Assessment of blood perfusion quality in laparoscopic colorectal surgery by means of Machine Learning

An innovative algorithm to automatically assess blood perfusion quality of the intestinal sector in laparoscopic colorectal surgery is proposed. Traditionally, the uniformity of the brightness in indocyanine green-based fluorescence consists only in a qualitative, empirical evaluation, which heavily relies on the surgeon's subjective assessment. As such, this leads to assessments that are strongly experience-dependent. To overcome this limitation, the proposed algorithm assesses the level and uniformity of indocyanine green used during laparoscopic surgery. The algorithm adopts a Feed Forward Neural Network receiving as input a feature vector based on the histogram of the green band of the input image. It is used to (i) acquire information related to perfusion during laparoscopic colorectal surgery, and (ii) support the surgeon in assessing objectively the outcome of the procedure. In particular, the algorithm provides an output that classifies the perfusion as adequate or inadequate. The algorithm was validated on videos captured during surgical procedures carried out at the University Hospital Federico II in Naples, Italy. The obtained results show a classification accuracy equal to [Formula: see text], with a repeatability of [Formula: see text]. Finally, the real-time operation of the proposed algorithm was tested by analyzing the video streaming captured directly from an endoscope available in the OR

Reprodução de Pseudis minuta (Anura, Hylidae) no sul do Brasil

Reproduction of Pseudis minuta (Anura, Hylidae) in southern Brazil.This study was based on individuals of Pseudis minuta captured or observed in the municipality of Candiota, Campanha region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Sampling occurred along ten non-consecutive months in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The reproductive phases were characterized based on the gonadal development stage of39 males and 50 females, and on the observation, in nature, of the seasonal distribution of calling males, occurrence of amplectant pairs, and presence of larvae, juveniles and adults. Calls were recorded from August to April, amplectant pairs from October to February (except January), tadpoles from October to March (except February), and juveniles in all the sampled months (except January). Reproductive activity was not observed in late fall and early winter, even though females with post-vitellogenic oocytes and males with spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules were recorded in allthe seasons. Mature females were statistically larger and heavier than mature males.The smallest female with post-vitellogenic oocytes had 32.0 mm of snout-vent length,and the smallest male with spermatozoa in its seminiferous tubules had 20.6 mm. The number of post-vitellogenic oocytes was directly proportional to the mass and to the snout-vent length of females, and the length of testis was directly proportional to the snout-vent length and to the mass of males

Dark Matter detection via lepton cosmic rays

Recent observations of lepton cosmic rays, coming from the PAMELA and FERMI experiments, have pushed our understanding of the interstellar medium and cosmic rays sources to unprecedented levels. The imprint of dark matter on lepton cosmic rays is the most exciting explanation of both PAMELA's positron excess and FERMI's total flux of electrons. Alternatively, supernovae are astrophysical objects with the same potential to explain these observations. In this work, we present an updated study of the astrophysical sources of lepton cosmic rays and the possible trace of a dark matter signal on the positron excess and total flux of electrons.Comment: 6 pages and 3 figures. Proceedings for PASCOS 2010, Valencia, Spai

On the use of information and infrastructure technologies for the smart city research in Europe: a survey

The Smart City paradigm has become one of the most important research topics around the globe. Particularly in Europe, it is considered as a solution for unstoppable increase of high density urban environments and the European Commission has included the Smart City research as one of the key objectives for the FP7 (Seventh Framework Program) and H2020 (Horizon 2020) research initiatives. As a result, a considerable amount of quality research, with particular emphasis on information and communication technologies, has been produced. In this paper, we review the current efforts dedicated in Europe to this research topic. Particular attention is paid in the review to the platforms and infrastructure technologies adopted to introduce the Internet of Things into the city, taking into account the constraints and harshness of urban environments. Furthermore, this paper also considers the efforts in the experimental perspective, which includes the review of existing Smart City testbeds, part of wider European initiatives such as FIRE (Future Internet Research and Experimentation) and FIWARE. Last but not least, the main efforts in providing interoperability between the different experimental facilities are also presented.This work was funded in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme of the FESTIVAL project (Federated Interoperable Smart ICT Services Development and Testing Platforms) under grant agreement 643275, and from the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

FESTIVAL: heterogeneous testbed federation across Europe and Japan

FESTIVAL is an H2020 EU-Japan collaborative project that aims to federate heterogeneous testbeds, making them interoperable and building an “Experimentation as a Service” (EaaS) model. Going beyond the traditional nature of experimental facilities, related to computational and networking large scale infrastructures, FESTIVAL testbeds have heterogeneous nature and in order to be federated they have been clustered in four categories: “Open Data” (i.e. open datasets), “IoT” (i.e. sensors and actuators), “IT” (i.e. computational resources) and “Living Labs” (i.e. people). Considering that every testbed category provides specific resources, the main challenge for FESTIVAL is to develop a platform that can allow experimenters to access very different assets in an homogeneous and transparent way, supporting them in the phases of the experiments. The FESTIVAL architecture, based on a multi-level federation approach, proposes a solution to this problem providing also a set of functionalities to manage and monitor the experiments. FESTIVAL tools, also, include the possibility to access FIWAREGeneric Enablers allowing to deploy predefined components to address specific needs in the experimentation (e.g. data analysis, big data management etc.). The FESTIVAL platform will be tested on three different smart city domains across Japan and Europe: smart energy, smart building and smart shopping.This work was funded in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme of the FESTIVALproject (Federated Interoperable Smart ICT Services Development and Testing Platforms) under grant agreement no. 643275, and by the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

