Метод диагностики диабетической ретинопатии на основе анализа изображений глазного дна

Introduction. Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes mellitus caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the retina. Diabetic retinopathy leads to changes in ocular blood vessels and the appearance of solid exudates and microaneurysms. When diagnosed and treated in the late stages, this disease can cause blindness. The most common diagnostic method for diabetic retinopathy is based on ocular fundus imaging. However, the background interference and low contrast of such images significantly hinders the timely detection of vascular lesions. Therefore, the development of a method for detecting signs of diabetic retinopathy, particularly in its early stages, presents a relevant research task.Aim. Development of a method for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy based on an analysis of ocular fundus images using the decision-tree approach.Materials and methods. Methods based on image segmentation with identifying characteristic features and their binary classification were used. A verified database was used to access the accuracy of the proposed method for detecting diabetic retinopathy.Results. A method for detecting signs of diabetic retinopathy was developed, which includes the segmentation of vessels, exudates and microaneurysms based on digital processing of ocular vascular images using binary classification. The developed method showed a high level of diagnostic accuracy. Thus, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diabetic retinopathy detection comprised 87.14, 88.50 and 87.81 %, respectively.Conclusion. The developed method allows diabetic retinopathy to be diagnosed with sufficiently high accuracy. The method can also be used for supporting decision making when managing patients with diabetic retinopathy.Введение. Диабетическая ретинопатия – это повреждение сетчатки глаза при сахарном диабете вследствие высокого уровня сахара в крови. Это заболевание может привести к слепоте, если болезнь диагностируется и лечится на поздних стадиях развития патологии. Оно вызывает изменения кровеносных сосудов и появление некоторых повреждений, таких, как твердые экссудаты и микроаневризмы. Для диагностики диабетической ретинопатии часто используется метод оценки сосудистых структур на основе изображений глазного дна. Однако даже врачи-офтальмологи не могут обнаружить эти повреждения из-за фоновых помех и их низкого контраста, вследствие чего разработка метода для обнаружения признаков диабетической ретинопатии, в особенности на ранних стадиях, является актуальной.Цель работы. Разработка метода диагностики диабетической ретинопатии с использованием дерева решений на основе изображений глазного дна. Материалы и методы. Применены методы на основе сегментации изображений с выделением характерных признаков и бинарной классификации. Используется верифицированная база данных для оценки точности метода выявления диабетической ретинопатии.Результаты. Разработан алгоритм, включающий методы сегментации сосудов, экссудатов и микроаневризм для выявления диабетической ретинопатии на основе цифровой обработки изображений структуры стенок кровеносных сосудов с использованием бинарной классификации. Получены результаты с применением разработанных методов с высокой точностью обнаружения диабетической ретинопатии с использованием верифицированной базы изображений глазного дна. Чувствительность, специфичность и точность обнаружения диабетической ретинопатии составили соответственно 87.14, 88.50 и 87.81 %.Заключение. Разработанный метод позволяет обнаруживать диабетическую ретинопатию у пациентов на ранних стадиях заболевания с достаточно высокой точностью. Метод также может быть применен в системе поддержки врача для принятия решений при диабетической ретинопатии

Ultra-wide Spectral Bandwidth and Enhanced Absorption in a Metallic Compound Grating Covered by Graphene Monolayer

Graphene, a two-dimensional monatomic layer of carbon material, has demonstrated as a good candidate for applications of ultrafast photodetectors, transistors, transparent electrodes, and biosensing. Recently, many studies have shown that using metallic deep gratings could enhance the absorptance of graphene of 2.3% up to 80% in the near infrared region for applications in photon detection. This paper presents utilizing a nanograting structure, namely, a compound metallic grating could greatly enhance the absorptance of graphene to 100% and widen its spectral bandwidth to 600 nm, which are greater than those of previous work. The study also showed that the absorptance spectrum is insensitive to angles of incidence. Furthermore, the proposed graphene-covered compound grating might bring a lot of benefits for graphene designs-based optical and optoelectronic devices

