Deep-HiTS: Rotation Invariant Convolutional Neural Network for Transient Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera-Vives, Guillermo; Reyes, Ignacio; Förster, Francisco; Estévez, Pablo A.; Maureira, Juan-Carlos

2017-02-01

We introduce Deep-HiTS, a rotation-invariant convolutional neural network (CNN) model for classifying images of transient candidates into artifacts or real sources for the High cadence Transient Survey (HiTS). CNNs have the advantage of learning the features automatically from the data while achieving high performance. We compare our CNN model against a feature engineering approach using random forests (RFs). We show that our CNN significantly outperforms the RF model, reducing the error by almost half. Furthermore, for a fixed number of approximately 2000 allowed false transient candidates per night, we are able to reduce the misclassified real transients by approximately one-fifth. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time CNNs have been used to detect astronomical transient events. Our approach will be very useful when processing images from next generation instruments such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. We have made all our code and data available to the community for the sake of allowing further developments and comparisons at https://github.com/guille-c/Deep-HiTS. Deep-HiTS is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Molecular Cloning of a cDNA Encoding for Taenia solium TATA-Box Binding Protein 1 (TsTBP1) and Study of Its Interactions with the TATA-Box of Actin 5 and Typical 2-Cys Peroxiredoxin Genes.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Lima, Oscar; García-Gutierrez, Ponciano; Jiménez, Lucía; Zarain-Herzberg, Ángel; Lazzarini, Roberto; Landa, Abraham

2015-01-01

TATA-box binding protein (TBP) is an essential regulatory transcription factor for the TATA-box and TATA-box-less gene promoters. We report the cloning and characterization of a full-length cDNA that encodes a Taenia solium TATA-box binding protein 1 (TsTBP1). Deduced amino acid composition from its nucleotide sequence revealed that encodes a protein of 238 residues with a predicted molecular weight of 26.7 kDa, and a theoretical pI of 10.6. The NH2-terminal domain shows no conservation when compared with to pig and human TBP1s. However, it shows high conservation in size and amino acid identity with taeniids TBP1s. In contrast, the TsTBP1 COOH-terminal domain is highly conserved among organisms, and contains the amino acids involved in interactions with the TATA-box, as well as with TFIIA and TFIIB. In silico TsTBP1 modeling reveals that the COOH-terminal domain forms the classical saddle structure of the TBP family, with one α-helix at the end, not present in pig and human. Native TsTBP1 was detected in T. solium cysticerci´s nuclear extract by western blot using rabbit antibodies generated against two synthetic peptides located in the NH2 and COOH-terminal domains of TsTBP1. These antibodies, through immunofluorescence technique, identified the TBP1 in the nucleus of cells that form the bladder wall of cysticerci of Taenia crassiceps, an organism close related to T. solium. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using nuclear extracts from T. solium cysticerci and antibodies against the NH2-terminal domain of TsTBP1 showed the interaction of native TsTBP1 with the TATA-box present in T. solium actin 5 (pAT5) and 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Ts2-CysPrx) gene promoters; in contrast, when antibodies against the anti-COOH-terminal domain of TsTBP1 were used, they inhibited the binding of TsTBP1 to the TATA-box of the pAT5 promoter gene.

Using the EC decision on case definitions for communicable diseases as a terminology source--lessons learned.

PubMed

Balkanyi, Laszlo; Heja, Gergely; Nagy, Attlia

2014-01-01

Extracting scientifically accurate terminology from an EU public health regulation is part of the knowledge engineering work at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). ECDC operates information systems at the crossroads of many areas - posing a challenge for transparency and consistency. Semantic interoperability is based on the Terminology Server (TS). TS value sets (structured vocabularies) describe shared domains as "diseases", "organisms", "public health terms", "geo-entities" "organizations" and "administrative terms" and others. We extracted information from the relevant EC Implementing Decision on case definitions for reporting communicable diseases, listing 53 notifiable infectious diseases, containing clinical, diagnostic, laboratory and epidemiological criteria. We performed a consistency check; a simplification - abstraction; we represented lab criteria in triplets: as 'y' procedural result /of 'x' organism-substance/on 'z' specimen and identified negations. The resulting new case definition value set represents the various formalized criteria, meanwhile the existing disease value set has been extended, new signs and symptoms were added. New organisms enriched the organism value set. Other new categories have been added to the public health value set, as transmission modes; substances; specimens and procedures. We identified problem areas, as (a) some classification error(s); (b) inconsistent granularity of conditions; (c) seemingly nonsense criteria, medical trivialities; (d) possible logical errors, (e) seemingly factual errors that might be phrasing errors. We think our hypothesis regarding room for possible improvements is valid: there are some open issues and a further improved legal text might lead to more precise epidemiologic data collection. It has to be noted that formal representation for automatic classification of cases was out of scope, such a task would require other formalism, as e.g. those used by rule-based decision support systems.

Escherichia coli mutants thermosensitive for deoxyribonucleic acid gyrase subunit A: effects on deoxyribonucleic acid replication, transcription, and bacteriophage growth.

PubMed

Kreuzer, K N; Cozzarelli, N R

1979-11-01

Temperature-sensitive nalA mutants of Escherichia coli have been used to investigate the structure and functions of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) gyrase. Extracts of one such mutant (nalA43) had thermosensitive DNA gyrase subunit A activity but normal gyrase subunit B activity, proving definitively that nalA is the structural gene for subunit A. Extracts of a second nalA (Ts) mutant (nalA45) had a 50-fold deficiency of gyrase subunit A activity. The residual DNA supertwisting was catalyzed by the mutant DNA gyrase rather than by a novel supertwisting enzyme. The nalA45(Ts) extract was also deficient in the nalidixic acid target, which is defined as the protein necessary to confer drug sensitivity to in vitro DNA replication directed by a nalidixic acid-resistant mutant extract. Thus, gyrase subunit A and the nalidixic acid target are one and the same protein, the nalA gene product. Shift of the nalA43(Ts) mutant to a nonpermissive temperature resulted in a precipitous decline in the rate of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation, demonstrating an obligatory role of the nalA gene product in DNA replication. The rates of incorporation of [(3)H]uridine pulses and continuously administered [(3)H]uracil were quickly reduced approximately twofold upon temperature shift of the nalA43(Ts) mutant, and therefore some but not all transcription requires the nalA gene product. The thermosensitive growth of bacteriophages phiX174 and T4 in the nalA43(Ts) host shows that these phages depend on the host nalA gene product. In contrast, the growth of phage T7 was strongly inhibited by nalidixic acid but essentially unaffected by the nalA43(Ts) mutation. The inhibition of T7 growth by nalidixic acid was, however, eliminated by temperature inactivation of the nal43 gene product. Therefore, nalidixic acid may block T7 growth by a corruption rather than a simple elimination of the nalidixic acid target. Possible mechanisms for such a corruption are considered, and their relevance to the puzzling dominance of drug sensitivity is discussed.

Effect of Microalgal Extracts of Tetraselmis suecica against UVB-Induced Photoaging in Human Skin Fibroblasts.

PubMed

Jo, Wol Soon; Yang, Kwang Mo; Park, Hee Sung; Kim, Gi Yong; Nam, Byung Hyouk; Jeong, Min Ho; Choi, Yoo Jin

2012-12-01

Exposure of cells to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation can induce production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cellular components. In addition, these agents can stimulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and decrease collagen synthesis in human skin cells. In this study, we examined the anti-photoaging effects of extracts of Tetraselmis suecica (W-TS). W-TS showed the strongest scavenging activity against 2,2-difenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and peroxyl radicals, followed by superoxide anions from the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. We observed that the levels of both intracellular ROS and lipid peroxidation significantly increased in UVB-irradiated human skin fibroblast cells. Furthermore, the activities of enzymatic antioxidants (e.g., superoxide dismutase) and the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants (e.g., glutathione) significantly decreased in cells. However, W-TS pretreatment, at the maximum tested concentration, significantly decreased intracellular ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels in the cells. At this same concentration, W-TS did not show cytotoxicity. Type 1 procollagen and MMP-1 released were quantified using RT-PCR techniques. The results showed that W-TS protected type 1 procollagen against UVBinduced depletion in fibroblast cells in a dose-dependent manner via inhibition of UVB-induced MMP-1. Taken together, the results of the study suggest that W-TS effectively inhibits UVB-induced photoaging in skin fibroblasts by its strong anti-oxidant ability.

Effect of Microalgal Extracts of Tetraselmis suecica against UVB-Induced Photoaging in Human Skin Fibroblasts

PubMed Central

Jo, Wol Soon; Yang, Kwang Mo; Park, Hee Sung; Kim, Gi Yong; Nam, Byung Hyouk

2012-01-01

Exposure of cells to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation can induce production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cellular components. In addition, these agents can stimulate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and decrease collagen synthesis in human skin cells. In this study, we examined the anti-photoaging effects of extracts of Tetraselmis suecica (W-TS). W-TS showed the strongest scavenging activity against 2,2-difenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and peroxyl radicals, followed by superoxide anions from the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. We observed that the levels of both intracellular ROS and lipid peroxidation significantly increased in UVB-irradiated human skin fibroblast cells. Furthermore, the activities of enzymatic antioxidants (e.g., superoxide dismutase) and the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants (e.g., glutathione) significantly decreased in cells. However, W-TS pretreatment, at the maximum tested concentration, significantly decreased intracellular ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and increased superoxide dismutase and glutathione levels in the cells. At this same concentration, W-TS did not show cytotoxicity. Type 1 procollagen and MMP-1 released were quantified using RT-PCR techniques. The results showed that W-TS protected type 1 procollagen against UVBinduced depletion in fibroblast cells in a dose-dependent manner via inhibition of UVB-induced MMP-1. Taken together, the results of the study suggest that W-TS effectively inhibits UVB-induced photoaging in skin fibroblasts by its strong anti-oxidant ability. PMID:24278616

Molecular Cloning of a cDNA Encoding for Taenia solium TATA-Box Binding Protein 1 (TsTBP1) and Study of Its Interactions with the TATA-Box of Actin 5 and Typical 2-Cys Peroxiredoxin Genes

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Lima, Oscar; García-Gutierrez, Ponciano; Jiménez, Lucía; Zarain-Herzberg, Ángel; Lazzarini, Roberto; Landa, Abraham

2015-01-01

TATA-box binding protein (TBP) is an essential regulatory transcription factor for the TATA-box and TATA-box-less gene promoters. We report the cloning and characterization of a full-length cDNA that encodes a Taenia solium TATA-box binding protein 1 (TsTBP1). Deduced amino acid composition from its nucleotide sequence revealed that encodes a protein of 238 residues with a predicted molecular weight of 26.7 kDa, and a theoretical pI of 10.6. The NH2-terminal domain shows no conservation when compared with to pig and human TBP1s. However, it shows high conservation in size and amino acid identity with taeniids TBP1s. In contrast, the TsTBP1 COOH-terminal domain is highly conserved among organisms, and contains the amino acids involved in interactions with the TATA-box, as well as with TFIIA and TFIIB. In silico TsTBP1 modeling reveals that the COOH-terminal domain forms the classical saddle structure of the TBP family, with one α-helix at the end, not present in pig and human. Native TsTBP1 was detected in T. solium cysticerci´s nuclear extract by western blot using rabbit antibodies generated against two synthetic peptides located in the NH2 and COOH-terminal domains of TsTBP1. These antibodies, through immunofluorescence technique, identified the TBP1 in the nucleus of cells that form the bladder wall of cysticerci of Taenia crassiceps, an organism close related to T. solium. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using nuclear extracts from T. solium cysticerci and antibodies against the NH2-terminal domain of TsTBP1 showed the interaction of native TsTBP1 with the TATA-box present in T. solium actin 5 (pAT5) and 2-Cys peroxiredoxin (Ts2-CysPrx) gene promoters; in contrast, when antibodies against the anti-COOH-terminal domain of TsTBP1 were used, they inhibited the binding of TsTBP1 to the TATA-box of the pAT5 promoter gene. PMID:26529408

Toona sinensis Inhibits Murine Leukemia WEHI-3 Cells and Promotes Immune Response In Vivo.

PubMed

Yang, Hsin-Ling; Thiyagarajan, Varadharajan; Liao, Jiunn-Wang; Chu, Yu-Lin; Chang, Chia-Ting; Huang, Pei-Jane; Hsu, Chih-Jung; Hseu, You-Cheng

2017-09-01

Toona sinensis (TS) is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in Taiwan. It has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, antiangiogenic, antiatherosclerotic, and anticancer properties. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of aqueous leaf extracts from TS to promote immune responses in BALB/c mice and to exhibit anti-leukemia activity in murine WEHI-3 cells. BALB/c mice were injected intravenously with WEHI-3 cells and then treated orally with TS (50 mg/kg). In vivo study showed that TS treatment reduced liver and spleen enlargement in WEHI-3 bearing mice compared with the untreated group. Furthermore, TS also decreased white blood cells (WBC), indicating inhibition of differentiation of the precursor of macrophages in WEHI-3 bearing mice. Treatment of WEHI-3 cells with TS (0-75 μg/mL for 24 hours) significantly reduced cell viability. Furthermore, TS treatment-induced late apoptosis was confirmed by Annexin-V/PI staining. Western blot analyses revealed that treatment of WEHI-3 cells with TS statistically increased the protein expression level of cytochrome c in the cytoplasm and activates caspase-3. Notably, TS treatment caused a dramatic reduction in Bcl-2 and increase in Bax protein levels. TS may disturb the Bcl-2 and Bax protein ratio and induce apoptosis. This reports confirms the antitumor activity of this nutritious vegetable potentially against leukemia.

Toona sinensis Inhibits Murine Leukemia WEHI-3 Cells and Promotes Immune Response In Vivo

PubMed Central

Yang, Hsin-Ling; Thiyagarajan, Varadharajan; Liao, Jiunn-Wang; Chu, Yu-Lin; Chang, Chia-Ting; Huang, Pei-Jane; Hsu, Chih-Jung; Hseu, You-Cheng

2016-01-01

Toona sinensis (TS) is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in Taiwan. It has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, antiangiogenic, antiatherosclerotic, and anticancer properties. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of aqueous leaf extracts from TS to promote immune responses in BALB/c mice and to exhibit anti-leukemia activity in murine WEHI-3 cells. BALB/c mice were injected intravenously with WEHI-3 cells and then treated orally with TS (50 mg/kg). In vivo study showed that TS treatment reduced liver and spleen enlargement in WEHI-3 bearing mice compared with the untreated group. Furthermore, TS also decreased white blood cells (WBC), indicating inhibition of differentiation of the precursor of macrophages in WEHI-3 bearing mice. Treatment of WEHI-3 cells with TS (0-75 μg/mL for 24 hours) significantly reduced cell viability. Furthermore, TS treatment–induced late apoptosis was confirmed by Annexin-V/PI staining. Western blot analyses revealed that treatment of WEHI-3 cells with TS statistically increased the protein expression level of cytochrome c in the cytoplasm and activates caspase-3. Notably, TS treatment caused a dramatic reduction in Bcl-2 and increase in Bax protein levels. TS may disturb the Bcl-2 and Bax protein ratio and induce apoptosis. This reports confirms the antitumor activity of this nutritious vegetable potentially against leukemia. PMID:27151590

Diagnostic criteria, clinical features, and incidence of thyroid storm based on nationwide surveys.

PubMed

Akamizu, Takashi; Satoh, Tetsurou; Isozaki, Osamu; Suzuki, Atsushi; Wakino, Shu; Iburi, Tadao; Tsuboi, Kumiko; Monden, Tsuyoshi; Kouki, Tsuyoshi; Otani, Hajime; Teramukai, Satoshi; Uehara, Ritei; Nakamura, Yosikazu; Nagai, Masaki; Mori, Masatomo

2012-07-01

Thyroid storm (TS) is life threatening. Its incidence is poorly defined, few series are available, and population-based diagnostic criteria have not been established. We surveyed TS in Japan, defined its characteristics, and formulated diagnostic criteria, FINAL-CRITERIA1 and FINAL-CRITERIA2, for two grades of TS, TS1, and TS2 respectively. We first developed diagnostic criteria based on 99 patients in the literature and 7 of our patients (LIT-CRITERIA1 for TS1 and LIT-CRITERIA2 for TS2). Thyrotoxicosis was a prerequisite for TS1 and TS2 as well as for combinations of the central nervous system manifestations, fever, tachycardia, congestive heart failure (CHF), and gastrointestinal (GI)/hepatic disturbances. We then conducted initial and follow-up surveys from 2004 through 2008, targeting all hospitals in Japan, with an eight-layered random extraction selection process to obtain and verify information on patients who met LIT-CRITERIA1 and LIT-CRITERIA2. We identified 282 patients with TS1 and 74 patients with TS2. Based on these data and information from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan, we estimated the incidence of TS in hospitalized patients in Japan to be 0.20 per 100,000 per year. Serum-free thyroxine and free triiodothyroine concentrations were similar among patients with TS in the literature, Japanese patients with TS1 or TS2, and a group of patients with thyrotoxicosis without TS (Tox-NoTS). The mortality rate was 11.0% in TS1, 9.5% in TS2, and 0% in Tox-NoTS patients. Multiple organ failure was the most common cause of death in TS1 and TS2, followed by CHF, respiratory failure, arrhythmia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, GI perforation, hypoxic brain syndrome, and sepsis. Glasgow Coma Scale results and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were associated with irreversible damages in 22 survivors. The only change in our final diagnostic criteria for TS as compared with our initial criteria related to serum bilirubin concentration >3 mg/dL. TS is still a life-threatening disorder with more than 10% mortality in Japan. We present newly formulated diagnostic criteria for TS and clarify its clinical features, prognosis, and incidence based on nationwide surveys in Japan. This information will help diagnose TS and in understanding the factors contributing to mortality and irreversible complications.

Bioconversion of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol in thin stillage-based media by engineered Lactobacillus panis PM1.

PubMed

Kang, Tae Sun; Korber, Darren R; Tanaka, Takuji

2014-04-01

Thin stillage (TS) is a waste residue that remains after bioethanol production, and its disposal reflects the high costs of bioethanol production. Thus, the development of cost-effective ways to process TS is a pending issue in bioethanol plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utilization of TS for the production of the valuable chemical, 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO), by Lactobacillus panis PM1. Different fermentation parameters, including temperature, pH and strains [wild-type and a recombinant strain expressing a NADPH-dependent aldehyde reductase (YqhD) gene] were tested in batch and fed-batch cultivations. The highest 1,3-PDO concentration (12.85 g/L) and yield (0.84 g/g) were achieved by batch fermentation at pH-4.5/30 °C by the YqhD recombinant strain. Furthermore, pH-controlled batch fermentation reduced the total fermentation period, resulting in the maximal 1,3-PDO concentration of 16.23 g/L and yield of 0.72 g/g in TS without an expensive nutrient or nitrogen (e.g., yeast extract, beef extract, and peptone) supplementation. The addition of two trace elements, Mg(2+) and Mn(2+), in TS increased 1,3-PDO yield (0.74 g/g) without 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde production, the only intermediate of 1,3-PDO biosynthetic pathway in L. panis PM1. Our results suggest that L. panis PM1 can offer a cost-effective process that utilizes the TS to produce a value-added chemical, 1,3-PDO.

A diagnosis model for early Tourette syndrome children based on brain structural network characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Hongwei; Liu, Yue; Wang, Jieqiong; Zhang, Jishui; Peng, Yun; He, Huiguang

2016-03-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurobehavioral disorder characterized by the presence of multiple motor and vocal tics. Tic generation has been linked to disturbed networks of brain areas involved in planning, controlling and execution of action. The aim of our work is to select topological characteristics of structural network which were most efficient for estimating the classification models to identify early TS children. Here we employed the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and deterministic tractography to construct the structural networks of 44 TS children and 48 age and gender matched healthy children. We calculated four different connection matrices (fiber number, mean FA, averaged fiber length weighted and binary matrices) and then applied graph theoretical methods to extract the regional nodal characteristics of structural network. For each weighted or binary network, nodal degree, nodal efficiency and nodal betweenness were selected as features. Support Vector Machine Recursive Feature Extraction (SVM-RFE) algorithm was used to estimate the best feature subset for classification. The accuracy of 88.26% evaluated by a nested cross validation was achieved on combing best feature subset of each network characteristic. The identified discriminative brain nodes mostly located in the basal ganglia and frontal cortico-cortical networks involved in TS children which was associated with tic severity. Our study holds promise for early identification and predicting prognosis of TS children.

Micro-matrix solid-phase dispersion coupled with MEEKC for quantitative analysis of lignans in Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus using molecular sieve TS-1 as a sorbent.

PubMed

Chu, Chu; Wei, Mengmeng; Wang, Shan; Zheng, Liqiong; He, Zheng; Cao, Jun; Yan, Jizhong

2017-09-15

A simple and effective method was developed for determining lignans in Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus by using a micro-matrix solid phase dispersion (MSPD) technique coupled with microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC). Molecular sieve, TS-1, was applied as a solid supporting material in micro MSPD extraction for the first time. Parameters that affect extraction efficiency, such as type of dispersant, mass ratio of the sample to the dispersant, grinding time, elution solvent and volume were optimized. The optimal extraction conditions involve dispersing 25mg of powdered Schisandrae samples with 50mg of TS-1 by a mortar and pestle. A grinding time of 150s was adopted. The blend was then transferred to a solid-phase extraction cartridge and the target analytes were eluted with 500μL of methanol. Moreover, several parameters affecting MEEKC separation were studied, including the type of oil, SDS concentration, type and concentration of cosurfactant, and concentration of organic modifier. A satisfactory linearity (R>0.9998) was obtained, and the calculated limits of quantitation were less than 2.77μg/mL. Finally, the micro MSPD-MEEKC method was successfully applied to the analysis of lignans in complex Schisandrae fructus samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Plasma stability analysis using Consistent Automatic Kinetic Equilibrium reconstruction (CAKE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roelofs, Matthijs; Kolemen, Egemen; Eldon, David; Glasser, Alex; Meneghini, Orso; Smith, Sterling P.

2017-10-01

Presented here is the Consistent Automatic Kinetic Equilibrium (CAKE) code. CAKE is being developed to perform real-time kinetic equilibrium reconstruction, aiming to do a reconstruction in less than 100ms. This is achieved by taking, next to real-time Motional Stark Effect (MSE) and magnetics data, real-time Thomson Scattering (TS) and real-time Charge Exchange Recombination (CER, still in development) data in to account. Electron densities and temperature are determined by TS, while ion density and pressures are determined using CER. These form, together with the temperature and density of neutrals, the additional pressure constraints. Extra current constraints are imposed in the core by the MSE diagnostics. The pedestal current density is estimated using Sauters equation for the bootstrap current density. By comparing the behaviour of the ideal MHD perturbed potential energy (δW) and the linear stability index (Δ') of CAKE to magnetics-only reconstruction, it can be seen that the use of diagnostics to reconstruct the pedestal have a large effect on stability. Supported by U.S. DOE DE-SC0015878 and DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Diagnostic Criteria, Clinical Features, and Incidence of Thyroid Storm Based on Nationwide Surveys

PubMed Central

Satoh, Tetsurou; Isozaki, Osamu; Suzuki, Atsushi; Wakino, Shu; Iburi, Tadao; Tsuboi, Kumiko; Monden, Tsuyoshi; Kouki, Tsuyoshi; Otani, Hajime; Teramukai, Satoshi; Uehara, Ritei; Nakamura, Yosikazu; Nagai, Masaki; Mori, Masatomo

2012-01-01

Background Thyroid storm (TS) is life threatening. Its incidence is poorly defined, few series are available, and population-based diagnostic criteria have not been established. We surveyed TS in Japan, defined its characteristics, and formulated diagnostic criteria, FINAL-CRITERIA1 and FINAL-CRITERIA2, for two grades of TS, TS1, and TS2 respectively. Methods We first developed diagnostic criteria based on 99 patients in the literature and 7 of our patients (LIT-CRITERIA1 for TS1 and LIT-CRITERIA2 for TS2). Thyrotoxicosis was a prerequisite for TS1 and TS2 as well as for combinations of the central nervous system manifestations, fever, tachycardia, congestive heart failure (CHF), and gastrointestinal (GI)/hepatic disturbances. We then conducted initial and follow-up surveys from 2004 through 2008, targeting all hospitals in Japan, with an eight-layered random extraction selection process to obtain and verify information on patients who met LIT-CRITERIA1 and LIT-CRITERIA2. Results We identified 282 patients with TS1 and 74 patients with TS2. Based on these data and information from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan, we estimated the incidence of TS in hospitalized patients in Japan to be 0.20 per 100,000 per year. Serum-free thyroxine and free triiodothyroine concentrations were similar among patients with TS in the literature, Japanese patients with TS1 or TS2, and a group of patients with thyrotoxicosis without TS (Tox-NoTS). The mortality rate was 11.0% in TS1, 9.5% in TS2, and 0% in Tox-NoTS patients. Multiple organ failure was the most common cause of death in TS1 and TS2, followed by CHF, respiratory failure, arrhythmia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, GI perforation, hypoxic brain syndrome, and sepsis. Glasgow Coma Scale results and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were associated with irreversible damages in 22 survivors. The only change in our final diagnostic criteria for TS as compared with our initial criteria related to serum bilirubin concentration >3 mg/dL. Conclusions TS is still a life-threatening disorder with more than 10% mortality in Japan. We present newly formulated diagnostic criteria for TS and clarify its clinical features, prognosis, and incidence based on nationwide surveys in Japan. This information will help diagnose TS and in understanding the factors contributing to mortality and irreversible complications. PMID:22690898

Biofilms from Klebsiella pneumoniae: Matrix Polysaccharide Structure and Interactions with Antimicrobial Peptides.

PubMed

Benincasa, Monica; Lagatolla, Cristina; Dolzani, Lucilla; Milan, Annalisa; Pacor, Sabrina; Liut, Gianfranco; Tossi, Alessandro; Cescutti, Paola; Rizzo, Roberto

2016-08-10

Biofilm matrices of two Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates, KpTs101 and KpTs113, were investigated for their polysaccharide composition and protective effects against antimicrobial peptides. Both strains were good biofilm producers, with KpTs113 forming flocs with very low adhesive properties to supports. Matrix exopolysaccharides were isolated and their monosaccharide composition and glycosidic linkage types were defined. KpTs101 polysaccharide is neutral and composed only of galactose, in both pyranose and furanose ring configurations. Conversely, KpTs113 polysaccharide is anionic due to glucuronic acid units, and also contains glucose and mannose residues. The susceptibility of the two strains to two bovine cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides, BMAP-27 and Bac7(1-35), was assessed using both planktonic cultures and biofilms. Biofilm matrices exerted a relevant protection against both antimicrobials, which act with quite different mechanisms. Similar protection was also detected when antimicrobial peptides were tested against planktonic bacteria in the presence of the polysaccharides extracted from KpTs101 and KpTs113 biofilms, suggesting sequestering adduct formation with antimicrobials. Circular dichroism experiments on BMAP-27 in the presence of increasing amounts of either polysaccharide confirmed their ability to interact with the peptide and induce an α-helical conformation.

Variable (Tg, Ts) Measurements of Alkane Dissociative Sticking Coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valadez, Leticia; Dewitt, Kristy; Abbott, Heather; Kolasinski, Kurt; Harrision, Ian

2006-03-01

Dissociative sticking coefficients S(Tg, Ts) for CH4 and C2H6 on Pt(111) have been measured as a function of gas temperature (Tg) and surface temperature (Ts) using an effusive molecular beam. Microcanonical unimolecular rate theory (MURT) was employed to extract transition state characteristics [e.g., E0(CH4) = 52.5±3.5 kJ/mol-1 and E0(C2H6) = 26.5±3 kJ/mol-1]. MURT allows our S(Tg, Ts) values to be directly compared to other supersonic molecular beam and thermal equilibrium sticking measurements. The S(Tg, Ts) depend strongly on Ts, however, only for CH4 is a strong Tg dependence observed. The fairly weak Tg dependence for C2H6 suggests that vibrational mode specific behavior and/or molecular rotations play stronger roles in the dissociative chemisorption of C2H6 than they do for CH4. Interestingly, thermal S(Tg=Ts) predictions based on MURT modeling of our CH4/Pt(111) data are three orders of magnitude higher than recent thermal equilibrium measurements on supported Pt nanocrystallite catalysts [J. M. Wei, E. Iglesia, J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 4094 (2004)].

Influence of training status and eNOS haplotypes on plasma nitrite concentrations in normotensive older adults: a hypothesis-generating study.

PubMed

da Silva, Roberta Fernanda; Sertório, Jonas Tadeu Cau; Lacchini, Riccardo; Trapé, Atila Alexandre; Tanus-Santos, José Eduardo; Rush, James W E; Amaral, Sandra Lia; Zago, Anderson Saranz

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between 3 eNOS gene polymorphisms and training status (TS) in affecting plasma nitrite concentration (NO2) in normotensive adults over 50 years old. Resting blood pressure (BP) was measured in all participants (n = 101). Plasma was taken to analyze: lipid profile, nitrite concentration (NO2) and lipid peroxide levels (T-BARS). Also, genomic DNA was extracted from plasma for genotyping NOS3 polymorphisms (-786T>C; 894G>T; and VNTR in intron 4). TS was determined by one-mile walk test and Functional Fitness Test Battery from AAHPERD (TS1-regular TS; TS2-good TS; and TS3-very good TS). BP was not influenced by TS, but NO2 was 15% higher in TS3 (123 ± 27 nM) compared to TS-2 (106 ± 22 nM). No differences were found in plasma NO2 in the haplotype analyses. However, the presence of the C allele (T-786C) and ASP allele (Glu298Asp) was found to enhance the correlation between TS and NO2 levels (r = 0.492 in C/4b/ASP haplotype and r = 0.855 in C/4a/ASP haplotype). This study thus identifies NOS3 polymorphism-dependent sensitivity to the effects of physical training on plasma NO2. Maintenance of good levels of training status, in carriers of C allele for T-786C polymorphism, combined with ASP allele for Glu298Asp polymorphism, may result in an increase in the NO2 plasma concentrations, which may reflect improved NO bioavailability in older adult normotensive individuals.

Development of an Oceanographic Data Archiving and Service System for the Korean Researchers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sung Dae; Park, Hyuk Min; Baek, Sang Ho

2014-05-01

Oceanographic Data and Information Center of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) started to develop an oceanographic data archiving and service system in 2010 to support the Korean ocean researchers by providing quality controlled data continuously. Many physical oceanographic data available in the public domain and Korean domestic data were collected periodically, quality controlled, manipulated and provided to ocean modelers who need ocean data continuously and marine biologists who don't know well physical data but need it. The northern limit and the southern limit of the spatial coverage are 20°N and 55°N, and the western limit and the eastern limit are 110°E and 150°E, respectively. To archive TS (Temperature and Salinity) profile data, ARGO data were gathered from ARGO GDACs (France and USA) and many historical TS profile data observed by CTD, OSD and BT were retrieved from World Ocean Database 2009. The quality control software for TS profile data, which meets QC criteria suggested by the ARGO program and the GTSPP (Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program), was programmed and applied to the collected data. By the end of 2013, the total number of vertical profile data from the ARGO GDACs was 59,642 and total number of station data from WOD 2009 was 1,604,422. We also collected the global satellite SST data produced by NCDC and global SSH data from AVISO every day. An automatic program was coded to collect satellite data, extract sub data sets of the North West Pacific area and produce distribution maps. The total number of collected satellite data sets was 3,613 by the end of 2013. We use 3 different data services to provide archived data to the Korean experts. A FTP service was prepared to allow data users to download data in the original format. We developed TS database system using Oracle RDBMS to contain all collected temperature salinity data and support SQL data retrieval with various conditions. The KIOST ocean data portal was used as the data retrieving service of TS DB, which uses GIS interface made by open source GIS software. We also installed Live Access Service developed by US PMEL for service of the satellite netCDF data files, which support on-the-fly visualization and OPeNDAP (Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol) service for remote connection and sub-setting of large data set

Hypoglycemia begets hypoglycemia: the order effect in the ASPIRE in-clinic study.

PubMed

Garg, Satish K; Brazg, Ronald L; Bailey, Timothy S; Buckingham, Bruce A; Slover, Robert H; Klonoff, David C; Shin, John; Welsh, John B; Kaufman, Francine R

2014-03-01

The ASPIRE in-clinic study established that automatic suspension of insulin with the threshold suspend (TS) feature reduces the duration of induced hypoglycemia. The study's crossover design allowed the effects of antecedent hypoglycemia to be studied. The study enrolled 50 subjects who exercised until plasma glucose (YSI glucose and lactate analyzer; YSI, Inc., Yellow Springs, OH) reached ≤85 mg/dL. Hypoglycemia was evaluated after the YSI value reached <70 mg/dL. In TS experiments, insulin was stopped for 2 h once a sensor glucose (SG) value of ≤70 mg/dL was detected; in control experiments, basal insulin delivery continued. Subjects were randomly assigned to Group A (TS in Period 1; control in Period 2) or Group B (control in Period 1; TS in Period 2). Experiments were separated by 3-10 days. Hypoglycemia was 63.7 min shorter in Period 1 TS experiments (no preceding control experiment) than in Period 2 TS experiments (one or more preceding control experiment(s)) (P<0.01). The number of experiments prior to a successful TS experiment was lower for Period 1 than for Period 2 (0.36 ± 0.64 vs. 1.57 ± 0.84; P<0.001), as was the cumulative duration of antecedent hypoglycemia (16.6 min vs. 204.6 min; P<0.001). The between-groups difference in hypoglycemia duration was not attributable to differences in SG rates of change, the duration of exercise, or area under the curve of <70 mg/dL × min in the 2 days before the successful experiment (all P>0.3). The TS feature's ability to mitigate hypoglycemia was decreased by an episode or episodes of prolonged antecedent hypoglycemia, suggesting hypoglycemia begets hypoglycemia. The effect of antecedent hypoglycemia should be taken into consideration in the design of future experiments assessing strategies to reduce hypoglycemia.

Development of an Operational TS Dataset Production System for the Data Assimilation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sung Dae; Park, Hyuk Min; Kim, Young Ho; Park, Kwang Soon

2017-04-01

An operational TS (Temperature and Salinity) dataset production system was developed to provide near real-time data to the data assimilation system periodically. It collects the latest 15 days' TS data of the north western pacific area (20°N - 55°N, 110°E - 150°E), applies QC tests to the archived data and supplies them to numerical prediction models of KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology). The latest real-time TS data are collected from Argo GDAC and GTSPP data server every week. Argo data are downloaded from /latest_data directory of Argo GDAC. Because many duplicated data exist when all profile data are extracted from all Argo netCDF files, DB system is used to avoid duplication. All metadata (float ID, location, observation date and time, etc) of all Argo floats is stored into Database system and a Matlab program was developed to manipulate DB data, to check the duplication and to exclude duplicated data. GTSPP data are downloaded from /realtime directory of GTSPP data service. The latest data except ARGO data are extracted from the original data. Another Matlab program was coded to inspect all collected data using 10 QC tests and produce final dataset which can be used by the assimilation system. Three regional range tests to inspect annual, seasonal and monthly variations are included in the QC procedures. The C program was developed to provide regional ranges to data managers. It can calculate upper limit and lower limit of temperature and salinity at depth from 0 to 1550m. The final TS dataset contains the latest 15 days' TS data in netCDF format. It is updated every week and transmitted to numerical modeler of KIOST for operational use.

Effect of bacosides, alcoholic extract of Bacopa monniera Linn. (brahmi), on experimental amnesia in mice.

PubMed

Kishore, Kamal; Singh, Manjeet

2005-07-01

To investigate the effect of bacosides (alcoholic extract of brahmi) on scopolamine (3 mg kg(-1), ip), sodium nitrite (75 mg kg(-1), ip) and BN52021 (15 mg kg(-1), ip) induced experimental amnesia in mice, using Morris water maze test, all the agents were administered 30 min before the acquisition trials on each day and repeated for 4 consecutive days, and on 5th day during the retrieval trials. Bacosides on anterograde administration (before training) in mice, significantly decreased the escape latency time (ELT) during the acquisition trials for 4 consecutive days and increased the time spent (TS) in target quadrant during the retrieval trials on 5th day, and on retrograde administration (after training) bacosides were found not to affect TS significantly. Bacosides also significantly decreased the ELT and increased the TS in mice treated anterogradely with scopolamine and sodium nitrite. Bacosides did not exhibit any significant effect on TS of mice treated retrogradely with sodium nitrite. On the other hand, bacosides significantly increased the TS of mice treated retrogradely with BN52021. On the basis of the present results it can be concluded that bacosides facilitate anterograde memory and attenuate anterograde experimental amnesia induced by scopolamine and sodium nitrite possibly by improving acetylcholine level and hypoxic conditions, respectively. Beside this bacosides also reversed BN52021 induced retrograde amnesia, probably due to increase in platelet activating factor (PAF) synthesis by enhancing cerebral glutamate level.

A quality score for coronary artery tree extraction results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Qing; Broersen, Alexander; Kitslaar, Pieter H.; Lelieveldt, Boudewijn P. F.; Dijkstra, Jouke

2018-02-01

Coronary artery trees (CATs) are often extracted to aid the fully automatic analysis of coronary artery disease on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) images. Automatically extracted CATs often miss some arteries or include wrong extractions which require manual corrections before performing successive steps. For analyzing a large number of datasets, a manual quality check of the extraction results is time-consuming. This paper presents a method to automatically calculate quality scores for extracted CATs in terms of clinical significance of the extracted arteries and the completeness of the extracted CAT. Both right dominant (RD) and left dominant (LD) anatomical statistical models are generated and exploited in developing the quality score. To automatically determine which model should be used, a dominance type detection method is also designed. Experiments are performed on the automatically extracted and manually refined CATs from 42 datasets to evaluate the proposed quality score. In 39 (92.9%) cases, the proposed method is able to measure the quality of the manually refined CATs with higher scores than the automatically extracted CATs. In a 100-point scale system, the average scores for automatically and manually refined CATs are 82.0 (+/-15.8) and 88.9 (+/-5.4) respectively. The proposed quality score will assist the automatic processing of the CAT extractions for large cohorts which contain both RD and LD cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a general quality score for an extracted CAT is presented.

Evaluation of diagnostic serological results in cases of suspected primary syphilis infection.

PubMed

Gratzer, Beau; Pohl, Daniel; Hotton, Anna L

2014-05-01

Reverse sequence screening for syphilis, in which an automatable treponemal assay (enzyme immunoassay [EIA]/chemiluminescence assay [CIA]) is performed first and followed by a nontreponemal test for reactive specimens, has been used increasingly in the United States. The EIA is objective, efficient, and believed to be more sensitive than the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) because treponemal antibodies appear before nontreponemal antibodies. We sought to compare the sensitivity of a commonly used EIA, the Trep-Sure EIA (TS-EIA), to the RPR in cases of suspected primary syphilis infection in our clinic. A retrospective medical record review of patients with sexually transmitted infection clinic visits from January 2009 to December 2011 was conducted, and 52 patients met the following inclusion criteria: suspected primary syphilis symptoms, at least 1 positive syphilis test result at visit, and no history of syphilis. Sensitivity analyses compared the TS-EIA and RPR, using the reference standard of concordantly positive/reactive TS-EIA/RPR or positive fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test (FTA-ABS) result. We considered equivocal TS-EIA results to be positive for sensitivity calculations because such results typically reflex to additional testing and therefore may still result in identifying new infections. Twenty-eight (53.8%) of the 52 patients had a positive or equivocal TS-EIA. Twenty-five (89.3%) of those were RPR reactive; the remaining 3 (10.7%) were RPR nonreactive, FTA-ABS positive. Forty patients (76.9%) had a positive RPR, including 15 patients (37.5%) with negative TS-EIA results; all 15 were FTA-ABS positive. Nine additional patients were TS-EIA negative and RPR nonreactive but had a positive FTA-ABS result. The RPR was significantly more sensitive than the EIA (76.9% vs. 53.8%, P = 0.005). Trep-Sure EIA positivity was also significantly associated with higher median RPR titer (P = 0.011). Use of the TS-EIA may result in underdetection of primary syphilis compared with the RPR. Further evaluation of the sensitivity of the TS-EIA in high-morbidity settings is warranted before the adoption of reverse sequence screening algorithms.

Biorefinery cascade processing for creating added value on tomato industrial by-products from Tunisia.

PubMed

Kehili, Mouna; Schmidt, Lisa Marie; Reynolds, Wienke; Zammel, Ayachi; Zetzl, Carsten; Smirnova, Irina; Allouche, Noureddine; Sayadi, Sami

2016-01-01

In today's consumer perception of industrial processes and food production, aspects like food quality, human health, environmental safety, and energy security have become the keywords. Therefore, much effort has been extended toward adding value to biowastes of agri-food industries through biorefinery processing approaches. This study focused, for the first time, on the valorization of tomato by-products of a Tunisian industry for the recovery of value-added compounds using biorefinery cascade processing. The process integrated supercritical CO 2 extraction of carotenoids within the oil fractions from tomato seeds (TS) and tomato peels (TP), followed by a batch isolation of protein from the residues. The remaining lignocellulosic matter from both fractions was then submitted to a liquid hot water (LHW) hydrolysis. Supercritical CO 2 experiments extracted 5.79% oleoresin, 410.53 mg lycopene/kg, and 31.38 mg β-carotene/kg from TP and 26.29% oil, 27.84 mg lycopene/kg, and 5.25 mg β-carotene/kg from TS, on dry weights. Protein extraction yields, nearing 30% of the initial protein contents equal to 13.28% in TP and 39.26% in TS, revealed that TP and TS are a rich source of essential amino acids. LHW treatment run at 120-200 °C, 50 bar for 30 min showed that a temperature of 160 °C was the most convenient for cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis from TP and TS, while keeping the degradation products low. Results indicated that tomato by-products are not only a green source of lycopene-rich oleoresin and tomato seed oil (TSO) and of protein with good nutritional quality but also a source of lignocellulosic matter with potential for bioethanol production. This study would provide an important reference for the concept and the feasibility of the cascade fractionation of valuable compounds from tomato industrial by-products.Graphical abstractSchema of biorefinery cascade processing of tomato industrial by-products toward isolation of valuable fractions.

Biofilms from Klebsiella pneumoniae: Matrix Polysaccharide Structure and Interactions with Antimicrobial Peptides

PubMed Central

Benincasa, Monica; Lagatolla, Cristina; Dolzani, Lucilla; Milan, Annalisa; Pacor, Sabrina; Liut, Gianfranco; Tossi, Alessandro; Cescutti, Paola; Rizzo, Roberto

2016-01-01

Biofilm matrices of two Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates, KpTs101 and KpTs113, were investigated for their polysaccharide composition and protective effects against antimicrobial peptides. Both strains were good biofilm producers, with KpTs113 forming flocs with very low adhesive properties to supports. Matrix exopolysaccharides were isolated and their monosaccharide composition and glycosidic linkage types were defined. KpTs101 polysaccharide is neutral and composed only of galactose, in both pyranose and furanose ring configurations. Conversely, KpTs113 polysaccharide is anionic due to glucuronic acid units, and also contains glucose and mannose residues. The susceptibility of the two strains to two bovine cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides, BMAP-27 and Bac7(1–35), was assessed using both planktonic cultures and biofilms. Biofilm matrices exerted a relevant protection against both antimicrobials, which act with quite different mechanisms. Similar protection was also detected when antimicrobial peptides were tested against planktonic bacteria in the presence of the polysaccharides extracted from KpTs101 and KpTs113 biofilms, suggesting sequestering adduct formation with antimicrobials. Circular dichroism experiments on BMAP-27 in the presence of increasing amounts of either polysaccharide confirmed their ability to interact with the peptide and induce an α-helical conformation. PMID:27681920

Java-Library for the Access, Storage and Editing of Calibration Metadata of Optical Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Firlej, M.; Kresse, W.

2016-06-01

The standardization of the calibration of optical sensors in photogrammetry and remote sensing has been discussed for more than a decade. Projects of the German DGPF and the European EuroSDR led to the abstract International Technical Specification ISO/TS 19159-1:2014 "Calibration and validation of remote sensing imagery sensors and data - Part 1: Optical sensors". This article presents the first software interface for a read- and write-access to all metadata elements standardized in the ISO/TS 19159-1. This interface is based on an xml-schema that was automatically derived by ShapeChange from the UML-model of the Specification. The software interface serves two cases. First, the more than 300 standardized metadata elements are stored individually according to the xml-schema. Secondly, the camera manufacturers are using many administrative data that are not a part of the ISO/TS 19159-1. The new software interface provides a mechanism for input, storage, editing, and output of both types of data. Finally, an output channel towards a usual calibration protocol is provided. The interface is written in Java. The article also addresses observations made when analysing the ISO/TS 19159-1 and compiles a list of proposals for maturing the document, i.e. for an updated version of the Specification.

Automatic Detection and Positioning of Ground Control Points Using TerraSAR-X Multiaspect Acquisitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montazeri, Sina; Gisinger, Christoph; Eineder, Michael; Zhu, Xiao xiang

2018-05-01

Geodetic stereo Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is capable of absolute three-dimensional localization of natural Persistent Scatterer (PS)s which allows for Ground Control Point (GCP) generation using only SAR data. The prerequisite for the method to achieve high precision results is the correct detection of common scatterers in SAR images acquired from different viewing geometries. In this contribution, we describe three strategies for automatic detection of identical targets in SAR images of urban areas taken from different orbit tracks. Moreover, a complete work-flow for automatic generation of large number of GCPs using SAR data is presented and its applicability is shown by exploiting TerraSAR-X (TS-X) high resolution spotlight images over the city of Oulu, Finland and a test site in Berlin, Germany.

Testosterone supplementation and sexual function: a meta-analysis study.

PubMed

Corona, Giovanni; Isidori, Andrea M; Buvat, Jaques; Aversa, Antonio; Rastrelli, Giulia; Hackett, Geoff; Rochira, Vincenzo; Sforza, Alessandra; Lenzi, Andrea; Mannucci, Edoardo; Maggi, Mario

2014-06-01

The role of testosterone supplementation (TS) as a treatment for male sexual dysfunction remains questionable. The aim of this study was to attempt a meta-analysis on the effect of TS on male sexual function and its synergism with the use of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i). An extensive Medline, Embase, and Cochrane search was performed. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of TS vs. placebo or the effect of TS as add on to PDE5is on sexual function were included. Data extraction was performed independently by two of the authors (A. M. Isidori and G. Corona), and conflicts resolved by the third investigator (M. Maggi). Out of 1,702 retrieved articles, 41 were included in the study. In particular, 29 compared TS vs. placebo, whereas 12 trials evaluated the effect of TS as add on to PDE5is. TS is able to significantly ameliorate erectile function and to improve other aspects of male sexual response in hypogonadal patients. However, the presence of possible publication bias was detected. After applying "trim and fill" method, the positive effect of TS on erectile function and libido components retained significance only in RCTs partially or completely supported by pharmaceutical companies (confidence interval [0.04-0.53] and [0.12; 0.52], respectively). In addition, we also report that TS could be associated with an improvement in PDE5i outcome. These results were not confirmed in placebo-controlled studies. The majority of studies, however, included mixed eugonadal/hypogonadal subjects, thus imparting uncertainty to the statistical analyses. TS plays positive effects on male sexual function in hypogonadal subjects. The role of TS is uncertain in men who are not clearly hypogonadal. The apparent difference between industry-supported and independent studies could depend on trial design more than on publication bias. New RCTs exploring the effect of TS in selected cases of PDE5i failure that persistently retain low testosterone levels are advisable. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Evidence of a novel aggrecan-degrading activity in cartilage: Studies of mice deficient in both ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5.

PubMed

Rogerson, Fraser M; Stanton, Heather; East, Charlotte J; Golub, Suzanne B; Tutolo, Leonie; Farmer, Pamela J; Fosang, Amanda J

2008-06-01

To characterize aggrecan catabolism and the overall phenotype in mice deficient in both ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 (TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat) activity. Femoral head cartilage from the joints of TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat mice and wild-type mice were cultured in vitro, and aggrecan catabolism was stimulated with either interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) or retinoic acid. Total aggrecan release was measured, and aggrecanase activity was examined by Western blotting using neoepitope antibodies for detecting cleavage at EGE 373-374 ALG, SELE 1279-1280 GRG, FREEE 1467-1468 GLG, and AQE 1572-1573 AGEG. Aggrecan catabolism in vivo was examined by Western blotting of cartilage that had been extracted immediately ex vivo. TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat mice were viable, fertile, and phenotypically normal. TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat cartilage explants did not release aggrecan in response to IL-1alpha, and there was no detectable increase in aggrecanase neoepitopes. TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat cartilage explants released aggrecan in response to retinoic acid. There was no retinoic acid-stimulated cleavage at either EGE 373-374 ALG or AQE 1572-1573 AGEG. There was a low level of cleavage at SELE 1279-1280 GRG and major cleavage at FREEE 1467-1468 GLG. Ex vivo, cleavage at FREEE 1467-1468 GLG was substantially reduced, but still present, in TS-4/TS-5 Delta-cat mouse cartilage compared with wild-type mouse cartilage. An aggrecanase other than ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 is expressed in mouse cartilage and is up-regulated by retinoic acid but not IL-1alpha. The novel aggrecanase appears to have different substrate specificity from either ADAMTS-4 or ADAMTS-5, cleaving E-G bonds but not E-A bonds. Neither ADAMTS-4 nor ADAMTS-5 is required for normal skeletal development or aggrecan turnover in cartilage.

Characterization of a Thioredoxin-1 Gene from Taenia solium and Its Encoding Product

PubMed Central

Jiménez, Lucía; Rodríguez-Lima, Oscar; Ochoa-Sánchez, Alicia; Landa, Abraham

2015-01-01

Taenia solium thioredoxin-1 gene (TsTrx-1) has a length of 771 bp with three exons and two introns. The core promoter gene presents two putative stress transcription factor binding sites, one putative TATA box, and a transcription start site (TSS). TsTrx-1 mRNA is expressed higher in larvae than in adult. This gene encodes a protein of 107 amino acids that presents the Trx active site (CGPC), the classical secondary structure of the thioredoxin fold, and the highest degree of identity with the Echinococcus granulosus Trx. A recombinant TsTrx-1 (rTsTrx-1) was produced in Escherichia coli with redox activity. Optimal activity for rTsTrx-1 was at pH 6.5 in the range of 15 to 25°C. The enzyme conserved activity for 3 h and lost it in 24 h at 37°C. rTsTrx-1 lost 50% activity after 1 h and lost activity completely in 24 h at temperatures higher than 55°C. Best storage temperature for rTsTrx-1 was at −70°C. It was inhibited by high concentrations of H2O2 and methylglyoxal (MG), but it was inhibited neither by NaCl nor by anti-rTsTrx-1 rabbit antibodies that strongly recognized a ~12 kDa band in extracts from several parasites. These TsTrx-1 properties open the opportunity to study its role in relationship T. solium-hosts. PMID:26090410

Using support vector machines with tract-based spatial statistics for automated classification of Tourette syndrome children

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Hongwei; Liu, Yue; Wang, Jieqiong; Zhang, Jishui; Peng, Yun; He, Huiguang

2016-03-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a developmental neuropsychiatric disorder with the cardinal symptoms of motor and vocal tics which emerges in early childhood and fluctuates in severity in later years. To date, the neural basis of TS is not fully understood yet and TS has a long-term prognosis that is difficult to accurately estimate. Few studies have looked at the potential of using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in conjunction with machine learning algorithms in order to automate the classification of healthy children and TS children. Here we apply Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method to 44 TS children and 48 age and gender matched healthy children in order to extract the diffusion values from each voxel in the white matter (WM) skeleton, and a feature selection algorithm (ReliefF) was used to select the most salient voxels for subsequent classification with support vector machine (SVM). We use a nested cross validation to yield an unbiased assessment of the classification method and prevent overestimation. The accuracy (88.04%), sensitivity (88.64%) and specificity (87.50%) were achieved in our method as peak performance of the SVM classifier was achieved using the axial diffusion (AD) metric, demonstrating the potential of a joint TBSS and SVM pipeline for fast, objective classification of healthy and TS children. These results support that our methods may be useful for the early identification of subjects with TS, and hold promise for predicting prognosis and treatment outcome for individuals with TS.

Sample processor for the automatic extraction of families of compounds from liquid samples and/or homogenized solid samples suspended in a liquid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jahnsen, Vilhelm J. (Inventor); Campen, Jr., Charles F. (Inventor)

1980-01-01

A sample processor and method for the automatic extraction of families of compounds, known as extracts, from liquid and/or homogenized solid samples are disclosed. The sample processor includes a tube support structure which supports a plurality of extraction tubes, each containing a sample from which families of compounds are to be extracted. The support structure is moveable automatically with respect to one or more extraction stations, so that as each tube is at each station a solvent system, consisting of a solvent and reagents, is introduced therein. As a result an extract is automatically extracted from the tube. The sample processor includes an arrangement for directing the different extracts from each tube to different containers, or to direct similar extracts from different tubes to the same utilization device.

Thermosensitivity is reduced during fever induced by Staphylococcus aureus cells walls in rabbits.

PubMed

Tøien, Ø; Mercer, J B

1996-05-01

Thermosensitivity (TS) and threshold core temperature for metabolic cold defence were determined in six conscious rabbits before, and at seven different times after i.v. injection of killed Staphylococcus aureus (8 x 10(7) or 2 x 10(7) cell walls x kg(-1)) by exposure to short periods (5-10 min) of body cooling. Heat was extracted with a chronically implanted intravascular heat exchanger. TS was calculated by regression of metabolic heat production (M) and core temperature, as indicated by hypothalamic temperature. Threshold for cold defence (shivering threshold) was calculated as the core temperature at which the thermosensitivity line crossed preinjection resting M. The shivering thresholds followed the shape of the fever response. TS was significantly reduced (up to 49%) during the time course of fever induced by the highest dose of pyrogen only. At both high and low doses of pyrogen TS correlated negatively with shivering threshold (r = 0.66 and 0.79 respectively) with similar slopes. The reduction in TS during fever was thus associated with the increase in shivering threshold resulting from the pyrogen injection and not by the dose of pyrogen. Model considerations indicate, however, that changes in sensitivity of the thermosensory input to the hypothalamic controller may affect threshold changes but cause negligible TS changes. It is more likely that the reduction in TS is effected in the specific hypothalamic effector pathways.

Spectrophotometric Study of the Complex Formation of Anionic Chelates of Cobalt(II) with Monotetrazolium Cations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Divarova, V. V.; Stojnova, K. T.; Racheva, P. V.; Lekova, V. D.

2017-05-01

The complex formation and extraction of anionic chelates of Co(II)-4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol (TAR) with cations of monotetrazolium salts (TS) — (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 3-(2-naphthyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TV) — in the liquid-liquid extraction system Co(II)-TAR-TS-H2O-CHCl3 were studied by spectrophotometric methods. The optimum conditions for the extraction of Co(II) were found. The molar ratio of the components and the form of the anionic chelates of Co(II) in the extracted compounds were determined by independent methods. The association process in the aqueous phase and the extraction process were investigated and quantitatively characterized. The following key constants were calculated: association constant, distribution constant, extraction constant, and recovery factor. The validity of the Beer's law was checked, and some analytical characteristics were calculated. Based on the obtained results and the lower price of the monotetrazolium salt MTT compared with that of TV, the ion-associated complex of Co(II)-TAR-MTT can be implemented for determination of cobalt(II) traces in alloys and biological, medical, and pharmaceutical samples.

Purification and kinetic analysis of cytosolic and mitochondrial thioredoxin glutathione reductase extracted from Taenia solium cysticerci.

PubMed

Plancarte, Agustin; Nava, Gabriela

2015-02-01

Thioredoxin glutathione reductases (TGRs) (EC 1.8.1.9) were purified to homogeneity from the cytosolic (cTsTGR) and mitochondrial (mTsTGR) fractions of Taenia solium, the agent responsible for neurocysticercosis, one of the major central nervous system parasitic diseases in humans. TsTGRs had a relative molecular weight of 132,000, while the corresponding value per subunit obtained under denaturing conditions, was of 62,000. Specific activities for thioredoxin reductase and glutathione reductase substrates for both TGRs explored were in the range or lower than values obtained for other platyhelminths and mammalian TGRs. cTsTGR and mTsTGR also showed hydroperoxide reductase activity using hydroperoxide as substrate. Km(DTNB) and Kcat(DTNB) values for cTsTGR and mTsTGR (88 µM and 1.9 s(-1); 45 µM and 12.6 s(-1), respectively) and Km(GSSG) and Kcat(GSSG) values for cTsTGR and mTsTGR (6.3 µM and 0.96 s(-1); 4 µM and 1.62 s(-1), respectively) were similar to or lower than those reported for mammalian TGRs. Mass spectrometry analysis showed that 12 peptides from cTsTGR and seven from mTsTGR were a match for gi|29825896 thioredoxin glutathione reductase [Echinococcus granulosus], confirming that both enzymes are TGRs. Both T. solium TGRs were inhibited by the gold compound auranofin, a selective inhibitor of thiol-dependent flavoreductases (I₅₀ = 3.25, 2.29 nM for DTNB and GSSG substrates, respectively for cTsTGR; I₅₀ = 5.6, 25.4 nM for mTsTGR toward the same substrates in the described order). Glutathione reductase activity of cTsTGR and mTsTGR exhibited hysteretic behavior with moderate to high concentrations of GSSG; this result was not observed either with thioredoxin, DTNB or NADPH. However, the observed hysteretic kinetics was suppressed with increasing amounts of both parasitic TGRs. These data suggest the existence of an effective substitute which may account for the lack of the detoxification enzymes glutathione reductase and thioredoxin reductase in T. solium, as has been described for very few other platyhelminths. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EPA Method 8321B (SW-846): Solvent-Extractable Nonvolatile Compounds by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Thermospray-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-TS-MS) or Ultraviolet (UV) Detection

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Method 8321B describes procedures for preparation and analysis of solid, aqueous liquid, drinking water and wipe samples using high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry for extractable non-volatile compounds.

Software Cost Measuring and Reporting. One of the Software Acquisition Engineering Guidebook Series.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-01-02

through the peripherals. How- and performance criteria), ever, his interaction is usually minimal since, by difinition , the automatic test Since TS...performs its Software estimating is still heavily intended functions properly. dependent on experienced judgement. However, quantitative methods...apply to systems of totally different can be distributed to specialists who content. The Quantitative guideline may are most familiar with the work. One

Analytic tests and their relation to jet fuel thermal stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heneghan, S.P.; Kauffman, R.E.

1995-05-01

The evaluation of jet fuel thermal stability (TS) by simple analytic procedures has long been a goal of fuels chemists. The reason is obvious: if the analytic chemist can determine which types of material cause his test to respond, the refiners will know which materials to remove to improve stability. Complicating this quest is the lack of an acceptable quantitative TS test with which to compare any analytic procedures. To circumvent this problem, we recently compiled the results of TS tests for 12 fuels using six separate test procedures. The results covering a range of flow and temperature conditions showmore » that TS is not as dependent on test conditions as previously thought. Also, comparing the results from these tests with several analytic procedures shows that either a measure of the number of phenols or the total sulfur present in jet fuels is strongly indicative of the TS. The phenols have been measured using a cyclic voltammetry technique and the polar material by gas chromatography (atomic emission detection) following a solid phase extraction on silica gel. The polar material has been identified as mainly phenols (by mass spectrometry identification). Measures of the total acid number or peroxide concentration have little correlation with TS.« less

Nanostructured hybrid ZnO thin films for energy conversion

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

We report on hybrid films based on ZnO/organic dye prepared by electrodeposition using tetrasulfonated copper phthalocyanines (TS-CuPc) and Eosin-Y (EoY). Both the morphology and porosity of hybrid ZnO films are highly dependent on the type of dyes used in the synthesis. High photosensitivity was observed for ZnO/EoY films, while a very weak photoresponse was obtained for ZnO/TS-CuPc films. Despite a higher absorption coefficient of TS-CuPc than EoY, in ZnO/EoY hybrid films, the excited photoelectrons between the EoY levels can be extracted through ZnO, and the porosity of ZnO/EoY can also be controlled. PMID:21711909

Characterization of Pectins Extracted from Different Varieties of Pink/Red and White Grapefruits [Citrus Paradisi (Macf.)] by Thermal Treatment and Thermosonication.

PubMed

La Cava, Enzo L; Gerbino, Esteban; Sgroppo, Sonia C; Gómez-Zavaglia, Andrea

2018-06-01

The physical and chemical properties of pectin extracts obtained from different white and pink/red varieties of grapefruit [Citrus paradisi (Macf.)], using both conventional heating (CHE) and thermosonication (TS), were investigated. The content of galacturonic acid (GalA), degree of esterification (%DM), color and antioxidant capacity were analyzed. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) associated with multivariate analysis enabled a structural comparison among the pectin extracts, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) completed a full landscape of the investigated extracts. Pectin extracts obtained by CHE showed mostly higher GalA than those obtained by TS. All the extracts had a high antioxidant capacity, as determined by 2,2 diphenyl 1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH * ) and 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS * +) assays, and a high correlation with the GalA content. The main differences observed in the FTIR spectra occurred in the 1200 to 900 cm -1 region (differences in GalA). The glass transition temperatures (Tgs) of all extracts were above 85 °C, making them interesting as stabilizing agents for the food industry. A wide database for the characterization of pectin extracts from grapefruits was obtained. The relationship between the extraction method and the source of pectins, with the physicochemical and antioxidant properties provided great support for their application in the food industry. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Potassium N-Iodo p-Toluenesulfonamide (TsNIK, Iodamine-T): A New Reagent for the Oxidation of Hydrazones to Diazo Compounds

PubMed Central

Nicolle, Simon M; Moody, Christopher J

2014-01-01

A new reagent for the oxidation of hydrazones to diazo compounds is described. N-Iodo p-toluenesulfonamide (TsNIK, iodamine-T) allows the preparation of α-diazoesters, α-diazoamides, α-diazoketones and α-diazophosphonates in good yield and in high purity after a simple extractive work-up. α-Diazoesters were also obtained in high yield from the corresponding ketones through a one-pot process of hydrazone formation/oxidation. PMID:24615944

Presentation video retrieval using automatically recovered slide and spoken text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Matthew

2013-03-01

Video is becoming a prevalent medium for e-learning. Lecture videos contain text information in both the presentation slides and lecturer's speech. This paper examines the relative utility of automatically recovered text from these sources for lecture video retrieval. To extract the visual information, we automatically detect slides within the videos and apply optical character recognition to obtain their text. Automatic speech recognition is used similarly to extract spoken text from the recorded audio. We perform controlled experiments with manually created ground truth for both the slide and spoken text from more than 60 hours of lecture video. We compare the automatically extracted slide and spoken text in terms of accuracy relative to ground truth, overlap with one another, and utility for video retrieval. Results reveal that automatically recovered slide text and spoken text contain different content with varying error profiles. Experiments demonstrate that automatically extracted slide text enables higher precision video retrieval than automatically recovered spoken text.

MODIS-derived EVI, NDVI and WDRVI time series to estimate phenological metrics in French deciduous forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Testa, S.; Soudani, K.; Boschetti, L.; Borgogno Mondino, E.

2018-02-01

Monitoring forest phenology allows us to study the effects of climate change on vegetated land surfaces. Daily and composite time series (TS) of several vegetation indices (VIs) from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data have been widely used in scientific works for phenological studies since the beginning of the MODIS mission. The objective of this work was to use MODIS data to find the best VI/TS combination to estimate start-of-season (SOS) and end-of-season (EOS) dates across 50 temperate deciduous forests. Our research used as inputs 2001-2012 daily reflectance from MOD09GQ/MOD09GA products and 16-day composite VIs from the MOD13Q1 dataset. The 50 pixels centered on the 50 forest plots were extracted from the above-mentioned MODIS imagery; we then generated 5 different types of TS (1 daily from MOD09 and 4 composite from MOD13Q1) and used all of them to implement 6 VIs, obtaining 30 VI/TS combinations. SOS and EOS estimates were determined for each pixel/year and each VI/TS combination. SOS/EOS estimations were then validated against ground phenological observations. Results showed that, in our test areas, composite TS, if actual acquisition date is considered, performed mostly better than daily TS. EVI, WDRVI0.20 and NDVI were more suitable to SOS estimation, while WDRVI0.05 and EVI were more convenient in estimating early and advanced EOS, respectively.

Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies specific for 18 kDa antigen from Taenia solium cysticerci.

PubMed

Zhang, Shaohua; Luo, Xuenong; Guo, Aijiang; Zhu, Xueliang; Cai, Xuepeng

2016-07-01

The gene encoding a mature 18 kDa glycoprotein of Taenia solium cysticerci (Ts18) was cloned and bacterially expressed with a His-tagged fusion protein. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the recombinant Ts18 antigen were generated in vitro by routine murine hybridoma technique of fusing splenocytes, from BALB/c mice immunized with the vesicular fluid of T. solium cysticerci (TsVF), with mouse myeloma cells (SP2/0). The reactivity and specificity of these MAbs were evaluated by indirect ELISA and immunoblotting techniques. Three stable hybridoma clones, namely 3B11, 6C5, and 6G4, were screened using His-Ts18-based ELISA, and these showed two IgG1 isotypes and one IgM isotype. All MAbs reacted with His-Ts18 at molecular weight (MW) 12.8 kDa and the native antigen at MW 18 kDa in TsVF and whole larval extracts (WLE). In a dot blotting test, MAbs 6C5 and 6G4 showed no obvious cross-reactivity with heterologous vesicular fluids from other taeniid species, including Taenia saginata (TsaVF), Taenia pisiformis (TpVF), Taenia hydatigena (ThVF), Taenia multiceps (TmVF), and Echinococcus granulosus (EgVF). Immunofluorescent assays showed that MAb 6C5 specifically reacted with the Ts18 expressed from pEGFP-N1-Ts18-transfected HeLa cells. Immunolocalization analysis, using MAb 6C5 as a probe, indicated that Ts18 was present at high concentrations in the region of the larval sucker and spiral canal. The results indicate that the Ts18 protein is an abundantly secreted parasite protein and MAbs against it might provide a step forward for improving the diagnosis of porcine cysticercosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Extracting surface waves, hum and normal modes: time-scale phase-weighted stack and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventosa, Sergi; Schimmel, Martin; Stutzmann, Eleonore

2017-10-01

Stacks of ambient noise correlations are routinely used to extract empirical Green's functions (EGFs) between station pairs. The time-frequency phase-weighted stack (tf-PWS) is a physically intuitive nonlinear denoising method that uses the phase coherence to improve EGF convergence when the performance of conventional linear averaging methods is not sufficient. The high computational cost of a continuous approach to the time-frequency transformation is currently a main limitation in ambient noise studies. We introduce the time-scale phase-weighted stack (ts-PWS) as an alternative extension of the phase-weighted stack that uses complex frames of wavelets to build a time-frequency representation that is much more efficient and fast to compute and that preserve the performance and flexibility of the tf-PWS. In addition, we propose two strategies: the unbiased phase coherence and the two-stage ts-PWS methods to further improve noise attenuation, quality of the extracted signals and convergence speed. We demonstrate that these approaches enable to extract minor- and major-arc Rayleigh waves (up to the sixth Rayleigh wave train) from many years of data from the GEOSCOPE global network. Finally we also show that fundamental spheroidal modes can be extracted from these EGF.

Analysis of Technique to Extract Data from the Web for Improved Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Neena; Singh, Manish

2010-11-01

The World Wide Web rapidly guides the world into a newly amazing electronic world, where everyone can publish anything in electronic form and extract almost all the information. Extraction of information from semi structured or unstructured documents, such as web pages, is a useful yet complex task. Data extraction, which is important for many applications, extracts the records from the HTML files automatically. Ontologies can achieve a high degree of accuracy in data extraction. We analyze method for data extraction OBDE (Ontology-Based Data Extraction), which automatically extracts the query result records from the web with the help of agents. OBDE first constructs an ontology for a domain according to information matching between the query interfaces and query result pages from different web sites within the same domain. Then, the constructed domain ontology is used during data extraction to identify the query result section in a query result page and to align and label the data values in the extracted records. The ontology-assisted data extraction method is fully automatic and overcomes many of the deficiencies of current automatic data extraction methods.

Standard cell electrical and physical variability analysis based on automatic physical measurement for design-for-manufacturing purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shauly, Eitan; Parag, Allon; Khmaisy, Hafez; Krispil, Uri; Adan, Ofer; Levi, Shimon; Latinski, Sergey; Schwarzband, Ishai; Rotstein, Israel

2011-04-01

A fully automated system for process variability analysis of high density standard cell was developed. The system consists of layout analysis with device mapping: device type, location, configuration and more. The mapping step was created by a simple DRC run-set. This database was then used as an input for choosing locations for SEM images and for specific layout parameter extraction, used by SPICE simulation. This method was used to analyze large arrays of standard cell blocks, manufactured using Tower TS013LV (Low Voltage for high-speed applications) Platforms. Variability of different physical parameters like and like Lgate, Line-width-roughness and more as well as of electrical parameters like drive current (Ion), off current (Ioff) were calculated and statistically analyzed, in order to understand the variability root cause. Comparison between transistors having the same W/L but with different layout configurations and different layout environments (around the transistor) was made in terms of performances as well as process variability. We successfully defined "robust" and "less-robust" transistors configurations, and updated guidelines for Design-for-Manufacturing (DfM).

Comparison of DNA extraction methods for human gut microbial community profiling.

PubMed

Lim, Mi Young; Song, Eun-Ji; Kim, Sang Ho; Lee, Jangwon; Nam, Young-Do

2018-03-01

The human gut harbors a vast range of microbes that have significant impact on health and disease. Therefore, gut microbiome profiling holds promise for use in early diagnosis and precision medicine development. Accurate profiling of the highly complex gut microbiome requires DNA extraction methods that provide sufficient coverage of the original community as well as adequate quality and quantity. We tested nine different DNA extraction methods using three commercial kits (TianLong Stool DNA/RNA Extraction Kit (TS), QIAamp DNA Stool Mini Kit (QS), and QIAamp PowerFecal DNA Kit (QP)) with or without additional bead-beating step using manual or automated methods and compared them in terms of DNA extraction ability from human fecal sample. All methods produced DNA in sufficient concentration and quality for use in sequencing, and the samples were clustered according to the DNA extraction method. Inclusion of bead-beating step especially resulted in higher degrees of microbial diversity and had the greatest effect on gut microbiome composition. Among the samples subjected to bead-beating method, TS kit samples were more similar to QP kit samples than QS kit samples. Our results emphasize the importance of mechanical disruption step for a more comprehensive profiling of the human gut microbiome. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

What is the clinical course of transient synovitis in children: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Asche, Sylvana S; van Rijn, Rogier M; Bessems, Johannes Hjm; Krul, Marjolein; Bierma-Zeinstra, Sita Ma

2013-11-14

Transient synovitis of the hip (TS) is considered to be a self-limiting disease in childhood. However, because the etiology is unclear and some cases precede Legg-Perthes' disease, data on follow-up are important. Our aim was to summarize the knowledge on the clinical course of TS in children. The study design was a systematic review and a literature search was conducted in Medline and Embase. Studies describing short and/or long-term follow-up of TS in children were included. Case reports, reviews and studies describing traumatic hip pain were excluded. Study quality was scored and data extraction was performed. The main outcome measures were short-term and long-term clinical course, and recurrence of symptoms. A total of 25 studies were included of which 14 were of high quality. At two-week follow-up, almost all children with TS were symptom free. Those with symptoms persisting for over one month were more prone to develop other hip pathology, such as Legg-Perthes' disease. The recurrence rate of TS ranged from 0-26.3%. At long-term follow-up, 0-10% of the children diagnosed with TS developed Legg-Perthes' disease. Hip pain after intensive physical effort and limited range of motion of the hip at long-term follow-up was reported in 12-28% and in 0-18% of the children, respectively. The majority of the studies indicate that children with TS recover within two weeks; recurrence was seen in 0-26% of the cases. Children with TS should be followed at least six months to increase the likelihood of not missing Legg-Perthes' disease.

Metabolome analysis of esophageal cancer tissues using capillary electrophoresis-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Tokunaga, Masanori; Kami, Kenjiro; Ozawa, Soji; Oguma, Junya; Kazuno, Akihito; Miyachi, Hayato; Ohashi, Yoshiaki; Kusuhara, Masatoshi; Terashima, Masanori

2018-06-01

Reports of the metabolomic characteristics of esophageal cancer are limited. In the present study, we thus conducted metabolome analysis of paired tumor tissues (Ts) and non-tumor esophageal tissues (NTs) using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS). The Ts and surrounding NTs were surgically excised pair-wise from 35 patients with esophageal cancer. Following tissue homogenization and metabolite extraction, a total of 110 compounds were absolutely quantified by CE-TOFMS. We compared the concentrations of the metabolites between Ts and NTs, between pT1 or pT2 (pT1-2) and pT3 or pT4 (pT3-4) stage, and between node-negative (pN-) and node-positive (pN+) samples. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis revealed clear metabolomic differences between Ts and NTs. Lactate and citrate levels in Ts were significantly higher (P=0.001) and lower (P<0.001), respectively, than those in NTs, which corroborated with the Warburg effect in Ts. The concentrations of most amino acids apart from glutamine were higher in Ts than in NTs, presumably due to hyperactive glutaminolysis in Ts. The concentrations of malic acid (P=0.015) and citric acid (P=0.008) were significantly lower in pT3-4 than in pT1-2, suggesting the downregulation of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity in pT3-4. On the whole, in this study, we demonstrate significantly different metabolomic characteristics between tumor and non-tumor tissues and identified a novel set of metabolites that were strongly associated with the degree of tumor progression. A further understanding of cancer metabolomics may enable the selection of more appropriate treatment strategies, thereby contributing to individualized medicine.

System for definition of the central-chest vasculature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taeprasartsit, Pinyo; Higgins, William E.

2009-02-01

Accurate definition of the central-chest vasculature from three-dimensional (3D) multi-detector CT (MDCT) images is important for pulmonary applications. For instance, the aorta and pulmonary artery help in automatic definition of the Mountain lymph-node stations for lung-cancer staging. This work presents a system for defining major vascular structures in the central chest. The system provides automatic methods for extracting the aorta and pulmonary artery and semi-automatic methods for extracting the other major central chest arteries/veins, such as the superior vena cava and azygos vein. Automatic aorta and pulmonary artery extraction are performed by model fitting and selection. The system also extracts certain vascular structure information to validate outputs. A semi-automatic method extracts vasculature by finding the medial axes between provided important sites. Results of the system are applied to lymph-node station definition and guidance of bronchoscopic biopsy.

