Unsupervised detection and localization of structural textures using projection profiles

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The main goal of existing approaches for structural texture analysis has been the identification of repeating texture primitives and their placement patterns in images containing a single type of texture. We describe a novel unsupervised method for simultaneous detection and localization of multiple structural texture areas along with estimates of their orientations and scales in real images. First, multi-scale isotropic filters are used to enhance the potential texton locations. Then, regularity of the textons is quantified in terms of the periodicity of projection profiles of filter responses within sliding windows at multiple orientations. Next, a regularity index is computed for each pixel as the maximum regularity score together with its orientation and scale. Finally, thresholding of this regularity index produces accurate localization of structural textures in images containing different kinds of textures as well as non-textured areas. Experiments using three different data sets show the effectiveness of the proposed method in complex scenes.(C)2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Macroeconomic Causality Regimes

We investigate regime-dependent Granger causality between real output, in ation and monetary indicators and map with U.S. Fed Chairperson's tenure since 1965. While all monetary indicators have causal predictive content in certain time periods, we report that the Federal Funds rate (FFR) and Domestic Money (DM) are substitutes in their role as lead or feedback variables to explain variations in real output and in ation. We provide a comprehensive account of evolution of causal relationships associated with all US Fed Chairpersons we consider

Automatic detection and segmentation of orchards using very high-resolution imagery

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Spectral information alone is often not sufficient to distinguish certain terrain classes such as permanent crops like orchards, vineyards, and olive groves from other types of vegetation. However, instances of these classes possess distinctive spatial structures that can be observable in detail in very high spatial resolution images. This paper proposes a novel unsupervised algorithm for the detection and segmentation of orchards. The detection step uses a texture model that is based on the idea that textures are made up of primitives (trees) appearing in a near-regular repetitive arrangement (planting patterns). The algorithm starts with the enhancement of potential tree locations by using multi-granularity isotropic filters. Then, the regularity of the planting patterns is quantified using projection profiles of the filter responses at multiple orientations. The result is a regularity score at each pixel for each granularity and orientation. Finally, the segmentation step iteratively merges neighboring pixels and regions belonging to similar planting patterns according to the similarities of their regularity scores and obtains the boundaries of individual orchards along with estimates of their granularities and orientations. Extensive experiments using Ikonos and QuickBird imagery as well as images taken from Google Earth show that the proposed algorithm provides good localization of the target objects even when no sharp boundaries exist in the image data. © 2012 IEEE

Impact of quercetin supplementation on testicular functions in summer heat-stressed rabbits

