Point-of-care (POC) laboratories that deliver rapid diagnoses of infectious diseases were invented to balance the centralization of core laboratories. POC laboratories operate 24 h a day and 7 days a week to provide diagnoses within 2 h, largely based on immunochromatography and real-time PCR tests. In our experience, these tests are conveniently combined into syndrome-based kits that facilitat...

The research work is carried out to enhance the recognition accuracy of neural network with Phase Only Correlation (POC) and reduce the time required for POC by refining its input. In this research work neural network has not been directly used for recognition but for the minimization of the search space. The fusion of neural network with POC is tested on face recognition application to validat...

In this paper we investigate the ratio of the connected vertex cover number to the vertex cover number in graphs, called the Price of Connectivity (PoC). For general graphs, this ratio is strictly bounded by 2. We prove that for every (P5, C5, C4)-free graph the ratio equals 1. We prove also that for every (P5, C4)-free graph the ratio is bounded by 4/3 and that for every (P7, C6,∆1,∆2)-free gr...

Accurate monitoring of glucose in the perioperative environment has become increasingly important over the last few years. Because of increased cost, turnaround time, and sample volume, the use of central laboratory devices for glucose measurement has been somewhat supplanted by point-of-care (POC) glucose devices. The trade-off in moving to these POC systems has been a reduction in accuracy, e...

A1C point-of-care (POC) instruments benefit patients with diabetes by facilitating clinician decision making that results in significant glycemic improvements. Three National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP)-certified POC products are available in the United States: the handheld A1CNow (formerly manufactured by Bayer Diabetes Care but now made by Chek Diagnostics) and two bench-to...

This paper reviews 14 published studies describing performance characteristics, including sensitivity and specificity, of commercially available rapid, point-of-care (POC) influenza tests in patients affected by an outbreak of a novel swine-related influenza A (H1N1) that was declared a pandemic in 2009. Although these POC tests were not intended to be specific for this pandemic influenza strai...

A major fraction of particulate organic carbon (POC) in the deep ocean remains molecularly uncharacterized. In an effort to determine the chemical characteristics and source(s) of sinking POC, we studied a nonhydrolyzable fraction of sinking POC using C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy and analytical pyrolysis. C NMR spectra and products from analytical pyrolysis of the nonhydrolyz...

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Current evidence supporting the efficacy of peroral cholangioscopy (POC) in the evaluation and management of difficult bile duct stones and indeterminate strictures is limited. The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to assess the following: the efficacy of POC for the therapy of difficult bile duct stones, the diagnostic accuracy of POC for the evalu...

Oral all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) has been shown to reduce the formation of neointimal hyperplasia; however, the dose required was 30 times the chemotherapeutic dose, which already has reported side effects. As neointimal formation is a localized process, new approaches to localized delivery are required. This study assessed whether atRA within a citrate-based polyester, poly(1,8 octanediolci...

BACKGROUND The use of point-of-care ultrasonography (POC US) in paediatrics is increasing. This study investigated the diagnostic accuracy of POC US in children accessing the emergency department (ED) when performed by paediatricians under the remote guidance of radiologists (TELE POC). METHODS Children aged 0 to 18 years accessing the ED of a third level research hospital with eight possible...