Approximate Computation of DFT without Performing Any Multiplications: Applications to Radar Signal Processing

In many practical problems it is not necessary to compute the DFT in a perfect manner including some radar problems. In this article a new multiplication free algorithm for approximate computation of the DFT is introduced. All multiplications $(a\times b)$ in DFT are replaced by an operator which computes $sign(a\times b)(|a|+|b|)$. The new transform is especially useful when the signal processing algorithm requires correlations. Ambiguity function in radar signal processing requires high number of multiplications to compute the correlations. This new additive operator is used to decrease the number of multiplications. Simulation examples involving passive radars are presented

A Deep Learning-Based Hybrid Approach to Detect Fastener Defects in Real-Time

A fastener is an important component used to fix the rail in railways. Defects in this component cause the rail and ballast to remain unstable. If the defective fasteners are not replaced in time, it is inevitable that the train will derail, and serious accidents will occur. Therefore, this component should be inspected periodically. Conventional image processing-based control systems are affected by noise and different lighting conditions in the real environment. In this study, it is aimed to determine the defects of fasteners with a deep learning-based hybrid approach. The YOLOv4-Tiny method is used for fastener detection and localization. This method gives accurate results, especially for the detection of small objects. After the fastener position is determined, a new lightweight convolutional neural network model is used for defect classification. The proposed convolutional neural network for classification has a small network structure because it uses depth-wise and pointwise convolution layers. When the experimental results are compared with other known transfer learning methods, better results were obtained in terms of training/test time and accuracy

Sodium Nitroprusside as a Nitric Oxide Donor in a Rat Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Model

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of sodium nitroprusside in the reduction of the intestinal ischemiareperfusion injury as a nitric oxide donor after intraperitoneal administration. METHODS: The histopathological examinations and tissue malonyldialdehyde levels of 35 Wistar albino rats that were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion, were performed in 5 groups. The groups include Control, Ischemia -reperfusion, Sodium nitroprusside, NG-Nitro-L-Arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) and Sodium nitroprusside+L-NAME. Each rat was subjected to ischemia for 40 minutes and reperfusion for 30 minutes, except the control group. The medications were done intraperitoneally as saline 4 ml/kg, Sodium nitroprusside 5 mg/kg, L-NAME 10 mg/kg just before reperfusions. RESULTS: Significant tissue injury in histological sections and an increase in tissue levels of Malonyldialdehyde was detected in the I/R group. The efficacy of intraperitoneal administration of Sodium nitroprusside in both Sodium nitroprusside alone and Sodium nitroprusside+L-NAME groups was found statistically significant for the reducing of injury scores (p<0.05). The difference between the Ischemia/reperfusion and Sodium nitroprusside groups was found statistically significant as in the Ischemia/reperfusion and Sodium nitroprusside+L-NAME groups due to the tissue Malonyldialdehyde levels (p<0.05). There was no statistical difference between Ischemia/reperfusion and L-NAME groups. CONCLUSION: Ischemia/reperfusion induced injury might be reduced by the intraperitoneal administration of Sodium nitroprusside, even in the presence of L-NAME, in the rat intestinal model

Comparison of intraperitoneal honey and sodium hyaluronate-carboxymethylcellulose (SeprafilmTM) for the prevention of postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions

BACKGROUND: Abdominal surgery can lead to postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions (PIAAs) with significant morbidity and mortality. This study compares the use of honey with a standard bioresorbable membrane (Seprafilm tm) to prevent the formation of PIAAs in rats. METHODS: Thirty rats underwent laparotomy, and PIAAs were induced by scraping the cecum. The animals were divided into three groups, each containing ten rats. Group 1 (control) represented the cecal abrasion group, with no intraperitoneal administration of any substance. Group 2 (honey group) underwent cecal abrasion and intraperitoneal administration of honey. Group 3 (Seprafilm tm group) underwent cecal abrasion and intraperitoneal Seprafilm tm application. RESULTS: Group 1 exhibited higher adhesion scores for adhesions between the abdominal wall and the organs. Groups 2 and 3 had decreased adhesive attachments to the intra-abdominal structures. Compared to group 1, the incidence of adhesion formation was lower in both group 2 (p=0.001) and group 3 (p=0.001). The incidence of fibrosis was also lower in group 2 (p=0.016) and group 3 (p=0.063) compared to group 1. There was no significant difference between the histopathological fibrosis scores for the rats in group 2 and those in group 3 (p= 0.688). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that both honey and Seprafilm tm decrease the incidence of PIAAs in the rat cecal abrasion model. Although the mechanism of action is not clear, intraperitoneal administration of honey reduced PIAAs. The outcome of this study demonstrates that honey is as effective as Seprafilm tm in preventing PIAAs

Comparison of Intraperitoneal Honey and Sodium Hyaluronate-Carboxymethylcellulose (Seprafilm™) for the Prevention of Postoperative Intra-Abdominal Adhesions

