A Novel Quantitative Approach for Eliminating Sample-To-Sample Variation Using a Hue Saturation Value Analysis Program

Objectives: As computing technology and image analysis techniques have advanced, the practice of histology has grown from a purely qualitative method to one that is highly quantified. Current image analysis software is imprecise and prone to wide variation due to common artifacts and histological limitations. In order to minimize the impact of these artifacts, a more robust method for quantitative image analysis is required. Methods and Results: Here we present a novel image analysis software, based on the hue saturation value color space, to be applied to a wide variety of histological stains and tissue types. By using hue, saturation, and value variables instead of the more common red, green, and blue variables, our software offers some distinct advantages over other commercially available programs. We tested the program by analyzing several common histological stains, performed on tissue sections that ranged from 4 µm to 10 µm in thickness, using both a red green blue color space and a hue saturation value color space. Conclusion: We demonstrated that our new software is a simple method for quantitative analysis of histological sections, which is highly robust to variations in section thickness, sectioning artifacts, and stain quality, eliminating sample-to-sample variation

Cathepsin S As an Inhibitor of Cardiovascular Inflammation and Calcification in Chronic Kidney Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for the majority of deaths in the developed world. Particularly, in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), the imbalance of calcium and phosphate may lead to the acceleration of both vascular and valve inflammation and calcification. One in two patients with CKD are reported as dying from cardiovascular causes due to the resulting acceleration in the development of atherosclerosis plaques. In addition, CKD patients on hemodialysis are prone to aortic valve calcification and often need valve replacement before kidney transplantation. The lysosomal proteases, cathepsins, are composed of 11 cysteine members (cathepsin B, C, F, H, K, L, O, S, V, W, and Z), as well as serine proteases cathepsin A and G, which cleave peptide bonds with serine as the amino acid, and aspartyl proteases D and E, which use an activated water molecule bound to aspartate to break peptide substrate. Cysteine proteases, also known as thiol proteases, degrade protein via the deprotonation of a thiol and have been found to play a significant role in autoimmune disease, atherosclerosis, aortic valve calcification, cardiac repair, and cardiomyopathy, operating within extracellular spaces. This review sought to evaluate recent findings in this field, highlighting how among cathepsins, the inhibition of cathepsin S in particular, could play a significant role in diminishing the effects of CVD, especially for patients with CKD

Viabilidade econômica da irrigação da cultura do café na região de Viçosa - MG

The objective of this paper is analyze the economic viability of implanting different technological alternatives of irrigation in the culture of coffee in the municipal district of Viçosa-MG. Technical and financial parameters of coffee cultivation were analyzed in five different technological alternatives: (A) - no-irrigated production with low productivity, (B) - no-irrigated production with high productivity, (C) - irrigated production by leaking, (D) - irrigated production by leaking fertilizing, (E) - irrigated production by mesh. For each one of there alternatives, Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, the Rate Interns of Return Modified and the Payback Period, being made the risk simulations were performed using the Latin Hypercube method. Results showed that the alternatives of production white irrigated were economically superior to the alternatives without no-irrigated, even in traditional producers areas, as the municipal district of Viçosa-MG. In addition to elevating the economical return and reducing the of the Payback Period capital invested, irrigated coffee reduces the risk of the activity.Coffee, Return, Risk, Risk and Uncertainty,

Born Normalization for Fluorescence Optical Projection Tomography for Whole Heart Imaging

Optical projection tomography is a three-dimensional imaging technique that has been recently introduced as an imaging tool primarily in developmental biology and gene expression studies. The technique renders biological sample optically transparent by first dehydrating them and then placing in a mixture of benzyl alcohol and benzyl benzoate in a 2:1 ratio (BABB or Murray s Clear solution). The technique renders biological samples optically transparent by first dehydrating them in graded ethanol solutions then placing them in a mixture of benzyl alcohol and benzyl benzoate in a 2:1 ratio (BABB or Murray s Clear solution) to clear. After the clearing process the scattering contribution in the sample can be greatly reduced and made almost negligible while the absorption contribution cannot be eliminated completely. When trying to reconstruct the fluorescence distribution within the sample under investigation, this contribution affects the reconstructions and leads, inevitably, to image artifacts and quantification errors.. While absorption could be reduced further with a permanence of weeks or months in the clearing media, this will lead to progressive loss of fluorescence and to an unrealistically long sample processing time. This is true when reconstructing both exogenous contrast agents (molecular contrast agents) as well as endogenous contrast (e.g. reconstructions of genetically expressed fluorescent proteins)

Effects of camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) powder on the physicochemical and kinetic parameters of deteriorating microorganisms and salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Typhimurium in refrigerated vacuum-packed ground beef

