Generalizable automated pixel-level structural segmentation of medical and biological data

Over the years, the rapid expansion in imaging techniques and equipments has driven the demand for more automation in handling large medical and biological data sets. A wealth of approaches have been suggested as optimal solutions for their respective imaging types. These solutions span various image resolutions, modalities and contrast (staining) mechanisms. Few approaches generalise well across multiple image types, contrasts or resolution. This thesis proposes an automated pixel-level framework that addresses 2D, 2D+t and 3D structural segmentation in a more generalizable manner, yet has enough adaptability to address a number of specific image modalities, spanning retinal funduscopy, sequential fluorescein angiography and two-photon microscopy. The pixel-level segmentation scheme involves: i ) constructing a phase-invariant orientation field of the local spatial neighbourhood; ii ) combining local feature maps with intensity-based measures in a structural patch context; iii ) using a complex supervised learning process to interpret the combination of all the elements in the patch in order to reach a classification decision. This has the advantage of transferability from retinal blood vessels in 2D to neural structures in 3D. To process the temporal components in non-standard 2D+t retinal angiography sequences, we first introduce a co-registration procedure: at the pairwise level, we combine projective RANSAC with a quadratic homography transformation to map the coordinate systems between any two frames. At the joint level, we construct a hierarchical approach in order for each individual frame to be registered to the global reference intra- and inter- sequence(s). We then take a non-training approach that searches in both the spatial neighbourhood of each pixel and the filter output across varying scales to locate and link microvascular centrelines to (sub-) pixel accuracy. In essence, this \link while extract" piece-wise segmentation approach combines the local phase-invariant orientation field information with additional local phase estimates to obtain a soft classification of the centreline (sub-) pixel locations. Unlike retinal segmentation problems where vasculature is the main focus, 3D neural segmentation requires additional exibility, allowing a variety of structures of anatomical importance yet with different geometric properties to be differentiated both from the background and against other structures. Notably, cellular structures, such as Purkinje cells, neural dendrites and interneurons, all display certain elongation along their medial axes, yet each class has a characteristic shape captured by an orientation field that distinguishes it from other structures. To take this into consideration, we introduce a 5D orientation mapping to capture these orientation properties. This mapping is incorporated into the local feature map description prior to a learning machine. Extensive performance evaluations and validation of each of the techniques presented in this thesis is carried out. For retinal fundus images, we compute Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves on existing public databases (DRIVE & STARE) to assess and compare our algorithms with other benchmark methods. For 2D+t retinal angiography sequences, we compute the error metrics ("Centreline Error") of our scheme with other benchmark methods. For microscopic cortical data stacks, we present segmentation results on both surrogate data with known ground-truth and experimental rat cerebellar cortex two-photon microscopic tissue stacks.Open Acces

Activation of the pro-resolving receptor Fpr2 attenuates inflammatory microglial activation

Poster number: P-T099 Theme: Neurodegenerative disorders & ageing Activation of the pro-resolving receptor Fpr2 reverses inflammatory microglial activation Authors: Edward S Wickstead - Life Science & Technology University of Westminster/Queen Mary University of London Inflammation is a major contributor to many neurodegenerative disease (Heneka et al. 2015). Microglia, as the resident immune cells of the brain and spinal cord, provide the first line of immunological defence, but can become deleterious when chronically activated, triggering extensive neuronal damage (Cunningham, 2013). Dampening or even reversing this activation may provide neuronal protection against chronic inflammatory damage. The aim of this study was to determine whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation could be abrogated through activation of the receptor Fpr2, known to play an important role in peripheral inflammatory resolution. Immortalised murine microglia (BV2 cell line) were stimulated with LPS (50ng/ml) for 1 hour prior to the treatment with one of two Fpr2 ligands, either Cpd43 or Quin-C1 (both 100nM), and production of nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) were monitored after 24h and 48h. Treatment with either Fpr2 ligand significantly suppressed LPS-induced production of NO or TNFα after both 24h and 48h exposure, moreover Fpr2 ligand treatment significantly enhanced production of IL-10 48h post-LPS treatment. As we have previously shown Fpr2 to be coupled to a number of intracellular signaling pathways (Cooray et al. 2013), we investigated potential signaling responses. Western blot analysis revealed no activation of ERK1/2, but identified a rapid and potent activation of p38 MAP kinase in BV2 microglia following stimulation with Fpr2 ligands. Together, these data indicate the possibility of exploiting immunomodulatory strategies for the treatment of neurological diseases, and highlight in particular the important potential of resolution mechanisms as novel therapeutic targets in neuroinflammation. References Cooray SN et al. (2013). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110: 18232-7. Cunningham C (2013). Glia 61: 71-90. Heneka MT et al. (2015). Lancet Neurol 14: 388-40

