Object Discovery From a Single Unlabeled Image by Mining Frequent Itemset With Multi-scale Features

TThe goal of our work is to discover dominant objects in a very general setting where only a single unlabeled image is given. This is far more challenge than typical co-localization or weakly-supervised localization tasks. To tackle this problem, we propose a simple but effective pattern mining-based method, called Object Location Mining (OLM), which exploits the advantages of data mining and feature representation of pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Specifically, we first convert the feature maps from a pre-trained CNN model into a set of transactions, and then discovers frequent patterns from transaction database through pattern mining techniques. We observe that those discovered patterns, i.e., co-occurrence highlighted regions, typically hold appearance and spatial consistency. Motivated by this observation, we can easily discover and localize possible objects by merging relevant meaningful patterns. Extensive experiments on a variety of benchmarks demonstrate that OLM achieves competitive localization performance compared with the state-of-the-art methods. We also evaluate our approach compared with unsupervised saliency detection methods and achieves competitive results on seven benchmark datasets. Moreover, we conduct experiments on fine-grained classification to show that our proposed method can locate the entire object and parts accurately, which can benefit to improving the classification results significantly

Comparison of Sterile and Clean Dressing Techniques in Post-operative Surgical Wound Infection in a Chinese Healthcare Facility

Purpose: To investigate the effect of sterile and clean dressing techniques on wound management in a Chinese hospital, and to compare their impact on wound healing and the cost of the dressing materials with respect to postoperative surgical wounds.Methods: A total of 130 patients, comprising 70 (53.8 %) males and 60 (46.2 %) females, who had undergone surgery in The Affiliated Hospital of Changchun Traditional Chinese Medicine University, Changchun, China in 2012 – 2014 were enrolled in the study. Of these, 65 (50 %) received sterile dressings and 65 (50 %) clean dressings. A control group comprising 25 patients, 15 (60 %) males and 10 (40 %) females, who attended the clinic for change dressings only, was also included. The patients’ dressings were changed four times daily with 2x sterile and 2x clean dressings. Details of all the changes, including the nutritional status of the patients, were recorded. The patients were followed-up up to the time of their discharge.Results: Twelve (18.5 %) patients out of those who received sterile or clean dressings were found to have acquired an infection. The size of the wounds was approximately 1.8 to 32.4 cm3 (mean: 5.2 ± 6.4 cm3) in size at the start of the study and 0.6 to 4.2 cm3 at the end of the study. A significant difference was identified between the sterile and clean dressing groups at the beginning of the study (U = 72.5; p < 0.12). A decrease in wound size was observed in both of these groups but was not statistically significant, while the change in wound volume, was significantly different (U = 84.5; p < 0.25). When the cost of the two dressing types was compared, the sterile items were more expensive than that of the clean items; thus, sterile dressing procedure was significantly more costly than clean dressing procedure (p < 0.01).Conclusion: With mounting concern regarding antimicrobial resistance and hospital-acquired infections, suitable wound dressing techniques are required to prevent infection and reduce the duration of wound healing after surgery without compromising patient safety.Keywords: Wound dressing, Postoperative, Antimicrobial resistance, Hospital acquired infection

Neurochemical characterization of pERK-expressing spinal neurons in histamine-induced itch

Date of Acceptance: 08/07/2015 Acknowledgements This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012CB966904, 2011CB51005), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271182, 81200692, 91232724, 81200933, 81101026), Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (12ZR1434300), Key Specialty Construction Project of Pudong Health Bureau of Shanghai (PWZz2013-17), Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Molecular Biology of Neural Development (ZDSY20120617112838879), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (1500219072) and Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Korean Red Ginseng Suppresses Metastasis of Human Hepatoma SK-Hep1 Cells by Inhibiting Matrix Metalloproteinase-2/-9 and Urokinase Plasminogen Activator