Expert Perspectives on Time Sensitivity and a Related Metric for Children Involved in Motor Vehicle Crashes.

PubMed

Doud, Andrea N; Schoell, Samantha L; Weaver, Ashley A; Talton, Jennifer W; Barnard, Ryan T; Petty, John K; Meredith, J Wayne; Stitzel, Joel D

2017-04-01

Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) uses vehicle telemetry data to predict risk of serious injury among motor vehicle crash occupants and can thus improve the accuracy with which injured children are triaged by first responders. To better define serious injury for AACN systems (which typically use Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] metrics), an age-specific approach evaluating severity, time sensitivity (TS), and predictability of injury has been developed. This study outlines the development of the TS score. The 95% most frequent AIS 2+ injuries in a national motor vehicle crash data set spanning 2000 to 2011 were determined for the following age groups: 0 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 15 to 18 years. For each age-specific injury, clinicians with pediatric trauma expertise were asked if treatment at a trauma center was required and were asked about the urgency of treatment. A TS score (range 0-1) was calculated by combining the mean trauma center decision and urgency scores. A total of 30 to 32 responses were obtained for each age-specific injury. The most frequent motor vehicle crash-induced injuries in the younger groups received significantly higher scores than those in the older groups (median TS score 0 to 4 years: 0.89, 5-9 years: 0.87, 10-14 years: 0.82, 15-18 years: 0.72, P < .001). Large variations in TS existed within each AIS severity level; for example, scores among AIS 2 injuries in 0- to 4-year-olds ranged from 0.12 to 0.98. The TS of common pediatric injuries varies on the basis of age and may not be accurately reflected by AIS metrics. AIS may not capture all aspects of injury that should be considered by AACN systems. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Target recognition based on convolutional neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Liqiang; Wang, Xin; Xi, Fubiao; Dong, Jian

2017-11-01

One of the important part of object target recognition is the feature extraction, which can be classified into feature extraction and automatic feature extraction. The traditional neural network is one of the automatic feature extraction methods, while it causes high possibility of over-fitting due to the global connection. The deep learning algorithm used in this paper is a hierarchical automatic feature extraction method, trained with the layer-by-layer convolutional neural network (CNN), which can extract the features from lower layers to higher layers. The features are more discriminative and it is beneficial to the object target recognition.

Patent Retrieval in Chemistry based on Semantically Tagged Named Entities

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-01

their corresponding synonyms. An ex- ample query for TS-15 is: (" Betaine " OR "Glycine betaine " OR "Glycocol betaine " OR "Glycylbetaine" OR ...) AND...task in an automatic way based on noun- phrase detection incorporating the OpenNLP chun- 3 Informative Term Synonyms Source Betaine Glycine betaine ...Glycocol betaine , Glycylbetaine etc. ATC Peripheral Artery Disease Peripheral Artery Disorder, Peripheral Arterial Disease etc. MeSH Diels-Alder reaction

Automatic Keyword Extraction from Individual Documents

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rose, Stuart J.; Engel, David W.; Cramer, Nicholas O.

2010-05-03

This paper introduces a novel and domain-independent method for automatically extracting keywords, as sequences of one or more words, from individual documents. We describe the method’s configuration parameters and algorithm, and present an evaluation on a benchmark corpus of technical abstracts. We also present a method for generating lists of stop words for specific corpora and domains, and evaluate its ability to improve keyword extraction on the benchmark corpus. Finally, we apply our method of automatic keyword extraction to a corpus of news articles and define metrics for characterizing the exclusivity, essentiality, and generality of extracted keywords within a corpus.

Cortical Correlates of Fitts’ Law

PubMed Central

Ifft, Peter J.; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L.

2011-01-01

Fitts’ law describes the fundamental trade-off between movement accuracy and speed: it states that the duration of reaching movements is a function of target size (TS) and distance. While Fitts’ law has been extensively studied in ergonomics and has guided the design of human–computer interfaces, there have been few studies on its neuronal correlates. To elucidate sensorimotor cortical activity underlying Fitts’ law, we implanted two monkeys with multielectrode arrays in the primary motor (M1) and primary somatosensory (S1) cortices. The monkeys performed reaches with a joystick-controlled cursor toward targets of different size. The reaction time (RT), movement time, and movement velocity changed with TS, and M1 and S1 activity reflected these changes. Moreover, modifications of cortical activity could not be explained by changes of movement parameters alone, but required TS as an additional parameter. Neuronal representation of TS was especially prominent during the early RT period where it influenced the slope of the firing rate rise preceding movement initiation. During the movement period, cortical activity was correlated with movement velocity. Neural decoders were applied to simultaneously decode TS and motor parameters from cortical modulations. We suggest that sensorimotor cortex activity reflects the characteristics of both the movement and the target. Classifiers that extract these parameters from cortical ensembles could improve neuroprosthetic control. PMID:22275888

A Protocol for Using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-force Biosensors to Measure Mechanical Forces across the Nuclear LINC Complex.

PubMed

Arsenovic, Paul T; Bathula, Kranthidhar; Conway, Daniel E

2017-04-11

The LINC complex has been hypothesized to be the critical structure that mediates the transfer of mechanical forces from the cytoskeleton to the nucleus. Nesprin-2G is a key component of the LINC complex that connects the actin cytoskeleton to membrane proteins (SUN domain proteins) in the perinuclear space. These membrane proteins connect to lamins inside the nucleus. Recently, a Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-force probe was cloned into mini-Nesprin-2G (Nesprin-TS (tension sensor)) and used to measure tension across Nesprin-2G in live NIH3T3 fibroblasts. This paper describes the process of using Nesprin-TS to measure LINC complex forces in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. To extract FRET information from Nesprin-TS, an outline of how to spectrally unmix raw spectral images into acceptor and donor fluorescent channels is also presented. Using open-source software (ImageJ), images are pre-processed and transformed into ratiometric images. Finally, FRET data of Nesprin-TS is presented, along with strategies for how to compare data across different experimental groups.

Automatic Extraction of Urban Built-Up Area Based on Object-Oriented Method and Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Zhou, H.; Wen, Q.; Chen, T.; Guan, F.; Ren, B.; Yu, H.; Wang, Z.

2018-04-01

Built-up area marks the use of city construction land in the different periods of the development, the accurate extraction is the key to the studies of the changes of urban expansion. This paper studies the technology of automatic extraction of urban built-up area based on object-oriented method and remote sensing data, and realizes the automatic extraction of the main built-up area of the city, which saves the manpower cost greatly. First, the extraction of construction land based on object-oriented method, the main technical steps include: (1) Multi-resolution segmentation; (2) Feature Construction and Selection; (3) Information Extraction of Construction Land Based on Rule Set, The characteristic parameters used in the rule set mainly include the mean of the red band (Mean R), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Ratio of residential index (RRI), Blue band mean (Mean B), Through the combination of the above characteristic parameters, the construction site information can be extracted. Based on the degree of adaptability, distance and area of the object domain, the urban built-up area can be quickly and accurately defined from the construction land information without depending on other data and expert knowledge to achieve the automatic extraction of the urban built-up area. In this paper, Beijing city as an experimental area for the technical methods of the experiment, the results show that: the city built-up area to achieve automatic extraction, boundary accuracy of 2359.65 m to meet the requirements. The automatic extraction of urban built-up area has strong practicality and can be applied to the monitoring of the change of the main built-up area of city.

Forced heat loss from body surface reduces heat flow to body surface.

PubMed

Berman, A

2010-01-01

Heat stress is commonly relieved by forced evaporation from body surfaces. The mode of heat stress relief by heat extraction from the periphery is not clear, although it reduces rectal temperature. Radiant surface temperature (Ts) of the right half of the body surface was examined by thermovision in 4 lactating Holstein cows (30 kg of milk/d) during 7 repeated cycles of forced evaporation created by 30s of wetting followed by 4.5 min of forced airflow. Wetting was performed by an array of sprinklers (0.76 m(3)/h), and forced airflow (>3m/s velocity) over the right side of the body surface was produced by fans mounted at a height of 3m above the ground. Sprinkling wetted the hind legs, rump, and chest, but not the lower abdomen side, front legs, or neck. The animals were maintained in shade at an air temperature of 28 degrees C and relative humidity of 47%. Coat thickness was 1 to 2mm, so Ts closely represented skin temperature. Mean Ts of 5 x 20cm areas on the upper and lower hind and front legs, rump, chest, abdomen side, and neck were obtained by converting to temperature their respective gray intensity in single frames obtained at 10-s intervals. Little change occurred in Ts during the first wetting (0.1+/-0.6 degrees C), but it decreased rapidly thereafter (1.6+/-0.6 degrees C in the fifth wetting). The Ts also decreased, to a smaller extent, in areas that remained dry (0.7+/-1.0 degrees C). In all body sites, a plateau in Ts was reached by 2 min after wetting. The difference between dry and wet areas in the first cooling cycle was approximately 1.2 degrees C. The Ts of different body areas decreased during consecutive cooling cycles and reached a plateau by 3 cooling cycles in dry sites (front leg, neck, abdomen side), by 5 cooling cycles in the hind leg, and 7 cooling cycles in the rump and chest. The reduction in mean Ts produced by 7 cycles was 4.0 to 6.0 degrees C in wetted areas and 1.6 to 3.7 degrees C in sites that were not wetted. Initial rectal temperature was 38.9+/-0.1 degrees C; it remained unchanged during first 5 cooling cycles, decreased by 0.1 degrees C after 7 cooling cycles, and decreased to 38.4+/-0.06 degrees C after 8 to 10 cooling cycles, with no additional subsequent decrease. The concomitant reduction in Ts in dry and wet areas suggests an immediate vasoconstrictor response associated with heat extraction and later development of a cooler body shell. The reduction in rectal temperature represents a response involving transfer of heat from the body core to the body shell. This response mode requires consideration in settings of heat stress relief. Copyright 2010 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Water-soluble phenol TS-13 combats acute but not chronic inflammation.

PubMed

Menshchikova, Elena; Tkachev, Victor; Lemza, Anna; Sharkova, Tatyana; Kandalintseva, Natalya; Vavilin, Valentin; Safronova, Olga; Zenkov, Nikolay

2014-09-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the synthetic water-soluble phenolic antioxidant TS-13 (sodium 3-(4'-methoxyphenyl)propyl thiosulfonate), an inducer of the redox-dependent Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling system, in experimental models of acute and chronic inflammation. Acute local inflammation was induced by intraplantar carrageenan injection into rat hind paws, and acute systemic inflammation was modeled by intravenous zymosan injection (in rats) or LPS-induced endotoxic shock (in mice). Chronic inflammation was investigated in rat models of air pouch and collagen-induced arthritis. The effects of TS-13 treatment were estimated by changes in the intensity of inflammation (paw edema, liver infiltration, animal survival, exudation, and clinical score of arthritis) and by the effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by leukocytes from peripheral blood and inflammatory exudates. We found the significant increase in expression of mRNA, content of protein and activity of a well-characterized Nrf2 target enzyme glutathione S-transferase P1, as well as nuclear extract protein binding to the ARE consensus sequence in liver of mice fed with diet containing TS-13. TS-13 markedly attenuated carrageenan-induced paw edema, reduced blood granulocyte number and volume density of liver infiltrates in the systemic zymosan-induced inflammation model, and increased mice survival after lipopolysaccharide-induced septic shock. However, TS-13 administration did not influence cell and protein exudation into air pouches and suppressed clinical manifestation of collagen-induced polyarthritis only at early stages. Nevertheless, TS-13 inhibited the generation of ROS by leukocytes in all inflammation models. The data suggest that the anti-inflammatory effects of Keap1/Nrf2/ARE system are more prominent against acute innate-mediated inflammation than chronic immune inflammation. This narrows the potential therapeutic efficacy of ARE inducers in inflammation treatment.

Automatic Line Network Extraction from Aerial Imagery of Urban Areas through Knowledge Based Image Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-01

Automatic Line Network Extraction from Aerial Imangery of Urban Areas Sthrough KnowledghBased Image Analysis N 04 Final Technical ReportI December...Automatic Line Network Extraction from Aerial Imagery of Urban Areas through Knowledge Based Image Analysis Accesion For NTIS CRA&I DTIC TAB 0...paittern re’ognlition. blac’kboardl oriented symbollic processing, knowledge based image analysis , image understanding, aer’ial imsagery, urban area, 17

ANNUAL REPORT-AUTOMATIC INDEXING AND ABSTRACTING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Palo Alto, CA. Electronic Sciences Lab.

THE INVESTIGATION IS CONCERNED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATIC INDEXING, ABSTRACTING, AND EXTRACTING SYSTEMS. BASIC INVESTIGATIONS IN ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY, PHONETICS, AND SYNTAX ARE PURSUED AS NECESSARY MEANS TO THIS END. IN THE FIRST SECTION THE THEORY AND DESIGN OF THE "SENTENCE DICTIONARY" EXPERIMENT IN AUTOMATIC EXTRACTION IS OUTLINED. SOME OF…

French Brittany macroalgae screening: composition and methane potential for potential alternative sources of energy and products.

PubMed

Jard, G; Marfaing, H; Carrère, H; Delgenes, J P; Steyer, J P; Dumas, C

2013-09-01

Macroalgae are biomass resources that represent a valuable feedstock to be used entirely for human consumption or for food additives after some extractions (mainly colloids) and/or for energy production. In order to better develop the algal sector, it is important to determine the capacity of macroalgae to produce these added-values molecules for food and/or for energy industries on the basis of their biochemical characteristics. In this study, ten macroalgae obtained from French Brittany coasts (France) were selected. The global biochemical composition (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, fibers), the presence and characteristics of added-values molecules (alginates, polyphenols) and the biochemical methane potential of these algae were determined. Regarding its biochemical composition, Palmaria palmata is interesting for food (rich in nutrients) and for anaerobic digestion (0.279 LCH4/gVS). Saccharina latissima could be used for alginate extraction (242 g/kgTS, ratio between mannuronic and guluronic acid M/G=1.4) and Sargassum muticum for polyphenol extraction (19.8 g/kgTS). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic River Network Extraction from LIDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maderal, E. N.; Valcarcel, N.; Delgado, J.; Sevilla, C.; Ojeda, J. C.

2016-06-01

National Geographic Institute of Spain (IGN-ES) has launched a new production system for automatic river network extraction for the Geospatial Reference Information (GRI) within hydrography theme. The goal is to get an accurate and updated river network, automatically extracted as possible. For this, IGN-ES has full LiDAR coverage for the whole Spanish territory with a density of 0.5 points per square meter. To implement this work, it has been validated the technical feasibility, developed a methodology to automate each production phase: hydrological terrain models generation with 2 meter grid size and river network extraction combining hydrographic criteria (topographic network) and hydrological criteria (flow accumulation river network), and finally the production was launched. The key points of this work has been managing a big data environment, more than 160,000 Lidar data files, the infrastructure to store (up to 40 Tb between results and intermediate files), and process; using local virtualization and the Amazon Web Service (AWS), which allowed to obtain this automatic production within 6 months, it also has been important the software stability (TerraScan-TerraSolid, GlobalMapper-Blue Marble , FME-Safe, ArcGIS-Esri) and finally, the human resources managing. The results of this production has been an accurate automatic river network extraction for the whole country with a significant improvement for the altimetric component of the 3D linear vector. This article presents the technical feasibility, the production methodology, the automatic river network extraction production and its advantages over traditional vector extraction systems.

Valorization of a treated soil via amendments: fractionation and oral bioaccessibility of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn.

PubMed

Zagury, Gerald J; Rincon Bello, Jhony A; Guney, Mert

2016-04-01

The present study aims to transform a treated soil (TS) into a more desirable resource by modifying physico-chemical properties via amendments while reducing toxic metals' mobility and oral bioaccessibility. A hydrocarbon-contaminated soil submitted to treatment (TS) but still containing elevated concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn has been amended with compost, sand, and Al2(SO4)3 to render it usable for horticulture. Characterization and sequential extraction were performed for TS and four amended mixtures (AM1-4). P and K availability and metal bioaccessibility were investigated in TS and AM2. Amendment improved soil properties for all mixtures and yielded a usable product (AM2 20 % TS, 49 % compost, 30 % sand, 1 % Al2(SO4)3) satisfying regulatory requirements except for Pb content. In particular, AM2 had improved organic matter (OM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC), highly increased P and K availability, and reduced total metal concentrations. Furthermore, amendment decreased metal mobile fraction likely to be plant-available (in mg kg(-1), assumed as soluble/exchangeable + carbonates fractions). For AM2, estimated Pb bioavailability decreased from 1.50 × 10(3) mg kg(-1) (TS) to 238 mg kg(-1) (52.4 % (TS) to 34.2 %). Bioaccessible concentrations of Cu, Ni, and Zn (mg kg(-1)) were lower in AM2 than in TS, but there was no significant decrease for Pb. The results suggest that amendment improved soil by modifying its chemistry, resulting in lower metal mobile fraction (in %, for Cu and Zn) and bioaccessibility (in %, for Cu only). Amending soils having residual metal contamination can be an efficient valorization method, indicating potential for reducing treatment cost and environmental burden by rendering disposal/additional treatment unnecessary. Further studies including plant bioavailability are recommended to confirm results.

Tobacco Smoking and Its Association with Illicit Drug Use among Young Men Aged 15-24 Years Living in Urban Slums of Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Kabir, Mohammad Alamgir; Goh, Kim-Leng; Kamal, Sunny Mohammad Mostafa; Khan, Md. Mobarak Hossain

2013-01-01

Background Tobacco smoking (TS) and illicit drug use (IDU) are of public health concerns especially in developing countries, including Bangladesh. This paper aims to (i) identify the determinants of TS and IDU, and (ii) examine the association of TS with IDU among young slum dwellers in Bangladesh. Methodology/Principal Findings Data on a total of 1,576 young slum dwellers aged 15–24 years were extracted for analysis from the 2006 Urban Health Survey (UHS), which covered a nationally representative sample of 13,819 adult men aged 15–59 years from slums, non-slums and district municipalities of six administrative regions in Bangladesh. Methods used include frequency run, Chi-square test of association and multivariable logistic regression. The overall prevalence of TS in the target group was 42.3%, of which 41.4% smoked cigarettes and 3.1% smoked bidis. The regression model for TS showed that age, marital status, education, duration of living in slums, and those with sexually transmitted infections were significantly (p<0.001 to p<0.05) associated with TS. The overall prevalence of IDU was 9.1%, dominated by those who had drug injections (3.2%), and smoked ganja (2.8%) and tari (1.6%). In the regression model for IDU, the significant (p<0.01 to p<0.10) predictors were education, duration of living in slums, and whether infected by sexually transmitted diseases. The multivariable logistic regression (controlling for other variables) revealed significantly (p<0.001) higher likelihood of IDU (OR = 9.59, 95% CI = 5.81–15.82) among users of any form of TS. The likelihood of IDU increased significantly (p<0.001) with increased use of cigarettes. Conclusions/Significance Certain groups of youth are more vulnerable to TS and IDU. Therefore, tobacco and drug control efforts should target these groups to reduce the consequences of risky lifestyles through information, education and communication (IEC) programs. PMID:23935885

Automatic brain tumor segmentation with a fast Mumford-Shah algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Sabine; Weickert, Joachim; Graf, Norbert

2016-03-01

We propose a fully-automatic method for brain tumor segmentation that does not require any training phase. Our approach is based on a sequence of segmentations using the Mumford-Shah cartoon model with varying parameters. In order to come up with a very fast implementation, we extend the recent primal-dual algorithm of Strekalovskiy et al. (2014) from the 2D to the medically relevant 3D setting. Moreover, we suggest a new confidence refinement and show that it can increase the precision of our segmentations substantially. Our method is evaluated on 188 data sets with high-grade gliomas and 25 with low-grade gliomas from the BraTS14 database. Within a computation time of only three minutes, we achieve Dice scores that are comparable to state-of-the-art methods.

Comparison and optimization of detection methods for noroviruses in frozen strawberries containing different amounts of RT-PCR inhibitors.

PubMed

Bartsch, Christina; Szabo, Kathrin; Dinh-Thanh, Mai; Schrader, Christina; Trojnar, Eva; Johne, Reimar

2016-12-01

Frozen berries have been repeatedly identified as vehicles for norovirus (NoV) transmission causing large gastroenteritis outbreaks. However, virus detection in berries is often hampered by the presence of RT-PCR-inhibiting substances. Here, several virus extraction methods for subsequent real-time RT-PCR-based NoV-RNA detection in strawberries were compared and optimized. NoV recovery rates (RRs) between 0.21 ± 0.13% and 10.29 ± 6.03% were found when five different artificially contaminated strawberry batches were analyzed by the ISO/TS15216-2 method indicating the presence of different amounts of RT-PCR inhibitors. A comparison of five different virus extraction methods using artificially contaminated strawberries containing high amounts of RT-PCR inhibitors revealed the best NoV RRs for the ISO/TS15216 method. Further improvement of NoV RRs from 2.83 ± 2.92% to 15.28 ± 9.73% was achieved by the additional use of Sephacryl(®)-based columns for RNA purification. Testing of 22 frozen strawberry samples from a batch involved in a gastroenteritis outbreak resulted in 5 vs. 13 NoV GI-positive and in 9 vs. 20 NoV GII-positive samples using the original ISO/TS15216 method vs. the extended protocol, respectively. It can be concluded that the inclusion of an additional RNA purification step can increase NoV detection by the ISO/TS15216-2 method in frozen berries containing high amounts of RT-PCR inhibitors. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Integrated Systems of Automatic Radio Equipment,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-20

Publishing House "Sovetskoye Radio", Moscow, 1968, pp. 1 -232 Country of origin: USSR This document is a machine translation. Requester: USAMICOM...5 Chapter 1 , Fundamental Characteristics of the Meters of Integrated Systems .. .................. ........... 12 Chapter 2...ts 3 3 3 7 Z, z 91 4 Ch, ch Ku I, i LU w s11 Sh, sh a 0 Y, y W . NJ Shch, shch X x K, k b It f A7 , L, 1 --- - - Y, y . MM M, m = I & . H H N, n 3 3

United States Air Force Statistical Digest. Fiscal Year 1970. 25th Edition

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-02-22

GUIDED MISSILE. AIR TO AIR MISSILE. AND TARGET DRONEACCEPTANCES BY MANUFACTURER. BY MONTI -!- FY 1970 o ACCEPl’ED ACCEPTANCES FOR FY 1970 TOTAL...AUTOMATICALLY DECLASSIFIEDDOD VIR. 5200.10 CONFIDENTIAL Ceylon •••••.•.•..• 19 19 - 1 - 6 - 12 - - - - - Federation of Malaysia . • • • 215 215 67 17 1...Medical Service Squadrons & Flights • • • • • • • • Air Postal & Courier ,Groups& Fligl:ts ••••••• Censorship Squadrons

An Analysis of Elliptic Grid Generation Techniques Using an Implicit Euler Solver.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-09

automatic determination of the control fu.nction, . elements of covariant metric tensor in the elliptic grid generation system , from the Cm = 1,2,3...computational fluid d’nan1-cs code. Tne code Inclues a tnree-dimensional current research is aimed primaril: at algebraic generation system based on transfinite...start the iterative solution of the f. ow, nea, transfer, and combustion proble:s. elliptic generation system . Tn13 feature also .:ven-.ts :.t be made

Automatic Extraction of Metadata from Scientific Publications for CRIS Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovacevic, Aleksandar; Ivanovic, Dragan; Milosavljevic, Branko; Konjovic, Zora; Surla, Dusan

2011-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to develop a system for automatic extraction of metadata from scientific papers in PDF format for the information system for monitoring the scientific research activity of the University of Novi Sad (CRIS UNS). Design/methodology/approach: The system is based on machine learning and performs automatic extraction…

Anti-Acne Activity of Italian Medicinal Plants Used for Skin Infection

PubMed Central

Nelson, Kate; Lyles, James T.; Li, Tracy; Saitta, Alessandro; Addie-Noye, Eugenia; Tyler, Paula; Quave, Cassandra L.

2016-01-01

Propionibacterium acnes is implicated in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris, which impacts >85% of teenagers. Novel therapies are in high demand and an ethnopharmacological approach to discovering new plant sources of anti-acne therapeutics could contribute to filling this void in effective therapies. The aims of our study were two-fold: (1) To determine if species identified in ethnopharmacological field studies as having traditional uses for skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) exhibit significantly more activity against P. acnes than species with no such reported use; and (2) Chemically characterize active extracts and assess their suitability for future investigation. Extracts of Italian medicinal (for acne and other skin infection) and randomly collected plants and fungi were screened for growth-inhibitory and anti-biofilm activity in P. acnes using broth microdilution methods. Bioactive extracts were chemically characterized by HPLC and examined for cytotoxicity against human keratinocytes (HaCaTs). Following evaluation of 157 extracts from 10 fungi and 58 plants, we identified crude extracts from seven species exhibiting growth inhibitory activity (MICs 64–256 μg mL−1). All active extracts were examined for cytotoxicity against HaCaTs; extracts from one fungal and one plant species were toxic (IC50 256 μg mL−1). HPLC analysis with chemical standards revealed many of these extracts contained chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, ellagic acid, gallic acid, and tannic acid. In conclusion, species used in traditional medicine for the skin exhibited significantly greater (p < 0.05) growth inhibitory and biofilm eradication activity than random species, supporting the validity of an ethnobotanical approach to identifying new therapeutics. The anti-acne activity of three extracts is reported for the first time: Vitis vinifera leaves, Asphodelus microcarpus leaves, and Vicia sativa aerial parts. PMID:27891094

Remote sensing monitoring the spatio-temporal changes of aridification in the Mongolian Plateau based on the general Ts-NDVI space, 1981-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Xiaoming; Feng, Yiming; Wang, Juanle

2017-06-01

This paper has developed a general Ts-NDVI triangle space with vegetation index time-series data from AVHRR and MODIS to monitor soil moisture in the Mongolian Plateau during 1981-2012, and studied the spatio-temporal variations of drought based on the temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI). The results indicated that (1) the developed general Ts-NDVI space extracted from the AVHRR and MODIS remote sensing data would be an effective method to monitor regional drought, moreover, it would be more meaningful if the single time Ts-NDVI space showed an unstable condition; (2) the inverted TVDI was expected to reflect the water deficit in the study area. It was found to be in close negative agreement with precipitation and 10 cm soil moisture; (3) in the Mongolian Plateau, TVDI presented a zonal distribution with changes in land use/land cover types, vegetation cover and latitude. The soil moisture is low in bare land, construction land and grassland. During 1981-2012, drought was widely spread throughout the plateau, and aridification was obvious in the study period. Vegetation degradation, overgrazing, and climate warming could be considered as the main reasons.

Modified Betatron Accelerator Studies.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

extraction ports. 29 14 Combined negative mass and beam breakup instability growth rates (solid curves) for t - 13 and Be - 2 kG. Growth of the negative...a stable beam equilibrium 0 for the duration of the acceleration period, typically thousands of revolu- tions; and (c) extraction of the beam, which...bom extraction , it was felt that it would be premature to start work eI I’l 1r a S - - Fip’S .1IU~V~~’ f mdifedbetO coflCPt’ The ajo radius of U tS W

Predictors of Hypoglycemia in the ASPIRE In-Home Study and Effects of Automatic Suspension of Insulin Delivery.

PubMed

Weiss, Ram; Garg, Satish K; Bergenstal, Richard M; Klonoff, David C; Bode, Bruce W; Bailey, Timothy S; Thrasher, James; Schwartz, Frank; Welsh, John B; Kaufman, Francine R

2015-05-18

Hypoglycemia varies between patients with type 1 diabetes and is the main obstacle to therapy intensification. We investigated known and potential risk factors for hypoglycemia in subjects with type 1 diabetes. In the ASPIRE In-Home study (NCT01497938), a randomized trial of the threshold suspend (TS) feature of sensor-augmented insulin pump (SAP) therapy, subjects' propensity to nocturnal hypoglycemia (NH) was established in a 2-week run-in phase and assessed in a 3-month study phase via continuous glucose monitoring. Categorical variables were tested for association with NH rates in both phases. Elevated rates of NH were significantly associated with baseline A1C ≤7%, with bolus insulin deliveries unassisted by the bolus estimation calculator, and with assignment to the control group during the study phase. Routine use of the TS feature and the bolus estimation calculator are strategies that may reduce the risk of NH. © 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.

Effect of Psidium cattleianum leaf extract on enamel demineralisation and dental biofilm composition in situ.

PubMed

Brighenti, Fernanda Lourenção; Gaetti-Jardim, Elerson; Danelon, Marcelle; Evangelista, Gustavo Vaz; Delbem, Alberto Carlos Botazzo

2012-08-01

Previous evaluations of Psidium cattleianum leaf extract were not done in conditions similar to the oral environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of P. cattleianum leaf extract on enamel demineralisation, extracellular polysaccharide formation, and the microbial composition of dental biofilms formed in situ. Ten volunteers took part in this crossover study. They wore palatal appliances containing 4 enamel blocks for 14 days. Each volunteer dripped 20% sucrose 8 times per day on the enamel blocks. Twice a day, deionised water (negative control), extract, or a commercial mouthwash (active control) was dripped after sucrose application. On the 12th and 13th days of the experiment, plaque acidogenicity was measured with a microelectrode, and the pH drop was calculated. On the 14th day, biofilms were harvested and total anaerobic microorganisms (TM), total streptococci (TS), mutans streptococci (MS), and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) were evaluated. Enamel demineralisation was evaluated by the percentage change of surface microhardness (%ΔSMH) and integrated loss of subsurface hardness (ΔKHN). The researcher was blinded to the treatments during data collection. The extract group showed lower TM, TS, MS, EPS, %ΔSMH, and ΔKHN values than the negative control group. There were no differences between the active and negative control groups regarding MS and EPS levels. There were no differences in pH drop between the extract and active control groups, although they were significantly different from the negative control group. For all other parameters, the extract differed from the active control group. Psidium cattleianum leaf extract exhibits a potential anticariogenic effect. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of dorsomedial hypotalamus ionotropic glutamate receptors in the hypertensive and tachycardic responses evoked by Tityustoxin intracerebroventricular injection.

PubMed

Silva, F C; Guidine, Patrícia Alves Maia; Machado, Natalia Lima; Xavier, Carlos Henrique; de Menezes, R C; Moraes-Santos, Tasso; Moraes, Márcio Flávio; Chianca, Deoclécio Alves

2015-03-01

The scorpion envenoming syndrome is an important worldwide public health problem due to its high incidence and potential severity of symptoms. Some studies address the high sensitivity of the central nervous system to this toxin action. It is known that cardiorespiratory manifestations involve the activation of the autonomic nervous system. However, the origin of this modulation remains unclear. Considering the important participation of the dorsomedial hypotalamus (DMH) in the cardiovascular responses during emergencial situations, the aim of this work is to investigate the involvement of the DMH on cardiovascular responses induced by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of Tityustoxin (TsTX, a α-type toxin extracted from the Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom). Urethane-anaesthetized male Wistar rats (n=30) were treated with PBS, muscimol or ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists, bilaterally in DMH and later, with an icv injection of TsTX, or treated only with PBS in both regions. TsTX evoked a marked increase in mean arterial pressure and heart rate in all control rats. Interestingly, injection of muscimol, a GABAA receptor agonist, did not change the pressor and tachycardic responses evoked by TsTX. Remarkably, the injection ionotropic glutamate receptors antagonists in DMH abolished the pressor and the tachycardic response evoked by TsTX. Our data suggest that the central circuit recruited by TsTX, whose activation results in an array of physiological and behavioral alterations, depend on the activation of DMH ionotropic glutamate receptors. Moreover, our data provide new insights on the central mechanisms involved in the development of symptoms in the severe scorpion envenomation syndrome. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Response of Soil Respiration to Soil Temperature and Moisture in a 50-Year-Old Oriental Arborvitae Plantation in China

PubMed Central

Yu, Xinxiao; Zha, Tianshan; Pang, Zhuo; Wu, Bin; Wang, Xiaoping; Chen, Guopeng; Li, Chunping; Cao, Jixin; Jia, Guodong; Li, Xizhi; Wu, Hailong

2011-01-01

China possesses large areas of plantation forests which take up great quantities of carbon. However, studies on soil respiration in these plantation forests are rather scarce and their soil carbon flux remains an uncertainty. In this study, we used an automatic chamber system to measure soil surface flux of a 50-year-old mature plantation of Platycladus orientalis at Jiufeng Mountain, Beijing, China. Mean daily soil respiration rates (Rs) ranged from 0.09 to 4.87 µmol CO2 m−2s−1, with the highest values observed in August and the lowest in the winter months. A logistic model gave the best fit to the relationship between hourly Rs and soil temperature (Ts), explaining 82% of the variation in Rs over the annual cycle. The annual total of soil respiration estimated from the logistic model was 645±5 g C m−2 year−1. The performance of the logistic model was poorest during periods of high soil temperature or low soil volumetric water content (VWC), which limits the model's ability to predict the seasonal dynamics of Rs. The logistic model will potentially overestimate Rs at high Ts and low VWC. Seasonally, Rs increased significantly and linearly with increasing VWC in May and July, in which VWC was low. In the months from August to November, inclusive, in which VWC was not limiting, Rs showed a positively exponential relationship with Ts. The seasonal sensitivity of soil respiration to Ts (Q10) ranged from 0.76 in May to 4.38 in October. It was suggested that soil temperature was the main determinant of soil respiration when soil water was not limiting. PMID:22163012

An automatic rat brain extraction method based on a deformable surface model.

PubMed

Li, Jiehua; Liu, Xiaofeng; Zhuo, Jiachen; Gullapalli, Rao P; Zara, Jason M

2013-08-15

The extraction of the brain from the skull in medical images is a necessary first step before image registration or segmentation. While pre-clinical MR imaging studies on small animals, such as rats, are increasing, fully automatic imaging processing techniques specific to small animal studies remain lacking. In this paper, we present an automatic rat brain extraction method, the Rat Brain Deformable model method (RBD), which adapts the popular human brain extraction tool (BET) through the incorporation of information on the brain geometry and MR image characteristics of the rat brain. The robustness of the method was demonstrated on T2-weighted MR images of 64 rats and compared with other brain extraction methods (BET, PCNN, PCNN-3D). The results demonstrate that RBD reliably extracts the rat brain with high accuracy (>92% volume overlap) and is robust against signal inhomogeneity in the images. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural networks for oil spill detection using TerraSAR-X data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avezzano, Ruggero G.; Velotto, Domenico; Soccorsi, Matteo; Del Frate, Fabio; Lehner, Susanne

2011-11-01

The increased amount of available Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images involves a growing workload on the operators at analysis centers. In addition, even if the operators go through extensive training to learn manual oil spill detection, they can provide different and subjective responses. Hence, the upgrade and improvements of algorithms for automatic detection that can help in screening the images and prioritizing the alarms are of great benefit. In this paper we present the potentialities of TerraSAR-X (TS-X) data and Neural Network algorithms for oil spills detection. The radar on board satellite TS-X provides X-band images with a resolution of up to 1m. Such resolution can be very effective in the monitoring of coastal areas to prevent sea oil pollution. The network input is a vector containing the values of a set of features characterizing an oil spill candidate. The network output gives the probability for the candidate to be a real oil spill. Candidates with a probability less than 50% are classified as look-alikes. The overall classification performances have been evaluated on a data set of 50 TS-X images containing more than 150 examples of certified oil spills and well-known look-alikes (e.g. low wind areas, wind shadows, biogenic films). The preliminary classification results are satisfactory with an overall detection accuracy above 80%.

Automatic Extraction of Drug Adverse Effects from Product Characteristics (SPCs): A Text Versus Table Comparison.

PubMed

Lamy, Jean-Baptiste; Ugon, Adrien; Berthelot, Hélène

2016-01-01

Potential adverse effects (AEs) of drugs are described in their summary of product characteristics (SPCs), a textual document. Automatic extraction of AEs from SPCs is useful for detecting AEs and for building drug databases. However, this task is difficult because each AE is associated with a frequency that must be extracted and the presentation of AEs in SPCs is heterogeneous, consisting of plain text and tables in many different formats. We propose a taxonomy for the presentation of AEs in SPCs. We set up natural language processing (NLP) and table parsing methods for extracting AEs from texts and tables of any format, and evaluate them on 10 SPCs. Automatic extraction performed better on tables than on texts. Tables should be recommended for the presentation of the AEs section of the SPCs.

Phytosterols from Dunaliella tertiolecta Reduce Cell Proliferation in Sheep Fed Flaxseed during Post Partum

PubMed Central

Ciliberti, Maria Giovanna; Francavilla, Matteo; Intini, Simona; Albenzio, Marzia; Marino, Rosaria; Santillo, Antonella; Caroprese, Mariangela

2017-01-01

The post partum period is characterized by immunosuppression and increased disease susceptibility. Both phytosterols from microalga Dunaniella tertiolecta and dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) influence cell proliferation and cytokine release during inflammation. The objective of this paper was the evaluation of the effects of physterols, extracted and purified from D. tertiolecta, on the in vitro immune responses of ewes supplemented with flaxseed during post partum. Twenty Comisana parturient ewes were divided in two balanced groups, and supplemented with flaxseed (FS, 250 g/day) or fed with a conventional diet (CON). Blood samples (15 mL) were collected for five weeks, starting from lambing, in order to isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Stimulated PBMC were treated with a total sterols fraction from D. tertiolecta (TS), a mix of ergosterol and 7-dehydroporiferasterol (purified extract, PE), and a mix of acetylated ergosterol and 7-dehydroporiferasterol (acetylated purified extract, AcPE), extracted and purified from D. tertiolecta at two concentrations (0.4 and 0.8 mg/mL). Results of the experiment demonstrated that n-3 PUFA from flaxseed induced an anti-inflammatory cytokine profile, with an increase of both IL-10, IL-6 and a decrease of IL-1β. TS, PE, and AcPE purified from D. tertiolecta showed an anti-proliferative effect on sheep PBMC regardless their chemical composition and concentration. PMID:28684702

Meteo-marine parameters for highly variable environment in coastal regions from satellite radar images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pleskachevsky, A. L.; Rosenthal, W.; Lehner, S.

2016-09-01

The German Bight of the North Sea is the area with highly variable sea state conditions, intensive ship traffic and with a high density of offshore installations, e.g. wind farms in use and under construction. Ship navigation and the docking on offshore constructions is impeded by significant wave heights HS > 1.3 m. For these reasons, improvements are required in recognition and forecasting of sea state HS in the range 0-3 m. Thus, this necessitates the development of new methods to determine the distribution of meteo-marine parameters from remote sensing data with an accuracy of decimetres for HS. The operationalization of these methods then allows the robust automatic processing in near real time (NRT) to support forecast agencies by providing validations for model results. A new empirical algorithm XWAVE_C (C = coastal) for estimation of significant wave height from X-band satellite-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data has been developed, adopted for coastal applications using TerraSAR-X (TS-X) and Tandem-X (TD-X) satellites in the German Bight and implemented into the Sea Sate Processor (SSP) for fully automatic processing for NRT services. The algorithm is based on the spectral analysis of subscenes and the model function uses integrated image spectra parameters as well as local wind information from the analyzed subscene. The algorithm is able to recognize and remove the influence of non-sea state produced signals in the Wadden Sea areas such as dry sandbars as well as nonlinear SAR image distortions produced by e.g. short wind waves and breaking waves. Also parameters of very short waves, which are not visible in SAR images and produce only unsystematic clutter, can be accurately estimated. The SSP includes XWAVE_C, a pre-filtering procedure for removing artefacts such as ships, seamarks, buoys, offshore constructions and slicks, and an additional procedure performing a check of results based on the statistics of the whole scene. The SSP allows an automatic processing of TS-X images with an error RMSE = 25 cm and Scatter Index SI = 20% for total significant wave height HS from sequences of TS-X StripMap images with a coverage of ∼30 km × 300 km across the German Bight. The SSP was tuned spatially with model data of the German Weather Service's (DWD) CWAM (Coastal WAve Model) with 900 m horizontal resolution and tuned in situ with 6 buoys located in DWD model domain in the German Bight. The collected, processed and analyzed data base for the German Bight consists of more than 60 TS-X StripMap scenes/overflights with more than 200 images since 2013 with sea state acquired in the domain HS = 0-7 m with a mean value of 1.25 m over all available scenes at buoy locations. The paper addresses the development and implementation of XWAVE_C, and presents the possibilities of SSP delivering sea state fields by reproducing local HS variations connected with local wind gusts, variable bathymetry and moving wind fronts under different weather conditions.

Automatic Molar Extraction from Dental Panoramic Radiographs for Forensic Personal Identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samopa, Febriliyan; Asano, Akira; Taguchi, Akira

Measurement of an individual molar provides rich information for forensic personal identification. We propose a computer-based system for extracting an individual molar from dental panoramic radiographs. A molar is obtained by extracting the region-of-interest, separating the maxilla and mandible, and extracting the boundaries between teeth. The proposed system is almost fully automatic; all that the user has to do is clicking three points on the boundary between the maxilla and the mandible.

Information retrieval and terminology extraction in online resources for patients with diabetes.

PubMed

Seljan, Sanja; Baretić, Maja; Kucis, Vlasta

2014-06-01

Terminology use, as a mean for information retrieval or document indexing, plays an important role in health literacy. Specific types of users, i.e. patients with diabetes need access to various online resources (on foreign and/or native language) searching for information on self-education of basic diabetic knowledge, on self-care activities regarding importance of dietetic food, medications, physical exercises and on self-management of insulin pumps. Automatic extraction of corpus-based terminology from online texts, manuals or professional papers, can help in building terminology lists or list of "browsing phrases" useful in information retrieval or in document indexing. Specific terminology lists represent an intermediate step between free text search and controlled vocabulary, between user's demands and existing online resources in native and foreign language. The research aiming to detect the role of terminology in online resources, is conducted on English and Croatian manuals and Croatian online texts, and divided into three interrelated parts: i) comparison of professional and popular terminology use ii) evaluation of automatic statistically-based terminology extraction on English and Croatian texts iii) comparison and evaluation of extracted terminology performed on English manual using statistical and hybrid approaches. Extracted terminology candidates are evaluated by comparison with three types of reference lists: list created by professional medical person, list of highly professional vocabulary contained in MeSH and list created by non-medical persons, made as intersection of 15 lists. Results report on use of popular and professional terminology in online diabetes resources, on evaluation of automatically extracted terminology candidates in English and Croatian texts and on comparison of statistical and hybrid extraction methods in English text. Evaluation of automatic and semi-automatic terminology extraction methods is performed by recall, precision and f-measure.

Document Exploration and Automatic Knowledge Extraction for Unstructured Biomedical Text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, S.; Totaro, G.; Doshi, N.; Thapar, S.; Mattmann, C. A.; Ramirez, P.

2015-12-01

We describe our work on building a web-browser based document reader with built-in exploration tool and automatic concept extraction of medical entities for biomedical text. Vast amounts of biomedical information are offered in unstructured text form through scientific publications and R&D reports. Utilizing text mining can help us to mine information and extract relevant knowledge from a plethora of biomedical text. The ability to employ such technologies to aid researchers in coping with information overload is greatly desirable. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in automatic biomedical concept extraction [1, 2] and intelligent PDF reader tools with the ability to search on content and find related articles [3]. Such reader tools are typically desktop applications and are limited to specific platforms. Our goal is to provide researchers with a simple tool to aid them in finding, reading, and exploring documents. Thus, we propose a web-based document explorer, which we called Shangri-Docs, which combines a document reader with automatic concept extraction and highlighting of relevant terms. Shangri-Docsalso provides the ability to evaluate a wide variety of document formats (e.g. PDF, Words, PPT, text, etc.) and to exploit the linked nature of the Web and personal content by performing searches on content from public sites (e.g. Wikipedia, PubMed) and private cataloged databases simultaneously. Shangri-Docsutilizes Apache cTAKES (clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System) [4] and Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to automatically identify and highlight terms and concepts, such as specific symptoms, diseases, drugs, and anatomical sites, mentioned in the text. cTAKES was originally designed specially to extract information from clinical medical records. Our investigation leads us to extend the automatic knowledge extraction process of cTAKES for biomedical research domain by improving the ontology guided information extraction process. We will describe our experience and implementation of our system and share lessons learned from our development. We will also discuss ways in which this could be adapted to other science fields. [1] Funk et al., 2014. [2] Kang et al., 2014. [3] Utopia Documents, http://utopiadocs.com [4] Apache cTAKES, http://ctakes.apache.org

Decontamination of electronic waste-polluted soil by ultrasound-assisted soil washing.

PubMed

Chen, Fu; Yang, Baodan; Ma, Jing; Qu, Junfeng; Liu, Gangjun

2016-10-01

Laboratorial scale experiments were performed to evaluate the efficacy of a washing process using the combination of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) and tea saponin (TS) for simultaneous desorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) and heavy metals from an electronic waste (e-waste) site. Ultrasonically aided mixing of the field contaminated soil with a combination of MCD and TS solutions simultaneously mobilizes most of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the analyte metal (Pb, Cu, and Ni) burdens. It is found that 15 g/L MCD and 10 g/L TS is an efficient reagent combination reconciling extraction performance and reagent costs. Under these conditions, the removal efficiencies of HOCs and heavy metals are 93.5 and 91.2 %, respectively, after 2 cycles of 60-min ultrasound-assisted washing cycles. By contrast, 86.3 % of HOCs and 88.4 % of metals are removed from the soil in the absence of ultrasound after 3 cycles of 120-min washing. The ultrasound-assisted soil washing could generate high removal efficiency and decrease the operating time significantly. Finally, the feasibility of regenerating and reusing the spent washing solution in extracting pollutants from the soil is also demonstrated. By application of this integrated technology, it is possible to recycle the washing solution for a purpose to reduce the consumption of surfactant solutions. Collectively, it has provided an effective and economic treatment of e-waste-polluted soil.

A Risk Assessment System with Automatic Extraction of Event Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capet, Philippe; Delavallade, Thomas; Nakamura, Takuya; Sandor, Agnes; Tarsitano, Cedric; Voyatzi, Stavroula

In this article we describe the joint effort of experts in linguistics, information extraction and risk assessment to integrate EventSpotter, an automatic event extraction engine, into ADAC, an automated early warning system. By detecting as early as possible weak signals of emerging risks ADAC provides a dynamic synthetic picture of situations involving risk. The ADAC system calculates risk on the basis of fuzzy logic rules operated on a template graph whose leaves are event types. EventSpotter is based on a general purpose natural language dependency parser, XIP, enhanced with domain-specific lexical resources (Lexicon-Grammar). Its role is to automatically feed the leaves with input data.

Comparison of key aroma compounds in five different types of Japanese soy sauces by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA).

PubMed

Kaneko, Shu; Kumazawa, Kenji; Nishimura, Osamu

2012-04-18

An investigation by the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) technique of the aroma concentrate from five different types of Japanese soy sauces, categorized according to Japan Agricultural Standards as Koikuchi Shoyu (KS), Usukuchi Shoyu (US), Tamari Shoyu (TS), Sai-Shikomi Shoyu (SSS), and Shiro Shoyu (SS), revealed 25 key aroma compounds. Among them, 3-ethyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione and 2'-aminoacetophenone were identified in the soy sauces for the first time. Whereas 3-(methylthio)propanal (methional) and 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone (sotolon) were detected in all of the soy sauce aroma concentrates as having high flavor dilution (FD) factors, 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol was detected as having a high FD factor in only four of the soy sauces (KS, US, TS, and SSS). Furthermore, 5(or 2)-ethyl-4-hydroxy-2(or 5)-methyl-3(2H)-furanone (4-HEMF) and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone (4-HDMF), which were thought to be the key odorants in KS, were detected in KS, US, TS, and SSS, but the FD factors widely varied among them. The sensory evaluations demonstrated that the aroma descriptions of a cooked potato-like note and a caramel-like/seasoning-like note were evaluated as high scores with no significant differences among the five soy sauces. On the other hand, a burnt/spicy note was evaluated as having high scores in KS, TS, and SSS, but it was evaluated as having a low score in SS. The comparative AEDA experiments and the auxiliary sensory experiments demonstrated that the five different types of Japanese soy sauces varied in their key aroma compounds and aroma characteristics, and the key aroma compounds in KS might not always be highly contributing in the other types of Japanese soy sauces.

2D Automatic body-fitted structured mesh generation using advancing extraction method

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper presents an automatic mesh generation algorithm for body-fitted structured meshes in Computational Fluids Dynamics (CFD) analysis using the Advancing Extraction Method (AEM). The method is applicable to two-dimensional domains with complex geometries, which have the hierarchical tree-like...

2D automatic body-fitted structured mesh generation using advancing extraction method

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper presents an automatic mesh generation algorithm for body-fitted structured meshes in Computational Fluids Dynamics (CFD) analysis using the Advancing Extraction Method (AEM). The method is applicable to two-dimensional domains with complex geometries, which have the hierarchical tree-like...

Vessel extraction in retinal images using automatic thresholding and Gabor Wavelet.

PubMed

Ali, Aziah; Hussain, Aini; Wan Zaki, Wan Mimi Diyana

2017-07-01

Retinal image analysis has been widely used for early detection and diagnosis of multiple systemic diseases. Accurate vessel extraction in retinal image is a crucial step towards a fully automated diagnosis system. This work affords an efficient unsupervised method for extracting blood vessels from retinal images by combining existing Gabor Wavelet (GW) method with automatic thresholding. Green channel image is extracted from color retinal image and used to produce Gabor feature image using GW. Both green channel image and Gabor feature image undergo vessel-enhancement step in order to highlight blood vessels. Next, the two vessel-enhanced images are transformed to binary images using automatic thresholding before combined to produce the final vessel output. Combining the images results in significant improvement of blood vessel extraction performance compared to using individual image. Effectiveness of the proposed method was proven via comparative analysis with existing methods validated using publicly available database, DRIVE.

A health insurance company-initiated practice support intervention for optimizing acid-suppressing drug prescriptions in primary care.

PubMed

Smeets, Hugo M; Hoes, Arno W; Zuithoff, Nicolaas P A; van Dijk, Paul C M; van der Lee, Arnold P M; de Wit, Niek J

2011-08-01

A health insurance-initiated programme to improve cost-effectiveness of acid-suppressing drugs (ASDs). To evaluate the effect of two different interventions of general practitioner support in reducing drug prescription. A sequential cluster randomized controlled trial with 90 participating general practitioners in a telephone support (TS) group or practice visit (PV) group. TS group received support in phase-1 (first 6 months), but served as control group in phase-2 (6-12 months period). PV group received no intervention in phase-1, serving as the control group for the TS group, but received support in phase-2. Prescription data were extracted from Agis Health Insurance Database. Outcomes were the proportion of responders to drug reduction and the number of defined daily dose (DDD). Differences in users and DDD were analysed using multilevel regression analysis. At baseline, 3424 patients used ASD chronically (211 DDDs, on average). The difference between TS and control groups among responders was 3.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8; 5.6] and relative risk was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.06; 1.51). The difference between PV and control groups was not relevant (0.4%, 95% CI: -1.99; 2.79 and relative risk: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.82; 1.20). The difference in DDD per patient was -3.0 (95% CI: -8.9; 2.9) and -5.82 (95% CI: -12.4; 0.73), respectively. This health insurance company-initiated intervention had a moderate effect on ASD prescription. In contrast to TS, PVs did not seem to reduce ASD prescription rates.

The Space-Time Scales of Variability in Oceanic Thermal Structure Off the Central California Coast.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-12-01

SST and sea- surface salinity (SSS) boundaries extracted from the shipboard (2m) thermalsalinograph (T/S) records (Figs. 23, 24, and 25). For these... extracted for comparison. At 175m the density gradient is sufficient to support vigorous internal wave activity in this region. As a result, the predominant... VB2 (VB squared) profiles were calculated from density profiles taken from each phase at a common location (Fig. 149). The location is approximately

Overcoming phytoremediation limitations. A case study of Hg contaminated soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbafieri, Meri

2013-04-01

Phytoremediation is a broad term that comprises several technologies to clean up water and soil. Despite the numerous articles appearing in scientific journals, very few field applications of phytoextraction have been successfully realized. The research here reported on Phytoextraction, the use the plant to "extract" metals from contaminated soil, is focused on implementations to overcome two main drawbacks: the survival of plants in unfavorable environmental conditions (contaminant toxicity, low fertility, etc.) and the often lengthy time it takes to reduce contaminants to the requested level. Moreover, to overcome the imbalance between the technology's potential and its drawbacks, there is growing interest in the use of plants to reduce only the fraction that is the most hazardous to the environment and human health, that is to target the bioavailable fractions of metals in soil. Bioavailable Contaminant Stripping (BCS) would be a remediation approach focused to remove the bioavailable metal fractions. BCS have been used in a mercury contaminated soil from Italian industrial site. Bioavailable fractions were determined by sequential extraction with H2O and NH4Cl.Combined treatments of plant hormone and thioligand to strength Hg uptake by crop plants (Brassica juncea and Helianthus annuus) were tested. Plant biomass, evapotranspiration, Hg uptake and distribution following treatments were compared. Results indicate the plant hormone, cytokinine (CK) foliar treatment, increased evapotranspiration rate in both tested plants. The Hg uptake and translocation in both tested plants increased with simultaneous addition of CK and TS treatments. B. juncea was the most effective in Hg uptake. Application of CK to plants grown in TS-treated soil lead to an increase in Hg concentration of 232% in shoots and 39% in roots with respect to control. While H. annuus gave a better response in plant biomass production, the application of CK to plants grown in TS-treated soil lead to an increase in Hg concentration of 248% in shoots and 185% in roots with respect to control plants. The BCS efficiency were evaluated analyzing the labile-Hg residue in the soil after the plant growing. Plants grown with CK and TS in one growing cycle significantly affected labile-Hg pools in soil characterized by sequential extraction, but did not significantly reduce the total metals in the soil. Moreover, if properly optimized, the use of a coupled phytohormone/thioligand system may be a viable strategy to strength Hg uptake by crop plants.

Automatic sentence extraction for the detection of scientific paper relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibaroni, Y.; Prasetiyowati, S. S.; Miftachudin, M.

2018-03-01

The relations between scientific papers are very useful for researchers to see the interconnection between scientific papers quickly. By observing the inter-article relationships, researchers can identify, among others, the weaknesses of existing research, performance improvements achieved to date, and tools or data typically used in research in specific fields. So far, methods that have been developed to detect paper relations include machine learning and rule-based methods. However, a problem still arises in the process of sentence extraction from scientific paper documents, which is still done manually. This manual process causes the detection of scientific paper relations longer and inefficient. To overcome this problem, this study performs an automatic sentences extraction while the paper relations are identified based on the citation sentence. The performance of the built system is then compared with that of the manual extraction system. The analysis results suggested that the automatic sentence extraction indicates a very high level of performance in the detection of paper relations, which is close to that of manual sentence extraction.

Collaborative human-machine analysis to disambiguate entities in unstructured text and structured datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davenport, Jack H.

2016-05-01

Intelligence analysts demand rapid information fusion capabilities to develop and maintain accurate situational awareness and understanding of dynamic enemy threats in asymmetric military operations. The ability to extract relationships between people, groups, and locations from a variety of text datasets is critical to proactive decision making. The derived network of entities must be automatically created and presented to analysts to assist in decision making. DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation (DAC) provides capabilities to automatically extract entities, relationships between entities, semantic concepts about entities, and network models of entities from text and multi-source datasets. DAC's Natural Language Processing (NLP) Entity Analytics model entities as complex systems of attributes and interrelationships which are extracted from unstructured text via NLP algorithms. The extracted entities are automatically disambiguated via machine learning algorithms, and resolution recommendations are presented to the analyst for validation; the analyst's expertise is leveraged in this hybrid human/computer collaborative model. Military capability is enhanced by these NLP Entity Analytics because analysts can now create/update an entity profile with intelligence automatically extracted from unstructured text, thereby fusing entity knowledge from structured and unstructured data sources. Operational and sustainment costs are reduced since analysts do not have to manually tag and resolve entities.

A prototype system to support evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Demner-Fushman, Dina; Seckman, Charlotte; Fisher, Cheryl; Hauser, Susan E; Clayton, Jennifer; Thoma, George R

2008-11-06

Translating evidence into clinical practice is a complex process that depends on the availability of evidence, the environment into which the research evidence is translated, and the system that facilitates the translation. This paper presents InfoBot, a system designed for automatic delivery of patient-specific information from evidence-based resources. A prototype system has been implemented to support development of individualized patient care plans. The prototype explores possibilities to automatically extract patients problems from the interdisciplinary team notes and query evidence-based resources using the extracted terms. Using 4,335 de-identified interdisciplinary team notes for 525 patients, the system automatically extracted biomedical terminology from 4,219 notes and linked resources to 260 patient records. Sixty of those records (15 each for Pediatrics, Oncology & Hematology, Medical & Surgical, and Behavioral Health units) have been selected for an ongoing evaluation of the quality of automatically proactively delivered evidence and its usefulness in development of care plans.

A Prototype System to Support Evidence-based Practice

PubMed Central

Demner-Fushman, Dina; Seckman, Charlotte; Fisher, Cheryl; Hauser, Susan E.; Clayton, Jennifer; Thoma, George R.

2008-01-01

Translating evidence into clinical practice is a complex process that depends on the availability of evidence, the environment into which the research evidence is translated, and the system that facilitates the translation. This paper presents InfoBot, a system designed for automatic delivery of patient-specific information from evidence-based resources. A prototype system has been implemented to support development of individualized patient care plans. The prototype explores possibilities to automatically extract patients’ problems from the interdisciplinary team notes and query evidence-based resources using the extracted terms. Using 4,335 de-identified interdisciplinary team notes for 525 patients, the system automatically extracted biomedical terminology from 4,219 notes and linked resources to 260 patient records. Sixty of those records (15 each for Pediatrics, Oncology & Hematology, Medical & Surgical, and Behavioral Health units) have been selected for an ongoing evaluation of the quality of automatically proactively delivered evidence and its usefulness in development of care plans. PMID:18998835

Application of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Pretreatment Device for POPs Analysis in Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Dongzhi; Kong, Xiangfeng; Wu, Bingwei; Fan, Pingping; Cao, Xuan; Zhang, Ting

2018-01-01

In order to reduce process time and labour force of POPs pretreatment, and solve the problem that extraction column was easily clogged, the paper proposed a new technology of extraction and enrichment which used magnetic nanoparticles. Automatic pretreatment system had automatic sampling unit, extraction enrichment unit and elution enrichment unit. The paper briefly introduced the preparation technology of magnetic nanoparticles, and detailly introduced the structure and control system of automatic pretreatment system. The result of magnetic nanoparticles mass recovery experiments showed that the system had POPs analysis preprocessing capability, and the recovery rate of magnetic nanoparticles were over 70%. In conclusion, the author proposed three points optimization recommendation.

Rapid determination of five antibiotic residues in swine wastewater by online solid-phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Tagiri-Endo, Misako; Suzuki, Shigeru; Nakamura, Tomoyuki; Hatakeyama, Takashi; Kawamukai, Kazuo

2009-02-01

A simple and quick online solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC)/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for the determination of the five antibiotics (florfenicol, FF; lincomycin, LCM; oxytetracyclin, OTC; tylosin, TS; valnemulin, VLM) in swine wastewater has been developed. After filtration, aliquots (100 microl) of wastewater samples were directly injected to a column-switching LC system. Some matrix interference was removed by washing up SPE column with 0.2% formic acid solution and acetonitrile. Antibiotics eluted from SPE column were separated on analytical column by converting switching valve and were detected by MS/MS. Calibration curves using the method of standard addition had very good correlation coefficients (r > 0.99) in the range of 0.1 to 2 ng/ml. The intra-day precision of the method was less than 12% and the inter-day precision was between 6 to 17%. The detection limits were 0.01-0.1 ng/ml. When this method was applied to wastewater samples in swine facilities, four compounds (LCM, OTC, TS, and VLM) were detected.

Impact of translation on named-entity recognition in radiology texts

PubMed Central

Pedro, Vasco

2017-01-01

Abstract Radiology reports describe the results of radiography procedures and have the potential of being a useful source of information which can bring benefits to health care systems around the world. One way to automatically extract information from the reports is by using Text Mining tools. The problem is that these tools are mostly developed for English and reports are usually written in the native language of the radiologist, which is not necessarily English. This creates an obstacle to the sharing of Radiology information between different communities. This work explores the solution of translating the reports to English before applying the Text Mining tools, probing the question of what translation approach should be used. We created MRRAD (Multilingual Radiology Research Articles Dataset), a parallel corpus of Portuguese research articles related to Radiology and a number of alternative translations (human, automatic and semi-automatic) to English. This is a novel corpus which can be used to move forward the research on this topic. Using MRRAD we studied which kind of automatic or semi-automatic translation approach is more effective on the Named-entity recognition task of finding RadLex terms in the English version of the articles. Considering the terms extracted from human translations as our gold standard, we calculated how similar to this standard were the terms extracted using other translations. We found that a completely automatic translation approach using Google leads to F-scores (between 0.861 and 0.868, depending on the extraction approach) similar to the ones obtained through a more expensive semi-automatic translation approach using Unbabel (between 0.862 and 0.870). To better understand the results we also performed a qualitative analysis of the type of errors found in the automatic and semi-automatic translations. Database URL: https://github.com/lasigeBioTM/MRRAD PMID:29220455

Action Recognition Using 3D Histograms of Texture and A Multi-Class Boosting Classifier.

PubMed

Zhang, Baochang; Yang, Yun; Chen, Chen; Yang, Linlin; Han, Jungong; Shao, Ling

2017-10-01

Human action recognition is an important yet challenging task. This paper presents a low-cost descriptor called 3D histograms of texture (3DHoTs) to extract discriminant features from a sequence of depth maps. 3DHoTs are derived from projecting depth frames onto three orthogonal Cartesian planes, i.e., the frontal, side, and top planes, and thus compactly characterize the salient information of a specific action, on which texture features are calculated to represent the action. Besides this fast feature descriptor, a new multi-class boosting classifier (MBC) is also proposed to efficiently exploit different kinds of features in a unified framework for action classification. Compared with the existing boosting frameworks, we add a new multi-class constraint into the objective function, which helps to maintain a better margin distribution by maximizing the mean of margin, whereas still minimizing the variance of margin. Experiments on the MSRAction3D, MSRGesture3D, MSRActivity3D, and UTD-MHAD data sets demonstrate that the proposed system combining 3DHoTs and MBC is superior to the state of the art.

United3D: a protein model quality assessment program that uses two consensus based methods.

PubMed

Terashi, Genki; Oosawa, Makoto; Nakamura, Yuuki; Kanou, Kazuhiko; Takeda-Shitaka, Mayuko

2012-01-01

In protein structure prediction, such as template-based modeling and free modeling (ab initio modeling), the step that assesses the quality of protein models is very important. We have developed a model quality assessment (QA) program United3D that uses an optimized clustering method and a simple Cα atom contact-based potential. United3D automatically estimates the quality scores (Qscore) of predicted protein models that are highly correlated with the actual quality (GDT_TS). The performance of United3D was tested in the ninth Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction (CASP9) experiment. In CASP9, United3D showed the lowest average loss of GDT_TS (5.3) among the QA methods participated in CASP9. This result indicates that the performance of United3D to identify the high quality models from the models predicted by CASP9 servers on 116 targets was best among the QA methods that were tested in CASP9. United3D also produced high average Pearson correlation coefficients (0.93) and acceptable Kendall rank correlation coefficients (0.68) between the Qscore and GDT_TS. This performance was competitive with the other top ranked QA methods that were tested in CASP9. These results indicate that United3D is a useful tool for selecting high quality models from many candidate model structures provided by various modeling methods. United3D will improve the accuracy of protein structure prediction.

Using a plant hormone and a thioligand to improve phytoremediation of Hg-contaminated soil from a petrochemical plant.

PubMed

Cassina, L; Tassi, E; Pedron, F; Petruzzelli, G; Ambrosini, P; Barbafieri, M

2012-09-15

Mercury-contaminated soils from a petrochemical plant in southern Italy were investigated to assess the phytoextraction efficiency of crop plants treated with the phytohormone, cytokinine (CK foliar treatment), and with the thioligand, ammonium thiosulfate (TS, soil application). Plant biomass, evapotranspiration, Hg uptake and distribution in plant tissues following treatment were compared. Results indicate the effectiveness of CK in increasing plant biomass and the evapotranspiration rate while TS treatment promoted soil Hg solubility and availability. The simultaneous addition of CK and TS treatments increased Hg uptake and translocation in both tested plants with up to 248 and 232% in Brassica juncea (Indian mustard) and Helianthus annuus (sunflower) respectively. B. juncea was more effective in Hg uptake, whereas H. annuus gave better response regarding plant biomass production. The effectiveness of the treatments was confirmed by the calculation of Hg phytoextraction and evaluation of labile-Hg residue in the soil after plant growth. In one growing cycle the plants subject to simultaneous CK and TS treatment significantly reduced labile-Hg pools that were characterized by the soil sequential extraction, but did not significantly affect the pseudototal metal content in the soil. Results support the use of plant growth regulators in the assisted phytoextraction process for Hg-contaminated soils. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Tea Saponin-Treated Host Plants on Activities of Antioxidant Enzymes in Larvae of the Diamondback Moth Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).

PubMed

Lin, Shuo; Chen, Yixin; Bai, Yan; Cai, Hongjiao; Wei, Hui; Tian, Houjun; Zhao, Jianwei; Chen, Yong; Yang, Guang; Gu, Xiaojun; Murugan, Kadarkarai

2018-06-06

Tea saponin (TS) is extracted from the seeds of the tea plant and is generally regarded as a safe compound that has insecticidal properties and can act synergistically with other compounds. In this study, the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were compared in midgut tissues of third instar larvae of the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). The larvae were fed on three different host plants, cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata [Capparales: Brassicaceae]), radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. radiculus Persi [Capparales: Brassicaceae]), or rape (Brassica campestris L. [Capparales: Brassicaceae]), that had been treated with TS. Higher SOD, POD, and CAT activities were found in DBM larvae fed on cabbage after LC20 (concentration that induced 20% larval mortality) or LC50 (concentration that induced 50% larval mortality) treatment than on the control. On rape, TS treatments led to lower SOD and CAT activities than in the control and to higher POD activities after 24 h. MDA content increased in larvae fed on rape but decreased in larvae fed on radish after 12 h. Our results indicated that DBM larvae are more susceptible to TS on rape than on cabbage and radish, suggesting that this treatment may be an economic and effective means of controlling DBM on rape.

Research on Automatic Classification, Indexing and Extracting. Annual Progress Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, F.T.; And Others

In order to contribute to the success of several studies for automatic classification, indexing and extracting currently in progress, as well as to further the theoretical and practical understanding of textual item distributions, the development of a frequency program capable of supplying these types of information was undertaken. The program…

Intelligence Surveillance And Reconnaissance Full Motion Video Automatic Anomaly Detection Of Crowd Movements: System Requirements For Airborne Application

DTIC Science & Technology

The collection of Intelligence , Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Full Motion Video (FMV) is growing at an exponential rate, and the manual... intelligence for the warfighter. This paper will address the question of how can automatic pattern extraction, based on computer vision, extract anomalies in

A dual growing method for the automatic extraction of individual trees from mobile laser scanning data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lin; Li, Dalin; Zhu, Haihong; Li, You

2016-10-01

Street trees interlaced with other objects in cluttered point clouds of urban scenes inhibit the automatic extraction of individual trees. This paper proposes a method for the automatic extraction of individual trees from mobile laser scanning data, according to the general constitution of trees. Two components of each individual tree - a trunk and a crown can be extracted by the dual growing method. This method consists of coarse classification, through which most of artifacts are removed; the automatic selection of appropriate seeds for individual trees, by which the common manual initial setting is avoided; a dual growing process that separates one tree from others by circumscribing a trunk in an adaptive growing radius and segmenting a crown in constrained growing regions; and a refining process that draws a singular trunk from the interlaced other objects. The method is verified by two datasets with over 98% completeness and over 96% correctness. The low mean absolute percentage errors in capturing the morphological parameters of individual trees indicate that this method can output individual trees with high precision.

Extraction of small boat harmonic signatures from passive sonar.

PubMed

Ogden, George L; Zurk, Lisa M; Jones, Mark E; Peterson, Mary E

2011-06-01

This paper investigates the extraction of acoustic signatures from small boats using a passive sonar system. Noise radiated from a small boats consists of broadband noise and harmonically related tones that correspond to engine and propeller specifications. A signal processing method to automatically extract the harmonic structure of noise radiated from small boats is developed. The Harmonic Extraction and Analysis Tool (HEAT) estimates the instantaneous fundamental frequency of the harmonic tones, refines the fundamental frequency estimate using a Kalman filter, and automatically extracts the amplitudes of the harmonic tonals to generate a harmonic signature for the boat. Results are presented that show the HEAT algorithms ability to extract these signatures. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Placental telomere shortening in stillbirth: a sign of premature senescence?

PubMed

Ferrari, Francesca; Facchinetti, Fabio; Saade, George; Menon, Ramkumar

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate placental telomere shortening in unexplained stillbirths (SBs) as an indication of premature senescence. Placentas were collected from 42 unexplained SB (>22 weeks), 43 term and 15 preterm live births, at the Policlinico Hospital of Modena (Italy). DNA extracted from placentae was studied for telomere length by real time PCR. Standard curves were generated for telomere lengths from single copy gene amplifications using a reference DNA. The telomere length for each sample was derived based on the ratio of telomere length between the sample and single copy gene standard (T/S ratio). The mean ratio of placental telomere in term live births was 5.181 ± 3.841. A twofold decrease in telomere length was seen in SBs (over all 2.455 ± 1.239; p < 0.001). For early SBs (above 34 weeks), the T/S was 2.8884 ± 1.224 and for late SBs, the T/S was 2.207 ± 1.201, both lower than term live births (both p < 0.01). T/S remained lower both in small for gestational age-SB (2.639 ± 1.619) and appropriate for gestational age-SB (2.653 ± 1.335) with no difference between these subgroups (p = ns). T/S was lower in SB compared with spontaneous preterm births (PTBs) (6.382 ± 5.525; p < 0.01), whereas SBs telomere length were similar to those of preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) (3.296 ± 3.599; p = ns). Substantial reduction in telomere length in SBs is indicative of placental senescence. These data provide mechanistic insights that premature aging may lead to placental dysfunction as an initiator of fetal demise in unexplained SBs.

Differential impact of ionic and coordinate covalent chromium (Cr)-DNA binding on DNA replication.

PubMed

Fornsaglio, Jamie L; O'Brien, Travis J; Patierno, Steven R

2005-11-01

The reactive species produced by the reduction of Cr(VI), particularly Cr(III), can form both ionic and coordinate covalent complexes with DNA. These Cr(III)-DNA interactions consist of Cr-DNA monoadducts, Cr-DNA ternary adducts, and Cr-DNA interstrand cross-links (Cr-ICLs), the latter of which are DNA polymerase arresting lesions (PALs). We sought to determine the impact of Cr-DNA interactions on the formation of replication blocking lesions in S. cerevisiae using a PCR-based method. We found that target sequence (TS) amplification using DNA isolated from Cr(VI)-treated yeast actually increased as a function of Cr(VI) concentration. Moreover, the enhanced TS amplification was reproduced in vitro using Cr(III)-treated DNA. In contrast, PCR amplification of TS from DNA isolated from yeast exposed to equitoxic doses of the inorganic DNA cross-linking agent cisplatin (CDDP), was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. This paradox suggested that a specific Cr-DNA interaction, such as an ionic Cr-DNA complex, was responsible for the enhanced TS amplification, thereby masking the replication-blocking effect of certain ternary Cr-DNA adducts (i.e. interstrand cross-links). To test this possibility, we removed ionically associated Cr from the DNA using salt extraction prior to PCR analysis. This procedure obviated the increased amplification and revealed a dose-dependent decrease in TS amplification and an increase in Cr-PALs. These data from DNA analyzed ex vivo after treatment of intact cells indicate that ionic interactions of Cr with DNA result in increased DNA amplification whereas coordinate-covalent Cr-DNA complexes lead to formation of Cr-PALs. Thus, these results suggest that treatment of living cells with Cr(VI) leads to two modes of Cr-binding, which may have conflicting effects on DNA replication.

Methods for automatically analyzing humpback song units.

PubMed

Rickwood, Peter; Taylor, Andrew

2008-03-01

This paper presents mathematical techniques for automatically extracting and analyzing bioacoustic signals. Automatic techniques are described for isolation of target signals from background noise, extraction of features from target signals and unsupervised classification (clustering) of the target signals based on these features. The only user-provided inputs, other than raw sound, is an initial set of signal processing and control parameters. Of particular note is that the number of signal categories is determined automatically. The techniques, applied to hydrophone recordings of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), produce promising initial results, suggesting that they may be of use in automated analysis of not only humpbacks, but possibly also in other bioacoustic settings where automated analysis is desirable.

An algorithm for automatic parameter adjustment for brain extraction in BrainSuite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajagopal, Gautham; Joshi, Anand A.; Leahy, Richard M.

2017-02-01

Brain Extraction (classification of brain and non-brain tissue) of MRI brain images is a crucial pre-processing step necessary for imaging-based anatomical studies of the human brain. Several automated methods and software tools are available for performing this task, but differences in MR image parameters (pulse sequence, resolution) and instrumentand subject-dependent noise and artefacts affect the performance of these automated methods. We describe and evaluate a method that automatically adapts the default parameters of the Brain Surface Extraction (BSE) algorithm to optimize a cost function chosen to reflect accurate brain extraction. BSE uses a combination of anisotropic filtering, Marr-Hildreth edge detection, and binary morphology for brain extraction. Our algorithm automatically adapts four parameters associated with these steps to maximize the brain surface area to volume ratio. We evaluate the method on a total of 109 brain volumes with ground truth brain masks generated by an expert user. A quantitative evaluation of the performance of the proposed algorithm showed an improvement in the mean (s.d.) Dice coefficient from 0.8969 (0.0376) for default parameters to 0.9509 (0.0504) for the optimized case. These results indicate that automatic parameter optimization can result in significant improvements in definition of the brain mask.

