Facial Image Reconstruction from a Corrupted Image by Support Vector Data Description

This paper proposes a method of automatic facial reconstruction from a facial image partially corrupted by noise or occlusion. There are two key features of this method; the one is the automatic extraction of the correspondences between the corrupted input face and reference face without additional manual tasks; the other is the reconstruction of the complete facial information from corrupted facial information based on these correspondences. In this paper, we propose a non-iterative approach that can match multiple feature points in order to obtain the correspondences between the input image and the reference face. Furthermore, shape and texture of the whole face are reconstructed by SVDD (Support Vector Data Description) from the partial correspondences obtained by matching. The experimental results of facial image reconstructions show that the proposed SVDD-based reconstruction method gives smaller reconstruction errors for a facial image corrupted by Gaussian noise and occlusion than the existing linear projection reconstruction method with a regulation factor. The proposed method also reduces the mean intensity error per pixel by an average of 35 %, especially in the reconstruction of a facial image corrupted by Gaussian noise

miRNA regulation of cytotoxic effects in mouse Sertoli cells exposed to nonylphenol

Background: It is known that some environmental chemicals affect the human endocrine system. The harmful effects of endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) nonylphenol (NP) have been studied since the 1980s. It is known that NP adversely affects physiological functions by mimicking the natural hormone 17 beta-estradiol. In the present study, we analyzed the expression of miRNAs and their target genes in mouse Sertoli TM4 cells to better understand the regulatory roles of miRNAs on Sertoli cells after NP exposure. Methods: Mouse TM4 Sertoli cells were treated with NP for 3 or 24 h, and global gene and miRNA expression were analyzed using Agilent mouse whole genome and mouse miRNA v13 arrays. Results: We identified genes that were > 2-fold differentially expressed in NP-treated cells and control cells (P < 0.05) and analyzed their functions through Gene Ontology analysis. We also identified miRNAs that were differentially expressed in NP-treated and control cells. Of the 186 miRNAs the expression of which differed between NP-treated and control cells, 59 and 147 miRNAs exhibited 1.3-fold increased or decreased expression at 3 and 24 h, respectively. Network analysis of deregulated miRNAs suggested that Ppara may regulate the expression of certain miRNAs, including miR-378, miR-125a-3p miR-20a, miR-203, and miR-101a, after exposure to NP. Additionally, comprehensive analysis of predicted target genes for miRNAs showed that the expression of genes with roles in cell proliferation, the cell cycle, and cell death were regulated by miRNA in NP-treated TM4 cells. Levels of expression of the miRNAs miR-135a* and miR-199a-5p were validated by qRT-PCR. Finally, miR-135a* target gene analysis suggests that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) following exposure to NP exposure may be mediated by miR-135a* through regulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusions: Collectively, these data help to determine NP's actions on mouse TM4 Sertoli cells and increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of xenoestrogens on the reproductive system.This work was supported an Eco-Technopia 21 project grant from the Ministry of Environment (Development of Decision Method of Chromosomal Abnormality in Reproductive System by Toxic Substances at the Korea Institute of Toxicology)

Antidiabetic Effect of Fresh Nopal ( Opuntia ficus-indica

The objective of the present study was to evaluate α-glucosidase inhibitory and antidiabetic effects of Nopal water extract (NPWE) and Nopal dry power (NADP) in low-dose streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The type 2 diabetic rat model was induced by HFD and low-dose STZ. The rats were divided into four groups as follows: (1) nondiabetic rats fed a regular diet (RD-Control); (2) low-dose STZ-induced diabetic rats fed HFD (HF-STZ-Control); (3) low-dose STZ-induced diabetic rats fed HFD and supplemented with NPWE (100 mg/kg body weight, HF-STZ-NPWE); and (4) low-dose STZ-induced diabetic rats fed HFD and supplemented with comparison medication (rosiglitazone, 10 mg/kg, body weight, HF-STZ-Rosiglitazone). In results, NPWE and NADP had IC50 values of 67.33 and 86.68 μg/mL, both of which exhibit inhibitory activities but lower than that of acarbose (38.05 μg/mL) while NPWE group significantly decreased blood glucose levels compared to control and NPDP group on glucose tolerance in the high-fat diet fed rats model (P<0.05). Also, the blood glucose levels of HR-STZ-NPWE group were significantly lower (P<0.05) than HR-STZ-Control group on low-dose STZ-induced diabetic rats fed HFD. Based on these findings, we suggested that NPWE could be considered for the prevention and/or treatment of blood glucose and a potential use as a dietary supplement

