Recognition of moving objects using feature signatures

An important application of machine vision systems is the recognition of known three-dimensional objects. A major difficulty arises when two or more objects project the same or similar two-dimensional image, often resulting in misclassification and degradation of system performance. The changes in images which result from the motion of objects provide a source of three-dimensional information which can greatly aid the classification process, but this three-dimensional analysis is computationally complex and subject to many sources of error. This work develops a methodology which utilizes the information derived from the apparent changes in object features over time to facilitate the recognition task, without the need to actually recover the three-dimensional structure of the objects under view. The basic approach is to generate a ``feature signature' by combining the feature measurements of the individual regions in a long sequence of images. The static information in the individual frames is analyzed along with the temporal information from the entire sequence. These techniques are particularly applicable in situations where static image processing methods cannot discriminate between ambiguous objects. Two example implementations are presented to illustrate the application of the techniques of object recognition using motion information.     

A survey of anesthesia support personnel in teaching programs

Although the amount and complexity of equipment and supplies used in the practice of anesthesia have sharply increased in the past decade, the role of technical support personnel dealing with this technology has not been assessed. In an effort to determine that role, a questionnaire survey was conducted of the apportionment, direction, duties, and training of anesthesia technicians in teaching departments. Two-thirds of the inquiries were returned, disclosing a typical allocation of three anesthetizing locations (or 2000 annual anesthetics) per technician. A large majority of these departments have direct control of their technicians. Virtually all of these personnel are responsible for the routine upkeep and setup of anesthesia machines and monitors, although about one-third perform more specialized clinical functions. The preparation of these technicians for their duties varies widely, with almost 60% high school graduates and virtually all reporting training as on-the-job. The authors conclude that the term "anesthesia technician" remains poorly defined and unstandardized, and that current diverse efforts to address this issue deserve attention.     

Neuroprotective Effects of Testosterone in the Hypothalamus of an Animal Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known to be associated to inflammation and alteration in the hypothalamus, a brain region implicated in the control of several physiological functions, including energy homeostasis and reproduction. Previous studies demonstrated the beneficial effects of testosterone treatment (TTh) in counteracting some MetS symptoms in both animal models and clinical studies. This study investigated the effect of TTh (30 mg/kg/week for 12 weeks) on the hypothalamus in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced animal model of MetS, utilizing quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses. The animal model recapitulates the human MetS features, including low testosterone/gonadotropin plasma levels. TTh significantly improved MetS-induced hypertension, visceral adipose tissue accumulation, and glucose homeostasis derangements. Within hypothalamus, TTh significantly counteracted HFD-induced inflammation, as detected in terms of expression of inflammatory markers and microglial activation. Moreover, TTh remarkably reverted the HFD-associated alterations in the expression of important regulators of energy status and reproduction, such as the melanocortin and the GnRH-controlling network. Our results suggest that TTh may exert neuroprotective effects on the HFD-related hypothalamic alterations, with positive outcomes on the circuits implicated in the control of energy metabolism and reproductive tasks, thus supporting a possible role of TTh in the clinical management of MetS.     

BRAF Gene and Melanoma: Back to the Future

As widely acknowledged, 40–50% of all melanoma patients harbour an activating BRAF mutation (mostly BRAF V600E). The identification of the RAS–RAF–MEK–ERK (MAP kinase) signalling pathway and its targeting has represented a valuable milestone for the advanced and, more recently, for the completely resected stage III and IV melanoma therapy management. However, despite progress in BRAF-mutant melanoma treatment, the two different approaches approved so far for metastatic disease, immunotherapy and BRAF+MEK inhibitors, allow a 5-year survival of no more than 60%, and most patients relapse during treatment due to acquired mechanisms of resistance. Deep insight into BRAF gene biology is fundamental to describe the acquired resistance mechanisms (primary and secondary) and to understand the molecular pathways that are now being investigated in preclinical and clinical studies with the aim of improving outcomes in BRAF-mutant patients.     

Focal Ischemic Injury to the Early Neonatal Rat Brain Models Cognitive and Motor Deficits with Associated Histopathological Outcomes Relevant to Human Neonatal Brain Injury

Neonatal arterial ischemic stroke is one of the more severe birth complications. The injury can result in extensive neurological damage and is robustly associated with later diagnoses of cerebral palsy (CP). An important part of efforts to develop new therapies include the on-going refinement and understanding of animal models that capture relevant clinical features of neonatal brain injury leading to CP. The potent vasoconstrictor peptide, Endothelin-1 (ET-1), has previously been utilised in animal models to reduce local blood flow to levels that mimic ischemic stroke. Our previous work in this area has shown that it is an effective and technically simple approach for modelling ischemic injury at very early neonatal ages, resulting in stable deficits in motor function. Here, we aimed to extend this model to also examine the impact on cognitive function. We show that focal delivery of ET-1 to the cortex of Sprague Dawley rats on postnatal day 0 (P0) resulted in impaired learning in a touchscreen-based test of visual discrimination and correlated with important clinical features of CP including damage to large white matter structures.     

Precision Oncology via NMR-Based Metabolomics: A Review on Breast Cancer

Precision oncology is an emerging approach in cancer care. It aims at selecting the optimal therapy for the right patient by considering each patient’s unique disease and individual health status. In the last years, it has become evident that breast cancer is an extremely heterogeneous disease, and therefore, patients need to be appropriately stratified to maximize survival and quality of life. Gene-expression tools have already positively assisted clinical decision making by estimating the risk of recurrence and the potential benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. However, these approaches need refinement to further reduce the proportion of patients potentially exposed to unnecessary chemotherapy. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics has demonstrated to be an optimal approach for cancer research and has provided significant results in BC, in particular for prognostic and stratification purposes. In this review, we give an update on the status of NMR-based metabolomic studies for the biochemical characterization and stratification of breast cancer patients using different biospecimens (breast tissue, blood serum/plasma, and urine).     

Species separation during coating growth on aluminium by spark anodizing

The mechanism of coating growth during sparking anodizing of aluminium is probed by use of an electrolyte containing both silicate and phosphate ions, with subsequent determination of the locations of silicon and phosphorus species through the coating thickness. Importantly, the main alumina-based layer of the coating contains incorporated silicon and phosphorus species of differing distributions. Phosphorus species are primarily found in a region next to the metal, representing roughly about 30% of the layer thickness. Silicon species are located mainly above this region to the layer surface. New coating material is added in discreet amounts associated with breakdown events, which provide short-circuit paths through the layer. The growth processes within the discharge region result in separation of the silicate- and phosphate-derived species, which may relate to their different mobilities, dependent upon factors such as charge, size and bonding with other species. Further, silicon-rich material is deposited at the surface of the alumina-based layer, which is often encountered in spark anodizing in silicate electrolyte.     

Selective sterol transfer in the honey bee: Its significance and relationship to other hymenoptera

The honey bee,Apis mellifera, is one of only a few species of phytophagous insects known to be unable to convert C-24 alkyl phytosterols to cholesterol. Regardless of the dietary sterols available to worker bees, the major tissue sterol of brood reared by the workers is always 24-methylenecholesterol, followed by sitosterol and isofucosterol. Normally, little or no cholesterol is present in honey bee sterols. The maintenance of high levels of certain sterols is accomplished through a selective transfer of sterols from the endogenous sterol pools of the workers to the developing larvae through the brood food material secreted from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands and/or the honey stomach of the workers. The selective uptake and transfer of radiolabeled C₂₇, C₂₈ and C₂₉ sterols have been studied to correlate these aspects of sterol utilization with the discovery of an unusual molting hormone (ecdysteroid) in honey bee pupae as the major ecdysteroid of this stage of development. The phylogenetic implications of this selective transfer phenomenon in the honey bee and comparison with sterol metabolism in certain other hymenopteran species emphasize the diversity of steroid biochemistry in insects.     

Combustion characteristics of coals using a drop-tube furnace

Fourteen coals were selected for char refiring tests using a drop-tube furnace (DTF) in order to compare with previous tests on a 1 MW combustion facility. Each coal was sieved into two size fractions (53-75 and 106-125 μm) and characterised using proximate analysis and conventional petrographic tests as well as a test for % unreactives using image-analysis. The coal fractions were then pyrolysed at 1300 °C for 200 ms in 1 vol% oxygen in nitrogen. The reactivity, morphology and surface area of the chars were evaluated using thermal, optical and adsorption techniques. Each char fraction was then passed through the DTF at 1300 °C using a residence time of 600 ms and a furnace atmosphere of 5 vol% oxygen in nitrogen to evaluate burnout propensity. The characteristics of the coals, the chars and the residues after refiring were compared to determine whether any links exist between burnout, intermediate char products and coal composition. The link between % unreactives and burnout was confirmed for high volatile bituminous coals. Results obtained from two low volatile coals confirmed that their burnout was better than predicted from their properties. For the S. American (Guasare) coal poorer than expected burnout was obtained, as in previous work, but only for the larger size fraction.