Nonabsorbable polymer clip as a cause of chronic perineal pain after radical prostatectomy: Description of a case treated by transperineal approach

The occurrence of persistent perineal pain caused by surgical clips has rarely been described after radical prostatectomy (RP). We describe the case of a patient complaining of chronic perineal pain occurred soon after robotic RP, refractory to conventional medical therapy and exacerbated by the sitting position. Pain was related to a nonabsorbable polymer clip used to secure lateral pedicles. A transpeerineal approach was used to perform an hydrodissection of the rectovesical space at the level of the surgical clip combined with local injection of mepivacaine and betametasone. The patient experienced a clinically significant reduction of pain that remained stable at three months' follow-up

Truth and lies in your eyes: Pupil dilation of White participants in truthful and deceptive responses to White and Black partners

In the present study, we examined the pupillary response of White participants who were asked to tell the truth or lie to White or Black partners. Research on cues to deception has assumed that lying is more cognitively demanding that truth telling. In line with this assumption, previous studies have shown that lying is associated with greater pupil dilation, a behavioral cue that typically manifests itself under conditions of stress or cognitive effort. In accordance with these results, we predicted greater pupil dilation when lying than when telling the truth. Furthermore, pupil dilation was expected to be greater when responding to White than Black partners. Finally, we hypothesized that pupil dilation would be greater when lying to White than Black partners. Participants were instructed to answer a set of questions, half truthfully and half deceptively. They were led to believe that White vs. Black partners (one male and one female) would ask the questions via computer connection. Indeed, we used feminine and masculine synthetic voices. Pupil dilation was assessed with a remote eye-tracking system. Results provided support for the first two hypotheses. However, the predicted interaction between race of partners and truth status of message (lying vs. telling the truth) was nonsignificant. Our findings highlight the importance of considering race in the study of truthful and deceptive communications

Dissection of metabolic reprogramming in polycystic kidney disease reveals coordinated rewiring of bioenergetic pathways.

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) is a genetic disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in PKD1 or PKD2. Increased glycolysis is a prominent feature of the disease, but how it impacts on other metabolic pathways is unknown. Here, we present an analysis of mouse Pkd1 mutant cells and kidneys to investigate the metabolic reprogramming of this pathology. We show that loss of Pkd1 leads to profound metabolic changes that affect glycolysis, mitochondrial metabolism, and fatty acid synthesis (FAS). We find that Pkd1-mutant cells preferentially use glutamine to fuel the TCA cycle and to sustain FAS. Interfering with either glutamine uptake or FAS retards cell growth and survival. We also find that glutamine is diverted to asparagine via asparagine synthetase (ASNS). Transcriptional profiling of PKD1-mutant human kidneys confirmed these alterations. We find that silencing of Asns is lethal in Pkd1-mutant cells when combined with glucose deprivation, suggesting therapeutic approaches for ADPKD

Dieta e comportamento alimentar da Cobra-nariguda listrophis dorbignyi (Dumeril, Bibrón & Duméril, 1854), no litoral norte do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Os dados aqui apresentados são fundamentados em 214 encontros de indivíduos de Lystrophis dorbignyi em uma área de dunas do Litoral Norte do Rio Grande do Sul, e na análise do tubo digestório de 33 espécimes procedentes da mesma região. Anfíbios anuros e ovos da lagartixa Liolaemus occipitalis foram os únicos itens alimentares registrados. Entre as serpentes observadas com presas, 94,5 % se alimentaram de anfíbios e 5,6 % se alimentaram de ovos de L. occipitalis. Os períodos de atividade e os microhábitats das espécies de anfíbios mais freqüentemente consumidas, a inclusão de ovos na dieta e a observação de sete indivíduos de L. dorbignyi se alimentando em condições naturais, indicam que esta serpente forrageia durante o dia e captura presas enterradas na areia. Alguns itens sugeridos por vários autores como presas de L. dorbignyi são descartados como tal, até que dados consistentes sejam apresentados.The data here presented are based on 214 sightings of individuals of the snake Lystrophis dorbignyi in an area of sand dunes in the north coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul, and on the analysis of the stomach and gut contents of 33 specimens proceeding from this region. Only anurans and eggs of the lizard Liolaemus occipitalis were recorded. Among the snakes with food items, 94,5% had anurans and 5,6% had eggs of L. occipitalis. The recorded period of activity, the microhabitats of the items most frequently consumed, the addition of eggs in the diet, and the observation of seven individuals of L. dorbignyi taking preys under natural conditions, indicate that this snake forages during the day, and catches preys burrowed in the sand. Some food items suggested by many authors as being preys of L. dorbignyi are here discarded, until more consistent data were presented.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin