Yahoo!

About: Yahoo! is a company organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Web search query. The organization has 26749 authors who have published 29915 publications receiving 732583 citations. The organization is also known as: Yahoo! Inc. & Maudwen-Yahoo! Inc.

Epidemiologic and Clinical Aspects of a Rift Valley Fever Outbreak in Humans in Tanzania, 2007

Abstract: In January 2007, an outbreak of Rift Valley fever (RVF) was detected among humans in northern Tanzania districts. By the end of the outbreak in June, 2007, 511 suspect RVF cases had been recorded from 10 of the 21 regions of Tanzania, with laboratory confirmation of 186 cases and another 123 probable cases. All confirmed RVF cases were located in the north-central and southern regions of the country, with an eventual fatality rate of 28.2% (N = 144). All suspected cases had fever; 89% had encephalopathy, 10% hemorrhage, and 3% retinopathy. A total of 169 (55%) of the 309 confirmed or probable cases were also positive for malaria as detected by peripheral blood smear. In a cohort of 20 RVF cases with known outcome that were also positive for human immunodeficiency virus, 15 (75%) died. Contact with sick animals and animal products, including blood, meat, and milk, were identified as major risk factors of acquiring RVF.

Virologic, immunologic, and clinical response to highly active antiretroviral therapy: the gender issue revisited.

Abstract: Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically improved the prognosis for patients with HIV. There is ongoing debate over a potential gender effect on patient outcome after HAART.Methods: Individuals were from the EuroSIDA cohort, naive to protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and had at least one viral load and CD4 measurement prior to starting HAART. Endpoints were virologic (time to 500 copies/mL]), immunologic (time to a 100/mm cell rise in CD4 count) and clinical (time to new AIDS and death).Hazard ratios (HR), derived using Cox regression models, compared female to male rates of achieving endpoints.Results: Of 2547 patients, 20% (511) were female. Significantly more females than males were nonwhite (24% vs. 10%, p <.001). Males were older (median age 39 vs. 35 years, p <.0001), had lower CD4 counts (211 vs. 240/mm, p =.03), higher viral loads (4.6 vs. 4.4 log copies/mL, p <.0001), were more likely to have a history of AIDS (26% vs. 18%, p <.001) and were more likely to be treatment-naive (34% vs. 29%, p =.03). Adjusted HR for association between gender (comparing females with males) and the outcomes studied were as follows: for reaching <500 copies/mL 0.91 (0.81-1.03, p =.17), rebound 1.17 (0.95-1.44, p =.15), for 100 cell CD4 count rise 1.02 (0.88-1.14, p =.99), for progression to new AIDS 1.12 (0.73-1.71, p =.59) and for time to death 1.15 (0.69-1.92, p =.57).Conclusions: We found no significant evidence of a gender difference in virologic, immunologic, or clinical outcomes after starting HAART.

Interspinous process decompression with the X-STOP device for lumbar spinal stenosis: a 4-year follow-up study.

Abstract: X-STOP is the first interspinous process decompression device that was shown to be superior to nonoperative therapy in patients with neurogenic intermittent claudication secondary to spinal stenosis in the multicenter randomized study at 1 and 2 years We present 4-year follow-up data on the X-STOP patients Patient records were screened to identify potentially eligible subjects who underwent X-STOP implantation as part of the FDA clinical trial The inclusion criteria for the trial were age of at least 50 years, leg, buttock, or groin pain with or without back pain relieved during flexion, being able to walk at least 50 feet and sit for at least 50 minutes The exclusion criteria were fixed motor deficit, cauda equina syndrome, previous lumbar surgery or spondylolisthesis greater than grade I at the affected level Eighteen X-STOP subjects participated in the study The average follow-up was 51 months and the average age was 67 years Twelve patients had the X-STOP implanted at either L3-4 or L4-5 levels Six patients had the X-STOP implanted at both L3-4 and L4-5 levels Six patients had a grade I spondylolisthesis The mean preoperative Oswestry score was 45 The mean postoperative Oswestry score was 15 The mean improvement score was 29 Using a 15-point improvement from baseline Oswestry Disability Index score as a success criterion, 14 out of 18 patients (78%) had successful outcomes Our results have demonstrated that the success rate in the X-STOP interspinous process decompression group was 78% at an average of 42 years postoperatively and are consistent with 2-year results reported by Zucherman et al previously and those reported by Lee et al Our results suggest that intermediate-term outcomes of X-STOP surgery are stable over time as measured by the Oswestry Disability Index

Management and referral for trigger finger/thumb

Abstract: Trigger finger is a common cause of pain and disability in the hand. It is also the fourth most common reason for referral to the hand outpatient clinic and accounts for 1 in 18 of all referrals to our unit. The condition is, however, not solely managed by hand surgeons as it is often treated in the community and by specialist practitioners such as rheumatologists and endocrinologists who encounter it as a secondary manifestation of a primary systemic disorder. From a review of the literature we highlight the presentation of trigger finger, describe the processes involved in developing the condition, and rationalise the treatment options available. We have suggested guidelines and key points of note to aid practitioners in the management and referral of trigger finger and thumb in adults. We searched Medline and PubMed for relevant English language literature. We used the search terms “trigger finger” and “stenosing tenosynovitis.” We identified additional literature from the references of these papers. Trigger finger presents with discomfort in the palm during movement of the involved digits. Gradually, or in some cases acutely, the flexor tendon causes a painful click as the patient flexes and extends the digit. The patient may present with a digit locked in a particular position, usually in flexion, which may need gentle passive manipulation into full extension. Spontaneous resolution of symptoms can occur in patients with trigger thumb.w1 The condition has a reported incidence of 28 cases per 100 000 population per year, or a lifetime risk of 2.6% in the general population.1 This rises to 10% in patients with diabetes. Two peaks in incidence occur—the first under the age of eight and the second (more common) in the fifth and sixth decades of life. This bimodal distribution represents two different clinical groups, not only for …

Mortal Multi-Armed Bandits

Abstract: We formulate and study a new variant of the k-armed bandit problem, motivated by e-commerce applications. In our model, arms have (stochastic) lifetime after which they expire. In this setting an algorithm needs to continuously explore new arms, in contrast to the standard k-armed bandit model in which arms are available indefinitely and exploration is reduced once an optimal arm is identified with near-certainty. The main motivation for our setting is online-advertising, where ads have limited lifetime due to, for example, the nature of their content and their campaign budgets. An algorithm needs to choose among a large collection of ads, more than can be fully explored within the typical ad lifetime. We present an optimal algorithm for the state-aware (deterministic reward function) case, and build on this technique to obtain an algorithm for the state-oblivious (stochastic reward function) case. Empirical studies on various reward distributions, including one derived from a real-world ad serving application, show that the proposed algorithms significantly outperform the standard multi-armed bandit approaches applied to these settings.