This study aims to evaluate the effects of camu-camu powder (CCP), Amazonian berry fruit with documented bioactive properties, physicochemical meat parameters, and the growth kinetics parameters of S. enterica ser. Typhimurium, psychrotrophic bacteria (PSY), and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in vacuum-packed ground beef. Batches of ground beef were mixed with 0.0%, 2.0%, 3.5%, and 5.0% CCP (w/w), vacuum-packed as 10 g portions, and stored at 5â—¦C for 16 days. Centesimal composition analyses (only on the initial day), pH, TBARS, and color were quantified on storage days 1, 7, and 15, while PSY and LAB were counted on days 0, 3, 6, 9, 13, and 16. Another experiment was conducted with the same camu-camu doses by inoculating S. enterica ser. Typhimurium microbial kinetic curves were modeled by the Huang growth and Weibull decay models. CCP decreased TBARS in beef from 0.477 to 0.189 mg MDA·kg−1 . No significant differences in meat pH between treated and control samples were observed on day 15. CCP addition caused color changes, with color a* value decreases (from 14.45 to 13.44) and color b* value increases (from 17.41 to 21.25), while color L* was not affected. Higher CCP doses caused progressive LAB growth inhibition from 0.596 to 0.349 log CFU·day−1 at 2.0% and 5.0% CCP, respectively. Similarly, PSY growth rates in the treated group were lower (0.79–0.91 log CFU·day−1 ) compared to the control (1.21 log CFU·day−1 ). CCP addition at any of the investigated doses produced a steeper S. enterica ser. Typhimurium inactivation during the first cold storage day, represented by Weibull’s concavity α shape parameter, ranged from 0.37 to 0.51, in contrast to 1.24 for the control. At the end of the experiment, however, S. enterica ser. Typhimurium counts in beef containing CCP were not significantly different (p lt 0.05) from the control. Although CCP affects bacterial kinetics, it does not protect ground beef against spoilage bacteria and Salmonella to the same degree it does against lipid peroxidation.The authors would like to thank CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel)—Brazil, for supporting the first author with a scholarship from the international Sandwich Exchange Program—PDSE 047/2017/Process no. 88881.189927/2018-01 and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—CNPq (Process: 310462/2018-5), and to PROPeq/PROPG-UFMT, Brazil. U. Gonzales-Barron and V. Cadavez are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). U. Gonzales-Barron acknowledges FCT, P.I., for the institutional scientific employment program contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O CULTIVO IRRIGADO DO MARACUJAZEIRO EM REGIÕES ÚMIDAS: UMA ANÁLISE FINANCEIRA

Este artigo objetivou analisar a rentabilidade financeira da irrigação do maracujazeiro em comparação à cultura não-irrigada em regiões úmidas, com índices pluviométricos favoráveis à produção. Para isso, obteve-se o fluxo de caixa para o cultivo do maracujazeiro não-irrigado e irrigado, sendo calculados os indicadores financeiros Custo Médio de Produção, Valor Presente Líquido, Taxa Interna de Retorno, Taxa Interna de Retorno Modificada e Benefício-Custo. Para completar a análise foi realizada ainda a mensuração do risco pelo método de Monte Carlo. De acordo com os indicadores de rentabilidade financeira, mesmo em regiões úmidas, a irrigação do maracujazeiro, além de proporcionar maiores retornos, ainda reduz o nível de risco da atividade.Maracujá, viabilidade financeira, Paulínia, Crop Production/Industries,

18F-4V for PET–CT Imaging of VCAM-1 Expression in Atherosclerosis

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to iteratively develop and validate an 18F-labeled small vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 affinity ligand and demonstrate the feasibility of imaging VCAM-1 expression by positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) in murine atherosclerotic arteries.BackgroundHybrid PET-CT imaging allows simultaneous assessment of atherosclerotic lesion morphology (CT) and may facilitate early risk assessment in individual patients. The early induction, confinement of expression to atherosclerotic lesions, and accessible position in proximity to the blood pool render the adhesion molecule VCAM-1 an attractive imaging biomarker for inflamed atheroma prone to complication.MethodsA cyclic, a linear, and an oligomer affinity peptide, internalized into endothelial cells by VCAM-1–mediated binding, were initially derivatized with DOTA to determine their binding profiles and pharmacokinetics. The lead compound was then 18F-labeled and tested in atherosclerotic apoE−/− mice receiving a high-cholesterol diet as well as wild type murine models of myocardial infarction and heart transplant rejection.ResultsThe tetrameric peptide had the highest affinity and specificity for VCAM-1 (97% inhibition with soluble VCAM-1 in vitro). In vivo PET-CT imaging using 18F-4V showed 0.31 ± 0.02 SUV in murine atheroma (ex vivo %IDGT 5.9 ± 1.5). 18F-4V uptake colocalized with atherosclerotic plaques on Oil Red O staining and correlated to mRNA levels of VCAM-1 measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (R = 0.79, p = 0.03). Atherosclerotic mice receiving an atorvastatin-enriched diet had significantly lower lesional uptake (p < 0.05). Furthermore, 18F-4V imaging in myocardial ischemia after coronary ligation and in transplanted cardiac allografts undergoing rejection showed high in vivo PET signal in inflamed myocardium and good correlation with ex vivo measurement of VCAM-1 mRNA by quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Conclusions 18F-4V allows noninvasive PET-CT imaging of VCAM-1 in inflammatory atherosclerosis, has the dynamic range to quantify treatment effects, and correlates with inflammatory gene expression

Pingu virus : a new picornavirus in penguins from Antarctica

Picornaviridae family comprises single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses distributed into forty-seven genera. Picornaviruses have a broad host range and geographic distribution in all continents. In this study, we applied a high-throughput sequencing approach to examine the presence of picornaviruses in penguins from King George Island, Antarctica. We discovered and characterized a novel picornavirus from cloacal swab samples of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua), which we tentatively named Pingu virus. Also, using RT-PCR we detected this virus in 12.9 per cent of cloacal swabs derived from P. papua, but not in samples from adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) or chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus). Attempts to isolate the virus in a chicken cell line and in embryonated chicken eggs were unsuccessful. Our results expand the viral diversity, host range, and geographical distribution of the Picornaviridae52FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP13/14929-1; 17/13981-0; 12/24150-9; 15/05778-5; 14/20851-8, 16/01414-1; 06/00572-0This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil (Grant no. 13/14929-1, and Scholarships nos. 17/13981-0; 12/24150-9; 15/05778-5; 14/20851-8; 16/01414-1; 06/00572-0). P.R.M. was supported by the Medical Research Council of the UK (Grant no. MC_UU_120/14/9