BACKGROUND: Abdominal surgery can lead to postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions (PIAAs) with significant morbidity and mortality. This study compares the use of honey with a standard bioresorbable membrane (Seprafilm tm) to prevent the formation of PIAAs in rats. METHODS: Thirty rats underwent laparotomy, and PIAAs were induced by scraping the cecum. The animals were divided into three groups, each containing ten rats. Group 1 (control) represented the cecal abrasion group, with no intraperitoneal administration of any substance. Group 2 (honey group) underwent cecal abrasion and intraperitoneal administration of honey. Group 3 (Seprafilm tm group) underwent cecal abrasion and intraperitoneal Seprafilm tm application. RESULTS: Group 1 exhibited higher adhesion scores for adhesions between the abdominal wall and the organs. Groups 2 and 3 had decreased adhesive attachments to the intra-abdominal structures. Compared to group 1, the incidence of adhesion formation was lower in both group 2 (p=0.001) and group 3 (p=0.001). The incidence of fibrosis was also lower in group 2 (p=0.016) and group 3 (p=0.063) compared to group 1. There was no significant difference between the histopathological fibrosis scores for the rats in group 2 and those in group 3 (p= 0.688). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that both honey and Seprafilm tm decrease the incidence of PIAAs in the rat cecal abrasion model. Although the mechanism of action is not clear, intraperitoneal administration of honey reduced PIAAs. The outcome of this study demonstrates that honey is as effective as Seprafilm tm in preventing PIAAs

Analiza rezultata dijagnostičke ekscizijske biopsije limfnih čvorova: 12-godišnje iskustvo jednog centra