Korean red ginseng and ginsenosides have been claimed to possess wide spectrum of medicinal effects, of which anticancer effect is one. The present study was undertaken to investigate the antimetastatic effect of Korean red ginseng on human hepatoma as well as possible mechanisms. The inhibitory effect of the water extract of Korean red ginseng (WKRG) on the invasion and motility of SK-Hep1 cells was evaluated by the Boyden chamber assay in vitro. Without causing cytotoxicity, WKRG exerted a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the invasion and motility, but not adhesion, of highly metastatic SK-Hep1 cells. Zymography analyses revealed significant downregulating effects on MMP-2, MMP-9, and uPA activities in SK-Hep1 cells. Western blot analyses also showed that WKRG treatment caused dose-dependent decreases in MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expressions. Moreover, WKRG increased the levels of TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and PAI-1. The present study not only demonstrated that invasion and motility of cancer cells were inhibited by WKRG, but also indicated that such effects were likely associated with the decrease in MMP-2/-9 and uPA expressions of SK-Hep1 cells

Quantitative assessment of the mechanical properties of prostate tissue with optical coherence elastography

© COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. Prostate cancer (PCa) is a heterogeneous disease with multifocal origin. In current clinical care, the Gleason scoring system is the well-established diagnosis by microscopic evaluation of the tissue from trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided biopsies. Nevertheless, the sensitivity and specificity in detecting PCa can range from 40 to 50% for conventional TRUS B-mode imaging. Tissue elasticity is associated with the disease progression and elastography technique has recently shown promise in aiding PCa diagnosis. However, many cancer foci in the prostate gland has very small size less than 1 mm and those detected by medical elastography were larger than 2 mm. Hereby, we introduce optical coherence elastography (OCE) to quantify the prostate stiffness with high resolution in the magnitude of 10 μm. Following our feasibility study of 10 patients reported previously, we recruited 60 more patients undergoing 12-core TRUS guided biopsies for suspected PCa with a total of 720 biopsies. The stiffness of cancer tissue was approximately 57.63% higher than that of benign ones. Using histology as reference standard and cut-off threshold of 600kPa, the data analysis showed sensitivity and specificity of 89.6% and 99.8% respectively. The method also demonstrated potential in characterising different grades of PCa based on the change of tissue morphology and quantitative mechanical properties. In conclusion, quantitative OCE can be a reliable technique to identify PCa lesion and differentiate indolent from aggressive cancer

Activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 protects the heart against apoptosis in ischemia/reperfusion injury through upregulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a nonselective cation channel and a molecular integrator of noxious stimuli. TRPV1 activation confers cardiac protection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. The present study aimed to investigate whether the cardioprotective effects of TRPV1 were associated with the inhibition of apoptosis via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathways. Briefly, the hearts of TRPV1 knockout (TRPV1-/-) or wild-type (WT) mice were isolated and subjected to 30 min of ischemia followed by 60 min of reperfusion in a Langendorff apparatus in the presence or absence of the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002. At the end of reperfusion, infarct size was measured using 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and myocardial apoptosis was assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. The expression levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and phosphorylated Akt and ERK1/2 were determined by western blot analysis. There was a significant increase in the extent of infarction and the percentage of TUNEL-positive cells, and a decrease in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in TRPV1-/- hearts. In addition, treatment with LY294002 increased infarct size and the percentage of TUNEL-positive cells, and reduced Bcl-2/Bax expression and Akt phosphorylation in WT hearts, but not in TRPV1-/- hearts, following I/R. Taken together, these data suggested that TRPV1 serves a protective role against myocardial apoptosis during I/R via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. In conclusion, activating TRPV1 may be considered a potential approach to protect the heart against I/R injury

