W2S: Microscopy Data with Joint Denoising and Super-Resolution for Widefield to SIM Mapping

In fluorescence microscopy live-cell imaging, there is a critical trade-off between the signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution on one side, and the integrity of the biological sample on the other side. To obtain clean high-resolution (HR) images, one can either use microscopy techniques, such as structured-illumination microscopy (SIM), or apply denoising and super-resolution (SR) algorithms. However, the former option requires multiple shots that can damage the samples, and although efficient deep learning based algorithms exist for the latter option, no benchmark exists to evaluate these algorithms on the joint denoising and SR (JDSR) tasks. To study JDSR on microscopy data, we propose such a novel JDSR dataset, Widefield2SIM (W2S), acquired using a conventional fluorescence widefield and SIM imaging. W2S includes 144,000 real fluorescence microscopy images, resulting in a total of 360 sets of images. A set is comprised of noisy low-resolution (LR) widefield images with different noise levels, a noise-free LR image, and a corresponding high-quality HR SIM image. W2S allows us to benchmark the combinations of 6 denoising methods and 6 SR methods. We show that state-of-the-art SR networks perform very poorly on noisy inputs. Our evaluation also reveals that applying the best denoiser in terms of reconstruction error followed by the best SR method does not necessarily yield the best final result. Both quantitative and qualitative results show that SR networks are sensitive to noise and the sequential application of denoising and SR algorithms is sub-optimal. Lastly, we demonstrate that SR networks retrained end-to-end for JDSR outperform any combination of state-of-the-art deep denoising and SR networksComment: ECCVW 2020. Project page: \<https://github.com/ivrl/w2s

Challenges in context-aware mobile language learning: the MASELTOV approach

Smartphones, as highly portable networked computing devices with embedded sensors including GPS receivers, are ideal platforms to support context-aware language learning. They can enable learning when the user is en-gaged in everyday activities while out and about, complementing formal language classes. A significant challenge, however, has been the practical implementation of services that can accurately identify and make use of context, particularly location, to offer meaningful language learning recommendations to users. In this paper we review a range of approaches to identifying context to support mobile language learning. We consider how dynamically changing aspects of context may influence the quality of recommendations presented to a user. We introduce the MASELTOV project’s use of context awareness combined with a rules-based recommendation engine to present suitable learning content to recent immigrants in urban areas; a group that may benefit from contextual support and can use the city as a learning environment

Participatory Design for Awareness Features: Enhancing Interaction in Communities of Practice

In the framework of the European Integrated Project PALETTE, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Patras are developing mediation services. These services aim at sustaining collaboration, supporting tacit and explicit knowledge management and enhancing individual and organizational learning in communities of practice (CoPs). Defined by Dourish and Belloti as "an understanding of the activities of others, which provides a context for one's own activity", awareness is one of the most crucial needs expressed by communities of practice in the framework of the participatory design process implemented within the Palette project. Awareness of past and current actions in shared environments and over shared artifacts motivates participation and guides the members' decisions and course of actions. This paper describes the approach adopted by two Web-based collaboration support applications, namely eLogbook and CoPe_it!, for developing awareness services. CoPs needs, in terms of awareness, were identified through the participatory design approach. Then, a combination of relevant awareness types found in the literature was adopted in order to address the identified awareness requirements. The resulting awareness services implemented by Palette's mediation services (eLogbook and CoPe_it!) are presented. In particular, the kind of awareness information provided and its rendering means are described. For each tool, the available awareness functionality is related to the awareness type it contributes

Pre-cooling for endurance exercise performance in the heat: a systematic review.

PMCID: PMC3568721The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/166. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Endurance exercise capacity diminishes under hot environmental conditions. Time to exhaustion can be increased by lowering body temperature prior to exercise (pre-cooling). This systematic literature review synthesizes the current findings of the effects of pre-cooling on endurance exercise performance, providing guidance for clinical practice and further research

Less is more: Antibiotics at the beginning of life

Antibiotic exposure at the beginning of life can lead to increased antimicrobial resistance and perturbations of the developing microbiome. Early-life microbiome disruption increases the risks of developing chronic diseases later in life. Fear of missing evolving neonatal sepsis is the key driver for antibiotic overtreatment early in life. Bias (a systemic deviation towards overtreatment) and noise (a random scatter) affect the decision-making process. In this perspective, we advocate for a factual approach quantifying the burden of treatment in relation to the burden of disease balancing antimicrobial stewardship and effective sepsis management

Outcome and Predictors of Treatment Failure in Total Hip/Knee Prosthetic Joint Infections Due to Staphylococcus aureus

The results of the present study suggest that ASA score ≤ 2 and use of rifampin-combination therapy are two independent factors associated with favorable outcome of patients treated for total hip or knee prosthetic infections due to S. aureus

Less is more: Antibiotics at the beginning of life.

Antibiotic exposure at the beginning of life can lead to increased antimicrobial resistance and perturbations of the developing microbiome. Early-life microbiome disruption increases the risks of developing chronic diseases later in life. Fear of missing evolving neonatal sepsis is the key driver for antibiotic overtreatment early in life. Bias (a systemic deviation towards overtreatment) and noise (a random scatter) affect the decision-making process. In this perspective, we advocate for a factual approach quantifying the burden of treatment in relation to the burden of disease balancing antimicrobial stewardship and effective sepsis management

Analysis of Antibiotic Exposure and Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis in Europe, North America, and Australia.

