ExploreASL: an image processing pipeline for multi-center ASL perfusion MRI studies

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) has undergone significant development since its inception, with a focus on improving standardization and reproducibility of its acquisition and quantification. In a community-wide effort towards robust and reproducible clinical ASL image processing, we developed the software package ExploreASL, allowing standardized analyses across centers and scanners. The procedures used in ExploreASL capitalize on published image processing advancements and address the challenges of multi-center datasets with scanner-specific processing and artifact reduction to limit patient exclusion. ExploreASL is self-contained, written in MATLAB and based on Statistical Parameter Mapping (SPM) and runs on multiple operating systems. To facilitate collaboration and data-exchange, the toolbox follows several standards and recommendations for data structure, provenance, and best analysis practice. ExploreASL was iteratively refined and tested in the analysis of >10,000 ASL scans using different pulse-sequences in a variety of clinical populations, resulting in four processing modules: Import, Structural, ASL, and Population that perform tasks, respectively, for data curation, structural and ASL image processing and quality control, and finally preparing the results for statistical analyses on both single-subject and group level. We illustrate ExploreASL processing results from three cohorts: perinatally HIV-infected children, healthy adults, and elderly at risk for neurodegenerative disease. We show the reproducibility for each cohort when processed at different centers with different operating systems and MATLAB versions, and its effects on the quantification of gray matter cerebral blood flow. ExploreASL facilitates the standardization of image processing and quality control, allowing the pooling of cohorts which may increase statistical power and discover between-group perfusion differences. Ultimately, this workflow may advance ASL for wider adoption in clinical studies, trials, and practice

International nosocomial infection control consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009

The results of a surveillance study conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from January 2004 through December 2009 in 422 intensive care units (ICUs) of 36 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are reported. During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN; formerly the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system [NNIS]) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infections, we gathered prospective data from 313,008 patients hospitalized in the consortium's ICUs for an aggregate of 2,194,897 ICU bed-days. Despite the fact that the use of devices in the developing countries' ICUs was remarkably similar to that reported in US ICUs in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were significantly higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals; the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC ICUs of 6.8 per 1,000 central line-days was more than 3-fold higher than the 2.0 per 1,000 central line-days reported in comparable US ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia also was far higher (15.8 vs 3.3 per 1,000 ventilator-days), as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (6.3 vs. 3.3 per 1,000 catheter-days). Notably, the frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates to imipenem (47.2% vs 23.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (76.3% vs 27.1%), Escherichia coli isolates to ceftazidime (66.7% vs 8.1%), Staphylococcus aureus isolates to methicillin (84.4% vs 56.8%), were also higher in the consortium's ICUs, and the crude unadjusted excess mortalities of device-related infections ranged from 7.3% (for catheter-associated urinary tract infection) to 15.2% (for ventilator-associated pneumonia). Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Variação na qualidade do azeite em cultivares de oliveira

O cultivo de oliveira (Olea europaea L.) no sul de Minas Gerais tem apresentado resultados promissores quanto à produção de frutos. No entanto, há necessidade de verificar seu valor nutritivo e a qualidade do azeite oriundo dos frutos das cultivares potencialmente produtivas. Objetivou-se com este trabalho determinar a composição centesimal dos frutos, as características químicas e o perfil de ácidos graxos dos azeites extraídos de diferentes cultivares de oliveira, com a finalidade de selecionar os materiais com potencial agroindustrial. Foram avaliadas 32 cultivares de oliveira com seis anos de idades quanto à composição centesimal (teores de umidade, lipídeos, proteínas e cinzas, tanto na polpa quanto no caroço dos frutos); composição química e perfil de ácidos graxos dos azeites. Observaram-se nas cultivares MGS ASC315, Cerignola, MGS GRAP561 e MGS GRAP575 maiores valores de lipídeos. Além disso, as análises indicaram que o caroço possui quantidades significativas de lipídeos, embora sempre inferiores às quantidades presentes na polpa. Os índices de acidez em ácido oleico, peróxidos e refração absoluta estão de acordo com a resolução da ANVISA, podendo ser inicialmente classificados como azeite de oliva extravirgem ou virgem. De modo geral, todos os ácidos graxos presentes nos azeites possuem valores satisfatórios, destacando a cultivar MGS GRAP084, com maior concentração de ácido oleico, principal ácido responsável pelos benefícios à saúde

Avaliação de espermatozoides caprinos congelados em meio à base de água de coco em pó (ACP-101®) ou TRIS

Compararam-se as características cinéticas e morfológicas de espermatozoides caprinos congelados nos meios à base de ACP-101® e TRIS. Os diluentes utilizados foram: ACP-101® (+ 2,5% gema ovo + 7% glicerol) e TRIS (+ 20% gema ovo + 6,8% glicerol). Quarenta e oito ejaculados de quatro bodes foram coletados, avaliados, divididos em duas alíquotas e diluídos nos meios ACP-101® e TRIS, respectivamente, posteriormente congelados e, após 30 dias, descongelados. A avaliação da motilidade espermática por computador foi realizada aos 5, 60 e 120 minutos pós-descongelação. As características de motilidade espermática analisadas foram: motilidade total (MT) (%) e progressiva (MP) (%), velocidades média do trajeto do espermatozoide (VAP) (µm/s) e linear (VSL) (µm/s) e população de espermatozoides rápidos (ER) (%). As avaliações de morfologia espermática quantificaram a porcentagem de espermatozoides normais (N) e as alterações da cabeça (AC), da peça intermediária (API) e do flagelo (AF), aos cinco e 120 minutos pós-descongelação. O diluente TRIS apresentou resultados cinéticos mais elevados que o ACP-101® aos 60 e 120 minutos pós-descongelação. As AC aos 120 minutos pós-descongelação foram mais altas nos espermatozoides congelados em ACP-101®. Conclui-se que o diluente TRIS promoveu maior viabilidade in vitro dos espermatozoides caprinos pós-descongelação