A dual mesh scheme for finite element based reconstruction algorithms

The finite element (FE) method has found several applications in emerging imaging modalities, especially microwave imaging which has been shown to be potentially useful in a number of areas including thermal estimation. In monitoring temperature distributions, the biological phenomena of temperature variations of tissue dielectric properties is exploited. By imaging these properties and their changes during such therapies as hyperthermia, temperature distributions can be deduced using difference imaging techniques. The authors focus on a microwave imaging problem where the hybrid element (HE) method is used in conjunction with a dual mesh scheme in an effort to image complex wavenumbers, k(2). The dual mesh scheme is introduced to improve the reconstructed images of tissue properties and is ideally suited for systems using FE methods as their computational base. Since the electric fields typically vary rapidly over a given body when irradiated by high-frequency electromagnetic sources, a dense mesh is needed for these fields to be accurately represented. Conversely, k(2) may be fairly constant over subregions of the body which would allow for a less dense sampling of this parameter in those regions. In the dual mesh system employed, the first mesh, which is uniformly dense, is used for calculating the electric fields over the body whereas the second mesh, which is nonuniform and less dense, is used for representing the k(2) distribution within the region of interest. The authors examine the 2-D TM polarization case for a pair of dielectric distributions on both a large and small problem to demonstrate the flexibility of the dual mesh method along with some of the difficulties associated with larger imaging problems. Results demonstrate the capabilities of the dual mesh concept in comparison to a single mesh approach for a variety of test cases, suggesting that the dual mesh method is critical for FE based image reconstruction where rapidly varying physical quantities are used to recover smoother property profiles, as can occur in microwave imaging of biological bodies.     

Quantification of 3-D field effects during 2-D microwave imaging

Two-dimensional (2-D) approaches to microwave imaging have dominated the research landscape primarily due to the moderate levels of measurement data, data-acquisition time, and computational costs required. Three-dimensional (3-D) approaches have been investigated in simulation, phantom, and animal experiments. While 3-D approaches are certainly important in terms of the potential to improve image quality, their associated costs are significant at this time. In addition, benchmarks are needed to evaluate these new generation systems as more 3-D methods begin to appear. In this paper, we present a systematic series of experiments which assess the capability of our 2-D system to image classical 3-D geometries. We demonstrate where current methods suffer from 3-D effects but also identify situations where they remain quite useful. Comparisons between reconstructions utilizing phantom measurements and simulated 3-D data are also shown to validate the results. These findings suggest that for certain biomedical applications, 2-D approaches remain quite attractive.     

Protection against Staphylococcus aureus mastitis in dairy cows using a bismuth-based teat seal containing the bacteriocin, lacticin 3147

We assessed the effectiveness of a novel dry cow treatment containing lacticin 3147 using deliberate challenge studies in lactating cows. Infection-free quarters of lactating cows were infused with Teat seal (Cross Vetpharm Group, Ltd., Dublin, Ireland) combined with the food-grade bacteriocin, lacticin 3147. Natural infection of the teat was simulated by deliberately introducing Staphylococcus aureus into the teat duct and teat sinus. Relative to control quarters, teat seal plus lacticin 3147 reduced the number of teats shedding viable cells when an inoculum of either approximately 1.7 x 10(3) or approximately 6.8 x 10(3) cfu per teat was used. In addition, the numbers of challenge organisms in those teats from which S. aureus was subsequently recovered were also reduced. However, when the concentration of bacteriocin in the teat seal formulation was reduced by approximately 50%, the number of teats shedding S. aureus cells was not reduced. These data indicate the potential for lacticin 3147 to prevent staphylococcal mastitis infections when a sufficient concentration of the bacteriocin is present. This study also highlights the application of a lactating-cow model to assess the effectiveness of antimicrobial intramammary products on mastitic cell populations.     

Reactivity to novelty in cognitively-impaired and cognitively-unimpaired aged rats and young rats

Two distinct populations of aged, Long-Evans rats can be identified on the basis of performance in the Morris water maze task. Aged (24 month) unimpaired rats perform similarly to young (six month) animals. Aged, impaired rats display latencies to find the submerged platform greater than two standard deviations from the mean of the young animals. A hallmark of efficient cognitive processing is the ability to cope with environmental change. Consequently, the present studies were conducted to assess if aged, impaired animals display differential reactivity to repeated exposure to novel stimuli. Reactivity was assessed by examining the degree of (i) consumption of a novel gustatory/olfactory stimulus (sweetened milk), (ii) pain inhibition induced by exposure to a novel hot-plate (48.5 degrees C) apparatus and (iii) exploratory behaviour in an elevated plus maze and a novel open field. Aged, impaired rats exhibited lower milk consumption on day one and protracted reactivity (lower consumption over days two to eight) in comparison to aged, unimpaired and young animals. Aged, impaired rats were more reactive to novelty on the hot plate test (as indicated by longer paw lick latencies); this novelty-induced pain inhibition did not habituate in aged, impaired rats following repeated plate exposures. The degree of exploratory behaviour in both the plus maze and the open field was reduced in aged, impaired rats. This effect was not entirely a consequence of deficient affective mechanisms, as measures of anxiety (e.g., time in open arms, time in inner squares) were not different among aged impaired, aged unimpaired and young animals. These results are the first to demonstrate that behavioural deficits observed in aged, impaired animals extend beyond the impairments observed in the water maze. This behavioural profile is attributed, in part, to heightened anxiety. In addition, the impairments observed in aged, impaired animals may also reflect a reduced sensitivity to the positive incentive properties of novel stimuli.     

