A Framework for Object Detection and Segmentation in Medical Images Using Arbitrary Shapes

Detection and segmentation objects are crucial to extract useful information from medical images [1] and still challenging tasks in CAD software development. Due to the irregular structure and high variability of objects of interest, there is no universal solution for detecting objects and segmenting them in all kinds of medical images. This work is a part of a larger project aimed mostly at detection, coarse segmentation and visualization of given objects in microscope images. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a robust framework to facilitate detecting objects with arbitrary size and shape and segmenting them in different kinds of medical images with the help of a library of irregular smooth shapes

Multi-Objective Optimization of Demand Side Management and Multi DG in the Distribution System with Demand Response

The optimal management of distributed generation (DG) enhances the efficiency of the distribution system; On the other hand, increasing the interest of customers in optimizing their consumption improves the performance of DG. This act is called demand side management. In this study, a new method based on the intelligent algorithm is proposed to optimal operate the demand side management in the presence of DG units and demand response. Firstly, the best location and capacity of different technologies of DG are selected by optimizing the technical index including the active and reactive loss and the voltage profile. Secondly, the daily performance of multi-DG and grid is optimized with and without considering the demand response. The economic and environmental indices are optimized in this step. In both steps, the non-dominated sorting firefly algorithm is utilized to multi-objective optimize the objective functions and then the fuzzy decision-making method is used to select the best result from the Pareto optimal solutions. Finally, the proposed method is implemented on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system and actual 101-bus distribution systems in Khoy-Iran. The obtained numerical results indicate the impact of the proposed method on improving the technical, economic and environmental indices of the distribution system

Paraplégie compliquant une plaie abdominale antérieure par arme blanche

Les traumatismes médullaires sont des complications rares des plaies  abdominales antérieures par arme blanche. Son diagnostic est difficile parfoisretardé. L'imagerie par résonance magnétique reste l'examen de choix. Le traitement dépend du tableau clinique et de la gravité de la souffrance médullaire. Le pronostic est corrélé à l'étendue et à la nature de la lésion médullaire. Nous rapportons un cas exceptionnel d'un traumatisme médullaire chez une patiente victime d'une plaie abdominale antérieure par arme  blanche

Antifungal and Antioxidant Activity of Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus Essential Oil

The essential oil of air-dried Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus, plant of southern Morocco, obtained by hydrodistillation were analysed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Twenty eight compound accounting 69.14% of the total oil was identified. The oxygenated sesquiterpenes 6-oxocyclonerolidol (30.72%) and epi-?-cadinol (14.50%) were the main constituents. The essential oil was tested for antifungal activity through mycelial growth inhibition tests in vitro against three agricultural pathogenic fungi: Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum and Botrytis cinerea. The essential oil at 125, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm was highly effective against mycelial growth of P. digitatum with 100% inhibition from the first day of incubation. Complete inhibition was also observed at 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm concentrations of the essential oil from the first day of incubation for P. expansum. The doses 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm showed a percentage inhibition of 100% from day one for B. cinerea. Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil was also tested at different concentrations on Citrus fruits (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Nules) inoculated with P. digitatum (105 conidia ml-1, giving a fungistatic or fungicidal effect. In addition, the oil was subjected to screening for its possible antioxidant activity. For that, the in vitro assay based on the scavenging of the stable radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used. The Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil gave a value of CI50 0.2498 mg/ml. It inhibition percentage of free radical was slightly lower than that of BHT (the control compound) for all concentrations used. Our findings demonstrate that Asteriscus graveolens subsp. odorus essential oil possesses antioxidant and antifungal activities that might be a natural potential source of preservative and antifungal compounds used in food, in cosmetics and in pharmaceuticals products. Keywords: Medicinal plant, antifungal activity, antioxidant activity, citrus fruits, natural product

Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) simulation for studying the impact of atherosclerosis on hemodynamics, arterial tissue remodeling, and initiation risk of intracranial aneurysms