THE APPLICATION OF ENGLISH-WORD MORPHOLOGY TO AUTOMATIC INDEXING AND EXTRACTING. ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DOLBY, J.L.; AND OTHERS

THE STUDY IS CONCERNED WITH THE LINGUISTIC PROBLEM INVOLVED IN TEXT COMPRESSION--EXTRACTING, INDEXING, AND THE AUTOMATIC CREATION OF SPECIAL-PURPOSE CITATION DICTIONARIES. IN SPITE OF EARLY SUCCESS IN USING LARGE-SCALE COMPUTERS TO AUTOMATE CERTAIN HUMAN TASKS, THESE PROBLEMS REMAIN AMONG THE MOST DIFFICULT TO SOLVE. ESSENTIALLY, THE PROBLEM IS TO…

A new artefacts resistant method for automatic lineament extraction using Multi-Hillshade Hierarchic Clustering (MHHC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šilhavý, Jakub; Minár, Jozef; Mentlík, Pavel; Sládek, Ján

2016-07-01

This paper presents a new method of automatic lineament extraction which includes the removal of the 'artefacts effect' which is associated with the process of raster based analysis. The core of the proposed Multi-Hillshade Hierarchic Clustering (MHHC) method incorporates a set of variously illuminated and rotated hillshades in combination with hierarchic clustering of derived 'protolineaments'. The algorithm also includes classification into positive and negative lineaments. MHHC was tested in two different territories in Bohemian Forest and Central Western Carpathians. The original vector-based algorithm was developed for comparison of the individual lineaments proximity. Its use confirms the compatibility of manual and automatic extraction and their similar relationships to structural data in the study areas.

Automatic extraction of road features in urban environments using dense ALS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soilán, Mario; Truong-Hong, Linh; Riveiro, Belén; Laefer, Debra

2018-02-01

This paper describes a methodology that automatically extracts semantic information from urban ALS data for urban parameterization and road network definition. First, building façades are segmented from the ground surface by combining knowledge-based information with both voxel and raster data. Next, heuristic rules and unsupervised learning are applied to the ground surface data to distinguish sidewalk and pavement points as a means for curb detection. Then radiometric information was employed for road marking extraction. Using high-density ALS data from Dublin, Ireland, this fully automatic workflow was able to generate a F-score close to 95% for pavement and sidewalk identification with a resolution of 20 cm and better than 80% for road marking detection.

2D automatic body-fitted structured mesh generation using advancing extraction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yaoxin; Jia, Yafei

2018-01-01

This paper presents an automatic mesh generation algorithm for body-fitted structured meshes in Computational Fluids Dynamics (CFD) analysis using the Advancing Extraction Method (AEM). The method is applicable to two-dimensional domains with complex geometries, which have the hierarchical tree-like topography with extrusion-like structures (i.e., branches or tributaries) and intrusion-like structures (i.e., peninsula or dikes). With the AEM, the hierarchical levels of sub-domains can be identified, and the block boundary of each sub-domain in convex polygon shape in each level can be extracted in an advancing scheme. In this paper, several examples were used to illustrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed algorithm for automatic structured mesh generation, and the implementation of the method.

Automatic extraction of discontinuity orientation from rock mass surface 3D point cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jianqin; Zhu, Hehua; Li, Xiaojun

2016-10-01

This paper presents a new method for extracting discontinuity orientation automatically from rock mass surface 3D point cloud. The proposed method consists of four steps: (1) automatic grouping of discontinuity sets using an improved K-means clustering method, (2) discontinuity segmentation and optimization, (3) discontinuity plane fitting using Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) method, and (4) coordinate transformation of discontinuity plane. The method is first validated by the point cloud of a small piece of a rock slope acquired by photogrammetry. The extracted discontinuity orientations are compared with measured ones in the field. Then it is applied to a publicly available LiDAR data of a road cut rock slope at Rockbench repository. The extracted discontinuity orientations are compared with the method proposed by Riquelme et al. (2014). The results show that the presented method is reliable and of high accuracy, and can meet the engineering needs.

Automatic extraction of blocks from 3D point clouds of fractured rock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Na; Kemeny, John; Jiang, Qinghui; Pan, Zhiwen

2017-12-01

This paper presents a new method for extracting blocks and calculating block size automatically from rock surface 3D point clouds. Block size is an important rock mass characteristic and forms the basis for several rock mass classification schemes. The proposed method consists of four steps: 1) the automatic extraction of discontinuities using an improved Ransac Shape Detection method, 2) the calculation of discontinuity intersections based on plane geometry, 3) the extraction of block candidates based on three discontinuities intersecting one another to form corners, and 4) the identification of "true" blocks using an improved Floodfill algorithm. The calculated block sizes were compared with manual measurements in two case studies, one with fabricated cardboard blocks and the other from an actual rock mass outcrop. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is accurate and overcomes the inaccuracies, safety hazards, and biases of traditional techniques.

Feasibility of Extracting Key Elements from ClinicalTrials.gov to Support Clinicians' Patient Care Decisions.

PubMed

Kim, Heejun; Bian, Jiantao; Mostafa, Javed; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2016-01-01

Motivation: Clinicians need up-to-date evidence from high quality clinical trials to support clinical decisions. However, applying evidence from the primary literature requires significant effort. Objective: To examine the feasibility of automatically extracting key clinical trial information from ClinicalTrials.gov. Methods: We assessed the coverage of ClinicalTrials.gov for high quality clinical studies that are indexed in PubMed. Using 140 random ClinicalTrials.gov records, we developed and tested rules for the automatic extraction of key information. Results: The rate of high quality clinical trial registration in ClinicalTrials.gov increased from 0.2% in 2005 to 17% in 2015. Trials reporting results increased from 3% in 2005 to 19% in 2015. The accuracy of the automatic extraction algorithm for 10 trial attributes was 90% on average. Future research is needed to improve the algorithm accuracy and to design information displays to optimally present trial information to clinicians.

Modeling of space environment impact on nanostructured materials. General principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronina, Ekaterina; Novikov, Lev

2016-07-01

In accordance with the resolution of ISO TC20/SC14 WG4/WG6 joint meeting, Technical Specification (TS) 'Modeling of space environment impact on nanostructured materials. General principles' which describes computer simulation methods of space environment impact on nanostructured materials is being prepared. Nanomaterials surpass traditional materials for space applications in many aspects due to their unique properties associated with nanoscale size of their constituents. This superiority in mechanical, thermal, electrical and optical properties will evidently inspire a wide range of applications in the next generation spacecraft intended for the long-term (~15-20 years) operation in near-Earth orbits and the automatic and manned interplanetary missions. Currently, ISO activity on developing standards concerning different issues of nanomaterials manufacturing and applications is high enough. Most such standards are related to production and characterization of nanostructures, however there is no ISO documents concerning nanomaterials behavior in different environmental conditions, including the space environment. The given TS deals with the peculiarities of the space environment impact on nanostructured materials (i.e. materials with structured objects which size in at least one dimension lies within 1-100 nm). The basic purpose of the document is the general description of the methodology of applying computer simulation methods which relate to different space and time scale to modeling processes occurring in nanostructured materials under the space environment impact. This document will emphasize the necessity of applying multiscale simulation approach and present the recommendations for the choice of the most appropriate methods (or a group of methods) for computer modeling of various processes that can occur in nanostructured materials under the influence of different space environment components. In addition, TS includes the description of possible approximations and limitations of proposed simulation methods as well as of widely used software codes. This TS may be used as a base for developing a new standard devoted to nanomaterials applications for spacecraft.

[Mechanism study on difference of biotransformation between Mycobacterium fortuitum MF2 and MF96].

PubMed

Ling, Liang-Fei; Ge, Mei; Fu, Lei; Huang, Wei-Yi; Chen, Dai-Jie

2005-08-01

Biotransformation difference between parent strain (MF2) and mutant strain (MF96) of Mycobacterium fortuitum was observed. Biotransformation with resting cells showed that the major products of biotransformation by both parent and mutant strains are delta4-androstenedione(4AD) and testosterone(TS). Experiments with cell-free extract system showed that the proportion of 4AD/TS obtained from parent and mutant strains was almost same when enough NAD+ and NADH were supplied in this system. It was suggested that the difference of the ratio of products transformed by both strains in resting cell system may result from their different ratio of NAD+/NADH. This speculation was verified to be true by determination of the amount of NAD+ and NADH presented in both strains.

An open-source framework for stress-testing non-invasive foetal ECG extraction algorithms.

PubMed

Andreotti, Fernando; Behar, Joachim; Zaunseder, Sebastian; Oster, Julien; Clifford, Gari D

2016-05-01

Over the past decades, many studies have been published on the extraction of non-invasive foetal electrocardiogram (NI-FECG) from abdominal recordings. Most of these contributions claim to obtain excellent results in detecting foetal QRS (FQRS) complexes in terms of location. A small subset of authors have investigated the extraction of morphological features from the NI-FECG. However, due to the shortage of available public databases, the large variety of performance measures employed and the lack of open-source reference algorithms, most contributions cannot be meaningfully assessed. This article attempts to address these issues by presenting a standardised methodology for stress testing NI-FECG algorithms, including absolute data, as well as extraction and evaluation routines. To that end, a large database of realistic artificial signals was created, totaling 145.8 h of multichannel data and over one million FQRS complexes. An important characteristic of this dataset is the inclusion of several non-stationary events (e.g. foetal movements, uterine contractions and heart rate fluctuations) that are critical for evaluating extraction routines. To demonstrate our testing methodology, three classes of NI-FECG extraction algorithms were evaluated: blind source separation (BSS), template subtraction (TS) and adaptive methods (AM). Experiments were conducted to benchmark the performance of eight NI-FECG extraction algorithms on the artificial database focusing on: FQRS detection and morphological analysis (foetal QT and T/QRS ratio). The overall median FQRS detection accuracies (i.e. considering all non-stationary events) for the best performing methods in each group were 99.9% for BSS, 97.9% for AM and 96.0% for TS. Both FQRS detections and morphological parameters were shown to heavily depend on the extraction techniques and signal-to-noise ratio. Particularly, it is shown that their evaluation in the source domain, obtained after using a BSS technique, should be avoided. Data, extraction algorithms and evaluation routines were released as part of the fecgsyn toolbox on Physionet under an GNU GPL open-source license. This contribution provides a standard framework for benchmarking and regulatory testing of NI-FECG extraction algorithms.

Automatic detection of adverse events to predict drug label changes using text and data mining techniques.

PubMed

Gurulingappa, Harsha; Toldo, Luca; Rajput, Abdul Mateen; Kors, Jan A; Taweel, Adel; Tayrouz, Yorki

2013-11-01

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of automatically detected adverse event signals from text and open-source data on the prediction of drug label changes. Open-source adverse effect data were collected from FAERS, Yellow Cards and SIDER databases. A shallow linguistic relation extraction system (JSRE) was applied for extraction of adverse effects from MEDLINE case reports. Statistical approach was applied on the extracted datasets for signal detection and subsequent prediction of label changes issued for 29 drugs by the UK Regulatory Authority in 2009. 76% of drug label changes were automatically predicted. Out of these, 6% of drug label changes were detected only by text mining. JSRE enabled precise identification of four adverse drug events from MEDLINE that were undetectable otherwise. Changes in drug labels can be predicted automatically using data and text mining techniques. Text mining technology is mature and well-placed to support the pharmacovigilance tasks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Automatic updating and 3D modeling of airport information from high resolution images using GIS and LIDAR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Zheng; Sui, Haigang; Zhang, Xilin; Huang, Xianfeng

2007-11-01

As one of the most important geo-spatial objects and military establishment, airport is always a key target in fields of transportation and military affairs. Therefore, automatic recognition and extraction of airport from remote sensing images is very important and urgent for updating of civil aviation and military application. In this paper, a new multi-source data fusion approach on automatic airport information extraction, updating and 3D modeling is addressed. Corresponding key technologies including feature extraction of airport information based on a modified Ostu algorithm, automatic change detection based on new parallel lines-based buffer detection algorithm, 3D modeling based on gradual elimination of non-building points algorithm, 3D change detecting between old airport model and LIDAR data, typical CAD models imported and so on are discussed in detail. At last, based on these technologies, we develop a prototype system and the results show our method can achieve good effects.

Literature mining of protein-residue associations with graph rules learned through distant supervision.

PubMed

Ravikumar, Ke; Liu, Haibin; Cohn, Judith D; Wall, Michael E; Verspoor, Karin

2012-10-05

We propose a method for automatic extraction of protein-specific residue mentions from the biomedical literature. The method searches text for mentions of amino acids at specific sequence positions and attempts to correctly associate each mention with a protein also named in the text. The methods presented in this work will enable improved protein functional site extraction from articles, ultimately supporting protein function prediction. Our method made use of linguistic patterns for identifying the amino acid residue mentions in text. Further, we applied an automated graph-based method to learn syntactic patterns corresponding to protein-residue pairs mentioned in the text. We finally present an approach to automated construction of relevant training and test data using the distant supervision model. The performance of the method was assessed by extracting protein-residue relations from a new automatically generated test set of sentences containing high confidence examples found using distant supervision. It achieved a F-measure of 0.84 on automatically created silver corpus and 0.79 on a manually annotated gold data set for this task, outperforming previous methods. The primary contributions of this work are to (1) demonstrate the effectiveness of distant supervision for automatic creation of training data for protein-residue relation extraction, substantially reducing the effort and time involved in manual annotation of a data set and (2) show that the graph-based relation extraction approach we used generalizes well to the problem of protein-residue association extraction. This work paves the way towards effective extraction of protein functional residues from the literature.

Regulation of the flow rate of liquid-metal coolants on experimental stands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kozlov, F.A.; Laptev, G.I.

Systems for automatic regulation of the flow rate of alkali metals, based on the series ENIV, VIN, and TsLIN three-phase electromagnetic pumps with a pumping rate of 0.5-200 m/sup 3/ per hour, were evaluated. The stability of each system was investigated by the method of undamped oscillations. The possibility of employing the analog temperature regulators VRT-2, RPA-T, and R113 was assessed. The functions performed by the most suitable automatic regulation unit, the RPA-T, were described. The limiting period of flow rate oscillations with a maximum gain of the RPA-T in alkali metal regulation systems equaled about 0.5 sec and themore » minimum integration time of the RPA-T was an order of magnitude longer than the optimal interval. Use of the systems on experimental stands enabled raising the quality of the studies and expanding the zone of servicing of the facilities by the same personnel.« less

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., but not be limited to, automatic fire and smoke detecting systems, manual fire alarm systems, sample extraction smoke detection systems, watchman's supervisory systems, and combinations of these systems. (b) Automatic fire detecting systems. For the purpose of this subpart, automatic fire and smoke detecting...

46 CFR 161.002-2 - Types of fire-protective systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., but not be limited to, automatic fire and smoke detecting systems, manual fire alarm systems, sample extraction smoke detection systems, watchman's supervisory systems, and combinations of these systems. (b) Automatic fire detecting systems. For the purpose of this subpart, automatic fire and smoke detecting...

Production of Aluminum Stabilized Superconducting Cable for the Mu2e Transport Solenoid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lombardo, Vito; Ambrosio, Giorgio; Evbota, Daniel

Here, the Fermilab Mu2e experiment, currently under construction at Fermilab, has the goal of measuring the rare process of direct muon to electron conversion in the field of a nucleus. The experiment features three large superconducting solenoids: the production solenoid (PS), the transport solenoid (TS), and the detector solenoid (DS). The TS is an “S-shaped” solenoid that sits in between the PS and the DS producing a magnetic field ranging between 2.5 and 2.0 T. This paper describes the various steps that led to the successful procurement of over 740 km of superconducting wire and 44 km of Al-stabilized Rutherfordmore » cable needed to build the 52 coils that constitute the Mu2e TS cold mass. The main cable properties and results of electrical and mechanical test campaigns are summarized and discussed. Critical current measurements of the Al-stabilized cables are presented and compared to expected critical current values as measured on extracted strands from the final cables after chemical etching of the aluminum stabilizer. A robust and reliable approach to cable welding is presented, and the effect of cable bending on the transport current is also investigated and presented.« less

Production of Aluminum Stabilized Superconducting Cable for the Mu2e Transport Solenoid

DOE PAGES

Lombardo, Vito; Ambrosio, Giorgio; Evbota, Daniel; ...

2018-01-15

Here, the Fermilab Mu2e experiment, currently under construction at Fermilab, has the goal of measuring the rare process of direct muon to electron conversion in the field of a nucleus. The experiment features three large superconducting solenoids: the production solenoid (PS), the transport solenoid (TS), and the detector solenoid (DS). The TS is an “S-shaped” solenoid that sits in between the PS and the DS producing a magnetic field ranging between 2.5 and 2.0 T. This paper describes the various steps that led to the successful procurement of over 740 km of superconducting wire and 44 km of Al-stabilized Rutherfordmore » cable needed to build the 52 coils that constitute the Mu2e TS cold mass. The main cable properties and results of electrical and mechanical test campaigns are summarized and discussed. Critical current measurements of the Al-stabilized cables are presented and compared to expected critical current values as measured on extracted strands from the final cables after chemical etching of the aluminum stabilizer. A robust and reliable approach to cable welding is presented, and the effect of cable bending on the transport current is also investigated and presented.« less

Antioxidant Activity in Extracts of 27 Indigenous Taiwanese Vegetables

PubMed Central

Chao, Pi-Yu; Lin, Su-Yi; Lin, Kuan-Hung; Liu, Yu-Fen; Hsu, Ju-Ing; Yang, Chi-Ming; Lai, Jun-You

2014-01-01

The objectives of this study were to identify the antioxidants and antioxidant axtivity in 27 of Taiwan’s indigenous vegetables. Lycium chinense (Lc), Lactuca indica (Li), and Perilla ocymoides (Po) contained abundant quercetin (Que), while Artemisia lactiflora (Al) and Gynura bicolor (Gb) were rich in morin and kaempferol, respectively. Additionally, Nymphoides cristata (Nc) and Sechium edule (Se)-yellow had significantly higher levels of myricetin (Myr) than other tested samples. Cyanidin (Cyan) and malvidin (Mal) were abundant in Gb, Abelmoschus esculentus Moench (Abe), Po, Anisogonium esculentum (Retz.) Presl (Ane), Ipomoea batatas (Ib)-purple, and Hemerocallis fulva (Hf)-bright orange. Relatively high levels of Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenger were generated from extracts of Toona sinensis (Ts) and Po. Significant and positive correlations between antioxidant activity and polyphenols, anthocyanidins, Que, Myr, and morin were observed, indicating that these phytochemicals were some of the main components responsible for the antioxidant activity of tested plants. The much higher antioxidant activity of Po, Ts, and Ib (purple leaf) may be related to their higher Cyan, Que, and polyphenol content. PMID:24858497

Shape and texture fused recognition of flying targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, Levente; Utasi, Ákos; Kovács, Andrea; Szirányi, Tamás

2011-06-01

This paper presents visual detection and recognition of flying targets (e.g. planes, missiles) based on automatically extracted shape and object texture information, for application areas like alerting, recognition and tracking. Targets are extracted based on robust background modeling and a novel contour extraction approach, and object recognition is done by comparisons to shape and texture based query results on a previously gathered real life object dataset. Application areas involve passive defense scenarios, including automatic object detection and tracking with cheap commodity hardware components (CPU, camera and GPS).

Study of Burn Scar Extraction Automatically Based on Level Set Method using Remote Sensing Data

PubMed Central

Liu, Yang; Dai, Qin; Liu, JianBo; Liu, ShiBin; Yang, Jin

2014-01-01

Burn scar extraction using remote sensing data is an efficient way to precisely evaluate burn area and measure vegetation recovery. Traditional burn scar extraction methodologies have no well effect on burn scar image with blurred and irregular edges. To address these issues, this paper proposes an automatic method to extract burn scar based on Level Set Method (LSM). This method utilizes the advantages of the different features in remote sensing images, as well as considers the practical needs of extracting the burn scar rapidly and automatically. This approach integrates Change Vector Analysis (CVA), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) to obtain difference image and modifies conventional Level Set Method Chan-Vese (C-V) model with a new initial curve which results from a binary image applying K-means method on fitting errors of two near-infrared band images. Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI data sets are used to validate the proposed method. Comparison with conventional C-V model, OSTU algorithm, Fuzzy C-mean (FCM) algorithm are made to show that the proposed approach can extract the outline curve of fire burn scar effectively and exactly. The method has higher extraction accuracy and less algorithm complexity than that of the conventional C-V model. PMID:24503563

Computed Tomography-Based Biomarker for Longitudinal Assessment of Disease Burden in Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

PubMed

Gordaliza, P M; Muñoz-Barrutia, A; Via, L E; Sharpe, S; Desco, M; Vaquero, J J

2018-05-29

Computed tomography (CT) images enable capturing specific manifestations of tuberculosis (TB) that are undetectable using common diagnostic tests, which suffer from limited specificity. In this study, we aimed to automatically quantify the burden of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) using biomarkers extracted from x-ray CT images. Nine macaques were aerosol-infected with Mtb and treated with various antibiotic cocktails. Chest CT scans were acquired in all animals at specific times independently of disease progression. First, a fully automatic segmentation of the healthy lungs from the acquired chest CT volumes was performed and air-like structures were extracted. Next, unsegmented pulmonary regions corresponding to damaged parenchymal tissue and TB lesions were included. CT biomarkers were extracted by classification of the probability distribution of the intensity of the segmented images into three tissue types: (1) Healthy tissue, parenchyma free from infection; (2) soft diseased tissue, and (3) hard diseased tissue. The probability distribution of tissue intensities was assumed to follow a Gaussian mixture model. The thresholds identifying each region were automatically computed using an expectation-maximization algorithm. The estimated longitudinal course of TB infection shows that subjects that have followed the same antibiotic treatment present a similar response (relative change in the diseased volume) with respect to baseline. More interestingly, the correlation between the diseased volume (soft tissue + hard tissue), which was manually delineated by an expert, and the automatically extracted volume with the proposed method was very strong (R 2  ≈ 0.8). We present a methodology that is suitable for automatic extraction of a radiological biomarker from CT images for TB disease burden. The method could be used to describe the longitudinal evolution of Mtb infection in a clinical trial devoted to the design of new drugs.

A new approach for automatic matching of ground control points in urban areas from heterogeneous images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cong, Chao; Liu, Dingsheng; Zhao, Lingjun

2008-12-01

This paper discusses a new method for the automatic matching of ground control points (GCPs) between satellite remote sensing Image and digital raster graphic (DRG) in urban areas. The key of this method is to automatically extract tie point pairs according to geographic characters from such heterogeneous images. Since there are big differences between such heterogeneous images respect to texture and corner features, more detail analyzations are performed to find similarities and differences between high resolution remote sensing Image and (DRG). Furthermore a new algorithms based on the fuzzy-c means (FCM) method is proposed to extract linear feature in remote sensing Image. Based on linear feature, crossings and corners extracted from these features are chosen as GCPs. On the other hand, similar method was used to find same features from DRGs. Finally, Hausdorff Distance was adopted to pick matching GCPs from above two GCP groups. Experiences shown the method can extract GCPs from such images with a reasonable RMS error.

Automatic Feature Extraction from Planetary Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Troglio, Giulia; Le Moigne, Jacqueline; Benediktsson, Jon A.; Moser, Gabriele; Serpico, Sebastiano B.

2010-01-01

With the launch of several planetary missions in the last decade, a large amount of planetary images has already been acquired and much more will be available for analysis in the coming years. The image data need to be analyzed, preferably by automatic processing techniques because of the huge amount of data. Although many automatic feature extraction methods have been proposed and utilized for Earth remote sensing images, these methods are not always applicable to planetary data that often present low contrast and uneven illumination characteristics. Different methods have already been presented for crater extraction from planetary images, but the detection of other types of planetary features has not been addressed yet. Here, we propose a new unsupervised method for the extraction of different features from the surface of the analyzed planet, based on the combination of several image processing techniques, including a watershed segmentation and the generalized Hough Transform. The method has many applications, among which image registration and can be applied to arbitrary planetary images.

Feasibility of Extracting Key Elements from ClinicalTrials.gov to Support Clinicians’ Patient Care Decisions

PubMed Central

Kim, Heejun; Bian, Jiantao; Mostafa, Javed; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha; Del Fiol, Guilherme

2016-01-01

Motivation: Clinicians need up-to-date evidence from high quality clinical trials to support clinical decisions. However, applying evidence from the primary literature requires significant effort. Objective: To examine the feasibility of automatically extracting key clinical trial information from ClinicalTrials.gov. Methods: We assessed the coverage of ClinicalTrials.gov for high quality clinical studies that are indexed in PubMed. Using 140 random ClinicalTrials.gov records, we developed and tested rules for the automatic extraction of key information. Results: The rate of high quality clinical trial registration in ClinicalTrials.gov increased from 0.2% in 2005 to 17% in 2015. Trials reporting results increased from 3% in 2005 to 19% in 2015. The accuracy of the automatic extraction algorithm for 10 trial attributes was 90% on average. Future research is needed to improve the algorithm accuracy and to design information displays to optimally present trial information to clinicians. PMID:28269867

Automatic Contour Extraction of Facial Organs for Frontal Facial Images with Various Facial Expressions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Seiji; Takahashi, Hisanori; Tange, Akira; Kikuchi, Kohki

This study deals with a method to realize automatic contour extraction of facial features such as eyebrows, eyes and mouth for the time-wise frontal face with various facial expressions. Because Snakes which is one of the most famous methods used to extract contours, has several disadvantages, we propose a new method to overcome these issues. We define the elastic contour model in order to hold the contour shape and then determine the elastic energy acquired by the amount of modification of the elastic contour model. Also we utilize the image energy obtained by brightness differences of the control points on the elastic contour model. Applying the dynamic programming method, we determine the contour position where the total value of the elastic energy and the image energy becomes minimum. Employing 1/30s time-wise facial frontal images changing from neutral to one of six typical facial expressions obtained from 20 subjects, we have estimated our method and find it enables high accuracy automatic contour extraction of facial features.

Brain tumor classification and segmentation using sparse coding and dictionary learning.

PubMed

Salman Al-Shaikhli, Saif Dawood; Yang, Michael Ying; Rosenhahn, Bodo

2016-08-01

This paper presents a novel fully automatic framework for multi-class brain tumor classification and segmentation using a sparse coding and dictionary learning method. The proposed framework consists of two steps: classification and segmentation. The classification of the brain tumors is based on brain topology and texture. The segmentation is based on voxel values of the image data. Using K-SVD, two types of dictionaries are learned from the training data and their associated ground truth segmentation: feature dictionary and voxel-wise coupled dictionaries. The feature dictionary consists of global image features (topological and texture features). The coupled dictionaries consist of coupled information: gray scale voxel values of the training image data and their associated label voxel values of the ground truth segmentation of the training data. For quantitative evaluation, the proposed framework is evaluated using different metrics. The segmentation results of the brain tumor segmentation (MICCAI-BraTS-2013) database are evaluated using five different metric scores, which are computed using the online evaluation tool provided by the BraTS-2013 challenge organizers. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves an accurate brain tumor classification and segmentation and outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

GPS tracking data of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls breeding at the southern North Sea coast.

PubMed

Stienen, Eric W M; Desmet, Peter; Aelterman, Bart; Courtens, Wouter; Feys, Simon; Vanermen, Nicolas; Verstraete, Hilbran; de Walle, Marc Van; Deneudt, Klaas; Hernandez, Francisco; Houthoofdt, Robin; Vanhoorne, Bart; Bouten, Willem; Buijs, Roland-Jan; Kavelaars, Marwa M; Müller, Wendt; Herman, David; Matheve, Hans; Sotillo, Alejandro; Lens, Luc

2016-01-01

In this data paper, Bird tracking - GPS tracking of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls breeding at the southern North Sea coast is described, a species occurrence dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). The dataset (version 5.5) contains close to 2.5 million occurrences, recorded by 101 GPS trackers mounted on 75 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 26 Herring Gulls breeding at the Belgian and Dutch coast. The trackers were developed by the University of Amsterdam Bird Tracking System (UvA-BiTS, http://www.uva-bits.nl). These automatically record and transmit bird movements, which allows us and others to study their habitat use and migration behaviour in great detail. Our bird tracking network is operational since 2013. It is funded for LifeWatch by the Hercules Foundation and maintained in collaboration with UvA-BiTS and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ). The recorded data are periodically released in bulk as open data (http://dataset.inbo.be/bird-tracking-gull-occurrences), and are also accessible through CartoDB and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).

Automatic Rail Extraction and Celarance Check with a Point Cloud Captured by Mls in a Railway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niina, Y.; Honma, R.; Honma, Y.; Kondo, K.; Tsuji, K.; Hiramatsu, T.; Oketani, E.

2018-05-01

Recently, MLS (Mobile Laser Scanning) has been successfully used in a road maintenance. In this paper, we present the application of MLS for the inspection of clearance along railway tracks of West Japan Railway Company. Point clouds around the track are captured by MLS mounted on a bogie and rail position can be determined by matching the shape of the ideal rail head with respect to the point cloud by ICP algorithm. A clearance check is executed automatically with virtual clearance model laid along the extracted rail. As a result of evaluation, the accuracy of extracting rail positions is less than 3 mm. With respect to the automatic clearance check, the objects inside the clearance and the ones related to a contact line is successfully detected by visual confirmation.

Robust extraction of the aorta and pulmonary artery from 3D MDCT image data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taeprasartsit, Pinyo; Higgins, William E.

2010-03-01

Accurate definition of the aorta and pulmonary artery from three-dimensional (3D) multi-detector CT (MDCT) images is important for pulmonary applications. This work presents robust methods for defining the aorta and pulmonary artery in the central chest. The methods work on both contrast enhanced and no-contrast 3D MDCT image data. The automatic methods use a common approach employing model fitting and selection and adaptive refinement. During the occasional event that more precise vascular extraction is desired or the method fails, we also have an alternate semi-automatic fail-safe method. The semi-automatic method extracts the vasculature by extending the medial axes into a user-guided direction. A ground-truth study over a series of 40 human 3D MDCT images demonstrates the efficacy, accuracy, robustness, and efficiency of the methods.

Automatic segmentation of the bone and extraction of the bone cartilage interface from magnetic resonance images of the knee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fripp, Jurgen; Crozier, Stuart; Warfield, Simon K.; Ourselin, Sébastien

2007-03-01

The accurate segmentation of the articular cartilages from magnetic resonance (MR) images of the knee is important for clinical studies and drug trials into conditions like osteoarthritis. Currently, segmentations are obtained using time-consuming manual or semi-automatic algorithms which have high inter- and intra-observer variabilities. This paper presents an important step towards obtaining automatic and accurate segmentations of the cartilages, namely an approach to automatically segment the bones and extract the bone-cartilage interfaces (BCI) in the knee. The segmentation is performed using three-dimensional active shape models, which are initialized using an affine registration to an atlas. The BCI are then extracted using image information and prior knowledge about the likelihood of each point belonging to the interface. The accuracy and robustness of the approach was experimentally validated using an MR database of fat suppressed spoiled gradient recall images. The (femur, tibia, patella) bone segmentation had a median Dice similarity coefficient of (0.96, 0.96, 0.89) and an average point-to-surface error of 0.16 mm on the BCI. The extracted BCI had a median surface overlap of 0.94 with the real interface, demonstrating its usefulness for subsequent cartilage segmentation or quantitative analysis.

Automatic emotional expression analysis from eye area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akkoç, Betül; Arslan, Ahmet

2015-02-01

Eyes play an important role in expressing emotions in nonverbal communication. In the present study, emotional expression classification was performed based on the features that were automatically extracted from the eye area. Fırst, the face area and the eye area were automatically extracted from the captured image. Afterwards, the parameters to be used for the analysis through discrete wavelet transformation were obtained from the eye area. Using these parameters, emotional expression analysis was performed through artificial intelligence techniques. As the result of the experimental studies, 6 universal emotions consisting of expressions of happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger and fear were classified at a success rate of 84% using artificial neural networks.

Towards automatic music transcription: note extraction based on independent subspace analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wellhausen, Jens; Hoynck, Michael

2005-01-01

Due to the increasing amount of music available electronically the need of automatic search, retrieval and classification systems for music becomes more and more important. In this paper an algorithm for automatic transcription of polyphonic piano music into MIDI data is presented, which is a very interesting basis for database applications, music analysis and music classification. The first part of the algorithm performs a note accurate temporal audio segmentation. In the second part, the resulting segments are examined using Independent Subspace Analysis to extract sounding notes. Finally, the results are used to build a MIDI file as a new representation of the piece of music which is examined.

Towards automatic music transcription: note extraction based on independent subspace analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wellhausen, Jens; Höynck, Michael

2004-12-01

Due to the increasing amount of music available electronically the need of automatic search, retrieval and classification systems for music becomes more and more important. In this paper an algorithm for automatic transcription of polyphonic piano music into MIDI data is presented, which is a very interesting basis for database applications, music analysis and music classification. The first part of the algorithm performs a note accurate temporal audio segmentation. In the second part, the resulting segments are examined using Independent Subspace Analysis to extract sounding notes. Finally, the results are used to build a MIDI file as a new representation of the piece of music which is examined.

Comparison of Landsat-8, ASTER and Sentinel 1 satellite remote sensing data in automatic lineaments extraction: A case study of Sidi Flah-Bouskour inlier, Moroccan Anti Atlas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adiri, Zakaria; El Harti, Abderrazak; Jellouli, Amine; Lhissou, Rachid; Maacha, Lhou; Azmi, Mohamed; Zouhair, Mohamed; Bachaoui, El Mostafa

2017-12-01

Certainly, lineament mapping occupies an important place in several studies, including geology, hydrogeology and topography etc. With the help of remote sensing techniques, lineaments can be better identified due to strong advances in used data and methods. This allowed exceeding the usual classical procedures and achieving more precise results. The aim of this work is the comparison of ASTER, Landsat-8 and Sentinel 1 data sensors in automatic lineament extraction. In addition to image data, the followed approach includes the use of the pre-existing geological map, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) as well as the ground truth. Through a fully automatic approach consisting of a combination of edge detection algorithm and line-linking algorithm, we have found the optimal parameters for automatic lineament extraction in the study area. Thereafter, the comparison and the validation of the obtained results showed that the Sentinel 1 data are more efficient in restitution of lineaments. This indicates the performance of the radar data compared to those optical in this kind of study.

Automatic segmentation of right ventricle on ultrasound images using sparse matrix transform and level set

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Xulei; Cong, Zhibin; Halig, Luma V.; Fei, Baowei

2013-03-01

An automatic framework is proposed to segment right ventricle on ultrasound images. This method can automatically segment both epicardial and endocardial boundaries from a continuous echocardiography series by combining sparse matrix transform (SMT), a training model, and a localized region based level set. First, the sparse matrix transform extracts main motion regions of myocardium as eigenimages by analyzing statistical information of these images. Second, a training model of right ventricle is registered to the extracted eigenimages in order to automatically detect the main location of the right ventricle and the corresponding transform relationship between the training model and the SMT-extracted results in the series. Third, the training model is then adjusted as an adapted initialization for the segmentation of each image in the series. Finally, based on the adapted initializations, a localized region based level set algorithm is applied to segment both epicardial and endocardial boundaries of the right ventricle from the whole series. Experimental results from real subject data validated the performance of the proposed framework in segmenting right ventricle from echocardiography. The mean Dice scores for both epicardial and endocardial boundaries are 89.1%+/-2.3% and 83.6+/-7.3%, respectively. The automatic segmentation method based on sparse matrix transform and level set can provide a useful tool for quantitative cardiac imaging.

Automatic Extraction of Planetary Image Features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Troglio, G.; LeMoigne, J.; Moser, G.; Serpico, S. B.; Benediktsson, J. A.

2009-01-01

With the launch of several Lunar missions such as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Chandrayaan-1, a large amount of Lunar images will be acquired and will need to be analyzed. Although many automatic feature extraction methods have been proposed and utilized for Earth remote sensing images, these methods are not always applicable to Lunar data that often present low contrast and uneven illumination characteristics. In this paper, we propose a new method for the extraction of Lunar features (that can be generalized to other planetary images), based on the combination of several image processing techniques, a watershed segmentation and the generalized Hough Transform. This feature extraction has many applications, among which image registration.

Count Me In! on the Automaticity of Numerosity Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naparstek, Sharon; Henik, Avishai

2010-01-01

Extraction of numerosity (i.e., enumeration) is an essential component of mathematical abilities. The current study asked how automatic is the processing of numerosity and whether automatic activation is task dependent. Participants were presented with displays containing a variable number of digits and were asked to pay attention to the number of…

Indian girls have higher bone mineral content per unit of lean body than boys through puberty.

PubMed

Khadilkar, Anuradha V; Sanwalka, Neha; Mughal, M Zulf; Chiplonkar, Shashi; Khadilkar, Vaman

2018-05-01

Our aim is to describe changes in the muscle-bone unit assessed as a ratio of bone mineral content (BMC) to lean body mass (LBM) through puberty at total body and various skeletal sites in Indian boys and girls. A cross-sectional study was conducted (888 children, 480 boys, aged 5-17 years) in Pune, India. Pubertal staging was assessed. BMC, LBM and fat percentage at the arms, legs, android, gynoid and total body (less the head) were assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The amount of BMC per unit LBM (BMC/LBM) was computed. Changes in mean BMC/LBM at 5 Tanner (pubertal) stages after adjustment for age and fat percentage were calculated. In boys, adjusted BMC/LBM was significantly higher with successive Tanner stages [legs (TS-II vs TS-I), android (TS-III vs TS-II, TS-IV vs TS-III) and gynoid region (TS-III vs TS-II and TS-II vs TS-I) (p < 0.05)]. In girls, adjusted BMC/LBM was significantly higher with successive Tanner stages at total body, legs and gynoid (TS-III vs TS-II; TS-II vs TS-I; TS-V vs TS-IV), arms (TS-I to TS-V) and android regions (TS-V vs TS-IV) (p < 0.05). Boys had significantly higher adjusted BMC/LBM than girls at earlier Tanner stages (TS-I to TS-III), whereas girls had significantly higher adjusted BMC/LBM than boys at later Tanner stages (TS-IV, TS-V) (p < 0.05). Indian boys and girls showed higher total and regional body, and age- and fat percentage-adjusted BMC/LBM with successive pubertal stages. Girls had higher BMC/LBM than boys which may possibly act as a reservoir for later demands of pregnancy and lactation.

Automatic Authorship Detection Using Textual Patterns Extracted from Integrated Syntactic Graphs

PubMed Central

Gómez-Adorno, Helena; Sidorov, Grigori; Pinto, David; Vilariño, Darnes; Gelbukh, Alexander

2016-01-01

We apply the integrated syntactic graph feature extraction methodology to the task of automatic authorship detection. This graph-based representation allows integrating different levels of language description into a single structure. We extract textual patterns based on features obtained from shortest path walks over integrated syntactic graphs and apply them to determine the authors of documents. On average, our method outperforms the state of the art approaches and gives consistently high results across different corpora, unlike existing methods. Our results show that our textual patterns are useful for the task of authorship attribution. PMID:27589740

Nanostructured copper phthalocyanine-sensitized multiwall carbon nanotube films.

PubMed

Hatton, Ross A; Blanchard, Nicholas P; Stolojan, Vlad; Miller, Anthony J; Silva, S Ravi P

2007-05-22

We report a detailed study of the interaction between surface-oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes (o-MWCNTs) and the molecular semiconductor tetrasulfonate copper phthalocyanine (TS-CuPc). Concentrated dispersions of o-MWCNT in aqueous solutions of TS-CuPc are stable toward nanotube flocculation and exhibit spontaneous nanostructuring upon rapid drying. In addition to hydrogen-bonding interactions, the compatibility between the two components is shown to result from a ground-state charge-transfer interaction with partial charge transfer from o-MWCNT to TS-CuPc molecules orientated such that the plane of the macrocycle is parallel to the nanotube surface. The electronegativity of TS-CuPc as compared to unsubsubtituted copper phthalocyanine is shown to result from the electron-withdrawing character of the sulfonate substituents, which increase the molecular ionization potential and promote cofacial molecular aggregation upon drying. Upon spin casting to form uniform thin films, the experimental evidence is consistent with an o-MWCNT scaffold decorated with phthalocyanine molecules self-assembled into extended aggregates reminiscent of 1-D linearly stacked phthalocyanine polymers. Remarkably, this self-organization occurs in a fraction of a second during the spin-coating process. To demonstrate the potential utility of this hybrid material, it is successfully incorporated into a model organic photovoltaic cell at the interface between a poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction layer and an indium-tin oxide-coated glass electrode to increase the light-harvesting capability of the device and facilitate hole extraction. The resulting enhancement in power conversion efficiency is rationalized in terms of the electronic, optical, and morphological properties of the nanostructured thin film.

An improved pseudotargeted metabolomics approach using multiple ion monitoring with time-staggered ion lists based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wang, Yang; Liu, Fang; Li, Peng; He, Chengwei; Wang, Ruibing; Su, Huanxing; Wan, Jian-Bo

2016-07-13

Pseudotargeted metabolomics is a novel strategy integrating the advantages of both untargeted and targeted methods. The conventional pseudotargeted metabolomics required two MS instruments, i.e., ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time- of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF MS) and UHPLC/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC/QQQ-MS), which makes method transformation inevitable. Furthermore, the picking of ion pairs from thousands of candidates and the swapping of the data between two instruments are the most labor-intensive steps, which greatly limit its application in metabolomic analysis. In the present study, we proposed an improved pseudotargeted metabolomics method that could be achieved on an UHPLC/Q-TOF/MS instrument operated in the multiple ion monitoring (MIM) mode with time-staggered ion lists (tsMIM). Full scan-based untargeted analysis was applied to extract the target ions. After peak alignment and ion fusion, a stepwise ion picking procedure was used to generate the ion lists for subsequent single MIM and tsMIM. The UHPLC/Q-TOF tsMIM MS-based pseudotargeted approach exhibited better repeatability and a wider linear range than the UHPLC/Q-TOF MS-based untargeted metabolomics method. Compared to the single MIM mode, the tsMIM significantly increased the coverage of the metabolites detected. The newly developed method was successfully applied to discover plasma biomarkers for alcohol-induced liver injury in mice, which indicated its practicability and great potential in future metabolomics studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cell cycle phase dependent emergence of thymidylate synthase studied by monoclonal antibody (M-TS-4).

PubMed

Shibui, S; Hoshino, T; Iwasaki, K; Nomura, K; Jastreboff, M M

1989-05-01

A method of identifying thymidylate synthase (TS) at the cellular level was developed using anti-TS monoclonal antibody (M-TS-4), a monoclonal antibody created against purified TS from a HeLa cell line. In HeLa cells and four human glioma cell lines (U-251, U-87, 343-MGA, and SF-188), TS was identified primarily in the cytoplasm. Autoradiographic and flow cytometric studies showed that TS appeared mainly in the G1 phase and subsided early in the S phase; thus, the G1 phase can be divided into TS-positive and -negative fractions. Nuclear TS was not demonstrated unequivocally with M-TS-4, and the relationship between nuclear TS and DNA synthesis could not be determined. Although the percentage of TS-positive cells was larger than the S-phase fraction measured by autoradiography after a pulse of tritiated thymidine or by the immunoperoxidase method using BUdR, the ratios were within a similar range (1.2-1.4) in all cell lines studied. Therefore, the S-phase fraction can be estimated indirectly from the percentage of TS-positive cells measured by M-TS-4. Because the emergence of TS detected by our method is cell cycle dependent, M-TS-4 may be useful for biochemical studies of TS and for cytokinetic analysis.

Using Activity-Related Behavioural Features towards More Effective Automatic Stress Detection

PubMed Central

Giakoumis, Dimitris; Drosou, Anastasios; Cipresso, Pietro; Tzovaras, Dimitrios; Hassapis, George; Gaggioli, Andrea; Riva, Giuseppe

2012-01-01

This paper introduces activity-related behavioural features that can be automatically extracted from a computer system, with the aim to increase the effectiveness of automatic stress detection. The proposed features are based on processing of appropriate video and accelerometer recordings taken from the monitored subjects. For the purposes of the present study, an experiment was conducted that utilized a stress-induction protocol based on the stroop colour word test. Video, accelerometer and biosignal (Electrocardiogram and Galvanic Skin Response) recordings were collected from nineteen participants. Then, an explorative study was conducted by following a methodology mainly based on spatiotemporal descriptors (Motion History Images) that are extracted from video sequences. A large set of activity-related behavioural features, potentially useful for automatic stress detection, were proposed and examined. Experimental evaluation showed that several of these behavioural features significantly correlate to self-reported stress. Moreover, it was found that the use of the proposed features can significantly enhance the performance of typical automatic stress detection systems, commonly based on biosignal processing. PMID:23028461

Rapid, Potentially Automatable, Method Extract Biomarkers for HPLC/ESI/MS/MS to Detect and Identify BW Agents

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-11-01

status can sometimes be reflected in the infectious potential or drug resistance of those pathogens. For example, in Mycobacterium tuberculosis ... Mycobacterium tuberculosis , its antibiotic resistance and prediction of pathogenicity amongst Mycobacterium spp. based on signature lipid biomarkers ...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Rapid, Potentially Automatable, Method Extract Biomarkers for HPLC/ESI/MS/MS to Detect and Identify BW Agents 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b

Design of Automatic Extraction Algorithm of Knowledge Points for MOOCs

PubMed Central

Chen, Haijian; Han, Dongmei; Zhao, Lina

2015-01-01

In recent years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are very popular among college students and have a powerful impact on academic institutions. In the MOOCs environment, knowledge discovery and knowledge sharing are very important, which currently are often achieved by ontology techniques. In building ontology, automatic extraction technology is crucial. Because the general methods of text mining algorithm do not have obvious effect on online course, we designed automatic extracting course knowledge points (AECKP) algorithm for online course. It includes document classification, Chinese word segmentation, and POS tagging for each document. Vector Space Model (VSM) is used to calculate similarity and design the weight to optimize the TF-IDF algorithm output values, and the higher scores will be selected as knowledge points. Course documents of “C programming language” are selected for the experiment in this study. The results show that the proposed approach can achieve satisfactory accuracy rate and recall rate. PMID:26448738

Road Network Extraction from Dsm by Mathematical Morphology and Reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yan; Wu, Jianliang; Zhu, Lin; Tachibana, Kikuo

2016-06-01

The objective of this research is the automatic extraction of the road network in a scene of the urban area from a high resolution digital surface model (DSM). Automatic road extraction and modeling from remote sensed data has been studied for more than one decade. The methods vary greatly due to the differences of data types, regions, resolutions et al. An advanced automatic road network extraction scheme is proposed to address the issues of tedium steps on segmentation, recognition and grouping. It is on the basis of a geometric road model which describes a multiple-level structure. The 0-dimension element is intersection. The 1-dimension elements are central line and side. The 2-dimension element is plane, which is generated from the 1-dimension elements. The key feature of the presented approach is the cross validation for the three road elements which goes through the entire procedure of their extraction. The advantage of our model and method is that linear elements of the road can be derived directly, without any complex, non-robust connection hypothesis. An example of Japanese scene is presented to display the procedure and the performance of the approach.

Phase 2 study of treatment selection based on tumor thymidylate synthase expression in previously untreated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer: A trial of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (E4203).

PubMed

Meropol, Neal J; Feng, Yang; Grem, Jean L; Mulcahy, Mary F; Catalano, Paul J; Kauh, John S; Hall, Michael J; Saltzman, Joel N; George, Thomas J; Zangmeister, Jeffrey; Chiorean, Elena G; Cheema, Puneet S; O'Dwyer, Peter J; Benson, Al B

2018-02-15

The authors hypothesized that patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who had tumors with low thymidylate synthase (TS-L) expression would have a higher response rate to combined 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) plus bevacizumab (FOLFOX/Bev) than those with high TS (TS-H) expression and that combined irinotecan and oxaliplatin (IROX) plus bevacizumab (IROX/Bev) would be more effective than FOLFOX/Bev in those with TS-H tumors. TS protein expression was determined in mCRC tissue. Patients who had TS-L tumors received FOLFOX/Bev, and those who had TS-H tumors were randomly assigned to receive either FOLFOX/Bev or IROX/Bev. The primary endpoint was the response rate (complete plus partial responses). In total, 211 of 247 patients (70% TS-H) were registered to the treatment phase. Efficacy analyses included eligible patients who had started treatment (N = 186). The response rates for patients who received IROX/Bev (TS-H), FOLFOX/Bev (TS-H), and FOLFOX/Bev (TS-L) were 33%, 38%, and 49%, respectively (P = nonsignificant). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 9-12 months; 10 months in the IROX/Bev TS-H group, 9 months in the FOLFOX/Bev TS-H group, and 13 months in the FOLFOX/Bev TS-L group). The TS-L group had improved PFS compared with the TS-H group that received FOLFOX/Bev (hazard ratio, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0%-2.4%; P = .04; Cox regression). The median overall survival (OS) was 22 months (95% CI, 20 29 months; 18 months in the IROX/Bev TS-H group, 21 months in the FOLFOX/Bev TS-H group, and 32 months in the TS-L group). OS comparisons for the 2 TS-H arms and for the FOLFOX/Bev TS-H versus TS-L arms were not significantly different. TS expression was prognostic: Patients with TS-L tumors who received FOLFOX/Bev had a longer PFS than those with TS-H tumors, along with a trend toward longer OS. Patients with TS-H tumors did not benefit more from IROX/Bev than from FOLFOX/Bev. Cancer 2018;124:688-97. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Carbohydrate Recognition Specificity of Trans-sialidase Lectin Domain from Trypanosoma congolense

PubMed Central

Waespy, Mario; Gbem, Thaddeus T.; Elenschneider, Leroy; Jeck, André-Philippe; Day, Christopher J.; Hartley-Tassell, Lauren; Bovin, Nicolai; Tiralongo, Joe; Haselhorst, Thomas; Kelm, Sørge

2015-01-01

Fourteen different active Trypanosoma congolense trans-sialidases (TconTS), 11 variants of TconTS1 besides TconTS2, TconTS3 and TconTS4, have been described. Notably, the specific transfer and sialidase activities of these TconTS differ by orders of magnitude. Surprisingly, phylogenetic analysis of the catalytic domains (CD) grouped each of the highly active TconTS together with the less active enzymes. In contrast, when aligning lectin-like domains (LD), the highly active TconTS grouped together, leading to the hypothesis that the LD of TconTS modulates its enzymatic activity. So far, little is known about the function and ligand specificity of these LDs. To explore their carbohydrate-binding potential, glycan array analysis was performed on the LD of TconTS1, TconTS2, TconTS3 and TconTS4. In addition, Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) NMR experiments were done on TconTS2-LD for a more detailed analysis of its lectin activity. Several mannose-containing oligosaccharides, such as mannobiose, mannotriose and higher mannosylated glycans, as well as Gal, GalNAc and LacNAc containing oligosaccharides were confirmed as binding partners of TconTS1-LD and TconTS2-LD. Interestingly, terminal mannose residues are not acceptor substrates for TconTS activity. This indicates a different, yet unknown biological function for TconTS-LD, including specific interactions with oligomannose-containing glycans on glycoproteins and GPI anchors found on the surface of the parasite, including the TconTS itself. Experimental evidence for such a scenario is presented. PMID:26474304

A novel murmur-based heart sound feature extraction technique using envelope-morphological analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Hao-Dong; Ma, Jia-Li; Fu, Bin-Bin; Wang, Hai-Yang; Dong, Ming-Chui

2015-07-01

Auscultation of heart sound (HS) signals serves as an important primary approach to diagnose cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) for centuries. Confronting the intrinsic drawbacks of traditional HS auscultation, computer-aided automatic HS auscultation based on feature extraction technique has witnessed explosive development. Yet, most existing HS feature extraction methods adopt acoustic or time-frequency features which exhibit poor relationship with diagnostic information, thus restricting the performance of further interpretation and analysis. Tackling such a bottleneck problem, this paper innovatively proposes a novel murmur-based HS feature extraction method since murmurs contain massive pathological information and are regarded as the first indications of pathological occurrences of heart valves. Adapting discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and Shannon envelope, the envelope-morphological characteristics of murmurs are obtained and three features are extracted accordingly. Validated by discriminating normal HS and 5 various abnormal HS signals with extracted features, the proposed method provides an attractive candidate in automatic HS auscultation.

Automatic Centerline Extraction of Coverd Roads by Surrounding Objects from High Resolution Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamangir, H.; Momeni, M.; Satari, M.

2017-09-01

This paper presents an automatic method to extract road centerline networks from high and very high resolution satellite images. The present paper addresses the automated extraction roads covered with multiple natural and artificial objects such as trees, vehicles and either shadows of buildings or trees. In order to have a precise road extraction, this method implements three stages including: classification of images based on maximum likelihood algorithm to categorize images into interested classes, modification process on classified images by connected component and morphological operators to extract pixels of desired objects by removing undesirable pixels of each class, and finally line extraction based on RANSAC algorithm. In order to evaluate performance of the proposed method, the generated results are compared with ground truth road map as a reference. The evaluation performance of the proposed method using representative test images show completeness values ranging between 77% and 93%.

Brain extraction in partial volumes T2*@7T by using a quasi-anatomic segmentation with bias field correction.

PubMed

Valente, João; Vieira, Pedro M; Couto, Carlos; Lima, Carlos S

2018-02-01

Poor brain extraction in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has negative consequences in several types of brain post-extraction such as tissue segmentation and related statistical measures or pattern recognition algorithms. Current state of the art algorithms for brain extraction work on weighted T1 and T2, being not adequate for non-whole brain images such as the case of T2*FLASH@7T partial volumes. This paper proposes two new methods that work directly in T2*FLASH@7T partial volumes. The first is an improvement of the semi-automatic threshold-with-morphology approach adapted to incomplete volumes. The second method uses an improved version of a current implementation of the fuzzy c-means algorithm with bias correction for brain segmentation. Under high inhomogeneity conditions the performance of the first method degrades, requiring user intervention which is unacceptable. The second method performed well for all volumes, being entirely automatic. State of the art algorithms for brain extraction are mainly semi-automatic, requiring a correct initialization by the user and knowledge of the software. These methods can't deal with partial volumes and/or need information from atlas which is not available in T2*FLASH@7T. Also, combined volumes suffer from manipulations such as re-sampling which deteriorates significantly voxel intensity structures making segmentation tasks difficult. The proposed method can overcome all these difficulties, reaching good results for brain extraction using only T2*FLASH@7T volumes. The development of this work will lead to an improvement of automatic brain lesions segmentation in T2*FLASH@7T volumes, becoming more important when lesions such as cortical Multiple-Sclerosis need to be detected. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A data reduction package for multiple object spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, J. M.; Eisenhamer, J. D.; Silva, D. R.

1986-01-01

Experience with fiber-optic spectrometers has demonstrated improvements in observing efficiency for clusters of 30 or more objects that must in turn be matched by data reduction capability increases. The Medusa Automatic Reduction System reduces data generated by multiobject spectrometers in the form of two-dimensional images containing 44 to 66 individual spectra, using both software and hardware improvements to efficiently extract the one-dimensional spectra. Attention is given to the ridge-finding algorithm for automatic location of the spectra in the CCD frame. A simultaneous extraction of calibration frames allows an automatic wavelength calibration routine to determine dispersion curves, and both line measurements and cross-correlation techniques are used to determine galaxy redshifts.

Antigen induced inhibition of autoimmune response to rat male accessory glands: role of thymocytes on the efferent phase of the suppression.

PubMed

Ferro, M E; Romero-Piffiguer, M; Rivero, V; Yranzo-Volonte, N; Correa, S; Riera, C M

1991-01-01

In the present study, we report that Cy-sensitive, MRAG-adherent spleen mononuclear (SpM) inductor-phase T suppressor (Ts) cells obtained from rats pretreated with low doses of a purified fraction (FI) of rat male accessory gland antigens (RAG) are mainly OX19+ and W3/25+. Furthermore, thymocytes from rats pretreated with FI of RAG restore the suppression of the autoimmune response to RAG autoantigens in irradiated recipients of SpM inductor-phase Ts cells. In contrast, thymocytes from rats pretreated with rat heart saline extract (unrelated antigen) did not recuperate the suppression of the autoimmune response detected by macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and delayed-type hypersensitivity. The suppressor thymocytes did not directly exert their inhibitory effect because they were not effective to suppress the autoimmune response to RAG autoantigens when irradiated recipients did not receive SpM inductor-phase Ts cells. The effect of these thymocytes was found in PNA--but not in PNA+ thymic cell population. The perithymic injection of Toxoplasma gondii did block their suppressor activity. The present report clearly shows an active participation of thymus in the efferent phase of the suppressor circuit that controls the autoimmune response to MRAG. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Performance of the CONTOUR® TS Blood Glucose Monitoring System.

PubMed

Frank, Joy; Wallace, Jane F; Pardo, Scott; Parkes, Joan Lee

2011-01-01

Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) remains an important component of diabetes management, engendering a need for affordable blood glucose (BG) meters that are accurate, precise, and convenient. The CONTOUR® TS is a BG meter that endeavors to meet this need. It uses glucose dehydrogenase/flavin dinucleotide chemistry, automatic test strip calibration, and autocompensation for hematocrit along with the ease of use that has come to be expected of a modern meter. The objective of this clinical trial was to determine whether the CONTOUR TS system met these criteria. The system was evaluated at a single clinical site with 106 subjects with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Blood glucose values ranged from 60 to 333 mg/dl over all subjects. Both lay users and health care professionals (HCPs) tested the meters, with test strips from three different lots. Results were compared to a reference analyzer of verified precision and accuracy. Forty-nine of the subjects also participated in a home study of the meter. Lay users learned to use the system without assistance and were surveyed on its use at the end of the study. When used with capillary blood, both subjects and HCPs obtained results that exceeded the International Organization for Standardization 15197:2003 criteria, (i.e., ≥95% of values fell within 20% or 15 mg/dl of the laboratory value for BG levels greater than or less than 75 mg/dl, respectively). Specifically, lay users achieved 97.9% and HCPs 98.6%. When used with venous blood, 99.8% of measurements were within the criteria. All measurements for both capillary and venous blood fell into zones A or B of the Parkes error grid, deemed clinically accurate. Hematocrit was found to have no influence on BG measurements. A large majority of the subjects found the system easy to learn and to use. The CONTOUR TS BG meter system gave accurate and reproducible results with both capillary and venous blood; subjects learned to use the meter system by following the user guide and quick reference guide. © 2010 Diabetes Technology Society.

Automatic Extraction of JPF Options and Documentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luks, Wojciech; Tkachuk, Oksana; Buschnell, David

2011-01-01

Documenting existing Java PathFinder (JPF) projects or developing new extensions is a challenging task. JPF provides a platform for creating new extensions and relies on key-value properties for their configuration. Keeping track of all possible options and extension mechanisms in JPF can be difficult. This paper presents jpf-autodoc-options, a tool that automatically extracts JPF projects options and other documentation-related information, which can greatly help both JPF users and developers of JPF extensions.

Automatic differential analysis of NMR experiments in complex samples.

PubMed

Margueritte, Laure; Markov, Petar; Chiron, Lionel; Starck, Jean-Philippe; Vonthron-Sénécheau, Catherine; Bourjot, Mélanie; Delsuc, Marc-André

2018-06-01

Liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for the analysis of complex mixtures of unknown molecules. This capacity has been used in many analytical approaches: metabolomics, identification of active compounds in natural extracts, and characterization of species, and such studies require the acquisition of many diverse NMR measurements on series of samples. Although acquisition can easily be performed automatically, the number of NMR experiments involved in these studies increases very rapidly, and this data avalanche requires to resort to automatic processing and analysis. We present here a program that allows the autonomous, unsupervised processing of a large corpus of 1D, 2D, and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy experiments from a series of samples acquired in different conditions. The program provides all the signal processing steps, as well as peak-picking and bucketing of 1D and 2D spectra, the program and its components are fully available. In an experiment mimicking the search of a bioactive species in a natural extract, we use it for the automatic detection of small amounts of artemisinin added to a series of plant extracts and for the generation of the spectral fingerprint of this molecule. This program called Plasmodesma is a novel tool that should be useful to decipher complex mixtures, particularly in the discovery of biologically active natural products from plants extracts but can also in drug discovery or metabolomics studies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation and Development of Navigation Positioning and Monitoring Protocols for Dredged Material Disposal in Puget Sound.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-02-01

Orlando. FL 3000 (305)281-S000 3S00( 6 ) eodmeter. Inc. Geodimeter 14-A 6000 t(S mm # 3 ppm) 511.300 Novato, CA 8000 (41S)677.12S6 15000 Ghodimeter 112...1.2 2.2 3.0 1 t(5mm + 5 ppm) t2" $19.950 Novato. CA 1.8 3.0 4.0 3 (415)883-2367 2.4 3.8 5.5 6 3.6 4.8 6.0 8 i-r Instrumnts EI/DM503 Automatic 1.5 2.5...POSITIONING LIMITATIONS FOR DREDGED MATERIAL DISPOSAL 4 BARGE MANEUVERABILITY 4 LIMITATIONS OF POSITIONING METHODS 5 Accuracy and Error 6 Site-Related

AFRRI Reports, Third Quarter 1994

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-10-01

with biologic response modifiers (BRMs), such as LPS, 3D monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), and synthetic trehalose dico- rynomycolate (S-TDCM...monophosphosphoryl lipid A; S-TDCM, synthetic trehalose dicorynomycolate; Sm-BRM, extract from Serratia marcescens; TS, 2% Tween 80 in 0.9% NaCI; RT-PCR...Immun. 58:2429. 42 23. Madonna, G. S.. G, D. Ledney, D. C. Funckes, and E. E. Ribi. 1988. Monophosphoryl lipid A and trehalose dimycolate therapy

Rapid conversion of sorbitol to isosorbide in hydrophobic ionic liquids under microwave irradiation.

PubMed

Kamimura, Akio; Murata, Kengo; Tanaka, Yoshiki; Okagawa, Tomoki; Matsumoto, Hiroshi; Kaiso, Kouji; Yoshimoto, Makoto

2014-12-01

Sorbitol was effectively converted to isosorbide by treatment with [TMPA][NTf2 ] in the presence of catalytic amounts of TsOH under microwave heating at 180 °C. The reaction completed within 10 min and isosorbide was isolated to about 60%. Ionic liquids were readily recovered by an extraction treatment and reused several times. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) gene expression in primary lung cancer patients: a large-scale study in Japanese population.

PubMed

Tanaka, F; Wada, H; Fukui, Y; Fukushima, M

2011-08-01

Previous small-sized studies showed lower thymidylate synthase (TS) expression in adenocarcinoma of the lung, which may explain higher antitumor activity of TS-inhibiting agents such as pemetrexed. To quantitatively measure TS gene expression in a large-scale Japanese population (n = 2621) with primary lung cancer, laser-captured microdissected sections were cut from primary tumors, surrounding normal lung tissues and involved nodes. TS gene expression level in primary tumor was significantly higher than that in normal lung tissue (mean TS/β-actin, 3.4 and 1.0, respectively; P < 0.01), and TS gene expression level was further higher in involved node (mean TS/β-actin, 7.7; P < 0.01). Analyses of TS gene expression levels in primary tumor according to histologic cell type revealed that small-cell carcinoma showed highest TS expression (mean TS/β-actin, 13.8) and that squamous cell carcinoma showed higher TS expression as compared with adenocarcinoma (mean TS/β-actin, 4.3 and 2.3, respectively; P < 0.01); TS gene expression was significantly increased along with a decrease in the grade of tumor cell differentiation. There was no significant difference in TS gene expression according to any other patient characteristics including tumor progression. Lower TS expression in adenocarcinoma of the lung was confirmed in a large-scale study.

New auto-segment method of cerebral hemorrhage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weijiang; Shen, Tingzhi; Dang, Hua

2007-12-01

A novel method for Computerized tomography (CT) cerebral hemorrhage (CH) image automatic segmentation is presented in the paper, which uses expert system that models human knowledge about the CH automatic segmentation problem. The algorithm adopts a series of special steps and extracts some easy ignored CH features which can be found by statistic results of mass real CH images, such as region area, region CT number, region smoothness and some statistic CH region relationship. And a seven steps' extracting mechanism will ensure these CH features can be got correctly and efficiently. By using these CH features, a decision tree which models the human knowledge about the CH automatic segmentation problem has been built and it will ensure the rationality and accuracy of the algorithm. Finally some experiments has been taken to verify the correctness and reasonable of the automatic segmentation, and the good correct ratio and fast speed make it possible to be widely applied into practice.

Automatic detection of typical dust devils from Mars landscape images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogohara, Kazunori; Watanabe, Takeru; Okumura, Susumu; Hatanaka, Yuji

2018-02-01

This paper presents an improved algorithm for automatic detection of Martian dust devils that successfully extracts tiny bright dust devils and obscured large dust devils from two subtracted landscape images. These dust devils are frequently observed using visible cameras onboard landers or rovers. Nevertheless, previous research on automated detection of dust devils has not focused on these common types of dust devils, but on dust devils that appear on images to be irregularly bright and large. In this study, we detect these common dust devils automatically using two kinds of parameter sets for thresholding when binarizing subtracted images. We automatically extract dust devils from 266 images taken by the Spirit rover to evaluate our algorithm. Taking dust devils detected by visual inspection to be ground truth, the precision, recall and F-measure values are 0.77, 0.86, and 0.81, respectively.

Clinical Assistant Diagnosis for Electronic Medical Record Based on Convolutional Neural Network.

PubMed

Yang, Zhongliang; Huang, Yongfeng; Jiang, Yiran; Sun, Yuxi; Zhang, Yu-Jin; Luo, Pengcheng

2018-04-20

Automatically extracting useful information from electronic medical records along with conducting disease diagnoses is a promising task for both clinical decision support(CDS) and neural language processing(NLP). Most of the existing systems are based on artificially constructed knowledge bases, and then auxiliary diagnosis is done by rule matching. In this study, we present a clinical intelligent decision approach based on Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN), which can automatically extract high-level semantic information of electronic medical records and then perform automatic diagnosis without artificial construction of rules or knowledge bases. We use collected 18,590 copies of the real-world clinical electronic medical records to train and test the proposed model. Experimental results show that the proposed model can achieve 98.67% accuracy and 96.02% recall, which strongly supports that using convolutional neural network to automatically learn high-level semantic features of electronic medical records and then conduct assist diagnosis is feasible and effective.

Rapid automatic keyword extraction for information retrieval and analysis

DOEpatents

Rose, Stuart J [Richland, WA; Cowley,; E, Wendy [Richland, WA; Crow, Vernon L [Richland, WA; Cramer, Nicholas O [Richland, WA

2012-03-06

Methods and systems for rapid automatic keyword extraction for information retrieval and analysis. Embodiments can include parsing words in an individual document by delimiters, stop words, or both in order to identify candidate keywords. Word scores for each word within the candidate keywords are then calculated based on a function of co-occurrence degree, co-occurrence frequency, or both. Based on a function of the word scores for words within the candidate keyword, a keyword score is calculated for each of the candidate keywords. A portion of the candidate keywords are then extracted as keywords based, at least in part, on the candidate keywords having the highest keyword scores.

Integrating Information Extraction Agents into a Tourism Recommender System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esparcia, Sergio; Sánchez-Anguix, Víctor; Argente, Estefanía; García-Fornes, Ana; Julián, Vicente

Recommender systems face some problems. On the one hand information needs to be maintained updated, which can result in a costly task if it is not performed automatically. On the other hand, it may be interesting to include third party services in the recommendation since they improve its quality. In this paper, we present an add-on for the Social-Net Tourism Recommender System that uses information extraction and natural language processing techniques in order to automatically extract and classify information from the Web. Its goal is to maintain the system updated and obtain information about third party services that are not offered by service providers inside the system.

The impact of OCR accuracy on automated cancer classification of pathology reports.

PubMed

Zuccon, Guido; Nguyen, Anthony N; Bergheim, Anton; Wickman, Sandra; Grayson, Narelle

2012-01-01

To evaluate the effects of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on the automatic cancer classification of pathology reports. Scanned images of pathology reports were converted to electronic free-text using a commercial OCR system. A state-of-the-art cancer classification system, the Medical Text Extraction (MEDTEX) system, was used to automatically classify the OCR reports. Classifications produced by MEDTEX on the OCR versions of the reports were compared with the classification from a human amended version of the OCR reports. The employed OCR system was found to recognise scanned pathology reports with up to 99.12% character accuracy and up to 98.95% word accuracy. Errors in the OCR processing were found to minimally impact on the automatic classification of scanned pathology reports into notifiable groups. However, the impact of OCR errors is not negligible when considering the extraction of cancer notification items, such as primary site, histological type, etc. The automatic cancer classification system used in this work, MEDTEX, has proven to be robust to errors produced by the acquisition of freetext pathology reports from scanned images through OCR software. However, issues emerge when considering the extraction of cancer notification items.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) protein expression as a prognostic factor in advanced colorectal cancer: a comparison with TS mRNA expression.

PubMed

Nakagawa, Tateo; Shimada, Mitsuo; Kurita, Nobuhiro; Iwata, Takashi; Nishioka, Masanori; Yoshikawa, Kozo; Higashijima, Jun; Utsunomiya, Tohru

2012-06-01

The role of intratumoral thymidylate synthase (TS) mRNA or protein expression is still controversial and little has been reported regarding relation of them in colorectal cancer. Forty-six patients with advanced colorectal cancer who underwent surgical resection were included. TS mRNA expression was determined by the Danenberg tumor profile method based on laser-captured micro-dissection of the tumor cells. TS protein expression was evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. TS mRNA expression tended to relate TS protein expression. Statistical significance was not found in overall survival between the TS mRNA high group and low group regardless of performing adjuvant chemotherapy. The overall survival in the TS protein negative group was significantly higher than that in positive group in all and the patients without adjuvant chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis showed TS protein expression was as an independent prognostic factor. TS protein expression tends to be related TS mRNA expression and is an independent prognostic factor in advanced colorectal cancer.

Computer-aided screening system for cervical precancerous cells based on field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray images and spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jusman, Yessi; Ng, Siew-Cheok; Hasikin, Khairunnisa; Kurnia, Rahmadi; Osman, Noor Azuan Bin Abu; Teoh, Kean Hooi

2016-10-01

The capability of field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FE-SEM/EDX) to scan material structures at the microlevel and characterize the material with its elemental properties has inspired this research, which has developed an FE-SEM/EDX-based cervical cancer screening system. The developed computer-aided screening system consisted of two parts, which were the automatic features of extraction and classification. For the automatic features extraction algorithm, the image and spectra of cervical cells features extraction algorithm for extracting the discriminant features of FE-SEM/EDX data was introduced. The system automatically extracted two types of features based on FE-SEM/EDX images and FE-SEM/EDX spectra. Textural features were extracted from the FE-SEM/EDX image using a gray level co-occurrence matrix technique, while the FE-SEM/EDX spectra features were calculated based on peak heights and corrected area under the peaks using an algorithm. A discriminant analysis technique was employed to predict the cervical precancerous stage into three classes: normal, low-grade intraepithelial squamous lesion (LSIL), and high-grade intraepithelial squamous lesion (HSIL). The capability of the developed screening system was tested using 700 FE-SEM/EDX spectra (300 normal, 200 LSIL, and 200 HSIL cases). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity performances were 98.2%, 99.0%, and 98.0%, respectively.

Clinical Concepts on Thyroid Emergencies

PubMed Central

Papi, Giampaolo; Corsello, Salvatore Maria; Pontecorvi, Alfredo

2014-01-01

Objective: Thyroid-related emergencies are caused by overt dysfunction of the gland which are so severe that require admission to intensive care units (ICU) frequently. Nonetheless, in the ICU setting, it is crucial to differentiate patients with non-thyroidal illness and alterations in thyroid function tests from those with intrinsic thyroid disease. This review presents and discusses the main etiopathogenetical and clinical aspects of hypothyroid coma (HC) and thyrotoxic storm (TS), including therapeutic strategy flow-charts. Furthermore, a special chapter is dedicated to the approach to massive goiter, which represents a surgical thyroid emergency. Data Source: We searched the electronic MEDLINE database on September 2013. Data Selection and Data Extraction: Reviews, original articles, and case reports on “myxedematous coma,” “HC,” “thyroid storm,” “TS,” “massive goiter,” “huge goiter,” “prevalence,” “etiology,” “diagnosis,” “therapy,” and “prognosis” were selected. Data Synthesis and Conclusion: Severe excess or defect of thyroid hormone is rare conditions, which jeopardize the life of patients in most cases. Both HC and TS are triggered by precipitating factors, which occur in patients with severe hypothyroidism or thyrotoxicosis, respectively. The pillars of HC therapy are high-dose l-thyroxine and/or tri-iodothyroinine; i.v. glucocorticoids; treatment of hydro-electrolyte imbalance (mainly, hyponatraemia); treatment of hypothermia; often, endotracheal intubation and assisted mechanic ventilation are needed. Therapy of TS is based on beta-blockers, thyrostatics, and i.v. glucocorticoids; eventually, high-dose of iodide compounds or lithium carbonate may be of benefit. Surgery represents the gold standard treatment in patients with euthyroid massive nodular goiter, although new techniques – e.g., percutaneous laser ablation – are helpful in subjects at high surgical risk or refusing operation. PMID:25071718

Validation study of a quantitative multigene reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for assessment of recurrence risk in patients with stage II colon cancer.

PubMed

Gray, Richard G; Quirke, Philip; Handley, Kelly; Lopatin, Margarita; Magill, Laura; Baehner, Frederick L; Beaumont, Claire; Clark-Langone, Kim M; Yoshizawa, Carl N; Lee, Mark; Watson, Drew; Shak, Steven; Kerr, David J

2011-12-10

We developed quantitative gene expression assays to assess recurrence risk and benefits from chemotherapy in patients with stage II colon cancer. We sought validation by using RNA extracted from fixed paraffin-embedded primary colon tumor blocks from 1,436 patients with stage II colon cancer in the QUASAR (Quick and Simple and Reliable) study of adjuvant fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy versus surgery alone. A recurrence score (RS) and a treatment score (TS) were calculated from gene expression levels of 13 cancer-related genes (n = 7 recurrence genes and n = 6 treatment benefit genes) and from five reference genes with prespecified algorithms. Cox proportional hazards regression models and log-rank methods were used to analyze the relationship between the RS and risk of recurrence in patients treated with surgery alone and between TS and benefits of chemotherapy. Risk of recurrence was significantly associated with RS (hazard ratio [HR] per interquartile range, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.74; P = .004). Recurrence risks at 3 years were 12%, 18%, and 22% for predefined low, intermediate, and high recurrence risk groups, respectively. T stage (HR, 1.94; P < .001) and mismatch repair (MMR) status (HR, 0.31; P < .001) were the strongest histopathologic prognostic factors. The continuous RS was associated with risk of recurrence (P = .006) beyond these and other covariates. There was no trend for increased benefit from chemotherapy at higher TS (P = .95). The continuous 12-gene RS has been validated in a prospective study for assessment of recurrence risk in patients with stage II colon cancer after surgery and provides prognostic value that complements T stage and MMR. The TS was not predictive of chemotherapy benefit.

