Eye fluke-induced cataracts in natural fish populations: is there potential for host manipulation?

Manipulation of host phenotype (e.g. behaviour, appearance) is suggested to be a common strategy to enhance transmission in trophically transmitted parasites. However, in many systems, evidence of manipulation comes exclusively from laboratory studies and its occurrence in natural host populations is poorly understood. Here, we examined the potential for host manipulation by Diplostomum eye flukes indirectly by quantifying the physiological effects of parasites on fish. Earlier laboratory studies have shown that Diplostomum infection predisposes fish to predation by birds (definitive hosts of the parasites) by reducing fish vision through cataract formation. However, occurrence of cataracts and the subsequent potential for host manipulation in natural fish populations has remained poorly explored. We studied the occurrence of eye fluke-induced cataracts from 7 common fish species (Gymnocephalus cernuus, Rutilus rutilus, Leuciscus leuciscus, Alburnus alburnus, Osmerus eperlanus, Coregonus lavaretus and Gasterosteus aculeatus) from the Bothnian Bay in the Baltic Sea. We found that the parasite-induced cataracts were common in fish and they also reached high levels which are likely to predispose fish to predation. However, we observed such cataracts only in species with the highest parasite abundances, which suggests that only certain hosts may be strongly affected by the infectio

Konenäön hyödyntäminen tilan valvonnassa

Tiivistelmä. Tämän työn tavoitteena on kehittää konenäköjärjestelmää, joka tunnistaa objekteja videosyötteestä. Konenäköjärjestelmän avulla pyritään parantamaan tilan valvontaa. Työn lähtökohtana on kehittää konenäköohjelmistoa, joka kykenee havaitsemaan, missä päin tilaa henkilöt sijaitsevat. Työhön liittyviä konenäön osa-alueita on objektien havaitseminen ja tunnistus. Työn edetessä tutkimuskohteeksi tarkentui uudelleentunnistus useamman reaaliaikaista videokuvaa tuottavan kameran välillä. Työssä perehdyttiin aluksi konenäön, objektin tunnistuksen ja koneoppimisen teoriaan sekä tutustuttiin aiheeseen liittyviin aiempiin tutkimuksiin. Teoriakatsauksesta kertyneiden tietojen avulla lähdettiin kehittämään uudelleentunnistusohjelmistoa. Kehitystyössä käytettiin hyödyksi avoimeen lähdekoodiin perustuvia ohjelmistoja ja ohjelmistokirjastoja. Ohjelmiston taustalla on valmiiksi opetettuja tekoälymalleja, jotka vastaavat objektien tunnistamisesta ja seurannasta sekä uudelleentunnistuksesta. Uudelleentunnistusohjelmiston toimivuutta arvioitiin tekemällä kontrolloituja sekä todellisia olosuhteita jäljitteleviä testejä. Testien perusteella prototyyppiohjelmiston toimivuus oli hyvä. Ohjelmisto vaatii kuitenkin jatkokehittämistä, jotta ohjelmistosta saataisiin toimiva tuote.Utilization of the computer vision in surveillance of the space. Abstract. Purpose of this master’s thesis is to develop a computer vision system that recognizes objects from the video feed. The goal is to utilize the computer vision system for surveillance of the space and to develop a system that can detect where are the people located in the space. Object detection and recognition are the sectors of the computer vision that this thesis focuses on. Subject of the thesis narrowed down to re-identification during the thesis. First, the theory of computer vision, object recognition and machine learning was studied and previous studies regarding the subject was researched. Using the knowledge gained from the theory section, the developing of the re-identification program was started. In the development of the re-identification program open-source libraries and frameworks were used. On the background of the software were pre-trained deep learning models that were responsible of the object recognition, tracking and re-identification. The results of the re-identification program were verified using controlled and real-world mimicking tests. According to the tests the results of the prototype program were good. Although, the program requires further development to refine to finished product

Cross subclade immunity after one-year booster immunization with MF59®-adjuvanted A/H5N1 influenza vaccine in 6 month to 17 year-old children