The CIPAZ study protocol: an open label randomised controlled trial of azithromycin versus ciprofloxacin for the treatment of children hospitalised with dysentery in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: Diarrhoeal disease remains a common cause of illness and death in children <5 years of age. Faecal-oral infection by Shigella spp. causing bacillary dysentery is a leading cause of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea, particularly in low and middle-income countries. In Southeast Asia, S. sonnei predominates and infections are frequently resistant to first-line treatment with the fluoroquinolone, ciprofloxacin. While resistance to all antimicrobials is increasing, there may be theoretical and clinical benefits to prioritizing treatment of bacillary dysentery with the azalide, azithromycin. In this study we aim to measure the efficacy of treatment with azithromycin compared with ciprofloxacin, the current standard of care, for the treatment of children with bacillary dysentery. Methods and analysis: We will perform a multicentre, open-label, randomized controlled trial of two therapeutic options for the antimicrobial treatment of children hospitalised with dysentery. Children (6–60 months of age) presenting with symptoms and signs of dysentery at Children’s Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City will be randomised (1:1) to treatment with either oral ciprofloxacin (15mg/kg/twice daily for 3 days, standard-of-care) or oral azithromycin (10mg/kg/daily for 3 days). The primary endpoint will be the proportion of treatment failure (defined by clinical and microbiological parameters) by day 28 (+3 days) and will be compared between study arms by logistic regression modelling using treatment allocation as the main variable. Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol (version 1.2 dated 27th December 2018) has been approved by the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (47–18) and the ethical review boards of Children's Hospital 2 (1341/NĐ2-CĐT). The study has also been approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (5044/QĐ-BYT). Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03854929 (February 26th 2019)

Cancer cells produce liver metastasis via gap formation in sinusoidal endothelial cells through proinflammatory paracrine mechanisms

Intracellular gap (iGap) formation in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) is caused by the destruction of fenestrae and appears under pathological conditions; nevertheless, their role in metastasis of cancer cells to the liver remained unexplored. We elucidated that hepatotoxin-damaged and fibrotic livers gave rise to LSECs-iGap formation, which was positively correlated with increased numbers of metastatic liver foci after intrasplenic injection of Hepa1-6 cells. Hepa1-6 cells induced interleukin-23-dependent tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion by LSECs and triggered LSECs-iGap formation, toward which their processes protruded to transmigrate into the liver parenchyma. TNF-α triggered depolymerization of F-actin and induced matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), intracellular adhesion molecule 1, and CXCL expression in LSECs. Blocking MMP9 activity by doxycycline or an MMP2/9 inhibitor eliminated LSECs-iGap formation and attenuated liver metastasis of Hepa1-6 cells. Overall, this study revealed that cancer cells induced LSEC-iGap formation via proinflammatory paracrine mechanisms and proposed MMP9 as a favorable target for blocking cancer cell metastasis to the liver

Self-reported use of tobacco products in nine rural INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems in Asia

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of premature death and disability. Even though tobacco use is common in many Asian countries, reliable and comparable data on the burden imposed by tobacco use in this region are sparse, and surveillance systems to track trends are in their infancy. OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the prevalence of tobacco use and its associated factors in nine selected rural sites in five Asian countries. METHODS: Tobacco use among 9,208 men and 9,221 women aged 25-64 years in nine Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in five Asian countries of the INDEPTH Network were examined in 2005 as part of a broader survey of the major chronic non-communicable disease risk factors. All sites used a standardised protocol based on the WHO STEPS approach to risk factor surveillance; expanded questions of local relevance, including chewing tobacco, were also included. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess demographic factors associated with tobacco use. RESULTS: Tobacco use, whether smoked or chewed, was common across all sites with some notable variations. More than 50% of men smoked daily; this applied to almost all age groups. Few women smoked daily in any of the sites. However, women were more likely to chew tobacco than men in all sites except Vadu in India. Tobacco use in men began in late adolescence in most of the sites and the number of cigarettes smoked daily ranged from three to 15. Use of both forms of tobacco, smoked and chewed, was associated with age, gender and education. Men were more likely to smoke compared to women, smoking increased with age in the four sites in Bangladesh but not in other sites and with low level of education in all the sites. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tobacco use, regardless of the type of tobacco, was high among men in all of these rural populations with tobacco use started during adolescence in all HDSS sites. Innovative communication strategies for behaviour change targeting adolescents in schools and adult men and women at work or at home, may create a mass awareness about adverse health consequences of tobacco smoking or chewing tobacco. Such efforts, to be effective, however, need to be supported by strong legislation and leadership. Only four of the five countries involved in this multi-site study have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and even where it has been ratified, implementation is uneven.Supplement: 1</p

