Hausdorff-Distance Enhanced Matching of Scale Invariant Feature Transform Descriptors in Context of Image Querying

Reliable and effective matching of visual descriptors is a key step for many vision applications, e.g. image retrieval. In this paper, we propose to integrate the Hausdorff distance matching together with our pairing algorithm, in order to obtain a robust while computationally efficient process of matching feature descriptors for image-to-image querying in standards datasets. For this purpose, Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors have been matched using our presented algorithm, followed by the computation of our related similarity measure. This approach has shown excellent performance in both retrieval accuracy and speed

Muscle ultrastructural changes from exhaustive exercise performed after prolonged restricted activity and retraining in dogs

The effect of exhaustive treadmill exercise on ultrastructural changes in the quadriceps femoris muscle was studied in 7 normal, healthy dogs, before and after restricted activity (RA), and following a subsequent 2 month treadmill exercise retraining period for the 5 mo group. Mean time to exhaustion in the 2 mo group decreased from 177 + or - 22 min before to 90 + or - 32 min after RA. Retraining increased tolerance to 219 + or - 73 min; 24 pct. above the before RA and 143 pct. above the after RA time. After RA exhaustion time in the 5 mo group was 25 and 45 min. Before RA, pre-exercise muscle structure was normal and post exercise there was only slight swelling of mitochondria. After RA, pre-exercise, numerous glycogen granules and lipid droplets appeared in the muscle fibers, mitochondria were smaller, and sarcoplasmic reticulum channels widened; post exercise these changes were accentuated and some areas were devoid of glycogen, and there was fiber degradation. After 5 mo RA pre-exercise there were more pronounced changes; mitochondria were very small and dense, there were many lipid droplets, myofibrils were often separated, and the fibers appeared edematous and degenerating; post exercise the sarcoplasmic reticulum was swollen, no glycogen was present, and there was marked swelling and deformation of mitochondria. After retraining, both pre-exercise and post exercise there was still evidence of fiber degeneration. Thus, susceptibility of active skeletal muscle structures and subcellular elements, e.g., mitochondria, to the action of damaging factors occurring during exhaustive exercise is enhanced considerably by prolonged disuse

Multicolour interphase cytogenetics: 24 chromosome probes, 6 colours, 4 layers

From the late 1980s onwards, the use of DNA probes to visualise sequences on individual chromosomes (fluorescent in-situ hybridisation - FISH) revolutionised the study of cytogenetics. Following single colour experiments, more fluorochromes were added, culminating in a 24 colour assay that could distinguish all human chromosomes. Interphase cytogenetics (the detection of chromosome copy number in interphase nuclei) soon followed, however 24 colour experiments are hampered for this application as mixing fluorochromes to produce secondary colours produces images that are not easily distinguishable from overlapping signals. This study reports the development and use of a novel protocol, new fast hybridising FISH probes, and a bespoke image capture system for the assessment of chromosome copy number in interphase nuclei. The multicolour probe sets can be used individually or in sequential hybridisation layers to assess ploidy of all 24 human chromosomes in the same nucleus. Applications of this technique are in the investigation of chromosome copy number and the assessment of nuclear organisation for a range of different cell types including human sperm, cancer cells and preimplantation embryos

