaching and practical training were realised. In order to make first aid training popular, 160 children from pre-school institutions (kindergartens) of Sarajevo Canton were also introduced to first aid principles. It has been pointed out that well equipped and trained team for the urgent medical intervention with a necessary team work is a crucial factor for the successful treatment of emergency that means a patient in life threatening situation.

Matching and retrieval based on the vocabulary and grammar of color patterns.

We propose a perceptually based system for pattern retrieval and matching. The central idea is that similarity judgment has to be modeled along perceptual dimensions. Hence, we detect basic visual categories that people use in their judgment of similarity, and design a computational model that accepts patterns as input and, depending on the query, produces a set of choices that follow human behavior in pattern matching. There are two major research aspects to our work. The first one addresses the issue of how humans perceive and measure similarity within the domain of color patterns. To understand and describe this mechanism, we performed a subjective experiment which yielded five perceptual criteria used in comparison between color patterns (vocabulary), as well as a set of rules governing the use of these criteria in similarity judgment (grammar). The second research aspect is the implementation of the perceptual criteria and rules in an image retrieval system. Following the processing typical for human vision, we design a system to: (1) extract perceptual features from the vocabulary and (2) perform the comparison between the patterns according to the grammar rules. The modeling of human perception of color patterns is new--starting with a new color codebook design, compact color representation, and texture description through multi-scale edge distribution along different directions. Moreover, we propose new color and texture distance functions that correlate with human performance. The performance of the system is illustrated with numerous examples from image databases from different application domains.

The vocabulary and grammar of color patterns.

We determine the basic categories and the hierarchy of rules used by humans in judging similarity and matching of color patterns. The categories are: (1) overall color; (2) directionality and orientation; (3) regularity and placement; (4) color purity; (5) complexity and heaviness. These categories form the pattern vocabulary which is governed by the grammar rules. Both the vocabulary and the grammar were obtained as a result of a subjective experiment. Experimental data were interpreted using multidimensional scaling techniques yielding the vocabulary and the hierarchical clustering analysis, yielding the grammar rules. Finally, we give a short overview of the existing techniques that can be used to extract and measure the elements of the vocabulary.

Wavelet families of increasing order in arbitrary dimensions.

We build discrete-time compactly supported biorthogonal wavelets and perfect reconstruction filter banks for any lattice in any dimension with any number of primal and dual vanishing moments. The associated scaling functions are interpolating. Our construction relies on the lifting scheme and inherits all of its advantages: fast transform, in-place calculation, and integer-to-integer transforms. We show that two lifting steps suffice: predict and update. The predict step can be built using multivariate polynomial interpolation, while update is a multiple of the adjoint of predict. While we concentrate on the discrete-time case, some discussion of convergence and stability issues together with examples is given.

Analysis of clonality in T-lymphoproliferative diseases by multiplex PCR.

Distinction between benign and malignant T-cell lymphoproliferative diseases can be difficult using morphological criteria. Using multiplex polymerase chain reaction system we have tested a series of patients with various lymphoproliferative disorders to detect clonal T-lymphocyte populations. Results show that clonal amplification products were obtained from all 10 patients with T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders while the amplification of DNA samples from B-cell neoplasms and normal individuals revealed polyclonal amplification products. By splitting the multiplex primer mix, the patient specific T-cell receptor gamma rearrangement was determined: five out of ten patients showed the exclusive presence of a single T-cell receptor gamma gene rearrangement. Three patients exhibited two rearranged T-cell receptor gamma genes, while in two patients positive reactions were obtained with three pairs of primers for variable and joining segments. Molecular analysis of rearranged T-cell receptor genes by multiplex polymerase chain reaction represents a useful and rapid tool for confirming diagnosis, to determine the extent of disease and to monitor the response to therapy.

[Emergency medical care--an important factor in prehospital emergency medicine]. / Hitna medicinska pomoc--znacajan faktor prehospitalne urgentne medicine.

When looking at Emergency Medical Service as an example of emergency medicine in BiH, the authors present the following concept: that the management of medical emergencies in the prehospital phase of medical emergencies is the responsibility of EMS. The modern conception of EMS is examined in a comprehensive fashion, exploring the evolution of the discipline from its inception to the present, the conditions necessary for the EMS to function effectively (equipment, education and organisation), and examples are cited from foreign countries demonstrating the best results in the field of emergency medicine. The recommendations for EMS in BiH are made based upon the original conception of emergency service, with significant influence from US and German systems respectively. The article makes the case for EMS to be the only provider of prehospital medical care, and examines possibilities for further improvements in organisational structures, and the conclusions drawn reflect the fact that EMS is the institution capable (and responsible) for health care in prehospital phase of medical emergencies. This is found to be a rational assessment of the countries needs within the context of actual capacities.

