Detecting moving objects from a video taken by a moving camera using sequential inference of background images

This paper proposes a method of detecting moving objects using sequential inference of the background in a video taken with a moving camera. In the video taken using a moving camera, all positions of pixels change every frame. The positions of the background pixels in the image frame T are not the same as the positions of the background pixels in the image frame T + 1. 2D projective transform can be used to find changes in the pixel position every frame. Bilinear interpolation with four nearest pixels around the pixel in image frame T which corresponds to a pixel in the image frame T+1 can be used for creating a background model at T + 1. Having obtained the background model, a pixel in image frame T + 1 can be determined if it is a background pixel or a foreground pixel. The detection results of the proposed method are compared with the ground truth to determine the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Morphometric studies of collagen and fibrin lattices contracted by human gingival fibroblasts; comparison with dermal fibroblasts

Cell shape variations and substratum re-organization during contraction of floating collagen and fibrin lattices seeded with human gingival fibroblasts were determined by computerized image analysis of light and scanning electron microscopic images. Data were compared with those obtained with lattices populated with human dermal fibroblasts. The extent of collagen lattice contraction was similar with both cell types, resulting in a two-fold decrease in the area fractions occupied by collagen fibers. Fibroblasts exhibited a rounded shape (form factors equal to 0.8 and 0.7 for gingival and dermal cells, respectively) at day 1 of culture; they possessed a more elongated appearance (with form factors equal to 0.3 and 0.15 for gingival and dermal cells, respectively) at day 7. Continuous (gingival) and discontinuous (dermal) layers of cells were evidenced at the cortex of lattices. Contractions were associated with a significant reduction of the diameters of collagen fibers. Re-organization of substratum, as analyzed by the "Rose of Directions" technique, was evidenced only at the vicinity of filopodia where fibers ran parallel to these protrusions. Several lysed matrix cavities were observed when fibrin lattices were populated with gingival but not dermal fibroblasts at day 5 of culture. Although cells in fibrin lattices exhibited morphometric parameters comparable with those in collagen lattices, no fibroblast layers could be demonstrated at gel peripheries. Fibrin matrices consisted of an isotropic network of entangled fibrin filaments from the start of culture, and only a slight reduction of the diameters of fibrin fibers could be evidenced in dermal fibroblast-populated lattices. Fibrinolysis at the vicinity of gingival fibroblasts led to an entire re-organization of substratum toward the formation of larger fibers. The differential behavior of gingival vs. dermal fibroblasts inside fibrin but not collagen matrices could therefore partly explain the increased rate of remodeling of gingiva as compared with dermis.     

Crystal structure of yellow meal worm alpha-amylase at 1.64 A resolution

The three-dimensional structure of the alpha-amylase from Tenebrio molitor larvae (TMA) has been determined by molecular replacement techniques using diffraction data of a crystal of space group P212121 (a=51.24 A; b=93.46 A; c=96.95 A). The structure has been refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 17.7% for 58,219 independent reflections in the 7.0 to 1.64 A resolution range, with root-mean-square deviations of 0.008 A for bond lengths and 1.482 degrees for bond angles. The final model comprises all 471 residues of TMA, 261 water molecules, one calcium cation and one chloride anion. The electron density confirms that the N-terminal glutamine residue has undergone a post-transitional modification resulting in a stable 5-oxo-proline residue. The X-ray structure of TMA provides the first three-dimensional model of an insect alpha-amylase. The monomeric enzyme exhibits an elongated shape approximately 75 Ax46 Ax40 A and consists of three distinct domains, in line with models for alpha-amylases from microbial, plant and mammalian origin. However, the structure of TMA reflects in the substrate and inhibitor binding region a remarkable difference from mammalian alpha-amylases: the lack of a highly flexible, glycine-rich loop, which has been proposed to be involved in a "trap-release" mechanism of substrate hydrolysis by mammalian alpha-amylases. The structural differences between alpha-amylases of various origins might explain the specificity of inhibitors directed exclusively against insect alpha-amylases.     

Autografting in chronic myeloid leukemia: an overview

Autografting could become a promising treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who cannot undergo allogeneic bone marrow transplantation or failed to respond to recombinant alpha-interferon (IFN). In this review, we analyze the results which have been published for patients transplanted in chronic phase and which suggest that autografting could prolong survival, at least in some patients. We also discuss the different methods of purging whose clinical efficacy remains to be assessed.     

Automated extraction of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and N-demethyl-LSD from blood, serum, plasma, and urine samples using the Zymark RapidTrace with LC/MS/MS confirmation

A forensic procedure for the quantitative confirmation of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and the qualitative confirmation of its metabolite, N-demethyl-LSD, in blood, serum, plasma, and urine samples is presented. The Zymark RapidTrace was used to perform fully automated solid-phase extractions of all specimen types. After extract evaporation, confirmations were performed using liquid chromatography (LC) followed by positive electrospray ionization (ESI+) mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) without derivatization. Quantitation of LSD was accomplished using LSD-d3 as an internal standard. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) for LSD was 0.05 ng/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) for both LSD and N-demethyl-LSD was 0.025 ng/mL. The recovery of LSD was greater than 95% at levels of 0.1 ng/mL and 2.0 ng/mL. For LSD at 1.0 ng/mL, the within-run and between-run (different day) relative standard deviation (RSD) was 2.2% and 4.4%, respectively.     

Quantitative brain magnetic resonance imaging in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND: Anatomic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been limited by small samples or measurement of single brain regions. Since the neuropsychological deficits in ADHD implicate a network linking basal ganglia and frontal regions, 12 subcortical and cortical regions and their symmetries were measured to determine if these structures best distinguished ADHD. METHODS: Anatomic brain MRIs for 57 boys with ADHD and 55 healthy matched controls, aged 5 to 18 years, were obtained using a 1.5-T scanner with contiguous 2-mm sections. Volumetric measures of the cerebrum, caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, amygdala, hippocampus, temporal lobe, cerebellum; a measure of prefrontal cortex; and related right-left asymmetries were examined along with midsagittal area measures of the cerebellum and corpus callosum. Interrater reliabilities were .82 or greater for all MRI measures. RESULTS: Subjects with ADHD had a 4.7% smaller total cerebral volume (P = .02). Analysis of covariance for total cerebral volume demonstrated a significant loss of normal right > left asymmetry in the caudate (P = .006), smaller right globus pallidus (P = .005), smaller right anterior frontal region (P = .02), smaller cerebellum (P = .05), and reversal of normal lateral ventricular asymmetry (P = .03) in the ADHD group. The normal age-related decrease in caudate volume was not seen, and increases in lateral ventricular volumes were significantly diminished in ADHD. CONCLUSION: This first comprehensive morphometric analysis is consistent with hypothesized dysfunction of right-sided prefrontal-striatal systems in ADHD.     

Psilocybin induces schizophrenia-like psychosis in humans via a serotonin-2 agonist action

Psilocybin, an indoleamine hallucinogen, produces a psychosis-like syndrome in humans that resembles first episodes of schizophrenia. In healthy human volunteers, the psychotomimetic effects of psilocybin were blocked dose-dependently by the serotonin-2A antagonist ketanserin or the atypical antipsychotic risperidone, but were increased by the dopamine antagonist and typical antipsychotic haloperidol. These data are consistent with animal studies and provide the first evidence in humans that psilocybin-induced psychosis is due to serotonin-2A receptor activation, independently of dopamine stimulation. Thus, serotonin-2A overactivity may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and serotonin-2A antagonism may contribute to therapeutic effects of antipsychotics.