[EN] The current study was designed to determine the effects of dietary quercetin on epididymal sperm and testicular changes in male rabbits during summer heat stress (HS). Twelve adult male New Zealand white rabbits were submitted to summer heat conditions (temperature-humidity index 29.9±1.2). One group was fed a basal ration (BR; n=6), whereas the other group was fed the same basal diet supplemented with quercetin (30 mg/kg d; Que-BR; n=6) for 60 d, and both groups were sacrificed at the end of the experiment. Epididymis and testicles isolation was done for sperm, histopathology and apoptosis assessments. The results showed that quercetin improved epididymis weight, but did not affect other testicular dimensions except testicular length. A significant improvement was observed in epididymal sperm motility, concentration, kinematic parameters, viability, mitochondrial potential and acrosome integrity in Que-BR compared to the BR group. Lowered serum malondialdehyde level was observed in quercetin supplemented rabbits. Moreover, the quercetin supplementation maintained the interstitial stroma, seminiferous tubules architecture, germinal and Sertoli cells under HS, decreasing the apoptotic germ cell rate in seminiferous tubules. In conclusion, HS condition affects the sperm and testes configurations in rabbits and dietary quercetin minimises oxidative stress, which in turn protects the testes and sperm against HS induced damage.The financial support for this work was granted by ADU-BAP, Project number VTF-15034, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey.Naseer, Z.; Ahmad, E.; Aksoy, M.; Epikmen, E. (2020). Impact of quercetin supplementation on testicular functions in summer heat-stressed rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 28(1):19-27. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2020.12420OJS1927281Abarikwu S.O., Pant A.B., Farombi E.O. 2012. The protective effects of quercetin on the cytotoxicity of atrazine on rat Sertoli-germ cell co-culture. Int. J. Androlog., 35: 590-600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2605.2011.01239.xAbd-Ellah M.F., Aly H.A., Mokhlis H.A., Abdel-Aziz A.H. 2016. Quercetin attenuates di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-induced testicular toxicity in adult rats. Human Experiment. Toxicol., 35: 232-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0960327115580602Aldemir M., Okulu E., Kosemehmetoglu K., Ener K., Topal F., Evirgen O., Gurleyik E., Avcı A. 2014. Evaluation of the protective effect of quercetin against cisplatin-induced renal and testis tissue damage and sperm parameters in rats. Andrologia, 46: 1089-1097. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12197Al-Omair M.A., Sedky A., Ali A., Elsawy H. 2017. Ameliorative potentials of quercetin against lead-ınduced hematological and testicular alterations in albino rats. Chinese J. Physiol., 60: 54-61. https://doi.org/10.4077/CJP.2017.BAF440Altintas R., Ciftci O., Aydin M., Akpolat N., Oguz F., Beytur A. 2015. Quercetin prevents docetaxel-induced testicular damage in rats. Andrologia, 47: 248-256. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12253AOAC. 2000. Official Methods of Analysis. 17th Ed. The Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.Baccetti B., Collodel G., Piomboni P. 1996. Apoptosis in human ejaculated sperm cells (Notulae seminologicae 9). J. Submicro. Cytol. Pathol., 28: 587-596.Badr G.M., Elsawy H., Sedky A., Eid R., Ali A., Abdallah B.M., Alzahrani A.M., Abdel-Moneim A.M. 2019. Protective effects of quercetin supplementation against short-term toxicity of cadmium-induced hematological impairment, hypothyroidism, and testicular disturbances in albino rats. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 26: 8202-8211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04276-1Bharti S., Misro M.M., Rai U. 2014. Quercetin supplementation restores testicular function and augments germ cell survival in the estrogenized rats. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol., 383: 10-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2013.11.021Ciftci O., Aydin M., Ozdemir I., Vardi N. 2012. Quercetin prevents 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-induced testicular damage in rats. Andrologia, 44: 164-173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2010.01126.xEl-Hanoun A.M., Elkomy A.E., Fares W.A., Shahien E.H. 2014. Impact of royal jelly to improve reproductive performance of male rabbits under hot summer conditions. World Rabbit Sci., 22: 241-248. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2014.1677Fanaei H., Khayat S., Halvaei I., Ramezani V., Azizi Y., Kasaeian A., Mardaneh J., Parvizi M.R., Akrami M. 2014. Effects of ascorbic acid on sperm motility, viability, acrosome reaction and DNA integrity in teratozoospermic samples. Iranian J. Reproduct. Med., 12: 103-110.Farombi E.O., Adedara I.A., Akinrinde S.A., Ojo O.O., Eboh A.S. 2012. Protective effects of kolaviron and quercetin on cadmium-induced testicular damage and endocrine pathology in rats. Andrologia, 44: 273-284. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2012.01279.xFilho J.S., Corcini C.D., Santos F.C.C., Anciuti A.N., Gatti N.L.S., Anastacio E., Mielke R., Nogueira C.E.W., Curcio B.R., Jr Varela A.S. 2017. Quercetin in equine frozen semen. Cryo Letters, 38: 299-304.Gong Y., Guo H., Zhang Z., Zhou H., Zhao R., He B. 2017. Heat stress reduces sperm motility via activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3α and inhibition of mitochondrial protein import. Front. Physiol., 8: 718. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00718Guo H., Gong Y., He B., Zhao R. 2017. Relationships between mitochondrial DNA content, mitochondrial activity, and boar sperm motility Theriogenology, 87: 276-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.09.005Hu J., Yu Q., Zhao F., Ji J., Jiang Z., Chen X., Gao P., Ren Y., Shao S., Zhang L., Yan M. 2015. Protection of quercetin against triptolide-induced apoptosis by suppressing oxidative stress in rat leydig cells. Chem. Biol. Interact., 240: 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2015.08.004Jahan S., Ain Q.U., Ullah H. 2016. Therapeutic effects of quercetin against bisphenol A induced testicular damage in male Sprague Dawley rats. Sys. Biol. Reprod. Med., 62: 114-124. https://doi.org/10.3109/19396368.2015.1115139Kanter M., Aktas C., Erboga M. 2011. Heat stress decreases testicular germ cell ‐proliferation and increases apoptosis in short term: an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study. Toxicol. Ind. Health, 29: 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233711425082Khaki A., Fathiazad F., Nouri M., Khaki A., Maleki N.A., Khamnei H.J., Ahmadi P. 2010. Beneficial effects of quercetin on sperm parameters in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats. Phytother. Res., 24: 1285-1291. https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.3100Khorsandi L., Orazizadeh M., Moradi-Gharibvand N., Hemadi M., Mansouri E. 2017. Beneficial effects of quercetin on titanium dioxide nanoparticles induced spermatogenesis defects in mice. Environment. Sci. Pollut. Res., 24: 5595-5606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8325-2Li G., Ma A., Shi W., Zhong X.H. 2010. Quercetin protects hamster spermatogenic cells from oxidative damage induced by diethylstilbestrol. Andrologia, 42: 285-290. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0272.2009.00990.xLiang X., Xia Z., Yan J., Wang Y., Xue S., Zhang X. 2016. Quercetin inhibits human sperm functions by reducing sperm [Ca2+]i and tyrosine phosphorylation. Pakistan J. Pharmaceutic. Sci., 29: 2391-2396.Maneesh M., Jayalekshmi H., Dutta S., Chakrabarti A., Vasudevan D.M. 2005. Role of oxidative stress in ethanol induced germ cell apoptosis - An experimental study in rats. Indian J. Clinic. Biochem., 20: 62-67. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02867402Marai I.F. M., Habeeb A.A.M., Gad A.E. 2002. Rabbits' productive, reproductive and physiological performance traits as affected by heat stress: A review. Livest. Prod. Sci., 78: 71-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-6226(02)00091-XMoridani M.Y., Pourahmad J., Bui H., Siraki A., O'Brien P.J. 2003. Dietary flavonoid iron complexes as cytoprotective superoxide radical scavengers. Free Radic. Biol. Med., 34: 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(02)01241-8Naseer Z., Ahmad E., Şahiner H.S., Epikmen E.T., Fiaz M., Yousuf M.R., Khan S.A., Serin İ., Ceylan A., Aksoy M. 2018. Dietary quercetin maintains the semen quality in rabbits under summer heat stress. Theriogenology, 122: 88-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.09.009Odet F., Gabel S., London R.E., Goldberg E., Eddy E.M. 2013. Glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in mouse LDHC-null sperm. Biol. Reprod., 88: 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.113.108530Osawe S.O., Farombi E.O. 2018. 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TMC Behavior Modeling and Life Prediction Under Multiaxial Stresses

