Facial expressions and ability to recognize emotions from eyes or mouth in children

This research aims to contribute to the literature on the ability to recognize anger, happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust and neutral emotions from facial information. By investigating children’s performance in detecting these emotions from a specific face region, we were interested to know whether children would show differences in recognizing these expressions from the upper or lower face, and if any difference between specific facial regions depended on the emotion in question. For this purpose, a group of 6-7 year-old children was selected. Participants were asked to recognize emotions by using a labeling task with three stimulus types (region of the eyes, of the mouth, and full face). The findings seem to indicate that children correctly recognize basic facial expressions when pictures represent the whole face, except for a neutral expression, which was recognized from the mouth, and sadness, which was recognized from the eyes. Children are also able to identify anger from the eyes as well as from the whole face. With respect to gender differences, there is no female advantage in emotional recognition. The results indicate a significant interaction 'gender x face region' only for anger and neutral emotions

Evaluation of lung flute in sputum samples for molecular analysis of lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Molecular analysis of sputum provides a promising approach for lung cancer diagnosis, yet is limited by the difficulty in collecting the specimens from individuals who can’t spontaneously expectorate sputum. Lung Flute is a small self-powered audio device that can induce sputum by generating sound waves and vibrating in the airways of the lungs. Here we propose to evaluate the usefulness of Lung Flute for sputum sampling to assist diagnosis of lung cancer. METHODS: Forty-three stage I lung cancer patients and 47 cancer-free individuals who couldn’t spontaneously cough sputum were instructed to use Lung Flute for sputum sampling. Expressions of two microRNAs, miRs-31 and 210, were determined in the specimens by qRT-PCR. The results were compared with sputum cytology. RESULTS: Sputum was easily collected from 39 of 43 (90.7%) lung cancer patients and 42 of 47 (89.4%) controls with volume ranges from 1 to 5 ml (median, 2.6 ml). The specimens had less than 4% oral squamous cells, indicating that sputum was obtained from low respiratory tract. Expressions of miRs-31 and 210 in sputum were considerably higher in cancer patients than cancer-free individuals (8.990 vs. 4.514; 0.6847 vs. 0.3317; all P <0.001). Combined use of the two miRNAs produced a significantly higher sensitivity (61.5% vs. 35.9%, P = 0.002) and a slightly lower specificity (90.5% vs. 95.2%, p = 0.03) compared with cytology for lung cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Lung Flute could potentially be useful in convenient and efficient collection of sputum for molecular diagnosis of lung cancer

Red-Eyes Removal through Cluster-Based Boosting on Gray Codes

Since the large diffusion of digital camera and mobile devices with embedded camera and flashgun, the redeyes artifacts have de facto become a critical problem. The technique herein described makes use of three main steps to identify and remove red eyes. First, red-eye candidates are extracted from the input image by using an image filtering pipeline. A set of classifiers is then learned on gray code features extracted in the clustered patches space and hence employed to distinguish between eyes and non-eyes patches. Specifically, for each cluster the gray code of the red-eyes candidate is computed and some discriminative gray code bits are selected employing a boosting approach. The selected gray code bits are used during the classification to discriminate between eye versus non-eye patches. Once red-eyes are detected, artifacts are removed through desaturation and brightness reduction. Experimental results on a large dataset of images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed pipeline that outperforms other existing solutions in terms of hit rates maximization, false positives reduction, and quality measure

Small nucleolar RNA signatures as biomarkers for non-small-cell lung cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death. Early detection of NSCLC will improve its outcome. The current techniques for NSCLC early detection are either invasive or have low accuracy. Molecular analyses of clinical specimens present promising diagnostic approaches. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play an important role in tumorigenesis and could be developed as biomarkers for cancer. Here we aimed to develop small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), a common class of ncRNAs, as biomarkers for NSCLC early detection. The study comprised three phases: (1) profiling snoRNA signatures in 22 NSCLC tissues and matched noncancerous lung tissues by GeneChip Array, (2) validating expressions of the signatures by RT-qPCR in the tissues, and (3) evaluating plasma expressions of the snoRNAs in 37 NSCLC patients, 26 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 22 healthy subjects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the surgical tissues, six snoRNAs were identified, which were overexpressed in all tumour tissues compared with their normal counterparts. The overexpressions of the genes in tumors were confirmed by RT-qPCR. The snoRNAs were stably present and reliably detectable in plasma. Of the six genes, three (SNORD33, SNORD66 and SNORD76) displayed higher plasma expressions in NSCLC patients compared with the cancer-free individuals (All < 0.01). The use of the three genes produced 81.1% sensitivity and 95.8% specificity in distinguishing NSCLC patients from both normal and COPD subjects. The plasma snoRNA expressions were not associated with stages and histological types of NSCLC (All > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The identified snoRNAs provide potential markers for NSCLC early detection.</p

