Image Inpainting Based on Wavelet Decomposition

AbstractImage inpainting is an important problem image processing. It is a difficult problem to simultaneously fill-in the texture and structure in regions of missing image information. In order to inpaint the damaged image with both missing the structure and texture information, an image inpainting algorithm based on wavelet decomposition is presented. First the damaged image is decomposed into structure sub-image and texture sub-image using the wavelet transformation. Then, the sub-image with the region of missing information in the structure is reconstructed by Curvature-Driven Diffusions (CDD) algorithm, while the same region in the texture sub-image is filled-in with the improved texture synthesis based on exemplar; Finally, the restored image is given by recombining the structure and texture restored results. A large number of experiments show that the proposed algorithm can quickly and efficiently restore the structure and texture information at the same time, and the visual effects and the Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) is better than the similar algorithms

Testing the Use of a Social Networking App for American Indians Recovering from Addiction

Objectives: American Indians (AIs) have higher rates of addiction than most other groups. Social networking mobile apps are growing in popularity but their use has not been studied among AIs specifically. Methods: This paper describes a pilot program in which 27 AIs recovering from addiction were given access to a mobile app to support addiction recovery (Sober Grid) for up to six months. They completed a technology acceptability survey, monthly surveys of cravings, social connectedness, and quality of life, and a follow-up survey. Their use of the app was also tracked. Findings: We found that individuals in the sample often lacked initial technology access but were widely accepting and trusting of technology use in their recovery. No significant changes were noted in cravings, social connectedness, or quality of life but this was likely due to low initial cravings ratings and the small sample size. We found that the participants varied widely in the features of the app they used most (i.e. adding friends, making posts, commenting on the posts of others, etc.). Conclusions: This pilot indicates that mobile apps to support addiction recovery may be well-accepted by AI individuals. App usage data indicate that apps will be most successful in recovery support if they provide a variety of ways users can interact with others. Larger studies conducted over a longer period of time would be needed to determine how mobile apps can support addiction recovery and help prevent relapses

Untargeted Metabolomic Analysis of Sjögren–Larsson Syndrome Reveals a Distinctive Pattern of Multiple Disrupted Biochemical Pathways

Sjögren–Larsson syndrome (SLS) is a rare inherited neurocutaneous disease characterized by ichthyosis, spastic diplegia or tetraplegia, intellectual disability and a distinctive retinopathy. SLS is caused by bi-allelic mutations in ALDH3A2, which codes for fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH) and results in abnormal lipid metabolism. The biochemical abnormalities in SLS are not completely known, and the pathogenic mechanisms leading to symptoms are still unclear. To search for pathways that are perturbed in SLS, we performed untargeted metabolomic screening in 20 SLS subjects along with age- and sex-matched controls. Of 823 identified metabolites in plasma, 121 (14.7%) quantitatively differed in the overall SLS cohort from controls; 77 metabolites were decreased and 44 increased. Pathway analysis pointed to disrupted metabolism of sphingolipids, sterols, bile acids, glycogen, purines and certain amino acids such as tryptophan, aspartate and phenylalanine. Random forest analysis identified a unique metabolomic profile that had a predictive accuracy of 100% for discriminating SLS from controls. These results provide new insight into the abnormal biochemical pathways that likely contribute to disease in SLS and may constitute a biomarker panel for diagnosis and future therapeutic studies

Biomarkers of Toxic Exposure and Oxidative Stress Among U.S. Adult Users of Premium Cigar Versus Other Cigar Subtypes: 2013-2019

INTRODUCTION: Cigars are currently the second-highest-used combustible tobacco product among U.S. adults, but knowledge about health effects of premium cigars versus other cigar subtype use is limited. AIMS AND METHODS: This study analyzed the biospecimen data (n = 31 875) from Waves 1-5 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, collected during 2013-2019. Multivariable generalized estimation equations, accounting for within-person clustering, were conducted to examine differences in urine biomarkers of exposure (BOE) from five classes of harmful and potentially harmful constituents along with a biomarker of oxidative stress (urine 8-isoprostane) among exclusive users of premium cigars versus other exclusive cigar subtypes (ie, non-premium large cigars, cigarillos, and filtered cigars), cigarettes, and non-tobacco users. RESULTS: In comparison to non-tobacco users, exclusive premium cigar users had higher geometric mean concentrations of the nicotine metabolite cotinine (5.8 vs. 0.5ng/mg, p \u3c .0001), tobacco-specific nitrosamine (TSNA) (4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL): 7.8 vs. 1.3pg/mg, p \u3c .0001), and volatile organic compound (VOC) (N-Acetyl-S-(2-cyanoethyl)-L-cysteine (CYMA, acrylonitrile): 4.7 vs. 1.6ng/mg, p \u3c .0001). Exclusive premium cigar users were less likely to be daily users than other tobacco user groups and had comparable BOEs with exclusive non-premium large cigar users but generally lower BOEs than exclusive cigarillo, filtered cigar, and cigarette smokers. Daily exclusive premium cigar users had similar nicotine and TSNA exposure but lower exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds than exclusive cigarillo and filtered cigar users. CONCLUSIONS: Premium cigar use exhibits different exposure to toxicants from other cigar subtype users. Regulations of premium cigars need to formalize product definition and take the population\u27s health effects into consideration. IMPLICATIONS: This population study provides important information on BOE and potential harm with premium cigar use and its potential health effects. At present, premium cigars appear to pose a relatively low overall population health risk due to low frequency of use. However, future regulation of other tobacco products might change the landscape of premium cigar use and alter the overall health impact

Exposure to Toxicants Associated With Use and Transitions Between Cigarettes, e-Cigarettes, and No Tobacco

Importance: Transitions between e-cigarettes and cigarettes are common among tobacco users, but empirical evidence on the health outcomes of switching tobacco products is scarce. Objectives: To examine changes in urinary biomarkers between baseline and 1-year follow-up among adult tobacco users switching between e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study used data from wave 1 (baseline, September 2013 to December 2014) and wave 2 (1-year follow-up, October 2014 to October 2015) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. A subset of the probability sample of US adults who voluntarily provided biospecimens at 2 waves was analyzed. Participants were divided into 3 mutually exclusive groups at baseline: exclusive cigarette smokers, exclusive e-cigarette users, and dual users. Data analysis was performed in 2021. Exposures: Harmful and potentially harmful constituents included nicotine metabolites, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs; including 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol [NNAL]), metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Main Outcomes and Measures: Within-participant changes in 55 urinary biomarkers of exposure (BOEs) to harmful and potentially harmful constituents were examined using multivariable regression models. Results: Among 3211 participants (55.6% women, 68.3% White, 13.2% Black, and 11.8% Hispanic) at baseline, 21.9% of exclusive cigarette users, 42.8% of exclusive e-cigarette users, and 62.1% of dual users changed product use at follow-up (all percentages are weighted). There was a significant reduction in urine concentrations of TSNAs, PAHs, and VOCs when users transitioned from exclusive cigarette to exclusive e-cigarette use, with a 92% decrease in NNAL, from a mean of 168.4 pg/mg creatinine (95% CI, 102.3-277.1 pg/mg creatinine) to 12.9 pg/mg creatinine (95% CI, 6.4-25.7 pg/mg creatinine; P \u3c .001). A similar panel of BOEs decreased when dual users transitioned to exclusive e-cigarette use; NNAL levels decreased by 96%, from a mean of 143.4 pg/mg creatinine (95% CI, 86.7-237.0 pg/mg creatinine) to 6.3 pg/mg creatinine (95% CI, 3.5-11.4 pg/mg creatinine; P \u3c .001). Nicotine metabolites, TSNAs, PAHs, and VOCs significantly increased when baseline exclusive e-cigarette users transitioned to exclusive cigarette use or dual use. Switching from exclusive cigarette use to dual use was not associated with significant decreases in BOEs. Conclusions and Relevance: This national cohort study provides evidence on the potential harm reduction associated with transitioning from exclusive cigarette use or dual use to exclusive e-cigarette use. e-Cigarettes tend to supplement cigarettes through dual use instead of cessation at the population level. Continuous monitoring of BOE at the population level and assessment of BOE change by product transition are warranted, as well as defined adverse health outcomes

The Dilemma of Diagnosing Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus [T2DM] in Overweight Children and Adolescents

American Diabetes Association [ADA] has recommended that diabetes should be diagnosed when HbA1c is ?6.5%. Subjects with HbA1c of 6.0 to < 6.5% were at the highest-risk for developing diabetes. Objectives: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of HbA1c ? 6.5% to diagnose Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus [T2DM] in overweight children and the adolescents as compared to an oral glucose tolerance test. Retrospective chart review was done from January 2004-December 2008, and search criteria included overweight children who had OGTT and HbA1c done. Based on OGGT we divided the data into normal, impaired and diabetic groups. The results shows that HbA1c cut-off of ? 6.5% had a specificity of 96% and a sensitivity of 40% in accurately diagnosing patients with T2DM. Sixty percent of T2DM and 44.60% of impaired OGTT subjects would show a normal glycemic status if only HbA1c is used to diagnose them. Homeostasis Model of Assessment - Insulin Resistance [HOMA-IR], Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index [QUICKI] and HbA1c levels were statistically significant between normal versus diabetic and normal versus impaired groups [p<0.05]. Due to the low sensitivity of the HbA1c test in diagnosing diabetes, it may result in missed or delayed diagnosis of T2DM if used exclusively to diagnose diabetes