Predictors for Smoking Cessation with Acupuncture in a Hong Kong Population

Background. Observational studies of smoking cessation with acupuncture have been reported widely; however, few researchers have focused on its predictors. Objective. This paper attempts to explore the predictors for smoking cessation with acupuncture in a Hong Kong population, aiming to provide references for clinical treatment in the future. Methods. We performed a secondary analysis of data from our observational study “Acupuncture for Smoking Cessation (2011–2014)” in Hong Kong. A total of 23 indexes were selected as possible predictors, and study participants with complete information of 23 indexes were included. By taking 8-week and 52-week smoking cessation results as dependent variables, binary logistic regression method was used to identify the predictors. Additionally, based on an M5P decision-tree algorithm, an equation of “successful rate of smoking cessation with acupuncture” was calculated. Results. (1) 2,051 study participants were included in total. (2) According to the results of binary logistic regression, variables including treatment location, total number of acupuncture sessions received, and whether the study participants received at least 6 sessions of acupuncture were taken as the short-term predictors; gender, treatment location, Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and total number of acupuncture sessions received were taken as the long-term predictors. (3) According to study participants’ FTND, treatment location, and number of cigarettes smoked/day, the equation of “successful rate of smoking cessation with acupuncture” was established. Conclusion. Receiving sufficient and qualified acupuncture is the leading factor for short-term smoking cessation with acupuncture, whereas individual factors and smoking background play a more important role in long-term smoking cessation with acupuncture

Superior effects of eccentric to concentric knee extensor resistance training on physical fitness, insulin sensitivity and lipid profiles of elderly men

It has been reported that eccentric training of knee extensors is effective for improving blood insulin sensitivity and lipid profiles to a greater extent than concentric training in young women. However, it is not known whether this is also the case for elderly individuals. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that eccentric training of the knee extensors would improve physical function and health parameters (e.g., blood lipid profiles) of older adults better than concentric training. Healthy elderly men (60–76 years) were assigned to either eccentric training or concentric training group (n=13/group), and performed 30–60 eccentric or concentric contractions of knee extensors once a week. The intensity was progressively increased over 12 weeks from 10 to 100% of maximal concentric strength for eccentric training and from 50 to 100% for concentric training. Outcome measures were taken before and 4 days after the training period. The results showed that no sings of muscle damage were observed after any sessions. Functional physical fitness (e.g., 30-s chair stand) and maximal concentric contraction strength of the knee extensors increased greater (P ≤ 0.05) after eccentric training than concentric training. Homeostasis model assessment, oral glucose tolerance test and whole blood glycosylated hemoglobin

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation is required for itch sensation in the spinal cord

BACKGROUND: Itch, chronic itch in particular, can have a significant negative impact on an individual’s quality of life. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying itch processing in the central nervous system remain largely unknown. RESULTS: We report here that activation of ERK signaling in the spinal cord is required for itch sensation. ERK activation, as revealed by anti-phosphorylated ERK1/2 immunostaining, is observed in the spinal dorsal horn of mice treated with intradermal injections of histamine and compound 48/80 but not chloroquine or SLIGRL-NH2, indicating that ERK activation only occurs in histamine-dependent acute itch. In addition, ERK activation is also observed in 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced itch. Consistently, intrathecal administration of the ERK phosphorylation inhibitor U0126 dramatically reduces the scratching behaviors induced by histamine and DNFB, but not by chloroquine. Furthermore, administration of the histamine receptor H1 antagonist chlorpheniramine decreases the scratching behaviors and ERK activation induced by histamine, but has no effect on DNFB-induced itch responses. Finally, the patch-clamp recording shows that in histamine-, chloroquine- and DNFB-treated mice the spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (sEPSC) of dorsal horn neurons is increased, and the decrease of action potential threshold is largely prevented by bathing of U0126 in histamine- and DNFB-treated mice but not those treated with chloroquine. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate a critical role for ERK activation in itch sensation at the spinal level

Serotonin receptor HTR6-mediated mTORC1 signaling regulates dietary restriction-induced memory enhancement

Dietary restriction (DR; sometimes called calorie restriction) has profound beneficial effects on physiological, psychological, and behavioral outcomes in animals and in humans. We have explored the molecular mechanism of DR-induced memory enhancement and demonstrate that dietary tryptophan-a precursor amino acid for serotonin biosynthesis in the brain-and serotonin receptor 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 6 (HTR6) are crucial in mediating this process. We show that HTR6 inactivation diminishes DR-induced neurological alterations, including reduced dendritic complexity, increased spine density, and enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampal neurons. Moreover, we find that HTR6-mediated mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling is involved in DR-induced memory improvement. Our results suggest that the HTR6-mediated mTORC1 pathway may function as a nutrient sensor in hippocampal neurons to couple memory performance to dietary intake