The biomechanical and hemodynamic effects of atherosclerosis on the initiation of intracranial aneurysms (IA) are not yet clearly discovered. Also, studies for the observation of hemodynamic variation due to atherosclerotic stenosis and its impact on arterial remodeling and aneurysm genesis remain a controversial field of vascular engineering. The majority of studies performed are relevant to computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. CFD studies are limited in consideration of blood and arterial tissue interactions. In this work, the interaction of the blood and vessel tissue because of atherosclerotic occlusions is studied by developing a fluid and structure interaction (FSI) analysis for the first time. The FSI presents a semi-realistic simulation environment to observe how the blood and vessels' structural interactions can increase the accuracy of the biomechanical study results. In the first step, many different intracranial vessels are modeled for an investigation of the biomechanical and hemodynamic effects of atherosclerosis in arterial tissue remodeling. Three physiological conditions of an intact artery, the artery with intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS), and an atherosclerotic aneurysm (ACA) are employed in the models with required assumptions. Finally, the obtained outputs are studied with comparative and statistical analyses according to the intact model in a normal physiological condition. The results show that existing occlusions in the cross-sectional area of the arteries play a determinative role in changing the hemodynamic behavior of the arterial segments. The undesirable variations in blood velocity and pressure throughout the vessels increase the risk of arterial tissue remodeling and aneurysm formation

СЕГМЕНТАЦИЯ ОБЪЕКТОВ НА БИОМЕДИЦИНСКИХ ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЯХ С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ БИБЛИОТЕКИ ШАБЛОНОВ

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a robust framework to facilitate simultaneous detection and segmentation of objects with arbitrary size and shape on different kinds of medical images using a library of arbitrary irregular smooth shapes.Рассматривается система компьютеризированной диагностики для обнаружения объектов с произвольными размерами и формой и сегментации их на медицинских изображениях различной мо-дальности с использованием библиотеки шаблонов нерегулярной гладкой формы

Using fibrincollagen composite hydrogel and silk for bio-inspired design of tympanic membrane grafts: a vibro-acoustic analysis

Tympanic membrane (TM) is vulnerable to a variety of middle ear diseases. In some cases, reconstruction or repair of the TM is essential for recovering the hearing. Although there are many kinds of materials and therapeutics for TM reconstruction, tissue engineering of the TM is still in its initial steps of advancement. Treatment of damaged TM is usually carried out by otology-related techniques such as myringoplasty and tympanoplasty. Most of the novel tympanoplasty methods employ artificial grafts made of biomaterials and polymers for scaffolds. One biomaterial candidate for design and fabrication of synthetic grafts is spider silk, which has excellent mechanical and acoustic characteristics. On the other hand, the structural function of the spider web is also one of the potential inspirations for designing tissue-engineered grafts on micro-scale explorations. In this study, a bio-inspired design and analysis of silky TM grafts are carried out employing finite element modeling and vibro-acoustic investigation. A comparative and statistical analysis is also performed with experimentally validated data to check the suitability of the materials and design. The numerical study shows that the proposed bio-inspired models are appropriate for TM graft design and fabrication. The effects of inspired architecture and materials on obtaining an optimum design for TM grafts are put into evidence via a parametric study, and pertinent conclusions are outlined

SWPT: An automated GIS-based tool for prioritization of sub-watersheds based on morphometric and topo-hydrological factors

© 2019 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University The sub-watershed prioritization is the ranking of different areas of a river basin according to their need to proper planning and management of soil and water resources. Decision makers should optimally allocate the investments to critical sub-watersheds in an economically effective and technically efficient manner. Hence, this study aimed at developing a user-friendly geographic information system (GIS) tool, Sub-Watershed Prioritization Tool (SWPT), using the Python programming language to decrease any possible uncertainty. It used geospatial–statistical techniques for analyzing morphometric and topo-hydrological factors and automatically identifying critical and priority sub-watersheds. In order to assess the capability and reliability of the SWPT tool, it was successfully applied in a watershed in the Golestan Province, Northern Iran. Historical records of flood and landslide events indicated that the SWPT correctly recognized critical sub-watersheds. It provided a cost-effective approach for prioritization of sub-watersheds. Therefore, the SWPT is practically applicable and replicable to other regions where gauge data is not available for each sub-watershed

