1,162 research outputs found
SonoNet: Real-Time Detection and Localisation of Fetal Standard Scan Planes in Freehand Ultrasound
Identifying and interpreting fetal standard scan planes during 2D ultrasound
mid-pregnancy examinations are highly complex tasks which require years of
training. Apart from guiding the probe to the correct location, it can be
equally difficult for a non-expert to identify relevant structures within the
image. Automatic image processing can provide tools to help experienced as well
as inexperienced operators with these tasks. In this paper, we propose a novel
method based on convolutional neural networks which can automatically detect 13
fetal standard views in freehand 2D ultrasound data as well as provide a
localisation of the fetal structures via a bounding box. An important
contribution is that the network learns to localise the target anatomy using
weak supervision based on image-level labels only. The network architecture is
designed to operate in real-time while providing optimal output for the
localisation task. We present results for real-time annotation, retrospective
frame retrieval from saved videos, and localisation on a very large and
challenging dataset consisting of images and video recordings of full clinical
anomaly screenings. We found that the proposed method achieved an average
F1-score of 0.798 in a realistic classification experiment modelling real-time
detection, and obtained a 90.09% accuracy for retrospective frame retrieval.
Moreover, an accuracy of 77.8% was achieved on the localisation task.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, published in IEEE Transactions in Medical
Imagin
Change and new directions in the probation service: The development of the practice and concept of mediation.
This thesis represents a contribution to an area of practice that is fast developing in the United States but is still under developed in this country. Theories of mediation and analyses of the practice and methods are increasingly being developed, but there is a sparsity of work that considers the issues as part of organisational analysis - mainly as it is such a new area. The probation Service is also an organisation which does not have a proliferation of data, although some analyses of its development and culture have been accomplished. But to my knowledge none have used a study of probation officers themselves to interpret the culture and form of the organisation, and relate this to its acceptance, and response, towards change and the incorporation of new ideas.Through considering my attempt to act as a change agent and introduce, observe and assess the value and interest in mediating between victim(s) and offender(s), I have highlighted organisational issues that are crucial for further work. There is an exploration of the probation service as a learning and developing organisation. One feature that is apparent is that the service has little clarity over aims and objectives. As a result, new ideas and potential innovatory changes in direction are marginalised. The organisations relationship to change has been considered in relation to the introduction of mediation practice, but important factors applicable to other areas have become evident. This thesis thus considers mediation practice as a potential new direction for probation practice using the views and experience of a sample of probation officers and managers. The organisation, its present culture, ethos and practice have been analysed in relation to its receptivity to new ideas
Genomic analysis of Nigerian indigenous chickens reveals their genetic diversity and adaptation to heat-stress
Indigenous poultry breeds from Africa can survive in harsh tropical environments (such as long arid seasons, excessive rain and humidity, and extreme heat) and are resilient to disease challenges, but they are not productive compared to their commercial counterparts. Their adaptive characteristics are in response to natural selection or to artificial selection for production traits that have left selection signatures in the genome. Identifying these signatures of positive selection can provide insight into the genetic bases of tropical adaptations observed in indigenous poultry and thereby help to develop robust and high-performing breeds for extreme tropical climates. Here, we present the first large-scale whole-genome sequencing analysis of Nigerian indigenous chickens from different agro-climatic conditions, investigating their genetic diversity and adaptation to tropical hot climates (extreme arid and extreme humid conditions). The study shows a large extant genetic diversity but low level of population differentiation. Using different selection signature analyses, several candidate genes for adaptation were detected, especially in relation to thermotolerance and immune response (e.g., cytochrome P450 2B4-like, TSHR, HSF1, CDC37, SFTPB, HIF3A, SLC44A2, and ILF3 genes). These results have important implications for conserving valuable genetic resources and breeding improvement of chickens for thermotolerance
Exploring views on satisfaction with life in young children with chronic illness: an innovative approach to the collection of self-report data from children under 11
The objective of this study was to explore young children’s views on the impact of chronic illness on their life in order to inform future development of a patient-based self-report health outcome measure. We describe an approach to facilitating self-report views from young children with chronic illness. A board game was designed in order to obtain qualitative data from 39 children with a range of chronic illness conditions and 38 healthy controls ranging in age from 3 to 11 years. The format was effective in engaging young children in a self-report process of determining satisfaction with life and identified nine domains. The board game enabled children aged 5–11 years with chronic illness to describe the effects of living with illness on home, family, friends, school and life in general. It generated direct, non-interpreted material from children who, because of their age, may have been considered unable or limited their ability to discuss and describe how they feel. Obtaining this information for children aged 4 and under continues to be a challenge