Spacelab Science Results Study

Beginning with OSTA-1 in November 1981 and ending with Neurolab in March 1998, a total of 36 Shuttle missions carried various Spacelab components such as the Spacelab module, pallet, instrument pointing system, or mission peculiar experiment support structure. The experiments carried out during these flights included astrophysics, solar physics, plasma physics, atmospheric science, Earth observations, and a wide range of microgravity experiments in life sciences, biotechnology, materials science, and fluid physics which includes combustion and critical point phenomena. In all, some 764 experiments were conducted by investigators from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The purpose of this Spacelab Science Results Study is to document the contributions made in each of the major research areas by giving a brief synopsis of the more significant experiments and an extensive list of the publications that were produced. We have also endeavored to show how these results impacted the existing body of knowledge, where they have spawned new fields, and if appropriate, where the knowledge they produced has been applied

XXIV congreso anual de la sociedad española de ingeniería biomédica (CASEIB2016)

En la presente edición, más de 150 trabajos de alto nivel científico van a ser presentados en 18 sesiones paralelas y 3 sesiones de póster, que se centrarán en áreas relevantes de la Ingeniería Biomédica. Entre las sesiones paralelas se pueden destacar la sesión plenaria Premio José María Ferrero Corral y la sesión de Competición de alumnos de Grado en Ingeniería Biomédica, con la participación de 16 alumnos de los Grados en Ingeniería Biomédica a nivel nacional. El programa científico se complementa con dos ponencias invitadas de científicos reconocidos internacionalmente, dos mesas redondas con una importante participación de sociedades científicas médicas y de profesionales de la industria de tecnología médica, y dos actos sociales que permitirán a los participantes acercarse a la historia y cultura valenciana. Por primera vez, en colaboración con FENIN, seJane Campos, R. (2017). XXIV congreso anual de la sociedad española de ingeniería biomédica (CASEIB2016). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/79277EDITORIA

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Incidence of Injury in Professional Female Soccer

The epidemiology of injury in male professional football is well documented and has been used as a basis to monitor injury trends and implement injury prevention strategies. There are no systematic reviews that have investigated injury incidence in women’s professional football. Therefore, the extent of injury burden in women’s professional football remains unknown. PURPOSE: The primary aim of this study was to calculate an overall incidence rate of injury in senior female professional soccer. The secondary aims were to provide an incidence rate for training and match play. METHODS: PubMed, Discover, EBSCO, Embase and ScienceDirect electronic databases were searched from inception to September 2018. Two reviewers independently assessed study quality using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement using a 22-item STROBE checklist. Seven prospective studies (n=1137 professional players) were combined in a pooled analysis of injury incidence using a mixed effects model. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the Cochrane Q statistic and I2. RESULTS: The epidemiological incidence proportion over one season was 0.62 (95% CI 0.59 - 0.64). Mean total incidence of injury was 3.15 (95% CI 1.54 - 4.75) injuries per 1000 hours. The mean incidence of injury during match play was 10.72 (95% CI 9.11 - 12.33) and during training was 2.21 (95% CI 0.96 - 3.45). Data analysis found a significant level of heterogeneity (total Incidence, X2 = 16.57 P < 0.05; I2 = 63.8%) and during subsequent sub group analyses in those studies reviewed (match incidence, X2 = 76.4 (d.f. = 7), P <0.05; I2 = 90.8%, training incidence, X2 = 16.97 (d.f. = 7), P < 0.05; I2 = 58.8%). Appraisal of the study methodologies revealed inconsistency in the use of injury terminology, data collection procedures and calculation of exposure by researchers. Such inconsistencies likely contribute to the large variance in the incidence and prevalence of injury reported. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated risk of sustaining at least one injury over one football season is 62%. Continued reporting of heterogeneous results in population samples limits meaningful comparison of studies. Standardising the criteria used to attribute injury and activity coupled with more accurate methods of calculating exposure will overcome such limitations