High-dose chemotherapy followed by reinfusion of selected CD34+ peripheral blood cells in patients with poor-prognosis breast cancer: a randomized multicentre study

Seven chlorine-containing orcinol derivatives (2-8) and orcinol (9) have been isolated from diseased bulbs of the edible lily Lilium maximowiczii, and their structures have been elucidated. Six of the chlorinated orcinol derivatives (2, 4-8) showed antifungal activity. Because organochlorine compounds are rare in terrestrial higher plants, their biosynthetic origin was examined. These compounds were shown to be induced in intact bulb scales by UV irradiation or by inoculation with the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lilii. Biosynthetic studies suggested that these "natural organochlorine pesticides" are produced by enzymatic chlorination of orcinol (9) with chloroperoxidase and hydrogen peroxide, which are both induced in the plant tissue under stress conditions.     

Compact region extraction using weighted pixel linking in a pyramid

This correspondence describes a method of image segmentation based on a ``pyramid' of reduced-resolution versions of the image. It defines link strengths between pixels at adjacent levels of the pyramid, based on proximity and similarity, and iteratively recomputes the pixel values and adjusts the link strengths. After a few iterations, the strengths stabilize, and the links that remain strong define subtrees of the pyramid; the leaves of each tree are the pixels belonging to a compact (piece of a) homogeneous region in the image.     

Parallel image processing by memory-augmented cellular automata

This paper introduces a generalization of cellular automata in which each celi is a tape-bounded Turing machine rather than a finite-state machine. Fast algorithms are given for performing various basic image processing tasks by such automata. It is suggested that this model of parallel computation is a very suitable one for studying the advantages of parallelism in this domain.     

Mosaic models for textures

This paper deals with a class of image models based on random geometric processes. Theoretical and empirical results on properties of patterns generated using these models are summarized. These properties can be used as aids in fitting the models to images.     

Thinning algorithms for gray-scale pictures

Elongated black objects in black-and-white pictures can be ``thinned' to arcs and curves, without changing their connectedness, by (repeatedly) deleting black border points whose deletion does not locally disconnect the black points in their neighborhoods. This technique generalizes to gray-scale pictures if we use a weighted definition of connectedness: two points are ``connected' if there is a path joining them on which no point is lighter than either of them. We can then ``thin' dark objects by changing each point's gray level to the minimum of its neighbors' gray levels, provided this does not disconnect any pair of points in its neighborhood. Examples illustrating the performance of this technique are given.     

Modelling Temperature,Body Size,Prey Density,and Stream Gradient Impacts on Longitudinal Patterns of Potential Production of Drift‐Feeding Trout

In this study, we modelled idealized stream reaches using empirical hydrodynamic and bioenergetic parameters to predict how rainbow trout production depends on physical and biological variations across a downstream gradient, and we compared these downstream effects in a low and high‐gradient stream reach. We found that longitudinal production potential (i.e. net rate of energetic intake per 100 m of stream length) generally increased with increasing stream size when stream gradient was low. This was not the case, however, for high‐gradient streams, wherein maximum longitudinal production potential was associated with middle or low stream size (Q_MAD = 2.5 to 25 m³ s^?1). Areal production potential (net rate of energetic intake per m² of wetted stream bed) reached a maximum at low stream size (Q_MAD = 2.5 m³ s^?1) with both high and low gradients. We also showed that high stream temperature and low drift density could potentially cause adult rainbow trout to be excluded from stream reaches with high flow. The models presented here have a stronger mechanistic basis for predicting fish production across heterogeneous stream environments and provide more nuanced predictions in response to variation in environmental features than their physical habitat‐based predecessors. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method of detecting and tracking irises and eyelids in video

We locate the eye corners, eyelids, and irises in every frame of an image sequence, and analyze the movements of the irises and eyelids to determine changes in gaze direction and blinking, respectively. Using simple models for the motions of the head and eyes, we determine the head-independent motions of the irises and eyelids by stabilizing for the head motion. The head-independent motions of the irises can be used to determine behaviors like saccades and smooth pursuit. Tracking the upper eyelid and using the distance between its apex and the center of the iris, we detect instances of eye closure during blinking. In experiments on two short image sequences, in one of which the subject was wearing glasses, we successfully located the irises in every frame in which the eyes were fully or partially open, and successfully located the eyelids 80% of the time. When motion information in the form of normal flow was used, the irises were successfully tracked in every frame in which the eyes were fully or partially open, and the eyelids were successfully located and tracked 90% of the time.     

Solid state microdosimetry

A review of solid state microdosimetry is presented with an emphasis on silicon-based devices. The historical foundations and basics of microdosimetry are briefly provided. Various methods of experimental regional microdosimetry are discussed to facilitate a comparison with the more recent development of silicon microdosimetry. In particular, the performance characteristics of a proportional gas counter and a silicon microdosimeter are compared. Recent improvements in silicon microdosimetry address the issues of requirement specification, non-spherical shape, tissue equivalence, sensitive volume definition (charge collection complexity) and low noise requirements which have previously impeded the implementation of silicon-based microdosimetry. A prototype based on silicon-on-insulator technology is described along with some example results from clinical high LET radiotherapy facilities. A brief summary of the applications of microdosimetry is included.     

Intraovarian actions of oestrogen

Oestrogen regulates several hypothalamic and pituitary hormones, which in turn control ovarian functions. Oestrogen and its metabolites, such as catecholoestrogens, also have direct effects within the ovary. This review examines the roles of oestrogen in regulating ovarian folliculogenesis, ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Oestrogen promotes follicular development, which culminates in ovulation, by potentiating follicular development, granulosa cell expression of gonadotrophin receptors, steroidogenesis, and gap junction formation by granulosa cells, and by inhibiting granulosa cell apoptosis. In addition, oestrogen may be needed for corpus luteum formation and maintenance. Studies on mutant mice that either lack one or both of the known oestrogen receptors or are unable to synthesize oestrogen support some but not all of these prior inferences of the roles of oestrogen within the ovary. Although these transgenic mice have proved useful in determining some of the intraovarian actions of oestrogen, they present confounding problems, including hormonal imbalances, that hinder interpretation. Transgenic mice with conditional or tissue-directed mutations in their oestrogen receptors are needed to dissect the ovarian actions of oestrogen further. In addition, microarray technologies, combined with specific hormone treatment regimens are likely to provide an attractive, alternative approach to using mutant mice in clarifying the direct actions of oestrogen in the ovaries of other species.