Retinal Vessel Segmentation Using the 2-D Morlet Wavelet and Supervised Classification

We present a method for automated segmentation of the vasculature in retinal images. The method produces segmentations by classifying each image pixel as vessel or non-vessel, based on the pixel's feature vector. Feature vectors are composed of the pixel's intensity and continuous two-dimensional Morlet wavelet transform responses taken at multiple scales. The Morlet wavelet is capable of tuning to specific frequencies, thus allowing noise filtering and vessel enhancement in a single step. We use a Bayesian classifier with class-conditional probability density functions (likelihoods) described as Gaussian mixtures, yielding a fast classification, while being able to model complex decision surfaces and compare its performance with the linear minimum squared error classifier. The probability distributions are estimated based on a training set of labeled pixels obtained from manual segmentations. The method's performance is evaluated on publicly available DRIVE and STARE databases of manually labeled non-mydriatic images. On the DRIVE database, it achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.9598, being slightly superior than that presented by the method of Staal et al.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in IEEE Trans Med Imag; added copyright notic

Glutamine and cystine-enriched diets modulate aquaporins gene expression in the small intestine of piglets

Research Areas: Science & Technology ; Other TopicsABSTRACT - The regulation of glycerol permeability in the gastrointestinal tract is crucial to control fat deposition, lipolysis and gluconeogenesis. Knowing that the amino acid glutamine is a physiological regulator of gluconeogenesis, whereas cystine promotes adiposity, herein we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with glutamine and cystine on the serum biochemical parameters of piglets fed on amino acid-enriched diets, as well as on the transcriptional profile of membrane water and glycerol channels aquaporins (AQPs) in the ileum portion of the small intestine and its impact on intestinal permeability. Twenty male piglets with an initial body weight of 8.8 ± 0.89 kg were allocated to four dietary treatments (n = 5) and received, during a four week-period, a basal diet without supplementation (control) or supplemented with 8 kg/ton of glutamine (Gln), cystine (Cys) or the combination of the two amino acids in equal proportions (Gln + Cys). Most biochemical parameters were found improved in piglets fed Gln and Cys diet. mRNA levels of AQP3 were found predominant over the others. Both amino acids, individually or combined, were responsible for a consistent downregulation of AQP1, AQP7 and AQP10, without impacting on water permeability. Conversely, Cys enriched diet upregulated AQP3 enhancing basolateral membranes glycerol permeability and downregulating glycerol kinase (GK) of intestinal cells. Altogether, our data reveal that amino acids dietary supplementation can modulate intestinal AQPs expression and unveil AQP3 as a promising target for adipogenesis regulation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cholesteryl hemiesters alter lysosome structure and function and induce proinflammatory cytokine production in macrophages

Rationale: Cholesteryl hemiesters are oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acid esters of cholesterol. Their oxo-ester precursors have been identified as important components of the "core aldehydes" of human atheromata and in oxidized lipoproteins (Ox-LDL). We had previously shown, for the first time, that a single compound of this family, cholesteryl hemisuccinate (ChS), is sufficient to cause irreversible lysosomal lipid accumulation (lipidosis), and is toxic to macrophages. These features, coupled to others such as inflammation, are typically seen in atherosclerosis. Objective: To obtain insights into the mechanism of cholesteryl hemiester-induced pathological changes in lysosome function and induction of inflammation in vitro and assess their impact in vivo. Methods and results: We have examined the effects of ChS on macrophages (murine cell lines and primary cultures) in detail. Specifically, lysosomal morphology, pH, and proteolytic capacity were examined. Exposure of macrophages to sub-toxic ChS concentrations caused enlargement of the lysosomes, changes in their luminal pH, and accumulation of cargo in them. In primary mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM), ChS-exposure increased the secretion of IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha and IL-6. In zebrafish larvae (wild-type All and PU.1:EGFP), fed with a ChS-enriched diet we observed lipid accumulation, myeloid cell-infiltration in their vasculature and decrease in larval survival. Under the same conditions the effects of ChS were more profound than the effects of free cholesterol (FC). Conclusions: Our data strongly suggest that cholesteryl hemiesters are pro-atherogenic lipids able to mimic features of Ox-LDL both in vitro and in vivo.NOVA4Health - UID/Multi/04462/2013, a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Educação e Ciência, through national funds and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. FCT fellowship references: SFRH/BPD/26843/2006, SFRH/BD/62126/2009, SFRH/BD/90258/2012, SFRH/BD/84685/2012, SFRH/BPD/102229/2014, SFRH/BD/52293/2013info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

`Natural Masslessness Conservation' for neutrinos in two Higgs-doublet models

We present a model which supplements the Standard Electroweak Model with three right-handed neutrinos and one extra scalar doublet which does not develop a vacuum expectation value. With the aid of a discrete symmetry the neutrinos are kept strictly massless. This model has several interesting features. It has unsuppressed lepton flavour violating processes, in particular $\mu \rightarrow e \gamma$, hinting at the possibility that these may soon be within experimental reach. The $Z$ and $W$ interactions become non-diagonal at one loop level. In particular, a non-trivial leptonic mixing matrix is seen to arise from the clash between the charged gauge boson and the charged scalar interactions.Comment: (Latex file, 12 pages. Two figures available upon request). CMU-preprin

Tricritical Points in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick Model in the Presence of Discrete Random Fields

The infinite-range-interaction Ising spin glass is considered in the presence of an external random magnetic field following a trimodal (three-peak) distribution. The model is studied through the replica method and phase diagrams are obtained within the replica-symmetry approximation. It is shown that the border of the ferromagnetic phase may present first-order phase transitions, as well as tricritical points at finite temperatures. Analogous to what happens for the Ising ferromagnet under a trimodal random field, it is verified that the first-order phase transitions are directly related to the dilution in the fields (represented by $p_{0}$). The ferromagnetic boundary at zero temperature also exhibits an interesting behavior: for $0<p_{0}<p_{0}^{*} \approx 0.30856$, a single tricritical point occurs, whereas if $p_{0}>p_{0}^{*}$ the critical frontier is completely continuous; however, for $p_{0}=p_{0}^{*}$, a fourth-order critical point appears. The stability analysis of the replica-symmetric solution is performed and the regions of validity of such a solution are identified; in particular, the Almeida-Thouless line in the plane field versus temperature is shown to depend on the weight $p_{0}$.Comment: 23pages, 7 ps figure

Mosaic maternal ancestry in the Great Lakes region of East Africa

The Great Lakes lie within a region of East Africa with very high human genetic diversity, home of many ethno-linguistic groups usually assumed to be the product of a small number of major dispersals. However, our knowledge of these dispersals relies primarily on the inferences of historical, linguistics and oral traditions, with attempts to match up the archaeological evidence where possible. This is an obvious area to which archaeogenetics can contribute, yet Uganda, at the heart of these developments, has not been studied for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation. Here, we compare mtDNA lineages at this putative genetic crossroads across 409 representatives of the major language groups: Bantu speakers and Eastern and Western Nilotic speakers. We show that Uganda harbours one of the highest mtDNA diversities within and between linguistic groups, with the various groups significantly differentiated from each other. Despite an inferred linguistic origin in South Sudan, the data from the two Nilotic-speaking groups point to a much more complex history, involving not only possible dispersals from Sudan and the Horn but also large-scale assimilation of autochthonous lineages within East Africa and even Uganda itself. The Eastern Nilotic group also carries signals characteristic of West-Central Africa, primarily due to Bantu influence, whereas a much stronger signal in the Western Nilotic group suggests direct West-Central African ancestry. Bantu speakers share lineages with both Nilotic groups, and also harbour East African lineages not found in Western Nilotic speakers, likely due to assimilating indigenous populations since arriving in the region ~3000 years ago

Performance Assessment of Fragmentation Mechanisms for Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks

[EN] Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) are a new approach for vehicular communications where vehicles cooperate with each other, acting as the communication infrastructure, to provide low-cost asynchronous opportunistic communications. These communication technologies assume variable delays and bandwidth constraints characterized by a non-transmission control protocol/internet protocol architecture but interacting with it at the edge of the network. VDTNs are based on the principle of asynchronous communications, bundle-oriented communication from the DTN architecture, employing a store-carry-and-forward routing paradigm. In this sense, VDTNs should use the tight network resources optimizing each opportunistic contact among nodes. Given the limited contact times among nodes, fragmentation appears as a possible solution to improve the overall network performance, increasing the bundle delivery probability. This article proposes the use of several fragmentation approaches (proactive, source, reactive, and toilet paper) for VDTNs. They are discussed and evaluated through a laboratory testbed. Reactive and toilet paper approaches present the best results. It was also shown that only the source fragmentation approach presents worst results when compared with non-fragmentation approaches.This study was partially supported by the Instituto de Telecomunicacoes, Next Generation Networks and Applications Group (NetGNA), Portugal, by the Euro-NF Network of Excellence of the Seventh Framework Programme of EU, in the framework of the Specific Joint Research Project VDTN, and by the INESC-ID multiannual funding through the PIDDAC program funds and National Funding from the FCT - Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through the PEst-OE/EEI/LA0008/2011 and PTDC/EEA-TEL/099074/2008 (MPSat) Projects.Dias, JAFF.; Rodrigues, JJPC.; Isento, JN.; Pereira, PRBA.; Lloret, J. (2011). 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In The Fourteenth IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC 2009). Sousse, Tunisia; 2009:122-127.Rodrigues JJPC, Soares VNGJ, Farahmand F: Stationary relay nodes deployment on vehicular opportunistic networks. In Mobile Opportunistic Networks: Architectures, Protocols and Applications. Edited by: Denko M. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group (hardcover); 2011:227-243.Postel J: Internet Protocol. RFC 791 1981. [Online] [ http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc791.txt ]Kent CA, Moguk JC: Fragmentation considered harmful. SIGCOMM Comput Commun Rev 1995, 25(1):75-87. 10.1145/205447.205456Kim B-S, Fang Y, Wong TF, Kwon Y: Throughput enhancement through dynamic fragmentation in wireless LANs. IEEE Trans Veh Technol 2005, 54(4):1415-1425. 10.1109/TVT.2005.851361Ginzboorg P, Niemi V, Ott J: Message Fragmentation in Disruptive Networks. Nokia Research Center, Technical Report; 2009.Legner M: Map-Based Geographic Forwarding in Vehicular Networks. Department of Informatic, University of Stuttgart; 2002.Li Q, Rus D: Sending messages to mobile users in disconnected ad-hoc wireless networks. 6th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, New York, USA 2000, 44-55.Vahdat A, Becker B: Epidemic Routing for Partially-Connected Ad-Hoc Networks. Duke University, Technical Report; 2000.Briesemeister L, Hommel G: Overcoming fragmentation in mobile ad-hoc networks. J Commun Netw 2000, 2(3):182-187.Liu H, Sheng H, Lv Z, Li L, Ma C: A cross layer design of fragmentation and priority scheduling in vehicular ad hoc networks. 7th World Congress on Intelligent Control and Automation (WCICA 2008) 2008, 6157-6160.Joshi HP: Distributed robust geocast: a multicast protocol for inter-vehicle communication. Master Thesis, North Carolina State University; 2006.Bachir A, Benslimane A: A multicast protocol in ad hoc networks: Inter-vehicles geocast. Proceedings of the 57th IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Korea 2003, 2456-2460.Mikko P, Ari K, Ott J: Message fragmentation in opportunistic DTNs. In 9th IEEE International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WOWMOM 2008). Newport Beach, CA, USA; 2008.Farrell S, Symington S, Weiss H: Delay-tolerant networking security overview. Internet Draft 2009. [Online] [ http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-irtf-dtnrg-sec-overview-06 ]Magaia N, Pereira PR, Casaca A, Rodrigues J, Dias JA, Isento JN, Cervelló-Pastor C, Gallego J: Bundles fragmentation in vehicular delay-tolerant networks. 7th Euro-nf conference on next generation internet, Kaiserslautern, Germany 2011.Soares V, Rodrigues J, Farahmand F, Denko M: Exploiting node localization for performance improvement of vehicular delay-tolerant networks. In IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC 2010). Cape Town, South Africa; 2010.Rubinstein MG, Abdesselm FB, Cavalcanti SR, Campista MEM, Alves RSA, Costa LHMK, Amorim MD, Duarte OCMB: Measuring the capacity of in-car to in-car vehicular networks. IEEE Commun Mag 2009, 47(11):128-136.Spyropoulos T, Psounis K, Raghavendra C S: Spray and wait: an efficient routing scheme for intermittently connected mobile networks. In ACM SIGCOMM 2005--Workshop on Delay Tolerant Networking and Related Networks (WDTN-05). Philadelphia, PA, USA; 2005:252-259.Lindgren A, Doria A, Davies E, Grasic S: Probabilistic routing protocol for intermittently connected networks (2010). Internet Draft 2010. [Online] [ http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-irtf-dtnrg-prophet-06 ]Teshima S, Ohta T, Kohno E, Kakuda Y: A data transfer scheme using autonomous clustering in VANETs environment. In 10th International Symposium on Autonomous Decentralized Systems (ISADS 2011). Tokyo, Japan; 2011:477-482.Psounis K: Efficient Routing for Safety Applications in Vehicular Networks. METRANS Project DTRS98-G0019, Electrical Engineering. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA; 2009.Li X, Shu W, Li M, Huang H, Min-You Wu: DTN routing in vehicular sensor networks. In IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference (IEEE GLOBECOM 2008). New Orleans, USA; 2008:1-5