Imagery ability of elite level athletes from individual vs. team and contact vs. no-contact sports

Background In the sport context, imagery has been described as the condition in which persons imagine themselves while executing skills to deal with the upcoming task or enhance performance. Systematic reviews have shown that mental imagery improves performance in motor tasks Methods The aim of the present study was to explore whether imagery vividness (i.e., the clarity or realism of the imagery experience) and controllability (i.e., the ease and accuracy with which an image can be manipulated mentally) differ by sport types (team vs. individual and contact vs. non-contact). Participants were athletes from team contact and non-contact sports (rugby and volleyball, respectively), and individual contact and non-contact sports (karate and tennis, respectively) between the ages of 20 and 33 years (M = 24.37, SD = 2.85). The participants completed the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2, and the Mental Image Transformation Tasks. Results A 2 ×2 × 2 (gender × 2 contact-no-contact × 2 sport type) between groups MANOVA showed differences in imagery ability by sport type. Practical indications deriving from the findings of this study can help coaches and athletes to develop mental preparation programs using sport-specific imagery

Case report: A Saprochaete clavata (Magnusiomyces clavatus) severe infection effectively treated with granulocyte transfusion in a young patient with myeloid sarcoma

Myeloid sarcoma is a hematologic malignancy consisting of extramedullary tissue involvement by myeloid blasts, usually considered as acute myeloid leukemia and treated accordingly. The disease itself, together with chemotherapy and disease-associated factors, may have an impact in increasing the risk of developing severe and frequently life-threatening infections. Herein, we describe the case of a patient with a right breast skin lesion, histologically diagnosed myeloid sarcoma, who developed a severe disseminated fungal infection by Saprochaete clavata (Magnusiomyces clavatus), during the first consolidation course of chemotherapy. Despite maximum antifungal therapy, the infection progressed and the fungus continued to be isolated until granulocyte transfusion therapy was initiated. Our experience suggests that patients with profound and long-lasting neutropenia could benefit from granulocyte transfusions as additional therapy in severe fungal infections resistant to broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy

Objective estimation of body condition score by modeling cow body shape from digital images.

Body condition score (BCS) is considered an important tool for management of dairy cattle. The feasibility of estimating the BCS from digital images has been demonstrated in recent work. Regression machines have been successfully employed for automatic BCS estimation, taking into account information of the overall shape or information extracted on anatomical points of the shape. Despite the progress in this research area, such studies have not addressed the problem of modeling the shape of cows to build a robust descriptor for automatic BCS estimation. Moreover, a benchmark data set of images meant as a point of reference for quantitative evaluation and comparison of different automatic estimation methods for BCS is lacking. The main objective of this study was to develop a technique that was able to describe the body shape of cows in a reconstructive way. Images, used to build a benchmark data set for developing an automatic system for BCS, were taken using a camera placed above an exit gate from the milking robot. The camera was positioned at 3 m from the ground and in such a position to capture images of the rear, dorsal pelvic, and loin area of cows. The BCS of each cow was estimated on site by 2 technicians and associated to the cow images. The benchmark data set contained 286 images with associated BCS, anatomical points, and shapes. It was used for quantitative evaluation. A set of example cow body shapes was created. Linear and polynomial kernel principal component analysis was used to reconstruct shapes of cows using a linear combination of basic shapes constructed from the example database. In this manner, a cow's body shape was described by considering her variability from the average shape. The method produced a compact description of the shape to be used for automatic estimation of BCS. Model validation showed that the polynomial model proposed in this study performs better (error=0.31) than other state-of-the-art methods in estimating BCS even at the extreme values of BCS scale

Predictors of Early Thrombotic Events in Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Real-World Experience