Infant carrying by nulliparous female vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops).

We examined allomaternal behavior in vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) in order to understand its developmental consequences. For 3 years before our study, all but 1 newborn infant had been removed. Thus, the animals had little experience with infants. During 2 summers and the intervening fall, we scored animals' proximity (     

Measuring homonegativity: A psychometric analysis.

Although several good instruments have been developed to measure homonegativity, a comparative psychometric analysis of such instruments has not been published since Schwanberg (1993). The current investigation draws on several samples (including an annual survey of introductory human sexuality students) to examine the psychometric properties of 3 commonly used measures of homonegativity: Hudson and Ricketts' (1980) Index of Homophobia, Herek's (1984, 1988) Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men, and Morrison and Morrison's (2002) Modern Homonegativity Scale. The validity of each instrument was assessed, and each demonstrated approximately normally distributed data, high reliability, and a unidimensional factor structure. The 3 instruments are strongly intercorrelated and demonstrate a high degree of both convergent and discriminant validity. It is suggested that the Modern Homonegativity Scale has a slight advantage because it results in somewhat more normally distributed data than the other 2 scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative effects of acquisition duration and temporal resolution on the measurement accuracy of prostate dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI data: a phantom study

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the temporal resolution (T _res) and acquisition duration (AD) on the measurement accuracy of contrast concentration–time curves (CTCs), and derived phenomenological and pharmacokinetic parameter values, in a dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI experiment using a novel phantom test device.

Materials and methods

‘Ground truth’ CTCs were established using a highly precise optical imaging system. These precisely known CTCs were produced in an anthropomorphic environment, which mimicked the male pelvic region, and presented to the MRI scanner for measurement. The T _res was varied in the range [2–24.4 s] and the AD in the range [30–600 s], and the effects on the measurement accuracy were quantified.

Results

For wash-in parameter measurements, large underestimation errors (up to 40%) were found using T _res values ≥16.3 s; however, the measured wash-out rate did not vary greatly across all T _res values tested. Errors in derived K ^trans and v _e values were below 14 and 12% for acquisitions with {T _res ≤ 8.1 s, AD ≥ 360 s} and {T _res ≤ 16.3 s, AD ≥ 360 s}, respectively, but increased dramatically outside these ranges.

Conclusions

Errors in measured wash-in, wash-out, K ^trans, and v _e parameters were minimised using T _res ≤ 8.1 s and AD ≥ 360 s, with large errors recorded outside of this range.

     

Evaluation of lacticin 3147 and a teat seal containing this bacteriocin for inhibition of mastitis pathogens

Lacticin 3147 is a broad-spectrum bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis DPC3147 which is bactericidal against a range of mastitis-causing streptococci and staphylococci. In this study, both lacticin 3147 and the lantibiotic nisin were separately incorporated into an intramammary teat seal product. The seal containing lacticin 3147 exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity and might form the basis of an improved treatment for the prevention of mastitis in dry cows.     

Two-dimensional hybrid element image reconstruction for TMillumination

A Newton's iterative scheme for electromagnetic imaging is proposed for reconstruction of the dielectric properties of inhomogeneous, lossy bodies with arbitrary shape. The algorithm is based on a finite element (FE) representation which is coupled to a boundary element (BE) formulation for the forward solution of the electric fields; together these are termed the hybrid element method. It utilizes FE discretization of only the area of interest while incorporating the RE method to match the conditions of the homogeneous background region extending to infinity. This paper presents image reconstruction for the 2D TM polarization case where two classes of dielectric distributions are studied which demonstrate the flexibility of this method along with some of the difficulties associated with larger imaging problems     

The lantibiotic lacticin 3147 produced in a milk-based medium improves the efficacy of a bismuth-based teat seal in cattle deliberately infected with Staphylococcus aureus

A preparation of the bacteriocin lacticin 3147 (prepared from a demineralized whey protein fermentation liquor) was combined as a powder with a bismuth-based intramammary teat seal and evaluated for its potential as an antimicrobial in non-lactating cows. The lacticin/teat seal formulation enabled significant bacteriocin release from the seal without the requirement for a surfactant. Studies in vivo in lactating cows demonstrated that this formulation was effective in reducing bacterial recoveries (approximately 20-fold) from teats deliberately inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus after infusion. Moreover, this formulation also significantly reduced the numbers of Staph. aureus recovered from teats that were exposed to the challenge bacterium before the infusion of the teat seal preparation. The powdered preparation of lacticin 3147 did, however, cause some teat irritation as evidenced by associated rises in somatic cell count (SCC). However, this effect was short-lived and when the mean SCC readings pre-infusion and the final two readings post-infusion were compared, there was no significant difference in the immunological acceptance between treatments.