Do peat amendments to oil sands wet sediments affect Carex aquatilis biomass for reclamation success?

PubMed

Roy, Marie-Claude; Mollard, Federico P O; Foote, A Lee

2014-06-15

The oil sands industries of Alberta (Canada) have reclamation objectives to return the mined landscape to equivalent pre-disturbance land capability. Industrial operators are charged with reclaiming a vast landscape of newly exposed sediments on saline-sodic marine-shales sediments. Incorporated in these sediments are by-products resulting from bitumen extraction (consolidated tailings (CT), tailings-sand (TS), and oil sands processed water (OSPW)). A sedge community dominated by Carex aquatilis was identified as a desirable and representative late-succession community for wet-meadow zones of oil sands-created marshes. However, the physical and chemical conditions, including high salinity and low nutrient content of CT and TS sediments suppress plant growth and performance. We experimentally tested the response of C. aquatilis to amendments with peat-mineral-mix (PM) on oil sand sediments (CT and TS). In a two factorial design experiment, we also tested the effects of OSPW on C. aquatilis. We assessed survival, below- and aboveground biomass, and physiology (chlorophyll a fluorescence). We demonstrated that PM amendments to oil sands sediments significantly increased C. aquatilis survival as well as below and aboveground biomass. The use of OSPW significantly reduced C. aquatilis belowground biomass and affected its physiological performance. Due to its tolerance and performance, we verified that C. aquatilis was a good candidate for use in reclaiming the wet-meadow zones of oil sands-created marshes. Ultimately, amending CT and TS with PM expedited the reclamation of the wetland to a C. aquatilis-community which was similar in gross structure to undisturbed wetlands of the region. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prognostic significance of thymidylate synthase (TS) expression in cutaneous malignant melanoma.

PubMed

Shimizu, A; Kaira, K; Yasuda, M; Asao, T; Ishikawa, O

2016-01-01

Thymidylate synthase (TS) plays an essential role in the pathogenesis and development of cancer, and TS-targeting agents have been widely used against different types of cancers. However, it remains still unclear whether or not TS is expressed in malignant melanoma. We conducted the clinicopathological study to investigate the prognostic significance of TS expression in cutaneous malignant melanoma. Ninety-nine patients with surgically resected cutaneous malignant melanoma were assessed. Tumor sections were stained by immunohistochemistry for TS, Ki-67, and microvessel density (MVD) determined by CD34. TS was positively expressed in 26% (26 out of 99). The expression of TS was significantly associated with T factor, cell proliferation (Ki-67) and MVD (CD34). By Spearman's rank test, TS expression was significantly correlated with Ki67 and CD34. By univariate analysis, ulceration, disease stage, TS, Ki-67 and CD34 had a significant relationship with survival. Multivariate analysis confirmed that TS was an independent prognostic factor for poor prognosis of cutaneous malignant melanoma. The positive expression of TS could be a useful marker for predicting poor prognosis in patients with cutaneous malignant melanoma, and TS-targeting agents may be worth trying for the treatment of this dismal disease.

Morphological feature extraction for the classification of digital images of cancerous tissues.

PubMed

Thiran, J P; Macq, B

1996-10-01

This paper presents a new method for automatic recognition of cancerous tissues from an image of a microscopic section. Based on the shape and the size analysis of the observed cells, this method provides the physician with nonsubjective numerical values for four criteria of malignancy. This automatic approach is based on mathematical morphology, and more specifically on the use of Geodesy. This technique is used first to remove the background noise from the image and then to operate a segmentation of the nuclei of the cells and an analysis of their shape, their size, and their texture. From the values of the extracted criteria, an automatic classification of the image (cancerous or not) is finally operated.

Automatic extraction of building boundaries using aerial LiDAR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ruisheng; Hu, Yong; Wu, Huayi; Wang, Jian

2016-01-01

Building extraction is one of the main research topics of the photogrammetry community. This paper presents automatic algorithms for building boundary extractions from aerial LiDAR data. First, segmenting height information generated from LiDAR data, the outer boundaries of aboveground objects are expressed as closed chains of oriented edge pixels. Then, building boundaries are distinguished from nonbuilding ones by evaluating their shapes. The candidate building boundaries are reconstructed as rectangles or regular polygons by applying new algorithms, following the hypothesis verification paradigm. These algorithms include constrained searching in Hough space, enhanced Hough transformation, and the sequential linking technique. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithms successfully extract building boundaries at rates of 97%, 85%, and 92% for three LiDAR datasets with varying scene complexities.

A method for real-time implementation of HOG feature extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Hai-bo; Yu, Xin-rong; Liu, Hong-mei; Ding, Qing-hai

2011-08-01

Histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) is an efficient feature extraction scheme, and HOG descriptors are feature descriptors which is widely used in computer vision and image processing for the purpose of biometrics, target tracking, automatic target detection(ATD) and automatic target recognition(ATR) etc. However, computation of HOG feature extraction is unsuitable for hardware implementation since it includes complicated operations. In this paper, the optimal design method and theory frame for real-time HOG feature extraction based on FPGA were proposed. The main principle is as follows: firstly, the parallel gradient computing unit circuit based on parallel pipeline structure was designed. Secondly, the calculation of arctangent and square root operation was simplified. Finally, a histogram generator based on parallel pipeline structure was designed to calculate the histogram of each sub-region. Experimental results showed that the HOG extraction can be implemented in a pixel period by these computing units.

Automatic Short Essay Scoring Using Natural Language Processing to Extract Semantic Information in the Form of Propositions. CRESST Report 831

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Deirdre; Mousavi, Hamid; Iseli, Markus R.

2013-01-01

The Common Core assessments emphasize short essay constructed-response items over multiple-choice items because they are more precise measures of understanding. However, such items are too costly and time consuming to be used in national assessments unless a way to score them automatically can be found. Current automatic essay-scoring techniques…

Kilowatt Isotope Power System: component test report for the Ground Demonstration System Alternator Stator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brainard, E.L.

1978-04-25

Results are presented of acceptance tests conducted on the Alternator Stator, S/N 002, for the Kilowatt Isotope Power System. These results show that the Alternator Stator, S/N 002 for the Kilowatt Isotope Power System has satisfactorily completed the testing set forth within Sundstrand Test Specification 2538. Test requirements of TS 2538 were extracted from the Kilowatt Isotope Power System, and Phase I Test Plan.

Automatic quantitative analysis of in-stent restenosis using FD-OCT in vivo intra-arterial imaging.

PubMed

Mandelias, Kostas; Tsantis, Stavros; Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Katsakiori, Paraskevi F; Karnabatidis, Dimitris; Nikiforidis, George C; Kagadis, George C

2013-06-01

A new segmentation technique is implemented for automatic lumen area extraction and stent strut detection in intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) images for the purpose of quantitative analysis of in-stent restenosis (ISR). In addition, a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) is developed based on the employed algorithm toward clinical use. Four clinical datasets of frequency-domain OCT scans of the human femoral artery were analyzed. First, a segmentation method based on fuzzy C means (FCM) clustering and wavelet transform (WT) was applied toward inner luminal contour extraction. Subsequently, stent strut positions were detected by utilizing metrics derived from the local maxima of the wavelet transform into the FCM membership function. The inner lumen contour and the position of stent strut were extracted with high precision. Compared to manual segmentation by an expert physician, the automatic lumen contour delineation had an average overlap value of 0.917 ± 0.065 for all OCT images included in the study. The strut detection procedure achieved an overall accuracy of 93.80% and successfully identified 9.57 ± 0.5 struts for every OCT image. Processing time was confined to approximately 2.5 s per OCT frame. A new fast and robust automatic segmentation technique combining FCM and WT for lumen border extraction and strut detection in intravascular OCT images was designed and implemented. The proposed algorithm integrated in a GUI represents a step forward toward the employment of automated quantitative analysis of ISR in clinical practice.

Realtime automatic metal extraction of medical x-ray images for contrast improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prangl, Martin; Hellwagner, Hermann; Spielvogel, Christian; Bischof, Horst; Szkaliczki, Tibor

2006-03-01

This paper focuses on an approach for real-time metal extraction of x-ray images taken from modern x-ray machines like C-arms. Such machines are used for vessel diagnostics, surgical interventions, as well as cardiology, neurology and orthopedic examinations. They are very fast in taking images from different angles. For this reason, manual adjustment of contrast is infeasible and automatic adjustment algorithms have been applied to try to select the optimal radiation dose for contrast adjustment. Problems occur when metallic objects, e.g., a prosthesis or a screw, are in the absorption area of interest. In this case, the automatic adjustment mostly fails because the dark, metallic objects lead the algorithm to overdose the x-ray tube. This outshining effect results in overexposed images and bad contrast. To overcome this limitation, metallic objects have to be detected and extracted from images that are taken as input for the adjustment algorithm. In this paper, we present a real-time solution for extracting metallic objects of x-ray images. We will explore the characteristic features of metallic objects in x-ray images and their distinction from bone fragments which form the basis to find a successful way for object segmentation and classification. Subsequently, we will present our edge based real-time approach for successful and fast automatic segmentation and classification of metallic objects. Finally, experimental results on the effectiveness and performance of our approach based on a vast amount of input image data sets will be presented.

Text feature extraction based on deep learning: a review.

PubMed

Liang, Hong; Sun, Xiao; Sun, Yunlei; Gao, Yuan

2017-01-01

Selection of text feature item is a basic and important matter for text mining and information retrieval. Traditional methods of feature extraction require handcrafted features. To hand-design, an effective feature is a lengthy process, but aiming at new applications, deep learning enables to acquire new effective feature representation from training data. As a new feature extraction method, deep learning has made achievements in text mining. The major difference between deep learning and conventional methods is that deep learning automatically learns features from big data, instead of adopting handcrafted features, which mainly depends on priori knowledge of designers and is highly impossible to take the advantage of big data. Deep learning can automatically learn feature representation from big data, including millions of parameters. This thesis outlines the common methods used in text feature extraction first, and then expands frequently used deep learning methods in text feature extraction and its applications, and forecasts the application of deep learning in feature extraction.

Automatic extraction and visualization of object-oriented software design metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshminarayana, Anuradha; Newman, Timothy S.; Li, Wei; Talburt, John

2000-02-01

Software visualization is a graphical representation of software characteristics and behavior. Certain modes of software visualization can be useful in isolating problems and identifying unanticipated behavior. In this paper we present a new approach to aid understanding of object- oriented software through 3D visualization of software metrics that can be extracted from the design phase of software development. The focus of the paper is a metric extraction method and a new collection of glyphs for multi- dimensional metric visualization. Our approach utilize the extensibility interface of a popular CASE tool to access and automatically extract the metrics from Unified Modeling Language class diagrams. Following the extraction of the design metrics, 3D visualization of these metrics are generated for each class in the design, utilizing intuitively meaningful 3D glyphs that are representative of the ensemble of metrics. Extraction and visualization of design metrics can aid software developers in the early study and understanding of design complexity.

Automatic Identification & Classification of Surgical Margin Status from Pathology Reports Following Prostate Cancer Surgery

PubMed Central

D’Avolio, Leonard W.; Litwin, Mark S.; Rogers, Selwyn O.; Bui, Alex A. T.

2007-01-01

Prostate cancer removal surgeries that result in tumor found at the surgical margin, otherwise known as a positive surgical margin, have a significantly higher chance of biochemical recurrence and clinical progression. To support clinical outcomes assessment a system was designed to automatically identify, extract, and classify key phrases from pathology reports describing this outcome. Heuristics and boundary detection were used to extract phrases. Phrases were then classified using support vector machines into one of three classes: ‘positive (involved) margins,’ ‘negative (uninvolved) margins,’ and ‘not-applicable or definitive.’ A total of 851 key phrases were extracted from a sample of 782 reports produced between 1996 and 2006 from two major hospitals. Despite differences in reporting style, at least 1 sentence containing a diagnosis was extracted from 780 of the 782 reports (99.74%). Of the 851 sentences extracted, 97.3% contained diagnoses. Overall accuracy of automated classification of extracted sentences into the three categories was 97.18%. PMID:18693818

The development of an automatically produced cholangiography procedure using the reconstruction of portal-phase multidetector-row computed tomography images: preliminary experience.

PubMed

Hirose, Tomoaki; Igami, Tsuyoshi; Koga, Kusuto; Hayashi, Yuichiro; Ebata, Tomoki; Yokoyama, Yukihiro; Sugawara, Gen; Mizuno, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Junpei; Mori, Kensaku; Nagino, Masato

2017-03-01

Fusion angiography using reconstructed multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) images, and cholangiography using reconstructed images from MDCT with a cholangiographic agent include an anatomical gap due to the different periods of MDCT scanning. To conquer such gaps, we attempted to develop a cholangiography procedure that automatically reconstructs a cholangiogram from portal-phase MDCT images. The automatically produced cholangiography procedure utilized an original software program that was developed by the Graduate School of Information Science, Nagoya University. This program structured 5 candidate biliary tracts, and automatically selected one as the candidate for cholangiography. The clinical value of the automatically produced cholangiography procedure was estimated based on a comparison with manually produced cholangiography. Automatically produced cholangiograms were reconstructed for 20 patients who underwent MDCT scanning before biliary drainage for distal biliary obstruction. The procedure showed the ability to extract the 5 main biliary branches and the 21 subsegmental biliary branches in 55 and 25 % of the cases, respectively. The extent of aberrant connections and aberrant extractions outside the biliary tract was acceptable. Among all of the cholangiograms, 5 were clinically applied with no correction, 8 were applied with modest improvements, and 3 produced a correct cholangiography before automatic selection. Although our procedure requires further improvement based on the analysis of additional patient data, it may represent an alternative to direct cholangiography in the future.

Neuropsychological functioning in children with Tourette syndrome (TS).

PubMed

Rasmussen, Carmen; Soleimani, Maryam; Carroll, Alan; Hodlevskyy, Oleksander

2009-11-01

We examined whether children with Tourette syndrome (TS) displayed a unique pattern of neuropsychological deficits on the CANTAB relative to control children. We also looked at whether children with TS and other comorbidities had more neuropsychological impairments than those with uncomplicated TS and how age was related to the profile of neuropsychological deficits in TS. Participants included 38 children with TS (aged 7 to 13 years) and 38 control children (aged 6 to 12 years). All children were administered 8 subtests from the CANTAB and parents and teachers completed the BRIEF rating scale on children in the TS group. Children with TS displayed deficits relative to control children on measures of visual memory, executive functioning, and attention from the CANTAB. Among the TS group, age was negatively correlated with performance on measures of executive functioning, speed of response and working memory. Identifying the pattern of neuropsychological deficits in children with TS on the CANTAB is important for highlighting areas of deficit that can be targeted for intervention and teaching strategies. With further research, the CANTAB may prove to be a useful resource in the assessment and treatment of children with TS.

Tuberous sclerosis: aberrant metabolism of ornithine, proline and glutamate in cultured fibroblasts.

PubMed

Tanaka, H; Nakazawa, K; Arima, M; Hayashi, A

1987-01-01

To investigate aberrant metabolism of proline (Pro) and its precursors in tuberous sclerosis (TS), 6, 7 and 5 strains of control, TS (normal skin) and TS (tumor) fibroblasts, respectively, were cultured in Eagle's MEM containing dialyzed fetal bovine serum with or without 0.1 mM ornithine (Orn). Ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) activity was decreased in TS, especially in TS (tumor) after mild sonication treatment. The yield of the OAT protein was inhibited in TS (tumor) when cultured without Orn. Free glutamate (Glu) in the medium was significantly increased in TS (tumor). Free proline (Pro) in cells was significantly decreased in TS (tumor) when cultured with Orn, but protein-bound Pro was not. The relative concentration of free Glu to glutamine (Gln) in the medium and that of free Glu to Pro in cells cultured with Orn were increased in TS (tumor). These results suggest that the requirement for Orn, increased turnover of Pro to Glu and increased elimination of Glu into the medium occur in TS (tumor). Aberrant regulation or turnover of Pro and Glu metabolism may occur in TS, especially in tumor cells.

Development of an automatic cow body condition scoring using body shape signature and Fourier descriptors.

PubMed

Bercovich, A; Edan, Y; Alchanatis, V; Moallem, U; Parmet, Y; Honig, H; Maltz, E; Antler, A; Halachmi, I

2013-01-01

Body condition evaluation is a common tool to assess energy reserves of dairy cows and to estimate their fatness or thinness. This study presents a computer-vision tool that automatically estimates cow's body condition score. Top-view images of 151 cows were collected on an Israeli research dairy farm using a digital still camera located at the entrance to the milking parlor. The cow's tailhead area and its contour were segmented and extracted automatically. Two types of features of the tailhead contour were extracted: (1) the angles and distances between 5 anatomical points; and (2) the cow signature, which is a 1-dimensional vector of the Euclidean distances from each point in the normalized tailhead contour to the shape center. Two methods were applied to describe the cow's signature and to reduce its dimension: (1) partial least squares regression, and (2) Fourier descriptors of the cow signature. Three prediction models were compared with manual scores of an expert. Results indicate that (1) it is possible to automatically extract and predict body condition from color images without any manual interference; and (2) Fourier descriptors of the cow's signature result in improved performance (R(2)=0.77). Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flanagan, Sheryl A., E-mail: sflan@umich.edu; Cooper, Kristin S.; Mannava, Sudha

Purpose: To determine the effect of short hairpin ribonucleic acid (shRNA)-mediated suppression of thymidylate synthase (TS) on cytotoxicity and radiosensitization and the mechanism by which these events occur. Methods and Materials: shRNA suppression of TS was compared with 5-fluoro-2 Prime -deoxyuridine (FdUrd) inactivation of TS with or without ionizing radiation in HCT116 and HT29 colon cancer cells. Cytotoxicity and radiosensitization were measured by clonogenic assay. Cell cycle effects were measured by flow cytometry. The effects of FdUrd or shRNA suppression of TS on dNTP deoxynucleotide triphosphate imbalances and consequent nucleotide misincorporations into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were analyzed by high-pressure liquidmore » chromatography and as pSP189 plasmid mutations, respectively. Results: TS shRNA produced profound ({>=}90%) and prolonged ({>=}8 days) suppression of TS in HCT116 and HT29 cells, whereas FdUrd increased TS expression. TS shRNA also produced more specific and prolonged effects on dNTPs deoxynucleotide triphosphates compared with FdUrd. TS shRNA suppression allowed accumulation of cells in S-phase, although its effects were not as long-lasting as those of FdUrd. Both treatments resulted in phosphorylation of Chk1. TS shRNA alone was less cytotoxic than FdUrd but was equally effective as FdUrd in eliciting radiosensitization (radiation enhancement ratio: TS shRNA, 1.5-1.7; FdUrd, 1.4-1.6). TS shRNA and FdUrd produced a similar increase in the number and type of pSP189 mutations. Conclusions: TS shRNA produced less cytotoxicity than FdUrd but was equally effective at radiosensitizing tumor cells. Thus, the inhibitory effect of FdUrd on TS alone is sufficient to elicit radiosensitization with FdUrd, but it only partially explains FdUrd-mediated cytotoxicity and cell cycle inhibition. The increase in DNA mismatches after TS shRNA or FdUrd supports a causal and sufficient role for the depletion of dTTP thymidine triphosphate and consequent DNA mismatches underlying radiosensitization. Importantly, shRNA suppression of TS avoids FP-mediated TS elevation and its negative prognostic role. These studies support the further exploration of TS suppression as a novel radiosensitizing strategy.« less

A Comparison of Tropical Storm (TS) and Non-TS Gust Factors for Assessing Peak Wind Probabilities at the Eastern Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merceret, Francis J.; Crawford, Winifred C.

2010-01-01

Peak wind speed is an important forecast element to ensure the safety of personnel and flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in East-Central Florida. The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS), the organization that issues forecasts for the KSC/CCAFS area, finds that peak winds are more difficult to forecast than mean winds. This difficulty motivated the 45 WS to request two independent studies. The first (Merceret 2009) was the development of a reliable model for gust factors (GF) relating the peak to the mean wind speed in tropical storms (TS). The second (Lambert et al. 2008) was a climatological study of non-TS cool season (October-April) mean and peak wind speeds by the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU; Bauman et al. 2004) without the use of GF. Both studies presented their statistics as functions of mean wind speed and height. Most of the few comparisons of TS and non-TS GF in the literature suggest that non-TS GF at a given height and mean wind speed are smaller than the corresponding TS GF. The investigation reported here converted the non-TS peak wind statistics calculated by the AMU to the equivalent GF statistics and compared them with the previous TS GF results. The advantage of this effort over all previously reported studies of its kind is that the TS and non-TS data were taken from the same towers in the same locations. This eliminates differing surface attributes, including roughness length and thermal properties, as a major source of variance in the comparison. The goal of this study is two-fold: to determine the relationship between the non-TS and TS GF and their standard deviations (GFSD) and to determine if models similar to those developed for TS data in Merceret (2009) could be developed for the non-TS environment. The results are consistent with the literature, but include much more detailed, quantitative information on the nature of the relationship between TS and non-TS GF and GFSD as a function of height and mean wind speed.

Automatically extracting the significant aspects evaluated in game reviews

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fong, Chiok Hoong; Ng, Yen Kaow

2017-04-01

Understanding the criteria (or "aspects") that reviewers use to evaluate games is important to game developers and publishers, since this will give them important input on how to improve their products. Techniques for the extraction of such aspects have been studied by others, albeit not specific to the gaming industry. In this paper we demonstrate an aspect extraction and analysis system specific to computer games. The system extracts game review texts from a list of known websites and automatically extracts candidate aspects from the review text using techniques from natural language processing and sentiment analysis. It then ranks the candidate aspects using the HITS algorithm. To evaluate the correctness of the extracted aspects, we used the system to calculate an overall score for each game by aggregating its highly-rated aspects, weighted by the importance of the respective aspects. The aggregated scores resulted in a ranking of games, which we compared to a known ranking from a popular website - the rankings showed overall consistency, which suggests that the system has extracted valuable aspects from the reviews. Using the extracted aspect, our system also facilitates the analysis of a game, by evaluating how review articles have rated its performance in these extracted aspects.

Comparison of methods of DNA extraction for real-time PCR in a model of pleural tuberculosis.

PubMed

Santos, Ana; Cremades, Rosa; Rodríguez, Juan Carlos; García-Pachón, Eduardo; Ruiz, Montserrat; Royo, Gloria

2010-01-01

Molecular methods have been reported to have different sensitivities in the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis and this may in part be caused by the use of different methods of DNA extraction. Our study compares nine DNA extraction systems in an experimental model of pleural tuberculosis. An inoculum of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was added to 23 pleural liquid samples with different characteristics. DNA was subsequently extracted using nine different methods (seven manual and two automatic) for analysis with real-time PCR. Only two methods were able to detect the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA in all the samples: extraction using columns (Qiagen) and automated extraction with the TNAI system (Roche). The automatic method is more expensive, but requires less time. Almost all the false negatives were because of the difficulty involved in extracting M. tuberculosis DNA, as in general, all the methods studied are capable of eliminating inhibitory substances that block the amplification reaction. The method of M. tuberculosis DNA extraction used affects the results of the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis by molecular methods. DNA extraction systems that have been shown to be effective in pleural liquid should be used.

Noxious inhibition of temporal summation is impaired in chronic tension-type headache.

PubMed

Cathcart, Stuart; Winefield, Anthony H; Lushington, Kurt; Rolan, Paul

2010-03-01

To examine effects of stress on noxious inhibition and temporal summation (TS) in tension-type headache. Stress is the most commonly reported trigger of a chronic tension-type headache (CTH) episode; however, the mechanisms underlying this are unclear. Stress affects pain processing throughout the central nervous system, including, potentially, mechanisms of TS and diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC), both of which may be abnormal in CTH sufferers (CTH-S). No studies have examined TS of pressure pain or DNIC of TS in CTH-S to date. Similarly, effects of stress on TS or DNIC of TS have not been reported in healthy subjects or CTH-S to date. The present study measured TS and DNIC of TS in CTH-S and healthy controls (CNT) exposed to an hour-long stressful mental task, and in CTH-S exposed to an hour-long neutral condition. TS was elicited at finger and shoulder via 10 pulses from a pressure algometer, applied before and during stimulation from an occlusion cuff at painful intensity. Algometer pain ratings increased more in the CTH compared with the CNT group, and were inhibited during occlusion cuff more in the CNT compared with CTH groups. Task effects on TS or DNIC were not significant. The results indicate increased TS to pressure pain and impaired DNIC of TS in CTH-S. Stress does not appear to aggravate abnormal TS or DNIC mechanisms in CTH-S.

A knowledge engineering approach to recognizing and extracting sequences of nucleic acids from scientific literature.

PubMed

García-Remesal, Miguel; Maojo, Victor; Crespo, José

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a knowledge engineering approach to automatically recognize and extract genetic sequences from scientific articles. To carry out this task, we use a preliminary recognizer based on a finite state machine to extract all candidate DNA/RNA sequences. The latter are then fed into a knowledge-based system that automatically discards false positives and refines noisy and incorrectly merged sequences. We created the knowledge base by manually analyzing different manuscripts containing genetic sequences. Our approach was evaluated using a test set of 211 full-text articles in PDF format containing 3134 genetic sequences. For such set, we achieved 87.76% precision and 97.70% recall respectively. This method can facilitate different research tasks. These include text mining, information extraction, and information retrieval research dealing with large collections of documents containing genetic sequences.

Automated Assessment of Child Vocalization Development Using LENA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Jeffrey A.; Xu, Dongxin; Gilkerson, Jill; Yapanel, Umit; Gray, Sharmistha; Paul, Terrance

2017-01-01

Purpose: To produce a novel, efficient measure of children's expressive vocal development on the basis of automatic vocalization assessment (AVA), child vocalizations were automatically identified and extracted from audio recordings using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) System technology. Method: Assessment was based on full-day audio…

Nonsaponifiable lipid components of the pollen of elder (Sambucus nigra L.).

PubMed

Stránsky, K; Valterová, I; Fiedler, P

2001-11-30

Pollen of the elder (Sambucus nigra L.) was extracted with chloroform-methanol. The extract was separated by column chromatography into the following groups of compounds: hydrocarbons (8.7%). polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (0.2%), complex esters (5.2%), triglycerides (18.7%), hydroxy esters (27.9%), free fatty acids and alcohols (16.8%), free sterols (6.8%), and triterpenic alcohols (4.0%). The nonsaponifiable components (hydrocarbons, fatty acids, alcohols, and sterols) were examined in detail using spectroscopic and chromatographic methods (IR spectroscopy, GC, and GC-MS). The identified compounds were characterized by their mass spectra and Kováts retention indices. The double bond positions and their configurations in unsaturated compounds are also reported.

System identification using Nuclear Norm & Tabu Search optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Asif A.; Schoen, Marco P.; Bosworth, Ken W.

2018-01-01

In recent years, subspace System Identification (SI) algorithms have seen increased research, stemming from advanced minimization methods being applied to the Nuclear Norm (NN) approach in system identification. These minimization algorithms are based on hard computing methodologies. To the authors’ knowledge, as of now, there has been no work reported that utilizes soft computing algorithms to address the minimization problem within the nuclear norm SI framework. A linear, time-invariant, discrete time system is used in this work as the basic model for characterizing a dynamical system to be identified. The main objective is to extract a mathematical model from collected experimental input-output data. Hankel matrices are constructed from experimental data, and the extended observability matrix is employed to define an estimated output of the system. This estimated output and the actual - measured - output are utilized to construct a minimization problem. An embedded rank measure assures minimum state realization outcomes. Current NN-SI algorithms employ hard computing algorithms for minimization. In this work, we propose a simple Tabu Search (TS) algorithm for minimization. TS algorithm based SI is compared with the iterative Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) line search optimization based NN-SI. For comparison, several different benchmark system identification problems are solved by both approaches. Results show improved performance of the proposed SI-TS algorithm compared to the NN-SI ADMM algorithm.

Evaluating Tidal Energy Resource Assessment Guidelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haas, K. A.

2016-02-01

All tidal energy projects require resource assessments for determining the feasibility of a particular site, performing the project layout design and providing the projected annual energy production (AEP). The methods for the different resource assessments depend on both the assessment scope as well as the project scale. To assist with the development of the hydrokinetic industry as a whole, much work over the past decade has been completed to develop international technical standards that can be used by the full range of stakeholders in the hydrokinetic industry. In particular, a new International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Specification (TS) has recently been published outlining a standardized methodology for performing tidal energy resource assessments. This presentation will cover the various methods for performing the different types of tidal resource assessments (national reconnaissance, regional feasibility and layout design). Illustrations through case studies will be presented for each type of resource assessment. In particular, the ability of a grid refinement technique which satisfies the TS grid resolution requirements for the assessment of tidal current energy while maintaining low computational expenses will be evaluated. Example applications will be described for mapping the tidal resources near two facilities (Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine and Key West Naval Station in Florida) for possible future deployments of Marine Hydro-Kinetic (MHK) technologies. These assessments will include and demonstrate the importance of the effect of energy extraction as required by the TS.

DC motor speed control using fuzzy logic controller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, N. L.; Zakaria, K. A.; Nazar, N. S. Moh; Syaripuddin, M.; Mokhtar, A. S. N.; Thanakodi, S.

2018-02-01

The automatic control has played a vital role in the advance of engineering and science. Nowadays in industries, the control of direct current (DC) motor is a common practice thus the implementation of DC motor controller speed is important. The main purpose of motor speed control is to keep the rotation of the motor at the present speed and to drive a system at the demand speed. The main purpose of this project is to control speed of DC Series Wound Motor using Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC). The expectation of this project is the Fuzzy Logic Controller will get the best performance compared to dc motor without controller in terms of settling time (Ts), rise time (Tr), peak time (Tp) and percent overshoot (%OS).

Chemometric strategy for automatic chromatographic peak detection and background drift correction in chromatographic data.

PubMed

Yu, Yong-Jie; Xia, Qiao-Ling; Wang, Sheng; Wang, Bing; Xie, Fu-Wei; Zhang, Xiao-Bing; Ma, Yun-Ming; Wu, Hai-Long

2014-09-12

Peak detection and background drift correction (BDC) are the key stages in using chemometric methods to analyze chromatographic fingerprints of complex samples. This study developed a novel chemometric strategy for simultaneous automatic chromatographic peak detection and BDC. A robust statistical method was used for intelligent estimation of instrumental noise level coupled with first-order derivative of chromatographic signal to automatically extract chromatographic peaks in the data. A local curve-fitting strategy was then employed for BDC. Simulated and real liquid chromatographic data were designed with various kinds of background drift and degree of overlapped chromatographic peaks to verify the performance of the proposed strategy. The underlying chromatographic peaks can be automatically detected and reasonably integrated by this strategy. Meanwhile, chromatograms with BDC can be precisely obtained. The proposed method was used to analyze a complex gas chromatography dataset that monitored quality changes in plant extracts during storage procedure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic digital image analysis for identification of mitotic cells in synchronous mammalian cell cultures.

PubMed

Eccles, B A; Klevecz, R R

1986-06-01

Mitotic frequency in a synchronous culture of mammalian cells was determined fully automatically and in real time using low-intensity phase-contrast microscopy and a newvicon video camera connected to an EyeCom III image processor. Image samples, at a frequency of one per minute for 50 hours, were analyzed by first extracting the high-frequency picture components, then thresholding and probing for annular objects indicative of putative mitotic cells. Both the extraction of high-frequency components and the recognition of rings of varying radii and discontinuities employed novel algorithms. Spatial and temporal relationships between annuli were examined to discern the occurrences of mitoses, and such events were recorded in a computer data file. At present, the automatic analysis is suited for random cell proliferation rate measurements or cell cycle studies. The automatic identification of mitotic cells as described here provides a measure of the average proliferative activity of the cell population as a whole and eliminates more than eight hours of manual review per time-lapse video recording.

Synthesis of mesoporous TS-1 using a hybrid SiO{sub 2}–TiO{sub 2} xerogel for catalytic oxidative desulfurization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Seung-Tae; Jeong, Kwang-Eun; Jeong, Soon-Yong

2012-12-15

Graphical abstract: Display Omitted Highlights: ► Meso-TS-1 catalyst was synthesized using a SiO{sub 2}–TiO{sub 2} xerogel with an organosilane precursor. ► Hierarchical pore structure was confirmed by characterization of the materials. ► Catalytic activity was tested using oxidative desulfurization of the model sulfur compounds. ► Meso-TS-1 demonstrated significantly improved catalytic activity than TS-1. -- Abstract: Mesoporous TS-1 (M-TS-1) was synthesized using a hybrid SiO{sub 2}–TiO{sub 2} xerogel combined with an organosilane precursor. Prepared samples were characterized by XRD, UV–vis spectroscopy, SEM, and N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption measurement. M-TS-1, prepared in 2 days, showed high crystallinity and the best textural properties amongmore » the samples. The N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption isotherms of M-TS-1 exhibited a hysteresis loop at pressure higher than P/P{sub 0} = 0.4, clearly indicating the existence of mesopores. M-TS-1 has significantly larger mesopore volume (0.48 cm{sup 3}/g) than that of conventional TS-1 (0.07 cm{sup 3}/g), and showed a narrow peak centered at ca. 6.3 nm. In the oxidative desulfurization reaction, M-TS-1 was more active than conventional TS-1 at the same Ti-loading; M-TS-1 produced a dibenzothiophene (DBT) conversion of 96%, whereas conventional TS-1 produced a final DBT conversion of 5.6% after a reaction time of 180 min. Oxidative desulfurization over TS-1 was influenced both by electron density and steric hindrance in the sulfur compounds tested.« less

Standardizing procedures to study sensitization of human spinal nociceptive processes: comparing parameters for temporal summation of the nociceptive flexion reflex (TS-NFR).

PubMed

Terry, Ellen L; France, Christopher R; Bartley, Emily J; Delventura, Jennifer L; Kerr, Kara L; Vincent, Ashley L; Rhudy, Jamie L

2011-09-01

Temporal summation of pain (TS-pain) is the progressive increase in pain ratings during a series of noxious stimulations. TS-pain has been used to make inferences about sensitization of spinal nociceptive processes; however, pain report can be biased thereby leading to problems with this inference. Temporal summation of the nociceptive flexion reflex (TS-NFR, a physiological measure of spinal nociception) can potentially overcome report bias, but there have been few attempts (generally with small Ns) to standardize TS-NFR procedures. In this study, 50 healthy participants received 25 series of noxious electric stimulations to evoke TS-NFR and TS-pain. Goals were to: 1) determine the stimulation frequency that best elicits TS-NFR and reduces electromyogram (EMG) contamination from muscle tension, 2) determine the minimum number of stimulations per series before NFR summation asymptotes, 3) compare NFR definition intervals (90-150ms vs. 70-150ms post-stimulation), and 4) compare TS-pain and TS-NFR when different stimulation frequencies are used. Results indicated TS-NFR should be elicited by a series of three stimuli delivered at 2.0Hz and TS-NFR should be defined from a 70-150ms post-stimulation scoring interval. Unfortunately, EMG contamination from muscle tension was greatest during 2.0Hz series. Discrepancies were noted between TS-NFR and TS-pain which raise concerns about using pain ratings to infer changes in spinal nociceptive processes. And finally, some individuals did not have reliable NFRs when the stimulation intensity was set at NFR threshold during TS-NFR testing; therefore, a higher intensity is needed. Implications of findings are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of teeth clenching on the soleus H reflex during lower limb muscle fatigue.

PubMed

Mitsuyama, Akihiro; Takahashi, Toshiyuki; Ueno, Toshiaki

2017-04-01

We assessed whether the soleus H reflex was depressed or facilitated in association with voluntary teeth clenching during muscle fatigue. A total of 13 and 9 healthy adult subjects were instructed to perform right-side tiptoe standing for 5 (TS1) and 10min (TS2) to induce the soleus muscle fatigue. Electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from the bilateral masseter as well as the right-side soleus muscles. H reflex was evoked using a surface electrode. The isometric muscle strength during plantar flexion was measured. We tested two dental occlusal conditions (1) with maximal voluntary teeth clenching (MVTC) and (2) at mandibular rest position (RP). H reflex was evoked before and after TS1 and TS2. The isometric muscle strength during plantar flexion was measured before and after TS1 and TS2. Mean amplitudes of H reflex with MVTC before and after TS1 were significantly larger than that with RP before and after TS1. The mean peak torque (PT) during isometric plantar flexion was observed significant differences in all subjects. The mean amplitude of H reflex with MVTC before TS2 was significantly larger than that with RP before TS2. No significant difference between RP after TS2 and MVTC after TS2. The mean PT with MVTC before TS2 was significantly larger than that with RP before TS2. There was no significant difference between RP and MVTC after TS2. The present study demonstrated that teeth clenching could facilitate H reflex regardless of the degree of muscle fatigue. Copyright © 2016 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic Author Profiling of Online Chat Logs

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

CLASSIFICATION WITH PRIOR ..........91 1. All Test Data ................................91 2. Extracted Test Data: Teens and 20s ...........92 3...Extracted Test Data: Teens and 30s ...........92 4. Extracted Test Data: Teens and 40s ...........93 5. Extracted Test Data: Teens and 50s ...........93 6...Data ................................97 C. AGE: BINARY CLASSIFICATION WITH PRIOR .............98 1. Extracted Test Data: Teens and 20s ...........98 2

Automatic indexing of scanned documents: a layout-based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esser, Daniel; Schuster, Daniel; Muthmann, Klemens; Berger, Michael; Schill, Alexander

2012-01-01

Archiving official written documents such as invoices, reminders and account statements in business and private area gets more and more important. Creating appropriate index entries for document archives like sender's name, creation date or document number is a tedious manual work. We present a novel approach to handle automatic indexing of documents based on generic positional extraction of index terms. For this purpose we apply the knowledge of document templates stored in a common full text search index to find index positions that were successfully extracted in the past.

The Extraction of Terrace in the Loess Plateau Based on radial method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.; Li, F.

2016-12-01

The terrace of Loess Plateau, as a typical kind of artificial landform and an important measure of soil and water conservation, its positioning and automatic extraction will simplify the work of land use investigation. The existing methods of terrace extraction mainly include visual interpretation and automatic extraction. The manual method is used in land use investigation, but it is time-consuming and laborious. Researchers put forward some automatic extraction methods. For example, Fourier transform method can recognize terrace and find accurate position from frequency domain image, but it is more affected by the linear objects in the same direction of terrace; Texture analysis method is simple and have a wide range application of image processing. The disadvantage of texture analysis method is unable to recognize terraces' edge; Object-oriented is a new method of image classification, but when introduce it to terrace extracting, fracture polygons will be the most serious problem and it is difficult to explain its geological meaning. In order to positioning the terraces, we use high- resolution remote sensing image to extract and analyze the gray value of the pixels which the radial went through. During the recognition process, we firstly use the DEM data analysis or by manual selecting, to roughly confirm the position of peak points; secondly, take each of the peak points as the center to make radials in all directions; finally, extracting the gray values of the pixels which the radials went through, and analyzing its changing characteristics to confirm whether the terrace exists. For the purpose of getting accurate position of terrace, terraces' discontinuity, extension direction, ridge width, image processing algorithm, remote sensing image illumination and other influence factors were fully considered when designing the algorithms.

A population-based analysis of mortality in patients with Turner syndrome and hypoplastic left heart syndrome using the Texas Birth Defects Registry.

PubMed

Lara, Diego A; Ethen, Mary K; Canfield, Mark A; Nembhard, Wendy N; Morris, Shaine A

2017-01-01

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is strongly associated with Turner syndrome (TS); outcome data when these conditions coexist is sparse. We aimed to investigate long-term survival and causes of death in this population. The Texas Birth Defects Registry was queried for all live born infants with HLHS during 1999-2007. We used Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses to compare survival among patients with HLHS with TS (HLHS/TS+) to patients who had HLHS without genetic disorders or extracardiac birth defects (HLHS/TS-). Of the 542 patients with HLHS, 11 had TS (2.0%), 71 had other extracardiac birth defects or genetic disorders, and 463 had neither. The median follow-up time was 4.2 y (interquartile range [IQR] 2.1-6.5). Comparing those with HLHS/TS+ to HLHS/TS-, 100% versus 35% were female (P < .001), and median birth weight was 2140 g (IQR 1809-2650) versus 3196 g (IQR 2807-3540, P < .001). Neonatal mortality was 36% in HLHS/TS+ versus 27% in HLHS/TS- (log rank = 0.431). Ten of the 11 TS+ patients died during the study period for cumulative mortality of 91% versus 50% (hazard ratio (HR) for TS+: 2.90, 95% CI 1.53-5.48). Six patients died prior to surgery, 5 underwent Stage 1 palliation (S1P), 3 died after S1P, 2 survived past S2P, and one of these died at age 19 mo. The underlying cause of death was listed as congenital heart disease on all the death certificates of HLHS/TS+ patients. In multivariable analysis controlling for low birth weight (<2500 g), TS remained associated with significantly increased cumulative mortality, although females without TS had higher mortality than males (HR for TS+ versus males: 2.42, 95% CI 1.24-4.73; HR for TS- females versus males: 1.41, 95% CI 1.08-1.83). TS with HLHS is associated with significant mortality. The increased mortality in females without documented TS calls to question if TS is undetected in a portion of females with HLHS. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Total solids content drives high solid anaerobic digestion via mass transfer limitation.

PubMed

Abbassi-Guendouz, Amel; Brockmann, Doris; Trably, Eric; Dumas, Claire; Delgenès, Jean-Philippe; Steyer, Jean-Philippe; Escudié, Renaud

2012-05-01

The role of the total solids (TS) content on anaerobic digestion was investigated in batch reactors. A range of TS contents from 10% to 35% was evaluated, four replicates were performed. The total methane production slightly decreased with TS concentrations increasing from 10% to 25% TS. Two behaviors were observed at 30% TS: two replicates had similar performances to that at 25% TS; for the two other replicates, the methane production was inhibited as observed at 35% TS. This difference suggested that 30% TS content corresponded to a threshold of the solids content, above which methanogenesis was strongly inhibited. The Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) was used to describe the experimental data. The effects of hydrolysis step and liquid/gas mass transfer were particularly investigated. The simulations showed that mass transfer limitation could explain the low methane production at high TS, and that hydrolysis rate constants slightly decreased with increasing TS. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synergism and foaming properties in binary mixtures of a biosurfactant derived from Camellia oleifera Abel and synthetic surfactants.

PubMed

Jian, Hong-lei; Liao, Xiao-xia; Zhu, Li-wei; Zhang, Wei-ming; Jiang, Jian-xin

2011-07-15

A biosurfactant, named tea saponin (TS), was isolated and purified from the defatted seed of Camellia oleifera Abel. The characterization of TS including molecular weight, glycosyl composition, and thermal behavior as well as the surface and foaming properties was conducted. The synergistic interactions of binary systems of CTAB-TS, SDS-TS, and Brij35-TS were investigated. The results show that TS had a weight-average molecular weight of 809.12 g mol(-1) and contained four aglycones of L-rhamnose, D-galactose, D-glucose, and D-glucuronic acid. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) of 2.242 mmol L(-1) and the minimum surface tension (γ(cmc)) of 43.5 mN m(-1) were determined for TS. Synergisms in surface tension reduction efficiency, in mixed micelle formation, and in surface tension reduction effectiveness were observed in CTAB-TS and SDS-TS systems, whereas that was not shown in Brij35-TS mixtures. The mixtures of TS with CTAB and SDS showed synergism in foaming efficiency, but this synergism did not exist in Brij35-TS system with respect to the surface properties. Nevertheless, there appears to be no significant correlation between foam stability and the surface properties. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are there distinct subtypes in Tourette syndrome? Pure-Tourette syndrome versus Tourette syndrome-plus, and simple versus complex tics

PubMed Central

Eapen, Valsamma; Robertson, Mary M

2015-01-01

This study addressed several questions relating to the core features of Tourette syndrome (TS) including in particular coprolalia (involuntary utterance of obscene words) and copropraxia (involuntary and inappropriate rude gesturing). A cohort of 400 TS patients was investigated. We observed that coprolalia occurred in 39% of the full cohort of 400 patients and copropraxia occurred in 20% of the cohort. Those with coprolalia had significantly higher Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) and Diagnostic Confidence Index (DCI) total scores and a significantly higher proportion also experienced copropraxia and echolalia. A subgroup of 222 TS patients with full comorbidity data available were also compared based on whether they had pure-TS (motor and vocal tics only) or associated comorbidities and co-existent psychopathologies (TS-plus). Pure-TS and TS-plus groups were compared across a number of characteristics including TS severity, associated clinical features, and family history. In this subgroup, 13.5% had pure-TS, while the remainder had comorbidities and psychopathologies consistent with TS-plus. Thirty-nine percent of the TS-plus group displayed coprolalia, compared to (0%) of the pure-TS group and the difference in proportions was statistically significant. The only other significant difference found between the two groups was that pure-TS was associated with no family history of obsessive compulsive disorder which is an interesting finding that may suggest that additional genes or environmental factors may be at play when TS is associated with comorbidities. Finally, differences between individuals with simple versus complex vocal/motor tics were evaluated. Results indicated that individuals with complex motor/vocal tics were significantly more likely to report premonitory urges/sensations than individuals with simple tics and TS. The implications of these findings for the assessment and understanding of TS are discussed. PMID:26089672

Bearing-only Cooperative Localization: Simulation and Experimental Results

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

matrix Fi and Bi are the system jacobian with respect to state Xi and control ui, which are given below Fi = I3 + Ts ∂fi ∂Xi |Xi=Xi(k) =  1 0 − ViTs ...sinψ(k)0 1 ViTs cosψ(k) 0 0 1  , (8) Bi = Ts ∂fi ∂ui |ui=ui(k) Ts cosψk 0Ts sinψk 0 0 Ts  , (9) and Qi(k) = ( σ2vi 0 0 σ2ωi ) , where σvi and σωi

Effect of Hammerhead Ribozyme against Human Thymidylate Synthase on the Cytotoxicity of Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitors

PubMed Central

Takemura, Yuzuru; Miyachi, Hayato; Skelton, Lorraine; Jackman, Ann L.

1995-01-01

One of the resistance mechanisms to folate‐based thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitors is the increase in TS activity in tumor cells. Human B lymphoblastoid cell line (W1L2) was made resistant to a lipophilic non‐polyglutamatable TS inhibitor (ZM249148), and the subline (W1L2:R179) showed a 20‐fold increase in TS enzyme activity with concomitant overexpression of TS mRNA. To overcome the resistance, we designed a ribozyme that can cleave the CUC sequences in a triple tandemly repeated sequence of TS mRNA. Expression of this ribozyme in W1L2:R179 cells transfected with Epstein Barr virus‐based expression vector resulted in sensitization to TS inhibitors concomitantly with a decrease of TS expression. The ribozyme expressed in transfectants was shown to be functional in cleaving artificial TS RNA in vitro. PMID:8567390

A New Green Ionic Liquid-Based Corrosion Inhibitor for Steel in Acidic Environments.

PubMed

Atta, Ayman M; El-Mahdy, Gamal A; Al-Lohedan, Hamad A; Ezzat, Abdel Rahman O

2015-06-17

This work examines the use of new hydrophobic ionic liquid derivatives, namely octadecylammonium tosylate (ODA-TS) and oleylammonium tosylate (OA-TS) for corrosion protection of steel in 1 M hydrochloric acid solution. Their chemical structures were determined from NMR analyses. The surface activity characteristics of the prepared ODA-TS and OA-TS were evaluated from conductance, surface tension and contact angle measurements. The data indicate the presence of a double bond in the chemical structure of OA-TS modified its surface activity parameters. Potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy dispersive X-rays (EDX) analysis and contact angle measurements were utilized to investigate the corrosion protection performance of ODA-TS and OA-TS on steel in acidic solution. The OA-TS and ODA-TS compounds showed good protection performance in acidic chloride solution due to formation of an inhibitive film on the steel surface.

Addressing the Complexity of Tourette's Syndrome through the Use of Animal Models

PubMed Central

Nespoli, Ester; Rizzo, Francesca; Boeckers, Tobias M.; Hengerer, Bastian; Ludolph, Andrea G.

2016-01-01

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by fluctuating motor and vocal tics, usually preceded by sensory premonitions, called premonitory urges. Besides tics, the vast majority—up to 90%—of TS patients suffer from psychiatric comorbidities, mainly attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The etiology of TS remains elusive. Genetics is believed to play an important role, but it is clear that other factors contribute to TS, possibly altering brain functioning and architecture during a sensitive phase of neural development. Clinical brain imaging and genetic studies have contributed to elucidate TS pathophysiology and disease mechanisms; however, TS disease etiology still is poorly understood. Findings from genetic studies led to the development of genetic animal models, but they poorly reflect the pathophysiology of TS. Addressing the role of neurotransmission, brain regions, and brain circuits in TS disease pathomechanisms is another focus area for preclinical TS model development. We are now in an interesting moment in time when numerous innovative animal models are continuously brought to the attention of the public. Due to the diverse and largely unknown etiology of TS, there is no single preclinical model featuring all different aspects of TS symptomatology. TS has been dissected into its key symptomst hat have been investigated separately, in line with the Research Domain Criteria concept. The different rationales used to develop the respective animal models are critically reviewed, to discuss the potential of the contribution of animal models to elucidate TS disease mechanisms. PMID:27092043

Allium compounds, dipropyl and dimethyl thiosulfinates as antiproliferative and differentiating agents of human acute myeloid leukemia cell lines.

PubMed

Merhi, Faten; Auger, Jacques; Rendu, Francine; Bauvois, Brigitte

2008-12-01

Epidemiologic studies support the premise that Allium vegetables may lower the risk of cancers. The beneficial effects appear related to the organosulfur products generated upon processing of Allium. Leukemia cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) display high proliferative capacity and have a reduced capacity of undergoing apoptosis and maturation. Whether the sulfur-containing molecules thiosulfinates (TS), diallyl TS (All(2)TS), dipropyl TS (Pr(2)TS) and dimethyl TS (Me(2)TS), are able to exert chemopreventative activity against AML is presently unknown. The present study was an evaluation of proliferation, cytotoxicity, differentiation and secretion of AML cell lines (U937, NB4, HL-60, MonoMac-6) in response to treatment with these TS and their related sulfides (diallylsulfide, diallyl disulfide, dipropyl disulfide, dimethyl disulfide). As assessed by flow cytometry, ELISA, gelatin zymogaphy and RT-PCR, we showed that Pr(2)TS and Me(2)TS, but not All(2)TS and sulfides, 1) inhibited cell proliferation in dose- and time-dependent manner and this process was neither due to cytotoxicity nor apoptosis, 2) induced macrophage maturation, and 3) inhibited the levels of secreted MMP-9 (protein and activity) and TNF-alpha protein, without altering mRNA levels. By establishing for the first time that Pr(2)TS and Me(2)TS affect proliferation, differentiation and secretion of leukemic cell lines, this study provides the opportunity to explore the potential efficiency of these molecules in AML.

Association of thymidylate synthase gene 3'-untranslated region polymorphism with sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer to pemetrexed treatment: TS gene polymorphism and pemetrexed sensitivity in NSCLC.

PubMed

Wang, Xia; Wang, Yadi; Wang, Yue; Cheng, Jian; Wang, Yanyun; Ha, Minwen

2013-01-25

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is a key enzyme responsible for DNA synthesis and repair. Altered expression of TS protein or TS gene polymorphisms has been associated with cancer progression and treatment response. This study investigated the expressions of TS and its gene SNPs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and then its association with sensitivity to pemetrexed treatment. Immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR were performed on 160 resected NSCLC specimens and corresponding normal tissues to assess the expressions of TS protein and TS mRNA, and for associations with clinicopathological data. Blood samples of 106 lung adenocarcinoma patients were examined for polymorphisms of the TS gene 3'-UTR 1494del 6 bp, which was then investigated for associations with responses of the patients to pemetrexed treatment and survival. Expression of both TS protein and its mRNA was elevated in NSCLC tissues compared with matched normal tissues, and significantly higher in lung squamous cell carcinoma than in lung adenocarcinoma. TS expression was associated with poor tumor differentiation. Furthermore, the genotyping data showed that 56% of lung adenocarcinoma patients had the TS gene 3'-UTR 1494 bp (-6 bp/-6 bp) genotype and the rest had TS gene 3'-UTR 1494 bp (-6 bp/+6 bp). There was no TS 3'-UTR 1494 bp (+6 bp/+6 bp) genotype in any patients. Statistical analysis revealed that gender, tumor stage, and TS 3'-UTR 1494del 6 bp polymorphism were significant prognostic factors after short-term pemetrexed treatment. Log-rank analysis revealed that patients with the (-6 bp/-6 bp) genotype had significantly better progression-free and overall survival than patients with (-6 bp/+6 bp). This study showed that TS protein is highly expressed in NSCLC and that polymorphisms of TS 3'-UTR 1494del 6 bp are associated with sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma patients to pemetrexed treatment. This suggests that TS gene polymorphisms should be further evaluated as prognostic markers for personalized therapy in lung adenocarcinoma.

Light-cone reduction vs. TsT transformations: a fluid dynamics perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Suvankar; Krishna, Hare

2018-05-01

We compute constitutive relations for a charged (2+1) dimensional Schrödinger fluid up to first order in derivative expansion, using holographic techniques. Starting with a locally boosted, asymptotically AdS, 4 + 1 dimensional charged black brane geometry, we uplift that to ten dimensions and perform TsT transformations to obtain an effective five dimensional local black brane solution with asymptotically Schrödinger isometries. By suitably implementing the holographic techniques, we compute the constitutive relations for the effective fluid living on the boundary of this space-time and extract first order transport coefficients from these relations. Schrödinger fluid can also be obtained by reducing a charged relativistic conformal fluid over light-cone. It turns out that both the approaches result the same system at the end. Fluid obtained by light-cone reduction satisfies a restricted class of thermodynamics. Here, we see that the charged fluid obtained holographically also belongs to the same restricted class.

Natural gum-assisted phthalocyanine immobilization in electroactive nanocomposites: physicochemical characterization and sensing applications.

PubMed

Zampa, Maysa F; de Brito, Ana Cristina F; Kitagawa, Igor L; Constantino, Carlos J L; Oliveira, Osvaldo N; da Cunha, Helder N; Zucolotto, Valtencir; dos Santos, José Ribeiro; Eiras, Carla

2007-11-01

Natural gums have been traditionally applied in cosmetics and the food industry, mainly as emulsification agents. Due to their biodegradability and excellent mechanical properties, new technological applications have been proposed involving their use with conventional polymers forming blends and composites. In this study, we take advantage of the polyelectrolyte character exhibited by the natural gum ChichA (Sterculia striata), extracted in the Northeastern region of Brazil, to produce electroactive nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were fabricated in the form of ultrathin films by combining a metallic phthalocyanine (nickel tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine, NiTsPc) and the ChichA gum in a tetralayer architecture, in conjunction with conventional polyelectrolytes. The presence of the gum led to an efficient adsorption of the phthalocyanine and enhanced the electrochemical response of the films. Upon combining the electrochemical and UV-vis absorption data, energy diagrams of the ChichA/NiTsPc-based system were obtained. Furthermore, modified electrodes based on gum/phthalocyanine films were able to detect dopamine at concentrations as low as 10-5 M.

A 3D THz image processing methodology for a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time operational system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brook, A.; Cristofani, E.; Vandewal, M.; Matheis, C.; Jonuscheit, J.; Beigang, R.

2012-05-01

The present study proposes a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time mode-operated image processing methodology developed for Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) THz images with the center frequencies around: 100 GHz and 300 GHz. The quality control of aeronautics composite multi-layered materials and structures using Non-Destructive Testing is the main focus of this work. Image processing is applied on the 3-D images to extract useful information. The data is processed by extracting areas of interest. The detected areas are subjected to image analysis for more particular investigation managed by a spatial model. Finally, the post-processing stage examines and evaluates the spatial accuracy of the extracted information.

Cerebral Oxygenation and Pain of Heel Blood Sampling Using Manual and Automatic Lancets in Premature Infants.

PubMed

Hwang, Mi-Jung; Seol, Geun Hee

2015-01-01

Heel blood sampling is a common but painful procedure for neonates. Automatic lancets have been shown to be more effective, with reduced pain and tissue damage, than manual lancets, but the effects of lancet type on cortical activation have not yet been compared. The study aimed to compare the effects of manual and automatic lancets on cerebral oxygenation and pain of heel blood sampling in 24 premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome. Effectiveness was measured by assessing numbers of pricks and squeezes and duration of heel blood sampling. Pain responses were measured using the premature infant pain profile score, heart rate, and oxygen saturation (SpO2). Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy, and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction was calculated from SpO2 and rScO. Measures of effectiveness were significantly better with automatic than with manual lancing, including fewer heel punctures (P = .009) and squeezes (P < .001) and shorter duration of heel blood sampling (P = .002). rScO2 was significantly higher (P = .013) and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction after puncture significantly lower (P = .040) with automatic lancing. Premature infant pain profile scores during (P = .004) and after (P = .048) puncture were significantly lower in the automatic than in the manual lancet group. Automatic lancets for heel blood sampling in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome significantly reduced pain and enhanced cerebral oxygenation, suggesting that heel blood should be sampled routinely using an automatic lancet.

Short hairpin RNA suppression of thymidylate synthase produces DNA mismatches and results in excellent radiosensitization.

PubMed

Flanagan, Sheryl A; Cooper, Kristin S; Mannava, Sudha; Nikiforov, Mikhail A; Shewach, Donna S

2012-12-01

To determine the effect of short hairpin ribonucleic acid (shRNA)-mediated suppression of thymidylate synthase (TS) on cytotoxicity and radiosensitization and the mechanism by which these events occur. shRNA suppression of TS was compared with 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) inactivation of TS with or without ionizing radiation in HCT116 and HT29 colon cancer cells. Cytotoxicity and radiosensitization were measured by clonogenic assay. Cell cycle effects were measured by flow cytometry. The effects of FdUrd or shRNA suppression of TS on dNTP deoxynucleotide triphosphate imbalances and consequent nucleotide misincorporations into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography and as pSP189 plasmid mutations, respectively. TS shRNA produced profound (≥ 90%) and prolonged (≥ 8 days) suppression of TS in HCT116 and HT29 cells, whereas FdUrd increased TS expression. TS shRNA also produced more specific and prolonged effects on dNTPs deoxynucleotide triphosphates compared with FdUrd. TS shRNA suppression allowed accumulation of cells in S-phase, although its effects were not as long-lasting as those of FdUrd. Both treatments resulted in phosphorylation of Chk1. TS shRNA alone was less cytotoxic than FdUrd but was equally effective as FdUrd in eliciting radiosensitization (radiation enhancement ratio: TS shRNA, 1.5-1.7; FdUrd, 1.4-1.6). TS shRNA and FdUrd produced a similar increase in the number and type of pSP189 mutations. TS shRNA produced less cytotoxicity than FdUrd but was equally effective at radiosensitizing tumor cells. Thus, the inhibitory effect of FdUrd on TS alone is sufficient to elicit radiosensitization with FdUrd, but it only partially explains FdUrd-mediated cytotoxicity and cell cycle inhibition. The increase in DNA mismatches after TS shRNA or FdUrd supports a causal and sufficient role for the depletion of dTTP thymidine triphosphate and consequent DNA mismatches underlying radiosensitization. Importantly, shRNA suppression of TS avoids FP-mediated TS elevation and its negative prognostic role. These studies support the further exploration of TS suppression as a novel radiosensitizing strategy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of 320 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors identifies TS expression as independent biomarker for survival.

PubMed

Lee, Hye Seung; Chen, Min; Kim, Ji Hun; Kim, Woo Ho; Ahn, Soyeon; Maeng, Kyungah; Allegra, Carmen J; Kaye, Frederic J; Hochwald, Steven N; Zajac-Kaye, Maria

2014-07-01

Thymidylate synthase (TS), a critical enzyme for DNA synthesis and repair, is both a potential tumor prognostic biomarker as well as a tumorigenic oncogene in animal models. We have now studied the clinical implications of TS expression in gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and compared these results to other cell cycle biomarker genes. Protein tissue arrays were used to study TS, Ki-67, Rb, pRb, E2F1, p18, p21, p27 and menin expression in 320 human GEP-NETs samples. Immunohistochemical expression was correlated with univariate and multivariate predictors of survival utilizing Kaplan Meier and Cox proportional hazards models. Real time RT-PCR was used to validate these findings. We found that 78 of 320 GEP-NETs (24.4%) expressed TS. NETs arising in the colon, stomach and pancreas showed the highest expression of TS (47.4%, 42.6% and 37.3%, respectively), whereas NETs of the appendix, rectum and duodenum displayed low TS expression (3.3%, 12.9% and 15.4%, respectively). TS expression in GEP-NETs was associated with poorly differentiated endocrine carcinoma, angiolymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (p < 0.05). Patients with TS-positive NETs had markedly worse outcomes than TS-negative NETs as shown by univariate (p < 0.001) and multivariate (p = 0.01) survival analyses. Expression of p18 predicted survival in TS-positive patients that received chemotherapy (p = 0.015). In conclusion, TS protein expression was an independent prognostic biomarker for GEP-NETs. The strong association of increased TS expression with aggressive disease and early death supports the role of TS as a cancer promoting agent in these tumors. © 2013 UICC.

The relationship of periaortic fat thickness and cardiovascular risk factors in children with Turner syndrome.

PubMed

Akyürek, Nesibe; Atabek, Mehmet Emre; Eklioglu, Beray Selver; Alp, Hayrullah

2015-06-01

Children with Turner syndrome (TS) have a broad range of later health problems, including an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between periaortic fat thickness (PAFT) and metabolic and cardiovascular profiles in children with TS. Twenty-nine TS and 29 healthy children and adolescents were enrolled in the study. Anthropometric measurements, pubertal staging, and blood pressure measurements were performed. Fasting serum glucose, insulin, and lipid profile were measured. Periaortic fat thickness was measured using an echocardiography method, which has not previously been applied in children with TS. No difference was found between TS and control subject (CS) in age, weight, waist/hip ratio, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. However, in TS subjects, total cholesterol (p = 0.045) was greater than that in controls. It was determined that 13.7 % (N: 4) of TS subjects had dyslipidemia. Mean fasting glucose, fasting insulin, QUICK-I, HOMA, and FGIR index were similar in TS and in CS, whereas 17.2 % (N: 5) of TS subjects had insulin resistance (IR) and 13.7 % (N: 4) had impaired glucose tolerance. Six subjects (20.6 %) were diagnosed as hypertensive. Periaortic fat thickness was significantly higher in the TS group (p < 0.001) (0.1694 ± 0.025 mm in the TS group and 0.1416 ± 0.014 mm in the CS group) In children with TS, PAFT was positively correlated with fasting insulin, body mass index, and diastolic blood pressure. Our results provide additional evidence for the presence of subclinical cardiovascular disease in TS. In addition to existing methods, we recommend the measurement of periaortic fat thickness in children with TS to reveal the presence of early atherosclerosis.

A Comparison of Tropical Storm (TS) and Non-TS Gust Factors for Assessing Peak Wind Probabilities at the Eastern Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merceret, Francis J.; Crawford, Winifred C.

2010-01-01

Knowledge of peak wind speeds is important to the safety of personnel and flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), but they are more difficult to forecast than mean wind speeds. Development of a reliable model for the gust factor (GF) relating the peak to the mean wind speed motivated a previous study of GF in tropical storms. The same motivation inspired a climatological study of non-TS peak wind speed statistics without the use of GF. Both studies presented their respective statistics as functions of mean wind speed and height. The few comparisons of IS and non-TS GF in the literature suggest that the non-TS GF at a given height and mean wind speed are smaller than the corresponding TS GF. The investigation reported here converted the non-TS peak wind statistics mentioned above to the equivalent GF statistics and compared the results with the previous TS GF results. The advantage of this effort over all previously reported studies of its kind is that the TS and non-TS data are taken from the same towers in the same locations. That eliminates differing surface attributes, including roughness length and thermal properties, as a major source of variance in the comparison. The results are consistent with the literature, but include much more detailed, quantitative information on the nature of the relationship between TS and non-TS GF as a function of height and mean wind speed. In addition, the data suggest the possibility of providing an operational model for non-TS GF as a function of height and wind speed in a manner similar to the one previously developed for TS GF.

A 6-year Follow-up survey of health status in middle-aged women with Turner syndrome.

PubMed

Fjermestad, Krister W; Naess, Eva E; Bahr, David; Gravholt, Claus H

2016-09-01

Studies suggest younger women with Turner syndrome (TS) have good quality of life. Less is known about everyday functioning in adults with TS. In a 6-year follow-up study, multiple areas of functioning were compared between TS women and controls. Women with TS and controls were mailed a self-report survey 6 years after a baseline study. Fifty-seven women with TS (M age 40·6 ± 11·1 years) and 101 controls (M age 38·8 ± 10·6 years, ns) responded. Measures of background information, experienced life strain and presence/impact of health conditions were developed for this study. The QPS Nordic measured perceived workload challenges. The LiSat-9 measured life satisfaction. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale measured self-esteem. More TS women lived alone, fewer had biological children, and more had adoptive children. TS women reported fewer sex partners and less sexual confidence. Controls had higher education. There was no difference in employment status. More TS women received disability pensions. TS women reported their work as more physically challenging, less positively challenging and requiring less knowledge skills. TS women experienced more life strain in school, adolescence and late working life. Controls reported higher overall life satisfaction, with no difference between samples on specific domains. TS women reported lower self-esteem. For TS women only, physical health at baseline predicted length of education and mental health at baseline predicted self-esteem. Women with TS face more challenges than controls on several domains of functioning. Early physical and mental health may influence later educational achievement and self-esteem for women with TS. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mechanisms of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in Tourette syndrome: clues from an in vivo neurochemistry study with PET.

PubMed

Wong, Dean F; Brasić, James R; Singer, Harvey S; Schretlen, David J; Kuwabara, Hiroto; Zhou, Yun; Nandi, Ayon; Maris, Marika A; Alexander, Mohab; Ye, Weiguo; Rousset, Olivier; Kumar, Anil; Szabo, Zsolt; Gjedde, Albert; Grace, Anthony A

2008-05-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder with childhood onset characterized by motor and phonic tics. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often concomitant with TS. Dysfunctional tonic and phasic dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) metabolism may play a role in the pathophysiology of TS. We simultaneously measured the density, affinity, and brain distribution of dopamine D2 receptors (D2-R's), dopamine transporter binding potential (BP), and amphetamine-induced dopamine release (DA(rel)) in 14 adults with TS and 10 normal adult controls. We also measured the brain distribution and BP of serotonin 5-HT2A receptors (5-HT2AR), and serotonin transporter (SERT) BP, in 11 subjects with TS and 10 normal control subjects. As compared with controls, DA rel was significantly increased in the ventral striatum among subjects with TS. Adults with TS+OCD exhibited a significant D(2)-R increase in left ventral striatum. SERT BP in midbrain and caudate/putamen was significantly increased in adults with TS (TS+OCD and TS-OCD). In three subjects with TS+OCD, in whom D2-R, 5-HT2AR, and SERT were measured within a 12-month period, there was a weakly significant elevation of DA rel and 5-HT2A BP, when compared with TS-OCD subjects and normal controls. The current study confirms, with a larger sample size and higher resolution PET scanning, our earlier report that elevated DA rel is a primary defect in TS. The finding of decreased SERT BP, and the possible elevation in 5-HT2AR in individuals with TS who had increased DA rel, suggest a condition of increased phasic DA rel modulated by low 5-HT in concomitant OCD.

Comparison of Land Skin Temperature from a Land Model, Remote Sensing, and In-situ Measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Aihui; Barlage, Michael; Zeng, Xubin; Draper, Clara Sophie

2014-01-01

Land skin temperature (Ts) is an important parameter in the energy exchange between the land surface and atmosphere. Here hourly Ts from the Community Land Model Version 4.0, MODIS satellite observations, and in-situ observations in 2003 were compared. Compared with the in-situ observations over four semi-arid stations, both MODIS and modeled Ts show negative biases, but MODIS shows an overall better performance. Global distribution of differences between MODIS and modeled Ts shows diurnal, seasonal, and spatial variations. Over sparsely vegetated areas, the model Ts is generally lower than the MODIS observed Ts during the daytime, while the situation is opposite at nighttime. The revision of roughness length for heat and the constraint of minimum friction velocity from Zeng et al. [2012] bring the modeled Ts closer to MODIS during the day, and have little effect on Ts at night. Five factors contributing to the Ts differences between the model and MODIS are identified, including the difficulty in properly accounting for cloud cover information at the appropriate temporal and spatial resolutions, and uncertainties in surface energy balance computation, atmospheric forcing data, surface emissivity, and MODIS Ts data. These findings have implications for the cross-evaluation of modeled and remotely sensed Ts, as well as the data assimilation of Ts observations into Earth system models.

FacetGist: Collective Extraction of Document Facets in Large Technical Corpora.

PubMed

Siddiqui, Tarique; Ren, Xiang; Parameswaran, Aditya; Han, Jiawei

2016-10-01

Given the large volume of technical documents available, it is crucial to automatically organize and categorize these documents to be able to understand and extract value from them. Towards this end, we introduce a new research problem called Facet Extraction. Given a collection of technical documents, the goal of Facet Extraction is to automatically label each document with a set of concepts for the key facets ( e.g. , application, technique, evaluation metrics, and dataset) that people may be interested in. Facet Extraction has numerous applications, including document summarization, literature search, patent search and business intelligence. The major challenge in performing Facet Extraction arises from multiple sources: concept extraction, concept to facet matching, and facet disambiguation. To tackle these challenges, we develop FacetGist, a framework for facet extraction. Facet Extraction involves constructing a graph-based heterogeneous network to capture information available across multiple local sentence-level features, as well as global context features. We then formulate a joint optimization problem, and propose an efficient algorithm for graph-based label propagation to estimate the facet of each concept mention. Experimental results on technical corpora from two domains demonstrate that Facet Extraction can lead to an improvement of over 25% in both precision and recall over competing schemes.

FacetGist: Collective Extraction of Document Facets in Large Technical Corpora

PubMed Central

Siddiqui, Tarique; Ren, Xiang; Parameswaran, Aditya; Han, Jiawei

2017-01-01

Given the large volume of technical documents available, it is crucial to automatically organize and categorize these documents to be able to understand and extract value from them. Towards this end, we introduce a new research problem called Facet Extraction. Given a collection of technical documents, the goal of Facet Extraction is to automatically label each document with a set of concepts for the key facets (e.g., application, technique, evaluation metrics, and dataset) that people may be interested in. Facet Extraction has numerous applications, including document summarization, literature search, patent search and business intelligence. The major challenge in performing Facet Extraction arises from multiple sources: concept extraction, concept to facet matching, and facet disambiguation. To tackle these challenges, we develop FacetGist, a framework for facet extraction. Facet Extraction involves constructing a graph-based heterogeneous network to capture information available across multiple local sentence-level features, as well as global context features. We then formulate a joint optimization problem, and propose an efficient algorithm for graph-based label propagation to estimate the facet of each concept mention. Experimental results on technical corpora from two domains demonstrate that Facet Extraction can lead to an improvement of over 25% in both precision and recall over competing schemes. PMID:28210517

Extraction of linear features on SAR imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Junyi; Li, Deren; Mei, Xin

2006-10-01

Linear features are usually extracted from SAR imagery by a few edge detectors derived from the contrast ratio edge detector with a constant probability of false alarm. On the other hand, the Hough Transform is an elegant way of extracting global features like curve segments from binary edge images. Randomized Hough Transform can reduce the computation time and memory usage of the HT drastically. While Randomized Hough Transform will bring about a great deal of cells invalid during the randomized sample. In this paper, we propose a new approach to extract linear features on SAR imagery, which is an almost automatic algorithm based on edge detection and Randomized Hough Transform. The presented improved method makes full use of the directional information of each edge candidate points so as to solve invalid cumulate problems. Applied result is in good agreement with the theoretical study, and the main linear features on SAR imagery have been extracted automatically. The method saves storage space and computational time, which shows its effectiveness and applicability.

Automated Extraction and Classification of Cancer Stage Mentions fromUnstructured Text Fields in a Central Cancer Registry

PubMed Central

AAlAbdulsalam, Abdulrahman K.; Garvin, Jennifer H.; Redd, Andrew; Carter, Marjorie E.; Sweeny, Carol; Meystre, Stephane M.

2018-01-01

Cancer stage is one of the most important prognostic parameters in most cancer subtypes. The American Joint Com-mittee on Cancer (AJCC) specifies criteria for staging each cancer type based on tumor characteristics (T), lymph node involvement (N), and tumor metastasis (M) known as TNM staging system. Information related to cancer stage is typically recorded in clinical narrative text notes and other informal means of communication in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). As a result, human chart-abstractors (known as certified tumor registrars) have to search through volu-minous amounts of text to extract accurate stage information and resolve discordance between different data sources. This study proposes novel applications of natural language processing and machine learning to automatically extract and classify TNM stage mentions from records at the Utah Cancer Registry. Our results indicate that TNM stages can be extracted and classified automatically with high accuracy (extraction sensitivity: 95.5%–98.4% and classification sensitivity: 83.5%–87%). PMID:29888032

Automated Extraction and Classification of Cancer Stage Mentions fromUnstructured Text Fields in a Central Cancer Registry.

PubMed

AAlAbdulsalam, Abdulrahman K; Garvin, Jennifer H; Redd, Andrew; Carter, Marjorie E; Sweeny, Carol; Meystre, Stephane M

2018-01-01

Cancer stage is one of the most important prognostic parameters in most cancer subtypes. The American Joint Com-mittee on Cancer (AJCC) specifies criteria for staging each cancer type based on tumor characteristics (T), lymph node involvement (N), and tumor metastasis (M) known as TNM staging system. Information related to cancer stage is typically recorded in clinical narrative text notes and other informal means of communication in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). As a result, human chart-abstractors (known as certified tumor registrars) have to search through volu-minous amounts of text to extract accurate stage information and resolve discordance between different data sources. This study proposes novel applications of natural language processing and machine learning to automatically extract and classify TNM stage mentions from records at the Utah Cancer Registry. Our results indicate that TNM stages can be extracted and classified automatically with high accuracy (extraction sensitivity: 95.5%-98.4% and classification sensitivity: 83.5%-87%).