Unsupervised Grouping of Local Components for Object Segmentation

In this paper, we propose a novel object segmentation method for image understanding. Due to challenges such as variations in object size, orientation, illumination etc. object segmentation is extraordinarily difficult task in the domain of image understanding. It is well-founded concept that a small portion of the pixel set in an image contributes most in image description. Based on this concept, we hypothesize that an image consists of many components or parts each of which represent a small local area in the image and they are very meaningful in visual perception. For object segmentation, we propose spatial segmentation method on such prototypical components of images. Given an image this segmentation method acts as coarse to fine search for object(s) iteratively. The proposed method demonstrate its excellence in localizing objects in various complex backgrounds, multiple objects in a single image even if they have variation in size, orientation, lighting conditions etc. The detection efficiency of our object detector on our self-collected image set which consists of images from six different object categories climbs up to 93% in average.

Complication Rate and Pitfalls of Temporary Bridging External Fixator in Periarticular Communited Fractures

BACKGROUND: A second staged operation using temporary bridging external fixation (TBEF) has been widely used in patients with periarticular complex fracture, yet few papers have been published on the related complications. The purpose of this study was to report the complication rate and pitfalls directly related to TBEF through a retrospective study and to suggest some solutions. METHODS: Fifty-nine cases that were treated by using TBEF were studied among 195 periarticular complex fractures. We retrospectively collected the clinical and radiological data and then the study data was evaluated for 1) cases with unsatisfactory restoration of length, 2) cases with deep infection caused by half pins invading the zone of definitive fixation, and 3) neurovascular injuries related to half pins. RESULTS: Complications were observed in 7/59 cases (11%). Problems related to the achievement of length were observed in one case of distal tibia fracture and 2 cases of distal femur fracture. Half pin related infection was observed in 2 cases of distal femur fracture. Neurovascular injury (medial calcaneal nerve injury in a distal tibia fracture) was observed in 2 cases. Among 7 complications, four were related to using TBEF in distal femur fracture. This is because the abundant leg muscles have strong deforming force and infection might be increased due to frequent irritation by the half pins. CONCLUSIONS: TBEF is a simple procedure with several advantages. However, complications might be observed if certain principles are not followed. It is thought that many complications due to TBEF can be reduced if the half pins are not inserted in the zone of injury, restoration of length is fully achieved and the neurovascular characteristics are carefully considered. In particular, much more caution is needed in the distal femur, which has abundant muscles surrounding it.ope

Morphological changes of the lateral meniscus in end-stage lateral compartment osteoarthritis of the knee.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological changes of the lateral meniscus in end-stage lateral compartment osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. METHODS: One hundred fifty-eight knee joints from 133 patients that subsequently underwent total knee joint arthroplasty from January 2008 to December 2009 were enrolled. There were 26 men and 107 women. Their ages ranged from 56 to 81 (mean 67.4 + 6.5 years). All study participants had complete obliteration of the lateral joint space identified by weight-bearing radiography. Meniscal position was assessed by measuring meniscal subluxation and meniscal height. The meniscal morphology was assessed using a modification of the whole-organ magnetic resonance imaging score (WORMS). The frequency of different meniscal morphology and their respective positions was calculated. RESULTS: The predominant type (42.4%, 53.8% and 52.5% in the anterior horn, mid-body and posterior horn, respectively) of abnormal meniscal morphology was a complete maceration/destruction or complete resection. The anterior horn of non-macerated lateral meniscus was more subluxed than that of the non-macerated medial meniscus in patients with lateral OA. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the lateral meniscus in persons with end-stage lateral OA are mostly macerated or destroyed. Also, unlike isolated end-staged medial compartment OA, the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus in isolated end-stage lateral OA is commonly affected. Copyright 2011 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Delayed Diagnosis of an Intraurethral Foreign Body Causing Urosepsis and Penile Necrosis

Cases of self-inserted foreign bodies in the male urethra and urinary bladder are unusual. In most cases, the type of foreign body can be identified by taking a history or from radiological findings; sometimes, however, it is difficult to identify the foreign body because of decreased mental capacity of the patient or unknown radiological characteristics of the foreign body. We experienced a chronic alcoholic patient with septicemia and penile necrosis in whom a fragment of mirror glass had passed through the urethra into the bladder. The glass, 2 cm in length and 0.7 cm in diameter, was detected by cystoscopy and was removed by using a resectosope