The goal of this program was to manufacture and burst test small diameter SCS-6/Ti-6Al-4V composite rings for use in the design of an advanced titanium matrix composite (TMC) impeller. The Textron Specialty Metals grooved foil-fiber process was successfully used to make high quality TMC rings. A novel spin test arbor with "soft touch" fingers to retain the TMC ring was designed and manufactured. The design of the arbor took into account its use for cyclic experiments as well as ring burst tests. Spin testing of the instrumented ring was performed at ambient, 149C (300F), and 316C (600F) temperatures. Assembly vibration was encountered during spin testing but this was overcome through simple modification of the arbor. A spin-to-burst test was successfully completed at 316C (600F). The rotational speed of the TMC ring at burst was close to that predicted. In addition to the spin test program, a number of SCS-6/Ti-6Al-4V test panels were made. Neat Ti-6Al-4V panels also were made

Preface

[No abstract available

The atypical E2F family member E2F7 couples the p53 and RB pathways during cellular senescence

Oncogene-induced senescence is an anti-proliferative stress response program that acts as a fail-safe mechanism to limit oncogenic transformation and is regulated by the retinoblastoma protein (RB) and p53 tumor suppressor pathways. We identify the atypical E2F family member E2F7 as the only E2F transcription factor potently up-regulated during oncogene-induced senescence, a setting where it acts in response to p53 as a direct transcriptional target. Once induced, E2F7 binds and represses a series of E2F target genes and cooperates with RB to efficiently promote cell cycle arrest and limit oncogenic transformation. Disruption of RB triggers a further increase in E2F7, which induces a second cell cycle checkpoint that prevents unconstrained cell division despite aberrant DNA replication. Mechanistically, E2F7 compensates for the loss of RB in repressing mitotic E2F target genes. Together, our results identify a causal role for E2F7 in cellular senescence and uncover a novel link between the RB and p53 pathways

Treatment Challenges in Pediatric Stroke Patients

Aim. In this study we presented our experience of 18 years on the etiology, risk factors, prophylactic and acute treatment, the effect of treatment to recurrence rate of patients with stroke. Methods. The population included 108 patients who had been treated for stroke at Pediatric Neurology Department of Ankara University with the diagnosis of arterial ischemic stroke and sinovenous thrombosis between January 1992 and August 2010. Forty-one girls (38%) and 67 boys (62%) with mean symptom age 3.1 ± 4.04 years, (0–18 years old) were followed up with a mean period of 4.9 ± 3.78 years (0–17 years). Results. 30 patients had no risk factors, 34 patients had only one risk factor and 44 patients had multiple risk factors. Recurrence was seen in three patients. There was no any statistical correlation between the recurrence of stroke and the existence of risk factors (P = .961). Seventeen patients received prophylactic treatment; 2 of them without any risk factors, 3 had one risk factor, 12 patients, who constituted the majority of our patients, had multiple risk factors (P = .024). Conclusion. With this study we showed that the right prophylaxis for right patients reduces the rate of recurrence

Trade-off between angular and spatial resolutions in in vivo fiber tractography

Tractography is becoming an increasingly popular method to reconstruct white matter connections in vivo. The diffusion MRI data that tractography is based on requires a high angular resolution to resolve crossing fibers whereas high spatial resolution is required to distinguish kissing from crossing fibers. However, scan time increases with increasing spatial and angular resolutions, which can become infeasible in clinical settings. Here we investigated the trade-off between spatial and angular resolutions to determine which of these factors is most worth investing scan time in. We created a unique diffusion MRI dataset with 1.0mm isotropic resolution and a high angular resolution (100 directions) using an advanced 3D diffusion-weighted multi-slab EPI acquisition. This dataset was reconstructed to create subsets of lower angular (75, 50, and 25 directions) and lower spatial (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5mm) resolution. Using all subsets, we investigated the effects of angular and spatial resolutions in three fiber bundles-the corticospinal tract, arcuate fasciculus and corpus callosum-by analyzing the volumetric bundle overlap and anatomical correspondence between tracts. Our results indicate that the subsets of 25 and 50 directions provided inferior tract reconstructions compared with the datasets with 75 and 100 directions. Datasets with spatial resolutions of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0mm were comparable, while the lowest resolution (2.5mm) datasets had discernible inferior quality. In conclusion, we found that angular resolution appeared to be more influential than spatial resolution in improving tractography results. Spatial resolutions higher than 2.0mm only appear to benefit multi-fiber tractography methods if this is not at the cost of decreased angular resolution