Background: Since 2006 when the zoster vaccine was first icensed, one of the most commonly asked questions by patients nd clinicians has been "Should a patient with a history of herpes oster (HZ) receive the vaccine to prevent another episode?". The enefit of vaccinating immunocompetent patients who have had hingles has not been examined. The study assessed the association etween vaccination and the incidence of herpes zoster recurrence mong personswith a recent episode of clinically diagnosed herpes oster. Methods: This is a matched cohort study in Kaiser Permanente outhern California. Study populations were immunocompetent lderly≥ 60 years oldwith a recent episode of herpes zoster. Potenial recurrent HZ cases were identified electronically by ICD-9 code f 053.xx from outpatient, emergency, and inpatient files. Medcal records of electronically identified cases were retrieved and eviewed masked to vaccination status by an infectious disease pecialist using pre-specified review criteria. Incidence of recurent herpes zoster was compared between the vaccinated and the nvaccinated matched cohorts. The hazard ratio associated with accination was adjusted for a propensity score that accounted for otential confounders. Results: There were total 1,036 vaccinated and 5,180 unvacciated members included. Based on the clinically confirmed cases, he incidence of recurrent HZ among age <70 cohort was 0.99 (95% I, 0.02-5.54) and 2.20 (95% CI, 1.10-3.93) per 1,000 person-year

Generation and Characterization of iPS Cells Derived from APECED Patients for Gene Correction

APECED (Autoimmune-Polyendocrinopathy-Candidiasis-Ectodermal-Dystrophy) is a severe and incurable multiorgan autoimmune disease caused by mutations in the AIRE (autoimmune regulator) gene. Without functional AIRE, the development of central and peripheral immune tolerance is severely impaired allowing the accumulation of autoreactive immune cells in the periphery. This leads to multiple endocrine and non-endocrine autoimmune disorders and mucocutaneous candidiasis in APECED patients. Recent studies have suggested that AIRE also has novel functions in stem cells and contributes to the regulatory network of pluripotency. In preparation of therapeutic gene correction, we generated and assessed patient blood cell-derived iPSCs, potentially suitable for cell therapy in APECED. Here, we describe APECED-patient derived iPSCs's properties, expression of AIRE as well as classical stem cell markers by qPCR and immunocytochemistry. We further generated self-aggregated EBs of the iPSCs. We show that APECED patient-derived iPSCs and EBs do not have any major proliferative or apoptotic defects and that they express all the classical pluripotency markers similarly to healthy person iPSCs. The results suggest that the common AIRE R257X truncation mutation does not affect stem cell properties and that APECED iPSCs can be propagated in vitro and used for subsequent gene-correction. This first study on APECED patient-derived iPSCs validates their pluripotency and confirms their ability for differentiation and potential therapeutic use.Peer reviewe

A novel high resolution contactless technique for thermal field mapping and thermal conductivity determination: Two-Laser Raman Thermometry

We present a novel high resolution contactless technique for thermal conductivity determination and thermal field mapping based on creating a thermal distribution of phonons using a heating laser, while a second laser probes the local temperature through the spectral position of a Raman active mode. The spatial resolution can be as small as $300$ nm, whereas its temperature accuracy is $\pm 2$ K. We validate this technique investigating the thermal properties of three free-standing single crystalline Si membranes with thickness of 250, 1000, and 2000 nm. We show that for 2-dimensional materials such as free-standing membranes or thin films, and for small temperature gradients, the thermal field decays as $T(r) \propto ln(r)$ in the diffusive limit. The case of large temperature gradients within the membranes leads to an exponential decay of the thermal field, $T \propto exp[-A \cdot ln(r)]$. The results demonstrate the full potential of this new contactless method for quantitative determination of thermal properties. The range of materials to which this method is applicable reaches far beyond the here demonstrated case of Si, as the only requirement is the presence of a Raman active mode

What influences the speed of prototyping? An empirical investigation of twenty software startups

It is essential for startups to quickly experiment business ideas by building tangible prototypes and collecting user feedback on them. As prototyping is an inevitable part of learning for early stage software startups, how fast startups can learn depends on how fast they can prototype. Despite of the importance, there is a lack of research about prototyping in software startups. In this study, we aimed at understanding what are factors influencing different types of prototyping activities. We conducted a multiple case study on twenty European software startups. The results are two folds, firstly we propose a prototype-centric learning model in early stage software startups. Secondly, we identify factors occur as barriers but also facilitators for prototyping in early stage software startups. The factors are grouped into (1) artifacts, (2) team competence, (3) collaboration, (4) customer and (5) process dimensions. To speed up a startups progress at the early stage, it is important to incorporate the learning objective into a well-defined collaborative approach of prototypingComment: This is the author's version of the work. Copyright owner's version can be accessed at doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57633-6_2, XP2017, Cologne, German