Molecular, Immunological, and Biological Characterization of Tityus serrulatus Venom Hyaluronidase: New Insights into Its Role in Envenomation

PubMed Central

Oliveira-Mendes, Bárbara Bruna Ribeiro; do Carmo, Anderson Oliveira; Duarte, Clara Guerra; Felicori, Liza Figueiredo; Machado-de-Ávila, Ricardo Andrez; Chávez-Olórtegui, Carlos; Kalapothakis, Evanguedes

2014-01-01

Background Scorpionism is a public health problem in Brazil, and Tityus serrulatus (Ts) is primarily responsible for severe accidents. The main toxic components of Ts venom are low-molecular-weight neurotoxins; however, the venom also contains poorly characterized high-molecular-weight enzymes. Hyaluronidase is one such enzyme that has been poorly characterized. Methods and principal findings We examined clones from a cDNA library of the Ts venom gland and described two novel isoforms of hyaluronidase, TsHyal-1 and TsHyal-2. The isoforms are 83% identical, and alignment of their predicted amino acid sequences with other hyaluronidases showed conserved residues between evolutionarily distant organisms. We performed gel filtration followed by reversed-phase chromatography to purify native hyaluronidase from Ts venom. Purified native Ts hyaluronidase was used to produce anti-hyaluronidase serum in rabbits. As little as 0.94 µl of anti-hyaluronidase serum neutralized 1 LD50 (13.2 µg) of Ts venom hyaluronidase activity in vitro. In vivo neutralization assays showed that 121.6 µl of anti-hyaluronidase serum inhibited mouse death 100%, whereas 60.8 µl and 15.2 µl of serum delayed mouse death. Inhibition of death was also achieved by using the hyaluronidase pharmacological inhibitor aristolochic acid. Addition of native Ts hyaluronidase (0.418 µg) to pre-neutralized Ts venom (13.2 µg venom+0.94 µl anti-hyaluronidase serum) reversed mouse survival. We used the SPOT method to map TsHyal-1 and TsHyal-2 epitopes. More peptides were recognized by anti-hyaluronidase serum in TsHyal-1 than in TsHyal-2. Epitopes common to both isoforms included active site residues. Conclusions Hyaluronidase inhibition and immunoneutralization reduced the toxic effects of Ts venom. Our results have implications in scorpionism therapy and challenge the notion that only neurotoxins are important to the envenoming process. PMID:24551256

Extracting the Textual and Temporal Structure of Supercomputing Logs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jain, S; Singh, I; Chandra, A

2009-05-26

Supercomputers are prone to frequent faults that adversely affect their performance, reliability and functionality. System logs collected on these systems are a valuable resource of information about their operational status and health. However, their massive size, complexity, and lack of standard format makes it difficult to automatically extract information that can be used to improve system management. In this work we propose a novel method to succinctly represent the contents of supercomputing logs, by using textual clustering to automatically find the syntactic structures of log messages. This information is used to automatically classify messages into semantic groups via an onlinemore » clustering algorithm. Further, we describe a methodology for using the temporal proximity between groups of log messages to identify correlated events in the system. We apply our proposed methods to two large, publicly available supercomputing logs and show that our technique features nearly perfect accuracy for online log-classification and extracts meaningful structural and temporal message patterns that can be used to improve the accuracy of other log analysis techniques.« less

Inter-comparison of Methods for Extracting Subsurface Layers from SHARAD Radargrams over Martian polar regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, S.; Muller, J.-P.; Carretero, R. C.

2017-09-01

Subsurface layers are preserved in the polar regions on Mars, representing a record of past climate changes on Mars. Orbital radar instruments, such as the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) onboard ESA Mars Express (MEX) and the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), transmit radar signals to Mars and receive a set of return signals from these subsurface regions. Layering is a prominent subsurface feature, which has been revealed by both MARSIS and SHARAD radargrams over both polar regions on Mars. Automatic extraction of these subsurface layering is becoming increasingly important as there is now over ten years' of data archived. In this study, we investigate two different methods for extracting these subsurface layers from SHARAD data and compare the results against delineated layers derived manually to validate which methods is better for extracting these layers automatically.

A new blood vessel extraction technique using edge enhancement and object classification.

PubMed

Badsha, Shahriar; Reza, Ahmed Wasif; Tan, Kim Geok; Dimyati, Kaharudin

2013-12-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is increasing progressively pushing the demand of automatic extraction and classification of severity of diseases. Blood vessel extraction from the fundus image is a vital and challenging task. Therefore, this paper presents a new, computationally simple, and automatic method to extract the retinal blood vessel. The proposed method comprises several basic image processing techniques, namely edge enhancement by standard template, noise removal, thresholding, morphological operation, and object classification. The proposed method has been tested on a set of retinal images. The retinal images were collected from the DRIVE database and we have employed robust performance analysis to evaluate the accuracy. The results obtained from this study reveal that the proposed method offers an average accuracy of about 97 %, sensitivity of 99 %, specificity of 86 %, and predictive value of 98 %, which is superior to various well-known techniques.

Crystal structures of nematode (parasitic T. spiralis and free living C. elegans), compared to mammalian, thymidylate synthases (TS). Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations in search for nematode-specific inhibitors of TS.

PubMed

Jarmuła, Adam; Wilk, Piotr; Maj, Piotr; Ludwiczak, Jan; Dowierciał, Anna; Banaszak, Katarzyna; Rypniewski, Wojciech; Cieśla, Joanna; Dąbrowska, Magdalena; Frączyk, Tomasz; Bronowska, Agnieszka K; Jakowiecki, Jakub; Filipek, Sławomir; Rode, Wojciech

2017-10-01

Three crystal structures are presented of nematode thymidylate synthases (TS), including Caenorhabditis elegans (Ce) enzyme without ligands and its ternary complex with dUMP and Raltitrexed, and binary complex of Trichinella spiralis (Ts) enzyme with dUMP. In search of differences potentially relevant for the development of species-specific inhibitors of the nematode enzyme, a comparison was made of the present Ce and Ts enzyme structures, as well as binary complex of Ce enzyme with dUMP, with the corresponding mammalian (human, mouse and rat) enzyme crystal structures. To complement the comparison, tCONCOORD computations were performed to evaluate dynamic behaviors of mammalian and nematode TS structures. Finally, comparative molecular docking combined with molecular dynamics and free energy of binding calculations were carried out to search for ligands showing selective affinity to T. spiralis TS. Despite an overall strong similarity in structure and dynamics of nematode vs mammalian TSs, a pool of ligands demonstrating predictively a strong and selective binding to TsTS has been delimited. These compounds, the E63 family, locate in the dimerization interface of TsTS where they exert species-specific interactions with certain non-conserved residues, including hydrogen bonds with Thr174 and hydrophobic contacts with Phe192, Cys191 and Tyr152. The E63 family of ligands opens the possibility of future development of selective inhibitors of TsTS and effective agents against trichinellosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Four-Channel Biosignal Analysis and Feature Extraction for Automatic Emotion Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jonghwa; André, Elisabeth

This paper investigates the potential of physiological signals as a reliable channel for automatic recognition of user's emotial state. For the emotion recognition, little attention has been paid so far to physiological signals compared to audio-visual emotion channels such as facial expression or speech. All essential stages of automatic recognition system using biosignals are discussed, from recording physiological dataset up to feature-based multiclass classification. Four-channel biosensors are used to measure electromyogram, electrocardiogram, skin conductivity and respiration changes. A wide range of physiological features from various analysis domains, including time/frequency, entropy, geometric analysis, subband spectra, multiscale entropy, etc., is proposed in order to search the best emotion-relevant features and to correlate them with emotional states. The best features extracted are specified in detail and their effectiveness is proven by emotion recognition results.

Extraction of sandy bedforms features through geodesic morphometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debese, Nathalie; Jacq, Jean-José; Garlan, Thierry

2016-09-01

State-of-art echosounders reveal fine-scale details of mobile sandy bedforms, which are commonly found on continental shelfs. At present, their dynamics are still far from being completely understood. These bedforms are a serious threat to navigation security, anthropic structures and activities, placing emphasis on research breakthroughs. Bedform geometries and their dynamics are closely linked; therefore, one approach is to develop semi-automatic tools aiming at extracting their structural features from bathymetric datasets. Current approaches mimic manual processes or rely on morphological simplification of bedforms. The 1D and 2D approaches cannot address the wide ranges of both types and complexities of bedforms. In contrast, this work attempts to follow a 3D global semi-automatic approach based on a bathymetric TIN. The currently extracted primitives are the salient ridge and valley lines of the sand structures, i.e., waves and mega-ripples. The main difficulty is eliminating the ripples that are found to heavily overprint any observations. To this end, an anisotropic filter that is able to discard these structures while still enhancing the wave ridges is proposed. The second part of the work addresses the semi-automatic interactive extraction and 3D augmented display of the main lines structures. The proposed protocol also allows geoscientists to interactively insert topological constraints.

Automatic detection of Martian dark slope streaks by machine learning using HiRISE images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yexin; Di, Kaichang; Xin, Xin; Wan, Wenhui

2017-07-01

Dark slope streaks (DSSs) on the Martian surface are one of the active geologic features that can be observed on Mars nowadays. The detection of DSS is a prerequisite for studying its appearance, morphology, and distribution to reveal its underlying geological mechanisms. In addition, increasingly massive amounts of Mars high resolution data are now available. Hence, an automatic detection method for locating DSSs is highly desirable. In this research, we present an automatic DSS detection method by combining interest region extraction and machine learning techniques. The interest region extraction combines gradient and regional grayscale information. Moreover, a novel recognition strategy is proposed that takes the normalized minimum bounding rectangles (MBRs) of the extracted regions to calculate the Local Binary Pattern (LBP) feature and train a DSS classifier using the Adaboost machine learning algorithm. Comparative experiments using five different feature descriptors and three different machine learning algorithms show the superiority of the proposed method. Experimental results utilizing 888 extracted region samples from 28 HiRISE images show that the overall detection accuracy of our proposed method is 92.4%, with a true positive rate of 79.1% and false positive rate of 3.7%, which in particular indicates great performance of the method at eliminating non-DSS regions.

A Method for Extracting Suspected Parotid Lesions in CT Images using Feature-based Segmentation and Active Contours based on Stationary Wavelet Transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, T. Y.; Lin, S. F.

2013-10-01

Automatic suspected lesion extraction is an important application in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). In this paper, we propose a method to automatically extract the suspected parotid regions for clinical evaluation in head and neck CT images. The suspected lesion tissues in low contrast tissue regions can be localized with feature-based segmentation (FBS) based on local texture features, and can be delineated with accuracy by modified active contour models (ACM). At first, stationary wavelet transform (SWT) is introduced. The derived wavelet coefficients are applied to derive the local features for FBS, and to generate enhanced energy maps for ACM computation. Geometric shape features (GSFs) are proposed to analyze each soft tissue region segmented by FBS; the regions with higher similarity GSFs with the lesions are extracted and the information is also applied as the initial conditions for fine delineation computation. Consequently, the suspected lesions can be automatically localized and accurately delineated for aiding clinical diagnosis. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by comparing with the results outlined by clinical experts. The experiments on 20 pathological CT data sets show that the true-positive (TP) rate on recognizing parotid lesions is about 94%, and the dimension accuracy of delineation results can also approach over 93%.

Automated prediction of protein function and detection of functional sites from structure.

PubMed

Pazos, Florencio; Sternberg, Michael J E

2004-10-12

Current structural genomics projects are yielding structures for proteins whose functions are unknown. Accordingly, there is a pressing requirement for computational methods for function prediction. Here we present PHUNCTIONER, an automatic method for structure-based function prediction using automatically extracted functional sites (residues associated to functions). The method relates proteins with the same function through structural alignments and extracts 3D profiles of conserved residues. Functional features to train the method are extracted from the Gene Ontology (GO) database. The method extracts these features from the entire GO hierarchy and hence is applicable across the whole range of function specificity. 3D profiles associated with 121 GO annotations were extracted. We tested the power of the method both for the prediction of function and for the extraction of functional sites. The success of function prediction by our method was compared with the standard homology-based method. In the zone of low sequence similarity (approximately 15%), our method assigns the correct GO annotation in 90% of the protein structures considered, approximately 20% higher than inheritance of function from the closest homologue.

An Overview of Biomolecular Event Extraction from Scientific Documents

PubMed Central

Vanegas, Jorge A.; Matos, Sérgio; González, Fabio; Oliveira, José L.

2015-01-01

This paper presents a review of state-of-the-art approaches to automatic extraction of biomolecular events from scientific texts. Events involving biomolecules such as genes, transcription factors, or enzymes, for example, have a central role in biological processes and functions and provide valuable information for describing physiological and pathogenesis mechanisms. Event extraction from biomedical literature has a broad range of applications, including support for information retrieval, knowledge summarization, and information extraction and discovery. However, automatic event extraction is a challenging task due to the ambiguity and diversity of natural language and higher-level linguistic phenomena, such as speculations and negations, which occur in biological texts and can lead to misunderstanding or incorrect interpretation. Many strategies have been proposed in the last decade, originating from different research areas such as natural language processing, machine learning, and statistics. This review summarizes the most representative approaches in biomolecular event extraction and presents an analysis of the current state of the art and of commonly used methods, features, and tools. Finally, current research trends and future perspectives are also discussed. PMID:26587051

Morphological Feature Extraction for Automatic Registration of Multispectral Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plaza, Antonio; LeMoigne, Jacqueline; Netanyahu, Nathan S.

2007-01-01

The task of image registration can be divided into two major components, i.e., the extraction of control points or features from images, and the search among the extracted features for the matching pairs that represent the same feature in the images to be matched. Manual extraction of control features can be subjective and extremely time consuming, and often results in few usable points. On the other hand, automated feature extraction allows using invariant target features such as edges, corners, and line intersections as relevant landmarks for registration purposes. In this paper, we present an extension of a recently developed morphological approach for automatic extraction of landmark chips and corresponding windows in a fully unsupervised manner for the registration of multispectral images. Once a set of chip-window pairs is obtained, a (hierarchical) robust feature matching procedure, based on a multiresolution overcomplete wavelet decomposition scheme, is used for registration purposes. The proposed method is validated on a pair of remotely sensed scenes acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) multispectral instrument and the Hyperion hyperspectral instrument aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite.

Differences in Medial and Lateral Posterior Tibial Slope: An Osteological Review of 1090 Tibiae Comparing Age, Sex, and Race.

PubMed

Weinberg, Douglas S; Williamson, Drew F K; Gebhart, Jeremy J; Knapik, Derrick M; Voos, James E

2017-01-01

Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are common, and a number of knee morphological variables have been identified as risk factors for an ACL injury, including the posterior tibial slope (TS). However, limited data exist regarding innate population differences in the TS. To (1) establish normative values for the medial and lateral posterior TS; (2) determine what differences exist between ages, sexes, and races; and (3) determine how internal or external tibial rotation (as occurs during sagittal knee motion) influences the stereotactic perception of the TS. Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. A total of 545 cadaveric specimens (1090 tibiae) were obtained from the Hamann-Todd osteological collection. Specimens were leveled in the coronal, sagittal, and axial planes using a digital laser. Virtual representations of each bone were created with a 3-dimensional digitizer apparatus. The TS of the medial and lateral tibial plateaus were measured using techniques adapted from previous radiographic protocols. Medial and lateral TS were then again measured on 200 tibiae that were internally and externally rotated by 10° (axially). The mean (±SD) medial TS was 6.9° ± 3.7° posterior, which was greater than the mean lateral TS of 4.7° ± 3.6° posterior ( P < .001). Neither the medial nor lateral TS changed with age. Women had a greater mean TS compared with men on both the medial (7.5° ± 3.8° vs 6.8° ± 3.7°, respectively; P = .03) and lateral (5.2° ± 3.5° vs 4.6° ± 3.5°, respectively; P = .04) sides. Black specimens had a greater mean medial TS (8.7° ± 3.6° vs 5.8° ± 3.3°, respectively; P < .001) and lateral TS (5.9° ± 3.3° vs 3.8° ± 3.5°, respectively; P < .001) compared with white specimens. Axial rotation was shown to increase the perception of the medial and lateral TS ( P < .001). The medial TS was shown to be greater than the lateral TS. Important sex- and race-based differences exist in the TS. This study also highlights the role of axial rotation in measuring the TS.

A Unified Overset Grid Generation Graphical Interface and New Concepts on Automatic Gridding Around Surface Discontinuities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, William M.; Akien, Edwin (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

For many years, generation of overset grids for complex configurations has required the use of a number of different independently developed software utilities. Results created by each step were then visualized using a separate visualization tool before moving on to the next. A new software tool called OVERGRID was developed which allows the user to perform all the grid generation steps and visualization under one environment. OVERGRID provides grid diagnostic functions such as surface tangent and normal checks as well as grid manipulation functions such as extraction, extrapolation, concatenation, redistribution, smoothing, and projection. Moreover, it also contains hyperbolic surface and volume grid generation modules that are specifically suited for overset grid generation. It is the first time that such a unified interface existed for the creation of overset grids for complex geometries. New concepts on automatic overset surface grid generation around surface discontinuities will also be briefly presented. Special control curves on the surface such as intersection curves, sharp edges, open boundaries, are called seam curves. The seam curves are first automatically extracted from a multiple panel network description of the surface. Points where three or more seam curves meet are automatically identified and are called seam corners. Seam corner surface grids are automatically generated using a singular axis topology. Hyperbolic surface grids are then grown from the seam curves that are automatically trimmed away from the seam corners.

Convolution neural-network-based detection of lung structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasegawa, Akira; Lo, Shih-Chung B.; Freedman, Matthew T.; Mun, Seong K.

1994-05-01

Chest radiography is one of the most primary and widely used techniques in diagnostic imaging. Nowadays with the advent of digital radiology, the digital medical image processing techniques for digital chest radiographs have attracted considerable attention, and several studies on the computer-aided diagnosis (CADx) as well as on the conventional image processing techniques for chest radiographs have been reported. In the automatic diagnostic process for chest radiographs, it is important to outline the areas of the lungs, the heart, and the diaphragm. This is because the original chest radiograph is composed of important anatomic structures and, without knowing exact positions of the organs, the automatic diagnosis may result in unexpected detections. The automatic extraction of an anatomical structure from digital chest radiographs can be a useful tool for (1) the evaluation of heart size, (2) automatic detection of interstitial lung diseases, (3) automatic detection of lung nodules, and (4) data compression, etc. Based on the clearly defined boundaries of heart area, rib spaces, rib positions, and rib cage extracted, one should be able to use this information to facilitate the tasks of the CADx on chest radiographs. In this paper, we present an automatic scheme for the detection of lung field from chest radiographs by using a shift-invariant convolution neural network. A novel algorithm for smoothing boundaries of lungs is also presented.

Selected clinical features of the head and neck in women with Turner syndrome and the 45,X/46,XY karyotype.

PubMed

Frelich, Agnieszka; Frelich, Jakub; Jeż, Wacław; Irzyniec, Tomasz

2017-01-01

A 45,X/46,XY karyotype in women with Turner syndrome (TS) is very rare. The presence of a Y chromosome in the karyotype causes phenotypic differences and increased risk for neoplastic disease, compared to TS-women with other karyotypes. Our study addresses an issue: non-genital phenotypic differences between TS-patients with a Y-chromosome of their karyotype and TS-women without it. Results from patient history/physical examinations of the head and neck of eight TS-women and the 45,X/46,XY karyotype were compared with those observed in 164 TS-women and 30 controls. The heights of TS-groups: 142.5 ± 7.2 and 144.9 ± 7.2 cm were lower than controls (165.2 ± 6.6 cm). Participants were examined from 1995 to 2014. Among 28 study parameters, 15 were more frequently observed in TS women with the 45,X/46,XY karyotype compared to controls. Only abnormalities in the oral cavity and a history of childhood lymphoedema, differed significantly in the TS groups. With respect to the head and neck, the patient history and physical examination results of TS-women and the 45,X/46,XY karyotype and TS and other karyotypes revealed similar differences compared to controls. Compared to others TS patients, 45,X/46,XY individuals might more frequently have oral cavity soft tissue abnormalities and more rarely a history of childhood lymphoedema. (Endokrynol Pol 2017; 68 (1): 47-52).

An automatic system to detect and extract texts in medical images for de-identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yingxuan; Singh, P. D.; Siddiqui, Khan; Gillam, Michael

2010-03-01

Recently, there is an increasing need to share medical images for research purpose. In order to respect and preserve patient privacy, most of the medical images are de-identified with protected health information (PHI) before research sharing. Since manual de-identification is time-consuming and tedious, so an automatic de-identification system is necessary and helpful for the doctors to remove text from medical images. A lot of papers have been written about algorithms of text detection and extraction, however, little has been applied to de-identification of medical images. Since the de-identification system is designed for end-users, it should be effective, accurate and fast. This paper proposes an automatic system to detect and extract text from medical images for de-identification purposes, while keeping the anatomic structures intact. First, considering the text have a remarkable contrast with the background, a region variance based algorithm is used to detect the text regions. In post processing, geometric constraints are applied to the detected text regions to eliminate over-segmentation, e.g., lines and anatomic structures. After that, a region based level set method is used to extract text from the detected text regions. A GUI for the prototype application of the text detection and extraction system is implemented, which shows that our method can detect most of the text in the images. Experimental results validate that our method can detect and extract text in medical images with a 99% recall rate. Future research of this system includes algorithm improvement, performance evaluation, and computation optimization.

Development of Candidate Chemical Simulant List: The Evaluation of Candidate Chemical Simulants Which May Be Used in Chemically Hazardous Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

generation FDA Food and Drug Administration (U.S.A.) FEMA Flavoring Extract Manufacturer’s Associatic. FID Flame ionization detector FPD Flame...medicinally in the form of local analgesic or anti-inflammatory ointmer,ts or liniments S (Collins et al., 1971). It was given GRAS status by the Flavor ...methyl salicylate is considered safe for use as a flavoring agent in various foods when added in low concentrations, it has been found to be acutely

Modified natural porcine surfactant modulates tobacco smoke-induced stress response in human monocytes.

PubMed

Pinot, F; Bachelet, M; François, D; Polla, B S; Walti, H

1999-01-01

Tobacco smoke (TS) is a potent source of oxidants and oxidative stress is an important mechanism by which TS exerts its toxicity in the lung. We have shown that TS induces heat shock (HS)/stress protein (HSP) synthesis in human monocytes. Pulmonary surfactant (PS) whose major physiological function is to confer mechanical stability to alveoli, also modulates oxidative metabolism and other pro-inflammatory functions of monocytes-macrophages. In order to determine whether PS alters the stress response induced by TS, we incubated human peripheral blood monocytes overnight with modified natural porcine surfactant (Curosurf) (1 mg/ml) before exposure to TS. Curosurf decreased TS-induced, but not HS-induced, expression of the major cytosolic, inducible 72 kD HSP (Hsp70). Furthermore, TS-generated superoxide anions production was significantly decreased by Curosurf in an acellular system, suggesting a direct scavenging effect of PS. We also examined the effects of TS and PS on monocytes ultrastructure. Monocytes incubated with Curosurf presented smoother cell membranes than control monocytes, while TS-induced monocyte vacuolization was, at least in part, prevented by Curosurf. Taken together, our data suggest that PS plays a protective role against oxygen radical-mediated, TS-induced cellular stress responses.

Train surfing and other high voltage trauma: differences in injury-related mechanisms and operative outcomes after fasciotomy, amputation and soft-tissue coverage.

PubMed

Lumenta, David Benjamin; Vierhapper, Martin Friedrich; Kamolz, Lars-Peter; Keck, Maike; Frey, Manfred

2011-12-01

In the context of scarce reports on train surfers among high voltage electric injuries, we conducted a retrospective review between January 1994 and December 2008. After matching for inclusion criteria we reviewed patient records of 37 true high voltage injuries (12 train surfers [TS] and 25 other high voltage injuries [HV]). TS were significantly younger (TS 15.8 years vs. HV 33.3 years, p<0.0001), and had a greater %TBSA (TS 49.7%TBSA vs. HV 21.5%TBSA, p=0.0003) without affecting the median length-of-stay (TS 52 days vs. HV 49 days) or number of operations (TS 4 vs. HV 3). TS had different injury patterns, with a higher percentage of affected extremities (TS 72.9% vs. HV 52.0%, p=0.0468) and associated injuries (TS 58% vs. HV 20%, n.s.) than HV. Both groups demonstrated comparable fasciotomy (TS 71.4% vs. HV 55.8%) and amputation rates (TS 17.1% vs. HV 15.4%). While TS required less flaps (TS 3/12 vs. HV 18/25; p=0.0153), soft-tissue reconstruction revealed an overall low incidence of complication rates (one partial pedicled flap loss and two total free flap losses). Train surfers have proven to be a distinct group of patients among high-voltage injuries notably as a result of a younger age, a shorter electric contact duration and higher velocity-induced trauma. With a possibly declining trend of train surfing-related accidents in an aging society, it will be interesting to see if emerging economies will face comparable phenomena, for which prevention strategies remain key. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Limits to TYMS and TP53 genes as predictive determinants for fluoropyrimidine sensitivity and further evidence for an RNA-based toxicity as a major influence

PubMed Central

Brody, Jonathan R.; Hucl, Tomas; Costantino, Christina L.; Eshleman, James; Gallmeier, Eike; Zhu, Heng; Heijden, Michael S. van der; Winter, Jordan M; Wikiewicz, Agnieszka K.; Yeo, Charles J.; Kern, Scott E.

2010-01-01

The major determinants of 5-flurouracil response would appear, based on accumulated literature, to be thymidylate synthase (TYMS, TS) expression levels, TS gene modifications, and TP53 status. We tested 5-fluorouracil sensitivity in yeast and human cancer cell models in which TS or TP53 alleles and expression were varied. Polymorphic TS tandem repeat status, TS expression levels reported, TS intragenic mutations, and TP53 status in outbred and experimental cancer cell lines did not predict 5-FU sensitivity or resistance. Novel observations included a dose-resistant persistence of unbound TS protein in many cancers and, upon 5-FU treatment of the colon cancer cell line, HCT116, evidence of allelic switching favoring transcripts of the mutant TS allele. The reported alleles having an intragenic mutation could not be causally associated with major degrees of 5-FU sensitivity. In yeast, TS protein was altered upon treatment with fluoro-deoxyuridine monophosphate, but 5-FU toxicity appeared largely to be RNA-based, being rescued by uridine rather than by thymidine. Cancer cell lines were also rescued from 5-FU toxicity with uridine rather than thymidine. Additionally, a TS (CDC21) knockout yeast strain, obviating any potential role for TS protein as a target, was hypersensitive to 5-FU. When denatured proteins from cancer cells treated with radio-labeled 5-FU were, labeled species with alternative molecular weights other than TS were visualized, providing further evidence for alternative 5-FU protein targets. These data emphasize that TS and TP53 status do not consistently explain the variance in responses of fluoropyrimidine-treated cancer cells, in part due to RNA-based toxicity. PMID:19155291

Morphology and Molecular Mechanisms of Hepatic Injury in Rats under Simulated Weightlessness and the Protective Effects of Resistance Training.

PubMed

Du, Fang; Ding, Ye; Zou, Jun; Li, Zhili; Tian, Jijing; She, Ruiping; Wang, Desheng; Wang, Huijuan; Lv, Dongqiang; Chang, Lingling

2015-01-01

This study investigated the effects of long-term simulated weightlessness on liver morphology, enzymes, glycogen, and apoptosis related proteins by using two-month rat-tail suspension model (TS), and liver injury improvement by rat-tail suspension with resistance training model (TS&RT). Microscopically the livers of TS rats showed massive granular degeneration, chronic inflammation, and portal fibrosis. Mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum swelling and loss of membrane integrity were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The similar, but milder, morphological changes were observed in the livers of TS&RT rats. Serum biochemistry analysis revealed that the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in TS rats than in controls. The levels of ALT and AST in TS&RT rats were slightly lower than in RT rats, but they were insignificantly higher than in controls. However, both TS and TS&RT rats had significantly lower levels (p<0.05) of serum glucose and hepatic glycogen than in controls. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, and active caspase-3 were higher in TS rats than in TS&RT and control rats. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) showed that TS rats had higher mRNA levels (P < 0.05) of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and caspase-12 transcription than in control rats; whereas mRNA expressions of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were slightly higher in TS rats. TS&RT rats showed no significant differences of above 4 mRNAs compared with the control group. Our results demonstrated that long-term weightlessness caused hepatic injury, and may trigger hepatic apoptosis. Resistance training slightly improved hepatic damage.

Morphology and Molecular Mechanisms of Hepatic Injury in Rats under Simulated Weightlessness and the Protective Effects of Resistance Training

PubMed Central

Zou, Jun; Li, Zhili; Tian, Jijing; She, Ruiping; Wang, Desheng; Wang, Huijuan; Lv, Dongqiang; Chang, Lingling

2015-01-01

This study investigated the effects of long-term simulated weightlessness on liver morphology, enzymes, glycogen, and apoptosis related proteins by using two-month rat-tail suspension model (TS), and liver injury improvement by rat-tail suspension with resistance training model (TS&RT). Microscopically the livers of TS rats showed massive granular degeneration, chronic inflammation, and portal fibrosis. Mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum swelling and loss of membrane integrity were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The similar, but milder, morphological changes were observed in the livers of TS&RT rats. Serum biochemistry analysis revealed that the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in TS rats than in controls. The levels of ALT and AST in TS&RT rats were slightly lower than in RT rats, but they were insignificantly higher than in controls. However, both TS and TS&RT rats had significantly lower levels (p<0.05) of serum glucose and hepatic glycogen than in controls. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, and active caspase-3 were higher in TS rats than in TS&RT and control rats. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) showed that TS rats had higher mRNA levels (P < 0.05) of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and caspase-12 transcription than in control rats; whereas mRNA expressions of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were slightly higher in TS rats. TS&RT rats showed no significant differences of above 4 mRNAs compared with the control group. Our results demonstrated that long-term weightlessness caused hepatic injury, and may trigger hepatic apoptosis. Resistance training slightly improved hepatic damage. PMID:26000905

Terson syndrome in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage-its relation to intracranial pressure, admission factors, and clinical outcome.

PubMed

Joswig, Holger; Epprecht, Lorenz; Valmaggia, Christophe; Leschka, Sebastian; Hildebrandt, Gerhard; Fournier, Jean-Yves; Stienen, Martin Nikolaus

2016-06-01

A large number of reports have not been able to clarify the pathophysiology of Terson syndrome (TS) in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Prospective single-center study on aSAH patients. Fundoscopic and radiological signs of TS were assessed. The opening intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients who required a ventriculostomy was recorded with a manometer. Six out of 36 included patients had TS (16.7 %), which was associated with unfavorable admission scores. Twenty-nine patients (80.5 %) required ventriculostomy; TS was associated with higher ICP (median, 40 vs. 15 cm cmH2O, p = .003); all patients with TS had pathological ICP values of >20 cmH2O. Patients with a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior cerebral artery complex were ten times as likely to suffer from TS (OR 10.0, 95 % CI 1.03-97.50). Detection of TS on CT had a sensitivity of 50 %, a specificity of 98.4 %, a positive predictive value of 83.3 %, and a negative predictive value of 92.4 %. Mortality was 45 times as high in patients with TS (OR 45.0, 95 % CI 3.86-524.7) and neurologic morbidity up until 3 months post-aSAH was significantly higher in patients with TS (mRS 4-6; 100 vs. 17 %; p = .001). Our findings demonstrate an association between raised ICP and the incidence of TS. TS should be ruled out in aSAH patients presenting comatose or with raised ICP to ensure upfront ophthalmological follow-up. In alert patients without visual complaints and a TS-negative CT scan, the likelihood for the presence of TS is very low.

Toe spatiotemporal differences between transition steps when ascending shorter flight stairways of different heights.

PubMed

Ajisafe, Toyin; Wu, Jianhua; Geil, Mark

2017-03-01

Studies have typically treated the first and second floor-to-stair transition steps (TS1 and TS2) as one stride. However, because the foot is devoid of plantar cutaneous input from the stair surface at TS1, these steps may have different toe spatiotemporal profiles, and resultantly, different susceptibilities to a trip and/or a fall. This study compared vertical toe clearance, forward velocity, and their respective variability magnitudes between TS1 and TS2 when ascending stairs of different heights. Twenty young adults (seven males and 13 females) (21.68 ± 2.49 years; 169.70 ± 9.56 cm; 63.91 ± 9.62 kg) negotiated an intervening three-step staircase placed midpoint on a 10 m walkway. There were three stair heights: low stairs (LS), medium stairs (MS), and high stairs (HS). Vertical toe clearance, forward velocity, and their variability magnitudes were calculated. Vertical toe clearance was only higher (P < 0.05) at TS1 than TS2 in the medium and high stairs. Vertical toe clearance was more variable (P < 0.05) in the low compared to medium stairs. Also, forward toe velocity was greater at TS1 than TS2, but was lower in the medium and high stairs. The locomotor system appeared cautious by exaggerating vertical toe clearance at both TS1 and TS2 only in low stairs, possibly due to higher forward toe velocity. If the exaggeration strategy consistently persists, this finding may suggest decreased trip or fall risk at both TS1 and TS2 only when transitioning onto low stairs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elucidating X chromosome influences on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and executive function.

PubMed

Green, Tamar; Bade Shrestha, Sharon; Chromik, Lindsay C; Rutledge, Keetan; Pennington, Bruce F; Hong, David S; Reiss, Allan L

2015-09-01

To identify distinct behavioral and cognitive profiles associated with ADHD in Turner syndrome (TS), relative to idiopathic ADHD and neurotypical controls, in order to elucidate X-linked influences contributing to ADHD. We used a multilevel-model approach to compare 49 girls with TS to 37 neurotypical females, aged 5-12, on established measures of behavior (BASC-2) and neurocognitive function (NEPSY). We further compared girls with TS to BASC-2 and NEPSY age-matched reference data obtained from children with idiopathic ADHD. Within the TS group, 51% scored at or above the "at-risk" range for ADHD-associated behaviors on the BASC-2 (TS/+ADHD). The BASC-2 behavioral profile in this TS/+ADHD-subgroup was comparable to a reference group of boys with ADHD with respect to attentional problems and hyperactivity. However, the TS/+ADHD-subgroup had significantly higher hyperactivity scores relative to a reference sample of girls with ADHD (p = 0.016). The behavioral profile in TS was associated with significantly lower attention and executive function scores on the NEPSY relative to neurotypical controls (p = 0.015); but was comparable to scores from a reference sample of children with idiopathic ADHD. Deficits in attention and executive function were not observed in girls with TS having low levels of ADHD-associated behavior (TS/-ADHD). ADHD-associated behavioral and cognitive problems in TS are prevalent and comparable in severity to those found in children with idiopathic ADHD. The ADHD phenotype in TS also appears relatively independent of cognitive features typically associated with TS, like visuospatial weaknesses. These findings suggest that X-linked haploinsufficiency and downstream biological effects contribute to increased risk for ADHD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ts6 and Ts2 from Tityus serrulatus venom induce inflammation by mechanisms dependent on lipid mediators and cytokine production.

PubMed

Zoccal, Karina Furlani; Bitencourt, Claudia da Silva; Sorgi, Carlos Artério; Bordon, Karla de Castro Figueiredo; Sampaio, Suely Vilela; Arantes, Eliane Candiani; Faccioli, Lúcia Helena

2013-01-01

Inflammatory mediators are thought to be involved in the systemic and local immune response induced by the Tityus serrulatus scorpion envenomation. New functional aspects of lipid mediators have recently been described. Here, we examine the unreported role of lipid mediators in cell recruitment to the peritoneal cavity after an injection with Ts2 or Ts6 toxins isolated from the T. serrulatus scorpion venom. In this report, we demonstrate that following a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of Ts2 or Ts6 (250 μg/kg) in mice, there was an induction of leukocytosis with a predominance of neutrophils observed at 4, 24, 48 and 96 h. Moreover, total protein, leukotriene (LT)B(4), prostaglandin (PG)E(2) and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were increased. We also observed an increase of regulatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-10, after the Ts2 injection. Finally, we observed that Ts2 or Ts6 injection in 5-lipoxygenase (LO) deficient mice and in wild type (WT) 129sv mice pre-treated with LTs and PGs inhibitors (MK-886 and celecoxib, respectively) a reduction the influx of leukocytes occurs in comparison to WT. The recruitment of these cells demonstrated a phenotype characteristic of neutrophils, macrophages, CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes expressing GR1+, F4/80+, CD3+/CD4+ and CD3+/CD8+, respectively. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that Ts2 and Ts6 induce inflammation by mechanisms dependent on lipid mediators and cytokine production. Ts2 may play a regulatory role whereas Ts6 exhibits pro-inflammatory activity exclusively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An epidemiologic study of Tourette's syndrome in a single school district.

PubMed

Comings, D E; Himes, J A; Comings, B G

1990-11-01

To evaluate the frequency of Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (TS) in children, 3034 students in three schools in a single school district in greater Los Angeles were monitored frequently over a 2-year period by a school psychologist thoroughly familiar with the symptoms of the disorder. A portion of the cases were also evaluated in a TS clinic. A total of 14 males fulfilled the Tourette Syndrome Association research criteria for definite TS. When corrected for the number of students in special education classes in the monitored schools, the frequency of definite TS in males was 1 in 152. An additional 7 males who differed only in that they were not observed for a full year were termed definite TS less than 1 year. When the two groups were combined, the frequency of definite TS was 1 in 95 for males and 1 in 759 for females. These figures do not include an additional 10 males diagnosed as having definite transient tic disorder, 2 males diagnosed as having probable TS, and 10 males diagnosed as having possible TS. In addition to tics, most of these children had problems with attention span, obsessive compulsive behavior, and learning and/or conduct disorders. Seventy percent of the students with definite TS or definite TS less than 1 year were in special education classes. Twelve percent of the children in special education classes had definite TS or definite TS less than 1 year, and 28% were in one of the diagnostic categories of definite, probable, or possible. All of the 10 definite TS patients that were seen in the clinic had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Costimulatory Effects of an Immunodominant Parasite Antigen Paradoxically Prevent Induction of Optimal CD8 T Cell Protective Immunity.

PubMed

Eickhoff, Christopher S; Zhang, Xiuli; Vasconcelos, Jose R; Motz, R Geoffrey; Sullivan, Nicole L; O'Shea, Kelly; Pozzi, Nicola; Gohara, David W; Blase, Jennifer R; Di Cera, Enrico; Hoft, Daniel F

2016-09-01

Trypanosoma cruzi infection is controlled but not eliminated by host immunity. The T. cruzi trans-sialidase (TS) gene superfamily encodes immunodominant protective antigens, but expression of altered peptide ligands by different TS genes has been hypothesized to promote immunoevasion. We molecularly defined TS epitopes to determine their importance for protection versus parasite persistence. Peptide-pulsed dendritic cell vaccination experiments demonstrated that one pair of immunodominant CD4+ and CD8+ TS peptides alone can induce protective immunity (100% survival post-lethal parasite challenge). TS DNA vaccines have been shown by us (and others) to protect BALB/c mice against T. cruzi challenge. We generated a new TS vaccine in which the immunodominant TS CD8+ epitope MHC anchoring positions were mutated, rendering the mutant TS vaccine incapable of inducing immunity to the immunodominant CD8 epitope. Immunization of mice with wild type (WT) and mutant TS vaccines demonstrated that vaccines encoding enzymatically active protein and the immunodominant CD8+ T cell epitope enhance subdominant pathogen-specific CD8+ T cell responses. More specifically, CD8+ T cells from WT TS DNA vaccinated mice were responsive to 14 predicted CD8+ TS epitopes, while T cells from mutant TS DNA vaccinated mice were responsive to just one of these 14 predicted TS epitopes. Molecular and structural biology studies revealed that this novel costimulatory mechanism involves CD45 signaling triggered by enzymatically active TS. This enhancing effect on subdominant T cells negatively regulates protective immunity. Using peptide-pulsed DC vaccination experiments, we have shown that vaccines inducing both immunodominant and subdominant epitope responses were significantly less protective than vaccines inducing only immunodominant-specific responses. These results have important implications for T. cruzi vaccine development. Of broader significance, we demonstrate that increasing breadth of T cell epitope responses induced by vaccination is not always advantageous for host immunity.

Does the Institution of a Statewide Trauma System Reduce Preventable Mortality and Yield a Positive Return on Investment for Taxpayers?

PubMed

Maxson, Todd; Mabry, Charles D; Sutherland, Michael J; Robertson, Ronald D; Booker, James O; Collins, Terry; Spencer, Horace J; Rinker, Charles F; Sanddal, Teri L; Sanddal, Nels D

2017-04-01

In July 2009, Arkansas began to annually fund $20 million for a statewide trauma system (TS). We studied injury deaths both pre-TS (2009) and post-TS (2013 to 2014), with attention to causes of preventive mortality, societal cost of those preventable mortality deaths, and benefit to tax payers of the lives saved. A multi-specialty trauma-expert panel met and reviewed records of 672 decedents (290 pre-TS and 382 post-TS) who met standardized inclusion criteria, were judged potentially salvageable, and were selected by a proportional sampling of the roughly 2,500 annual trauma deaths. Deaths were adjudicated into sub-categories of nonpreventable and preventable causes. The value of lives lost was calculated for those lives potentially saved in the post-TS period. Total preventable mortality was reduced from 30% of cases pre-TS to 16% of cases studied post-TS, a reduction of 14%. Extrapolating a 14% reduction of preventable mortality to the post-TS study period, using the same inclusion criteria of the post-TS, we calculate that 79 lives were saved in 2013 to 2014 due to the institution of a TS. Using a minimal standard estimate of $100,000 value for a life-year, a lifetime value of $2,365,000 per person was saved. This equates to an economic impact of the lives saved of almost $186 million annually, representing a 9-fold return on investment from the $20 million of annual state funding invested in the TS. The implementation of a TS in Arkansas during a 5-year period resulted in a reduction of the preventable death rate to 16% post-TS, and a 9-fold return on investment by the tax payer. Additional life-saving gains can be expected with ongoing financial support and additional system performance-improvement efforts. Copyright © 2017 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Insights into Tan Spot and Stem Rust Resistance and Susceptibility by Studying the Pre-Green Revolution Global Collection of Wheat

PubMed Central

Abdullah, Sidrat; Sehgal, Sunish Kumar; Jin, Yue; Turnipseed, Brent; Ali, Shaukat

2017-01-01

Tan spot (TS), caused by the fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Died) Drechs, is an important foliar disease of wheat and has become a threat to world wheat production since the 1970s. In this study a globally diverse pre-1940s collection of 247 wheat genotypes was evaluated against Ptr ToxA, P. tritici-repentis race 1, and stem rust to determine if; (i) acquisition of Ptr ToxA by the P. tritici-repentis from Stagonospora nodorum led to increased pathogen virulence or (ii) incorporation of TS susceptibility during development stem rust resistant cultivars led to an increase in TS epidemics globally. Most genotypes were susceptible to stem rust; however, a range of reactions to TS and Ptr ToxA were observed. Four combinations of disease-toxin reactions were observed among the genotypes; TS susceptible-Ptr ToxA sensitive, TS susceptible-Ptr ToxA insensitive, TS resistant-Ptr ToxA insensitive, and TS resistant-Ptr ToxA toxin sensitive. A weak correlation (r = 0.14 for bread wheat and −0.082 for durum) was observed between stem rust susceptibility and TS resistance. Even though there were no reported epidemics in the pre-1940s, TS sensitive genotypes were widely grown in that period, suggesting that Ptr ToxA may not be an important factor responsible for enhanced prevalence of TS. PMID:28381959

A comparison of standard definitions and sagittal abdominal ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MeTS) is the cluster of several clinical symptoms that together represent the strongest risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of MeTS in adolescents is difficult to estimate given that there are several, but no agreed upon definition of MeTS for this age group. It is important to estimate MeTS and identify at-risk adolescents early in order to provide effective interventions prior to the development of diabetes and coronary heart disease. Objective: Study objectives are to: (1) estimate the prevalence of MeTS in U.S. adolescents using three widely adopted definitions and (2) compare changes in prevalence of MeTS when utilizing sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) as a component of MeTS. Methods: Data from U.S. adolescents ages 12–19 years (N=970) in the NHANES (2011–2014) were analyzed. MeTS standard definitions developed by Cook et al. (2003), deFerranti et al. (2007), and the International Disease Federation (IDF, 2007) were applied to estimate the sex-stratified, weighted prevalence of MeTS and its individual components (i.e., high waist circumference (WC), hypertension, blood lipid abnormalities, and high fasting blood glucose (FBG)). The definitions were modified by substituting SAD for WC, and weighted MeTS prevalence was re-estimated. Results: Regardless of gender and definition, abnormal blood lipids and high WC were the most prevalent MeTS components. For both sexes, estimated prevalence of componen

Homology modelling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal the inhibition of Leishmania donovani dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase enzyme by Withaferin-A.

PubMed

Vadloori, Bharadwaja; Sharath, A K; Prabhu, N Prakash; Maurya, Radheshyam

2018-04-16

Present in silico study was carried out to explore the mode of inhibition of Leishmania donovani dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (Ld DHFR-TS) enzyme by Withaferin-A, a withanolide isolated from Withania somnifera. Withaferin-A (WA) is known for its profound multifaceted properties, but its antileishmanial activity is not well understood. The parasite's DHFR-TS enzyme is diverse from its mammalian host and could be a potential drug target in parasites. A 3D model of Ld DHFR-TS enzyme was built and verified using Ramachandran plot and SAVES tools. The protein was docked with WA-the ligand, methotrexate (MTX)-competitive inhibitor of DHFR, and dihydrofolic acid (DHFA)-substrate for DHFR-TS. Molecular docking studies reveal that WA competes for active sites of both Hu DHFR and TS enzymes whereas it binds to a site other than active site in Ld DHFR-TS. Moreover, Lys 173 residue of DHFR-TS forms a H-bond with WA and has higher binding affinity to Ld DHFR-TS than Hu DHFR and Hu TS. The MD simulations confirmed the H-bonding interactions were stable. The binding energies of WA with Ld DHFR-TS were calculated using MM-PBSA. Homology modelling, molecular docking and MD simulations of Ld DHFR-TS revealed that WA could be a potential anti-leishmanial drug.

Molecular cloning, characterization, and immunolocalization of two lactate dehydrogenase homologous genes from Taenia solium.

PubMed

Du, Wuying; Hu, Fengyu; Yang, Yabo; Hu, Dong; Hu, Xuchu; Yu, Xinbing; Xu, Jin; Dai, Jialin; Liao, Xinjiang; Huang, Jiang

2011-09-01

Two novel genes encoding lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) and B (LDHB) homologues, respectively, were identified from the cDNA libraries of adult Taenia solium (T. solium). The two deduced amino acid sequences both show more than 50% identity to the homologues for Danio rerio, Xenopus laevis, Schistosoma japonicum, Sus scrofa, Homo sapiens, et al. The identity of the amino acid sequence between TsLDHA and TsLDHB is 57.4%, and that of the nucleotide sequence is 61.5%. Recombinant TsLDHA homologue (rTsLDHA) and TsLDHB homologue (rTsLDHB) were expressed in Escherichia coli BL21/DE3 and purified. Though there were some differences in the sequence, the two LDH isozyme homologues show similarity in the conserved LDH domain, topological structure, primary immunological traits, localization on the tegument of T. solium adult, and partial physicochemical properties. The linear B-cell epitope analysis of TsLDHA and TsLDHB discovered a TsLDHA specific epitope. The purified rTsLDHA and rTsLDHB could be recognized by rat immuno-sera, serum from swine, or a patient infected with T. solium, respectively, but Western blot analysis showed cross-reactions, not only between these two LDH members but also with other common human tapeworms or helminths. The results suggested that the two LDH homologues are similar in the characteristics of LDH family, and they are not specific antigens for immunodiagnosis.

A Qualitative Exploration of the Experiences of Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome

PubMed Central

Edwards, Kim R.; Mendlowitz, Sandra; Jackson, Elana; Champigny, Claire; Specht, Matt; Arnold, Paul; Gorman, Daniel; Dimitropoulos, Gina

2017-01-01

Objective The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of youth with Tourette Syndrome (TS). Method Thirteen participants with TS were recruited from a large tertiary care hospital to complete semi-structured interviews and two questionnaires pertaining to demographic information and tic severity. Thematic analysis was utilized to systematically analyze the data. Results Three main themes were identified: 1) beliefs about TS; 2) TS related distress and impairment; and, 3) coping with TS. Conclusion The findings from this study suggest that most participants were aware of their tics but unaware of the cause of tics/TS. The interviews also highlighted that, for most participants, TS caused emotional, social, physical, and/or occupational impairment. Despite their distress, participants provided several suggestions for coping with TS and for supporting those who are diagnosed with this condition. PMID:28331502

Analysis of separation test for automatic brake adjuster based on linear radon transformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Zai; Jiang, Wensong; Guo, Bin; Fan, Weijun; Lu, Yi

2015-01-01

The linear Radon transformation is applied to extract inflection points for online test system under the noise conditions. The linear Radon transformation has a strong ability of anti-noise and anti-interference by fitting the online test curve in several parts, which makes it easy to handle consecutive inflection points. We applied the linear Radon transformation to the separation test system to solve the separating clearance of automatic brake adjuster. The experimental results show that the feature point extraction error of the gradient maximum optimal method is approximately equal to ±0.100, while the feature point extraction error of linear Radon transformation method can reach to ±0.010, which has a lower error than the former one. In addition, the linear Radon transformation is robust.

Algorithm based on regional separation for automatic grain boundary extraction using improved mean shift method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhenying, Xu; Jiandong, Zhu; Qi, Zhang; Yamba, Philip

2018-06-01

Metallographic microscopy shows that the vast majority of metal materials are composed of many small grains; the grain size of a metal is important for determining the tensile strength, toughness, plasticity, and other mechanical properties. In order to quantitatively evaluate grain size in metals, grain boundaries must be identified in metallographic images. Based on the phenomenon of grain boundary blurring or disconnection in metallographic images, this study develops an algorithm based on regional separation for automatically extracting grain boundaries by an improved mean shift method. Experimental observation shows that the grain boundaries obtained by the proposed algorithm are highly complete and accurate. This research has practical value because the proposed algorithm is suitable for grain boundary extraction from most metallographic images.

Automatic concept extraction from spoken medical reports.

PubMed

Happe, André; Pouliquen, Bruno; Burgun, Anita; Cuggia, Marc; Le Beux, Pierre

2003-07-01

The objective of this project is to investigate methods whereby a combination of speech recognition and automated indexing methods substitute for current transcription and indexing practices. We based our study on existing speech recognition software programs and on NOMINDEX, a tool that extracts MeSH concepts from medical text in natural language and that is mainly based on a French medical lexicon and on the UMLS. For each document, the process consists of three steps: (1) dictation and digital audio recording, (2) speech recognition, (3) automatic indexing. The evaluation consisted of a comparison between the set of concepts extracted by NOMINDEX after the speech recognition phase and the set of keywords manually extracted from the initial document. The method was evaluated on a set of 28 patient discharge summaries extracted from the MENELAS corpus in French, corresponding to in-patients admitted for coronarography. The overall precision was 73% and the overall recall was 90%. Indexing errors were mainly due to word sense ambiguity and abbreviations. A specific issue was the fact that the standard French translation of MeSH terms lacks diacritics. A preliminary evaluation of speech recognition tools showed that the rate of accurate recognition was higher than 98%. Only 3% of the indexing errors were generated by inadequate speech recognition. We discuss several areas to focus on to improve this prototype. However, the very low rate of indexing errors due to speech recognition errors highlights the potential benefits of combining speech recognition techniques and automatic indexing.

Automation of liquid-liquid extraction-spectrophotometry using prolonged pseudo-liquid drops and handheld CCD for speciation of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in water samples.

PubMed

Chen, Wen; Zhong, Guanping; Zhou, Zaide; Wu, Peng; Hou, Xiandeng

2005-10-01

A simple spectrophotometric system, based on a prolonged pseudo-liquid drop device as an optical cell and a handheld charge coupled device (CCD) as a detector, was constructed for automatic liquid-liquid extraction and spectrophotometric speciation of trace Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in water samples. A tungsten halogen lamp was used as the light source, and a laboratory-constructed T-tube with two open ends was used to form the prolonged pseudo-liquid drop inside the tube. In the medium of perchloric acid solution, Cr(VI) reacted with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC); the formed complex was automatically extracted into n-pentanol, with a preconcentration ratio of about 5. The organic phase with extracted chromium complex was then pumped through the optical cell for absorbance measurement at 548 nm. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range of 7.5 - 350 microg L(-1), with a correlation coefficient of 0.9993. The limit of detection (3sigma) was 7.5 microg L(-1). That Cr(III) species cannot react with DPC, but can be oxidized to Cr(VI) prior to determination, is the basis of the speciation analysis. The proposed speciation analysis was sensitive, yet simple, labor-effective, and cost-effective. It has been preliminarily applied for the speciation of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) in spiked river and tap water samples. It can also be used for other automatic liquid-liquid extraction-spectrophotometric determinations.

A Supporting Platform for Semi-Automatic Hyoid Bone Tracking and Parameter Extraction from Videofluoroscopic Images for the Diagnosis of Dysphagia Patients.

PubMed

Lee, Jun Chang; Nam, Kyoung Won; Jang, Dong Pyo; Paik, Nam Jong; Ryu, Ju Seok; Kim, In Young

2017-04-01

Conventional kinematic analysis of videofluoroscopic (VF) swallowing image, most popular for dysphagia diagnosis, requires time-consuming and repetitive manual extraction of diagnostic information from multiple images representing one swallowing period, which results in a heavy work load for clinicians and excessive hospital visits for patients to receive counseling and prescriptions. In this study, a software platform was developed that can assist in the VF diagnosis of dysphagia by automatically extracting a two-dimensional moving trajectory of the hyoid bone as well as 11 temporal and kinematic parameters. Fifty VF swallowing videos containing both non-mandible-overlapped and mandible-overlapped cases from eight patients with dysphagia of various etiologies and 19 videos from ten healthy controls were utilized for performance verification. Percent errors of hyoid bone tracking were 1.7 ± 2.1% for non-overlapped images and 4.2 ± 4.8% for overlapped images. Correlation coefficients between manually extracted and automatically extracted moving trajectories of the hyoid bone were 0.986 ± 0.017 (X-axis) and 0.992 ± 0.006 (Y-axis) for non-overlapped images, and 0.988 ± 0.009 (X-axis) and 0.991 ± 0.006 (Y-axis) for overlapped images. Based on the experimental results, we believe that the proposed platform has the potential to improve the satisfaction of both clinicians and patients with dysphagia.

Exploration of Web Users' Search Interests through Automatic Subject Categorization of Query Terms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pu, Hsiao-tieh; Yang, Chyan; Chuang, Shui-Lung

2001-01-01

Proposes a mechanism that carefully integrates human and machine efforts to explore Web users' search interests. The approach consists of a four-step process: extraction of core terms; construction of subject taxonomy; automatic subject categorization of query terms; and observation of users' search interests. Research findings are proved valuable…

Evaluation of the egg transmission and pathogenicity of Mycoplasma gallisepticum isolates genotyped as ts-11.

PubMed

Armour, Natalie K; Ferguson-Noel, Naola

2015-01-01

Live Mycoplasma gallisepticum vaccines are used for the control of respiratory disease, egg production losses and egg transmission associated with M. gallisepticum infection in long-lived poultry. The first field case of apparent increased virulence and vertical transmission of ts-11, a live M. gallisepticum vaccine, has been reported. In that study a M. gallisepticum isolate from the broiler progeny of ts-11-vaccinated breeders was genotyped as ts-11 by sequence analysis of four different genetic targets and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA and found to be significantly more virulent than ts-11 vaccine. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the rate of egg transmission and pathogenicity of ts-11 vaccine and isolates recovered from ts-11-vaccinated breeders (K6222B) and their broiler progeny (K6216D) which had been genotyped as ts-11. Groups of 28-week-old specific pathogen-free chickens at 87% average weekly egg production were inoculated with sterile broth media (negative controls), ts-11 vaccine, K6222B, K6216D or R strain (positive controls) by eye-drop and aerosol. K6216D transmitted via the egg at an average rate of 4.0% in the third and fourth weeks post-infection, while egg transmission of K6222B and ts-11 vaccine was not detected. M. gallisepticum was isolated from the air sacs, ovaries and oviducts of hens infected with K6216D and K6222B, but not from those infected with ts-11 vaccine. K6216D and K6222B both induced respiratory signs and significantly more tracheal colonization and more severe tracheal and air sac lesions than ts-11 vaccine (P ≤ 0.05). There were no substantial differences in the egg production of ts-11, K6216D and K6222B infected groups. These results provide the first conclusive evidence of transovarian transmission of an isolate genotyped as ts-11 and indicate that isolates genotyed as ts-11 vary in their virulence and ability to transmit via the egg.

A controlled study of Tourette syndrome. IV. Obsessions, compulsions, and schizoid behaviors.

PubMed Central

Comings, D E; Comings, B G

1987-01-01

To determine the frequency of obsessive, compulsive, and schizoid behaviors in Tourette syndrome (TS), we prospectively questioned 246 patients with TS, 17 with attention-deficit disorder (ADD), 15 with ADD due to a TS gene, and 47 random controls. The comparative frequency of obsessive, compulsive, and repetitive behaviors--such as obsessive unpleasant thoughts, obsessive silly thoughts, echolalia, palilalia, touching things excessively, touching things a specific number of times, touching others excessively, sexual touching, biting or hurting oneself, head banging, rocking, mimicking others, counting things, and occasional or frequent public exhibitionism--were significantly more common in TS patients than in controls. The frequency of each of these was much higher for grade 3 (severe) TS. Most of these behaviors also occurred significantly more often in individuals with ADD or in individuals with ADD secondary to TS (ADD 2(0) TS). When these features were combined into an obsessive-compulsive score, 45.4% of TS patients had a score of 4-15, whereas 8.5% of controls had a score of 4 or 5. These results indicate that obsessive-compulsive behaviors are an integral part of the expression of the TS gene and can be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Schizoid symptoms, such as thinking that people were watching them or plotting against them, were significantly more common in TS patients than in controls. Auditory hallucinations of hearing voices were present in 14.6% of TS patients, compared with 2.1% of controls (P = .02). These symptoms were absent in ADD patients but present in ADD 2(0) TS patients. These voices were often blamed for telling them to do bad things and were frequently identified with the devil. None of the controls had a total schizoid behavior score greater than 3, whereas 10.9% of the TS patients had scores of 4-10 (P = .02). This frequency increased to 20.6% in the grade 3 TS patients. These quantitative results confirm our clinical impression that some TS patients have paranoid ideations, often feel that people are out to get them, and hear voices. PMID:3479015

Practical automatic Arabic license plate recognition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, Khader; Agaian, Sos; Saleh, Hani

2011-02-01

Since 1970's, the need of an automatic license plate recognition system, sometimes referred as Automatic License Plate Recognition system, has been increasing. A license plate recognition system is an automatic system that is able to recognize a license plate number, extracted from image sensors. In specific, Automatic License Plate Recognition systems are being used in conjunction with various transportation systems in application areas such as law enforcement (e.g. speed limit enforcement) and commercial usages such as parking enforcement and automatic toll payment private and public entrances, border control, theft and vandalism control. Vehicle license plate recognition has been intensively studied in many countries. Due to the different types of license plates being used, the requirement of an automatic license plate recognition system is different for each country. [License plate detection using cluster run length smoothing algorithm ].Generally, an automatic license plate localization and recognition system is made up of three modules; license plate localization, character segmentation and optical character recognition modules. This paper presents an Arabic license plate recognition system that is insensitive to character size, font, shape and orientation with extremely high accuracy rate. The proposed system is based on a combination of enhancement, license plate localization, morphological processing, and feature vector extraction using the Haar transform. The performance of the system is fast due to classification of alphabet and numerals based on the license plate organization. Experimental results for license plates of two different Arab countries show an average of 99 % successful license plate localization and recognition in a total of more than 20 different images captured from a complex outdoor environment. The results run times takes less time compared to conventional and many states of art methods.

Association of glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) polymorphism with Tourette syndrome in Taiwanese patients.

PubMed

Shen, Che-Piao; Chou, I-Ching; Liu, Hsin-Ping; Lee, Cheng-Chun; Tsai, Yuhsin; Wu, Bor-Tsang; Hsu, Ban-Dar; Lin, Wei-Yong; Tsai, Fuu-Jen

2014-01-01

The etiology of Tourette syndrome (TS) is multifactorial. TS vulnerability may be associated with genetic and environmental factors. From the genetic point of view, TS is heterogeneous. Previous studies showed that some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the glutathione-S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) gene can affect cellular proliferation and apoptotic activity and TS is a neurodevelopmental disorder. We guessed that there was a relationship between TS and genetic variants of the GSTP1 gene. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that GSTP1 SNPs were associated with TS. We performed a case-control study. One hundred twenty-one TS children and 105 normal children were included in the study. Polymerase chain reaction was used to identify the GSTP1 gene polymorphism at position rs6591256 (A/G, promoter polymorphism) in TS patients and normal children. The polymorphism at position rs6591256 in the GSTP1 gene revealed significant differences in the allele (p=0.0135) and genotype (p=0.0159) distributions between the TS patients and the control group. The A allele was present at a higher frequency than the G allele in the TS patients compared with the control group (odds ratio [OR]=1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-3.21). The AA genotype was associated with susceptibility to TS with an OR of 2.38 for the AA versus AG genotype (95% CI: 1.29-4.41). These findings suggest that variants in the GSTP1 gene may play a role in susceptibility to TS.

Temperature-sensitive mutants of influenza A virus. XIV. Production and evaluation of influenza A/Georgia/74-ts-1[E] recombinant viruses in human adults.

PubMed

Richman, D D; Murphy, B R; Belshe, R B; Rusten, H M; Chanock, R M; Blacklow, N R; Parrino, T A; Rose, F B; Levine, M M; Caplan, E

1977-08-01

The two temperature-sensitive (ts) lesions present in influenza A/Hong Kong/68-ts-1[E] (H3N2 68) virus were transferred via genetic reassortment to influenza A/Georgia/74 (H3N2 74) wild-type virus. A recombinant clone possessing both ts lesions and the shutoff temperature of 38 C of the Hong Kong/68 ts donor and the two surface antigens of the Georgia/74 wild-type virus was administered to 32 seronegative adult volunteers. Thirty-one volunteers were infected, of whom only five experienced mild afebrile upper respiratory tract illness. The wild-type recipient virus was a cloned population that induced illness in five of six infected volunteers. Therfore, the attenuation exhibited by the Georgia/74-ts-1[E] virus could reasonably be assumed to be due to the acquisition of the two ts-1[E] lesions by the Georgia/74 wild-type virus. The serum and nasal wash antibody responses of the ts-1[E] vaccinees were equivalent to those of the volunteers who received wild-type virus. The two ts lesions present in the Hong Kong/68-ts-1[E] virus have now been transferred three times to a wild-type virus bearing a new hemagglutinin, and in each instance the new ts recombination exhibited a similar, satisfactory level of attenuation and antigenicity for adults. It seems likely that the transfer of the ts-1[E] lesions to any new influenza virus will regularly result in attenuation of a recombinat virus possessing the new surface antigens.

Clinical and laboratory features of neuropathies with serum IgM binding to TS-HDS.

PubMed

Pestronk, Alan; Schmidt, Robert E; Choksi, Rati M; Sommerville, R Brian; Al-Lozi, Muhammad T

2012-06-01

In this investigation we studied clinical and laboratory features of polyneuropathies in patients with serum IgM binding to the trisulfated disaccharide IdoA2S-GlcNS-6S (TS-HDS). We retrospectively compared 58 patients with selective IgM binding to TS-HDS to 41 consecutive patients with polyneuropathies without TS-HDS binding. Patients with IgM vs. TS-HDS commonly had distal, sensory, axonal neuropathies. Weakness was associated with IgM M-proteins. Hand pain and serum IgM M-proteins were more common than in control neuropathy patients. TS-HDS antibody binding was often selectively κ class. Biopsies showed capillary pathology with thickened basal lamina and C5b9 complement deposition. IgM in sera with TS-HDS antibodies often bound to capillaries. Serum IgM binding to TS-HDS is associated with painful, sensory > motor, polyneuropathies with an increased frequency of persistent hand discomfort, serum IgM M-proteins, and capillary pathology. Serum IgM binding to TS-HDS suggests a possible immune etiology underlying some otherwise idiopathic sensory polyneuropathies. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Automated methods of tree boundary extraction and foliage transparency estimation from digital imagery

Treesearch

Sang-Mook Lee; Neil A. Clark; Philip A. Araman

2003-01-01

Foliage transparency in trees is an important indicator for forest health assessment. This paper helps advance transparency measurement research by presenting methods of automatic tree boundary extraction and foliage transparency estimation from digital images taken from the ground of open grown trees.Extraction of proper boundaries of tree crowns is the...

Temporal resolution of orientation-defined texture segregation: a VEP study.

PubMed

Lachapelle, Julie; McKerral, Michelle; Jauffret, Colin; Bach, Michael

2008-09-01

Orientation is one of the visual dimensions that subserve figure-ground discrimination. A spatial gradient in orientation leads to "texture segregation", which is thought to be concurrent parallel processing across the visual field, without scanning. In the visual-evoked potential (VEP) a component can be isolated which is related to texture segregation ("tsVEP"). Our objective was to evaluate the temporal frequency dependence of the tsVEP to compare processing speed of low-level features (e.g., orientation, using the VEP, here denoted llVEP) with texture segregation because of a recent literature controversy in that regard. Visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded in seven normal adults. Oriented line segments of 0.1 degrees x 0.8 degrees at 100% contrast were presented in four different arrangements: either oriented in parallel for two homogeneous stimuli (from which were obtained the low-level VEP (llVEP)) or with a 90 degrees orientation gradient for two textured ones (from which were obtained the texture VEP). The orientation texture condition was presented at eight different temporal frequencies ranging from 7.5 to 45 Hz. Fourier analysis was used to isolate low-level components at the pattern-change frequency and texture-segregation components at half that frequency. For all subjects, there was lower high-cutoff frequency for tsVEP than for llVEPs, on average 12 Hz vs. 17 Hz (P = 0.017). The results suggest that the processing of feature gradients to extract texture segregation requires additional processing time, resulting in a lower fusion frequency.

Characterization and antimicrobial activity of sweetpotato starch-based edible film containing origanum (Thymus capitatus) oil.

PubMed

Ehivet, Fabienne E; Min, Byungjin; Park, Mi-Kyung; Oh, Jun-Hyun

2011-01-01

The objectives of this research were to characterize the mechanical and barrier properties of sweetpotato starch (SPS)-based film (SPSF) and to investigate the antimicrobial activity of SPSF containing origanum oil (OG) against foodborne pathogenic bacteria. The SPSF was fabricated with the SPS extracted from commercial sweetpotato roots. Tensile strength (TS), percent elongation at break (E), and water vapor permeability (WVP) were determined to characterize the SPSF fabricated with selected SPS concentrations, plasticizers, and the concentrations of plasticizers. The agar diffusion assay was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of SPSF containing selective concentrations of OG against Salmonella Enteritidis, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes. The SPSF fabricated with 2.5% SPS exhibited the greatest TS (4.58 MPa). The TS, E, and WVP of SPSF plasticized with 40% sorbitol exhibited 7.96 MPa, 77.92%, 0.212 ng m/m(2) S Pa, respectively. Therefore, the SPSF fabricated with 2.5% SPS and 40% sorbitol was determined as the optimum film. The antimicrobial activity of the SPSF containing OG increased as the concentration of OG increased. And the SPSF containing OG exhibited greater inhibitory effects against the gram-negative bacteria such as S. Enteritidis and E. coli O157:H7 than the gram-positive L. monocytogenes. The greatest antimicrobial activity was observed against S. Enteritidis when the SPSF containing 2% OG was applied, and the maximum square of zone width was 18.43 mm(2).

Chemical dynamics between wells across a time-dependent barrier: Self-similarity in the Lagrangian descriptor and reactive basins.

PubMed

Junginger, Andrej; Duvenbeck, Lennart; Feldmaier, Matthias; Main, Jörg; Wunner, Günter; Hernandez, Rigoberto

2017-08-14

In chemical or physical reaction dynamics, it is essential to distinguish precisely between reactants and products for all times. This task is especially demanding in time-dependent or driven systems because therein the dividing surface (DS) between these states often exhibits a nontrivial time-dependence. The so-called transition state (TS) trajectory has been seen to define a DS which is free of recrossings in a large number of one-dimensional reactions across time-dependent barriers and thus, allows one to determine exact reaction rates. A fundamental challenge to applying this method is the construction of the TS trajectory itself. The minimization of Lagrangian descriptors (LDs) provides a general and powerful scheme to obtain that trajectory even when perturbation theory fails. Both approaches encounter possible breakdowns when the overall potential is bounded, admitting the possibility of returns to the barrier long after the trajectories have reached the product or reactant wells. Such global dynamics cannot be captured by perturbation theory. Meanwhile, in the LD-DS approach, it leads to the emergence of additional local minima which make it difficult to extract the optimal branch associated with the desired TS trajectory. In this work, we illustrate this behavior for a time-dependent double-well potential revealing a self-similar structure of the LD, and we demonstrate how the reflections and side-minima can be addressed by an appropriate modification of the LD associated with the direct rate across the barrier.

High-rep-rate Thomson scattering for LHD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

den Hartog, D. J.; Borchardt, M. T.; Holly, D. J.; Schmitz, O.; Yasuhara, R.; Yamada, I.; Funaba, H.; Osakabe, M.; Morisaki, T.

2017-10-01

A high-rep-rate pulse-burst laser system is being built for the LHD Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostic. This laser will have two operating scenarios, a fast-burst sequence of 15 kHz rep rate for at least 15 ms, and a slow-burst sequence of 1 kHz for at least 50 ms. There will be substantial flexibility in burst sequences for tailoring to experimental requirements. This new laser system will operate alongside the existing lasers in the LHD TS diagnostic, and will use the same beamline. This increase in temporal resolution capability complements the high spatial resolution (144 points) of the LHD TS diagnostic, providing unique measurement capability unmatched on any other fusion experiment. The new pulse-burst laser is a straightforward application of technology developed at UW-Madison, consisting of a Nd:YAG laser head with modular flashlamp drive units and a customized control system. Variable pulse-width drive of the flashlamps is accomplished by IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) switching of electrolytic capacitor banks. Direct control of the laser Pockels cell drive enables optimal pulse energy extraction, producing >1.5 J q-switched pulses with 20 ns FWHM. Burst operation of this laser system will be used to capture fast time evolution of the electron temperature and density profiles during events such as ELMs, RMP perturbations, and various MHD modes. This work is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy and the National Institute for Fusion Science (Japan).

Enhancing interpretability of automatically extracted machine learning features: application to a RBM-Random Forest system on brain lesion segmentation.

PubMed

Pereira, Sérgio; Meier, Raphael; McKinley, Richard; Wiest, Roland; Alves, Victor; Silva, Carlos A; Reyes, Mauricio

2018-02-01

Machine learning systems are achieving better performances at the cost of becoming increasingly complex. However, because of that, they become less interpretable, which may cause some distrust by the end-user of the system. This is especially important as these systems are pervasively being introduced to critical domains, such as the medical field. Representation Learning techniques are general methods for automatic feature computation. Nevertheless, these techniques are regarded as uninterpretable "black boxes". In this paper, we propose a methodology to enhance the interpretability of automatically extracted machine learning features. The proposed system is composed of a Restricted Boltzmann Machine for unsupervised feature learning, and a Random Forest classifier, which are combined to jointly consider existing correlations between imaging data, features, and target variables. We define two levels of interpretation: global and local. The former is devoted to understanding if the system learned the relevant relations in the data correctly, while the later is focused on predictions performed on a voxel- and patient-level. In addition, we propose a novel feature importance strategy that considers both imaging data and target variables, and we demonstrate the ability of the approach to leverage the interpretability of the obtained representation for the task at hand. We evaluated the proposed methodology in brain tumor segmentation and penumbra estimation in ischemic stroke lesions. We show the ability of the proposed methodology to unveil information regarding relationships between imaging modalities and extracted features and their usefulness for the task at hand. In both clinical scenarios, we demonstrate that the proposed methodology enhances the interpretability of automatically learned features, highlighting specific learning patterns that resemble how an expert extracts relevant data from medical images. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tourette Syndrome and Stigma: A Place from Which Parents Advocate. Special Project in Sociology/Anthropology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffery, Kelly

This paper presents a historical background and definition of Tourette Syndrome (TS), a review of the literature, and a view of the TS person as stigmatized in society. Social processes are examined through the eyes of the TS individual, and the impact of education on the TS person is examined. TS is viewed as the presence of motor or vocal tics,…

Molecular characterization of 45 kDa aspartic protease of Trichinella spiralis.

PubMed

Park, Jong Nam; Park, Sang Kyun; Cho, Min Kyoung; Park, Mi-Kyung; Kang, Shin Ae; Kim, Dong-Hee; Yu, Hak Sun

2012-12-21

In a previous study, we identified an aspartic protease gene (Ts-Asp) from the Trichinella spiralis muscle stage larva cDNA library. The gene sequence of Ts-Asp was 1281 bp long and was found to encode a protein consisting of 405 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 45.248 kD and a pI of 5.95. The deduced Ts-Asp has a conserved catalytic motif with catalytic aspartic acid residues in the active site, a common characteristic of aspartic proteases. In addition, the deduced amino acid sequence of Ts-Asp was found to possess significant homology (above 50%) with aspartic proteases from nematode parasites. Results of phylogenetic analysis indicated a close relationship of Ts-Asp with cathepsin D aspartic proteases. For production of recombinant Ts-Asp (rTs-Asp), the pGEX4T expression system was used. Like other proteases, the purified rTs-Asp was able to digest collagen matrix in vitro. Abundant expression of Ts-Asp was observed in muscle stage larva. Ts-Asp was detected in ES proteins, and was able to elicit the production of specific antibodies. It is the first report of molecular characterization of aspartic protease isolated from T. spiralis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of initial total solids concentration on volatile fatty acid production from food waste during anaerobic acidification.

PubMed

Wang, Quan; Jiang, Jianguo; Zhang, Yujing; Li, Kaimin

2015-01-01

The effect of initial total solids (TS) concentration on volatile fatty acid (VFAs) production from food waste under mesophilic conditions (35 °C) was determined. VFAs concentration and composition, biogas production, soluble chemical oxygen demand concentration, TS and volatile solids (VS) reduction, and ammonia nitrogen [Formula: see text] release were investigated. The VFAs concentrations were 26.10, 39.68, 59.58, and 62.64 g COD/L at TS contents of 40, 70, 100, and 130 g/L, respectively. While the VFAs' yields ranged from 0.467 to 0.799 g COD/g VSfed, decreased as initial TS increased. The percentage of propionate was not affected by TS concentration, accounting for 30.19-34.86% of the total VFAs, while a higher percentage of butyrate and lower percentage of acetate was achieved at a higher TS concentration. Biogas included mainly hydrogen and carbon dioxide and the maximum hydrogen yield of 148.9 ml/g VSfed was obtained at 130 g TS/L. [Formula: see text] concentration, TS and VS reductions increased as initial TS increased. Considering the above variables, we conclude that initial TS of 100 g/L shall be the most appropriate to VFAs production.

Refining Automatically Extracted Knowledge Bases Using Crowdsourcing.

PubMed

Li, Chunhua; Zhao, Pengpeng; Sheng, Victor S; Xian, Xuefeng; Wu, Jian; Cui, Zhiming

2017-01-01

Machine-constructed knowledge bases often contain noisy and inaccurate facts. There exists significant work in developing automated algorithms for knowledge base refinement. Automated approaches improve the quality of knowledge bases but are far from perfect. In this paper, we leverage crowdsourcing to improve the quality of automatically extracted knowledge bases. As human labelling is costly, an important research challenge is how we can use limited human resources to maximize the quality improvement for a knowledge base. To address this problem, we first introduce a concept of semantic constraints that can be used to detect potential errors and do inference among candidate facts. Then, based on semantic constraints, we propose rank-based and graph-based algorithms for crowdsourced knowledge refining, which judiciously select the most beneficial candidate facts to conduct crowdsourcing and prune unnecessary questions. Our experiments show that our method improves the quality of knowledge bases significantly and outperforms state-of-the-art automatic methods under a reasonable crowdsourcing cost.

Combining Recurrence Analysis and Automatic Movement Extraction from Video Recordings to Study Behavioral Coupling in Face-to-Face Parent-Child Interactions.

PubMed

López Pérez, David; Leonardi, Giuseppe; Niedźwiecka, Alicja; Radkowska, Alicja; Rączaszek-Leonardi, Joanna; Tomalski, Przemysław

2017-01-01

The analysis of parent-child interactions is crucial for the understanding of early human development. Manual coding of interactions is a time-consuming task, which is a limitation in many projects. This becomes especially demanding if a frame-by-frame categorization of movement needs to be achieved. To overcome this, we present a computational approach for studying movement coupling in natural settings, which is a combination of a state-of-the-art automatic tracker, Tracking-Learning-Detection (TLD), and nonlinear time-series analysis, Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQA). We investigated the use of TLD to extract and automatically classify movement of each partner from 21 video recordings of interactions, where 5.5-month-old infants and mothers engaged in free play in laboratory settings. As a proof of concept, we focused on those face-to-face episodes, where the mother animated an object in front of the infant, in order to measure the coordination between the infants' head movement and the mothers' hand movement. We also tested the feasibility of using such movement data to study behavioral coupling between partners with CRQA. We demonstrate that movement can be extracted automatically from standard definition video recordings and used in subsequent CRQA to quantify the coupling between movement of the parent and the infant. Finally, we assess the quality of this coupling using an extension of CRQA called anisotropic CRQA and show asymmetric dynamics between the movement of the parent and the infant. When combined these methods allow automatic coding and classification of behaviors, which results in a more efficient manner of analyzing movements than manual coding.

Combining Recurrence Analysis and Automatic Movement Extraction from Video Recordings to Study Behavioral Coupling in Face-to-Face Parent-Child Interactions

PubMed Central

López Pérez, David; Leonardi, Giuseppe; Niedźwiecka, Alicja; Radkowska, Alicja; Rączaszek-Leonardi, Joanna; Tomalski, Przemysław

2017-01-01

The analysis of parent-child interactions is crucial for the understanding of early human development. Manual coding of interactions is a time-consuming task, which is a limitation in many projects. This becomes especially demanding if a frame-by-frame categorization of movement needs to be achieved. To overcome this, we present a computational approach for studying movement coupling in natural settings, which is a combination of a state-of-the-art automatic tracker, Tracking-Learning-Detection (TLD), and nonlinear time-series analysis, Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis (CRQA). We investigated the use of TLD to extract and automatically classify movement of each partner from 21 video recordings of interactions, where 5.5-month-old infants and mothers engaged in free play in laboratory settings. As a proof of concept, we focused on those face-to-face episodes, where the mother animated an object in front of the infant, in order to measure the coordination between the infants' head movement and the mothers' hand movement. We also tested the feasibility of using such movement data to study behavioral coupling between partners with CRQA. We demonstrate that movement can be extracted automatically from standard definition video recordings and used in subsequent CRQA to quantify the coupling between movement of the parent and the infant. Finally, we assess the quality of this coupling using an extension of CRQA called anisotropic CRQA and show asymmetric dynamics between the movement of the parent and the infant. When combined these methods allow automatic coding and classification of behaviors, which results in a more efficient manner of analyzing movements than manual coding. PMID:29312075

Structural analyses of human thymidylate synthase reveal a site that may control conformational switching between active and inactive states.

PubMed

Chen, Dan; Jansson, Anna; Sim, Daniel; Larsson, Andreas; Nordlund, Pär

2017-08-11

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is the sole enzyme responsible for de novo biosynthesis of thymidylate (TMP) and is essential for cell proliferation and survival. Inhibition of human TS (hTS) has been extensively investigated for cancer chemotherapy, but several aspects of its activity and regulation are still uncertain. In this study, we performed comprehensive structural and biophysical studies of hTS using crystallography and thermal shift assay and provided the first detailed structural information on the conformational changes induced by ligand binding to the hTS active site. We found that upon binding of the antifolate agents raltitrexed and nolatrexed, the two insert regions in hTS, the functions of which are unclear, undergo positional shifts toward the catalytic center. We investigated the inactive conformation of hTS and found that the two insert regions are also involved in the conformational transition between the active and inactive state of hTS. Moreover, we identified a ligand-binding site in the dimer interface, suggesting that the cavity in the dimer interface could serve as an allosteric site of hTS to regulate the conformational switching between the active and inactive states. On the basis of these findings, we propose a regulatory mechanism of hTS activity that involves allosteric regulation of interactions of hTS with its own mRNA depending on cellular demands for TMP. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Automatic diagnosis of malaria based on complete circle-ellipse fitting search algorithm.

PubMed

Sheikhhosseini, M; Rabbani, H; Zekri, M; Talebi, A

2013-12-01

Diagnosis of malaria parasitemia from blood smears is a subjective and time-consuming task for pathologists. The automatic diagnostic process will reduce the diagnostic time. Also, it can be worked as a second opinion for pathologists and may be useful in malaria screening. This study presents an automatic method for malaria diagnosis from thin blood smears. According to this fact that malaria life cycle is started by forming a ring around the parasite nucleus, the proposed approach is mainly based on curve fitting to detect parasite ring in the blood smear. The method is composed of six main phases: stain object extraction step, which extracts candidate objects that may be infected by malaria parasites. This phase includes stained pixel extraction step based on intensity and colour, and stained object segmentation by defining stained circle matching. Second step is preprocessing phase which makes use of nonlinear diffusion filtering. The process continues with detection of parasite nucleus from resulted image of previous step according to image intensity. Fourth step introduces a complete search process in which the circle search step identifies the direction and initial points for direct least-square ellipse fitting algorithm. Furthermore in the ellipse searching process, although parasite shape is completed undesired regions with high error value are removed and ellipse parameters are modified. Features are extracted from the parasite candidate region instead of whole candidate object in the fifth step. By employing this special feature extraction way, which is provided by special searching process, the necessity of employing clump splitting methods is removed. Also, defining stained circle matching process in the first step speeds up the whole procedure. Finally, a series of decision rules are applied on the extracted features to decide on the positivity or negativity of malaria parasite presence. The algorithm is applied on 26 digital images which are provided from thin blood smear films. The images are contained 1274 objects which may be infected by parasite or healthy. Applying the automatic identification of malaria on provided database showed a sensitivity of 82.28% and specificity of 98.02%. © 2013 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2013 Royal Microscopical Society.

Proteomic differential display analysis for TS-1-resistant and -sensitive pancreatic cancer cells using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Yoshida, Kanako; Kuramitsu, Yasuhiro; Murakami, Kohei; Ryozawa, Shomei; Taba, Kumiko; Kaino, Seiji; Zhang, Xiulian; Sakaida, Isao; Nakamura, Kazuyuki

2011-06-01

TS-1 is an oral anticancer agent containing two biochemical modulators for 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and tegafur (FT), a metabolically activated prodrug of 5-FU. TS-1 has been recognized as an effective anticancer drug using standard therapies for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer along with gemcitabine. However, a high level of inherent and acquired tumor resistance to TS-1 induces difficulty in the treatment. To identify proteins linked to the TS-1-resistance of pancreatic cancer, we profiled protein expression levels in samples of TS-1-resistant and -sensitive pancreatic cancer cell lines by using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The cytotoxicity of a 5-FU/5-chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine (CDHP) combination towards pancreatic cancer cell lines was evaluated by MTS assay. Panc-1, BxPC-3, MiaPaCa-2 and PK59 showed high sensitivity to the 5-FU/CDHP combination (TS-1-sensitive), whereas PK45p and KLM-1 were much less sensitive (TS-1-resistant). Proteomic analysis showed that eleven spots, including T-complex protein 1 subunit beta, ribonuclease inhibitor, elongation factor 1-delta, peroxiredoxin-2 and superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn), appeared to be down-regulated, and 29 spots, including hypoxia up-regulated protein 1, lamin-A/C, endoplasmin, fascin and annexin A1, appeared to be up-regulated in TS-1-resistant cells compared with -sensitive cells. These results suggest that the identified proteins showing different expression between TS-1-sensitive and -resistant pancreatic cancer cells possibly relate to TS-1-sensitivity. These findings could be useful to overcome the TS-1-resistance of pancreatic cancer cells.

Identification of two heritable cross-disorder endophenotypes for Tourette Syndrome

PubMed Central

Darrow, Sabrina M.; Hirschtritt, Matthew E.; Davis, Lea K.; Illmann, Cornelia; Osiecki, Lisa; Grados, Marco; Sandor, Paul; Dion, Yves; King, Robert; Pauls, David; Budman, Cathy L.; Cath, Danielle C.; Greenberg, Erica; Lyon, Gholson J.; Yu, Dongmei; McGrath, Lauren M.; McMahon, William M.; Lee, Paul C.; Delucchi, Kevin L.; Scharf, Jeremiah M.; Mathews, Carol A.

2016-01-01

Objective Phenotypic heterogeneity in Tourette syndrome (TS) is partly due to complex genetic relationships between TS, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Identifying symptom-based endophenotypes across diagnoses may aid gene-finding efforts. Method 3494 individuals recruited for genetic studies were assessed for TS, OCD, and ADHD symptoms. Symptom-level factor and latent class analyses were conducted in TS families and replicated in an independent sample. Classes were characterized by comorbidity rates and proportion of parents. Heritability and TS-, OCD-, and ADHD-associated polygenic load were estimated. Results We identified two cross-disorder symptom-based phenotypes across analyses: symmetry (symmetry, evening up, checking obsessions; ordering, arranging, counting, writing-rewriting compulsions, repetitive writing tics) and disinhibition (uttering syllables/words, echolalia/palilalia, coprolalia/copropraxia and obsessive urges to offend/mutilate/be destructive). Heritability estimates for both endophenotypes were high (disinhibition factor= 0.35, SE=0.03, p= 4.2 ×10−34; symmetry factor= 0.39, SE=0.03, p= 7.2 ×10−31; symmetry class=0.38, SE=0.10, p=0.001). Mothers of TS probands had high rates of symmetry (49%) but not disinhibition (5%). Polygenic risk scores derived from a TS genome-wide association study (GWAS) were associated with symmetry (p= 0.02), while risk scores derived from an OCD GWAS were not. OCD polygenic risk scores were associated with disinhibition (p =0.03), while TS and ADHD risk scores were not. Conclusions We identified two heritable TS-related endophenotypes that cross traditional diagnostic boundaries. The symmetry phenotype correlated with TS polygenic load, and was present in otherwise “TS-unaffected” mothers, suggesting that this phenotype may reflect additional TS (rather than OCD) genetic liability that is not captured by traditional DSM-based diagnoses. PMID:27809572

Tourette Syndrome as an Independent Risk Factor for Subsequent Sleep Disorders in Children: A Nationwide Population-Based Case-Control Study.

PubMed

Lee, Wang-Tso; Huang, Hui-Ling; Wong, Lee Chin; Weng, Wen-Chin; Vasylenko, Tamara; Jong, Yuh-Jyh; Lin, Wei-Sheng; Ho, Shinn-Ying

2017-03-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric comorbidities. However, the relationship between TS and sleep disorders in children is less investigated. This nationwide population-based case-control study aimed to determine the correlation of TS and sleep disorders in children. Patients aged less than 18 years with newly diagnosed TS from 2001 to 2007 were collected (n = 1124) using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and were compared with a comparison cohort (n = 3372). The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for developing sleep disorders was calculated by multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. TS was more prevalent in boys, with a male to female ratio of 3.16:1. TS group also had significantly higher urbanization level of residence than controls (p < .001). The overall incidence rate of sleep disorders was 7.24‰ in children with TS, compared to 3.53‰ in controls. The TS group was associated with a significantly higher rate of sleep disorders, with a crude HR of 2.05 (95% confidence inerval [CI] = 1.43-2.95, p < .001). Among the comorbidities of TS, anxiety disorder was associated with the highest risk for sleep disorders (crude HR = 3.26, 95% CI = 1.52-7.00, p < .001). The aHR for TS cohort to develop sleep disorders was 1.72 (95% CI = 1.16-2.53, p = .007). The increased risk of sleep disorders in children with TS cannot be fully attributed to its comorbidities, and TS is an independent risk factor for sleep disorders in children. © Sleep Research Society 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Sleep Research Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.

Postural tachycardia syndrome is associated with significant symptoms and functional impairment predominantly affecting young women: a UK perspective

PubMed Central

McDonald, Claire; Koshi, Sharon; Busner, Lorna; Kavi, Lesley; Newton, Julia L

2014-01-01

Objective To examine a large UK cohort of patients with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), to compare demographic characteristics, symptoms and treatment of PoTS at one centre compared to the largest patient group PoTS UK and to verify if their functional limitation is similar to patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Design A cross-sectional study assessed the frequency of symptoms and their associated variables. Patients and setting Two PoTS cohorts were: (1) recruited via PoTS UK, (2) diagnosed at Newcastle Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust 2009–2012. Patients with PoTS were then compared to a matched cohort with CFS. Main outcome measures Patients’ detailed demographics, time to diagnosis, education, disability, medications, comorbidity and precipitants. Symptom assessment tools captured, Fatigue Impact Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Orthostatic Grading Scale (OGS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Health Assessment Questionnaire, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. Results 136 patients with PoTS participated (84 members of PoTS UK (170 cohort; 50% return) and 52 (87 cohort; 60%) from Newcastle Clinics). The PoTS UK population was significantly younger than the clinic patients, with significantly fewer men (p=0.005). Over 60% had a university or postgraduate degree. Significantly more of the PoTS UK cohort were working, with hours worked being significantly higher (p=0.001). Time to diagnosis was significantly longer in the PoTS UK cohort (p=0.04). Symptom severity was comparable between cohorts. The PoTS total group was compared with a matched CFS cohort; despite comparable levels of fatigue and sleepiness, autonomic symptom burden (OGS) was statistically significantly higher. The most common treatment regime included β-blockers. Overall, 21 treatment combinations were described. Up to 1/3 were taking no treatment. Conclusions Patients with PoTS are predominantly women, young, well educated and have significant and debilitating symptoms that impact significantly on quality of life. Despite this, there is no consistent treatment. PMID:24934205

E2F1/TS Immunophenotype and Survival of Patients with Colorectal Cancer Treated with 5FU-Based Adjuvant Therapy.

PubMed

Sulzyc-Bielicka, Violetta; Domagala, Pawel; Bielicki, Dariusz; Safranow, Krzysztof; Rogowski, Wojciech; Domagala, Wenancjusz

2016-07-01

The predictive value of thymidylate synthase (TS) expression alone for 5FU-based treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been clinically confirmed. Little is known on the association of expression of E2F1, which controls the transcription of genes encoding proteins engaged in DNA synthesis including TS, and survival of patients with CRC. The purpose of this study is to assess the correlation between expression of both E2F1 and TS in CRCs and survival of patients administered adjuvant 5FU-based chemotherapy, in order to find a better predictor of treatment outcome than expression of TS or E2F1 alone. Nuclear TS and E2F1 were detected by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays from 190 CRCs (Astler-Coller stage B2 or C). Multivariate analysis identified significant association of the combined E2F1+TS+ immunophenotype with worse OS (HR = 3,78, P = 0,009) and DFS (HR = 2,30, P = 0,03) of patients with colon cancer. There were significant differences between E2F1+TS+ and E2F1-TS- Kaplan-Meier survival curves in relation to DFS (P = 0.008) and OS (P = 0.01). About 37 and 31 % difference in 3-year DFS and OS respectively were seen between patients with E2F1+TS+ vs. E2F1-TS- colon cancer immunophenotype. The E2F1+TS+ immunophenotype may be a marker of poor prognosis (the worst DFS and OS) of patients with colon cancer treated with 5FU-based adjuvant therapy. A subgroup of patients with this immunophenotype may require different and perhaps more aggressive treatment than 5FU-based chemotherapy. Thus, the combined E2F1/TS immunophenotype could be a potential indicator of colon cancer sensitivity to 5FU.

Electrostatic channeling in P. falciparum DHFR-TS: Brownian dynamics and Smoluchowski modeling.

PubMed

Metzger, Vincent T; Eun, Changsun; Kekenes-Huskey, Peter M; Huber, Gary; McCammon, J Andrew

2014-11-18

We perform Brownian dynamics simulations and Smoluchowski continuum modeling of the bifunctional Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (P. falciparum DHFR-TS) with the objective of understanding the electrostatic channeling of dihydrofolate generated at the TS active site to the DHFR active site. The results of Brownian dynamics simulations and Smoluchowski continuum modeling suggest that compared to Leishmania major DHFR-TS, P. falciparum DHFR-TS has a lower but significant electrostatic-mediated channeling efficiency (?15-25%) at physiological pH (7.0) and ionic strength (150 mM). We also find that removing the electric charges from key basic residues located between the DHFR and TS active sites significantly reduces the channeling efficiency of P. falciparum DHFR-TS. Although several protozoan DHFR-TS enzymes are known to have similar tertiary and quaternary structure, subtle differences in structure, active-site geometry, and charge distribution appear to influence both electrostatic-mediated and proximity-based substrate channeling.

Optimization and validation of the reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection method for the separation of tocopherol and tocotrienol isomers in cereals, employing a novel sorbent material.

PubMed

Irakli, Maria N; Samanidou, Victoria F; Papadoyannis, Ioannis N

2012-03-07

The separation and determination of tocopherols (Ts) and tocotrienols (T3s) by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection has been developed and validated after optimization of various chromatographic conditions and other experimental parameters. Analytes were separated on a PerfectSil Target ODS-3 (250 × 4.6 mm, 3 μm) column filled with a novel sorbent material of ultrapure silica gel. The separation of Ts and T3s was optimized in terms of mobile-phase composition and column temperature on the basis of the best compromise among efficiency, resolution, and analysis time. Using a gradient elution of mobile phase composed of isopropanol/water and 7 °C column temperature, a satisfactory resolution was achieved within 62 min. For the quantitative determination, α-T acetate (50 μg/mL) was used as the internal standard. Detection limits ranged from 0.27 μg/mL (γ-T) to 0.76 μg/mL (γ-T3). The validation of the method was examined performing intraday (n = 5) and interday (n = 3) assays and was found to be satisfactory, with high accuracy and precision results. Solid-phase extraction provided high relative extraction recoveries from cereal samples: 87.0% for γ-T3 and 115.5% for δ-T. The method was successfully applied to cereals, such as durum wheat, bread wheat, rice, barley, oat, rye, and corn.

Weak signal amplification and detection by higher-order sensory neurons

PubMed Central

Longtin, Andre; Maler, Leonard

2016-01-01

Sensory systems must extract behaviorally relevant information and therefore often exhibit a very high sensitivity. How the nervous system reaches such high sensitivity levels is an outstanding question in neuroscience. Weakly electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus/albifrons) are an excellent model system to address this question because detailed background knowledge is available regarding their behavioral performance and its underlying neuronal substrate. Apteronotus use their electrosense to detect prey objects. Therefore, they must be able to detect electrical signals as low as 1 μV while using a sensory integration time of <200 ms. How these very weak signals are extracted and amplified by the nervous system is not yet understood. We studied the responses of cells in the early sensory processing areas, namely, the electroreceptor afferents (EAs) and pyramidal cells (PCs) of the electrosensory lobe (ELL), the first-order electrosensory processing area. In agreement with previous work we found that EAs cannot encode very weak signals with a spike count code. However, PCs can encode prey mimic signals by their firing rate, revealing a huge signal amplification between EAs and PCs and also suggesting differences in their stimulus encoding properties. Using a simple leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model we predict that the target neurons of PCs in the midbrain torus semicircularis (TS) are able to detect very weak signals. In particular, TS neurons could do so by assuming biologically plausible convergence rates as well as very simple decoding strategies such as temporal integration, threshold crossing, and combining the inputs of PCs. PMID:26843601

Achieving Accurate Automatic Sleep Staging on Manually Pre-processed EEG Data Through Synchronization Feature Extraction and Graph Metrics.

PubMed

Chriskos, Panteleimon; Frantzidis, Christos A; Gkivogkli, Polyxeni T; Bamidis, Panagiotis D; Kourtidou-Papadeli, Chrysoula

2018-01-01

Sleep staging, the process of assigning labels to epochs of sleep, depending on the stage of sleep they belong, is an arduous, time consuming and error prone process as the initial recordings are quite often polluted by noise from different sources. To properly analyze such data and extract clinical knowledge, noise components must be removed or alleviated. In this paper a pre-processing and subsequent sleep staging pipeline for the sleep analysis of electroencephalographic signals is described. Two novel methods of functional connectivity estimation (Synchronization Likelihood/SL and Relative Wavelet Entropy/RWE) are comparatively investigated for automatic sleep staging through manually pre-processed electroencephalographic recordings. A multi-step process that renders signals suitable for further analysis is initially described. Then, two methods that rely on extracting synchronization features from electroencephalographic recordings to achieve computerized sleep staging are proposed, based on bivariate features which provide a functional overview of the brain network, contrary to most proposed methods that rely on extracting univariate time and frequency features. Annotation of sleep epochs is achieved through the presented feature extraction methods by training classifiers, which are in turn able to accurately classify new epochs. Analysis of data from sleep experiments on a randomized, controlled bed-rest study, which was organized by the European Space Agency and was conducted in the "ENVIHAB" facility of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany attains high accuracy rates, over 90% based on ground truth that resulted from manual sleep staging by two experienced sleep experts. Therefore, it can be concluded that the above feature extraction methods are suitable for semi-automatic sleep staging.

Achieving Accurate Automatic Sleep Staging on Manually Pre-processed EEG Data Through Synchronization Feature Extraction and Graph Metrics

PubMed Central

Chriskos, Panteleimon; Frantzidis, Christos A.; Gkivogkli, Polyxeni T.; Bamidis, Panagiotis D.; Kourtidou-Papadeli, Chrysoula

2018-01-01

Sleep staging, the process of assigning labels to epochs of sleep, depending on the stage of sleep they belong, is an arduous, time consuming and error prone process as the initial recordings are quite often polluted by noise from different sources. To properly analyze such data and extract clinical knowledge, noise components must be removed or alleviated. In this paper a pre-processing and subsequent sleep staging pipeline for the sleep analysis of electroencephalographic signals is described. Two novel methods of functional connectivity estimation (Synchronization Likelihood/SL and Relative Wavelet Entropy/RWE) are comparatively investigated for automatic sleep staging through manually pre-processed electroencephalographic recordings. A multi-step process that renders signals suitable for further analysis is initially described. Then, two methods that rely on extracting synchronization features from electroencephalographic recordings to achieve computerized sleep staging are proposed, based on bivariate features which provide a functional overview of the brain network, contrary to most proposed methods that rely on extracting univariate time and frequency features. Annotation of sleep epochs is achieved through the presented feature extraction methods by training classifiers, which are in turn able to accurately classify new epochs. Analysis of data from sleep experiments on a randomized, controlled bed-rest study, which was organized by the European Space Agency and was conducted in the “ENVIHAB” facility of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany attains high accuracy rates, over 90% based on ground truth that resulted from manual sleep staging by two experienced sleep experts. Therefore, it can be concluded that the above feature extraction methods are suitable for semi-automatic sleep staging. PMID:29628883

Exploiting automatic on-line renewable molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction in lab-on-valve format as front end to liquid chromatography: application to the determination of riboflavin in foodstuffs.

PubMed

Oliveira, Hugo M; Segundo, Marcela A; Lima, José L F C; Miró, Manuel; Cerdà, Victor

2010-05-01

In the present work, it is proposed, for the first time, an on-line automatic renewable molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) protocol for sample preparation prior to liquid chromatographic analysis. The automatic microscale procedure was based on the bead injection (BI) concept under the lab-on-valve (LOV) format, using a multisyringe burette as propulsion unit for handling solutions and suspensions. A high precision on handling the suspensions containing irregularly shaped molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) particles was attained, enabling the use of commercial MIP as renewable sorbent. The features of the proposed BI-LOV manifold also allowed a strict control of the different steps within the extraction protocol, which are essential for promoting selective interactions in the cavities of the MIP. By using this on-line method, it was possible to extract and quantify riboflavin from different foodstuff samples in the range between 0.450 and 5.00 mg L(-1) after processing 1,000 microL of sample (infant milk, pig liver extract, and energy drink) without any prior treatment. For milk samples, LOD and LOQ values were 0.05 and 0.17 mg L(-1), respectively. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of two certified reference materials (NIST 1846 and BCR 487) with high precision (RSD < 5.5%). Considering the downscale and simplification of the sample preparation protocol and the simultaneous performance of extraction and chromatographic assays, a cost-effective and enhanced throughput (six determinations per hour) methodology for determination of riboflavin in foodstuff samples is deployed here.

Automatic Extraction of Destinations, Origins and Route Parts from Human Generated Route Directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiao; Mitra, Prasenjit; Klippel, Alexander; Maceachren, Alan

Researchers from the cognitive and spatial sciences are studying text descriptions of movement patterns in order to examine how humans communicate and understand spatial information. In particular, route directions offer a rich source of information on how cognitive systems conceptualize movement patterns by segmenting them into meaningful parts. Route directions are composed using a plethora of cognitive spatial organization principles: changing levels of granularity, hierarchical organization, incorporation of cognitively and perceptually salient elements, and so forth. Identifying such information in text documents automatically is crucial for enabling machine-understanding of human spatial language. The benefits are: a) creating opportunities for large-scale studies of human linguistic behavior; b) extracting and georeferencing salient entities (landmarks) that are used by human route direction providers; c) developing methods to translate route directions to sketches and maps; and d) enabling queries on large corpora of crawled/analyzed movement data. In this paper, we introduce our approach and implementations that bring us closer to the goal of automatically processing linguistic route directions. We report on research directed at one part of the larger problem, that is, extracting the three most critical parts of route directions and movement patterns in general: origin, destination, and route parts. We use machine-learning based algorithms to extract these parts of routes, including, for example, destination names and types. We prove the effectiveness of our approach in several experiments using hand-tagged corpora.

Reliability of temporal summation and diffuse noxious inhibitory control

PubMed Central

Cathcart, Stuart; Winefield, Anthony H; Rolan, Paul; Lushington, Kurt

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: The test-retest reliability of temporal summation (TS) and diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) has not been reported to date. Establishing such reliability would support the possibility of future experimental studies examining factors affecting TS and DNIC. Similarly, the use of manual algometry to induce TS, or an occlusion cuff to induce DNIC of TS to mechanical stimuli, has not been reported to date. Such devices may offer a simpler method than current techniques for inducing TS and DNIC, affording assessment at more anatomical locations and in more varied research settings. METHOD: The present study assessed the test-retest reliability of TS and DNIC using the above techniques. Sex differences on these measures were also investigated. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA indicated successful induction of TS and DNIC, with no significant differences across test-retest occasions. Sex effects were not significant for any measure or interaction. Intraclass correlations indicated high test-retest reliability for all measures; however, there was large interindividual variation between test and retest measurements. CONCLUSION: The present results indicate acceptable within-session test-retest reliability of TS and DNIC. The results support the possibility of future experimental studies examining factors affecting TS and DNIC. PMID:20011713

Precursor effect on the property and catalytic behavior of Fe-TS-1 in butadiene epoxidation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Mei; Zhao, Huahua; Yang, Jian; Zhao, Jun; Song, Huanling; Chou, Lingjun

2017-11-01

The effect of iron precursor on the property and catalytic behavior of iron modified titanium silicalite molecular sieve (Fe-TS-1) catalysts in butadiene selective epoxidation has been studied. Three Fe-TS-1 catalysts were prepared, using iron nitrate, iron chloride and iron sulfate as precursors, which played an important role in adjusting the textural properties and chemical states of TS-1. Of the prepared Fe-TS-1 catalysts, those modified by iron nitrate (FN-TS-1) exhibited a significant enhanced performance in butadiene selective epoxidation compared to those derived from iron sulfate (FS-TS-1) or iron chloride (FC-TS-1) precursors. To obtain a deep understanding of their structure-performance relationship, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Temperature programmed desorption of NH3 (NH3-TPD), Diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectra (DR UV-Vis), Fourier transformed infrared spectra (FT-IR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted to characterize Fe-TS-1 catalysts. Experimental results indicated that textural structures and acid sites of modified catalysts as well as the type of Fe species influenced by the precursors were all responsible for the activity and product distribution.

Holocene Tsunami Deposits From Large Tsunamis Along the Kuril Subduction Zone, Northeast Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nanayama, F.; Furukawa, R.; Satake, K.; Soeda, Y.; Shigeno, K.

2003-12-01

Holocene tsunami deposits in eastern Hokkaido between Nemuro and Tokachi show that the Kuril subduction zone repeatedly produced earthquakes and tsunamis larger than those recorded in this region since AD 1804 (Nanayama et al., Nature, 424, 660-663, 2003). Twenty-two postulated tsunami sand layers from the past 9500 years are preserved on lake bottom near Kushiro City, and about ten postulated tsunami sand layers from the past 3000 years are preserved in peat layers on the coastal marsh of Kiritappu. We dated these ten tsunami deposits (named Ts1 to Ts10 from shallower to deeper) in peat layers by radiocarbon and tephrochronology, correlated them with historical earthquakes and tsunamis, and surveyed their spatial distribution to estimate the tsunamisO inland inundation limits. Ts10 and Ts9 are under regional tephra Ta-c2 (ca. 2.5 ka) and represent prehistorical events. Ts8 to Ts5 are between two regional tephra layers Ta-c2 and B-Tm (ca. 9th century). In particular, Ts5 is found just below B-Tm, so it is dated 9th century (Heian era). Ts4 is dated ca 13th century (Kamakura era), while Ts3, found just below Us-b and Ta-b (AD 1667-1663), is dated 17th century (Edo era). Ts2 is dated 19th century (Edo era) and may correspond to the AD 1843 Tempo Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mt 8.0) recorded in a historical document Nikkanki of Kokutai-ji temple at Akkeshi. Ts1 is inferred 20th century and may correspond to the tsunami from the AD 1960 Chilean earthquake (M 9.5) or the AD 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mt 8.2). Our detailed surveys indicate that Ts3 and Ts4 can be traced more than 3 km from the present coast line in Kirittapu marsh, much longer than the limits (< 1 km) of recent deposits Ts1 and Ts2 or documented inundation of the 19th and 20th century tsunamis. The recurrence intervals of great tsunami inundation are about 400 to 500 years, longer than that of typical interplate earthquakes along the Kuril subduction zone. The longer interval and the apparent large tsunami inundation indicate unusual origin of these tsunamis.

Abbreviation definition identification based on automatic precision estimates.

PubMed

Sohn, Sunghwan; Comeau, Donald C; Kim, Won; Wilbur, W John

2008-09-25

The rapid growth of biomedical literature presents challenges for automatic text processing, and one of the challenges is abbreviation identification. The presence of unrecognized abbreviations in text hinders indexing algorithms and adversely affects information retrieval and extraction. Automatic abbreviation definition identification can help resolve these issues. However, abbreviations and their definitions identified by an automatic process are of uncertain validity. Due to the size of databases such as MEDLINE only a small fraction of abbreviation-definition pairs can be examined manually. An automatic way to estimate the accuracy of abbreviation-definition pairs extracted from text is needed. In this paper we propose an abbreviation definition identification algorithm that employs a variety of strategies to identify the most probable abbreviation definition. In addition our algorithm produces an accuracy estimate, pseudo-precision, for each strategy without using a human-judged gold standard. The pseudo-precisions determine the order in which the algorithm applies the strategies in seeking to identify the definition of an abbreviation. On the Medstract corpus our algorithm produced 97% precision and 85% recall which is higher than previously reported results. We also annotated 1250 randomly selected MEDLINE records as a gold standard. On this set we achieved 96.5% precision and 83.2% recall. This compares favourably with the well known Schwartz and Hearst algorithm. We developed an algorithm for abbreviation identification that uses a variety of strategies to identify the most probable definition for an abbreviation and also produces an estimated accuracy of the result. This process is purely automatic.

Physiological Aging Influence on Brain Hemodynamic Activity during Task-Switching: A fNIRS Study.

PubMed

Vasta, Roberta; Cutini, Simone; Cerasa, Antonio; Gramigna, Vera; Olivadese, Giuseppe; Arabia, Gennarina; Quattrone, Aldo

2017-01-01

Task-switching (TS) paradigm is a well-known validated tool useful for exploring the neural substrates of cognitive control, in particular the activity of the lateral and medial prefrontal cortex. This work is aimed at investigating how physiological aging influences hemodynamic response during the execution of a color-shape TS paradigm. A multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure hemodynamic activity in 27 young (30.00 ± 7.90 years) and 11 elderly participants (57.18 ± 9.29 years) healthy volunteers (55% male, age range: (19-69) years) during the execution of a TS paradigm. Two holders were placed symmetrically over the left/right hemispheres to record cortical activity [oxy-(HbO) and deoxy-hemoglobin (HbR) concentration] of the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the dorsal premotor cortex (PMC), and the dorso-medial part of the superior frontal gyrus (sFG). TS paradigm requires participants to repeat the same task over a variable number of trials, and then to switch to a different task during the trial sequence. A two-sample t -test was carried out to detect differences in cortical responses between groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of age on the prefrontal neural activity. Elderly participants were significantly slower than young participants in both color- ( p < 0.01, t = -3.67) and shape-single tasks ( p = 0.026, t = -2.54) as well as switching ( p = 0.026, t = -2.41) and repetition trials ( p = 0.012, t = -2.80). Differences in cortical activation between groups were revealed for HbO mean concentration of switching task in the PMC ( p = 0.048, t = 2.94). In the whole group, significant increases of behavioral performance were detected in switching trials, which positively correlated with aging. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the HbO mean concentration of switching task in the PMC ( p = 0.01, β = -0.321) and of shape single-task in the sFG ( p = 0.003, β = 0.342) were the best predictors of age effects. Our findings demonstrated that TS might be a reliable instrument to gather a measure of cognitive resources in older people. Moreover, the fNIRS-related brain activity extracted from frontoparietal cortex might become a useful indicator of aging effects.

Study on the extraction method of tidal flat area in northern Jiangsu Province based on remote sensing waterlines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yuanyuan; Gao, Zhiqiang; Liu, Xiangyang; Xu, Ning; Liu, Chaoshun; Gao, Wei

2016-09-01

Reclamation caused a significant dynamic change in the coastal zone, the tidal flat zone is an unstable reserve land resource, it has important significance for its research. In order to realize the efficient extraction of the tidal flat area information, this paper takes Rudong County in Jiangsu Province as the research area, using the HJ1A/1B images as the data source, on the basis of previous research experience and literature review, the paper chooses the method of object-oriented classification as a semi-automatic extraction method to generate waterlines. Then waterlines are analyzed by DSAS software to obtain tide points, automatic extraction of outer boundary points are followed under the use of Python to determine the extent of tidal flats in 2014 of Rudong County, the extraction area was 55182hm2, the confusion matrix is used to verify the accuracy and the result shows that the kappa coefficient is 0.945. The method could improve deficiencies of previous studies and its available free nature on the Internet makes a generalization.

Extraction of fault component from abnormal sound in diesel engines using acoustic signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dayong, Ning; Changle, Sun; Yongjun, Gong; Zengmeng, Zhang; Jiaoyi, Hou

2016-06-01

In this paper a method for extracting fault components from abnormal acoustic signals and automatically diagnosing diesel engine faults is presented. The method named dislocation superimposed method (DSM) is based on the improved random decrement technique (IRDT), differential function (DF) and correlation analysis (CA). The aim of DSM is to linearly superpose multiple segments of abnormal acoustic signals because of the waveform similarity of faulty components. The method uses sample points at the beginning of time when abnormal sound appears as the starting position for each segment. In this study, the abnormal sound belonged to shocking faulty type; thus, the starting position searching method based on gradient variance was adopted. The coefficient of similar degree between two same sized signals is presented. By comparing with a similar degree, the extracted fault component could be judged automatically. The results show that this method is capable of accurately extracting the fault component from abnormal acoustic signals induced by faulty shocking type and the extracted component can be used to identify the fault type.

Arrhythmia Classification Based on Multi-Domain Feature Extraction for an ECG Recognition System.

PubMed

Li, Hongqiang; Yuan, Danyang; Wang, Youxi; Cui, Dianyin; Cao, Lu

2016-10-20

Automatic recognition of arrhythmias is particularly important in the diagnosis of heart diseases. This study presents an electrocardiogram (ECG) recognition system based on multi-domain feature extraction to classify ECG beats. An improved wavelet threshold method for ECG signal pre-processing is applied to remove noise interference. A novel multi-domain feature extraction method is proposed; this method employs kernel-independent component analysis in nonlinear feature extraction and uses discrete wavelet transform to extract frequency domain features. The proposed system utilises a support vector machine classifier optimized with a genetic algorithm to recognize different types of heartbeats. An ECG acquisition experimental platform, in which ECG beats are collected as ECG data for classification, is constructed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system in ECG beat classification. The presented system, when applied to the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database, achieves a high classification accuracy of 98.8%. Experimental results based on the ECG acquisition experimental platform show that the system obtains a satisfactory classification accuracy of 97.3% and is able to classify ECG beats efficiently for the automatic identification of cardiac arrhythmias.

Arrhythmia Classification Based on Multi-Domain Feature Extraction for an ECG Recognition System

PubMed Central

Li, Hongqiang; Yuan, Danyang; Wang, Youxi; Cui, Dianyin; Cao, Lu

2016-01-01

Automatic recognition of arrhythmias is particularly important in the diagnosis of heart diseases. This study presents an electrocardiogram (ECG) recognition system based on multi-domain feature extraction to classify ECG beats. An improved wavelet threshold method for ECG signal pre-processing is applied to remove noise interference. A novel multi-domain feature extraction method is proposed; this method employs kernel-independent component analysis in nonlinear feature extraction and uses discrete wavelet transform to extract frequency domain features. The proposed system utilises a support vector machine classifier optimized with a genetic algorithm to recognize different types of heartbeats. An ECG acquisition experimental platform, in which ECG beats are collected as ECG data for classification, is constructed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system in ECG beat classification. The presented system, when applied to the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database, achieves a high classification accuracy of 98.8%. Experimental results based on the ECG acquisition experimental platform show that the system obtains a satisfactory classification accuracy of 97.3% and is able to classify ECG beats efficiently for the automatic identification of cardiac arrhythmias. PMID:27775596

Automatic extraction of disease-specific features from Doppler images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negahdar, Mohammadreza; Moradi, Mehdi; Parajuli, Nripesh; Syeda-Mahmood, Tanveer

2017-03-01

Flow Doppler imaging is widely used by clinicians to detect diseases of the valves. In particular, continuous wave (CW) Doppler mode scan is routinely done during echocardiography and shows Doppler signal traces over multiple heart cycles. Traditionally, echocardiographers have manually traced such velocity envelopes to extract measurements such as decay time and pressure gradient which are then matched to normal and abnormal values based on clinical guidelines. In this paper, we present a fully automatic approach to deriving these measurements for aortic stenosis retrospectively from echocardiography videos. Comparison of our method with measurements made by echocardiographers shows large agreement as well as identification of new cases missed by echocardiographers.

[Medical image elastic registration smoothed by unconstrained optimized thin-plate spline].

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Li, Shuxiang; Chen, Wufan; Liu, Zhexing

2003-12-01

Elastic registration of medical image is an important subject in medical image processing. Previous work has concentrated on selecting the corresponding landmarks manually and then using thin-plate spline interpolating to gain the elastic transformation. However, the landmarks extraction is always prone to error, which will influence the registration results. Localizing the landmarks manually is also difficult and time-consuming. We the optimization theory to improve the thin-plate spline interpolation, and based on it, used an automatic method to extract the landmarks. Combining these two steps, we have proposed an automatic, exact and robust registration method and have gained satisfactory registration results.

The Fractal Patterns of Words in a Text: A Method for Automatic Keyword Extraction.

PubMed

Najafi, Elham; Darooneh, Amir H

2015-01-01

A text can be considered as a one dimensional array of words. The locations of each word type in this array form a fractal pattern with certain fractal dimension. We observe that important words responsible for conveying the meaning of a text have dimensions considerably different from one, while the fractal dimensions of unimportant words are close to one. We introduce an index quantifying the importance of the words in a given text using their fractal dimensions and then ranking them according to their importance. This index measures the difference between the fractal pattern of a word in the original text relative to a shuffled version. Because the shuffled text is meaningless (i.e., words have no importance), the difference between the original and shuffled text can be used to ascertain degree of fractality. The degree of fractality may be used for automatic keyword detection. Words with the degree of fractality higher than a threshold value are assumed to be the retrieved keywords of the text. We measure the efficiency of our method for keywords extraction, making a comparison between our proposed method and two other well-known methods of automatic keyword extraction.

The Fractal Patterns of Words in a Text: A Method for Automatic Keyword Extraction

PubMed Central

Najafi, Elham; Darooneh, Amir H.

2015-01-01

A text can be considered as a one dimensional array of words. The locations of each word type in this array form a fractal pattern with certain fractal dimension. We observe that important words responsible for conveying the meaning of a text have dimensions considerably different from one, while the fractal dimensions of unimportant words are close to one. We introduce an index quantifying the importance of the words in a given text using their fractal dimensions and then ranking them according to their importance. This index measures the difference between the fractal pattern of a word in the original text relative to a shuffled version. Because the shuffled text is meaningless (i.e., words have no importance), the difference between the original and shuffled text can be used to ascertain degree of fractality. The degree of fractality may be used for automatic keyword detection. Words with the degree of fractality higher than a threshold value are assumed to be the retrieved keywords of the text. We measure the efficiency of our method for keywords extraction, making a comparison between our proposed method and two other well-known methods of automatic keyword extraction. PMID:26091207

The mechanism and high-free-energy transition state of lac repressor–lac operator interaction

PubMed Central

Sengupta, Rituparna; Capp, Michael W.; Shkel, Irina A.

2017-01-01

Abstract Significant, otherwise-unavailable information about mechanisms and transition states (TS) of protein folding and binding is obtained from solute effects on rate constants. Here we characterize TS for lac repressor(R)–lac operator(O) binding by analyzing effects of RO-stabilizing and RO-destabilizing solutes on association (ka) and dissociation (kd) rate constants. RO-destabilizing solutes (urea, KCl) reduce ka comparably (urea) or more than (KCl) they increase kd, demonstrating that they destabilize TS relative to reactants and RO, and that TS exhibits most of the Coulombic interactions between R and O. Strikingly, three solutes which stabilize RO by favoring burial/dehydration of amide oxygens and anionic phosphate oxygens all reduce kd without affecting ka significantly. The lack of stabilization of TS by these solutes indicates that O phosphates remain hydrated in TS and that TS preferentially buries aromatic carbons and amide nitrogens while leaving amide oxygens exposed. In our proposed mechanism, DNA-binding-domains (DBD) of R insert in major grooves of O pre-TS, forming most Coulombic interactions of RO and burying aromatic carbons. Nucleation of hinge helices creates TS, burying sidechain amide nitrogens. Post-TS, hinge helices assemble and the DBD-hinge helix-O-DNA module docks on core repressor, partially dehydrating phosphate oxygens and tightening all interfaces to form RO. PMID:29036376

Leaving Group Ability Observably Affects Transition State Structure in a Single Enzyme Active Site.

PubMed

Roston, Daniel; Demapan, Darren; Cui, Qiang

2016-06-15

A reaction's transition state (TS) structure plays a critical role in determining reactivity and has important implications for the design of catalysts, drugs, and other applications. Here, we explore TS structure in the enzyme alkaline phosphatase using hybrid Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics simulations. We find that minor perturbations to the substrate have major effects on TS structure and the way the enzyme stabilizes the TS. Substrates with good leaving groups (LGs) have little cleavage of the phosphorus-LG bond at the TS, while substrates with poor LGs have substantial cleavage of that bond. The results predict nonlinear free energy relationships for a single rate-determining step, and substantial differences in kinetic isotope effects for different substrates; both trends were observed in previous experimental studies, although the original interpretations differed from the present model. Moreover, due to different degrees of phosphorus-LG bond cleavage at the TS for different substrates, the LG is stabilized by different interactions at the TS: while a poor LG is directly stabilized by an active site zinc ion, a good LG is mainly stabilized by active site water molecules. Our results demonstrate the considerable plasticity of TS structure and stabilization in enzymes. Furthermore, perturbations to reactivity that probe TS structure experimentally (i.e., substituent effects) may substantially perturb the TS they aim to probe, and thus classical experimental approaches such as free energy relations should be interpreted with care.

[The automatic iris map overlap technology in computer-aided iridiagnosis].

PubMed

He, Jia-feng; Ye, Hu-nian; Ye, Miao-yuan

2002-11-01

In the paper, iridology and computer-aided iridiagnosis technologies are briefly introduced and the extraction method of the collarette contour is then investigated. The iris map can be overlapped on the original iris image based on collarette contour extraction. The research on collarette contour extraction and iris map overlap is of great importance to computer-aided iridiagnosis technologies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ma, Jian; Casey, Cameron P.; Zheng, Xueyun

Motivation: Drift tube ion mobility spectrometry (DTIMS) is increasingly implemented in high throughput omics workflows, and new informatics approaches are necessary for processing the associated data. To automatically extract arrival times for molecules measured by DTIMS coupled with mass spectrometry and compute their associated collisional cross sections (CCS) we created the PNNL Ion Mobility Cross Section Extractor (PIXiE). The primary application presented for this algorithm is the extraction of information necessary to create a reference library containing accu-rate masses, DTIMS arrival times and CCSs for use in high throughput omics analyses. Results: We demonstrate the utility of this approach bymore » automatically extracting arrival times and calculating the associated CCSs for a set of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics. The PIXiE-generated CCS values were identical to those calculated by hand and within error of those calcu-lated using commercially available instrument vendor software.« less

BioSimplify: an open source sentence simplification engine to improve recall in automatic biomedical information extraction.

PubMed

Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha; Gonzalez, Graciela

2010-11-13

BioSimplify is an open source tool written in Java that introduces and facilitates the use of a novel model for sentence simplification tuned for automatic discourse analysis and information extraction (as opposed to sentence simplification for improving human readability). The model is based on a "shot-gun" approach that produces many different (simpler) versions of the original sentence by combining variants of its constituent elements. This tool is optimized for processing biomedical scientific literature such as the abstracts indexed in PubMed. We tested our tool on its impact to the task of PPI extraction and it improved the f-score of the PPI tool by around 7%, with an improvement in recall of around 20%. The BioSimplify tool and test corpus can be downloaded from https://biosimplify.sourceforge.net.

Construction of Green Tide Monitoring System and Research on its Key Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, B.; Li, J.; Zhu, H.; Wei, P.; Zhao, Y.

2018-04-01

As a kind of marine natural disaster, Green Tide has been appearing every year along the Qingdao Coast, bringing great loss to this region, since the large-scale bloom in 2008. Therefore, it is of great value to obtain the real time dynamic information about green tide distribution. In this study, methods of optical remote sensing and microwave remote sensing are employed in Green Tide Monitoring Research. A specific remote sensing data processing flow and a green tide information extraction algorithm are designed, according to the optical and microwave data of different characteristics. In the aspect of green tide spatial distribution information extraction, an automatic extraction algorithm of green tide distribution boundaries is designed based on the principle of mathematical morphology dilation/erosion. And key issues in information extraction, including the division of green tide regions, the obtaining of basic distributions, the limitation of distribution boundary, and the elimination of islands, have been solved. The automatic generation of green tide distribution boundaries from the results of remote sensing information extraction is realized. Finally, a green tide monitoring system is built based on IDL/GIS secondary development in the integrated environment of RS and GIS, achieving the integration of RS monitoring and information extraction.

A hybrid model based on neural networks for biomedical relation extraction.

PubMed

Zhang, Yijia; Lin, Hongfei; Yang, Zhihao; Wang, Jian; Zhang, Shaowu; Sun, Yuanyuan; Yang, Liang

2018-05-01

Biomedical relation extraction can automatically extract high-quality biomedical relations from biomedical texts, which is a vital step for the mining of biomedical knowledge hidden in the literature. Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are two major neural network models for biomedical relation extraction. Neural network-based methods for biomedical relation extraction typically focus on the sentence sequence and employ RNNs or CNNs to learn the latent features from sentence sequences separately. However, RNNs and CNNs have their own advantages for biomedical relation extraction. Combining RNNs and CNNs may improve biomedical relation extraction. In this paper, we present a hybrid model for the extraction of biomedical relations that combines RNNs and CNNs. First, the shortest dependency path (SDP) is generated based on the dependency graph of the candidate sentence. To make full use of the SDP, we divide the SDP into a dependency word sequence and a relation sequence. Then, RNNs and CNNs are employed to automatically learn the features from the sentence sequence and the dependency sequences, respectively. Finally, the output features of the RNNs and CNNs are combined to detect and extract biomedical relations. We evaluate our hybrid model using five public (protein-protein interaction) PPI corpora and a (drug-drug interaction) DDI corpus. The experimental results suggest that the advantages of RNNs and CNNs in biomedical relation extraction are complementary. Combining RNNs and CNNs can effectively boost biomedical relation extraction performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on Remote Sensing Geological Information Extraction Based on Object Oriented Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Hui

2018-04-01

The northern Tibet belongs to the Sub cold arid climate zone in the plateau. It is rarely visited by people. The geological working conditions are very poor. However, the stratum exposures are good and human interference is very small. Therefore, the research on the automatic classification and extraction of remote sensing geological information has typical significance and good application prospect. Based on the object-oriented classification in Northern Tibet, using the Worldview2 high-resolution remote sensing data, combined with the tectonic information and image enhancement, the lithological spectral features, shape features, spatial locations and topological relations of various geological information are excavated. By setting the threshold, based on the hierarchical classification, eight kinds of geological information were classified and extracted. Compared with the existing geological maps, the accuracy analysis shows that the overall accuracy reached 87.8561 %, indicating that the classification-oriented method is effective and feasible for this study area and provides a new idea for the automatic extraction of remote sensing geological information.

Developing an Intelligent Automatic Appendix Extraction Method from Ultrasonography Based on Fuzzy ART and Image Processing.

PubMed

Kim, Kwang Baek; Park, Hyun Jun; Song, Doo Heon; Han, Sang-suk

2015-01-01

Ultrasound examination (US) does a key role in the diagnosis and management of the patients with clinically suspected appendicitis which is the most common abdominal surgical emergency. Among the various sonographic findings of appendicitis, outer diameter of the appendix is most important. Therefore, clear delineation of the appendix on US images is essential. In this paper, we propose a new intelligent method to extract appendix automatically from abdominal sonographic images as a basic building block of developing such an intelligent tool for medical practitioners. Knowing that the appendix is located at the lower organ area below the bottom fascia line, we conduct a series of image processing techniques to find the fascia line correctly. And then we apply fuzzy ART learning algorithm to the organ area in order to extract appendix accurately. The experiment verifies that the proposed method is highly accurate (successful in 38 out of 40 cases) in extracting appendix.

A semi-automatic method for extracting thin line structures in images as rooted tree network

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brazzini, Jacopo; Dillard, Scott; Soille, Pierre

2010-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of semi-automatic extraction of line networks in digital images - e.g., road or hydrographic networks in satellite images, blood vessels in medical images, robust. For that purpose, we improve a generic method derived from morphological and hydrological concepts and consisting in minimum cost path estimation and flow simulation. While this approach fully exploits the local contrast and shape of the network, as well as its arborescent nature, we further incorporate local directional information about the structures in the image. Namely, an appropriate anisotropic metric is designed by using both the characteristic features of the targetmore » network and the eigen-decomposition of the gradient structure tensor of the image. Following, the geodesic propagation from a given seed with this metric is combined with hydrological operators for overland flow simulation to extract the line network. The algorithm is demonstrated for the extraction of blood vessels in a retina image and of a river network in a satellite image.« less

The automatic extraction of pitch perturbation using microcomputers: some methodological considerations.

PubMed

Deem, J F; Manning, W H; Knack, J V; Matesich, J S

1989-09-01

A program for the automatic extraction of jitter (PAEJ) was developed for the clinical measurement of pitch perturbations using a microcomputer. The program currently includes 12 implementations of an algorithm for marking the boundary criteria for a fundamental period of vocal fold vibration. The relative sensitivity of these extraction procedures for identifying the pitch period was compared using sine waves. Data obtained to date provide information for each procedure concerning the effects of waveform peakedness and slope, sample duration in cycles, noise level of the analysis system with both direct and tape recorded input, and the influence of interpolation. Zero crossing extraction procedures provided lower jitter values regardless of sine wave frequency or sample duration. The procedures making use of positive- or negative-going zero crossings with interpolation provided the lowest measures of jitter with the sine wave stimuli. Pilot data obtained with normal-speaking adults indicated that jitter measures varied as a function of the speaker, vowel, and sample duration.

Glacier Frontal Line Extraction from SENTINEL-1 SAR Imagery in Prydz Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, F.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, Y.

2018-04-01

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can provide all-day and all-night observation of the earth in all-weather conditions with high resolution, and it is widely used in polar research including sea ice, sea shelf, as well as the glaciers. For glaciers monitoring, the frontal position of a calving glacier at different moments of time is of great importance, which indicates the estimation of the calving rate and flux of the glaciers. In this abstract, an automatic algorithm for glacier frontal extraction using time series Sentinel-1 SAR imagery is proposed. The technique transforms the amplitude imagery of Sentinel-1 SAR into a binary map using SO-CFAR method, and then frontal points are extracted using profile method which reduces the 2D binary map to 1D binary profiles, the final frontal position of a calving glacier is the optimal profile selected from the different average segmented profiles. The experiment proves that the detection algorithm for SAR data can automatically extract the frontal position of glacier with high efficiency.

LexValueSets: An Approach for Context-Driven Value Sets Extraction

PubMed Central

Pathak, Jyotishman; Jiang, Guoqian; Dwarkanath, Sridhar O.; Buntrock, James D.; Chute, Christopher G.

2008-01-01

The ability to model, share and re-use value sets across multiple medical information systems is an important requirement. However, generating value sets semi-automatically from a terminology service is still an unresolved issue, in part due to the lack of linkage to clinical context patterns that provide the constraints in defining a concept domain and invocation of value sets extraction. Towards this goal, we develop and evaluate an approach for context-driven automatic value sets extraction based on a formal terminology model. The crux of the technique is to identify and define the context patterns from various domains of discourse and leverage them for value set extraction using two complementary ideas based on (i) local terms provided by the Subject Matter Experts (extensional) and (ii) semantic definition of the concepts in coding schemes (intensional). A prototype was implemented based on SNOMED CT rendered in the LexGrid terminology model and a preliminary evaluation is presented. PMID:18998955

Fast modal extraction in NASTRAN via the FEER computer program. [based on automatic matrix reduction method for lower modes of structures with many degrees of freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, M. B.; Pipano, A.

1973-01-01

A new eigensolution routine, FEER (Fast Eigensolution Extraction Routine), used in conjunction with NASTRAN at Israel Aircraft Industries is described. The FEER program is based on an automatic matrix reduction scheme whereby the lower modes of structures with many degrees of freedom can be accurately extracted from a tridiagonal eigenvalue problem whose size is of the same order of magnitude as the number of required modes. The process is effected without arbitrary lumping of masses at selected node points or selection of nodes to be retained in the analysis set. The results of computational efficiency studies are presented, showing major arithmetic operation counts and actual computer run times of FEER as compared to other methods of eigenvalue extraction, including those available in the NASTRAN READ module. It is concluded that the tridiagonal reduction method used in FEER would serve as a valuable addition to NASTRAN for highly increased efficiency in obtaining structural vibration modes.

[Terahertz Spectroscopic Identification with Deep Belief Network].

PubMed

Ma, Shuai; Shen, Tao; Wang, Rui-qi; Lai, Hua; Yu, Zheng-tao

2015-12-01

Feature extraction and classification are the key issues of terahertz spectroscopy identification. Because many materials have no apparent absorption peaks in the terahertz band, it is difficult to extract theirs terahertz spectroscopy feature and identify. To this end, a novel of identify terahertz spectroscopy approach with Deep Belief Network (DBN) was studied in this paper, which combines the advantages of DBN and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) classifier. Firstly, cubic spline interpolation and S-G filter were used to normalize the eight kinds of substances (ATP, Acetylcholine Bromide, Bifenthrin, Buprofezin, Carbazole, Bleomycin, Buckminster and Cylotriphosphazene) terahertz transmission spectra in the range of 0.9-6 THz. Secondly, the DBN model was built by two restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) and then trained layer by layer using unsupervised approach. Instead of using handmade features, the DBN was employed to learn suitable features automatically with raw input data. Finally, a KNN classifier was applied to identify the terahertz spectrum. Experimental results show that using the feature learned by DBN can identify the terahertz spectrum of different substances with the recognition rate of over 90%, which demonstrates that the proposed method can automatically extract the effective features of terahertz spectrum. Furthermore, this KNN classifier was compared with others (BP neural network, SOM neural network and RBF neural network). Comparisons showed that the recognition rate of KNN classifier is better than the other three classifiers. Using the approach that automatic extract terahertz spectrum features by DBN can greatly reduce the workload of feature extraction. This proposed method shows a promising future in the application of identifying the mass terahertz spectroscopy.

Improvements and Performance of the Fermilab Solenoid Test Facility

DOE PAGES

Orris, Darryl; Arnold, Don; Brandt, Jeffrey; ...

2017-06-01

Here, the Solenoid Test Facility at Fermilab was built using a large vacuum vessel for testing of conduction-cooled superconducting solenoid magnets, and was first used to determine the performance of the MICE Coupling Coil. The facility was modified recently to enable testing of solenoid magnets for the Mu2e experiment, which operate at much higher current than the Coupling Coil. One pair of low current conduction-cooled copper and NbTi leads was replaced with two pairs of 10 kA HTS leads cooled by heat exchange with liquid nitrogen and liquid helium. The new design, with additional control and monitoring capability, also providesmore » helium cooling of the superconducting magnet leads by conduction. A high current power supply with energy extraction was added, and several improvements to the quench protection and characterization system were made. Here we present details of these changes and report on performance results from a test of the Mu2e prototype Transport Solenoid (TS) module. Progress on additional improvements in preparation for production TS module testing will be presented.« less

Improvements and Performance of the Fermilab Solenoid Test Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Orris, Darryl; Arnold, Don; Brandt, Jeffrey

Here, the Solenoid Test Facility at Fermilab was built using a large vacuum vessel for testing of conduction-cooled superconducting solenoid magnets, and was first used to determine the performance of the MICE Coupling Coil. The facility was modified recently to enable testing of solenoid magnets for the Mu2e experiment, which operate at much higher current than the Coupling Coil. One pair of low current conduction-cooled copper and NbTi leads was replaced with two pairs of 10 kA HTS leads cooled by heat exchange with liquid nitrogen and liquid helium. The new design, with additional control and monitoring capability, also providesmore » helium cooling of the superconducting magnet leads by conduction. A high current power supply with energy extraction was added, and several improvements to the quench protection and characterization system were made. Here we present details of these changes and report on performance results from a test of the Mu2e prototype Transport Solenoid (TS) module. Progress on additional improvements in preparation for production TS module testing will be presented.« less

Automatic definition of the oncologic EHR data elements from NCIT in OWL.

PubMed

Cuggia, Marc; Bourdé, Annabel; Turlin, Bruno; Vincendeau, Sebastien; Bertaud, Valerie; Bohec, Catherine; Duvauferrier, Régis

2011-01-01

Semantic interoperability based on ontologies allows systems to combine their information and process them automatically. The ability to extract meaningful fragments from ontology is a key for the ontology re-use and the construction of a subset will help to structure clinical data entries. The aim of this work is to provide a method for extracting a set of concepts for a specific domain, in order to help to define data elements of an oncologic EHR. a generic extraction algorithm was developed to extract, from the NCIT and for a specific disease (i.e. prostate neoplasm), all the concepts of interest into a sub-ontology. We compared all the concepts extracted to the concepts encoded manually contained into the multi-disciplinary meeting report form (MDMRF). We extracted two sub-ontologies: sub-ontology 1 by using a single key concept and sub-ontology 2 by using 5 additional keywords. The coverage of sub-ontology 2 to the MDMRF concepts was 51%. The low rate of coverage is due to the lack of definition or mis-classification of the NCIT concepts. By providing a subset of concepts focused on a particular domain, this extraction method helps at optimizing the binding process of data elements and at maintaining and enriching a domain ontology.

Automatic Artifact Removal from Electroencephalogram Data Based on A Priori Artifact Information.

PubMed

Zhang, Chi; Tong, Li; Zeng, Ying; Jiang, Jingfang; Bu, Haibing; Yan, Bin; Li, Jianxin

2015-01-01

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is susceptible to various nonneural physiological artifacts. Automatic artifact removal from EEG data remains a key challenge for extracting relevant information from brain activities. To adapt to variable subjects and EEG acquisition environments, this paper presents an automatic online artifact removal method based on a priori artifact information. The combination of discrete wavelet transform and independent component analysis (ICA), wavelet-ICA, was utilized to separate artifact components. The artifact components were then automatically identified using a priori artifact information, which was acquired in advance. Subsequently, signal reconstruction without artifact components was performed to obtain artifact-free signals. The results showed that, using this automatic online artifact removal method, there were statistical significant improvements of the classification accuracies in both two experiments, namely, motor imagery and emotion recognition.

Automatic Artifact Removal from Electroencephalogram Data Based on A Priori Artifact Information

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chi; Tong, Li; Zeng, Ying; Jiang, Jingfang; Bu, Haibing; Li, Jianxin

2015-01-01

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is susceptible to various nonneural physiological artifacts. Automatic artifact removal from EEG data remains a key challenge for extracting relevant information from brain activities. To adapt to variable subjects and EEG acquisition environments, this paper presents an automatic online artifact removal method based on a priori artifact information. The combination of discrete wavelet transform and independent component analysis (ICA), wavelet-ICA, was utilized to separate artifact components. The artifact components were then automatically identified using a priori artifact information, which was acquired in advance. Subsequently, signal reconstruction without artifact components was performed to obtain artifact-free signals. The results showed that, using this automatic online artifact removal method, there were statistical significant improvements of the classification accuracies in both two experiments, namely, motor imagery and emotion recognition. PMID:26380294

Properties of Nanocrystalline Cubic Silicon Carbide Thin Films Prepared by Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition Using SiH4/CH4/H2 at Various Substrate Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabata, Akimori; Komura, Yusuke; Hoshide, Yoshiki; Narita, Tomoki; Kondo, Akihiro

2008-01-01

Silicon carbide (SiC) thin films were prepared by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition from SiH4/CH4/H2 gases, and the influence of substrate temperature, Ts (104 < Ts < 434 °C), on the properties of the SiC thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman scattering spectra revealed that nanocrystalline cubic SiC (nc-3C-SiC) films grew at Ts above 187 °C, while completely amorphous films grew at Ts = 104 °C. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectra revealed that the crystallinity of the nc-3C-SiC was improved with increasing Ts up to 282 °C and remained almost unchanged with a further increase in Ts from 282 to 434 °C. The spin density was reduced monotonically with increasing Ts.

Neurofunctional Differences Associated with Arithmetic Processing in Turner Syndrome

PubMed Central

Kesler, Shelli R.; Menon, Vinod; Reiss, Allan L.

2011-01-01

Turner syndrome (TS) is a neurogenetic disorder characterized by the absence of one X chromosome in a phenotypic female. Individuals with TS are at risk for impairments in mathematics. We investigated the neural mechanisms underlying arithmetic processing in TS. Fifteen subjects with TS and 15 age-matched typically developing controls were scanned using functional MRI while they performed easy (two-operand) and difficult (three-operand) versions of an arithmetic processing task. Both groups activated fronto-parietal regions involved in arithmetic processing during the math tasks. Compared with controls, the TS group recruited additional neural resources in frontal and parietal regions during the easier, two-operand math task. During the more difficult three-operand task, individuals with TS demonstrated significantly less activation in frontal, parietal and subcortical regions than controls. However, the TS group’s performance on both math tasks was comparable to controls. Individuals with TS demonstrate activation differences in fronto-parietal areas during arithmetic tasks compared with controls. They must recruit additional brain regions during a relatively easy task and demonstrate a potentially inefficient response to increased task difficulty compared with controls. PMID:16135780

Fermentation of wet-exploded corn stover for the production of volatile fatty acids.

PubMed

Murali, Nanditha; Fernandez, Sebastian; Ahring, Birgitte Kiaer

2017-03-01

Volatile fatty acids (VFA) have been used as platform molecules for production of biofuels and bioproducts. In the current study, we examine the VFA production from wet-exploded corn stover through anaerobic fermentation using rumen bacteria. The total VFA yield (acetic acid equivalents) was found to increase from 22.8g/L at 2.5% total solids (TS) to 40.8g/L at 5% TS. It was found that the acetic acid concentration increased from 10g/L to 22g/L at 2.5% and 5% TS, respectively. An increased propionic acid production was seen between day 10 and 20 at 5% TS. Valeric acid (4g/L) was produced at 5% TS and not at 2.5% TS. Composition analysis showed that 50% of the carbohydrates were converted to VFA at 5% TS and 33% at 2.5% TS. Our results show that rumen fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass after wet explosion can produce high concentrations of VFA without addition of external enzymes of importance for the process economics of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Testing for tumor promoters in Euphorbia lathyris: Analysis of possible health hazards

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bissell, M.J.; Nemethy, E.K.; Riddle, L.

1981-12-01

A sensitive test system for the detection of unknown tumor promoters is reported. A description is given of the use of the system in detecting promoter activity in Euphorbia lathyris extracts before and after treatment with organic solvents in the preparation of synthetic fuels. Using both normal and ts-virus infected cells, tumor promoter-like activities were detected and identified as ingenol esters in the active fraction of the latex of E. lathyris. These activities were shown to be inactive after extraction of potential sources of fuel. Results indicate that there should be no toxicological dangers after mechanical harvesting and drying. Thismore » finding has much potential significance, both for the further processing of E. lathyris and for other possible sources of energy. (JMT)« less

Review of automatic detection of pig behaviours by using image analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Shuqing; Zhang, Jianhua; Zhu, Mengshuai; Wu, Jianzhai; Kong, Fantao

2017-06-01

Automatic detection of lying, moving, feeding, drinking, and aggressive behaviours of pigs by means of image analysis can save observation input by staff. It would help staff make early detection of diseases or injuries of pigs during breeding and improve management efficiency of swine industry. This study describes the progress of pig behaviour detection based on image analysis and advancement in image segmentation of pig body, segmentation of pig adhesion and extraction of pig behaviour characteristic parameters. Challenges for achieving automatic detection of pig behaviours were summarized.

Influence of Estimated Training Status on Anti and Pro-Oxidant Activity, Nitrite Concentration, and Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged and Older Women

PubMed Central

Jacomini, André M.; Dias, Danielle da Silva; Brito, Janaina de Oliveira; da Silva, Roberta F.; Monteiro, Henrique L.; Llesuy, Susana; De Angelis, Kátia; Amaral, Sandra L.; Zago, Anderson S.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the association between anti and pro-oxidant activity, nitrite concentration, and blood pressure (BP) in middle-aged and older women with different levels of estimated training status (TS). The sample consisted of 155 females (50–84 years) who were submitted to a physical examination to evaluate estimated TS through the “Functional Fitness Battery Test,” BP measurements, and plasma blood samples to evaluate pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity and nitrite concentrations. Participants were separated by age into a middle-aged group (<65 years) and an older (≥65 years) group and then subdivided in each group according to TS. Blood biochemistry was similar between groups. On the other hand, protein oxidation was lower in participants with higher TS, independent of age. Older females with higher TS presented higher nitrite concentrations, lower lipoperoxidation, and lower values of BP compared with those with lower TS. Lower GPx activity was observed in participants with higher TS compared with middle-aged with lower TS. Thus, our results suggest that good levels of TS may be associated with lower oxidative stress and higher nitrite concentration and may contribute to maintain normal or reduced blood pressure values. PMID:28326041

[The expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and excision repair complementing-1 (ERCC-1) protein in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer treated with mFOLFOX6 therapy].

PubMed

Ishibashi, Keiichiro; Okada, Norimichi; Ishiguro, Toru; Kuwabara, Kouki; Ohsawa, Tomonori; Yokoyama, Masaru; Kumamoto, Kensuke; Haga, Norihiro; Mori, Takashi; Yamada, Hirofumi; Miura, Ichiro; Tamaru, Junichi; Itoyama, Shinji; Ishida, Hideyuki

2010-11-01

Thymidylate synthase (TS) and excision repair complementing-1 (ERCC-1) were known to be important biomarkers to predict a tumor response to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin, but the relationship between these expressions and tumor response were still unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether the expression of TS and ERCC-1 protein predict a tumor response in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer treated with mFOLFOX6 therapy as first-line treatment. Fifty patients with unresectable colorectal cancer treated with mFOLFOX6 therapy were enrolled in this study. The expression of TS and ERCC-1 protein in primary cancer cells were examined using immunohistochemistry. There were no significant differences between response rate and the expression of TS or ERCC-1 protein (TS: p>0.99, ERCC-1: p= 0.50). There were no significant differences between progression-free survival time and the expression of TS or ERCC-1 protein (TS: p=0.60, ERCC-1: p=0.60). In this study, the expression TS and ERCC-1 protein may not be useful for the prediction of tumor response in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer treated with mFOLFOX6 therapy.

Influence of Estimated Training Status on Anti and Pro-Oxidant Activity, Nitrite Concentration, and Blood Pressure in Middle-Aged and Older Women.

PubMed

Jacomini, André M; Dias, Danielle da Silva; Brito, Janaina de Oliveira; da Silva, Roberta F; Monteiro, Henrique L; Llesuy, Susana; De Angelis, Kátia; Amaral, Sandra L; Zago, Anderson S

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the association between anti and pro-oxidant activity, nitrite concentration, and blood pressure (BP) in middle-aged and older women with different levels of estimated training status (TS). The sample consisted of 155 females (50-84 years) who were submitted to a physical examination to evaluate estimated TS through the "Functional Fitness Battery Test," BP measurements, and plasma blood samples to evaluate pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity and nitrite concentrations. Participants were separated by age into a middle-aged group (<65 years) and an older (≥65 years) group and then subdivided in each group according to TS. Blood biochemistry was similar between groups. On the other hand, protein oxidation was lower in participants with higher TS, independent of age. Older females with higher TS presented higher nitrite concentrations, lower lipoperoxidation, and lower values of BP compared with those with lower TS. Lower GPx activity was observed in participants with higher TS compared with middle-aged with lower TS. Thus, our results suggest that good levels of TS may be associated with lower oxidative stress and higher nitrite concentration and may contribute to maintain normal or reduced blood pressure values.

Electrophysiological correlates of reinforcement learning in young people with Tourette syndrome with and without co-occurring ADHD symptoms.

PubMed

Shephard, Elizabeth; Jackson, Georgina M; Groom, Madeleine J

2016-06-01

Altered reinforcement learning is implicated in the causes of Tourette syndrome (TS) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). TS and ADHD frequently co-occur but how this affects reinforcement learning has not been investigated. We examined the ability of young people with TS (n=18), TS+ADHD (N=17), ADHD (n=13) and typically developing controls (n=20) to learn and reverse stimulus-response (S-R) associations based on positive and negative reinforcement feedback. We used a 2 (TS-yes, TS-no)×2 (ADHD-yes, ADHD-no) factorial design to assess the effects of TS, ADHD, and their interaction on behavioural (accuracy, RT) and event-related potential (stimulus-locked P3, feedback-locked P2, feedback-related negativity, FRN) indices of learning and reversing the S-R associations. TS was associated with intact learning and reversal performance and largely typical ERP amplitudes. ADHD was associated with lower accuracy during S-R learning and impaired reversal learning (significantly reduced accuracy and a trend for smaller P3 amplitude). The results indicate that co-occurring ADHD symptoms impair reversal learning in TS+ADHD. The implications of these findings for behavioural tic therapies are discussed. Copyright © 2016 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Incidence, puberty, and fertility in 45,X/47,XXX mosaicism: Report of a patient and a literature review.

PubMed

Lim, Han Hyuk; Kil, Hong Ryang; Koo, Sun Hoe

2017-05-09

Turner syndrome (TS), characterized by short stature and premature ovarian failure, is caused by chromosomal aberrations with total or partial loss of one of the two X chromosomes. Spontaneous puberty, menarche, and pregnancy occur in some patients depending on the abnormality of the X. Moreover, spontaneous pregnancy is uncommon (<0.5%) for TS with 45,X monosomy. Among TS patients, 45,X/47,XXX karyotype is extremely rare. Previous reports have demonstrated that TS with 45,X/47,XXX is less severe than common TS due to higher occurrence of puberty (83%), menarche (57-67%), and fertility (14%) and lower occurrence of congenital anomalies (<5%). However, TS mosaicism may not reduce the frequency of short stature. We diagnosed a 10-year-girl with TS with 45,X/47,XXX mosaicism who presented with short stature. She showed mild TS phenotype including short stature but had spontaneous puberty. Based on our case and previous reports, we expect that girls with 45,X/47,XXX mosaicism may progress through puberty normally, without estrogen therapy. Therefore, it is necessary to consider specific guidelines for clinical decisions surrounding pubertal development and fertility in TS with 45,X/47,XXX karyotype. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Constitutive expression of thymidylate synthase from LCDV-C induces a transformed phenotype in fish cells.