Risk score modeling of multiple gene to gene interactions using aggregated-multifactor dimensionality reduction

BACKGROUND: Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) has been widely applied to detect gene-gene (GxG) interactions associated with complex diseases. Existing MDR methods summarize disease risk by a dichotomous predisposing model (high-risk/low-risk) from one optimal GxG interaction, which does not take the accumulated effects from multiple GxG interactions into account. RESULTS: We propose an Aggregated-Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (A-MDR) method that exhaustively searches for and detects significant GxG interactions to generate an epistasis enriched gene network. An aggregated epistasis enriched risk score, which takes into account multiple GxG interactions simultaneously, replaces the dichotomous predisposing risk variable and provides higher resolution in the quantification of disease susceptibility. We evaluate this new A-MDR approach in a broad range of simulations. Also, we present the results of an application of the A-MDR method to a data set derived from Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis patients treated with methotrexate (MTX) that revealed several GxG interactions in the folate pathway that were associated with treatment response. The epistasis enriched risk score that pooled information from 82 significant GxG interactions distinguished MTX responders from non-responders with 82% accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed A-MDR is innovative in the MDR framework to investigate aggregated effects among GxG interactions. New measures (pOR, pRR and pChi) are proposed to detect multiple GxG interactions

BEL1-like Homeodomain Protein BLH6a Is a Negative Regulator of CAl5H2 in Sinapyl Alcohol Monolignol Biosynthesis in Poplar

Lignin is one of the major components of xylem cell walls in tree stems. The lignin in the wood of most flowering plants (dicotyledonous angiosperms) is typically polymerized from three monolignol precursors, coniferyl alcohol, sinapyl alcohol, and p-coumaroyl alcohol, resulting in guaiacyl (G), syringyl (S), and hydroxyphenyl (H) subunits, respectively. In this study, we focus on the transcriptional regulation of a coniferaldehyde 5-hydroxylase (CAld5H2) gene, which encodes a key enzyme for sinapyl alcohol biosynthesis. We carried out a yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) screen to identify candidate upstream transcription factors (TFs) regulating CAld5H2. We obtained 12 upstream TFs as potential regulators of CAld5H2. One of these TF genes, BLH6a, encodes a BEL1-like homeodomain (BLH) protein and negatively regulated the CAld5H2 promoter activity. The direct regulation of CAld5H2 promoter by BLH6a was supported by chromatin immunoprecipitation–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (ChIP–qPCR) and dominant repression of BLH6a in transgenic plants. Luciferase complementation imaging analyses showed extensive protein–protein interactions among these 12 TFs. We propose that BLH6a is a negative regulator of CAld5H2, which acts through combinatorial regulation of multiple TFs for sinapyl alcohol (S monolignol) biosynthesis in poplar

Effects of Whole Body Therapeutic Hypothermia on Gastrointestinal Morbidity and Feeding Tolerance in Infants with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

Objective. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the effects of whole body therapeutic hypothermia (WBTH) on gastrointestinal (GI) morbidity and feeding tolerance in infants with moderate-to-severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Study Design. Infants ≥ 35 weeks gestational age and ≥1800 grams birth weight with moderate-to-severe HIE treated from 2000 to 2012 were compared. 68 patients had documented strictly defined criteria for WBTH: 32 historical control patients did not receive WBTH (non-WBTH) and 36 cohort patients received WBTH. Result. More of the non-WBTH group infants never initiated enteral feeds (28% versus 6%; P=0.02), never reached full enteral feeds (38% versus 6%, P=0.002), and never reached full oral feeds (56% versus 19%, P=0.002). Survival analyses demonstrated that the WBTH group reached full enteral feeds (median time: 11 versus 9 days; P=0.02) and full oral feeds (median time: 19 versus 10 days; P=0.01) sooner. The non-WBTH group had higher combined outcomes of death and gastric tube placement (47% versus 11%; P=0.001) and death and gavage feeds at discharge (44% versus 11%; P=0.005). Conclusion. WBTH may have beneficial effects on GI morbidity and feeding tolerance for infants with moderate-to-severe HIE

Research Article

Mixed modeling and sample size calculations for identifying housekeeping gene