Image-processing assisted characterization of spray injection systems

The objective of this work is to investigate the spray characteristics of a fuel injection nozzle. The analysis is performed by means of a framework which exploits different image processing techniques to provide spray-related data to the operator. Innovative metrics are introduced to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the scheme. Experimental results show that it is possible to automatically get useful information about the spray distribution, asymmetries and key properties together with the capability to measure significant angles and other information to detect anomalies in the injection system

Fatal cardiac arrest in an adult patient with euthyroid anti-SSA/Ro-positive connective tissue disease: a case report

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Enhanced Expression of Interferon-γ-Induced Antigen-Processing Machinery Components in a Spontaneously Occurring Cancer

AbstractIn human tumors, changes in the surface expression and/or function of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens are frequently found and may provide malignant cells with a mechanism to escape control of the immune system. This altered human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) class I phenotype can be caused by either structural alterations or dysregulation of genes encoding subunits of HLA class I antigens and/or components of the MHC class I antigen-processing machinery (APM). Herein we analyze the expression of several proteins involved in the generation of MHC class I epitopes in feline injection site sarcoma, a spontaneously occurring tumor in cats that is an informative model for the study of tumor biology in other species, including humans. Eighteen surgically removed primary fibrosarcoma lesions were analyzed, and an enhanced expression of two catalytic subunits of immunoproteasomes, PA28 and leucine aminopeptidase, was found in tumors compared to matched normal tissues. As a functional counterpart of these changes in protein levels, proteasomal activities were increased in tissue extracts from fibrosarcomas. Taken together, these results suggest that alterations in the APM system may account for reduced processing of selected tumor antigens and may potentially provide neoplastic fibroblasts with a mechanism for escape from T-cell recognition and destruction

Korištenje povlačne podvodne kamere za procjene škampa, hlapića i morskog pera u Jadranskom moru

Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is of great commercial importance throughout the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean, where it lives in burrows within muddy sediments. In several European countries it is assessed by means of towed underwater TV techniques. These are particularly suited to N. norvegicus because, for a number of reasons, the application of common fishery-dependent stock-assessment methods is not thorough for this species. The TV-based methodology relies on the fact that a known surface area of seabed is visually assessed and the number of N. norvegicus burrows, whose features are distinct, can be counted and their inhabitants quantified. It follows that, in theory, the same can be done for other organisms or key ecological features which appear on the footage. This study reports the results of the underwater television surveys (2009 and 2010) carried out jointly by Italy and Croatia in the Pomo/Jabuka pits, an area of the Adriatic Sea important for its N. norvegicus fishery and its hake nursery grounds. The obtained footage allowed quantification of the density of N. norvegicus in the area and the acquisition of estimates of the abundances of the squat lobster, Munida rutllanti and the sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis. The concurrent quantification of trawling activity from the footage has allowed us to place our results in the context of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.Škamp ( Nephrops norvegicus ) je izuzetno važna gospodarska vrsta koja obitava u rupama u muljevitom sedimentu diljem sjeverno-istočnog Atlantika i Mediterana. Obzirom da uobičajene metode procjene bioloških resursa koje se zasnivaju na ribolovu nisu u potpunosti pogodne za ovu vrstu, nekoliko Europskih zemalja procjene populacije škampa obavlja korištenjem povlačne podvodne kamere. Ova metodologija bazira se na činjenici da škamp u sedimentu iskapa rupe karakterističnog izgleda koje se determiniraju i prebrojavaju vizualnim pregledom snimke dobivene povlačenjem podvodne kamere preko određene površine morskog dna. Teoretski, ova metodologija se može primijeniti i za procjene drugih vrsta ili ekoloških parametara koji su zabilježeni na snimkama. Ova studija iznosi rezultate istraživanja podvodnom kamerom (2009. i 2010. godine) koje su zajednički proveli Italija i Hrvatska na području Jabučke kotline u Jadranskom moru. Ovo područje koje se intenzivno gospodarski iskorištava značajno je kao glavno mrijestilište i rastilište većeg broja pridnenih vrsta, posebno škampa i oslića ( Merluccius merluccius ) Na osnovu dobivenih snimki izrađena je procjena brojnosti i biomase škampa, kao i procjena brojnosti hlapića ( Munida rutllanti ) i morskog pera ( Funiculina quadrangularis ). Istodobna procjena tragova koćarenja zabilježenih na snimkama omogućila nam je da ove rezultate stavimo u kontekst ekosustavnog pristupa gospodarenju bioloških resursa mora