960 research outputs found
Automatic Renal Segmentation in DCE-MRI using Convolutional Neural Networks
Kidney function evaluation using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI)
images could help in diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases of children.
Automatic segmentation of renal parenchyma is an important step in this
process. In this paper, we propose a time and memory efficient fully automated
segmentation method which achieves high segmentation accuracy with running time
in the order of seconds in both normal kidneys and kidneys with hydronephrosis.
The proposed method is based on a cascaded application of two 3D convolutional
neural networks that employs spatial and temporal information at the same time
in order to learn the tasks of localization and segmentation of kidneys,
respectively. Segmentation performance is evaluated on both normal and abnormal
kidneys with varying levels of hydronephrosis. We achieved a mean dice
coefficient of 91.4 and 83.6 for normal and abnormal kidneys of pediatric
patients, respectively
Reverse-Traditional/Hands-On: An Alternative Method of Teaching Statistics
This paper presents a method for teaching statistics called the Reverse-Traditional/Hands-On (RT/HO) method. The method includes student-generated data, use of a statistical computing package such as MINITAB to introduce statistical terms and methods, and a statistical research component. An analytic comparison of students’ successes in courses using the Traditional and RT/HO methods is presented
Decision Support System for Urbanization of the Northern Part of the Volga-Akhtuba Floodplain (Russia) on the Basis of Interdisciplinary Computer Modeling
There is a computer decision support system (CDSS) for urbanization of the
northern part of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. This system includes subsystems
of cognitive and game-theoretic analysis, geoinformation and hydrodynamic
simulations. The paper presents the cognitive graph, two-level and three-level
models of hierarchical games for the cases of uncontrolled and controlled
development of the problem situation. We described the quantitative analysis of
the effects of different strategies for the spatial distribution of the
urbanized territories. For this reason we conducted the territory zoning
according to the level of negative consequences of urbanization for various
agents. In addition, we found an analytical solution for games with the linear
dependence of the average flooded area on the urbanized area. We numerically
computed a game equilibrium for dependences derived from the imitational
geoinformation and hydrodynamic modeling of flooding. As the result, we showed
that the transition to the three-level management system and the implementation
of an optimal urbanization strategy minimize its negative consequences.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures; Conference: Creativity in Intelligent
Technologies and Data Science. CIT&DS 201
Poor sleep quality in patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: An intervention study using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model
Background: Poor sleep quality (SQ) is common among patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). This study attempted to determine the status of SQ following an intervention based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model in patients with poor SQ after CABG. Methods: This study was a randomized clinical trial. The study sample, including 100 patients referred to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic of Tehran Heart Center, was assigned either to the intervention (recipient of exercise and lifestyle training plus designed intervention based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model) or to the control group (recipient of exercise and lifestyle training). Eight training sessions over 8 weeks were conducted for the intervention group. Predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors as well as social support and SQ were measured in the intervention group before and one month after the intervention and compared to those in the control group at the same time points. Results: The mean age of the patients in the intervention (24 women) and control (24 women) groups was 59.3 ± 7.3 and 59.5 ± 9.3 years, respectively. The results showed that the mean scores of SQ (p value < 0.001), knowledge (p value < 0.001), beliefs (p value < 0.001), sleep self-efficacy (p value < 0.001), enabling factors (p value < 0.001), reinforcing factors (p value < 0.001), and social support (p value < 0.001) were significantly different between the intervention and control groups after the intervention. Conclusion: Adding an intervention based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to the cardiac rehabilitation program may further improve the SQ of patients. © 2015 Tehran Heart Center. All rights reserved
No evidence for an association between the -36A>C phospholamban gene polymorphism and a worse prognosis in heart failure
Background: In Brazil, heart failure leads to approximately 25,000 deaths per year. Abnormal calcium handling is a hallmark of heart failure and changes in genes encoding for proteins involved in the re-uptake of calcium might harbor mutations leading to inherited cardiomyopathies. Phospholamban (PLN) plays a prime role in cardiac contractility and relaxation and mutations in the gene encoding PLN have been associated with dilated cardiomyopathy. In this study, our objective was to determine the presence of the -36A>C alteration in PLN gene in a Brazilian population of individuals with HF and to test whether this alteration is associated with heart failure or with a worse prognosis of patients with HF. Methods: We genotyped a cohort of 881 patients with HF and 1259 individuals from a cohort of individuals from the general population for the alteration -36A>C in the PLN gene. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between groups (patients and control). In addition, frequencies or mean values of different phenotypes associated with cardiovascular disease were compared between genotypic groups. Finally, patients were prospectively followed-up for death incidence and genotypes for the -36A>C were compared regarding mortality incidence in HF patients. Results: No significant association was found between the study polymorphism and HF in our population. In addition, no association between PLN -36A>C polymorphism and demographic, clinical and functional characteristics and mortality incidence in this sample of HF patients was observed. Conclusion: Our data do not support a role for the PLN -36A>C alteration in modulating the heart failure phenotype, including its clinical course, in humans
Nano-Size Layered Manganese-Calcium Oxide as an Efficient and Biomimetic Catalyst for Water Oxidation Under Acidic Conditions: Comparable To Platinum
Inspired by Nature's catalyst, a nano-size layered manganese-calcium oxide showed a low overvoltage for water oxidation in acidic solutions, which is comparable to platinum.Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences and the National Elite FoundationUS Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical, Geochemical and Biological Sciences DE-FG02-86ER13622, DE-FG0209ER16119Russian Foundation for Basic Research 11-04-01389a, 12-0492101a, 13-04-92711aMolecular and Cell Biology Programs of the Russian Academy of SciencesCenter for Electrochemistr
Exploiting quantization uncertainty for enhancing capacity of limited-feedback MISO ad hoc networks
In this paper we investigate the capacity of random wireless networks in which transmitters are equipped with multiantennas. A quantized version of channel direction information (CDI) is also available, provided by the associated single antenna receivers. We adopt tools of stochastic geometry and random vector quantization to incorporate the impacts of interference and quantization errors, respectively. We first study the capacity of Aloha, and channel quality information (CQI)-based scheduling, whereby the transmissions decision in each transceiver pair depends on the strength of the CQI against a prescribed threshold. We then propose a new scheduling scheme, namely modified CQI (MCQI), by which the quantization error is effectively incorporated in the scheduling. Further we obtain the capacity of MCQI-based scheduling. Simulation results confirm our analysis and show that the proposed MCQI-based scheduling improves the capacity compared to the CQI-based scheduling and Aloha. It is also seen that the performance boost is more significant where the feedback capacity is low and the network is dense. In comparison with the case of high feedback capacity, the network capacity is not reduced by low feedback capacity in the MCQI-based scheduling. This is of practical importance since the network designer can save the feedback resources by employing MCQI-based scheduling without compromising the capacity and increasing the receivers’ complexity
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