Irish journal of medical science
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Pyrotinib is a novel EGFR/HER2 dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor developed in China, while its role in neoadjuvant therapy of HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer lacks evidence. The current study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant pyrotinib plus docetaxel/liposomal doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (TAC) for HER2+ breast cancer. ⋯ Neoadjuvant pyrotinib plus TAC treatment is efficient and safe in HER2+ breast cancer patients, while further validation is needed.
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Recruitment and retention of doctors is a priority for the Irish healthcare service, with many leaving to work in regions with more favourable conditions. Aligning flexible training options with other jurisdictions may be an effective means of improving working conditions. We sought to assess possible improvements to the existing system and to review barriers to flexible training. ⋯ Suggestions for improving the system included expanding the number of places available, removing eligibility criteria, job sharing options, and the provision of regional training schemes. Access to flexible training should be a priority for the healthcare service, which may enhance recruitment and retention. A majority of our sample of non-consultant doctors identified a preference for access to flexible training options.
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The precise segmentation of the kidneys in computed tomography (CT) images is vital in urology for diagnosis, treatment, and surgical planning. Medical experts can get assistance through segmentation, as it provides information about kidney malformations in terms of shape and size. Manual segmentation is slow, tedious, and not reproducible. An automatic computer-aided system is a solution to this problem. This paper presents an automated kidney segmentation technique based on active contour and deep learning. ⋯ The proposed method can efficiently solve the problem of tumorous kidney segmentation in CT images by using active contour and deep learning. The active contour was used to select kidney regions and 3D-UNet was used for precisely segmenting the tumorous kidney.