Lymph node biopsy is indicated in patients with suspected malignancy or lymphadenopathy due to unclarified reasons. Lymph node biopsy can be performed as fine needle aspiration biopsy, core biopsy, or excisional lymph node biopsy. In particular, the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma is considered insufficient for oncological treatment unless classified into subgroups. Core biopsy and excisional biopsy can be performed to diagnose lymphoma and classify it into subgroups. Core biopsy may also be limited in some cases for the diagnosis of lymphoma. Therefore, patients are referred to surgical departments for excisional lymph node biopsy. It was aimed herein to analyze the results of excisional lymph node biopsies performed for diagnostic purposes in our department. Data on 73 patients having undergone diagnostic excisional lymph node biopsy at Sakarya University Medical Faculty Training and Research Hospital between January 2008 and January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were evaluated in terms of age, gender, biopsy site, pathological diagnosis, number and diameter of lymph nodes excised. Patients younger than 18 years of age, those with sentinel lymph node biopsies, and lymph node dissections performed for any known malignancy were excluded from the study. Statistical data analysis was done using SPSS statistical software. There were 37 (50.7%) female and 36 (49.3%) male patients, mean age 52.07 (18-90) years. Axillary lymph node biopsy was performed in 32 patients, inguinal lymph node biopsy in 29 patients, cervical lymph node biopsy in 3 patients, intra-abdominal lymph node biopsy in 6 patients, mediastinal lymph node biopsy in 1 patient, and supraclavicular lymph node biopsy in 2 patients. All of the lymph node biopsies were performed as excisional biopsy. Malignancy was detected in 36 (49.3%) patients. In 37 (50.3%) patients, the causes of lymphadenopathy were found to be benign pathologies. When the causes of malignant disease were examined, it was observed that 23 (31.5%) patients were diagnosed with lymphoma. Hodgkin lymphoma was detected in 5 patients diagnosed with lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma was found in 18 patients. Metastatic lymphadenopathy was observed in 13 (17.8%) patients. Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (26%) and lymphadenitis (20.5%) were found among the causes of benign lymphadenopathy. The number of excised lymph nodes was between 1 and 4, and their diameter was between 9 and 75 mm (mean: 29.53±15.56 mm). There was no statistically significant difference between benign and malignant patients according to gender, age, lymph node diameter, number of lymph nodes excised, and excisional lymph node biopsy site. For diagnostic lymph node biopsy, fine-needle aspiration biopsy and core biopsy should be performed primarily. If lymphoma is suspected in the diagnosis, fine-needle aspiration biopsy is not necessary. In this case, it is believed that it is more appropriate to perform core biopsy first. If the core biopsy is insufficient for diagnosis, it is more appropriate to perform surgical biopsy in order to cause no delay in diagnosis and treatment. Excisional biopsy is a method that can be safely performed and does not cause severe morbidity in palpable peripheral lymphadenopathies. Although it does not cause severe morbidity because it is an invasive procedure, excisional biopsy should be performed in a selected patient group.Biopsija limfnih čvorova indicirana je u bolesnika sa sumnjom na zloćudnu bolest ili s limfadenopatijom nejasnog uzroka. Biopsija limfnih čvorova može se izvesti kao tankoiglena aspiracijska biopsija, širokoiglena biopsija ili ekscizijska biopsija limfnih čvorova. Dijagnoza zloćudnog limfoma smatra se naročito nedostatnom za onkološko liječenje ako nije provedena klasifikacija u podskupine. Širokoiglena biopsija i ekscizijska biopsija mogu se provesti kako bi se dijagnosticirao limfom i klasificirao u podskupine. Širokoiglena biopsija može se također u nekim slučajevima pokazati ograničenom u dijagnosticiranju limfoma. Zato se bolesnici upućuju u kirurške odjele na ekscizijsku biopsiju limfnih čvorova. Cilj ovoga istraživanja bio je analizirati rezultate ekscizijskih biopsija limfnih čvorova izvedenih u dijagnostičke svrhe na našem odjelu. Retrospektivno su analizirani podaci za 73 bolesnika podvrgnutih dijagnostičkoj ekscizijskoj biopsiji limfnih čvorova u Sveučilišnoj bolnici Sakarya između siječnja 2008. i siječnja 2020. godine. Analizirani su sljedeći podaci: dob, spol, mjesto gdje je izvedena biopsija, patološka dijagnoza, broj i promjer ekscidiranih limfnih čvorova. Iz istraživanja su bili isključeni bolesnici mlađi od 18 godina, oni s biopsijom sentinel limfnih čvorova te oni s disekcijom limfnih čvorova zbog bilo kakve poznate zloćudne bolesti. Statistička analiza podataka provedena je pomoću statističkog programa SPSS. Bilo je 37 (50,7%) ženskih i 36 (49,3%) muških bolesnika srednje dobi od 52,07 (18-90) godina. Biopsija aksilarnih limfnih čvorova izvedena je u 32, ingvinalnih limfnih čvorova u 29, cervikalnih limfnih čvorova u 3, intra-abdominalnih limfnih čvorova u 6 bolesnika, mediastinalnih limfnih čvorova u 1 bolesnika i supraklavikularnih limfnih čvorova u 2 bolesnika. Sve biopsije limfnih čvorova izvedene su kao ekscizijske biopsije. Malignitet je otkriven u 36 (49,3%) bolesnika, dok su u 37 (50,3%) bolesnika uzroci limfadenopatije bile dobroćudne patologije. Ispitivanje uzroka zloćudne bolesti pokazalo je da je limfom bio dijagnosticiran u 23 (31,5%) bolesnika. Hodgkinov limfom otkriven je u 5 bolesnika u kojih je dijagnosticiran limfom, dok je ne-Hodgkinov limfom utvrđen u 18 bolesnika. Metastatska limfadenopatija zabilježena je u 13 (17,8%) bolesnika. Među uzrocima dobroćudne limfadenopatije nađeni su reaktivna limfoidna hiperplazija (26%) i limfadenitis (20,5%). Broj izvađenih limfnih čvorova bio je od 1 do 4, a njihov promjer bio je od 9 do 75 (srednja vrijednost 29,53±15,56) mm. Nije bilo statistički značajne razlike između bolesnika s dobroćudnom i zloćudnom limfadenopatijom u dobi, spolu, promjeru limfnih čvorova, broju izvađenih limfnih čvorova i mjesta izvođenja ekscizijske biopsije limfnih čvorova. Za dijagnostičku biopsiju limfnih čvorova treba najprije napraviti tankoiglenu aspiracijsku biopsiju i širokoiglenu biopsiju. Ako se dijagnostički posumnja na limfom tada tankoiglena aspiracijska biopsija nije potrebna. U tom slučaju smatra se da je primjerenije najprije napraviti širokoiglenu biopsiju. Ako se širokoiglena biopsija pokaže nedostanom za postavljanje dijagnoze tada je primjerenije napraviti kiruršku biopsiju kako ne bi došlo do kašnjenja u dijagnozi i liječenju. Ekscizijska biopsija je metoda koja se može sigurno izvoditi i ne uzrokuje teži pobol kod palpabilnih perifernih limfadenopatija. Iako ne uzrokuje teži pobol s obzirom na to da je invazivni postupak, ekscizijsku biopsiju treba izvoditi u odabranoj skupini bolesnika

Live Cell Imaging of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells on Nano-pitted and Polished Titanium Surfaces: A Micro-Incubator in vitro Approach

Current orthopedic implants are not conducive for optimal integration of the biomaterial with newly-formed tissue (osseointegration) inside a patient’s body. In this study, medical-rade Ti-6Al-4V was used as a substrate due to its biocompatibility and ability to facilitate cellular adhesion and proliferation. Live cell imaging was conducted on bone marrow stromal cells, genetically modified to express the green fluorescent protein (GFP), from the 24-96 hours growth period, with the first 24 hours of growth being held inside a lab-scale incubator. Periodic images were recorded on nanopitted anodized and polished Ti-6Al-4V substrates to study how substratestiffness influences adhesion and proliferation. Collected images were analyzed for mitosis, adhesion, and filopodia-stretchability using ImageJ, an image processing program. Images were enhanced in order to perform cell counts at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours of growth. Continuous recordings were produced to account for the number of mitosis occurrences and cellular migration on each of the substrates. Based on the conducted experiments, it appears that polished Ti-6Al-4V has a higher cell adherence than “nanopitted” anodized surface and an improved rate of proliferation which may be because the cells once adhered on the nano-pitted surface have less ability to detach in-order to undergo mitosis.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1004/thumbnail.jp

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London