Chemical Composition and Anticandidal Effect of Three Thymus Species Essential Oils from Southwest of Morocco against the Emerging Nosocomial Fluconazole-Resistant Strains

The purpose of this present work is to study the essential oils composition of three endemic Thymus species from southwest of Morocco: Thymus satureioides Coss., Thymus pallidus Batt. and Thymus leptobotrys Murb., as well as their antifungal activity towards nineteen strains of emerging nosocomial Fluconazole-resistant Candida species. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined by capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry analysis. The results reveal qualitative and quantitative variation in composition of Thymus species. Seventy-three different compounds, 56 for T. satureioides accounting for 99.97% of the total essential oil, 52 for T. pallidus, accounting for 98.94% of the total essential oil, and 40 for T. leptobotrys accounting for 99.20%, were determined. The results obtained for the anticandidal disc-diffusion assay shows that the 19 strains of Candida species tested were inhibited by the Moroccan Thymus essential oils to a varying degree, with the diameters of the inhibition zone ranging from 49±1.00 to 85±1.15 mm. There were significant differences (p ? 0.05) in the antifungal activities of the essential oils on all species tested who showed larger inhibition zones than the positive control fluconazole and amphotericine B. Candida albicans showed a high sensitivity to essential oils of Thymus pallidus and Thymus leptobotrys compared with essential oil of Thymus satureioides and controls. While non- albicans Candida species showed less sensitivity to essential oils of Thymus pallidus and Thymus leptobotrys and are more sensitive to essential oils of Thymus satureioides than Candida albicans. Interestingly C. krusei, C. dubliniensis and C. glabrata were found to be resistant to conventional antifungal (fluconazole and amphotericine B), while our essential oils tested were able to inhibit the growth of Candida strains resistant to antifungal agents. The value of Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimal Fungicidal Concentration (MFC) of the Thymus essential oils studied ranges from 0.33 mg/mL to 0.91 mg/mL. All the essential oils possessed higher antifungal potential than classical fungicide. Keywords: Thymus species, essential oils, anticandidal activity, Nosocomial fluconazole-resistant strains

Les entérobactéries sécrétrices de béta-Lactamases à spectre étendu en urologie à l’Hôpital Ibn Sina de Rabat

L’antibiorésistance croissante des bactéries responsables des infections urinaires limite le choix des antibiotiques en chirurgie urologique. Parmi ces germes sont retrouvées les entérobactéries productrices de bétalactamases à spectre élargi (EBLSE) dont la progression devient inquiétante. L’objectif de cette étude était de déterminer la prévalence des entérobactéries sécrétrices de BLSE dans les prélèvements d’urines en péri opératoire de chirurgie urologique. Il s’agissait d’une étude rétrospective réalisée au centre hospitalier universitaire Ibn Sina de Rabat sur une période de 19 mois. N’ont pas été inclus dans cette étude, les prélèvements urinaires réalisés à dans un laboratoire externe. Les données étaient traitées avec le logiciel SPSS, les comparaisons faites par test du Khi deux ou de Student avec un seuil de risque alpha fixé à 5%. Sur 830 prélèvements positifs 656 étaient des entérobactéries soit 79 % des germes isolés. E.coli représentait 53,2%, K.pneumoniae 28%, E.cloacae 7,8% et P.mirabillis 7%. Les producteurs de BLSE représentaient 17,5% de l’échantillon avec: E.coli (12,3%), K.pneumoniae (23,6%), E.cloacae (39,2%) et P.mirabillis (6,7%). On note une augmentation de la prévalence des entérobactéries BLSE entre 2008 et 2009 : respectivement de 14,4% à 22,3% des entérobactéries isolées; pour E.coli de 32,76% à 40,68% et pour K.pneumoniae de 34,48% à 42,37%. Plusieurs facteurs de risque d’acquisition des EBLSE sont rapportés dans la littérature, dont principalement l’utilisation antérieure d’antibiotiques par ces patients. Une politique de gestion rationnelle des antibiotiques en ambulatoire et au sein des établissements de santé contribuera à une réduction de l’émergence des germes résistant