1,485 research outputs found
Visualizing Structures in Confocal Microscopy Datasets Through Clusterization: A Case Study on Bile Ducts
Aiming at a better result from previous works, we employed
some heuristics found in the literature to determine
the appropriate parameters for the clustering. We proposed
our methodology by adding some steps to be performed
before the clustering phase: one step for pre-processing
the volumetric dataset and another to analyzing candidate
features to guide the clustering. In this latter aspect, we
provide an interesting contribution: we have explored the
gradient magnitude as a feature that allowed to extract relevant
information from the density-based spatial clustering.
Besides the fact that DBSCAN allows easy detection of
noise points, an interesting result for both datasets was
that the first and largest cluster found as significant for the
visualization represents the structure of interest. In the red
channel, this cluster represents the most prominent vessels,
while in the green channel, the peribiliary glands were made
more evident.Abstract—Three-dimensional datasets from biological tissues
have increased with the evolution of confocal microscopy. Hepatology
researchers have used confocal microscopy for investigating
the microanatomy of bile ducts. Bile ducts are complex
tubular tissues consisting of many juxtaposed microstructures
with distinct characteristics. Since confocal images are difficult
to segment because of the noise introduced during the specimen
preparation, traditional quantitative analyses used in medical
datasets are difficult to perform on confocal microscopy data
and require extensive user intervention. Thus, the visual exploration
and analysis of bile ducts pose a challenge in hepatology
research, requiring different methods. This paper investigates
the application of unsupervised machine learning to extract
relevant structures from confocal microscopy datasets representing
bile ducts. Our approach consists of pre-processing,
clustering, and 3D visualization. For clustering, we explore
the density-based spatial clustering for applications with noise
(DBSCAN) algorithm, using gradient information for guiding
the clustering. We obtained a better visualization of the most
prominent vessels and internal structures.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A Multilayer Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Extreme Learning Machine for the recognition of walking activities and gait events using wearable sensors
In this paper, a novel Multilayer Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Extreme Learning Machine (ML-IT2-FELM) for the recognition of walking activities and Gait events is presented. The ML-IT2-FELM uses a
hierarchical learning scheme that consists of multiple layers of IT2 Fuzzy Autoencoders (FAEs), followed by a final classification layer based on an IT2-FELM architecture. The core building block
in the ML-IT2-FELM is the IT2-FELM, which is a generalised model of the Interval Type-2 Radial Basis Function Neural Network (IT2-RBFNN) and that is functionally equivalent to a class of simplified IT2 Fuzzy Logic Systems (FLSs). Each FAE in the ML-IT2-FELM employs an output layer with a direct-defuzzification process based on the Nie-Tan algorithm, while the IT2-FELM classifier includes a Karnik-Mendel type-reduction method (KM). Real data was collected using three inertial measurements units attached to the thigh, shank and foot of twelve healthy participants. The validation of the ML-IT2-FELM method is performed with two different experiments.
The first experiment involves the recognition of three different walking activities: Level-Ground Walking (LGW), Ramp Ascent (RA) and Ramp Descent (RD). The second experiment consists
of the recognition of stance and swing phases during the gait cycle. In addition, to compare the efficiency of the ML-IT2-FELM with other ML fuzzy methodologies, a kernel-based ML-IT2-FELM
that is inspired by kernel learning and called KML-IT2-FELM is also implemented. The results from the recognition of walking activities and gait events achieved an average accuracy of 99.98% and 99.84% with a decision time of 290.4ms and 105ms, respectively, by the ML-IT2-FELM, while the KML-IT2-FELM achieved an average accuracy of 99.98% and 99.93% with a decision time of 191.9ms and 94ms. The experiments demonstrate that the ML-IT2-FELM is not only an effective
Fuzzy Logic-based approach in the presence of sensor noise, but also a fast extreme learning machine for the recognition of different walking activities
Prevalence and Penetrance of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Germline Mutations in Colombian Breast Cancer Patients
9 páginasPathogenic BRCA1/2 germline mutations confer high risks of breast and ovarian cancer to women of European ancestry. Characterization of BRCA1/2 mutations in other ethnic groups is also medically important. We comprehensively screened 68 Colombian breast/ovarian cancer families for small-range mutations, 221 families for large-genomic rearrangements, and 1,022 unselected breast cancer cases for Colombian founder mutations in BRCA1/2. The risk of cancer among relatives of mutation carriers and the mutation penetrance were estimated by survival analysis. Identified BRCA2 mutations included 6310delGA and the recurrent 1991del4 mutations. A novel large BRCA2 deletion was found in 0.9% of the screened families. Among unselected breast cancer cases, 3.3% tested positive for BRCA1/3450del4, 2.2% for BRCA1/A1708E, 1.1% for BRCA2/3034del4, and 0.4% for BRCA2/1991del4. Female relatives of carriers of BRCA1/2 founder mutations showed a 5.90 times higher risk of breast cancer, when the woman herself carried a BRCA1 mutation compared to a non-carrier (95% CI 2.01–17.3). The estimated cumulative risk of breast cancer by age 70 years for BRCA1 mutations carriers was 14% (95% CI 5–38) compared to 3% for the general Colombian population (relative risk of breast cancer 4.05). Together with known founder mutations, reported novel variants may ease a cost-effective BRCA1/2 screening in women with Colombian ancestry