PubMed

Zhao, Zhe; Shi, Yan; Ke, Fei; Wei, Sun; Gui, Jianfang; Zhang, Qiya

2008-03-01

Thymidylate synthase (TS), an essential enzyme in DNA synthesis and repair, plays a key role in the events of cell cycle regulation and tumor formation. Here, an investigation was presented about subcellular location and biological function of viral TS from lymphocystis disease virus from China (LCDV-C) in fish cells. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that LCDV-C TS was predominantly localized in the cytoplasm in fish cells. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that LCDV-C TS promoted cell cycle progression into S and G2/M phase in the constitutive expressed cells. As a result, the cells have a faster growth rate compared with the control cells as revealed by cell growth curves. For foci assay, the TS-expressed cells gave rise to foci 4-5 weeks after incubation. Microscopic examination of the TS-induced foci revealed multilayered growth and crisscross morphology characteristic of transformed cells. Moreover, LCDV-C TS predisposed the transfected cells to acquire an anchorage-independent phenotype and could grow in 0.3% soft agar. So the data reveal LCDV-C TS is sufficient to induce a transformed phenotype in fish cells in vitro and exhibits its potential ability in cell transformation. To our knowledge, it is the first report on viral TS sequences associated with transforming activity.

TS Gene Polymorphisms Correlate with Susceptibility to Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in Children.

PubMed

Zou, Runyin; He, Xiangling; Wu, Yanpeng; Tian, Xin; You, Yalan; Zheng, Mincui; Li, Wanli; Zou, Hui; Liu, Hua; Zhu, Xiujuan; Zhu, Chengguang

2017-06-24

BACKGROUND Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in children is a clonal disease of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells. This study aimed to explore the associations between MTHFR or TS genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility to acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS This case-control study included 79 ALL patients (case group) and 102 non-ALL patients (control group). Post-PCR genomic DNA sequencing revealed MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C genotypes and TS polymorphisms. The χ² test was used to compare differences in MTHFR and TS polymorphisms (including genotypic and allelic distributions) between groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine genetic polymorphisms and ALL risk associations. RESULTS The results indicated that TS 3R allele frequency was significantly higher in the case group than in the control group (χ²=7.45, P<0.05). The MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms were not associated with ALL risk. Compared to the TS 2R/2R genotype, subjects carrying TS 2R/3R were twice as likely to develop ALL, and the TS 3R/3R+3R/4R genotype carried a 4-fold higher risk of developing ALL (OR=1.96, CI: 1.14-3.36). CONCLUSIONS The TS genetic polymorphisms increase the ALL risk. The TS 3R allele was a risk factor for ALL. There were no associations between MTHFR C677T or MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms and ALL susceptibility.

Abscisic acid content and the expression of genes related to its metabolism during maturation of triticale grains of cultivars differing in pre-harvest sprouting susceptibility.

PubMed

Fidler, Justyna; Zdunek-Zastocka, Edyta; Prabucka, Beata; Bielawski, Wiesław

2016-12-01

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone that plays a predominant role in the onset and maintenance of primary dormancy. Peak ABA accumulation in embryos of triticale grains was observed before any significant loss of water and was higher in Fredro, a cultivar less susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), than in Leontino, a cultivar more sensitive to PHS. At full maturity, embryonic ABA content in Fredro was twice as high as in Leontino. Two full-length cDNAs of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (TsNCED1, TsNCED2), an enzyme involved in ABA biosynthesis, and two full-length cDNAs of ABA 8'-hydroxylase (TsABA8'OH1 and TsABA8'OH2), an enzyme involved in ABA catabolism, were identified in triticale grains and characterized. The maximum transcript level of both TsNCED1 and TsNCED2 preceded the peak of ABA accumulation, suggesting that both TsNCEDs contribute to reach this peak, although the expression of TsNCED1 was significantly higher in Fredro than in Leontino. High expression of TsABA8'OH2 and TsABA8'OH1 was observed long before and at the end of the ABA accumulation peak, respectively, but no differences were observed between cultivars. The obtained results suggest that mainly TsNCED1 might be related to the higher ABA content and higher resistance of Fredro to PHS. However, Fredro embryos not only have higher ABA content, but also exhibit greater sensitivity to ABA, which may also have a significant effect on grain dormancy and lower susceptibility to PHS for grains of this cultivar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Inversion of AMSR-E observations for land surface temperature estimation: 2. Global comparison with infrared satellite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ermida, S. L.; Jiménez, C.; Prigent, C.; Trigo, I. F.; DaCamara, C. C.

2017-03-01

A comparison of land surface temperature (Ts) derived from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) with infrared Ts is presented. The infrared Ts include clear-sky estimates from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Imager, and the Japanese Meteorological Imager. The higher discrepancies between AMSR-E and MODIS are observed over deserts and snow-covered areas. The former seems to be associated with Ts underestimation by MODIS, whereas the latter is mostly related to uncertainties in microwave emissivity over snow/ice. Ts differences between AMSR-E and MODIS are significantly reduced after masking out snow and deserts, with a bias change from 2.6/4.6 K to 3.0/1.4 K for daytime/nighttime and a standard deviation (STD) decrease from 7.3/7.9 K to 5.1/3.9 K. When comparing with all infrared sensors, the STD of the differences between microwave and infrared Ts is generally higher than between IR retrievals. However, the biases between microwave and infrared Ts are, in some cases, of the same order as the ones observed between infrared products. This is the case for GOES, with daytime biases with respect to AMSR-E and MODIS of 0.45 K and 0.60 K, respectively. While the infrared Ts are clear-sky estimates, AMSR-E also provides Ts under cloudy conditions. For frequently cloudy regions, this results in a large increase of available Ts estimates (>250%), making the microwave Ts a very powerful complement of the infrared estimates.

Thymidilate synthase and p53 primary tumour expression as predictive factors for advanced colorectal cancer patients.

PubMed

Paradiso, A; Simone, G; Petroni, S; Leone, B; Vallejo, C; Lacava, J; Romero, A; Machiavelli, M; De Lena, M; Allegra, C J; Johnston, P G

2000-02-01

The purpose of this work was to analyse the ability of p53 and thymidilate synthase (TS) primary tumour expression to retrospectively predict clinical response to chemotherapy and long-term prognosis in patients with advanced colorectal cancers homogeneously treated by methotrexate (MTX)-modulated-5-fluorouracil (5-FU-FA). A total of 108 advanced colorectal cancer patients entered the present retrospective study. Immunohistochemical p53 (pAb 1801 mAb) and TS (TS106 mAb) expression on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tumour specimens was related to probability of clinical response to chemotherapy, time to progression and overall survival. p53 was expressed in 53/108 (49%) tumours, while 54/108 (50%) showed TS immunostaining. No relationship was demonstrated between p53 positivity and clinical response to chemotherapy (objective response (OR): 20% vs 23%, in p53+ and p53- cases respectively) or overall survival. Percent of OR was significantly higher in TS-negative with respect to TS-positive tumours (30% vs 15% respectively; P < 0.04); simultaneous analysis of TS and p53 indicated 7% OR for p53-positive/TS-positive tumours vs 46% for p53-positive/TS-negative tumours (P < 0.03). Logistic regression analysis confirmed a significant association between TS tumour status and clinical response to chemotherapy (hazard ratio (HR): 2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.34-1.01; two-sided P < 0.05). A multivariate analysis of overall survival showed that only a small number of metastatic sites was statistically relevant (HR 1.89; 95% CI 2.85-1.26; two-sided P < 0.03). Our study suggests that immunohistochemical expression of p53 and TS could assist the clinician in predicting response of colorectal cancer patients to modulated MTX-5-FU therapy.

Four-Week Repeated Intravenous Dose Toxicity and Toxicokinetic Study of TS-DP2, a Novel Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Rats.

PubMed

Lee, JooBuom; Lee, Kyungsun; Choe, Keunbum; Jung, Hyunseob; Cho, Hyunseok; Choi, Kiseok; Kim, Taegon; Kim, Seojin; Lee, Hyeong-Seok; Cha, Mi-Jin; Song, Si-Whan; Lee, Chul Kyu; Chun, Gie-Taek

2015-12-01

TS-DP2 is a recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) manufactured by TS Corporation. We conducted a four-week study of TS-DP2 (test article) in repeated intravenous doses in male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Lenograstim was used as a reference article and was administered intravenously at a dose of 1000 μg/kg/day. Rats received TS-DP2 intravenously at doses of 250, 500, and 1000 μg/kg/day once daily for 4 weeks, and evaluated following a 2-week recovery period. Edema in the hind limbs and loss of mean body weight and body weight gain were observed in both the highest dose group of TS-DP2 and the lenograstim group in male rats. Fibro-osseous lesions were observed in the lenograstim group in both sexes, and at all groups of TS-DP2 in males, and at doses of TS-DP2 500 μg/kg/day and higher in females. The lesion was considered a toxicological change. Therefore, bone is the primary toxicological target of TS-DP2. The lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) in males was 250 μg/kg/day, and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) in females was 250 μg/kg/day in this study. In the toxicokinetic study, the serum concentrations of G-CSF were maintained until 8 hr after administration. The systemic exposures (AUC0-24h and C0) were not markedly different between male and female rats, between the administration periods, or between TS-DP2 and lenograstim. In conclusion, TS-DP2 shows toxicological similarity to lenograstim over 4-weeks of repeated doses in rats.

Four-Week Repeated Intravenous Dose Toxicity and Toxicokinetic Study of TS-DP2, a Novel Human Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor in Rats

PubMed Central

Lee, JooBuom; Lee, Kyungsun; Choe, Keunbum; Jung, Hyunseob; Cho, Hyunseok; Choi, Kiseok; Kim, Taegon; Kim, Seojin; Lee, Hyeong-Seok; Cha, Mi-Jin; Song, Si-Whan; Lee, Chul Kyu; Chun, Gie-Taek

2015-01-01

TS-DP2 is a recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) manufactured by TS Corporation. We conducted a four-week study of TS-DP2 (test article) in repeated intravenous doses in male and female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Lenograstim was used as a reference article and was administered intravenously at a dose of 1000 μg/kg/day. Rats received TS-DP2 intravenously at doses of 250, 500, and 1000 μg/kg/day once daily for 4 weeks, and evaluated following a 2-week recovery period. Edema in the hind limbs and loss of mean body weight and body weight gain were observed in both the highest dose group of TS-DP2 and the lenograstim group in male rats. Fibro-osseous lesions were observed in the lenograstim group in both sexes, and at all groups of TS-DP2 in males, and at doses of TS-DP2 500 μg/kg/day and higher in females. The lesion was considered a toxicological change. Therefore, bone is the primary toxicological target of TS-DP2. The lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) in males was 250 μg/kg/day, and no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) in females was 250 μg/kg/day in this study. In the toxicokinetic study, the serum concentrations of G-CSF were maintained until 8 hr after administration. The systemic exposures (AUC0-24h and C0) were not markedly different between male and female rats, between the administration periods, or between TS-DP2 and lenograstim. In conclusion, TS-DP2 shows toxicological similarity to lenograstim over 4-weeks of repeated doses in rats. PMID:26877840

Intelligent ensemble T-S fuzzy neural networks with RCDPSO_DM optimization for effective handling of complex clinical pathway variances.

PubMed

Du, Gang; Jiang, Zhibin; Diao, Xiaodi; Yao, Yang

2013-07-01

Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy neural networks (FNNs) can be used to handle complex, fuzzy, uncertain clinical pathway (CP) variances. However, there are many drawbacks, such as slow training rate, propensity to become trapped in a local minimum and poor ability to perform a global search. In order to improve overall performance of variance handling by T-S FNNs, a new CP variance handling method is proposed in this study. It is based on random cooperative decomposing particle swarm optimization with double mutation mechanism (RCDPSO_DM) for T-S FNNs. Moreover, the proposed integrated learning algorithm, combining the RCDPSO_DM algorithm with a Kalman filtering algorithm, is applied to optimize antecedent and consequent parameters of constructed T-S FNNs. Then, a multi-swarm cooperative immigrating particle swarm algorithm ensemble method is used for intelligent ensemble T-S FNNs with RCDPSO_DM optimization to further improve stability and accuracy of CP variance handling. Finally, two case studies on liver and kidney poisoning variances in osteosarcoma preoperative chemotherapy are used to validate the proposed method. The result demonstrates that intelligent ensemble T-S FNNs based on the RCDPSO_DM achieves superior performances, in terms of stability, efficiency, precision and generalizability, over PSO ensemble of all T-S FNNs with RCDPSO_DM optimization, single T-S FNNs with RCDPSO_DM optimization, standard T-S FNNs, standard Mamdani FNNs and T-S FNNs based on other algorithms (cooperative particle swarm optimization and particle swarm optimization) for CP variance handling. Therefore, it makes CP variance handling more effective. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathogenesis of tropical sprue: A pilot study of antroduodenal manometry, duodenocaecal transit time & fat-induced ileal brake

PubMed Central

Ghoshal, Uday C.; Kumar, Sunil; Misra, Asha; Choudhuri, Gourdas

2013-01-01

Background & objectives: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) due to ileal brake-induced hypomotility may cause tropical sprue (TS). We evaluated effect of infusion of fat or placebo in duodenum randomly in patients with TS and healthy controls on antroduodenal manometry (ADM) and mediators of ileal brake, and duodenocaecal transit time (DCTT). Methods: ADM and DCTT (lactulose hydrogen breath test, HBT) were evaluated with placebo and fat in eight controls and 13 patients with TS (diagnostic criteria: tests showing malabsorption of two unrelated substances, abnormal duodenal histology, absence of other causes, response to antibiotics and folate). Results: Patients with TS (6 had SIBO by glucose HBT) were similar in age and gender with controls. After fat infusion, proximal gut motility index (MI) was reduced compared to fasting state in TS, and DCTT was longer in TS than controls (200 min, 120-380 vs. 130, 70-160, P=0.001), though comparable after placebo (70 min, 30-140 vs. 60, 40-90). TS patients had higher PYY and neurotensin than controls after fat infusion. DCTT after fat infusion correlated with plasma level of PYY in TS but not in controls. Post-fat PYY and neurotensin levels were higher in TS with lower BMI (<16 kg/m2) than those with higher BMI. Parameters of ileal brake (post-fat DCTT, PYY and neurotensin) were higher in patients with than without SIBO. Interpretation & conclusions: Fat infusion reduced proximal gut MI, increased DCTT, PYY, and neurotensin among patients with TS. Malabsorbed fat might cause exaggerated ileal brake reducing gut motility, promoting SIBO and bacterial colonization and malabsorption in TS. PMID:23481053

Cognition, Emotion and Behavior in Children with Tourette’s Syndrome and Children with ADHD-Combined Subtype—A Two-Year Follow-Up Study

PubMed Central

Hovik, Kjell Tore; Plessen, Kerstin J.; Cavanna, Andrea E.; Skogli, Erik Winther; Andersen, Per Normann; Øie, Merete

2015-01-01

Objective This two-year follow-up study investigates the course of and association among measures of cognitive control, focused attention, decision-making and symptom severity (anxiety, depression and behavior) in children and adolescents with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined subtype (ADHD-C). Method 19 children with TS, 33 with ADHD-C, and 50 typically developing children (TDC) were examined with a battery of psychometric measures and rating forms at baseline and two-years later. Results All three groups improved likewise in measures of cognitive control over time, whereas only the TDC improved in focused attention. The group of children with TS with comorbidities performed more similar to the children with ADHD-C in cognitive control at T1 and T2, whereas the children with TS without comorbidities performed more similar to the TDC in cognitive control at T1 and T2. In the decision-making task, the children with TS (with or without comorbidities) preferred a safer strategy in selecting advantageous choices than the children with ADHD-C and the TDC at T2. Children with TS and children with ADHD-C showed higher symptoms of anxiety and depression and more problems with emotional control compared with TDC at both time points. Finally, children with ADHD-C self-reported more depression symptoms than those with TS at both assessments. For the TS group, safer decision-making was related to better emotional control, and this relationship was stronger for the TS subgroup without comorbidities. Conclusion This study emphasizes the importance of addressing symptoms of anxiety and depression in children with TS or ADHD-C, identifying the effect of comorbidities in children with TS, and that children with TS or ADHD-C likely differ in their sensitivity to reinforcement contingencies. PMID:26673612

A DNA vaccine co-expressing Trichinella spiralis MIF and MCD-1 with murine ubiquitin induces partial protective immunity in mice.

PubMed

Tang, F; Xu, L; Yan, R; Song, X; Li, X

2013-03-01

Co-expression of Trichinella spiralis macrophage migration inhibitory factor (TsMIF) with T. spiralis cystatin-like domain protein (TsMCD-1) in a DNA vaccine induces a Th1 immune response and partial protection against T. spiralis infection. The present study evaluated whether co-expression of mouse ubiquitin (Ub) with TsMIF and TsMCD-1 might improve the immune response against T. spiralis infection. Groups of BALB/c mice were immunized twice at 2-week intervals with 100 μg of plasmid DNA encoding either a TsMIF-TsMCD-1 fusion protein (pVAX1-Tsmif-Tsmcd-1) or an Ub-co-expressing triple fusion protein Ub-TsMIF-TsMCD-1 (pVAX1-Ub-Tsmif-Tsmcd-1). Control animals were immunized with pVAX1-Ub or blank vector plasmid. Specific antibody levels (IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgM, IgA, IgE) against the recombinant protein TsMIF-TsMCD-1, serum cytokines (interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and IL-17), CD4+/CD8+ T cells and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses were monitored. Challenge infection was performed 2 weeks after the second immunization and worm burden was assayed at 35 days post-challenge. Antibody responses induced by pVAX1-Ub-Tsmif-Tsmcd-1 were significantly lower than for TsMIF-TsMCD-1, but the vaccine induced increased levels of Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ) and increased T-cell cytotoxicity. The reduction of worm burden (37.95%) following immunization with pVAX1-Ub-Tsmif-Tsmcd-1 was significantly greater than that induced by the pVAX1-Tsmif-Tsmcd-1 vaccine (23.17%; P< 0.05).

Development of the embryonic heat shock response and the impact of repeated thermal stress in early stage lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) embryos.

PubMed

Whitehouse, Lindy M; McDougall, Chance S; Stefanovic, Daniel I; Boreham, Douglas R; Somers, Christopher M; Wilson, Joanna Y; Manzon, Richard G

2017-10-01

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) embryos were exposed to thermal stress (TS) at different developmental stages to determine when the heat shock response (HSR) can be initiated and if it is altered by exposure to repeated TS. First, embryos were subject to one of three different TS temperatures (6, 9, or 12°C above control) at 4 points in development (21, 38, 60 and 70 days post-fertilisation (dpf)) for 2h followed by a 2h recovery to understand the ontogeny of the HSR. A second experiment explored the effects of repeated TS on the HSR in embryos from 15 to 75 dpf. Embryos were subjected to one of two TS regimes; +6°C TS for 1h every 6 days or +9°C TS for 1h every 6 days. Following a 2h recovery, a subset of embryos was sampled. Our results show that embryos could initiate a HSR via upregulation of heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) mRNA at all developmental ages studied, but that this response varied with age and was only observed with a TS of +9 or +12°C. In comparison, when embryos received multiple TS treatments, hsp70 was not induced in response to the 1h TS and 2h recovery, and a downregulation was observed at 39 dpf. Downregulation of hsp47 and hsp90α mRNA was also observed in early age embryos. Collectively, these data suggest that embryos are capable of initiating a HSR at early age and throughout embryogenesis, but that repeated TS can alter the HSR, and may result in either reduced responsiveness or a downregulation of inducible hsps. Our findings warrant further investigation into both the short- and long-term effects of repeated TS on lake whitefish development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Peroxiredoxin 3 Is a Redox-Dependent Target of Thiostrepton in Malignant Mesothelioma Cells

PubMed Central

Newick, Kheng; Cunniff, Brian; Preston, Kelsey; Held, Paul; Arbiser, Jack; Pass, Harvey; Mossman, Brooke; Shukla, Arti; Heintz, Nicholas

2012-01-01

Thiostrepton (TS) is a thiazole antibiotic that inhibits expression of FOXM1, an oncogenic transcription factor required for cell cycle progression and resistance to oncogene-induced oxidative stress. The mechanism of action of TS is unclear and strategies that enhance TS activity will improve its therapeutic potential. Analysis of human tumor specimens showed FOXM1 is broadly expressed in malignant mesothelioma (MM), an intractable tumor associated with asbestos exposure. The mechanism of action of TS was investigated in a cell culture model of human MM. As for other tumor cell types, TS inhibited expression of FOXM1 in MM cells in a dose-dependent manner. Suppression of FOXM1 expression and coincidental activation of ERK1/2 by TS were abrogated by pre-incubation of cells with the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), indicating its mechanism of action in MM cells is redox-dependent. Examination of the mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase 2 (TR2)-thioredoxin 2 (TRX2)-peroxiredoxin 3 (PRX3) antioxidant network revealed that TS modifies the electrophoretic mobility of PRX3. Incubation of recombinant human PRX3 with TS in vitro also resulted in PRX3 with altered electrophoretic mobility. The cellular and recombinant species of modified PRX3 were resistant to dithiothreitol and SDS and suppressed by NAC, indicating that TS covalently adducts cysteine residues in PRX3. Reduction of endogenous mitochondrial TRX2 levels by the cationic triphenylmethane gentian violet (GV) promoted modification of PRX3 by TS and significantly enhanced its cytotoxic activity. Our results indicate TS covalently adducts PRX3, thereby disabling a major mitochondrial antioxidant network that counters chronic mitochondrial oxidative stress. Redox-active compounds like GV that modify the TR2/TRX2 network may significantly enhance the efficacy of TS, thereby providing a combinatorial approach for exploiting redox-dependent perturbations in mitochondrial function as a therapeutic approach in mesothelioma. PMID:22761781

Effects of Tityus serrulatus scorpion venom and its toxin TsTX-V on neurotransmitter uptake in vitro

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cecchini, Alessandra L.; Vollum Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 9701; Vasconcelos, Flavio

2006-12-01

Scorpion neurotoxins targeting the Na{sub v} channel can be classified into two classes: {alpha}- and {beta}-neurotoxins and are reported as highly active in mammalian brain. In this work, we evaluate the effects of Tityus serrulatus venom (Ts venom) and its {alpha}-neurotoxin TsTX-V on {gamma}-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine (DA) and glutamate (Glu) uptake in isolated rat brain synaptosomes. TsTX-V was isolated from Ts venom by ion exchange chromatography followed by reverse-phase (C18) high-performance liquid chromatography. Neither Ts venom nor TsTX-V was able to affect {sup 3}H-Glu uptake. On the other hand, Ts venom (0.13 {mu}g/mg) significantly inhibited both {sup 3}H-GABA andmore » {sup 3}H-DA uptake ({approx} 50%). TsTX-V showed IC{sub 5} values of 9.37 {mu}M and 22.2 {mu}M for the inhibition of {sup 3}H-GABA and {sup 3}H-DA uptake, respectively. These effects were abolished by pre-treatment with tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1 {mu}M), indicating the involvement of voltage-gated Na{sup +} channels in this process. In the absence of Ca{sup 2+}, and at low Ts venom concentrations, the reduction of {sup 3}H-GABA uptake was not as marked as in the presence of Ca{sup 2+}. TsTX-V did not reduce {sup 3}H-GABA uptake in COS-7 cells expressing the GABA transporters GAT-1 and GAT-3, suggesting that this toxin indirectly reduces the transport. The reduced {sup 3}H-GABA uptake by synaptosomes might be due to rapid cell depolarization as revealed by confocal microscopy of C6 glioma cells. Thus, TsTX-V causes a reduction of {sup 3}H-GABA and {sup 3}H-DA uptake in a Ca{sup 2+}-dependent manner, not directly affecting GABA transporters, but, in consequence of depolarization, involving voltage-gated Na{sup +} channels.« less

Down-regulation of Jab1, HIF-1alpha, and VEGF by Moloney murine leukemia virus-ts1 infection: a possible cause of neurodegeneration.

PubMed

Lungu, Gina F; Stoica, George; Wong, Paul K Y

2008-05-01

Moloney murine leukemia virus-temperature sensitive (MoMuLV-ts1)-mediated neuronal death is a result of both loss of glial support and release of cytokines and neurotoxins from ts1-infected glial cells. Here the authors propose vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) down-regulation as another contributory factor in neuronal degeneration induced by ts1 infection. To determine how ts1 affects VEGF expression in ts1-infected brain, the authors examined the expression of several proteins that are important in regulating the expression of VEGF. The authors found significant decreases in Jun-activating domain-binding protein 1 (Jab1), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha, and VEGF levels and increases in p53 protein levels in ts1-infected brains compared to noninfected control brains. The authors suggest that a decrease Jab1 expression in ts1 infection leads to accumulation of p53, which binds to HIF-1alpha to accelerate its degradation. A rapid degradation of HIF-1alpha leads to decreased VEGF production and secretion. Considering that endothelial cells are the most conspicuous in virus replication and production in ts1 infection, but are not killed by the infection, the authors examined the expression of these proteins using infected and noninfected mouse cerebrovascular endothelial (CVE) cells. The ts1- infected CVE cells showed decreased Jab1, HIF-1alpha, and VEGF mRNA and protein levels and increased p53 protein levels compared with noninfected cells, consistent with the results found in vivo. These results confirm that ts1 infection results in insufficient secretion of VEGF from endothelial cells and may result in decreased neuroprotection. This study suggested that ts1-mediated neuropathology in mice may result from changes in expression and activity of Jab1, p53, and HIF-1alpha, with a final target on VEGF expression and neuronal degeneration.

Total gastrectomy increases the incidence of grade III and IV toxicities in patients with gastric cancer receiving adjuvant TS-1 treatment.

PubMed

Chou, Wen-Chi; Chang, Chia-Lun; Liu, Keng-Hao; Hsu, Jun-Te; Cheng, Wei Hong; Hsu, Hung-Chih; Shen, Wen-Chi; Hung, Yu-Shin; Chen, Jen-Shi

2013-11-01

We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TS-1 adjuvant chemotherapy in Taiwanese patients with gastric cancer. We included in this study patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who received adjuvant TS-1 or 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy after curative surgery and extended lymph node dissection between 1 June 2008 and 31 December 2012 at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Patient characteristics, tumor features, safety profiles and compliance with TS-1 treatment were retrospectively analyzed from medical charts. Forty patients received adjuvant chemotherapy with TS-1 and 193 with 5-fluorouracil within the study period. The 1- and 2-year overall survival rates were 90.6% and 87% in the TS-1 group and 95.4% and 86.8% in the 5-fluorouracil group (P = 0.34). The 1- and 2-year disease-free survival rates were 90.6% and 74.7% in the TS-1 group and 88% and 75.7% in the 5-fluorouracil group (P = 0.66). In the TS-1 group, tumor recurrence was more frequent in those with >15 metastatic lymph nodes than ≤15. Overall, 78.9%, 74.3%, 62.1% and 56% of patients underwent TS-1 treatment for at least 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. The most common adverse events of TS-1 were skin hyperpigmentation (55%), diarrhea (27.5%), dizziness (27.5%) and leucopenia (20%). Severe adverse events (SAEs; grade III or IV toxicity) were diarrhea (7.5%), stomatitis (7.5%), leukopenia (5%), vomiting (2.5%), anorexia (2.5%) and dizziness (2.5%). Patients who underwent total gastrectomy had a significantly greater risk of TS-1-related SAEs than patients who underwent subtotal gastrectomy (40% versus 8%, P = 0.014). The incidence of SAEs during TS-1 therapy was more common in Taiwanese patients with gastric cancer who underwent total gastrectomy compared with those who underwent subtotal gastrectomy. Clinicians must be aware of and able to manage these SAEs to maximize patient compliance with adjuvant TS-1.

A paleolatitude approach to assessing surface temperature history for use in burial heating models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barker, Charles E.

2000-01-01

Calculations using heat flow theory as well as case histories show that over geologic time scales (106 years), changes in mean annual surface temperature (Ts) on the order of 10°C penetrate kilometers deep into the crust. Thus, burial heating models of sedimentary basins, which typically span kilometers in depth and persist over geological time frames, should consider Ts history to increase their accuracy. In any case, Ts history becomes important when it changes enough to be detected by a thermal maturation index like vitrinite reflectance, a parameter widely used to constrain burial heating models. Assessment of the general temperature conditions leading to petroleum generation indicates that changes in Ts as small as 6°C can be detected by vitrinite reflectance measurements. This low temperature threshold indicates that oil and gas windows can be significantly influenced by Ts history. A review of paleoclimatic factors suggests the significant and geologically resolvable factors affecting Ts history are paleolatitude, long-term changes between cool and warm geological periods (climate mode), the degree to which a basin is removed from the sea (geographic isolation), and elevation or depth relative to sea level. Case studies using geologically realistic data ranges or different methods of estimating Ts in a burial heating model indicate a significant impact of Ts when: (1) continental drift, subduction, tectonism and erosion significantly change paleolatitude, paleoaltitude, or paleogeography; (2) strata are at, or near, maximum burial, and changes in Ts directly influence maximum burial temperature; and (3), when a significant change in Ts occurs near the opening or closing of the oil or gas windows causing petroleum generation to begin or cease. Case studies show that during the burial heating and petroleum generation phase of basin development changes in climate mode alone can influence Ts by about 15°C. At present, Ts changes from the poles to the equator by about 50°C. Thus, in extreme cases, continental drift alone can seemingly produce Ts changes on the order of 50°C over a time frame of 107 years.

Structural and Binding Properties of Two Paralogous Fatty Acid Binding Proteins of Taenia solium Metacestode

PubMed Central

Yang, Hyun-Jong; Shin, Joo-Ho; Diaz-Camacho, Sylvia Paz; Nawa, Yukifumi; Kang, Insug; Kong, Yoon

2012-01-01

Background Fatty acid (FA) binding proteins (FABPs) of helminths are implicated in acquisition and utilization of host-derived hydrophobic substances, as well as in signaling and cellular interactions. We previously demonstrated that secretory hydrophobic ligand binding proteins (HLBPs) of Taenia solium metacestode (TsM), a causative agent of neurocysticercosis (NC), shuttle FAs in the surrounding host tissues and inwardly transport the FAs across the parasite syncytial membrane. However, the protein molecules responsible for the intracellular trafficking and assimilation of FAs have remained elusive. Methodology/Principal Findings We isolated two novel TsMFABP genes (TsMFABP1 and TsMFABP2), which encoded 133- and 136-amino acid polypeptides with predicted molecular masses of 14.3 and 14.8 kDa, respectively. They shared 45% sequence identity with each other and 15–95% with other related-members. Homology modeling demonstrated a characteristic β-barrel composed of 10 anti-parallel β-strands and two α-helices. TsMFABP2 harbored two additional loops between β-strands two and three, and β-strands six and seven, respectively. TsMFABP1 was secreted into cyst fluid and surrounding environments, whereas TsMFABP2 was intracellularly confined. Partially purified native proteins migrated to 15 kDa with different isoelectric points of 9.2 (TsMFABP1) and 8.4 (TsMFABP2). Both native and recombinant proteins bound to 11-([5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl]amino)undecannoic acid, dansyl-DL-α-amino-caprylic acid, cis-parinaric acid and retinol, which were competitively inhibited by oleic acid. TsMFABP1 exhibited high affinity toward FA analogs. TsMFABPs showed weak binding activity to retinol, but TsMFABP2 showed relatively high affinity. Isolation of two distinct genes from an individual genome strongly suggested their paralogous nature. Abundant expression of TsMFABP1 and TsMFABP2 in the canal region of worm matched well with the histological distributions of lipids and retinol. Conclusions/Significance The divergent biochemical properties, physiological roles and cellular distributions of the TsMFABPs might be one of the critical mechanisms compensating for inadequate de novo FA synthesis. These proteins might exert harmonized or independent roles on lipid assimilation and intracellular signaling. The specialized distribution of retinol in the canal region further implies that cells in this region might differentiate into diverse cell types during metamorphosis into an adult worm. Identification of bioactive systems pertinent to parasitic homeostasis may provide a valuable target for function-related drug design. PMID:23150743

Soil Temperature Variability in Complex Terrain measured using Distributed a Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seyfried, M. S.; Link, T. E.

2013-12-01

Soil temperature (Ts) exerts critical environmental controls on hydrologic and biogeochemical processes. Rates of carbon cycling, mineral weathering, infiltration and snow melt are all influenced by Ts. Although broadly reflective of the climate, Ts is sensitive to local variations in cover (vegetative, litter, snow), topography (slope, aspect, position), and soil properties (texture, water content), resulting in a spatially and temporally complex distribution of Ts across the landscape. Understanding and quantifying the processes controlled by Ts requires an understanding of that distribution. Relatively few spatially distributed field Ts data exist, partly because traditional Ts data are point measurements. A relatively new technology, fiber optic distributed temperature system (FO-DTS), has the potential to provide such data but has not been rigorously evaluated in the context of remote, long term field research. We installed FO-DTS in a small experimental watershed in the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (RCEW) in the Owyhee Mountains of SW Idaho. The watershed is characterized by complex terrain and a seasonal snow cover. Our objectives are to: (i) evaluate the applicability of fiber optic DTS to remote field environments and (ii) to describe the spatial and temporal variability of soil temperature in complex terrain influenced by a variable snow cover. We installed fiber optic cable at a depth of 10 cm in contrasting snow accumulation and topographic environments and monitored temperature along 750 m with DTS. We found that the DTS can provide accurate Ts data (+/- .4°C) that resolves Ts changes of about 0.03°C at a spatial scale of 1 m with occasional calibration under conditions with an ambient temperature range of 50°C. We note that there are site-specific limitations related cable installation and destruction by local fauna. The FO-DTS provide unique insight into the spatial and temporal variability of Ts in a landscape. We found strong seasonal trends in Ts variability controlled by snow cover and solar radiation as modified by topography. During periods of spatially continuous snow cover Ts was practically homogeneous throughout. In the absence of snow cover, Ts is highly variable, with most of the variability attributable to different topographic units defined by slope and aspect. During transition periods when snow melts out, Ts is highly variable within the watershed and within topographic units. The importance of accounting for these relatively small scale effects is underscored by the fact that the overall range of Ts in study area 600 m long is similar to that of the much large RCEW with 900 m elevation gradient.

Vertical-Control Subsystem for Automatic Coal Mining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffiths, W. R.; Smirlock, M.; Aplin, J.; Fish, R. B.; Fish, D.

1984-01-01

Guidance and control system automatically positions cutting drums of double-ended longwall shearer so they follow coal seam. System determines location of upper interface between coal and shale and continuously adjusts cutting-drum positions, upward or downward, to track undulating interface. Objective to keep cutting edges as close as practicable to interface and thus extract as much coal as possible from seam.

Association of Survival With Shorter Time to Radiation Therapy After Surgery for US Patients With Head and Neck Cancer.

PubMed

Harris, Jeremy P; Chen, Michelle M; Orosco, Ryan K; Sirjani, Davud; Divi, Vasu; Hara, Wendy

2018-04-01

Shortening the time from surgery to the start of radiation (TS-RT) is a consideration for physicians and patients. Although the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommends radiation to start within 6 weeks, a survival benefit with this metric remains controversial. To determine the association of delayed TS-RT with overall survival (OS) using a large cancer registry. In this observational cohort study, 25 216 patients with nonmetastatic stages III to IV head and neck cancer were identified from the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Patients received definitive surgery followed by adjuvant radiation therapy, with an interval duration defined as TS-RT. Overall survival as a function of TS-RT and the effect of clinicopathologic risk factors and accelerated fractionation. We identified 25 216 patients with nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. There were 18 968 (75%) men and 6248 (25%) women and the mean (SD) age of the cohort was 59 (10.9) years. Of the 25 216 patients, 9765 (39%) had a 42-days or less TS-RT and 4735 (19%) had a 43- to 49-day TS-RT. Median OS was 10.5 years (95% CI, 10.0-11.1 years) for patients with a 42-days or less TS-RT, 8.2 years (95% CI, 7.4-8.6 years; absolute difference, -2.4 years, 95% CI, -1.5 to -3.2 years) for patients with a 43- to 49-day TS-RT, and 6.5 years (95% CI, 6.1-6.8 years; absolute difference, -4.1 years, 95% CI, -3.4 to -4.7 years) for those with a 50-days or more TS-RT. Multivariable analysis found that compared with a 42-days or less TS-RT, there was not a significant increase in mortality with a 43- to 49-day TS-RT (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.93-1.04), although there was for a TS-RT of 50 days or more (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.12). A significant interaction was identified between TS-RT and disease site. Subgroup effect modeling found that a delayed TS-RT of 7 days resulted in significantly worse OS for patients with tonsil tumors (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.05-1.43) though not other tumor subtypes. Accelerated fractionation of 5.2 fractions or more per week was associated with improved survival (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99) compared with standard fractionation. Delayed TS-RT of 50 days or more was associated with worse overall survival. The multidisciplinary care team should focus on shortening TS-RT to improve survival. Unavoidable delays may be an indication for accelerated fractionation or other dose intensification strategies.

The temperature-sensitive and attenuation phenotypes conferred by mutations in the influenza virus PB2, PB1, and NP genes are influenced by the species of origin of the PB2 gene in reassortant viruses derived from influenza A/California/07/2009 and A/WSN/33 viruses.

PubMed

Broadbent, Andrew J; Santos, Celia P; Godbout, Rachel A; Subbarao, Kanta

2014-11-01

Live attenuated influenza vaccines in the United States are derived from a human virus that is temperature sensitive (ts), characterized by restricted (≥ 100-fold) replication at 39 °C. The ts genetic signature (ts sig) has been mapped to 5 loci in 3 genes: PB1 (391 E, 581 G, and 661 T), PB2 (265 S), and NP (34 G). However, when transferred into avian and swine influenza viruses, only partial ts and attenuation phenotypes occur. To investigate the reason for this, we introduced the ts sig into the human origin virus A/WSN/33 (WSN), the avian-origin virus A/Vietnam/1203/04 (VN04), and the swine origin triple-reassortant 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus A/California/07/2009 (CA07), which contains gene segments from human, avian, and swine viruses. The VN04(ts sig) and CA07(ts sig) viruses replicated efficiently in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells at 39 °C, but the replication of WSN(ts sig) was restricted ≥ 100-fold compared to that at 33 °C. Reassortant CA07(ts sig) viruses were generated with individual polymerase gene segments from WSN, and vice versa. Only ts sig viruses with a PB2 gene segment derived from WSN were restricted in replication ≥ 100-fold at 39 °C. In ferrets, the CA07(ts sig) virus replicated in the upper and lower respiratory tract, but the replication of a reassortant CA07(ts sig) virus with a WSN PB2 gene was severely restricted in the lungs. Taken together, these data suggest that the origin of the PB2 gene segment influences the ts phenotype in vitro and attenuation in vivo. This could have implications for the design of novel live vaccines against animal origin influenza viruses. Live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) on temperature-sensitive (ts) backbones derived from animal origin influenza viruses are being sought for use in the poultry and swine industries and to protect people against animal origin influenza. However, inserting the ts genetic signature from a licensed LAIV backbone fails to fully attenuate these viruses. Our data indicate this is associated with the presence of a PB2 gene segment derived from an avian influenza virus. We show that a reassortant 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus with the ts signature from a licensed LAIV donor virus is ts in vitro and attenuated in vivo when the PB2 gene is derived from a human origin virus but not from an avian virus. Our study provides information that could benefit the rational design of alternative LAIV backbones against animal origin influenza viruses. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Automatic Detection of Acromegaly From Facial Photographs Using Machine Learning Methods.

PubMed

Kong, Xiangyi; Gong, Shun; Su, Lijuan; Howard, Newton; Kong, Yanguo

2018-01-01

Automatic early detection of acromegaly is theoretically possible from facial photographs, which can lessen the prevalence and increase the cure probability. In this study, several popular machine learning algorithms were used to train a retrospective development dataset consisting of 527 acromegaly patients and 596 normal subjects. We firstly used OpenCV to detect the face bounding rectangle box, and then cropped and resized it to the same pixel dimensions. From the detected faces, locations of facial landmarks which were the potential clinical indicators were extracted. Frontalization was then adopted to synthesize frontal facing views to improve the performance. Several popular machine learning methods including LM, KNN, SVM, RT, CNN, and EM were used to automatically identify acromegaly from the detected facial photographs, extracted facial landmarks, and synthesized frontal faces. The trained models were evaluated using a separate dataset, of which half were diagnosed as acromegaly by growth hormone suppression test. The best result of our proposed methods showed a PPV of 96%, a NPV of 95%, a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 96%. Artificial intelligence can automatically early detect acromegaly with a high sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic Segmentation of High-Throughput RNAi Fluorescent Cellular Images

PubMed Central

Yan, Pingkum; Zhou, Xiaobo; Shah, Mubarak; Wong, Stephen T. C.

2010-01-01

High-throughput genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) screening is emerging as an essential tool to assist biologists in understanding complex cellular processes. The large number of images produced in each study make manual analysis intractable; hence, automatic cellular image analysis becomes an urgent need, where segmentation is the first and one of the most important steps. In this paper, a fully automatic method for segmentation of cells from genome-wide RNAi screening images is proposed. Nuclei are first extracted from the DNA channel by using a modified watershed algorithm. Cells are then extracted by modeling the interaction between them as well as combining both gradient and region information in the Actin and Rac channels. A new energy functional is formulated based on a novel interaction model for segmenting tightly clustered cells with significant intensity variance and specific phenotypes. The energy functional is minimized by using a multiphase level set method, which leads to a highly effective cell segmentation method. Promising experimental results demonstrate that automatic segmentation of high-throughput genome-wide multichannel screening can be achieved by using the proposed method, which may also be extended to other multichannel image segmentation problems. PMID:18270043

Comparison study of thickness swell performance of commercial oriented strandboard flooring products

Treesearch

Hongmei Gu; Siqun Wang; Trairat Neimsuwan; Sunguo Wang

2005-01-01

The multiple layer structure of oriented strandboard (OSB) has a significant influence on its performance, including thickness swell (TS). TS is recognized as an important performance property for OSB products. Optimization of TS through layer property ma- nipulation to achieve the lowest total TS while maintaining acceptable mechanical properties is attainable if the...

TS mRNA levels can predict pemetrexed and raltitrexed sensitivity in colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Zhang, Qun; Shen, Jie; Wang, Hao; Hu, Jing; Yu, Lixia; Xie, Li; Wei, Jia; Liu, Baorui; Guan, Wenxian; Qian, Xiaoping

2014-02-01

The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between tumor thymidylate synthase (TS) mRNA expression levels and raltitrexed/pemetrexed/5-FU sensitivity. We collected freshly removed colorectal tumor specimens from 50 patients. Chemosensitivities to anticancer drugs were evaluated by histoculture drug response assay. We adopted quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for TS mRNA detection and immunohistochemical staining for assessing TS expression in tumor tissues. There is a significant relationship between TS mRNA expression levels and in vitro chemosensitivity of freshly removed colorectal tumor specimens to pemetrexed (P < 0.001)/raltitrexed (P = 0.004)/5-FU (P = 0.007). TS mRNA expression levels can predict pemetrexed and raltitrexed sensitivity in colorectal cancer.

Orally active achiral N-hydroxyformamide inhibitors of ADAM-TS4 (aggrecanase-1) and ADAM-TS5 (aggrecanase-2) for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

PubMed

De Savi, Chris; Pape, Andrew; Sawyer, Yvonne; Milne, David; Davies, Chris; Cumming, John G; Ting, Attilla; Lamont, Scott; Smith, Peter D; Tart, Jonathon; Page, Ken; Moore, Peter

2011-06-01

A new achiral class of N-hydroxyformamide inhibitor of both ADAM-TS4 and ADAM-TS5, 2 has been discovered through modification of the complex P1 group present in historical inhibitors 1. This structural change improved the DMPK properties and greatly simplified the synthesis whilst maintaining excellent cross-MMP selectivity profiles. Investigation of structure-activity and structure-property relationships in the P1 group resulted in both ADAM-TS4 selective and mixed ADAM-TS4/5 inhibitors. This led to the identification of a pre-clinical candidate with excellent bioavailability across three species and predicting once daily dosing kinetics. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Doppler extraction with a digital VCO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starner, E. R.; Nossen, E. J.

1977-01-01

Digitally controlled oscillator in phased-locked loop may be useful for data communications systems, or may be modified to serve as information extraction component of microwave or optical system for collision avoidance or automatic braking. Instrument is frequency-synthesizing device with output specified precisely by digital number programmed into frequency register.

Variogram-based feature extraction for neural network recognition of logos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Tuan D.

2003-03-01

This paper presents a new approach for extracting spatial features of images based on the theory of regionalized variables. These features can be effectively used for automatic recognition of logo images using neural networks. Experimental results on a public-domain logo database show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Pattern-Based Extraction of Argumentation from the Scientific Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Elizabeth K.

2010-01-01

As the number of publications in the biomedical field continues its exponential increase, techniques for automatically summarizing information from this body of literature have become more diverse. In addition, the targets of summarization have become more subtle; initial work focused on extracting the factual assertions from full-text papers,…

Automatic segmentation of mandible in panoramic x-ray.

PubMed

Abdi, Amir Hossein; Kasaei, Shohreh; Mehdizadeh, Mojdeh

2015-10-01

As the panoramic x-ray is the most common extraoral radiography in dentistry, segmentation of its anatomical structures facilitates diagnosis and registration of dental records. This study presents a fast and accurate method for automatic segmentation of mandible in panoramic x-rays. In the proposed four-step algorithm, a superior border is extracted through horizontal integral projections. A modified Canny edge detector accompanied by morphological operators extracts the inferior border of the mandible body. The exterior borders of ramuses are extracted through a contour tracing method based on the average model of mandible. The best-matched template is fetched from the atlas of mandibles to complete the contour of left and right processes. The algorithm was tested on a set of 95 panoramic x-rays. Evaluating the results against manual segmentations of three expert dentists showed that the method is robust. It achieved an average performance of [Formula: see text] in Dice similarity, specificity, and sensitivity.

A computer-aided diagnosis system to detect pathologies in temporal subtraction images of chest radiographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Looper, Jared; Harrison, Melanie; Armato, Samuel G.

2016-03-01

Radiologists often compare sequential radiographs to identify areas of pathologic change; however, this process is prone to error, as human anatomy can obscure the regions of change, causing the radiologists to overlook pathology. Temporal subtraction (TS) images can provide enhanced visualization of regions of change in sequential radiographs and allow radiologists to better detect areas of change in radiographs. Not all areas of change shown in TS images, however, are actual pathology. The purpose of this study was to create a computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system that identifies which regions of change are caused by pathology and which are caused by misregistration of the radiographs used to create the TS image. The dataset used in this study contained 120 images with 74 pathologic regions on 54 images outlined by an experienced radiologist. High and low ("light" and "dark") gray-level candidate regions were extracted from the images using gray-level thresholding. Then, sampling techniques were used to address the class imbalance problem between "true" and "false" candidate regions. Next, the datasets of light candidate regions, dark candidate regions, and the combined set of light and dark candidate regions were used as training and testing data for classifiers by using five-fold cross validation. Of the classifiers tested (support vector machines, discriminant analyses, logistic regression, and k-nearest neighbors), the support vector machine on the combined candidates using synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) performed best with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.85, a sensitivity of 85%, and a specificity of 84%.

Comparative study about the tensile strength and yielding mechanism of pacing lead among major manufacturers.

PubMed

Chi-Wo, Chan; Lip-Kiong, Chan; Tongny, Lam; Kin-Keung, Tsang; Kin-Wing, Chan

2018-05-14

With extraction of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) increasingly necessitated, various studies have contemplated to investigate clinical predictors for its success and complications. Intrinsic parameters of CIED leads have been studied less extensively and are the foci of this study. Three major pacemaker manufacturers accepted invitation. Leads then underwent tensile test in-vitro with their composite tensile strength (TS) compared. Mechanism of yielding, under tensile stress, was also observed among them. All pacing leads, participated in this study, surpassed requirement of European Standard EN 45502-2-1. Boston Scientific's FINELINE II STENOX 4456/52 cm and Medtronic's CAPSURE SENSE 4074/52 cm showed similar composite TS and both were stronger compared with St. Jude Medical's ISOFLEX OPTIM 1948/52 cm (P < 0.001). Despite a difference in the exact site, the Medtronic 4074 and St. Jude Medical 1948 yielded similarly in that their distal tip electrode remained connected with a flimsy inner coil to proximal portion of the lead after their composite TS was exceeded. Boston Scientific 4456's insulation tubing and coil wire broke almost simultaneously and separated completely from the tip electrode when it yielded. FINELINE II STENOX 4456/52 cm and CAPSURE SENSE 4074/52 cm showed stronger composite tensile strength than ISOFLEX OPTIM 1948/52 cm. FINELINE II STENOX 4456 was found more prone to complete severance. Limitations and precautions to translate these differences directly into real-life scenario are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Characterization of the first naturally thermostable terpene synthases and development of strategies to improve thermostability in this family of enzymes.

PubMed

Styles, Matthew Q; Nesbitt, Edward A; Marr, Scott; Hutchby, Marc; Leak, David J

2017-06-01

The terpenoid family of natural products is being targeted for heterologous microbial production as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to extraction from plants. The key enzyme responsible for diversification of terpene structure is the class-I terpene synthase (TS), and these often require engineering to improve properties such as thermostability, robustness and catalytic activity before they are suitable for industrial use. Improving thermostability typically relies on screening a large number of mutants, as there are no naturally thermostable TSs described upon which to base rational design decisions. We have characterized the first examples of natural TSs exhibiting thermostability, which catalyse the formation of the sesquiterpene τ-muurolol at temperatures up to 78 °C. We also report an enzyme with a k cat value of 0.95 s -1 at 65 °C, the highest k cat recorded for a bacterial sesquiterpene synthase. In turn, these thermostable enzymes were used as a model to inform the rational engineering of another TS, with the same specificity but low sequence identity to the model. The newly engineered variant displayed increased thermostability and turnover. Given the high structural homology of the class-I TS domain, this approach could be generally applicable to improving the properties of other enzymes in this class. Model data are available in the PMDB database under the accession number PM0080780. © 2017 The Authors. The FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Phosphorus contents and availability of technogenic substrates for soil construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nehls, Thomas; Lydia, Paetsch; Sarah, Rokia; Schwartz, Christophe; Wessolek, Gerd

2014-05-01

Urban areas lack of green and of soil substrates to support this green. A great variety of solid waste materials can be seen as technogenic substances (TS) for the construction of soil-similar plant substrates. Biomass production in the city and the use of waste materials as nutrient sources can help to close regional nutrient cycles. The most important waste materials have been studied for their phosphorus contents, availabilities and diffusion rates in the rhizosphere by combining their analyzed chemical and physical properties. Compost, concrete, green wastes, paper mill sludge, street-sweepings, mix of rubble, bricks, track ballasts and charcoal have (i) been analyzed their P release properties (HF extraction, Olsen-P, adsorption isotherms); (ii) the physical properties (water retention function, saturated hydraulic conductivity) were analyzed at 80 % of the proctor density; (iii) The P availability of the TMs to the roots were simulated for different pressure heads (pF = 1.3, 1.8 and 3.0) using HYDRUS 1-D. We compared the results for TS with these for agricultural soils. Ptot varies from 710 to 21 000 mg kg-1 for bricks and compost, while POlsen varies from 19 to 1 090 mg kg-1 for charcoal and green wastes. The diffusion rates of TSs (pF = 1.3) are up to 10 times higher compared to those of soils, with green wastes showing highest and bricks the lowest P diffusion rates. We conclude that the investigated TS are appropriate for construction of soil similar planting substrates because of their P delivery potential and their favourable physical properties.

Speech outcome in young children born with unilateral cleft lip and palate treated with one- or two-stage palatal repair and the impact of early intervention.

PubMed

Raud Westberg, Liisi; Höglund Santamarta, Lena; Karlsson, Jenny; Nyberg, Jill; Neovius, Erik; Lohmander, Anette

2017-10-25

The aim of this study was to describe speech at 1, 1;6 and 3 years of age in children born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and relate the findings to operation method and amount of early intervention received. A prospective trial of children born with UCLP operated with a one-stage (OS) palatal repair at 12 months or a two-stage repair (TS) with soft palate closure at 3-4 months and hard palate closure at 12 months was undertaken (Scandcleft). At 1 and 1;6 years the place and manner of articulation and number of different consonants produced in babbling were reported in 33 children. At three years of age percentage consonants correct adjusted for age (PCC-A) and cleft speech errors were assessed in 26 of the 33 children. Early intervention was not provided as part of the trial but according to the clinical routine and was extracted from patient records. At age 3, the mean PCC-A was 68% and 46% of the children produced articulation errors with no significant difference between the two groups. At one year there was a significantly higher occurrence of oral stops and anterior place consonants in the TS group. There were significant correlations between the consonant production between one and three years of age, but not with amount of early intervention received. The TS method was beneficial for consonant production at age 1, but not shown at 1;6 or 3 years. Behaviourally based early intervention still needs to be evaluated.

Impact of Tourette Syndrome on School Measures in a Nationally Representative Sample.

PubMed

Claussen, Angelika H; Bitsko, Rebecca H; Holbrook, Joseph R; Bloomfield, Jeanette; Giordano, Kathy

2018-05-01

Children with Tourette syndrome (TS) are at risk for a variety of co-occurring conditions and learning and school problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of TS and co-occurring conditions on school measures. Parent-reported data from the 2007-2008 and 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health were combined (n = 129,353 children aged 6-17 yrs). Parent report of health care provider diagnosis of TS; co-occurring mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions; learning and language conditions; and school measures were assessed. School measures included type of school, individual education plan (IEP), number of school days missed, school problems, doing well in school, doing homework, and repeating a grade. Children with TS were compared with those who never had TS on school measures accounting for co-occurring conditions. After adjusting for demographics, compared with children without TS, children currently with TS were more likely to have an IEP, have a parent contacted about school problems, and not complete homework. After further adjusting for co-occurring conditions, only IEP status remained statistically significant. Compared with children with mild TS, children with moderate or severe TS were more likely to have an IEP, repeat a grade, encounter school problems, and not care about doing well in school. Tourette syndrome severity and co-occurring conditions are associated with school challenges and educational service needs. Awareness among health care providers, teachers and parents of the potential challenges related to both TS and co-occurring conditions would help to best support the child's education.

Diffusion tractography and graph theory analysis reveal the disrupted rich-club organization of white matter structural networks in early Tourette Syndrome children

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Hongwei; Liu, Yue; Wang, Shengpei; Zhang, Jishui; Peng, Yun; He, Huiguang

2017-03-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurobehavioral disorder. At present, the topological disruptions of the whole brain white matter (WM) structural networks remain poorly understood in TS children. Considering the unique position of the topologically central role of densely interconnected brain hubs, namely the rich club regions, therefore, we aimed to investigate whether the rich club regions and their related connections would be particularly vulnerable in early TS children. In our study, we used diffusion tractography and graph theoretical analyses to explore the rich club structures in 44 TS children and 48 healthy children. The structural networks of TS children exhibited significantly increased normalized rich club coefficient, suggesting that TS is characterized by increased structural integrity of this centrally embedded rich club backbone, potentially resulting in increased global communication capacity. In addition, TS children showed a reorganization of rich club regions, as well as significantly increased density and decreased number in feeder connections. Furthermore, the increased rich club coefficients and feeder connections density of TS children were significantly positively correlated to tic severity, indicating that TS may be characterized by a selective alteration of the structural connectivity of the rich club regions, tending to have higher bridging with non-rich club regions, which may increase the integration among tic-related brain circuits with more excitability but less inhibition for information exchanges between highly centered brain regions and peripheral areas. In all, our results suggest the disrupted rich club organization in early TS children and provide structural insights into the brain networks.

Tobacco smoke modulates ozone-induced toxicity in rat lungs and central nervous system.

PubMed

Bhoopalan, Vanitha; Han, Sung Gu; Shah, Mrudang M; Thomas, David M; Bhalla, Deepak K

2013-01-01

Adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) male rats were exposed for a single 3 h period to air, ozone (O₃) or O₃) followed by tobacco smoke (O₃/TS). For pulmonary effects, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells and fluid were analyzed. Data revealed a significant increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), total protein and albumin concentrations in the O₃ group, reflecting inflammatory and toxic responses. A subsequent exposure to TS attenuated PMN infiltration into the airspaces and their recovery in the BAL. A similar reduction was observed for BAL protein and albumin in the O₃/TS group, but it was not statistically significant. We also observed a significant increase in BAL total antioxidant capacity following O₃ exposure, suggesting development of protective mechanisms for oxidative stress damage from O₃. Exposure to TS attenuated the levels of total antioxidant capacity. Lung tissue protein analysis showed a significant reduction of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) in the O₃ or O₃/TS group and catalase in the O₃/TS group. TS further altered O₃-induced EC-SOD and catalase protein expression, but the reductions were not significant. For effects in the central nervous system (CNS), we measured striatal dopamine levels by HPLC with electrochemical detection. O₃ exposure produced a nonsignificant decrease in the striatal dopamine content. The effect was partially reversed in the O₃/TS group. Overall, the results show that the toxicity of O₃ in the lung is modulated by TS exposure, and the attenuating trend, though nonsignificant in many cases, is contrary to the synergistic toxicity predicted for TS and O₃, suggesting limited cross-tolerance following such exposures.

Normal Performance in Non-Visual Social Cognition Tasks in Women with Turner Syndrome.

PubMed

Anaki, David; Zadikov-Mor, Tal; Gepstein, Vardit; Hochberg, Ze'ev

2018-01-01

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder in women resulting from a partial or complete absence of the X chromosome. In addition to physical and hormonal dysfunctions, along with a unique neurocognitive profile, women with TS are reported to suffer from social functioning difficulties. Yet, it is unclear whether these difficulties stem from impairments in social cognition per se or from other deficits that characterize TS but are not specific to social cognition. Previous research that has probed social functioning in TS is equivocal regarding the source of these psychosocial problems since they have mainly used tasks that were dependent on visual-spatial skills, which are known to be compromised in TS. In the present study, we tested 26 women with TS and 26 matched participants on three social cognition tasks that did not require any visual-spatial capacities but rather relied on auditory-verbal skills. The results revealed that in all three tasks the TS participants did not differ from their control counterparts. The same TS cohort was found, in an earlier study, to be impaired, relative to controls, in other social cognition tasks that were dependent on visual-spatial skills. Taken together these findings suggest that the social problems, documented in TS, may be related to non-specific spatial-visual factors that affect their social cognition skills.

Age and gender differences in mechanically induced intraoral temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation in healthy subjects.

PubMed

Khan, Junad; Korczeniewska, Olga; Benoliel, Rafael; Kalladka, Mythili; Eliav, Eli; Nasri-Heir, Cibelle

2018-04-13

The aim of this study was to investigate intraoral temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and compare the outcome with TS and CPM induced in the forearm. In addition, we aimed to study the effect of age and gender on intraoral and forearm TS and CPM. Mechanical stimulation was induced with # 5.46 von Frey filament applying 26 grams of force. A single stimulus, followed by a train of 30 successive stimuli, was applied intraorally and to the dominant forearm. CPM was assessed with the TS test as the painful stimulus and with immersion of the nondominant hand in a hot water bath as the conditioning stimulus. Gender was significantly associated with TS but not with CPM measures. Females had significantly lower mean TS measured in the face and in the dominant forearm compared with males. Age was significantly associated with CPM, but not with TS measures. In both sites examined, older patients had significantly lower mean CPM compared with younger patients. Mechanical TM elicited in the oral cavity can be used as test stimulus for CPM testing. Intraoral modulation, both TS and CPM, has an extent similar to that of the standard cutaneous extremity. TS was lower in females, and CPM was reduced with age. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do technical skills correlate with non-technical skills in crisis resource management: a simulation study.

PubMed

Riem, N; Boet, S; Bould, M D; Tavares, W; Naik, V N

2012-11-01

Both technical skills (TS) and non-technical skills (NTS) are key to ensuring patient safety in acute care practice and effective crisis management. These skills are often taught and assessed separately. We hypothesized that TS and NTS are not independent of each other, and we aimed to evaluate the relationship between TS and NTS during a simulated intraoperative crisis scenario. This study was a retrospective analysis of performances from a previously published work. After institutional ethics approval, 50 anaesthesiology residents managed a simulated crisis scenario of an intraoperative cardiac arrest secondary to a malignant arrhythmia. We used a modified Delphi approach to design a TS checklist, specific for the management of a malignant arrhythmia requiring defibrillation. All scenarios were recorded. Each performance was analysed by four independent experts. For each performance, two experts independently rated the technical performance using the TS checklist, and two other experts independently rated NTS using the Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills score. TS and NTS were significantly correlated to each other (r=0.45, P<0.05). During a simulated 5 min resuscitation requiring crisis resource management, our results indicate that TS and NTS are related to one another. This research provides the basis for future studies evaluating the nature of this relationship, the influence of NTS training on the performance of TS, and to determine whether NTS are generic and transferrable between crises that require different TS.

Elongation factor Ts directly facilitates the formation and disassembly of the Escherichia coli elongation factor Tu·GTP·aminoacyl-tRNA ternary complex.

PubMed

Burnett, Benjamin J; Altman, Roger B; Ferrao, Ryan; Alejo, Jose L; Kaur, Navdep; Kanji, Joshua; Blanchard, Scott C

2013-05-10

Aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) enters the ribosome in a ternary complex with the G-protein elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and GTP. EF-Tu·GTP·aa-tRNA ternary complex formation and decay rates are accelerated in the presence of the nucleotide exchange factor elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts). EF-Ts directly facilitates the formation and disassociation of ternary complex. This system demonstrates a novel function of EF-Ts. Aminoacyl-tRNA enters the translating ribosome in a ternary complex with elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and GTP. Here, we describe bulk steady state and pre-steady state fluorescence methods that enabled us to quantitatively explore the kinetic features of Escherichia coli ternary complex formation and decay. The data obtained suggest that both processes are controlled by a nucleotide-dependent, rate-determining conformational change in EF-Tu. Unexpectedly, we found that this conformational change is accelerated by elongation factor Ts (EF-Ts), the guanosine nucleotide exchange factor for EF-Tu. Notably, EF-Ts attenuates the affinity of EF-Tu for GTP and destabilizes ternary complex in the presence of non-hydrolyzable GTP analogs. These results suggest that EF-Ts serves an unanticipated role in the cell of actively regulating the abundance and stability of ternary complex in a manner that contributes to rapid and faithful protein synthesis.

The portrayal of Tourette Syndrome in film and television.

PubMed

Calder-Sprackman, Samantha; Sutherland, Stephanie; Doja, Asif

2014-03-01

To determine the representation of Tourette Syndrome (TS) in fictional movies and television programs by investigating recurrent themes and depictions. Television and film can be a source of information and misinformation about medical disorders. Tourette Syndrome has received attention in the popular media, but no studies have been done on the accuracy of the depiction of the disorder. International internet movie databases were searched using the terms "Tourette's", "Tourette's Syndrome", and "tics" to generate all movies, shorts, and television programs featuring a character or scene with TS or a person imitating TS. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified the types of characters, tics, and co-morbidities depicted as well as the overall representation of TS. Thirty-seven television programs and films were reviewed dating from 1976 to 2010. Fictional movies and television shows gave overall misrepresentations of TS. Coprolalia was overrepresented as a tic manifestation, characters were depicted having autism spectrum disorder symptoms rather than TS, and physicians were portrayed as unsympathetic and only focusing on medical therapies. School and family relationships were frequently depicted as being negatively impacted by TS, leading to poor quality of life. Film and television are easily accessible resources for patients and the public that may influence their beliefs about TS. Physicians should be aware that TS is often inaccurately represented in television programs and film and acknowledge misrepresentations in order to counsel patients accordingly.

Rolling blackout is required for bulk endocytosis in non-neuronal cells and neuronal synapses.

PubMed

Vijayakrishnan, Niranjana; Woodruff, Elvin A; Broadie, Kendal

2009-01-01

Rolling blackout (RBO) is a Drosophila EFR3 integral membrane lipase. A conditional temperature-sensitive (TS) mutant (rbo(ts)) displays paralysis within minutes following a temperature shift from 25 degrees C to 37 degrees C, an impairment previously attributed solely to blocked synaptic-vesicle exocytosis. However, we found that rbo(ts) displays a strong synergistic interaction with the Syntaxin-1A TS allele syx(3-69), recently shown to be a dominant positive mutant that increases Syntaxin-1A function. At neuromuscular synapses, rbo(ts) showed a strong defect in styryl-FM-dye (FM) endocytosis, and rbo(ts);syx(3-69) double mutants displayed a synergistic, more severe, endocytosis impairment. Similarly, central rbo(ts) synapses in primary brain culture showed severely defective FM endocytosis. Non-neuronal nephrocyte Garland cells showed the same endocytosis defect in tracer-uptake assays. Ultrastructurally, rbo(ts) displayed a specific defect in tracer uptake into endosomes in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells. At the rbo(ts) synapse, there was a total blockade of endosome formation via activity-dependent bulk endocytosis. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was not affected; indeed, there was a significant increase in direct vesicle formation. Together, these results demonstrate that RBO is required for constitutive and/or bulk endocytosis and/or macropinocytosis in both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, and that, at the synapse, this mechanism is responsive to the rate of Syntaxin-1A-dependent exocytosis.

ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION: JOINT (NSF-EPA) VERIFICATION STATEMENT AND REPORT: TRITON SYSTEMS, LLC SOLID BOWL CENTRIFUGE, MODEL TS-5000

EPA Science Inventory

Verification testing of the Triton Systems, LLC Solid Bowl Centrifuge Model TS-5000 (TS-5000) was conducted at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory Swine Educational Unit in Raleigh, North Carolina. The TS-5000 was 48" in diameter and 30" deep, with a bowl capacity of 16 ft3. ...

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome in a cohort of deaf people.

PubMed

Robertson, M M; Roberts, S; Pillai, S; Eapen, V

2015-10-01

We present six patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) who are also deaf. TS has been observed previously, but rarely reported in deaf people, and to date, so called "unusual" phenomenology has been highlighted. TS occurs almost worldwide and in all cultures, and the clinical phenomenology is virtually identical. In our cohort of deaf patients (we suggest another culture) with TS, the phenomenology is the same as in hearing people, and as in all other cultures, with classic motor and vocal/phonic tics, as well as associated phenomena including echo-phenomena, pali-phenomena and rarer copro-phenomena. When "words" related to these phenomenon (e.g. echolalia, palilalia, coprolalia or mental coprolalia) are elicited in deaf people, they occur usually in British Sign Language (BSL): the more "basic" vocal/phonic tics such as throat clearing are the same phenomenologically as in hearing TS people. In our case series, there was a genetic predisposition to TS in all cases. We would argue that TS in deaf people is the same as TS in hearing people and in other cultures, highlighting the biological nature of the disorder. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and its prognostic significance in patients with cutaneous angiosarcoma.

PubMed

Shimizu, A; Kaira, K; Okubo, Y; Utsumi, D; Bolag, A; Yasuda, M; Takahashi, K; Ishikawa, O

2017-01-01

Cutaneous angiosarcoma (CA) is extremely rare, and little is known about the biological significance of possible biomarkers for chemotherapeutic agents. Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an attractive target for cancer treatment in various human neoplasms. It remains unclear whether the expression of TS is associated with the clinicopathological features of CA patients. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between TS expression and the clinicopathological significance in CA patients. Fifty-one patients with CA were included in this study. TS expression and Ki-67 labeling index were examined using immunohistochemical analysis. TS was positively expressed in 39% (20/51) of CA patients. No statistically significant prognostic factor was identified as a predictor of overall survival (OS) for all patients by univariate analysis, whereas a significant prognostic variable for progression free survival (PFS) was found to be the clinical stage. In addition, both univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that positive expression of TS was a significant predictor of worse PFS in CA patients of clinical stage 1. Positive TS expression in CA was identified as a significant predictor of worse outcome in patients of clinical stage 1.

Total solids content: a key parameter of metabolic pathways in dry anaerobic digestion

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In solid-state anaerobic digestion (AD) bioprocesses, hydrolytic and acidogenic microbial metabolisms have not yet been clarified. Since these stages are particularly important for the establishment of the biological reaction, better knowledge could optimize the process performances by process parameters adjustment. Results This study demonstrated the effect of total solids (TS) content on microbial fermentation of wheat straw with six different TS contents ranging from wet to dry conditions (10 to 33% TS). Three groups of metabolic behaviors were distinguished based on wheat straw conversion rates with 2,200, 1,600, and 1,400 mmol.kgVS-1 of fermentative products under wet (10 and 14% TS), dry (19 to 28% TS), and highly dry (28 to 33% TS) conditions, respectively. Furthermore, both wet and dry fermentations showed acetic and butyric acid metabolisms, whereas a mainly butyric acid metabolism occurred in highly dry fermentation. Conclusion Substrate conversion was reduced with no changes of the metabolic pathways until a clear limit at 28% TS content, which corresponded to the threshold value of free water content of wheat straw. This study suggested that metabolic pathways present a limit of TS content for high-solid AD. PMID:24261971

DESCRIBING LYMPHEDEMA IN FEMALES WITH TURNER SYNDROME.

PubMed

Rothbauer, J; Driver, S; Callender, L

2015-09-01

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal condition affecting an estimated 1 in 2,500 girls where the second X chromosome is missing, or partially formed. This abnormality affects multiple body systems and can lead to short stature, cardiac, neural, and renal abnormalities. Due to the chronic, non-life threatening nature of lymphedema in comparison to other symptoms of TS, it is often ignored by girls and women with TS and their physicians. Consequently, little is known about how lymphedema affects girls and women with TS across the lifespan. Therefore, the objective of the study was to deliver an online survey for females with TS and caregivers in the US, UK, and Canada to provide a worldwide perspective on their current experience with lymphedema within the spectrum of TS. There were 219 participants who completed the survey, and we were able to identify incidence and characteristics of lymphedema across the lifespan. In addition, we found that females with 45,X karyotyping were more likely to report lymphedema symptoms. Lymphedema is not the most significant concern of females with TS, but education, physician evaluation, and assistance with referrals for treatment and management would improve the ease of managing lymphedema in girls and women with TS.

Mechanical Behavior of Spray-Coated Metallic Laminates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vackel, Andrew; Nakamura, Toshio; Sampath, Sanjay

2016-06-01

Thermal spray (TS) coatings have been extensively utilized for various surface modifications such as enhancing wear/erosion resistance and thermal protection. In the present study, a new function of TS material is explored by studying its load-carrying capability. Due to the inherent microstructures containing voids and interfaces, it has been presumed TS materials were not suitable to bear loads. However, the recent advances in TS technology to manufacture near fully dense TS coatings have expanded their potential applications. In the current experiments, TS nickel coatings are deposited onto metallic substrates, and their mechanical behaviors are closely examined. Based on the measured data, the estimated elastic modulus of TS Ni is about 130 GPa (35% less than bulk value), and the maximum tensile strength is about 500 MPa (comparable to bulk value). It was found that such a high value is attainable because the coating is deposited onto a substrate, enabling a load-transfer mechanism and preventing coating failure at a much lower stress level. Three distinct deformation stages are identified to describe this behavior. Such a clarification is critical for enabling TS process to restore structural parts as well as to additively manufacture load-bearing components.

Dysfunctional hippocampal inhibition in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

PubMed Central

Best, Tyler K.; Cramer, Nathan P.; Chakrabarti, Lina; Haydar, Tarik F.; Galdzicki, Zygmunt

2013-01-01

GABAergic dysfunction is implicated in hippocampal deficits of the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome (DS). Since Ts65Dn mice overexpress G-protein coupled inward-rectifying potassium (GIRK2) containing channels, we sought to evaluate whether increased GABAergic function disrupts the functioning of hippocampal circuitry. After confirming that GABAB/GIRK current density is significantly elevated in Ts65Dn CA1 pyramidal neurons, we compared monosynaptic inhibitory inputs in CA1 pyramidal neurons in response to proximal (stratum radiatum; SR) and distal (stratum lacunosum moleculare; SLM) stimulation of diploid and Ts65Dn acute hippocampal slices. Synaptic GABAB and GABAA mediated currents evoked by SR stimulation were generally unaffected in Ts65Dn CA1 neurons. However, the GABAB/GABAA ratios evoked by stimulation within the SLM of Ts65Dn hippocampus were significantly larger in magnitude, consistent with increased GABAB/GIRK currents after SLM stimulation. These results indicate that GIRK overexpression in Ts65Dn has functional consequences which affect the balance between GABAB and GABAA inhibition of CA1 pyramidal neurons, most likely in a pathway specific manner, and may contribute to cognitive deficits reported in these mice. PMID:22178330

Automated Assessment of Child Vocalization Development Using LENA.

PubMed

Richards, Jeffrey A; Xu, Dongxin; Gilkerson, Jill; Yapanel, Umit; Gray, Sharmistha; Paul, Terrance

2017-07-12

To produce a novel, efficient measure of children's expressive vocal development on the basis of automatic vocalization assessment (AVA), child vocalizations were automatically identified and extracted from audio recordings using Language Environment Analysis (LENA) System technology. Assessment was based on full-day audio recordings collected in a child's unrestricted, natural language environment. AVA estimates were derived using automatic speech recognition modeling techniques to categorize and quantify the sounds in child vocalizations (e.g., protophones and phonemes). These were expressed as phone and biphone frequencies, reduced to principal components, and inputted to age-based multiple linear regression models to predict independently collected criterion-expressive language scores. From these models, we generated vocal development AVA estimates as age-standardized scores and development age estimates. AVA estimates demonstrated strong statistical reliability and validity when compared with standard criterion expressive language assessments. Automated analysis of child vocalizations extracted from full-day recordings in natural settings offers a novel and efficient means to assess children's expressive vocal development. More research remains to identify specific mechanisms of operation.

Automatic energy calibration algorithm for an RBS setup

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Silva, Tiago F.; Moro, Marcos V.; Added, Nemitala

2013-05-06

This work describes a computer algorithm for automatic extraction of the energy calibration parameters from a Rutherford Back-Scattering Spectroscopy (RBS) spectrum. Parameters like the electronic gain, electronic offset and detection resolution (FWHM) of a RBS setup are usually determined using a standard sample. In our case, the standard sample comprises of a multi-elemental thin film made of a mixture of Ti-Al-Ta that is analyzed at the beginning of each run at defined beam energy. A computer program has been developed to extract automatically the calibration parameters from the spectrum of the standard sample. The code evaluates the first derivative ofmore » the energy spectrum, locates the trailing edges of the Al, Ti and Ta peaks and fits a first order polynomial for the energy-channel relation. The detection resolution is determined fitting the convolution of a pre-calculated theoretical spectrum. To test the code, data of two years have been analyzed and the results compared with the manual calculations done previously, obtaining good agreement.« less

Detection of exudates in fundus images using a Markovian segmentation model.

