Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Optical Machine Vision System For Applications In Cytopathology, Jonathan Blackledge, Dmitry Dubovitskiy

Articles

This paper discusses a new approach to the processes of object detection, recognition and classification in a digital image focusing on problem in Cytopathology. A unique self learning procedure is presented in order to incorporate expert knowledge. The classification method is based on the application of a set of features which includes fractal parameters such as the Lacunarity and Fourier dimension. Thus, the approach includes the characterisation of an object in terms of its fractal properties and texture characteristics. The principal issues associated with object recognition are presented which include the basic model and segmentation algorithms. The self-learning procedure for …

Changes In Intraocular Pressure And Anterior Segment Morphometry After Uneventful Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery, J. Dooley, S. Charalampidou, A. Malik, James Loughman, L. Molloy, S. Beatty

Articles

Purpose To study changes in anterior segment morphometry after uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery, and to investigate whether there is a relationship between any observed changes and intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction after the procedure. Methods The anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber volume (ACV), anterior chamber angle (ACA), central corneal thickness (CCT), and IOP were measured in 101 non-glaucomatous eyes before and after uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Results After cataract surgery, the mean ACD, ACV, and ACA values increased by 1.08mm, 54.4mm3, and 13.11, respectively, and the mean IOP (corrected for CCT) decreased by 3.2mmHg. The predictive value of a previously …

Solar Simulated Radiation Induced Cell Death Depends On Spectral Distribution And Irradiance But Not Output Delivery, Alanna Maguire, Fiona Lyng, James Walsh

Articles

Photo biological investigations are dependent on calibration and characterisation to determine the relevance of an artificial irradiator to the study at hand. The importance of this has been voiced in the literature. However, the importance of output delivery is relatively unknown. The biological relevance of a high energy, rapidly pulsing solar simulator was investigated using the clonogenic assay and was found to be reciprocity law compliant despite an exaggerated UV irradiance in excess of 1600 Wm-2 delivered per pulse. In fact, it was found to be the least cytotoxic irradiator compared to a second solar simulator and a UVB fluorescent …

High-Density Screening Reveals A Different Spectrum Of Genomic Aberrations In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients With ‘Stereotyped’ Ighv3-21 And Ighv4-34 B-Cell Receptors, Millaray Marincevic, Nicola Cahill, Rebeqa Gunnarsson, Anders Isaksson, Mahmoud Mansouri, Hanna Göransson, Markus Rasmussen, Mattias Jansson, Fergus Ryan, Karin Karlsson, Hans-Olov Adami, Fred Davi, Jesper Jurlander, Gunnar Juliusson, Kostas Stamatopoulos, Richard Rosenquist

Articles

Background The existence of multiple subsets of chronic lymphocytic leukemia expressing ‘stereotyped’ Bcell receptors implies the involvement of antigen(s) in leukemogenesis. Studies also indicate that ‘stereotypy’ may influence the clinical course of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, for example, in subsets with stereotyped IGHV3-21 and IGHV4-34 B-cell receptors; however, little is known regarding the genomic profile of patients in these subsets. Design and Methods We applied 250K single nucleotide polymorphism-arrays to study copy-number aberrations and copy-number neutral loss-of-heterozygosity in patients with stereotyped IGHV3-21 (subset #2, n=29), stereotyped IGHV4-34 (subset #4, n=17; subset #16, n=8) and non-subset #2 IGHV3-21 (n=13) and …

Dietary Energy Density As Marker Of Dietary Quality In Swedish Children And Adolescents: The European Youth Heart Study, Emma Patterson, J. Wärnberg, E. Poortvliet, John Kearney, M. Sjöström

Articles

To investigate if dietary energy density is associated with measures of dietary quality (food group, micronutrient and macronutrient intakes) in children and adolescents.

Macular Pigment And Its Contribution To Visual Performance And Experience, James Loughman, Peter Davison, John Nolan, Mukunda Akkali, Stephen Beatty

Articles

There is now a consensus, based on histological, biochemical and spectral absorption data, that the yellow colour observed at the macula lutea is a consequence of the selective accumulation of dietary xanthophylls in the central retina of the living eye. Scientifi c research continues to explore the function(s) of MP in the human retina, with two main hypotheses premised on its putative capacity to (1) protect the retina from (photo)-oxidative damage by means of its optical fi ltration and/or antioxidant properties, the so-called protective hypothesis and (2) infl uence the quality of visual performance by means of selective short wavelength …

Macrophage Responses To Cf Pathogens: Jnkmap Kinase Signaling By Burkholderia Cepacia Complex Lipopolysaccharide, Suzanne Mckeon, Siobhan Mcclean, Máire Callaghan

Articles

Chronic bacterial colonization of the airways with opportunistic pathogens is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) organisms pose a particular challenge in CF lung disease, due in part to their ability to trigger a fulminant pneumonia. This study compares the U937 macrophage response to two Bcc species, B. cenocepacia and Burkholderia multivorans, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The two Bcc strains demonstrated higher levels of U937 macrophage internalization compared with both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Both the Bcc strains also stimulated significantly greater levels of tumor necrosis factor-a …

Editorial: Nutrition Research Reviews, Katherine Younger

Articles

This is the time of year when pumpkins are in season, and are incorporated into traditional festivals in Europe and North America (Harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving). If you have previously considered pumpkins as good only for carving into grinning Jack O’Lanterns then the short review from Yadev et al. (1) might shed a little light on some of its potential medicinal properties, including antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and anti-diabetic. However, the active compounds, possibly various alkaloids and flavonoids, have yet to be isolated and characterised, and much of the work cited has been done in animal or in vitro models, so the …

Implementing The 2005 American Heart Association Guidelines, Including Use Of The Impedance Threshold Device, Improves Hospital Discharge Rate After In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest, Ken Thigpen, Scott Davis, Roberta Basol, Peggy Lange, Sandeep Jain, John Olsen, Bernard Erickson, Timothy Schuchard, Tom P. Aufderheide

Articles

OBJECTIVE:

To determine the impact of the 2005 American Heart Association cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines, including use of an impedance threshold device (ITD), on survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest.

METHODS:

Two community hospitals that tracked outcomes after in-hospital cardiac arrest pooled and compared their hospital discharge rate before and after implementing the 2005 American Heart Association CPR guidelines (including ITD) in standardized protocols. In CPR we used the proper ventilation rate, allowed full chest-wall recoil, conducted continuous CPR following intubation, and used an ITD. We compared historical control data from a 12-month period at St Cloud Hospital, St Cloud, Minnesota, …

Pk/Pd Modelling Of Comb-Shaped Pegylated Salmon Calcitonin Conjugates Of Differing Molecular Weights, Sinead Ryan, Jesus Maria Frias, David H. Haddleton, David J. Brayden

Articles

Salmon calcitonin (sCT) was conjugated via cysteine-1 to novel combed-shaped end-functionalised poly(PEG) methyl ether methacrylate) (sCT-P) comb-shaped polymers, to yield conjugates of total molecular weights (MW) inclusive of sCT: 6.5, 9.5, 23 and 40 kDa. The conjugates were characterised by HPLC and their in vitro and in vivo bioactivity was measured by cAMP assay on human T47D cells and following intravenous (i.v.) injection to rats, respectively. Stability against endopeptidases, rat serum and liver homogenates was assessed. There were linear and exponential relationships between conjugate MW with potency and efficacy respectively, however the largest MW conjugate still retained 70% of E …