Information regarding the incidence and the prognostic impact of thrombotic events (TE) in non-promyelocytic acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is sparse. Although several risk factors associated with an increased risk of TE development have been recognized, we still lack universally approved guidelines for identification and management of these complications. We retrospectively analyzed 300 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed AML. Reporting the incidence of venous TE (VTE) and arterial TE (ATE) was the primary endpoint. Secondarily, we evaluated baseline patient- and disease-related characteristics with a possible influence of VTE-occurrence probability. Finally, we evaluated the impact of TE on survival. Overall, the VTE incidence was 12.3% and ATE incidence was 2.3%. We identified three independent predictors associated with early-VTE: comorbidities (p = 0.006), platelets count &gt;50x10e9/L (p = 0.006), and a previous history of VTE (p = 0.003). Assigning 1 point to each variable, we observed an overall cumulative incidence of VTE of 18.4% in the high-risk group (&gt;2 points) versus 6.4% in the low-risk group (0–1 point), log-rank = 0.002. Overall, ATE, but not VTE, was associated with poor prognosis (p &lt; 0.001). In conclusion, TE incidence in AML patients is not negligible. We proposed an early-VTE risk score that could be useful for a proper management of VTE prophylaxis

Early alterations of cortical thickness and gyrification in migraine without aura:a retrospective MRI study in pediatric patients

BACKGROUND: Migraine is the most common neurological disease, with high social-economical burden. Although there is growing evidence of brain structural and functional abnormalities in patients with migraine, few studies have been conducted on children and no studies investigating cortical gyrification have been conducted on pediatric patients affected by migraine without aura. METHODS: Seventy-two pediatric patients affected by migraine without aura and eighty-two controls aged between 6 and 18 were retrospectively recruited with the following inclusion criteria: MRI exam showing no morphological or signal abnormalities, no systemic comorbidities, no abnormal neurological examination. Cortical thickness (CT) and local gyrification index (LGI) were obtained through a dedicated algorithm, consisting of a combination of voxel-based and surface-based morphometric techniques. The statistical analysis was performed separately on CT and LGI between: patients and controls; subgroups of controls and subgroups of patients. RESULTS: Patients showed a decreased LGI in the left superior parietal lobule and in the supramarginal gyrus, compared to controls. Female patients presented a decreased LGI in the right superior, middle and transverse temporal gyri, right postcentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus compared to male patients. Compared to migraine patients younger than 12 years, the ≥ 12-year-old subjects showed a decreased CT in the superior and middle frontal gyri, pre- and post-central cortex, paracentral lobule, superior and transverse temporal gyri, supramarginal gyrus and posterior insula. Migraine patients experiencing nausea and/or vomiting during headache attacks presented an increased CT in the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in CT and LGI in patients affected by migraine without aura may suggest the presence of congenital and acquired abnormalities in migraine and that migraine might represent a vast spectrum of different entities. In particular, ≥ 12-year-old pediatric patients showed a decreased CT in areas related to the executive function and nociceptive networks compared to younger patients, while female patients compared to males showed a decreased CT of the auditory cortex compared to males. Therefore, early and tailored therapies are paramount to obtain migraine control, prevent cerebral reduction of cortical thickness and preserve executive function and nociception networks to ensure a high quality of life

In BCR-ABL1 Positive B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Steroid Therapy Induces Hypofibrinogenemia

Hypofibrinogenemia (HF) in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) of B lineage is uncommon and mostly associated with asparaginase (ASP) delivery. Since we noticed a significant reduction in fibrinogen (FBG) plasma levels even before the first ASP dose, we aim to assess the levels of FBG during induction treatment and explore if the FBG fall correlated with therapies other than asparaginase and/or specific leukemia biological features. We retrospectively analyzed FBG levels in 115 patients with B-ALL. In 74 (64%) out of 115 patients FBG decline occurred during the steroid prephase. In univariate analysis, such a steroid-related HF was significantly associated with BCR-ABL1 rearrangement (p = 0.00158). None of those experiencing HF had significant modifications of liver function tests during induction treatment. Our retrospective study suggests that in B-ALL, steroid therapy can also induce HF and that such an event is preferentially observed in patients carrying BCR-ABL1 rearrangements. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is still unclear. We attempt to explain it by applying the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis-Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation score (ISTH-DIC score); nonetheless additional studies are needed to clarify further the mechanisms of HF in this subset of patients