Microwave amplification with nanomechanical resonators
Sensitive measurement of electrical signals is at the heart of modern science
and technology. According to quantum mechanics, any detector or amplifier is
required to add a certain amount of noise to the signal, equaling at best the
energy of quantum fluctuations. The quantum limit of added noise has nearly
been reached with superconducting devices which take advantage of
nonlinearities in Josephson junctions. Here, we introduce a new paradigm of
amplification of microwave signals with the help of a mechanical oscillator. By
relying on the radiation pressure force on a nanomechanical resonator, we
provide an experimental demonstration and an analytical description of how the
injection of microwaves induces coherent stimulated emission and signal
amplification. This scheme, based on two linear oscillators, has the advantage
of being conceptually and practically simpler than the Josephson junction
devices, and, at the same time, has a high potential to reach quantum limited
operation. With a measured signal amplification of 25 decibels and the addition
of 20 quanta of noise, we anticipate near quantum-limited mechanical microwave
amplification is feasible in various applications involving integrated
electrical circuits.Comment: Main text + supplementary information. 14 pages, 3 figures (main
text), 18 pages, 6 figures (supplementary information
Non-Gaussianity from isocurvature perturbations
We develop a formalism to study non-Gaussianity in both curvature and
isocurvature perturbations. It is shown that non-Gaussianity in the
isocurvature perturbation between dark matter and photons leaves distinct
signatures in the CMB temperature fluctuations, which may be confirmed in
future experiments, or possibly, even in the currently available observational
data. As an explicit example, we consider the QCD axion and show that it can
actually induce sizable non-Gaussianity for the inflationary scale, H_{inf} =
O(10^9 - 10^{11})GeV.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures; references added; version to appear in JCA
Mechanisms of Psychological Distress following War in the Former Yugoslavia: The Role of Interpersonal Sensitivity
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.This study was funded by a grant from the European Commission, contract number INCO-CT-2004-509176. AN was supported by a Clinical Early Career Research Fellowship (113295) and a Project Grant (104288
Dark Matter Spin-Dependent Limits for WIMP Interactions on 19-F by PICASSO
The PICASSO experiment at SNOLAB reports new results for spin-dependent WIMP
interactions on F using the superheated droplet technique. A new
generation of detectors and new features which enable background discrimination
via the rejection of non-particle induced events are described. First results
are presented for a subset of two detectors with target masses of F of
65 g and 69 g respectively and a total exposure of 13.75 0.48 kgd. No
dark matter signal was found and for WIMP masses around 24 GeV/c new limits
have been obtained on the spin-dependent cross section on F of
= 13.9 pb (90% C.L.) which can be converted into cross section
limits on protons and neutrons of = 0.16 pb and = 2.60 pb
respectively (90% C.L). The obtained limits on protons restrict recent
interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulations in terms of spin-dependent
interactions.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B, 20 pages,
7 figure
Decoupling property of the supersymmetric Higgs sector with four doublets
In supersymmetric standard models with multi Higgs doublet fields,
selfcoupling constants in the Higgs potential come only from the D-terms at the
tree level. We investigate the decoupling property of additional two heavier
Higgs doublet fields in the supersymmetric standard model with four Higgs
doublets. In particular, we study how they can modify the predictions on the
quantities well predicted in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM),
when the extra doublet fields are rather heavy to be measured at collider
experiments. The B-term mixing between these extra heavy Higgs bosons and the
relatively light MSSM-like Higgs bosons can significantly change the
predictions in the MSSM such as on the masses of MSSM-like Higgs bosons as well
as the mixing angle for the two light CP-even scalar states. We first give
formulae for deviations in the observables of the MSSM in the decoupling region
for the extra two doublet fields. We then examine possible deviations in the
Higgs sector numerically, and discuss their phenomenological implications.Comment: 26 pages, 24 figures, text sligtly modified,version to appear in
Journal of High Energy Physic
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