IMPORTANCE Appropriate use of antibiotics is life-saving in neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS), but overuse of antibiotics is associated with antimicrobial resistance and long-term adverse outcomes. Large international studies quantifying early-life antibiotic exposure along with EOS incidence are needed to provide a basis for future interventions aimed at safely reducing neonatal antibiotic exposure. OBJECTIVE To compare early postnatal exposure to antibiotics, incidence of EOS, and mortality among different networks in high-income countries. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study of late-preterm and full-term neonates born between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, in 13 hospital-based or population-based networks from 11 countries in Europe and North America and Australia. The study included all infants born alive at a gestational age greater than or equal to 34 weeks in the participating networks. Data were analyzed from October 2021 to March 2022. EXPOSURES Exposure to antibiotics started in the first postnatal week. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcomes were the proportion of late-preterm and full-term neonates receiving intravenous antibiotics, the duration of antibiotic treatment, the incidence of culture-proven EOS, and all-cause and EOS-associated mortality. RESULTS A total of 757 979 late-preterm and full-term neonates were born in the participating networks during the study period; 21 703 neonates (2.86%; 95% CI, 2.83%-2.90%), including 12 886 boys (59.4%) with a median (IQR) gestational age of 39 (36-40) weeks and median (IQR) birth weight of 3250 (2750-3750) g, received intravenous antibiotics during the first postnatal week. The proportion of neonates started on antibiotics ranged from 1.18% to 12.45% among networks. The median (IQR) duration of treatment was 9 (7-14) days for neonates with EOS and 4 (3-6) days for those without EOS. This led to an antibiotic exposure of 135 days per 1000 live births (range across networks, 54-491 days per 1000 live births). The incidence of EOS was 0.49 cases per 1000 live births (range, 0.18-1.45 cases per 1000 live births). EOS-associated mortality was 3.20% (12 of 375 neonates; range, 0.00%-12.00%). For each case of EOS, 58 neonates were started on antibiotics and 273 antibiotic days were administered. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The findings of this study suggest that antibiotic exposure during the first postnatal week is disproportionate compared with the burden of EOS and that there are wide (up to 9-fold) variations internationally. This study defined a set of indicators reporting on both dimensions to facilitate benchmarking and future interventions aimed at safely reducing antibiotic exposure in early life

Long-Term Exposure of Early-Transformed Human Mammary Cells to Low Doses of Benzo[a]pyrene and/or Bisphenol A Enhances Their Cancerous Phenotype via an AhR/GPR30 Interplay

It is of utmost importance to decipher the role of chronic exposure to low doses of environmental carcinogens on breast cancer progression. The early-transformed triple-negative human mammary MCF10AT1 cells were chronically (60 days) exposed to low doses (10−10 M) of Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a genotoxic agent, and/or Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor. Our study revealed that exposed MCF10AT1 cells developed, in a time-dependent manner, an acquired phenotype characterized by an increase in cancerous properties (anchorage independent growth and stem-like phenotype). Co-exposure of MCF10AT1 cells to B[a]P and BPA led to a significantly greater aggressive phenotype compared to B[a]P or BPA alone. This study provided new insights into the existence of a functional interplay between the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and the G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) by which chronic and low-dose exposure of B[a]P and/or BPA fosters the progression of MCF10AT1 cells into a more aggressive substage. Experiments using AhR or GPR30 antagonists, siRNA strategies, and RNAseq analysis led us to propose a model in which AhR signaling plays a “driver role” in the AhR/GPR30 cross-talk in mediating long-term and low-dose exposure of B[a]P and/or BPA. Retrospective analysis of two independent breast cancer cohorts revealed that the AhR/GPR30 mRNA expression signature resulted in poor breast cancer prognosis, in particular in the ER-negative and the triple-negative subtypes. Finally, the study identified targeting AhR and/or GPR30 with specific antagonists as a strategy capable of inhibiting carcinogenesis associated with chronic exposure to low doses of B[a]P and BPA in MCF10AT1 cells. Altogether, our results indicate that the engagement of both AhR and GPR30 functions, in particular in an ER-negative/triple-negative context of breast cells, favors tumor progression and leads to poor prognosis. © Copyright © 2020 Donini, El Helou, Wierinckx, Győrffy, Aires, Escande, Croze, Clezardin, Lachuer, Diab-Assaf, Ghayad, Fervers, Cavaillès, Maguer-Satta and Cohen

Cost impact of procalcitonin-guided decision making on duration of antibiotic therapy for suspected early-onset sepsis in neonates

Abstract Backgrounds The large, international, randomized controlled NeoPInS trial showed that procalcitonin (PCT)-guided decision making was superior to standard care in reducing the duration of antibiotic therapy and hospitalization in neonates suspected of early-onset sepsis (EOS), without increased adverse events. This study aimed to perform a cost-minimization study of the NeoPInS trial, comparing health care costs of standard care and PCT-guided decision making based on the NeoPInS algorithm, and to analyze subgroups based on country, risk category and gestational age. Methods Data from the NeoPInS trial in neonates born after 34 weeks of gestational age with suspected EOS in the first 72 h of life requiring antibiotic therapy were used. We performed a cost-minimization study of health care costs, comparing standard care to PCT-guided decision making. Results In total, 1489 neonates were included in the study, of which 754 were treated according to PCT-guided decision making and 735 received standard care. Mean health care costs of PCT-guided decision making were not significantly different from costs of standard care (€3649 vs. €3616). Considering subgroups, we found a significant reduction in health care costs of PCT-guided decision making for risk category ‘infection unlikely’ and for gestational age ≥ 37 weeks in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and for gestational age < 37 weeks in the Czech Republic. Conclusions Health care costs of PCT-guided decision making of term and late-preterm neonates with suspected EOS are not significantly different from costs of standard care. Significant cost reduction was found for risk category ‘infection unlikely,’ and is affected by both the price of PCT-testing and (prolonged) hospitalization due to SAEs