Establishment and interspecific associations in two species of Ichthyocotylurus (Trematoda) parasites in perch (Perca fluviatilis)

Background: Co-infections of multiple parasite species in hosts may lead to interspecific associations and subsequently shape the structure of a parasite community. However, few studies have focused on these associations in highly abundant parasite species or, in particular, investigated how the associations develop with time in hosts exposed to co-infecting parasite species for the first time. We investigated metacercarial establishment and interspecific associations in the trematodes Ichthyocotylurus variegatus and I. pileatus co-infecting three age cohorts of young perch (Perca fluviatilis). Results: We found that the timing of transmission of the two Ichthyocotylurus species was very similar, but they showed differences in metacercarial development essentially so that the metacercariae of I. pileatus became encapsulated faster. Correlations between the abundances of the species were significantly positive after the first summer of host life and also within the main site of infection, the swim bladder. High or low abundances of both parasite species were also more frequent in the same host individuals than expected by chance, independently of host age or size. However, the highest abundances of the species were nevertheless observed in different host individuals and this pattern was consistent in all age cohorts. Conclusions: The results suggest similar temporal patterns of transmission, non-random establishment, and facilitative rather than competitive associations between the parasite species independently of the age of the infracommunities. However, we suggest that spatial differences in exposure are most likely responsible for the segregation of the parasite species observed in the few most heavily infected hosts. Regardless of the underlying mechanism, the result suggests that between-species associations should be interpreted with caution along with detailed examination of the parasite distribution among host individuals.peerReviewe

Perceived stress across the midlife: longitudinal changes among a diverse sample of women, the Study of Women’s health Across the Nation (SWAN)

Abstract Background In women, midlife is a period of social and physiological change. Ostensibly stressful, cross-sectional studies suggest women experience decreasing stress perceptions and increasing positive outlook during this life stage. The aim of this paper was to describe the longitudinal changes in perceived stress as women transitioned through the midlife. Methods Premenopausal women (n = 3044) ages 42–52 years at baseline, were recruited from seven sites in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, and followed approximately annually over 13 visits with assessment of perceived stress and change in menopausal status. Longitudinal regression models were used to assess the effects of age, menopausal status and baseline sociodemographic variables on the trajectory of perceived stress over time. Results At baseline, mean age was 46.4 ± 2.7 years; participants were white (47%), black (29%), Hispanic (7%), Japanese (9%), or Chinese (8%). Hispanic women, women with lesser educational attainment, and women reporting financial hardship were each more likely to report high perceived stress levels at baseline (all p < 0.0001). After adjustment for baseline sociodemographic factors, perceived stress decreased over time for most women (p < 0.0001), but increased for both Hispanic and white participants at the New Jersey site (p < 0.0001). Changing menopausal status was not a significant predictor of perceived stress. Conclusions Self-reported stress decreased for most women as they transitioned across the midlife; changing menopausal status did not play a significant role after adjustment for age and sociodemographic factors. Future studies should explore the stress experience for women by racial / ethnic identity and demographics.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142790/1/40695_2018_Article_32.pd

Incidence trends in childhood onset IDDM in four countries around the Baltic sea during 1983-1992

Funding Information: Acknowledgements. This study was partly supported by theWe present secular trends of childhood onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during the period of 1983-1992. Incidence data were obtained from the national IDDM registries. The average age-standardized incidence per 100,000/year was 35.0 in Finland, followed by 10.2 in Estonia, 7.1 in Lithuania and 6.5 in Latvia. A male excess in incidence was recorded in Finland (1.15) and Latvia (1.01). In all countries, the highest age-specific risk of IDDM was observed in the 11-13 year age range. The large difference in incidence between Finland and other Baltic countries was seen even in 1-2-year-old children. During the 10-year study period overall changes in incidence of IDDM were relatively small in these four countries. The incidence increased in Finland and Lithuania on average by 1% and 1.4% per year, respectively. A statistically significant increase was recorded only in 0-4 year old children in Finland, at 5.6% per year. In Estonia, an 8.3% increase in this age group, however, was not statistically significant The different trends in the age-group specific incidence rates were confirmed in Finland. In conclusion, from 1983 to 1992 the incidence of childhood onset IDDM was increasing in Finland and Lithuania, while in Latvia and Estonia it was stable. There are still great differences in IDDM incidence between the countries around the Baltic Sea.Peer reviewe