Projecting the effect of crop yield increases, dietary change and different price scenarios on land use under two different state security regimes
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
High-excitation OH and H_2O lines in Markarian 231: the molecular signatures of compact far-infrared continuum sources
The ISO/LWS far-infrared spectrum of the ultraluminous galaxy Mkn 231 shows
OH and H_2O lines in absorption from energy levels up to 300 K above the ground
state, and emission in the [O I] 63 micron and [C II] 158 micron lines. Our
analysis shows that OH and H_2O are radiatively pumped by the far-infrared
continuum emission of the galaxy. The absorptions in the high-excitation lines
require high far-infrared radiation densities, allowing us to constrain the
properties of the underlying continuum source. The bulk of the far-infrared
continuum arises from a warm (T_dust=70-100 K), optically thick
(tau_100micron=1-2) medium of effective diameter 200-400 pc. In our best-fit
model of total luminosity L_IR, the observed OH and H2O high-lying lines arise
from a luminous (L/L_IR~0.56) region with radius ~100 pc. The high surface
brightness of this component suggests that its infrared emission is dominated
by the AGN. The derived column densities N(OH)>~10^{17} cm^{-2} and
N(H_2O)>~6x10^{16} cm^{-2} may indicate XDR chemistry, although significant
starburst chemistry cannot be ruled out. The lower-lying OH, [C II] 158 micron,
and [O I] 63 micron lines arise from a more extended (~350 pc) starburst
region. We show that the [C II] deficit in Mkn 231 is compatible with a high
average abundance of C+ because of an extreme overall luminosity to gas mass
ratio. Therefore, a [C II] deficit may indicate a significant contribution to
the luminosity by an AGN, and/or by extremely efficient star formation.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Prediction of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice by quantification of autoreactive T cells in peripheral blood
Mapping evaporative water loss in desert passerines reveals an expanding threat of lethal dehydration
Extreme high environmental temperatures produce a variety of consequences for wildlife, including mass die-offs. Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, and extent, and are projected to increase further under climate change. However, the spatial and temporal dynamics of die-off risk are poorly understood. Here, we examine the effects of heat waves on evaporative water loss (EWL) and survival in five desert passerine birds across the southwestern United States using a combination of physiological data, mechanistically informed models, and hourly geospatial temperature data. We ask how rates of EWL vary with temperature across species; how frequently, over what areas, and how rapidly lethal dehydration occurs; how EWL and die-off risk vary with body mass; and how die-off risk is affected by climate warming. We find that smaller-bodied passerines are subject to higher rates of mass-specific EWL than larger-bodied counterparts and thus encounter potentially lethal conditions much more frequently, over shorter daily intervals, and over larger geographic areas. Warming by 4 °C greatly expands the extent, frequency, and intensity of dehydration risk, and introduces new threats for larger passerine birds, particularly those with limited geographic ranges. Our models reveal that increasing air temperatures and heat wave occurrence will potentially have important impacts on the water balance, daily activity, and geographic distribution of arid-zone birds. Impacts may be exacerbated by chronic effects and interactions with other environmental changes. This work underscores the importance of acute risks of high temperatures, particularly for small-bodied species, and suggests conservation of thermal refugia and water sources
Development of a chicken 5 K microarray targeted towards immune function
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of microarray resources for the chicken is an important step in being able to profile gene expression changes occurring in birds in response to different challenges and stimuli. The creation of an immune-related array is highly valuable in determining the host immune response in relation to infection with a wide variety of bacterial and viral diseases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we report the development of chicken immune-related cDNA libraries and the subsequent construction of a microarray containing 5190 elements (in duplicate). Clones on the array originate from tissues known to contain high levels of cells related to the immune system, namely Bursa, Peyers patch, thymus and spleen. Represented on the array are genes that are known to cluster with existing chicken ESTs as well as genes that are unique to our libraries. Some of these genes have no known homologies and represent novel genes in the chicken collection. A series of reference genes (ie. genes of known immune function) are also present on the array. Functional annotation data is also provided for as many of the genes on the array as is possible.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Six new chicken immune cDNA libraries have been created and nearly 10,000 sequences submitted to GenBank [GenBank: <ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM063043">AM063043</ext-link>-<ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM071350">AM071350</ext-link>; <ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM071520">AM071520</ext-link>-<ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM072286">AM072286</ext-link>; <ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM075249">AM075249</ext-link>-<ext-link ext-link-type="gen" ext-link-id="AM075607">AM075607</ext-link>]. A 5 K immune-related array has been developed from these libraries. Individual clones and arrays are available from the ARK-Genomics resource centre.</p
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