Towards dense object tracking in a 2D honeybee hive

From human crowds to cells in tissue, the detection and efficient tracking of multiple objects in dense configurations is an important and unsolved problem. In the past, limitations of image analysis have restricted studies of dense groups to tracking a single or subset of marked individuals, or to coarse-grained group-level dynamics, all of which yield incomplete information. Here, we combine convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with the model environment of a honeybee hive to automatically recognize all individuals in a dense group from raw image data. We create new, adapted individual labeling and use the segmentation architecture U-Net with a loss function dependent on both object identity and orientation. We additionally exploit temporal regularities of the video recording in a recurrent manner and achieve near human-level performance while reducing the network size by 94% compared to the original U-Net architecture. Given our novel application of CNNs, we generate extensive problem-specific image data in which labeled examples are produced through a custom interface with Amazon Mechanical Turk. This dataset contains over 375,000 labeled bee instances across 720 video frames at 2 FPS, representing an extensive resource for the development and testing of tracking methods. We correctly detect 96% of individuals with a location error of ~7% of a typical body dimension, and orientation error of 12 degrees, approximating the variability of human raters. Our results provide an important step towards efficient image-based dense object tracking by allowing for the accurate determination of object location and orientation across time-series image data efficiently within one network architecture.Comment: 15 pages, including supplementary figures. 1 supplemental movie available as an ancillary fil

Functional characterization of rare RAB12 variants and their role in musician’s and other dystonias

Mutations in RAB (member of the Ras superfamily) genes are increasingly recognized as cause of a variety of disorders including neurological conditions. While musician’s dystonia (MD) and writer’s dystonia (WD) are task-specific movement disorders, other dystonias persistently affect postures as in cervical dystonia. Little is known about the underlying etiology. Next-generation sequencing revealed a rare missense variant (c.586A>G; p.Ile196Val) in RAB12 in two of three MD/WD families. Next, we tested 916 additional dystonia patients; 512 Parkinson’s disease patients; and 461 healthy controls for RAB12 variants and identified 10 additional carriers of rare missense changes among dystonia patients (1.1%) but only one carrier in non-dystonic individuals (0.1%; p = 0.005). The detected variants among index patients comprised p.Ile196Val (n = 6); p.Ala174Thr (n = 3); p.Gly13Asp; p.Ala148Thr; and p.Arg181Gln in patients with MD; cervical dystonia; or WD. Two relatives of MD patients with WD also carried p.Ile196Val. The two variants identified in MD patients (p.Ile196Val; p.Gly13Asp) were characterized on endogenous levels in patient-derived fibroblasts and in two RAB12-overexpressing cell models. The ability to hydrolyze guanosine triphosphate (GTP), so called GTPase activity, was increased in mutants compared to wildtype. Furthermore, subcellular distribution of RAB12 in mutants was altered in fibroblasts. Soluble Transferrin receptor 1 levels were reduced in the blood of all three tested p.Ile196Val carriers. In conclusion, we demonstrate an enrichment of missense changes among dystonia patients. Functional characterization revealed altered enzyme activity and lysosomal distribution in mutants suggesting a contribution of RAB12 variants to MD and other dystonias

Evaluation of Nutrition Education Needs of High School Cheerleaders

The abstract for this presentation can be downloaded by clicking on the blue download button

Floresta dos Borbas, uma nova localidade com pistas de dinossauros na Bacia de Sousa, Paraíba, Brasil.

A new site with dinosaur tracks from the Sousa Basin, Lower Cretaceous of Northeast Brazil is presented. Floresta dos Borbas is the sixth dinosaur tracksite found in the Antenor Navarro Formation. Two theropod trackways are described as well as three sauropod tracks. The sauropod record in this region indicates a restriction to the northern portion of the basin, mostly found in the Antenor Navarro Formation and probably the basal portion of the Sousa Formation. A preliminary analysis indicates that the lower portion of the stratigraphic sequence that forms the Sousa Basin was deposited in a different paleoenvironmental condition than the upper part, being possibly more favorable for sauropods.Uma nova localidade com pistas de dinossauros da Bacia de Sousa, parte do complexo de bacias do Rio do Peixe, Cretáceo Inferior do Nordeste do Brasil, é apresentada. A região, conhecida como Floresta dos Borbas, forma a sexta localidade com pistas e pegadas de dinossauros encontrada na Formação Antenor Navarro. Duas pistas de terópodes e três pegadas de saurópodes são descritas. O registro de pegadas de saurópodes está restrito à parte norte da bacia, procedente da Formação Antenor Navarro e possivelmente à base da Formação Sousa. Uma análise ainda bastante preliminar sugere a existência de diferentes condições paleoambientais na base da seqüência estratigráfica que forma esta bacia, possivelmente mais favorável ao desenvolvimento de uma comunidade de saurópodos do que a parte superior

Does the prescriptive lifestyle of Seventh-Day Adventists provide \u27immunity\u27 from the secular effects of changes in BMI?

Objective: To examine the effect of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) membership on &lsquo;immunity&rsquo; to the secular effects of changes in BMI.Design: Three independent, cross-sectional, screening surveys conducted by Sydney Adventist Hospital in 1976, 1986 and 1988 and a survey conducted among residents of Melbourne in 2006.Subjects: Two hundred and fifty-two SDA and 464 non-SDA in 1976; 166 SDA and 291 non-SDA in 1986; 120 SDA and 300-non SDA in 1988; and 251 SDA and 294 non-SDA in 2006.Measurements: Height and weight measured by hospital staff in 1976, 1986 and 1988; self-reported by respondents in 2006.Results: The mean BMI of non-SDA men increased between 1986 and 2006 (P &lt; 0&middot;001) but did not change for SDA men or non-SDA women. Despite small increases in SDA women&rsquo;s mean BMI (P = 0&middot;030) between 1988 and 2006, this was no different to that of SDA men and non-SDA women in 2006. The diet and eating patterns of SDA men and women were more &lsquo;prudent&rsquo; than those of non-SDA men and women, including more fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes, and less alcohol, meat, sweetened drinks and coffee. Many of these factors were found to be predictors of lower BMI.Conclusion: The &lsquo;prudent&rsquo; dietary and lifestyle prescriptions of SDA men appear to have &lsquo;immunised&rsquo; them to the secular effects of changes that occurred among non-SDA men&rsquo;s BMI. The dietary and lifestyle trends of SDA women did not reflect the increase in their BMI observed in 2006.<br /

Prospectus, March 23, 1983

ADMISSION POLICIES CHIEF CAUSE OF RESIGNATION: PARKLAND WOMEN\u27S BASKETBALL COACH RESIGNS; News Digest; Monticello wins overall; Time out; C-U Happenings; MDA needs volunteer attendants; Lobby display appreciated; Club Notes; NJCAA coverage considered \u27poor\u27; Profile: DAP instructor Lake; Finances influence spring break decisions: Question: What are you going to be doing over spring break?; Failure to register for draft: Tangle of red tape threatens financial aid process; PC financial aid is business as usual; Urban League priority: find jobs; We Saw You On Campus; Central Illinois part of Tornado Alley; Believe it or not..; Eight-state area is the tornado capital of the world; Classified; Skylines; Trivia quiz; The Ramones are true \u27rock and roll\u27; Enter Oscars contest today; Trivia quiz dies; Sport shorts; Parkland College Softball Schedule; Parkland College Baseball Schedule; Parkland College Outdoor Track Schedule; 1983 Parkland College Indoor Track All-Americanshttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1983/1021/thumbnail.jp