[Importance of beginning prompt cardiopulmonary resuscitation as a factor in survival in emergency medical care]. / Znacaj ranog pocetka kardiopulmonalne reanimacije kao faktora prezivljavanja u uvjetima hitne medicinske pomoci.

The article presents an overview of 14 months of operational experience in prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the data collected during this period from the RMS Centre, Sarajevo. Between June 1996 and August 1997, the EMS teams dispatched from EMS Centre resuscitated 106 cases of non-traumatic respiratory and cardiac arrest. The data includes analyses of the reasons for this vital stoppage, employing standard measures for classifying each case. From the total number of cases studied, 18 patients were successfully resuscitated (16.98%), and with spontaneous respiration and circulation, were transported to the emergency room, but only six patients were released from the hospital after definite treatment (5.66%). The conclusions drawn from the study indicate that CPR is the most critical factor in the successful prehospital resuscitation of cardiac arrest victims, and that educated non-professionals can play an important role in life-saving during the critical period prior to the arrival of EMS providers. More work on this topic (i.e. Community education and information) is clearly needed in order to better understand the practical implications of this assertion.

[Legal regulation of emergency medicine in Bosnia-Herzegovina and practice of emergency medical care in Sarajevo]. / Zakonska regulativa urgentne medicine u Bosni i Hercegovini i praksa zavoda za hitnu medicinsku pomoc Sarajevo.

In preface chapter is signified necessity of doctrinaire stations changes considering the position and the role of emergency medicine in the health care system and especially in emergency medicine practice. Principles and determinants of emergency medicine organisation in out legal regulation that are described, with emphasised positive experiences reached throughout consolidation and modernization of organisation and practice of the Emergency Medical Service Centre Sarajevo, are given according to the real needs of the human society. Some of the characteristics of the medical staff potential, educative qualifications and medical-technical potential of the ambulance vehicles are also propound. Finally are proposed measures and procedures for improvement of health care system regarding emergency service as framework for effective application of contemporary scientific achievements in this field.

Local cosine bases in two dimensions.

We construct two-dimensional (2-D) local cosine bases in discrete time. Solutions are offered both for rectangular and nonrectangular lattices. In the case of nonrectangular lattices, the problem is solved by mapping it into a one-dimensional (1-D) equivalent problem.

Deinterlacing by successive approximation.

We propose an algorithm for deinterlacing of interlaced video sequences. It successively builds approximations to the deinterlaced sequence by weighting various interpolation methods. A particular example given here uses four interpolation methods, weighted according to the errors each one introduces. Due to weighting, it is an adaptive algorithm. It is also time-recursive, since the motion-compensated part uses the previously interpolated frame. Furthermore, bidirectional motion estimation and compensation allow for better performance in the case of scene changes and covering/uncovering of objects. Experiments are run both on "real-world" and computer generated sequences. Finally, subjective testing is performed to evaluate the quality of the algorithm.

Subband coding systems incorporating quantizer models.

A new method for dealing with the effects of quantization in a subband system is proposed. It uses the "gain plus additive noise" linear model for the Lloyd-Max quantizer. Based on this, it is demonstrated how, by an appropriate choice of synthesis filters, one can cancel all signal-dependent errors at the output of the system. The only remaining error is random in nature and not correlated with the input signal. We therefore have a tradeoff between the error being only random or having signal-dependent components as well (since the error variances in both cases are comparable). As a result of having only a random error, it is possible to reduce this error using, for example, a noise removal technique. The result is then extended to the case where the input is a multidimensional signal, and arbitrary sampling lattices are used, as well as to the QMF (alias cancellation) case. To demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach, two types of experiments on images are carried out: In a toy example, it is shown that using noise removal could be beneficial. For a more realistic coding scheme, however, it is demonstrated that even in the case when the model is no longer valid (when some of the subbands are discarded), the output error is still much less correlated with the input signal as opposed to the commonly used subband system, while visually, the reconstructed images look very similar.

FCO sampling of digital video using perfect reconstruction filter banks.

Three-dimensional nonseparable perfect reconstruction filter banks using three-dimensional nonseparable sampling by two, FCO, are proposed. Filter structures are derived and applied to digital video. Separation into two bands is obtained, and it is shown to perform better from the perceptual point of view than interlaced sequences resulting from the quincunx sampling of a progressively scanned signal in time-vertical dimensions.