Low pH immobilizes and kills human leukocytes and prevents transmission of cell-associated HIV in a mouse model

BACKGROUND: Both cell-associated and cell-free HIV virions are present in semen and cervical secretions of HIV-infected individuals. Thus, topical microbicides may need to inactivate both cell-associated and cell-free HIV to prevent sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS. To determine if the mild acidity of the healthy vagina and acid buffering microbicides would prevent transmission by HIV-infected leukocytes, we measured the effect of pH on leukocyte motility, viability and intracellular pH and tested the ability of an acidic buffering microbicide (BufferGel(®)) to prevent the transmission of cell-associated HIV in a HuPBL-SCID mouse model. METHODS: Human lymphocyte, monocyte, and macrophage motilities were measured as a function of time and pH using various acidifying agents. Lymphocyte and macrophage motilities were measured using video microscopy. Monocyte motility was measured using video microscopy and chemotactic chambers. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) viability and intracellular pH were determined as a function of time and pH using fluorescent dyes. HuPBL-SCID mice were pretreated with BufferGel, saline, or a control gel and challenged with HIV-1-infected human PBMCs. RESULTS: Progressive motility was completely abolished in all cell types between pH 5.5 and 6.0. Concomitantly, at and below pH 5.5, the intracellular pH of PBMCs dropped precipitously to match the extracellular medium and did not recover. After acidification with hydrochloric acid to pH 4.5 for 60 min, although completely immotile, 58% of PBMCs excluded ethidium homodimer-1 (dead-cell dye). In contrast, when acidified to this pH with BufferGel, a microbicide designed to maintain vaginal acidity in the presence of semen, only 4% excluded dye at 10 min and none excluded dye after 30 min. BufferGel significantly reduced transmission of HIV-1 in HuPBL-SCID mice (1 of 12 infected) compared to saline (12 of 12 infected) and a control gel (5 of 7 infected). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that physiologic or microbicide-induced acid immobilization and killing of infected white blood cells may be effective in preventing sexual transmission of cell-associated HIV

Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella Infections in Asia: Clinical Observations, Disease Outcome and Dominant Serovars from an Infectious Disease Hospital in Vietnam.

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections are now a well-described cause of morbidity and mortality in children and HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa. In contrast, the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of iNTS disease in Asia are not well documented. We retrospectively identified >100 cases of iNTS infections in an infectious disease hospital in Southern Vietnam between 2008 and 2013. Clinical records were accessed to evaluate demographic and clinical factors associated with iNTS infection and to identify risk factors associated with death. Multi-locus sequence typing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on all organisms. Of 102 iNTS patients, 71% were HIV-infected, >90% were adults, 71% were male and 33% reported intravenous drug use. Twenty-six/92 (28%) patients with a known outcome died; HIV infection was significantly associated with death (p = 0.039). S. Enteritidis (Sequence Types (ST)11) (48%, 43/89) and S. Typhimurium (ST19, 34 and 1544) (26%, 23/89) were the most commonly identified serovars; S. Typhimurium was significantly more common in HIV-infected individuals (p = 0.003). Isolates from HIV-infected patients were more likely to exhibit reduced susceptibility against trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole than HIV-negative patients (p = 0.037). We conclude that iNTS disease is a severe infection in Vietnam with a high mortality rate. As in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV infection was a risk factor for death, with the majority of the burden in this population found in HIV-infected adult men

A Framework of Building and Locational Characteristics Ranking for Purpose-built Offices in Malaysia

The development of purpose-built office market in Malaysia is primarily resolved by a supplydemand market. Since the office market in Malaysia has displayed significance improvement due to increasing level of competitiveness, many characteristics of purpose-built office have appeared and become prominent during the process of assessment. These characteristics were generally used as indicators in property valuation, building performance as well as office market appraisal. Based on these characteristics, property market participants can evaluate their property proficiently based on their requirements, especially in decision making during business planning, investment or property management. Technology growth and national policy also gave contribution factors on revealing newly characteristics of purpose-built office such as green building, intelligent building and sustainable development model. The purpose of this article is to identify suitable characteristics of purpose-built office that can be used in Malaysia. Integral to achieving this objective, exploration on purpose built office characteristics in a global and local context will be reconsidered. As a result, a building and locational framework of purpose-built office’s characteristics in Malaysia will be diagnosed and verified appropriately