SPECT/CT Imaging of hNIS - Expression after Intravenous Delivery of an Oncolytic Adenovirus and I-131

Peer reviewe

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on nine research projects.Analog Devices, Inc.International Business Machines CorporationJoint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Contract AFOSR 86-0164BDuPont CorporationNational Science Foundation Grant MIP 88-14612U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-87-K-0825American Telephone and TelegraphDigital Equipment CorporationNational Science Foundation Grant MIP 88-5876

Openness in participation, assessment, and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health: a review of literature and recent project results

Issues of environment and environmental health involve multiple interests regarding e.g. political, societal, economical, and public concerns represented by different kinds of organizations and individuals. Not surprisingly, stakeholder and public participation has become a major issue in environmental and environmental health policy and assessment. The need for participation has been discussed and reasoned by many, including environmental legislators around the world. In principle, participation is generally considered as desirable and the focus of most scholars and practitioners is on carrying out participation, and making participation more effective. In practice also doubts regarding the effectiveness and importance of participation exist among policy makers, assessors, and public, leading even to undermining participatory practices in policy making and assessment

Custom Integrated Circuits

Contains reports on twelve research projects.Analog Devices, Inc.International Business Machines, Inc.Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAL03-86-K-0002)Joint Services Electronics Program (Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001)U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research (Grant AFOSR 86-0164)Rockwell International CorporationOKI Semiconductor, Inc.U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-81-K-0742)Charles Stark Draper LaboratoryNational Science Foundation (Grant MIP 84-07285)National Science Foundation (Grant MIP 87-14969)Battelle LaboratoriesNational Science Foundation (Grant MIP 88-14612)DuPont CorporationDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency/U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research (Contract N00014-87-K-0825)American Telephone and TelegraphDigital Equipment CorporationNational Science Foundation (Grant MIP-88-58764

Deep learning neural network -guided detection of asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage samples

Introduction: Asbestos is a global occupational health hazard and exposure to it by inhalation predisposes to interstitial as well as malignant pulmonary morbidity. Over time, asbestos fibers embedded in lung tissue can become coated with iron-rich proteins and mucopolysaccharides, after which they are called asbestos bodies and can be detected in light microscopy. Bronchoalveolar lavage, a cytological sample from the lower airways, is one of the methods for diagnosing lung asbestosis and related morbidity. Search for asbestos bodies in these samples is generally laborious and time-consuming. We describe a novel diagnostic method, which implements deep-learning neural network technology for the detection of asbestos bodies in bronchoalveolar lavage samples.Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage samples with suspicion of asbestos exposure were scanned as whole slide images and uploaded to a cloud-based virtual microscopy platform with a neural network training interface. The images were used for training and testing a neural network model capable of recognizing asbestos bodies. To prioritize the model's sensitivity, we allowed it to also make false-positive suggestions. To test the model, we compared its performance to standard light microscopy diagnostic data as well as the ground truth number of asbestos bodies, which we established by a thorough manual search of the whole slide images.Results: We were able to reach overall sensitivity of 93.4 % (95% CI 90.3 - 95.7 %) in the detection of asbestos bodies in comparison to their ground truth number. Compared to standard light microscopy diagnostic data, our model showed equal to or higher sensitivity in most cases.Conclusion: Our results indicate that deep learning neural network technology offers promising diagnostic tools for routine assessment of bronchoalveolar lavage samples. However, at this stage, a human expert is required to confirm the findings.Peer reviewe

DoA estimation using compact CRLH leaky-wave antennas:novel algorithms and measured performance

Abstract Traditional direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation algorithms for multielement antenna arrays (AAs) are not directly applicable to reconfigurable antennas due to inherent design and operating differences between AAs and reconfigurable antennas. In this paper, we propose novel modifications to the existing DoA algorithms and show how these can be adapted for real-time DoA estimation using two-port composite right/ left-handed (CRLH) reconfigurable leaky-wave antennas (LWAs). First, we propose a single/two-port multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm and derive the corresponding steering vector for reconfigurable LWAs. We also present a power pattern cross correlation algorithm that is based on finding the maximum correlation between the measured radiation patterns and the received powers. For all algorithms, we show how to simultaneously use both ports of the two-port LWA in order to improve the DoA estimation accuracy and, at the same time, reduce the scanning time for the arriving signals. Moreover, we formulate the Cramer-Rao bound for MUSIC-based DoA estimation with LWAs and present an extensive performance evaluation of MUSIC algorithm based on numerical simulations. In addition, these results are compared to DoA estimation with conventional AAs. Finally, we experimentally evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms in an indoor multipath wireless environment with both line-of-sight (LoS) and non-LoS components. Our results demonstrate that DoA estimation of the received signal can be successfully performed using the two-port CRLH-LWA, even in the presence of severe multipath

Forest management is associated with physiological stress in an old-growth forest passerine.

We investigated how physiological stress in an area-sensitive old-growth forest passerine, the Eurasian treecreeper (Certhia familiaris), is associated with forest fragmentation and forest structure. We found evidence that the concentrations of plasma corticosterone in chicks were higher under poor food supply in dense, young forests than in sparse, old forests. In addition, nestlings in large forest patches had lower corticosterone levels and a better body condition than in small forest patches. In general, corticosterone levels were negatively related to body condition and survival. We also found a decrease in corticosterone levels within the breeding season, which may have been a result of an increase in food supply from the first to the second broods. Our results suggest that forest fragmentation may decrease the fitness of free-living individual treecreepers

hNIS-expression in prostate cancer cells.

<p>(<b>a</b>) Cells were infected with 10 vp of Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS (lanes 1 and 3) or control virus Ad5/3-hTERT-Δgp19K (lanes 2 and 4). hNIS-RNA -expression was assayed 24 h (lanes 1 and 2) and 48 h (lanes 3 and 4) later by RT-PCR. ß-actin served as an internal control. (<b>b</b>) ¹²⁵I uptake in prostate cancer cells infected in triplicates with 10 vp of Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS or Ad5/3-hTERT-Δgp19K. The capability of the cells to concentrate iodide was assessed at 24 h and 48 h after infection. Student's t-test was used for statistical analyses, *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 as compared to uninfected cells. Bars represent SD.</p

In vivo iodide uptake and efficacy.

<p>(<b>a</b>) Tumor uptake of ¹²³I⁻ 0.5 h, 2 h and 13 h after i.v. administration of ¹²³I⁻. The tumors were injected twice with hTERT-viruses 24 h and 48 h prior to radioiodide. 1, Mock-injected tumor; 2, Ad5/3-hTERT-Δgp19K-injected tumor; 3 and 4, Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS-injected tumors. (<b>b</b>) Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS significantly prolongs the survival of mice bearing intra pulmonary PC-3MM2 tumors. Mice received 5×10¹⁰ vp of Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS or diluent intravenously. Next day, the mice were injected intraperitoneally with ¹³¹I⁻. The treatments were repeated once a week for a total of three weeks. Pairwise comparisons with the logrank test were used to compare survival curves, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 as compared to mock-treated mice. (<b>c</b>) Biodistribution of ¹³¹I⁻ in mice 48 h after the first intravenous Ad5/3-hTERT-hNIS-injection and 24 h after first radioiodide-injection. Bars represent SD.</p