Parallel GA-based approach for microwave imaging applications

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are well-known optimization strategies able to deal with nonlinear functions as those arising in inverse scattering problems. However, they are computationally expensive, thus offering poor performances in terms of general efficiency when compared with inversion techniques based on deterministic optimization methods. In this paper, a parallel implementation of an inverse scattering procedure based on a suitable hybrid genetic algorithm is presented. The proposed strategy is aimed at reducing the overall clock time in order to make the approach competitive with gradient-based methods in terms of runtime, but preserving the capabilities of escaping from local minima. This result is achieved by exploiting the natural parallelism of evolutionary techniques and the searching capabilities of the hybrid approach . The effectiveness of the proposed implementation is demonstrated by considering a selected numerical benchmark related to two-dimensional scattering geometries.     

Computational approach based on a particle swarm optimizer for microwave imaging of two-dimensional dielectric scatterers

A computational approach based on an innovative stochastic algorithm, namely, the particle swarm optimizer (PSO), is proposed for the solution of the inverse-scattering problem arising in microwave-imaging applications. The original inverse-scattering problem is reformulated in a global nonlinear optimization one by defining a suitable cost function, which is minimized through a customized PSO. In such a framework, this paper is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the proposed approach in locating, shaping, and reconstructing the dielectric parameters of unknown two-dimensional scatterers. Such an analysis is carried out by comparing the performance of the PSO-based approach with other state-of-the-art methods (deterministic, as well as stochastic) in terms of retrieval accuracy, as well as from a computational point-of-view. Moreover, an integrated strategy (based on the combination of the PSO and the iterative multiscaling method) is proposed and analyzed to fully exploit complementary advantages of nonlinear optimization techniques and multiresolution approaches. Selected numerical experiments concerning dielectric scatterers different in shape, dimension, and dielectric profile, are performed starting from synthetic, as well as experimental inverse-scattering data.     

Rho-dependent cell spreading activated by E.coli cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 hinders apoptosis in epithelial cells

Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions play a pivotal role in numerous cell functions including cell survival and death. In this work, we report evidence that the Rho-dependent cell spreading activated by a protein toxin from E. coli, the cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), is capable of hindering apoptosis in HEp-2 cells. In addition to the promotion of cell spreading, CNF1 protects cells from the experimentally-induced rounding up and detachment and improves the ability of cells to adhere to each other and to the extracellular matrix by modulating the expression of proteins related to cell adhesion. In particular, the expression of integrins such as alpha 5, alpha 6 and alpha v, as well as of some heterotypic and homotypic adhesion-related proteins such as the Focal Adhesion Kinase, E-cadherin, alpha and beta catenins were significantly increased in cells exposed to CNF1. Our results suggest, however, that the promotion of Rho-dependent cell spreading is the key mechanism in protecting cells against apoptosis rather than cell adhesion per se. A toxin inducing cell spreading without activating Rho, such as Cytochalasin B, was in fact ineffective in favouring cell survival. These data are of relevance (i) for the understanding of the role of the actin-dependent and especially Rho-dependent cellular activities involved in apoptosis regulation and (ii) in providing some clues to understanding the mechanisms by which bacteria, by controlling cell fate, might exert their pathogenic activity.     

Evaluation study of the effectiveness of the integrated genetic-algorithm-based strategy for the tomographic subsurface detection of defects

An assessment is presented of the integrated genetic-algorithm strategy based on a numerically computed Green's function for subsurface inverse scattering problems arising in nondestructive evaluation/testing industrial applications. To show the effectiveness and current limitations of such a microwave technique in dealing with various scenarios characterized by lossless and lossy host media as well as in noisy environments, several numerical experiments are considered. The results obtained confirm the effectiveness of the approach in fully exploiting the available a priori information through a suitable scattering model, which allows a nonnegligible enhancement of the reconstruction accuracy as well as a reduction of the overall computational burden with respect to standard imaging approaches.     

Campylobacter jejuni loss of culturability in aqueous microcosms and ability to resuscitate in a mouse model

Water is known as one of the main transmission routes of Campylobacter and contributes to increase the number of sporadic infections and outbreaks. Campylobacter jejuni persists in the environment, especially in water, in a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) form that is thought to be a possible cause of water-borne outbreaks. In this study, we evaluated the loss of culturability and viability of 9 C. jejuni strains of clinical origin and one ATCC reference strain when kept at 4 degrees C in artificial sea water (ASW). Culturability was measured as colony-forming units while viability was evaluated by CTC-DAPI double staining and the combined CTC-specific fluorescent antibody technique (CTC-FA). When cultured on Columbia Agar plates, strains exhibited different growth profiles which allowed to classify them into three different groups. Both techniques used to monitor the viability of the bacterial cells showed that C. jejuni strains survived in the VBNC form in the microcosms through a period lasting from 138 to 152 days. The recovery of C. jejuni VBNC forms to culturability, as evidenced by cell division, was obtained by passage in the mouse intestine. Our results indicate that C. jejuni VBNC cells were able to remain in this state for a few months and regain their culturability after in vivo passage depending on their lasting in the VBNC state, which affects the number of respiring bacteria. In fact, the resuscitation was achieved when the number of respiring bacteria became higher than 10(4) cell/ml. Therefore, a relatively high microbial titer of respiring bacteria in the VBNC state seems to be important for the resuscitation and subsequent intestinal colonisation.     

Detection, location, and imaging of multiple scatterers by means of the iterative multiscaling method

In this paper, a new version of the iterative multiscaling method (IMM) is proposed for reconstructing multiple scatterers in two-dimensional microwave imaging problems. This paper describes the new procedure evaluating the effectiveness of the IMM previously assessed for single object detection. Starting from inverse scattering integral equations, the problem is recast in a minimization one by defining iteratively (at each level of the scaling procedure) a suitable cost function, firstly allowing a detection of the unknown objects, successively a location of the scatterers, and finally, a quantitative reconstruction of the scenario under test. Thanks to its properties, the approach allows an effective use of the information achievable from inverse scattering data. Moreover, the adopted kind of expansion is able to deal with all possible multiresolution combinations in an easy and computationally inexpensive way. Selected numerical examples concerning dielectric, as well as dissipative objects in noisy environments or starting from experimentally acquired data are reported in order to confirm the usefulness of the introduced tool and of the effectiveness of the proposed procedure.     

Three-Dimensional Microwave Imaging Problems Solved Through an Efficient Multiscaling Particle Swarm Optimization

An enhanced multistep strategy based on a multiresolution particle swarm optimizer is proposed for 3-D microwave imaging. The aim of such an integration is to improve the convergence capabilities of the approach and to reduce the dimension of the search space and the computational burden of the optimization strategy, thanks to a constrained control of the particle velocities adaptively determined. This favors the exploitation of the global search capabilities of the particle swarms also in the framework of large-scale 3-D inverse scattering problems. The proposed technique is assessed by considering numerical tests concerned with single and multiple 3-D targets. The results of an experimental testing are also discussed.     

Escherichia coli cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), a toxin that activates the Rho GTPase

Cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), a 110-kDa protein toxin from pathogenic Escherichia coli induces actin reorganization into stress fibers and retraction fibers in human epithelial cultured cells allowing them to spread. CNF1 is acting in the cytosol since microinjection of the toxin into HEp-2 cells mimics the effects of the externally applied CNF1. Incubation in vitro of CNF1 with recombinant small GTPases induces a modification of Rho (but not of Rac, Cdc42, Ras, or Rab6) as demonstrated by a discrete increase in the apparent molecular weight of the molecule. Preincubation of cells with CNF1 impairs the cytotoxic effects of Clostridium difficile toxin B, which inactivates Rho but not those of Clostridium sordellii LT toxin, which inhibits Ras and Rac. As shown for Rho-GTP, CNF1 activates, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, a cytoskeleton-associated phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase. However, neither the phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) nor the phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate (PI 3,4-P2) or 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3) cellular content were found increased in CNF1 treated HEp-2 cells. Cellular effects of CNF1 were not blocked by LY294002, a stable inhibitor of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase. Incubation of HEp-2 cells with CNF1 induces relocalization of myosin 2 in stress fibers but not in retraction fibers. Altogether, our data indicate that CNF1 is a toxin that selectively activates the Rho GTP-binding protein, thus inducing contractility and cell spreading.