PubMed

Harangi, Balazs; Hajdu, Andras

2014-01-01

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common causing of vision loss in developed countries. In early stage of DR, some signs like exudates appear in the retinal images. An automatic screening system must be capable to detect these signs properly so that the treatment of the patients may begin in time. The appearance of exudates shows a rich variety regarding their shape and size making automatic detection more challenging. We propose a way for the automatic segmentation of exudates consisting of a candidate extraction step followed by exact contour detection and region-wise classification. More specifically, we extract possible exudate candidates using grayscale morphology and their proper shape is determined by a Markovian segmentation model considering edge information. Finally, we label the candidates as true or false ones by an optimally adjusted SVM classifier. For testing purposes, we considered the publicly available database DiaretDB1, where the proposed method outperformed several state-of-the-art exudate detectors.

Refining Automatically Extracted Knowledge Bases Using Crowdsourcing

PubMed Central

Xian, Xuefeng; Cui, Zhiming

2017-01-01

Machine-constructed knowledge bases often contain noisy and inaccurate facts. There exists significant work in developing automated algorithms for knowledge base refinement. Automated approaches improve the quality of knowledge bases but are far from perfect. In this paper, we leverage crowdsourcing to improve the quality of automatically extracted knowledge bases. As human labelling is costly, an important research challenge is how we can use limited human resources to maximize the quality improvement for a knowledge base. To address this problem, we first introduce a concept of semantic constraints that can be used to detect potential errors and do inference among candidate facts. Then, based on semantic constraints, we propose rank-based and graph-based algorithms for crowdsourced knowledge refining, which judiciously select the most beneficial candidate facts to conduct crowdsourcing and prune unnecessary questions. Our experiments show that our method improves the quality of knowledge bases significantly and outperforms state-of-the-art automatic methods under a reasonable crowdsourcing cost. PMID:28588611

Automatic Recognition of Fetal Facial Standard Plane in Ultrasound Image via Fisher Vector.

PubMed

Lei, Baiying; Tan, Ee-Leng; Chen, Siping; Zhuo, Liu; Li, Shengli; Ni, Dong; Wang, Tianfu

2015-01-01

Acquisition of the standard plane is the prerequisite of biometric measurement and diagnosis during the ultrasound (US) examination. In this paper, a new algorithm is developed for the automatic recognition of the fetal facial standard planes (FFSPs) such as the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes. Specifically, densely sampled root scale invariant feature transform (RootSIFT) features are extracted and then encoded by Fisher vector (FV). The Fisher network with multi-layer design is also developed to extract spatial information to boost the classification performance. Finally, automatic recognition of the FFSPs is implemented by support vector machine (SVM) classifier based on the stochastic dual coordinate ascent (SDCA) algorithm. Experimental results using our dataset demonstrate that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of 93.27% and a mean average precision (mAP) of 99.19% in recognizing different FFSPs. Furthermore, the comparative analyses reveal the superiority of the proposed method based on FV over the traditional methods.

Note: An automated image analysis method for high-throughput classification of surface-bound bacterial cell motions.

PubMed

Shen, Simon; Syal, Karan; Tao, Nongjian; Wang, Shaopeng

2015-12-01

We present a Single-Cell Motion Characterization System (SiCMoCS) to automatically extract bacterial cell morphological features from microscope images and use those features to automatically classify cell motion for rod shaped motile bacterial cells. In some imaging based studies, bacteria cells need to be attached to the surface for time-lapse observation of cellular processes such as cell membrane-protein interactions and membrane elasticity. These studies often generate large volumes of images. Extracting accurate bacterial cell morphology features from these images is critical for quantitative assessment. Using SiCMoCS, we demonstrated simultaneous and automated motion tracking and classification of hundreds of individual cells in an image sequence of several hundred frames. This is a significant improvement from traditional manual and semi-automated approaches to segmenting bacterial cells based on empirical thresholds, and a first attempt to automatically classify bacterial motion types for motile rod shaped bacterial cells, which enables rapid and quantitative analysis of various types of bacterial motion.

Kinase Pathway Database: An Integrated Protein-Kinase and NLP-Based Protein-Interaction Resource

PubMed Central

Koike, Asako; Kobayashi, Yoshiyuki; Takagi, Toshihisa

2003-01-01

Protein kinases play a crucial role in the regulation of cellular functions. Various kinds of information about these molecules are important for understanding signaling pathways and organism characteristics. We have developed the Kinase Pathway Database, an integrated database involving major completely sequenced eukaryotes. It contains the classification of protein kinases and their functional conservation, ortholog tables among species, protein–protein, protein–gene, and protein–compound interaction data, domain information, and structural information. It also provides an automatic pathway graphic image interface. The protein, gene, and compound interactions are automatically extracted from abstracts for all genes and proteins by natural-language processing (NLP).The method of automatic extraction uses phrase patterns and the GENA protein, gene, and compound name dictionary, which was developed by our group. With this database, pathways are easily compared among species using data with more than 47,000 protein interactions and protein kinase ortholog tables. The database is available for querying and browsing at http://kinasedb.ontology.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/. PMID:12799355

Structural Characteristics and Function of a New Kind of Thermostable Trehalose Synthase from Thermobaculum terrenum.

PubMed

Wang, Junqing; Ren, Xudong; Wang, Ruiming; Su, Jing; Wang, Feng

2017-09-06

Trehalose has important applications in the food industry and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The thermostable enzyme trehalose synthase from Thermobaculum terrenum (TtTS) catalyzes the reversible interconversion of maltose and trehalose. Here, we investigated the structural characteristics of TtTS in complex with the inhibitor TriS. TtTS exhibits the typical three domain glycoside hydrolase family 13 structure. The catalytic cleft consists of Asp202-Glu244-Asp310 and various conserved substrate-binding residues. However, among trehalose synthases, TtTS demonstrates obvious thermal stability. TtTS has more polar (charged) amino acids distributed on its protein structure surface and more aromatic amino acids buried within than other mesophilic trehalose synthases. Furthermore, TtTS structural analysis revealed four potential metal ion-binding sites rather than the two in a homologous structure. These factors may render TtTS relatively more thermostable among mesophilic trehalose synthases. The detailed thermophilic enzyme structure provided herein may provide guidance for further protein engineering in the design of stabilized enzymes.

Human body temperature and new approaches to constructing temperature-sensitive bacterial vaccines

PubMed Central

White, Matthew D.; Bosio, Catharine M.; Duplantis, Barry N.

2012-01-01

Many of the live human and animal vaccines that are currently in use are attenuated by virtue of their temperature-sensitive (TS) replication. These vaccines are able to function because they can take advantage of sites in mammalian bodies that are cooler than the core temperature, where TS vaccines fail to replicate. In this article, we discuss the distribution of temperature in the human body, and relate how the temperature differential can be exploited for designing and using TS vaccines. We also examine how one of the coolest organs of the body, the skin, contains antigen-processing cells that can be targeted to provoke the desired immune response from a TS vaccine. We describe traditional approaches to making TS vaccines, and highlight new information and technologies that are being used to create a new generation of engineered TS vaccines. We pay particular attention to the recently described technology of substituting essential genes from Arctic bacteria for their homologues in mammalian pathogens as a way of creating TS vaccines. PMID:21626408

Human body temperature and new approaches to constructing temperature-sensitive bacterial vaccines.

PubMed

White, Matthew D; Bosio, Catharine M; Duplantis, Barry N; Nano, Francis E

2011-09-01

Many of the live human and animal vaccines that are currently in use are attenuated by virtue of their temperature-sensitive (TS) replication. These vaccines are able to function because they can take advantage of sites in mammalian bodies that are cooler than the core temperature, where TS vaccines fail to replicate. In this article, we discuss the distribution of temperature in the human body, and relate how the temperature differential can be exploited for designing and using TS vaccines. We also examine how one of the coolest organs of the body, the skin, contains antigen-processing cells that can be targeted to provoke the desired immune response from a TS vaccine. We describe traditional approaches to making TS vaccines, and highlight new information and technologies that are being used to create a new generation of engineered TS vaccines. We pay particular attention to the recently described technology of substituting essential genes from Arctic bacteria for their homologues in mammalian pathogens as a way of creating TS vaccines.

Enhancing anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge by pretreatment: effect of volatile to total solids.

PubMed

Wang, Xiao; Duan, Xu; Chen, Jianguang; Fang, Kuo; Feng, Leiyu; Yan, Yuanyuan; Zhou, Qi

2016-01-01

In this study the effect of volatile to total solids (VS/TS) on anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge (WAS) pretreated by alkaline, thermal and thermal-alkaline strategies was studied. Experimental results showed that the production of methane from sludge was increased with VS/TS. When anaerobic digesters were fed with sludge pretreated by the thermal-alkaline method, the average methane yield was improved from 2.8 L/d at VS/TS 0.35 to 4.7 L/d at VS/TS 0.56. Also, the efficiency of VS reduction during sludge anaerobic digestion varied between 18.9% and 45.6%, and increased gradually with VS/TS. Mechanism investigation of VS/TS on WAS anaerobic digestion suggested that the general activities of anaerobic microorganisms, activities of key enzymes related to sludge hydrolysis, acidification and methanogenesis, and the ratio of Archaea to Bacteria were all increased with VS/TS, showing good agreement with methane production.

Hybrid water flow-like algorithm with Tabu search for traveling salesman problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bostamam, Jasmin M.; Othman, Zulaiha

2016-08-01

This paper presents a hybrid Water Flow-like Algorithm with Tabu Search for solving travelling salesman problem (WFA-TS-TSP).WFA has been proven its outstanding performances in solving TSP meanwhile TS is a conventional algorithm which has been used since decades to solve various combinatorial optimization problem including TSP. Hybridization between WFA with TS provides a better balance of exploration and exploitation criteria which are the key elements in determining the performance of one metaheuristic. TS use two different local search namely, 2opt and 3opt separately. The proposed WFA-TS-TSP is tested on 23 sets on the well-known benchmarked symmetric TSP instances. The result shows that the proposed WFA-TS-TSP has significant better quality solutions compared to WFA. The result also shows that the WFA-TS-TSP with 3-opt obtained the best quality solution. With the result obtained, it could be concluded that WFA has potential to be further improved by using hybrid technique or using better local search technique.

Unsupervised Extraction of Diagnosis Codes from EMRs Using Knowledge-Based and Extractive Text Summarization Techniques

PubMed Central

Kavuluru, Ramakanth; Han, Sifei; Harris, Daniel

2017-01-01

Diagnosis codes are extracted from medical records for billing and reimbursement and for secondary uses such as quality control and cohort identification. In the US, these codes come from the standard terminology ICD-9-CM derived from the international classification of diseases (ICD). ICD-9 codes are generally extracted by trained human coders by reading all artifacts available in a patient’s medical record following specific coding guidelines. To assist coders in this manual process, this paper proposes an unsupervised ensemble approach to automatically extract ICD-9 diagnosis codes from textual narratives included in electronic medical records (EMRs). Earlier attempts on automatic extraction focused on individual documents such as radiology reports and discharge summaries. Here we use a more realistic dataset and extract ICD-9 codes from EMRs of 1000 inpatient visits at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Using named entity recognition (NER), graph-based concept-mapping of medical concepts, and extractive text summarization techniques, we achieve an example based average recall of 0.42 with average precision 0.47; compared with a baseline of using only NER, we notice a 12% improvement in recall with the graph-based approach and a 7% improvement in precision using the extractive text summarization approach. Although diagnosis codes are complex concepts often expressed in text with significant long range non-local dependencies, our present work shows the potential of unsupervised methods in extracting a portion of codes. As such, our findings are especially relevant for code extraction tasks where obtaining large amounts of training data is difficult. PMID:28748227

Interaction between paliperidone extended release and TS-1(®), an oral anticancer drug containing a 5-fluorouracil derivative, in a schizophrenic patient.

PubMed

Yasui-Furukori, Norio; Hashimoto, Kojiro; Kubo, Kazutoshi; Tomita, Tetsu

2013-01-01

Until now there has been no information available on drug interaction between paliperidone and TS-1(®), an oral anticancer drug containing a 5-fluorouracil derivative. The patient in the case presented here was a 39-year-old man with a 15-year history of schizophrenia. The patient's usual treatment of 2 mg/day of risperidone was changed to 3 mg/day of paliperidone extended release. He experienced worsening psychotic symptoms after switching from risperidone to paliperidone while he was also receiving TS-1. Retrospective analyses showed plasma concentration of paliperidone was consistently lower during the treatment with TS-1 than without TS-1. This case suggests there is drug interaction between paliperidone extended-release tablets and TS-1.

Transactional Sex: Supply and Demand Among European Men Who have Sex with Men (MSM) in the Context of Local Laws

PubMed Central

Berg, Rigmor C.; Schmidt, Axel J.; Weatherburn, Peter; The EMIS Network

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Objectives: Transactional sex (TS) is generally defined as the trading of sex for material goods. Cast within the broader context of prostitution laws, we examined variations in the sociodemographic profile of men who have sex with men engaging in TS by payment direction (buying/selling). Methods: The data were collected as part of the 38-country European Men who have sex with men Internet Survey project, conducted in 2010. Results: About 12% of respondents reported engaging in TS in the past year. TS was associated with laws, age, education, employment, and residence. Conclusions: The striking sociodemographic differences in TS by payment direction suggest a power differential and a leading role of socioeconomic factors in TS. PMID:26430474

Automatic extraction of planetary image features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LeMoigne-Stewart, Jacqueline J. (Inventor); Troglio, Giulia (Inventor); Benediktsson, Jon A. (Inventor); Serpico, Sebastiano B. (Inventor); Moser, Gabriele (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A method for the extraction of Lunar data and/or planetary features is provided. The feature extraction method can include one or more image processing techniques, including, but not limited to, a watershed segmentation and/or the generalized Hough Transform. According to some embodiments, the feature extraction method can include extracting features, such as, small rocks. According to some embodiments, small rocks can be extracted by applying a watershed segmentation algorithm to the Canny gradient. According to some embodiments, applying a watershed segmentation algorithm to the Canny gradient can allow regions that appear as close contours in the gradient to be segmented.

Combining contour detection algorithms for the automatic extraction of the preparation line from a dental 3D measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlers, Volker; Weigl, Paul; Schachtzabel, Hartmut

2005-04-01

Due to the increasing demand for high-quality ceramic crowns and bridges, the CAD/CAM-based production of dental restorations has been a subject of intensive research during the last fifteen years. A prerequisite for the efficient processing of the 3D measurement of prepared teeth with a minimal amount of user interaction is the automatic determination of the preparation line, which defines the sealing margin between the restoration and the prepared tooth. Current dental CAD/CAM systems mostly require the interactive definition of the preparation line by the user, at least by means of giving a number of start points. Previous approaches to the automatic extraction of the preparation line rely on single contour detection algorithms. In contrast, we use a combination of different contour detection algorithms to find several independent potential preparation lines from a height profile of the measured data. The different algorithms (gradient-based, contour-based, and region-based) show their strengths and weaknesses in different clinical situations. A classifier consisting of three stages (range check, decision tree, support vector machine), which is trained by human experts with real-world data, finally decides which is the correct preparation line. In a test with 101 clinical preparations, a success rate of 92.0% has been achieved. Thus the combination of different contour detection algorithms yields a reliable method for the automatic extraction of the preparation line, which enables the setup of a turn-key dental CAD/CAM process chain with a minimal amount of interactive screen work.

The Temperature-Sensitive and Attenuation Phenotypes Conferred by Mutations in the Influenza Virus PB2, PB1, and NP Genes Are Influenced by the Species of Origin of the PB2 Gene in Reassortant Viruses Derived from Influenza A/California/07/2009 and A/WSN/33 Viruses

PubMed Central

Broadbent, Andrew J.; Santos, Celia P.; Godbout, Rachel A.

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Live attenuated influenza vaccines in the United States are derived from a human virus that is temperature sensitive (ts), characterized by restricted (≥100-fold) replication at 39°C. The ts genetic signature (ts sig) has been mapped to 5 loci in 3 genes: PB1 (391E, 581G, and 661T), PB2 (265S), and NP (34G). However, when transferred into avian and swine influenza viruses, only partial ts and attenuation phenotypes occur. To investigate the reason for this, we introduced the ts sig into the human origin virus A/WSN/33 (WSN), the avian-origin virus A/Vietnam/1203/04 (VN04), and the swine origin triple-reassortant 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus A/California/07/2009 (CA07), which contains gene segments from human, avian, and swine viruses. The VN04ts sig and CA07ts sig viruses replicated efficiently in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells at 39°C, but the replication of WSNts sig was restricted ≥100-fold compared to that at 33°C. Reassortant CA07ts sig viruses were generated with individual polymerase gene segments from WSN, and vice versa. Only ts sig viruses with a PB2 gene segment derived from WSN were restricted in replication ≥100-fold at 39°C. In ferrets, the CA07ts sig virus replicated in the upper and lower respiratory tract, but the replication of a reassortant CA07ts sig virus with a WSN PB2 gene was severely restricted in the lungs. Taken together, these data suggest that the origin of the PB2 gene segment influences the ts phenotype in vitro and attenuation in vivo. This could have implications for the design of novel live vaccines against animal origin influenza viruses. IMPORTANCE Live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) on temperature-sensitive (ts) backbones derived from animal origin influenza viruses are being sought for use in the poultry and swine industries and to protect people against animal origin influenza. However, inserting the ts genetic signature from a licensed LAIV backbone fails to fully attenuate these viruses. Our data indicate this is associated with the presence of a PB2 gene segment derived from an avian influenza virus. We show that a reassortant 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus with the ts signature from a licensed LAIV donor virus is ts in vitro and attenuated in vivo when the PB2 gene is derived from a human origin virus but not from an avian virus. Our study provides information that could benefit the rational design of alternative LAIV backbones against animal origin influenza viruses. PMID:25122786

Edge Thomson scattering diagnostic on COMPASS tokamak: Installation, calibration, operation, improvements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bohm, P., E-mail: bohm@ipp.cas.cz; Bilkova, P.; Melich, R.

2014-11-15

The core Thomson scattering diagnostic (TS) on the COMPASS tokamak was put in operation and reported earlier. Implementation of edge TS, with spatial resolution along the laser beam up to ∼1/100 of the tokamak minor radius, is presented now. The procedure for spatial calibration and alignment of both core and edge systems is described. Several further upgrades of the TS system, like a triggering unit and piezo motor driven vacuum window shutter, are introduced as well. The edge TS system, together with the core TS, is now in routine operation and provides electron temperature and density profiles.

Computerized Interpretation of Dynamic Breast MRI

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

correction, tumor segmentation , extraction of computerized features that help distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, and classification. Our...for assessing tumor extent in 3D. The primary feature used for 3D tumor segmentation is the postcontrast enhancement vector. Tumor segmentation is a...Appendix B. 4. Investigation of methods for automatic tumor segmentation We developed an automatic method for assessing tumor extent in 3D. The

An automatic method for retrieving and indexing catalogues of biomedical courses.

PubMed

Maojo, Victor; de la Calle, Guillermo; García-Remesal, Miguel; Bankauskaite, Vaida; Crespo, Jose

2008-11-06

Although there is wide information about Biomedical Informatics education and courses in different Websites, information is usually not exhaustive and difficult to update. We propose a new methodology based on information retrieval techniques for extracting, indexing and retrieving automatically information about educational offers. A web application has been developed to make available such information in an inventory of courses and educational offers.

Extraction of latent images from printed media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergeyev, Vladislav; Fedoseev, Victor

2015-12-01

In this paper we propose an automatic technology for extraction of latent images from printed media such as documents, banknotes, financial securities, etc. This technology includes image processing by adaptively constructed Gabor filter bank for obtaining feature images, as well as subsequent stages of feature selection, grouping and multicomponent segmentation. The main advantage of the proposed technique is versatility: it allows to extract latent images made by different texture variations. Experimental results showing performance of the method over another known system for latent image extraction are given.

Automatic extraction of three-dimensional thoracic aorta geometric model from phase contrast MRI for morphometric and hemodynamic characterization.

PubMed

Volonghi, Paola; Tresoldi, Daniele; Cadioli, Marcello; Usuelli, Antonio M; Ponzini, Raffaele; Morbiducci, Umberto; Esposito, Antonio; Rizzo, Giovanna

2016-02-01

To propose and assess a new method that automatically extracts a three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of the thoracic aorta (TA) from 3D cine phase contrast MRI (PCMRI) acquisitions. The proposed method is composed of two steps: segmentation of the TA and creation of the 3D geometric model. The segmentation algorithm, based on Level Set, was set and applied to healthy subjects acquired in three different modalities (with and without SENSE reduction factors). Accuracy was evaluated using standard quality indices. The 3D model is characterized by the vessel surface mesh and its centerline; the comparison of models obtained from the three different datasets was also carried out in terms of radius of curvature (RC) and average tortuosity (AT). In all datasets, the segmentation quality indices confirmed very good agreement between manual and automatic contours (average symmetric distance < 1.44 mm, DICE Similarity Coefficient > 0.88). The 3D models extracted from the three datasets were found to be comparable, with differences of less than 10% for RC and 11% for AT. Our method was found effective on PCMRI data to provide a 3D geometric model of the TA, to support morphometric and hemodynamic characterization of the aorta. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Automatic digital surface model (DSM) generation from aerial imagery data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Nan; Cao, Shixiang; He, Hongyan; Xing, Kun; Yue, Chunyu

2018-04-01

Aerial sensors are widely used to acquire imagery for photogrammetric and remote sensing application. In general, the images have large overlapped region, which provide a lot of redundant geometry and radiation information for matching. This paper presents a POS supported dense matching procedure for automatic DSM generation from aerial imagery data. The method uses a coarse-to-fine hierarchical strategy with an effective combination of several image matching algorithms: image radiation pre-processing, image pyramid generation, feature point extraction and grid point generation, multi-image geometrically constraint cross-correlation (MIG3C), global relaxation optimization, multi-image geometrically constrained least squares matching (MIGCLSM), TIN generation and point cloud filtering. The image radiation pre-processing is used in order to reduce the effects of the inherent radiometric problems and optimize the images. The presented approach essentially consists of 3 components: feature point extraction and matching procedure, grid point matching procedure and relational matching procedure. The MIGCLSM method is used to achieve potentially sub-pixel accuracy matches and identify some inaccurate and possibly false matches. The feasibility of the method has been tested on different aerial scale images with different landcover types. The accuracy evaluation is based on the comparison between the automatic extracted DSMs derived from the precise exterior orientation parameters (EOPs) and the POS.

Automatic facial animation parameters extraction in MPEG-4 visual communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chenggen; Gong, Wanwei; Yu, Lu

2002-01-01

Facial Animation Parameters (FAPs) are defined in MPEG-4 to animate a facial object. The algorithm proposed in this paper to extract these FAPs is applied to very low bit-rate video communication, in which the scene is composed of a head-and-shoulder object with complex background. This paper addresses the algorithm to automatically extract all FAPs needed to animate a generic facial model, estimate the 3D motion of head by points. The proposed algorithm extracts human facial region by color segmentation and intra-frame and inter-frame edge detection. Facial structure and edge distribution of facial feature such as vertical and horizontal gradient histograms are used to locate the facial feature region. Parabola and circle deformable templates are employed to fit facial feature and extract a part of FAPs. A special data structure is proposed to describe deformable templates to reduce time consumption for computing energy functions. Another part of FAPs, 3D rigid head motion vectors, are estimated by corresponding-points method. A 3D head wire-frame model provides facial semantic information for selection of proper corresponding points, which helps to increase accuracy of 3D rigid object motion estimation.

Thermal feature extraction of servers in a datacenter using thermal image registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hang; Ran, Jian; Xie, Ting; Gao, Shan

2017-09-01

Thermal cameras provide fine-grained thermal information that enhances monitoring and enables automatic thermal management in large datacenters. Recent approaches employing mobile robots or thermal camera networks can already identify the physical locations of hot spots. Other distribution information used to optimize datacenter management can also be obtained automatically using pattern recognition technology. However, most of the features extracted from thermal images, such as shape and gradient, may be affected by changes in the position and direction of the thermal camera. This paper presents a method for extracting the thermal features of a hot spot or a server in a container datacenter. First, thermal and visual images are registered based on textural characteristics extracted from images acquired in datacenters. Then, the thermal distribution of each server is standardized. The features of a hot spot or server extracted from the standard distribution can reduce the impact of camera position and direction. The results of experiments show that image registration is efficient for aligning the corresponding visual and thermal images in the datacenter, and the standardization procedure reduces the impacts of camera position and direction on hot spot or server features.

Fast title extraction method for business documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsuyama, Yutaka; Naoi, Satoshi

1997-04-01

Conventional electronic document filing systems are inconvenient because the user must specify the keywords in each document for later searches. To solve this problem, automatic keyword extraction methods using natural language processing and character recognition have been developed. However, these methods are slow, especially for japanese documents. To develop a practical electronic document filing system, we focused on the extraction of keyword areas from a document by image processing. Our fast title extraction method can automatically extract titles as keywords from business documents. All character strings are evaluated for similarity by rating points associated with title similarity. We classified these points as four items: character sitting size, position of character strings, relative position among character strings, and string attribution. Finally, the character string that has the highest rating is selected as the title area. The character recognition process is carried out on the selected area. It is fast because this process must recognize a small number of patterns in the restricted area only, and not throughout the entire document. The mean performance of this method is an accuracy of about 91 percent and a 1.8 sec. processing time for an examination of 100 Japanese business documents.

Transfrontal and Transsphenoidal Approaches to Pediatric Craniopharyngioma: A National Perspective.

PubMed

Lin, Yimo; Hansen, Daniel; Sayama, Christina M; Pan, I-Wen; Lam, Sandi

2017-01-01

This study compared transsphenoidal (TS) and transfrontal (TF) approaches to craniopharyngioma utilizing a national database. The Kids' Inpatient Database (2003, 2006, and 2009) was surveyed for patients with a diagnosis of craniopharyngioma who underwent a subset of surgical interventions to compare TS and TF surgery. Demographics, hospital variables, and complications/comorbidities were analyzed with multivariate regression. 314 admissions (TS = 104, TF = 210) were identified. The mean age was 14.8 (TS) versus 9.8 (TF) years (p < 0.001). The mean number of diagnoses was 4.6 (TS) versus 6.2 (TF) (p < 0.001). Diabetes insipidus was associated with 38% (TS) and 69% (TF). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak affected 19% TS and 4% TF resections. Other complications and comorbidities included postoperative stroke (2% TS vs. 5% TF), panhypopituitarism (5 vs. 8%), death (0 vs. 1%), cranial nerve deficits (1 vs. 6%), thrombotic events (7 vs. 17%), and seizures (0 vs. 12%). 98% of patients were discharged home after a mean 6-day length of stay (LOS) after TS, whereas 90% of TF patients had a LOS of 12 days. TS cases were more likely to be privately insured (68%) and from higher income brackets (61%) than TF ones (56 and 2%, respectively) (p < 0.05). In multivariate regression models adjusting for age, sex, race, number of diagnoses, surgical approach, hospital volume, and insurance type, the TS approach was associated with an increased incidence of CSF leak (OR 10, p < 0.001). More documented diagnoses (OR 16-60, p < 0.01) and TF approach (OR 2.6, p < 0.01) were associated with an increased incidence of other complications and comorbidities. Age younger than 10 (β-coefficient 2.3, p = 0.01), more diagnoses (β-coefficient 1.2, p < 0.001), and TF approach (β- coefficient 3.0, p < 0.01) were associated with increased LOS. A higher number of diagnoses were associated with nonhome discharge destinations (β-coefficient 1.29, p < 0.001). TS surgery was associated with an increased incidence of CSF leak but shorter LOS; TF surgery was associated with an increased incidence of other complications. Patients undergoing TS surgery were more likely to have private insurance and a higher family income bracket. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Engineering Temperature Sensitive Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccines from Emerging Viruses

PubMed Central

Zhou, Bin; Li, Yan; Speer, Scott D.; Subba, Anju; Lin, Xudong; Wentworth, David E.

2012-01-01

The licensed live attenuated influenza A vaccine (LAIV) in the United States is created by making a reassortant containing six internal genes from a cold-adapted master donor strain (ca A/AA/6/60) and two surface glycoprotein genes from a circulating/emerging strain (e.g., A/CA/7/09 for the 2009/2010 H1N1 pandemic). Technologies to rapidly create recombinant viruses directly from patient specimens were used to engineer alternative LAIV candidates that have genomes composed entirely of vRNAs from pandemic or seasonal strains. Multiple mutations involved in the temperature-sensitive (ts) phenotype of the ca A/AA/6/60 master donor strain were introduced into a 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain rA/New York/1682/2009 (rNY1682-WT) to create rNY1682-TS1, and additional mutations identified in other ts viruses were added to rNY1682-TS1 to create rNY1682-TS2. Both rNY1682-TS1 and rNY1682-TS2 replicated efficiently at 30°C and 33°C. However, rNY1682-TS1 was partially restricted, and rNY1682-TS2 was completely restricted at 39°C. Additionally, engineering the TS1 or TS2 mutations into a distantly related human seasonal H1N1 influenza A virus also resulted pronounced restriction of replication in vitro. Clinical symptoms and virus replication in the lungs of mice showed that although rNY1682-TS2 and the licensed FluMist®-H1N1pdm LAIV that was used to combat the 2009/2010 pandemic were similarly attenuated, the rNY1682-TS2 was more protective upon challenge with a virulent mutant of pandemic H1N1 virus or a heterologous H1N1 (A/PR/8/1934) virus. This study demonstrates that engineering key temperature sensitive mutations (PB1-K391E, D581G, A661T; PB2-P112S, N265S, N556D, Y658H) into the genomes of influenza A viruses attenuates divergent human virus lineages and provides an alternative strategy for the generation of LAIVs. PMID:22449422

An Efficient Method for Automatic Road Extraction Based on Multiple Features from LiDAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Hu, X.; Guan, H.; Liu, P.

2016-06-01

The road extraction in urban areas is difficult task due to the complicated patterns and many contextual objects. LiDAR data directly provides three dimensional (3D) points with less occlusions and smaller shadows. The elevation information and surface roughness are distinguishing features to separate roads. However, LiDAR data has some disadvantages are not beneficial to object extraction, such as the irregular distribution of point clouds and lack of clear edges of roads. For these problems, this paper proposes an automatic road centerlines extraction method which has three major steps: (1) road center point detection based on multiple feature spatial clustering for separating road points from ground points, (2) local principal component analysis with least squares fitting for extracting the primitives of road centerlines, and (3) hierarchical grouping for connecting primitives into complete roads network. Compared with MTH (consist of Mean shift algorithm, Tensor voting, and Hough transform) proposed in our previous article, this method greatly reduced the computational cost. To evaluate the proposed method, the Vaihingen data set, a benchmark testing data provided by ISPRS for "Urban Classification and 3D Building Reconstruction" project, was selected. The experimental results show that our method achieve the same performance by less time in road extraction using LiDAR data.

Fast and automatic algorithm for optic disc extraction in retinal images using principle-component-analysis-based preprocessing and curvelet transform.

PubMed

Shahbeig, Saleh; Pourghassem, Hossein

2013-01-01

Optic disc or optic nerve (ON) head extraction in retinal images has widespread applications in retinal disease diagnosis and human identification in biometric systems. This paper introduces a fast and automatic algorithm for detecting and extracting the ON region accurately from the retinal images without the use of the blood-vessel information. In this algorithm, to compensate for the destructive changes of the illumination and also enhance the contrast of the retinal images, we estimate the illumination of background and apply an adaptive correction function on the curvelet transform coefficients of retinal images. In other words, we eliminate the fault factors and pave the way to extract the ON region exactly. Then, we detect the ON region from retinal images using the morphology operators based on geodesic conversions, by applying a proper adaptive correction function on the reconstructed image's curvelet transform coefficients and a novel powerful criterion. Finally, using a local thresholding on the detected area of the retinal images, we extract the ON region. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on available images of DRIVE and STARE databases. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm obtains an accuracy rate of 100% and 97.53% for the ON extractions on DRIVE and STARE databases, respectively.

Automatic information extraction from unstructured mammography reports using distributed semantics.

PubMed

Gupta, Anupama; Banerjee, Imon; Rubin, Daniel L

2018-02-01

To date, the methods developed for automated extraction of information from radiology reports are mainly rule-based or dictionary-based, and, therefore, require substantial manual effort to build these systems. Recent efforts to develop automated systems for entity detection have been undertaken, but little work has been done to automatically extract relations and their associated named entities in narrative radiology reports that have comparable accuracy to rule-based methods. Our goal is to extract relations in a unsupervised way from radiology reports without specifying prior domain knowledge. We propose a hybrid approach for information extraction that combines dependency-based parse tree with distributed semantics for generating structured information frames about particular findings/abnormalities from the free-text mammography reports. The proposed IE system obtains a F 1 -score of 0.94 in terms of completeness of the content in the information frames, which outperforms a state-of-the-art rule-based system in this domain by a significant margin. The proposed system can be leveraged in a variety of applications, such as decision support and information retrieval, and may also easily scale to other radiology domains, since there is no need to tune the system with hand-crafted information extraction rules. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

40 CFR Table 21 to Subpart G of... - Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a..., and Wastewater Pt. 63, Subpt. G, Table 21 Table 21 to Subpart G of Part 63—Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color Tank Color Average Storage Temperature (Ts) White TA a = 0...

40 CFR Table 21 to Subpart G of... - Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a..., and Wastewater Pt. 63, Subpt. G, Table 21 Table 21 to Subpart G of Part 63—Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color Tank Color Average Storage Temperature (Ts) White TA a = 0...

40 CFR Table 21 to Subpart G of... - Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a..., and Wastewater Pt. 63, Subpt. G, Table 21 Table 21 to Subpart G of Part 63—Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color Tank Color Average Storage Temperature (Ts) White TA a = 0...

40 CFR Table 21 to Subpart G of... - Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a..., and Wastewater Pt. 63, Subpt. G, Table 21 Table 21 to Subpart G of Part 63—Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color Tank Color Average Storage Temperature (Ts) White TA a = 0...

40 CFR Table 21 to Subpart G of... - Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a..., and Wastewater Pt. 63, Subpt. G, Table 21 Table 21 to Subpart G of Part 63—Average Storage Temperature (Ts) as a Function of Tank Paint Color Tank Color Average Storage Temperature (Ts) White TA a = 0...

Automatic extraction of relations between medical concepts in clinical texts

PubMed Central

Harabagiu, Sanda; Roberts, Kirk

2011-01-01

Objective A supervised machine learning approach to discover relations between medical problems, treatments, and tests mentioned in electronic medical records. Materials and methods A single support vector machine classifier was used to identify relations between concepts and to assign their semantic type. Several resources such as Wikipedia, WordNet, General Inquirer, and a relation similarity metric inform the classifier. Results The techniques reported in this paper were evaluated in the 2010 i2b2 Challenge and obtained the highest F1 score for the relation extraction task. When gold standard data for concepts and assertions were available, F1 was 73.7, precision was 72.0, and recall was 75.3. F1 is defined as 2*Precision*Recall/(Precision+Recall). Alternatively, when concepts and assertions were discovered automatically, F1 was 48.4, precision was 57.6, and recall was 41.7. Discussion Although a rich set of features was developed for the classifiers presented in this paper, little knowledge mining was performed from medical ontologies such as those found in UMLS. Future studies should incorporate features extracted from such knowledge sources, which we expect to further improve the results. Moreover, each relation discovery was treated independently. Joint classification of relations may further improve the quality of results. Also, joint learning of the discovery of concepts, assertions, and relations may also improve the results of automatic relation extraction. Conclusion Lexical and contextual features proved to be very important in relation extraction from medical texts. When they are not available to the classifier, the F1 score decreases by 3.7%. In addition, features based on similarity contribute to a decrease of 1.1% when they are not available. PMID:21846787

Comparative genomic analysis reveals a novel mitochondrial isoform of human rTS protein and unusual phylogenetic distribution of the rTS gene

PubMed Central

Liang, Ping; Nair, Jayakumar R; Song, Lei; McGuire, John J; Dolnick, Bruce J

2005-01-01

Background The rTS gene (ENOSF1), first identified in Homo sapiens as a gene complementary to the thymidylate synthase (TYMS) mRNA, is known to encode two protein isoforms, rTSα and rTSβ. The rTSβ isoform appears to be an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of signaling molecules involved in the down-regulation of thymidylate synthase, but the exact cellular functions of rTS genes are largely unknown. Results Through comparative genomic sequence analysis, we predicted the existence of a novel protein isoform, rTS, which has a 27 residue longer N-terminus by virtue of utilizing an alternative start codon located upstream of the start codon in rTSβ. We observed that a similar extended N-terminus could be predicted in all rTS genes for which genomic sequences are available and the extended regions are conserved from bacteria to human. Therefore, we reasoned that the protein with the extended N-terminus might represent an ancestral form of the rTS protein. Sequence analysis strongly predicts a mitochondrial signal sequence in the extended N-terminal of human rTSγ, which is absent in rTSβ. We confirmed the existence of rTS in human mitochondria experimentally by demonstrating the presence of both rTSγ and rTSβ proteins in mitochondria isolated by subcellular fractionation. In addition, our comprehensive analysis of rTS orthologous sequences reveals an unusual phylogenetic distribution of this gene, which suggests the occurrence of one or more horizontal gene transfer events. Conclusion The presence of two rTS isoforms in mitochondria suggests that the rTS signaling pathway may be active within mitochondria. Our report also presents an example of identifying novel protein isoforms and for improving gene annotation through comparative genomic analysis. PMID:16162288

Thymidilate synthase and p53 primary tumour expression as predictive factors for advanced colorectal cancer patients

PubMed Central

Paradiso, A; Simone, G; Petroni, S; Leone, B; Vallejo, C; Lacava, J; Romero, A; Machiavelli, M; Lena, M De; Allegra, C J; Johnston, P G

2000-01-01

The purpose of this work was to analyse the ability of p53 and thymidilate synthase (TS) primary tumour expression to retrospectively predict clinical response to chemotherapy and long-term prognosis in patients with advanced colorectal cancers homogeneously treated by methotrexate (MTX)-modulated–5-fluorouracil (5-FU-FA). A total of 108 advanced colorectal cancer patients entered the present retrospective study. Immunohistochemical p53 (pAb 1801 mAb) and TS (TS106 mAb) expression on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tumour specimens was related to probability of clinical response to chemotherapy, time to progression and overall survival. p53 was expressed in 53/108 (49%) tumours, while 54/108 (50%) showed TS immunostaining. No relationship was demonstrated between p53 positivity and clinical response to chemotherapy (objective response (OR): 20% vs 23%, in p53+ and p53– cases respectively) or overall survival. Percent of OR was significantly higher in TS-negative with respect to TS-positive tumours (30% vs 15% respectively;P< 0.04); simultaneous analysis of TS and p53 indicated 7% OR for p53-positive/TS-positive tumours vs 46% for p53-positive/TS-negative tumours (P< 0.03). Logistic regression analysis confirmed a significant association between TS tumour status and clinical response to chemotherapy (hazard ratio (HR): 2.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.34–1.01; two-sided P< 0.05). A multivariate analysis of overall survival showed that only a small number of metastatic sites was statistically relevant (HR 1.89; 95% CI 2.85–1.26; two-sided P< 0.03). Our study suggests that immunohistochemical expression of p53 and TS could assist the clinician in predicting response of colorectal cancer patients to modulated MTX-5-FU therapy. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign PMID:10682666

Psychogenetics of Turner syndrome: an investigation of 28 subjects and respective controls using the Bender test and Piagetian scales.

PubMed

Ricardi, F C F; Zaia, L L; Pellegrino-Rosa, I; Rosa, J T; Mantovani de Assis, O Z; Saldanha, P H

2010-08-31

Piagetian scales and the Bender visual motor gestalt test (BT) were applied to 28 subjects with universal 45,X Turner syndrome (TS), and their respective controls, in order to investigate their cognitive performance. Dermatoglyphics were also analyzed to obtain clues concerning embryological changes that may have appeared during development of the nervous system and could be associated with cognitive performance of TS patients. Dermatoglyphic pattern distribution was similar to that reported in previous studies of TS individuals: ulnar loops in the digital patterns and finger ridge, a-b, and A'-d counts were more frequent, while arch and whorl patterns were less frequent compared to controls. However, we did not find higher frequencies of hypothenar pattern, maximum atd angle, and ulnarity index in our TS subjects, unlike other investigations. Furthermore, we found significant differences between TS and control T line index values. The BT scores were also lower in probands, as has been previously reported, revealing a neurocognitive deficit of visual motor perception in TS individuals, which could be due to an absence of, or deficiency in, cerebral hemispheric lateralization. However, TS subjects seemed to improve their performance on BT with age. Cognitive performance of the TS subjects was not significantly different from that of controls, confirming a previous study in which TS performance was found to be similar to that of the normal Brazilian population. There were significant correlations between BT scores and Piagetian scale levels with dermatoglyphic parameters. This association could be explained by changes in the common ectodermal origin of the epidermis and the central nervous system. TS subjects seem to succeed in compensating their spatial impairments in adapting their cognitive and social contacts. We concluded that genetic counseling should consider cognitive and psychosocial difficulties presented by TS subjects, providing appropriate treatment and orientation for them and their families.

Un-catalyzed peptide bond formation between two monomers of glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, and aspartic acid in gas phase: a density functional theory study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhunia, Snehasis; Singh, Ajeet; Ojha, Animesh K.

2016-05-01

In the present report, un-catalyzed peptide bond formation between two monomers of glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), and aspartic acid (Asp) has been investigated in gas phase via two steps reaction mechanism and concerted mechanism at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and M062X/6-31G(d,p) level of theories. The peptide bond is formed through a nucleophilic reaction via transition states, TS1 and TS2 in stepwise mechanism. The TS1 reveals formation of a new C-N bond while TS2 illustrate the formation of C=O bond. In case of concerted mechanism, C-N bond is formed by a single four-centre transition state (TS3). The energy barrier is used to explain the involvement of energy at each step of the reaction. The energy barrier (20-48 kcal/mol) is required for the transformation of reactant state R1 to TS1 state and intermediate state I1 to TS2 state. The large value of energy barrier is explained in terms of distortion and interaction energies for stepwise mechanism. The energy barrier of TS3 in concerted mechanism is very close to the energy barrier of the first transition state (TS1) of the stepwise mechanism for the formation of Gly-Gly and Ala-Ala di- peptide. However, in case of Ser-Ser, Thr-Thr and Asp-Asp di-peptide, the energy barrier of TS3 is relatively high than that of the energy barrier of TS1 calculated at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) and M062X/6-31G(d,p) level of theories. In both the mechanisms, the value of energy barrier calculated at B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory is greater than that of the value calculated at M062X/6-31G(d,p) level of theory.

Comparative analysis of COPD associated with tobacco smoking, biomass smoke exposure or both.

PubMed

Olloquequi, Jordi; Jaime, Sergio; Parra, Viviana; Cornejo-Córdova, Elizabeth; Valdivia, Gonzalo; Agustí, Àlvar; Silva O, Rafael

2018-01-18

Exposure to noxious gases and particles contained in both tobacco smoking (TS) and biomass smoke (BS) are well recognized environmental risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is characterized by an abnormal inflammatory response, both in the pulmonary and systemic compartments. The differential effects of TS, BS or their combined exposure have not been well characterized yet. This study sought to compare the lung function characteristics and systemic inflammatory response in COPD patients exposed to TS, BS or their combination. Sociodemographic, clinical and lung functional parameters were compared across 49 COPD patients with a history of smoking and no BS exposure (TS COPD), 31 never-smoker COPD patients with BS exposure (BS COPD), 46 COPD patients with a combined exposure (TS + BS COPD) and 52 healthy controls (HC) who have never been exposed neither to TS or BS. Blood cell counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were quantified in all four groups. TS + BS COPD patients exhibited significantly lower oxygen saturation than the rest of groups (p < 0.01). Spirometry and diffusing capacity were significantly higher in BS than in TS or TS + BS patients. CRP levels were significantly higher in TS COPD patients than in BS COPD group (p < 0.05), whereas fibrinogen was raised in COPD patients with a history of smoking (TS and TS + BS) when compared to control subjects (p < 0.01). Finally, COPD patients with BS exposure (BS and BS + TS groups) showed higher IgE levels than TS and HC (p < 0.05). There are significant physiological and inflammatory differences between COPD patients with TS, BS and TS + BS exposures. The latter had worse blood oxygenation, whereas the raised levels of IgE in BS exposed patients suggests a differential Th2 systemic inflammatory pattern triggered by this pollutant.

Cell death in response to antimetabolites directed at thymidylate synthase.

PubMed

Barbour, Karen W; Berger, Franklin G

2008-02-01

Thymidylate synthase (TS) is an indispensable enzyme in the de novo biosynthesis of TMP during DNA replication and cell growth, and has, therefore, been an important target for several classes of antimetabolites used in cancer chemotherapy. While most investigations of the action of TS-directed agents have focused on apoptosis as the primary means of cell death, little is known regarding the role, if any, of non-apoptotic mechanisms. In the present study, we have examined the mode of cell death induced by several TS inhibitors. Apoptosis and necrosis in response to TS inhibitors was assessed. The roles of caspases and the transcriptional regulator nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB) in drug-induced cell death were analyzed. Finally, drug-mediated changes in expression of several proteins involved in regulation of apoptosis were analyzed. Though human colon tumor cells exposed to TS inhibitors undergo classical apoptosis, it is not the predominant mechanism of response; rather, a necrosis-like mechanism prevails. The apoptotic response to TS inhibitors is caspase-dependent, and is promoted by NFkappaB. In contrast, the necrosis-like response is independent of both caspases and NFkappaB. Exposure to TS inhibitors induces PARP cleavage, but does not alter expression of the pro or activated forms of caspases-3 or caspases-8, Fas, or FasL. Treatment with the death-inducing cytokine TNFalpha, like TS inhibitors, results in a limited extent of apoptosis that is both caspase- and NFkappaB-dependent; however, unlike TS inhibitors, the cytokine does not induce necrosis. Classical apoptosis occurs to a limited extent in human colon tumor cells exposed to TS inhibitors, with caspase-independent necrosis being the prinicipal mechanism of cell death. We suggest that the role of necrosis and necrosis-like mechanisms should be considered in future studies of the action of TS-directed antimetabolites, as well as other chemotherapeutic agents.

Potential utility of three-dimensional temperature and salinity fields estimated from satellite altimetry and Argo data for improving mesoscale reproducibility in regional ocean modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanki, R.; Uchiyama, Y.; Miyazaki, D.; Takano, A.; Miyazawa, Y.; Yamazaki, H.

2014-12-01

Mesoscale oceanic structure and variability are required to be reproduced as accurately as possible in realistic regional ocean modeling. Uchiyama et al. (2012) demonstrated with a submesoscale eddy-resolving JCOPE2-ROMS downscaling oceanic modeling system that the mesoscale reproducibility of the Kuroshio meandering along Japan is significantly improved by introducing a simple restoration to data which we call "TS nudging" (a.k.a. robust diagnosis) where the prognostic temperature and salinity fields are weakly nudged four-dimensionally towards the assimilative JCOPE2 reanalysis (Miyazawa et al., 2009). However, there is not always a reliable reanalysis for oceanic downscaling in an arbitrary region and at an arbitrary time, and therefore alternative dataset should be prepared. Takano et al. (2009) proposed an empirical method to estimate mesoscale 3-D thermal structure from the near real-time AVISO altimetry data along with the ARGO float data based on the two-layer model of Goni et al. (1996). In the present study, we consider the TS data derived from this method as a candidate. We thus conduct a synoptic forward modeling of the Kuroshio using the JCOPE2-ROMS downscaling system to explore potential utility of this empirical TS dataset (hereinafter TUM-TS) by carrying out two runs with the T-S nudging towards 1) the JCOPE2-TS and 2) TUM-TS fields.　An example of the comparison between the two ROMS test runs is shown in the attached figure showing the annually averaged surface EKE. Both of TUM-TS and JCOPE2-TS are found to help reproducing the mesoscale variance of the Koroshio and its extension as well as its mean paths, surface KE and EKE reasonably well. Therefore, the AVISO-ARGO derived empirical 3-D TS estimation is potentially exploitable for the dataset to conduct the T-S nudging to reproduce mesoscale oceanic structure.

Weak signal amplification and detection by higher-order sensory neurons.

PubMed

Jung, Sarah N; Longtin, Andre; Maler, Leonard

2016-04-01

Sensory systems must extract behaviorally relevant information and therefore often exhibit a very high sensitivity. How the nervous system reaches such high sensitivity levels is an outstanding question in neuroscience. Weakly electric fish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus/albifrons) are an excellent model system to address this question because detailed background knowledge is available regarding their behavioral performance and its underlying neuronal substrate. Apteronotus use their electrosense to detect prey objects. Therefore, they must be able to detect electrical signals as low as 1 μV while using a sensory integration time of <200 ms. How these very weak signals are extracted and amplified by the nervous system is not yet understood. We studied the responses of cells in the early sensory processing areas, namely, the electroreceptor afferents (EAs) and pyramidal cells (PCs) of the electrosensory lobe (ELL), the first-order electrosensory processing area. In agreement with previous work we found that EAs cannot encode very weak signals with a spike count code. However, PCs can encode prey mimic signals by their firing rate, revealing a huge signal amplification between EAs and PCs and also suggesting differences in their stimulus encoding properties. Using a simple leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) model we predict that the target neurons of PCs in the midbrain torus semicircularis (TS) are able to detect very weak signals. In particular, TS neurons could do so by assuming biologically plausible convergence rates as well as very simple decoding strategies such as temporal integration, threshold crossing, and combining the inputs of PCs. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Depletion of Stercobilin in Fecal Matter from a Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Sekera, Emily R.; Rudolph, Heather L.; Carro, Stephen D.; Morales, Michael J.; Bett, Glenna C. L.; Rasmusson, Randall L.; Wood, Troy D.

2017-01-01

Introduction Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders lacking a clinical biomarker for diagnosis. Emerging evidence shows that intestinal microflora from ASD subjects can be distinguished from controls, suggesting metabolite differences due to the action of intestinal microbes may provide a means for identifying potential biomarkers for ASD. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine if quantitative differences in levels of stercobilin and stercobilinogen, metabolites produced by biological action of intestinal microflora, exist in the fecal matter between an ASD mouse model population and controls. Methods Pairs of fecal samples were collected from two mouse groups, an ASD model group with Timothy syndrome 2 (TS2-NEO) and a gender-matched control group. After centrifugation, supernatant was spiked with an 18O-labeled stercobilin isotopomer and subjected to solid phase extraction for processing. Extracted samples were spotted on a stainless steel plate and subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization mass spectrometry using dihydroxybenzoic acid as the matrix (n = 5). Peak areas for bilins and 18O-stercobilin isotopomers were determined in each fecal sample. Results A 40–45% depletion in stercobilin in TS2-NEO fecal samples compared with controls was observed with p < 0.05; a less dramatic depletion was observed for stercobilinogen. Conclusions The results show that stercobilin depletion in feces is observed for an ASD mouse model vs. controls. This may help to explain recent observations of a less diverse microbiome in humans with ASD and may prove helpful in developing a clinical ASD biomarker. PMID:29147105

Development and genetics of brain temporal stability related to attention problems in adolescent twins.

PubMed

Smit, Dirk J A; Anokhin, Andrey P

2017-05-01

The brain continuously develops and reorganizes to support an expanding repertoire of behaviors and increasingly complex cognition. These processes may, however, also result in the appearance or disappearance of specific neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention problems. To investigate whether brain activity changed during adolescence, how genetics shape this change, and how these changes were related to attention problems, we measured EEG activity in 759 twins and siblings, assessed longitudinally in four waves (12, 14, 16, and 18years of age). Attention problems were assessed with the SWAN at waves 12, 14, and 16. To characterize functional brain development, we used a measure of temporal stability (TS) of brain oscillations over the recording time of 5min reflecting the tendency of a brain to maintain the same oscillatory state for longer or shorter periods. Increased TS may reflect the brain's tendency to maintain stability, achieve focused attention, and thus reduce "mind wandering" and attention problems. The results indicate that brain TS is increased across the scalp from 12 to 18. TS showed large individual differences that were heritable. Change in TS (alpha oscillations) was heritable between 12 and 14 and between 14 and 16 for the frontal brain areas. Absolute levels of brain TS at each wave were positively correlated with attention problems but not significantly. High and low attention problems subjects showed different developmental trajectories in TS, which was significant in a cluster of frontal leads. These results indicate that trajectories in brain TS development are a biomarker for the developing brain. TS in brain oscillations is highly heritable, and age-related change in TS is also heritable in selected brain areas. These results suggest that high and low attention problems subjects are at different stages of brain development. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Growth, microstructure and electrical properties of sputter-deposited hafnium oxide (HfO2) thin films grown using HfO2 ceramic target

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aguirre, B.; Vemuri, R. S.; Zubia, David

2011-01-01

Hafnium oxide (HfO₂) thin films have been made by radio-frequency (rf) magnetron-sputtering onto Si(100) substrates under varying growth temperature (Ts). HfO₂ ceramic target has been employed for sputtering while varying the Ts from room temperature to 500⁰C during deposition. The effect of Ts on the growth and microstructure of deposited HfO₂ films has been studied using grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS). The results indicate that the effect of Ts is significant on the growth, surface and interface structure, morphology and chemical composition ofmore » the HfO₂ films. Structural characterization indicates that the HfO₂ films grown at Ts<200 ⁰C are amorphous while films grown at Ts>200 ⁰C are nanocrystalline. An amorphous-to-crystalline transition occurs at Ts=200 ⁰C. Nanocrystalline HfO₂ films crystallized in a monoclinic structure with a (-111) orientation. XPS measurements indicated the high surface-chemical quality and stoichiometric nature of the grown HfO₂ films. An interface layer (IL) formation occurs due to reaction at the HfO₂-Si interface for HfO₂ films deposited at Ts>200 ⁰C. The thickness of IL increases with increasing Ts. XPS and EDS at the HfO₂-Si cross-section indicate the IL is a (Hf, Si)-O compound. The electrical characterization using capacitance-voltage measurements indicate that the dielectric constant decreases from 25 to 16 with increasing Ts.« less

Relationship Between the DPD and TS mRNA Expression and the Response to S-1-Based Chemotherapy and Prognosis in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer.

PubMed

Shen, Xiao-Ming; Zhou, Chong; Lian, Lian; Li, Li-Qun; Li, Wei; Tao, Min

2015-04-01

The aim was to determine changes in dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) and thymidylate synthase (TS) mRNAs in the blood of advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients to see whether these enzymes affected the patients' response to S-1-based chemotherapy and prognosis. For this purpose, pretreatment DPD/TS mRNA expressions were determined in 40 AGC patients using RT-PCR. The patients were then administered with S-1-based regimen (S-1 + cisplatin) and toxicities were recorded. The relationship between the DPD/TS mRNA expressions and the chemotherapy response, drug resistance, and prognosis was analyzed. The data show that DPD mRNA expression correlated significantly with Lauren type while TS mRNA expression correlated with distant metastasis. Patients with higher DPD and/or TS mRNA expression(s) showed poor response, while those with low DPD mRNA expression showed better response to the chemotherapy. Pooled analysis showed that the patients with low DPD/TS mRNA expressions had better therapeutic response. The incidence of bone marrow suppression, diarrhea, and oral mucositis was high in patients with low DPD mRNA expression. Median overall survival (OS) in 40 patients was 13.5 months. It was 17 months for low and 10 months for high DPD (P = 0.044) and TS mRNA expression (P = 0.047). Pooled analysis showed that the patients with both low DPD/TS mRNA expressions had longer OS (P = 0.001). In conclusion, the detection of DPD and/or TS mRNA expression can be used to predict the response to S-1-based chemotherapy, drug resistance, and prognosis in AGC patients as well as to help guide the individualized treatment of gastric cancer.

Disrupted topological organization of structural networks revealed by probabilistic diffusion tractography in Tourette syndrome children.

PubMed

Wen, Hongwei; Liu, Yue; Rekik, Islem; Wang, Shengpei; Zhang, Jishui; Zhang, Yue; Peng, Yun; He, Huiguang

2017-08-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurobehavioral disorder. Although previous TS studies revealed structural abnormalities in distinct corticobasal ganglia circuits, the topological alterations of the whole-brain white matter (WM) structural networks remain poorly understood. Here, we used diffusion MRI probabilistic tractography and graph theoretical analysis to investigate the topological organization of WM networks in 44 drug-naive TS children and 41 age- and gender-matched healthy children. The WM networks were constructed by estimating inter-regional connectivity probability and the topological properties were characterized using graph theory. We found that both TS and control groups showed an efficient small-world organization in WM networks. However, compared to controls, TS children exhibited decreased global and local efficiency, increased shortest path length and small worldness, indicating a disrupted balance between local specialization and global integration in structural networks. Although both TS and control groups showed highly similar hub distributions, TS children exhibited significant decreased nodal efficiency, mainly distributed in the default mode, language, visual, and sensorimotor systems. Furthermore, two separate networks showing significantly decreased connectivity in TS group were identified using network-based statistical (NBS) analysis, primarily composed of the parieto-occipital cortex, precuneus, and paracentral lobule. Importantly, we combined support vector machine and multiple kernel learning frameworks to fuse multiple levels of network topological features for classification of individuals, achieving high accuracy of 86.47%. Together, our study revealed the disrupted topological organization of structural networks related to pathophysiology of TS, and the discriminative topological features for classification are potential quantitative neuroimaging biomarkers for clinical TS diagnosis. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3988-4008, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Health status in women with Turner syndrome: a questionnaire study on health status, education, work participation and aspects of sexual functioning.

PubMed

Naess, Eva Elisabeth; Bahr, David; Gravholt, Claus H

2010-05-01

Turner syndrome (TS) is a complex medical condition with specific cognitive and psychosocial characteristics and frequent medical morbidity. Few studies have investigated the influence this has on health status, education and ability to work. To explore health status, level of education, work participation, medical conditions, physical activity, satisfaction with life and aspects of sexual functioning in adult TS women and compare with a matched control group. A questionnaire was sent to 168 adult women with TS >18 years registered in a database of Frambu Resource Centre for Rare Disorders and The TS Association in Norway. We assessed health status with Short Form 36, education with Norwegian Standard Classification of Education, and employment with The General Nordic Questionnaire. Life satisfaction was measured with LiSat-9, and questions on psychological strain during life phases were included. Eighty women with TS (34.0 +/- 11.7 years) and 214 controls (32.9 +/- 10.6) responded. The TS group reported significantly more health problems and impaired health status in the two subscales "physical functioning" and "general health" (P < 0.001). Level of education and work participation was similar among TS and controls. TS moved away from their parents' home later than controls (20.4 +/- 4.0 vs. 18.7 +/- 2.1, P = 0.001). Age at sexual debut differed significantly (21.2 +/- 4.3 vs. 17.3 +/- 2.4 years, P < 0.001). TS attains the same level of education and level of employment as controls, they report more frequent occurrence of medical conditions, but scored lower on only two subscales in the SF-36. Despite considerable medical morbidity, TS seem to cope well with life.

Pre- and post-natal melatonin administration partially regulates brain oxidative stress but does not improve cognitive or histological alterations in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome.

PubMed

Corrales, Andrea; Parisotto, Eduardo B; Vidal, Verónica; García-Cerro, Susana; Lantigua, Sara; Diego, Marian; Wilhem Filho, Danilo; Sanchez-Barceló, Emilio J; Martínez-Cué, Carmen; Rueda, Noemí

2017-09-15

Melatonin administered during adulthood induces beneficial effects on cognition and neuroprotection in the Ts65Dn (TS) mouse model of Down syndrome. Here, we investigated the effects of pre- and post-natal melatonin treatment on behavioral and cognitive abnormalities and on several neuromorphological alterations (hypocellularity, neurogenesis impairment and increased oxidative stress) that appear during the early developmental stages in TS mice. Pregnant TS females were orally treated with melatonin or vehicle from the time of conception until the weaning of the offspring, and the pups continued to receive the treatment from weaning until the age of 5 months. Melatonin administered during the pre- and post-natal periods did not improve the cognitive impairment of TS mice as measured by the Morris Water maze or fear conditioning tests. Histological alterations, such as decreased proliferation (Ki67+ cells) and hippocampal hypocellularity (DAPI+ cells), which are typical in TS mice, were not prevented by melatonin. However, melatonin partially regulated brain oxidative stress by modulating the activity of the primary antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase in the cortex and catalase in the cortex and hippocampus) and slightly decreasing the levels of lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus of TS mice. These results show the inability of melatonin to prevent cognitive impairment in TS mice when it is administered at pre- and post-natal stages. Additionally, our findings suggest that to induce pro-cognitive effects in TS mice during the early stages of development, in addition to attenuating oxidative stress, therapies should aim to improve other altered processes, such as hippocampal neurogenesis and/or hypocellularity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Takotsubo syndrome and estrogen receptor genes: partners in crime?

PubMed

Pizzino, Gabriele; Bitto, Alessandra; Crea, Pasquale; Khandheria, Bijoy; Vriz, Olga; Carerj, Scipione; Squadrito, Francesco; Minisini, Rosalba; Citro, Rodolfo; Cusmà-Piccione, Maurizio; Madaffari, Antonio; Andò, Giuseppe; Altavilla, Domenica; Zito, Concetta

2017-04-01

We aimed to analyze genetic polymorphism of estrogen receptor (ESR) 1 and ESR2 in a series of postmenopausal women with Takotsubo syndrome (TS). In total, 81 consecutive white women were prospectively enrolled: 22 with TS (TS group; mean age 71.2 ± 9.8 years), 22 with acute myocardial infarction (MI group; mean age 73.2 ± 8 years), and 37 asymptomatic healthy controls (CTRL group; mean age 69 ± 4.2 years). Genotyping of ESR1 -397C>T (rs2234693) and -351A>G (rs9340799) and ESR2 -1839G>T (rs 1271572) and 1082G>A (rs1256049) genetic variants was performed. We estimated the odds ratio (OR) between the genotype of each examined locus with the occurrence of TS or MI. The risk of experiencing TS was higher for those study participants carrying the T allele at the rs2234693 locus of the ESR1 gene [OR: 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.973-4.11, P = 0.04, TS vs. MI + CTRL; OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.17-6.64, P = 0.016, TS vs. MI alone]. Women carrying a T allele at the rs1271572 locus of the ESR2 gene demonstrated an even higher risk (OR: 3.23, 95% CI: 1.55-6.73, P = 0.0019, TS vs. MI + CTRL; OR: 9.13, 95% CI: 2.78-29.9, P = 0.0001, TS vs. MI alone). The study reports preliminary findings suggesting a possible link between ESR polymorphisms and the occurrence of TS. Larger studies are needed to confirm our results.

Biochemical characterization of the triticale TsPAP1, a new type of plant prolyl aminopeptidase, and its impact on proline content and flowering time in transgenic Arabidopsis plants.

PubMed

Zdunek-Zastocka, Edyta; Grabowska, Agnieszka; Branicki, Tomasz; Michniewska, Beata

2017-07-01

Proline aminopeptidase (PAP, EC 3.4.11.5) is the only enzyme that effectively releases proline from the N-termini of peptides. The amino acid sequence of the PAP from Triticosecale, TsPAP1, comprises conserved regions, characteristic of the monomeric forms of PAP found in bacteria but not yet identified in plants. Therefore, we aimed to obtain and biochemically characterize the TsPAP1 protein. The recombinant TsPAP1 protein was received through heterologous expression of the TsPAP1 coding sequence in a bacterial expression system and purified with affinity chromatography. Gel filtration chromatography and SDS electrophoresis revealed that TsPAP1 is a monomer with a molecular mass of 37.5 kDa. TsPAP1 prefers substrates with proline at the N-terminus but is also capable of hydrolyzing β-naphthylamides of hydroxyproline and alanine. Among the peptides tested, the most preferred were di- and tripeptides, especially those with glycine in the Y position. The use of diagnostic inhibitors indicated that TsPAP1 is a serine peptidase; however, further characterization revealed that the SH residues are also important for maintaining its activity. To examine the role of TsPAP1 under physiological conditions, we developed transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing TsPAP1. Compared with wild-type plants, the transgenic lines accumulated more proline, flowered an average of 3.5 days earlier, and developed more siliques than did untransformed controls. Our paper is the first to describe the biochemical properties of a novel monomeric plant PAP and contributes to the functional characterization of PAP proteins in plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Automatic color preference correction for color reproduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsukada, Masato; Funayama, Chisato; Tajima, Johji

2000-12-01

The reproduction of natural objects in color images has attracted a great deal of attention. Reproduction more pleasing colors of natural objects is one of the methods available to improve image quality. We developed an automatic color correction method to maintain preferred color reproduction for three significant categories: facial skin color, green grass and blue sky. In this method, a representative color in an object area to be corrected is automatically extracted from an input image, and a set of color correction parameters is selected depending on the representative color. The improvement in image quality for reproductions of natural image was more than 93 percent in subjective experiments. These results show the usefulness of our automatic color correction method for the reproduction of preferred colors.

[Comparison of MPure-12 Automatic Nucleic Acid Purification and Chelex-100 Method].

PubMed

Shen, X; Li, M; Wang, Y L; Chen, Y L; Lin, Y; Zhao, Z M; Que, T Z

2017-04-01

To explore the forensic application value of MPure-12 automatic nucleic acid purification （MPure-12 Method） for DNA extraction by extracting and typing DNA from bloodstains and various kinds of biological samples with different DNA contents. Nine types of biological samples, such as bloodstains, semen stains, and saliva were collected. DNA were extracted using MPure-12 method and Chelex-100 method, followed by PCR amplification and electrophoresis for obtaining STR-profiles. The samples such as hair root, chutty, butt, muscular tissue, saliva stain, bloodstain and semen stain were typed successfully by MPure-12 method. Partial alleles were lacked in the samples of saliva, and the genotyping of contact swabs was unsatisfactory. Additional, all of the bloodstains （20 μL, 15 μL, 10 μL, 5 μL, 1 μL） showed good typing results using Chelex-100 method. But the loss of alleles occurred in 1 μL blood volume by MPure-12 method. MPure-12 method is suitable for DNA extraction of a certain concentration blood samples．Chelex-100 method may be better for the extraction of trace blood samples．This instrument used in nucleic acid extraction has the advantages of simplicity of operator, rapidity, high extraction efficiency, high rate of reportable STR-profiles and lower man-made pollution. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine

Comparison of automatic and visual methods used for image segmentation in Endodontics: a microCT study.

PubMed

Queiroz, Polyane Mazucatto; Rovaris, Karla; Santaella, Gustavo Machado; Haiter-Neto, Francisco; Freitas, Deborah Queiroz

2017-01-01

To calculate root canal volume and surface area in microCT images, an image segmentation by selecting threshold values is required, which can be determined by visual or automatic methods. Visual determination is influenced by the operator's visual acuity, while the automatic method is done entirely by computer algorithms. To compare between visual and automatic segmentation, and to determine the influence of the operator's visual acuity on the reproducibility of root canal volume and area measurements. Images from 31 extracted human anterior teeth were scanned with a μCT scanner. Three experienced examiners performed visual image segmentation, and threshold values were recorded. Automatic segmentation was done using the "Automatic Threshold Tool" available in the dedicated software provided by the scanner's manufacturer. Volume and area measurements were performed using the threshold values determined both visually and automatically. The paired Student's t-test showed no significant difference between visual and automatic segmentation methods regarding root canal volume measurements (p=0.93) and root canal surface (p=0.79). Although visual and automatic segmentation methods can be used to determine the threshold and calculate root canal volume and surface, the automatic method may be the most suitable for ensuring the reproducibility of threshold determination.

Neurosurgical strategies for Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome

PubMed Central

Mukhida, Karim; Bishop, Matthew; Hong, Murray; Mendez, Ivar

2008-01-01

Tourette’s syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics that typically begin in childhood and often are accompanied by psychiatric comorbidities. Symptoms of TS may be socially disabling and cause secondary medical complications. Pharmacological therapies remain the mainstay of symptom management. For the subset of patients in whom TS symptoms are medically recalcitrant and do not dissipate by adulthood, neurosurgery may offer an alternative treatment strategy. Greater understanding of the neuroanatomic and pathophysiologic basis of TS has facilitated the development of surgical procedures that aim to ameliorate TS symptoms by lesions or deep brain stimulation of cerebral structures. Herein, the rationale for the surgical management of TS is discussed and neurosurgical experiences since the 1960s are reviewed. The necessity for neurosurgical strategies to be performed with appropriate ethical considerations is highlighted. PMID:19337454

Increased detection of co-morbidities with evaluation at a dedicated adult Turner syndrome clinic.

PubMed

Vincent, A J; Nguyen, H H; Ranasinha, S; Vollenhoven, B

2017-10-01

Turner syndrome (TS), resulting from complete/partial X chromosomal monosomy, is associated with multiple co-morbidities and increased mortality. Although multidisciplinary management is recommended, TS women's health care is sub-optimal. This study evaluates a multidisciplinary adult TS service. Retrospective cohort study of 82 patients attending the quarterly TS clinic from December 2003 to December 2014. Evaluation included (1) demographics, (2) TS standardized co-morbidity screening, and (3) estrogen therapy use. Data analysis involved frequency statistics, T tests and polychoric correlation analysis. Median age at TS diagnosis was 14 years (range 0-65 years), with 12% of women aged >18 years. Median age at initial consultation was 31 years (range 16-65 years). Only 14% of patients were transition program referrals. XO karyotype occurred in 30%. Primary amenorrhea predominated; however, 37% of TS women were not taking estrogen therapy. The proportion of patients not previously screened (44-76%) and those with positive screening diagnoses (5-53%) varied according to co-morbidity. The mean (± standard deviation) number of co-morbidities identified increased following TS clinic screening (7.0 ± 2.6 post-screening vs. 4.4 ± 2.3 pre-screening; p < 0.0001). Polychoric correlation analysis identified particular co-morbidity groupings (including metabolism-related) and increased co-morbidities with primary amenorrhea. A multidisciplinary adult TS clinic improves health surveillance with increased identification of co-morbidities and initiation of estrogen therapy.

Specific arithmetic calculation deficits in children with Turner syndrome.

PubMed

Rovet, J; Szekely, C; Hockenberry, M N

1994-12-01

Study 1 compared arithmetic processing skills on the WRAT-R in 45 girls with Turner syndrome (TS) and 92 age-matched female controls. Results revealed significant underachievement by subjects with TS, which reflected their poorer performance on problems requiring the retrieval of addition and multiplication facts and procedural knowledge for addition and division operations. TS subjects did not differ qualitatively from controls in type of procedural error committed. Study 2, which compared the performance of 10 subjects with TS and 31 controls on the Keymath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test, showed that the TS group had less adequate knowledge of arithmetic, subtraction, and multiplication procedures but did not differ from controls on Fact items. Error analyses revealed that TS subjects were more likely to confuse component steps or fail to separate intermediate steps or to complete problems. TS subjects relied to a greater degree on verbal than visual-spatial abilities in arithmetic processing while their visual-spatial abilities were associated with retrieval of simple multidigit addition facts and knowledge of subtraction, multiplication, and division procedures. Differences between the TS and control groups increased with age for Keymath, but not WRAT-R, procedures. Discrepant findings are related to the different task constraints (timed vs. untimed, single vs. alternate versions, size of item pool) and the use of different strategies (counting vs. fact retrieval). It is concluded that arithmetic difficulties in females with TS are due to less adequate procedural skills, combined with poorer fact retrieval in timed testing situations, rather than to inadequate visual-spatial abilities.

Automatic Picking of Foraminifera: Design of the Foraminifera Image Recognition and Sorting Tool (FIRST) Prototype and Results of the Image Classification Scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Garidel-Thoron, T.; Marchant, R.; Soto, E.; Gally, Y.; Beaufort, L.; Bolton, C. T.; Bouslama, M.; Licari, L.; Mazur, J. C.; Brutti, J. M.; Norsa, F.

2017-12-01

Foraminifera tests are the main proxy carriers for paleoceanographic reconstructions. Both geochemical and taxonomical studies require large numbers of tests to achieve statistical relevance. To date, the extraction of foraminifera from the sediment coarse fraction is still done by hand and thus time-consuming. Moreover, the recognition of morphotypes, ecologically relevant, requires some taxonomical skills not easily taught. The automatic recognition and extraction of foraminifera would largely help paleoceanographers to overcome these issues. Recent advances in automatic image classification using machine learning opens the way to automatic extraction of foraminifera. Here we detail progress on the design of an automatic picking machine as part of the FIRST project. The machine handles 30 pre-sieved samples (100-1000µm), separating them into individual particles (including foraminifera) and imaging each in pseudo-3D. The particles are classified and specimens of interest are sorted either for Individual Foraminifera Analyses (44 per slide) and/or for classical multiple analyses (8 morphological classes per slide, up to 1000 individuals per hole). The classification is based on machine learning using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), similar to the approach used in the coccolithophorid imaging system SYRACO. To prove its feasibility, we built two training image datasets of modern planktonic foraminifera containing approximately 2000 and 5000 images each, corresponding to 15 & 25 morphological classes. Using a CNN with a residual topology (ResNet) we achieve over 95% correct classification for each dataset. We tested the network on 160,000 images from 45 depths of a sediment core from the Pacific ocean, for which we have human counts. The current algorithm is able to reproduce the downcore variability in both Globigerinoides ruber and the fragmentation index (r2 = 0.58 and 0.88 respectively). The FIRST prototype yields some promising results for high-resolution paleoceanographic studies and evolutionary studies.

Multimodal Teaching Analytics: Automated Extraction of Orchestration Graphs from Wearable Sensor Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prieto, L. P.; Sharma, K.; Kidzinski, L.; Rodríguez-Triana, M. J.; Dillenbourg, P.

2018-01-01

The pedagogical modelling of everyday classroom practice is an interesting kind of evidence, both for educational research and teachers' own professional development. This paper explores the usage of wearable sensors and machine learning techniques to automatically extract orchestration graphs (teaching activities and their social plane over time)…

Keyword Extraction from Arabic Legal Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rammal, Mahmoud; Bahsoun, Zeinab; Al Achkar Jabbour, Mona

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply local grammar (LG) to develop an indexing system which automatically extracts keywords from titles of Lebanese official journals. Design/methodology/approach: To build LG for our system, the first word that plays the determinant role in understanding the meaning of a title is analyzed and grouped as…