Differential Expression of Ovine Innate Immune Genes by Preterm and Neonatal Lung Epithelia Infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Preterm infants have increased susceptibility to severe manifestations of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. The cause(s) for this age-dependent vulnerability is/are not well-defined, but alterations in innate immune products have been implicated. In sheep, RSV disease severity has similar age-dependent characteristics and sheep have several related innate molecules for study during pulmonary infection including surfactant protein A (SP-A), surfactant protein D (SP-D), sheep beta defensin 1 (SBD1), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP1), and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). However, the in vivo cellular gene expression as a response to RSV infection is poorly understood. In this study, the effect of RSV infection on expression of these innate immune genes was determined for bovine RSV-infected (bRSV+ fluorescence) epithelial cells, adjacent cells lacking bRSV antigen (adjoining cells lacking fluorescence), and control cells from non-infected lung using laser capture microdissection (LCM) and real-time RT-PCR. Control lambs had increased expression of innate immune molecules in full term (term) compared to preterm epithelia with statistical significance in SBD1, SP-D, and TLR4 mRNA. Infected cells (bRSV+ fluorescent cells) had consistently higher mRNA levels of SP-A (preterm and term), MCP1 (preterm and term), and SP-D (preterm). Interestingly, bRSV- cells of infected term lambs had significantly reduced SP-D mRNA expression compared to bRSV+ and control epithelia, suggesting that RSV infected cells may regulate the adjacent epithelial SP-D expression. This study defines specific innate immune components (e.g., SBD1, SP-D, and TLR4) that have differential age-dependent expression in the airway epithelia. Furthermore, cellular bRSV infection enhanced certain innate immune components while suppressing adjacent cellular SP-D expression in term animals. These in vivo gene expression results provide a framework for future studies on age-dependent susceptibility to RSV and RSV pathogenesis

Polymorphism of the CD36 Gene and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Manifested at a Young Age

This study investigates potential associations between CD36 gene variants and the presence of risk factors in Caucasians with coronary artery disease (CAD) manifested at a young age. The study group consisted of 90 patients; the men were ≤ 50 years old and the women were ≤ 55 years old. Amplicons of exons 4 and 5 including fragments of introns were analyzed by DHPLC. Two polymorphisms were found: IVS3-6 T/C (rs3173798) and IVS4-10 G/A (rs3211892). The C allele of the IVS3-6 T/C polymorphism was associated with higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes, higher hsCRP, lower Lp(a) serum concentrations, and younger age at myocardial infarction. The A allele of the IVS4-10 G/A polymorphism was associated with older age of myocardial infarction and higher white blood cell count. The functional role of CD36 polymorphisms in CAD development needs further research

Objective comparison of methods to decode anomalous diffusion

Deviations from Brownian motion leading to anomalous diffusion are found in transport dynamics from quantum physics to life sciences. The characterization of anomalous diffusion from the measurement of an individual trajectory is a challenging task, which traditionally relies on calculating the trajectory mean squared displacement. However, this approach breaks down for cases of practical interest, e.g., short or noisy trajectories, heterogeneous behaviour, or non-ergodic processes. Recently, several new approaches have been proposed, mostly building on the ongoing machine-learning revolution. To perform an objective comparison of methods, we gathered the community and organized an open competition, the Anomalous Diffusion challenge (AnDi). Participating teams applied their algorithms to a commonly-defined dataset including diverse conditions. Although no single method performed best across all scenarios, machine-learning-based approaches achieved superior performance for all tasks. The discussion of the challenge results provides practical advice for users and a benchmark for developers. Deviations from Brownian motion leading to anomalous diffusion are ubiquitously found in transport dynamics but often difficult to characterize. Here the authors compare approaches for single trajectory analysis through an open competition, showing that machine learning methods outperform classical approaches

Potential therapeutic implications of new insights into respiratory syncytial virus disease

Viral bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization in infants under 6 months of age, and 70% of all cases of bronchiolitis are caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Early RSV infection is associated with respiratory problems such as asthma and wheezing later in life. RSV infection is usually spread by contaminated secretions and infects the upper then lower respiratory tracts. Infected cells release proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and IL-8. These activate other cells and recruit inflammatory cells, including macrophages, neutrophils, eosinophils, and T lymphocytes, into the airway wall and surrounding tissues. The pattern of cytokine production by T lymphocytes can be biased toward 'T-helper-1' or 'T-helper-2' cytokines, depending on the local immunologic environment, infection history, and host genetics. T-helper-1 responses are generally efficient in antiviral defense, but young infants have an inherent bias toward T-helper-2 responses. The ideal intervention for RSV infection would be preventive, but the options are currently limited. Vaccines based on protein subunits, live attenuated strains of RSV, DNA vaccines, and synthetic peptides are being developed; passive antibody therapy is at present impractical in otherwise healthy children. Effective vaccines for use in neonates continue to be elusive but simply delaying infection beyond the first 6 months of life might reduce the delayed morbidity associated with infantile disease