Learning to segment clustered amoeboid cells from brightfield microscopy via multi-task learning with adaptive weight selection

Detecting and segmenting individual cells from microscopy images is critical to various life science applications. Traditional cell segmentation tools are often ill-suited for applications in brightfield microscopy due to poor contrast and intensity heterogeneity, and only a small subset are applicable to segment cells in a cluster. In this regard, we introduce a novel supervised technique for cell segmentation in a multi-task learning paradigm. A combination of a multi-task loss, based on the region and cell boundary detection, is employed for an improved prediction efficiency of the network. The learning problem is posed in a novel min-max framework which enables adaptive estimation of the hyper-parameters in an automatic fashion. The region and cell boundary predictions are combined via morphological operations and active contour model to segment individual cells. The proposed methodology is particularly suited to segment touching cells from brightfield microscopy images without manual interventions. Quantitatively, we observe an overall Dice score of 0.93 on the validation set, which is an improvement of over 15.9% on a recent unsupervised method, and outperforms the popular supervised U-net algorithm by at least $5.8\%$ on average

The control and manipulation of angiogenesis in the primate ovarian follicle

The ovary is one of the most plastic tissues in the body undergoing constant serial remodelling throughout its reproductive lifetime, during both folliculogenesis and the formation and regression of the corpus luteum. The process of follicle growth and selection is intimately associated with the de novo establishment of vasculature supporting the developing follicles. Blood vessels are recruited from the ovarian stroma to form vascular sheaths surrounding each developing follicle supplying steroid hormone precursors, oxygen and nutrients to the expanding follicle. During folliculogenesis only the theca of the developing follicle becomes vascularised, the granulosa cells remaining avascular until ovulation at which point the basement membrane that has been separating the granulosa and theca breaks down. After ovulation the granulosa cells become heavily vascularised during the process of luteinisation and the formation of the corpus luteum. Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels from the pre-existing vasculature, requires the degradation of the established vessels followed by endothelial cell proliferation and finally stabilisation of the new vessels. Recently, techniques to quantify angiogenesis, identify putative molecular regulators, and inhibit them in vivo have become available. The work in this thesis applies these advances to the following questions:1) What is the effect of the inhibition of the gonadotrophins, using a gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist, on follicular angiogenesis? The hypothesis being tested was that follicular angiogenesis would be dependent on follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) / luteinising hormone (LH) and be severely inhibited by GnRH antagonist treatment. In vivo follicular angiogenesis was assessed by quantitative immunocytochemistry of bromodeoxyuridine and the endothelial cell marker CD31. The effect of treatment on follicular development and angiogenesis at the molecular level was assessed by in situ hybridisation of mRNA for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and aromatase. The results suggest that while VEGF expression in the preovulatory follicle is under gonadotrophic control, it is not dependent on normal gonadotrophin secretion in tertiary follicles, indicating that there are other paracrine factors regulating VEGF expression in the developing ovarian follicle. The second chapter extends the findings by determining granulosa cell response to FSH stimulation with respect to induction of the VEGF and aromatase genes.2) What is the effect of inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor, using the antagonist, VEGF trap R1R2, on follicular angiogenesis, follicular development, ovulation and the establishment of the corpus luteum (CL)? The hypothesis being tested was that VEGF is essential for increasing permeability and the growth of the selected follicles. The immunocytochemical techniques used in the first study were again employed. The effect of treatment on the molecular regulation of angiogenesis was assessed by in situ hybridisation of mRNA for VEGF and its two receptors. In vivo inhibition of VEGF caused dramatic reductions in angiogenesis and in VEGF receptor expression but did not reliably prevent dominant follicle growth or ovulation once dominant follicle selection had occurred.3) Is a novel factor, endocrine gland vascular endothelial growth factor (EGVEGF) expressed in our animal model? The hypothesis being tested was that EGVEGF is an additional angiogenic factor that is expressed in the marmoset and the human ovary. This was assessed by in situ hybridisation in various marmoset tissues as well as in the human corpus luteum. Findings demonstrated that EG-VEGF is expressed in the granulosa lutein cells in the human corpus luteum while the marmoset ovary does not appear to express EG-VEGF.This thesis has improved our understanding of the gonadotrophic control of follicular angiogenesis and the role VEGF plays in the latter stages of folliculogenesis

Policy Implementation Analysis of District Health System to Improve Health Services: Study in North Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesis

Context: Improving degree of public health in a region requires quality health services. For this reason, district health system has been formed which can be implemented comprehensively to the target community. A study is needed to find out the factors that influence policy implementation so that quality of health services can be improved. This study used quantitative method with structural equation models to find patterns of the relationship between the district health system and health services. The results showed that there are 7 indicators that are part of the district health system factors, 2 indicators that are part of the resposivensss factor, 8 indicators that are part of the policy implementation factor, and 3 indicators that are part of the health service factor. These indicators have loading factor ≥ 0.5. The district health system consisting of 7 subsystems if properly implemented will have a positive impact on health services by 1.98. Contribution of policy implementation in improving health services will be great if the district health system is implemented together with responsiveness, so that the total effect becomes 2.20

The History and Practice of College Health

This volume is the first definitive reference and textbook in the one-hundred-fifty year history of college health. Written for professionals and for those working in student services and higher education administration, it covers the history of college health, administrative matters including financing and accreditation, and clinical issues such as women’s health, HIV/AIDS, and mental health. The book also focuses on prevention, including immunization and tuberculin testing. The contributors are well respected in the field and are actively working in the specific areas on which they write. H. Spencer Turner, MD, is director of the University Health Service and clinical professor of preventative medicine and environmental health at the University of Kentucky. Janet L. Hurley, Ph.D., is the Associate Director and Administrator of the University of Kentucky\u27s Health Service.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_history_of_science_technology_and_medicine/1003/thumbnail.jp

Federal Register

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii