3D high definition video coding on a GPU-based heterogeneous system

H.264/MVC is a standard for supporting the sensation of 3D, based on coding from 2 (stereo) to N views. H.264/MVC adopts many coding options inherited from single view H.264/AVC, and thus its complexity is even higher, mainly because the number of processing views is higher. In this manuscript, we aim at an efficient parallelization of the most computationally intensive video encoding module for stereo sequences. In particular, inter prediction and its collaborative execution on a heterogeneous platform. The proposal is based on an efficient dynamic load balancing algorithm and on breaking encoding dependencies. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed algorithm's ability to reduce the encoding time for different stereo high definition sequences. Speed-up values of up to 90× were obtained when compared with the reference encoder on the same platform. Moreover, the proposed algorithm also provides a more energy-efficient approach and hence requires less energy than the sequential reference algorith

The Mediating Role of Brown Fat and Skeletal Muscle Measured by 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose in the Thermoregulatory System in Young Adults

The authors would like to thank all the participants who took part in this investigation. This study is part of a PhD thesis conducted in the Biomedicine Doctoral Studies of the University of Granada, Spain. We are grateful to Alberto Quesada-Aranda for helping with the development of the Temperatus software (free trial at http://profith.ugr.es/ temperatus?lang=en). We are grateful to Ms Carmen Sainz-Quinn for assistance with English-language editingObjective: This study aimed to examine whether brown adipose tissue (BAT) or skeletal muscle activity mediates the relationship between personal level of environmental temperature (Personal-ET) and wrist skin temperature (WT). Moreover, we examined whether BAT and skeletal muscle have a mediating role between Personal-ET and WT (as a proxy of peripheral vasoconstriction/vasodilation). Methods: The levels of BAT were quantified by cold-induced 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan and measured the Personal-ET and WT by using iButtons (Maxim Integrated, Dallas, Texas) in 75 participants (74.6% women). Results: The study found that BAT volume and metabolic activity played a positive and significant role (up to 25.4%) in the association between Personal-ET and WT. In addition, at the coldest temperatures, the participants with lower levels of WT (inducing higher peripheral vasoconstriction) had higher levels of BAT outcomes, whereas in warm temperatures, participants with higher levels of WT (inducing higher peripheral vasodilation) had lower levels of BAT outcomes. The study did not find any mediating role of skeletal muscle activity. Conclusions: BAT volume and metabolic activity play a role in the relationship between Personal-ET and WT. Moreover, the data suggest that there are two distinct phenotypes: individuals who respond better to the cold, both through nonshivering thermogenesis and peripheral vasoconstriction, and individuals who respond better to the heat.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), Retos de la Sociedad (DEP2016‐79512‐R), and Fondos Estructurales de la Unión Europea (FEDER); by the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU 13/04365); by the Fundación Iberoamericana de Nutrición; by the Redes Temáticas de Investigación Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022); by AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation; by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES); and by the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR, Programa Contratos‐Puente. MAR is supported by a predoctoral research grant from University Jaume I (PREDOC/2015/13). AMN was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CB16/10/00239), and grant 19899/GERM/15 (cofinanced by FEDER)

Video-based tasks for emotional processing rehabilitation in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown of cognitive processes and by a deficit of typi-cal emotional responses. Effectiveness of computerized task has been demonstrated in the field of cognitive rehabilitation. However, current rehabilitation programs based on virtual environments normally focus on higher cognitive functions, not covering social cognition training. This paper presents a set of video-based tasks specifically designed for the rehabilita-tion of emotional processing deficits in patients in early stages of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. These tasks are part of the Mental Health program of Guttmann NeuroPer-sonalTrainer® cognitive tele-rehabilitation platform, and entail innovation both from a clinical and technological per-spective in relation with former traditional therapeutic con-tents

Shoc2/Sur8 protein regulates neurite outgrowth

This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.The Shoc2 protein has been implicated in the positive regulation of the Ras-ERK pathway by increasing the functional binding interaction between Ras and Raf, leading to increased ERK activity. Here we found that Shoc2 overexpression induced sustained ERK phosphorylation, notably in the case of EGF stimulation, and Shoc2 knockdown inhibited ERK activation. We demonstrate that ectopic overexpression of human Shoc2 in PC12 cells significantly promotes neurite extension in the presence of EGF, a stimulus that induces proliferation rather than differentiation in these cells. Finally, Shoc2 depletion reduces both NGF-induced neurite outgrowth and ERK activation in PC12 cells. Our data indicate that Shoc2 is essential to modulate the Ras-ERK signaling outcome in cell differentiation processes involved in neurite outgrowth.GL, TG and LMD were recipients of fellowships from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC) (to GL, TG), and Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS) (to LMD). LSR held a postdoctoral research contract from CIBERNED. This work was supported by FIS grant (PI10/00815) to JLO; CIBERNED to MC; SAF2008-01951, Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM) SSAL-0202-2006-01 and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED) to TI; FIS grant PI12/00775 and ISCIII-RETIC (Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer) RD12/0036/0027 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III to PSG; and FIS grants (PI09/0562 and PI13/00703), ISCIIIRETIC (RD06/0020/0003 and RD12/0036/0021), and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) to JMR.Peer Reviewe

Real-world evidence of tisagenlecleucel for the treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma

Recerca clínica del càncer; Càncer hematològic; Limfoma no HodgkinInvestigación clínica del cáncer; Cáncer hematológico; Linfoma no HodgkinClinical cancer research; Hematological cancer; Non-Hodgkin's lymphomaTisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) is a second-generation autologous CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). The approval was based on the results of phase II JULIET trial, with a best overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) rate in infused patients of 52% and 40%, respectively. We report outcomes with tisa-cel in the standard-of-care (SOC) setting for R/R LBCL. Data from all patients with R/R LBCL who underwent leukapheresis from December 2018 until June 2020 with the intent to receive SOC tisa-cel were retrospectively collected at 10 Spanish institutions. Toxicities were graded according to ASTCT criteria and responses were assessed as per Lugano 2014 classification. Of 91 patients who underwent leukapheresis, 75 (82%) received tisa-cel therapy. Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity occurred in 5% and 1%, respectively; non-relapse mortality was 4%. Among the infused patients, best ORR and CR were 60% and 32%, respectively, with a median duration of response of 8.9 months. With a median follow-up of 14.1 months from CAR T-cell infusion, median progression-free survival and overall survival were 3 months and 10.7 months, respectively. At 12 months, patients in CR at first disease evaluation had a PFS of 87% and OS of 93%. Patients with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase showed a shorter PFS and OS on multivariate analysis. Treatment with tisa-cel for patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL in a European SOC setting showed a manageable safety profile and durable complete responses

Diurnal variations of cold-induced thermogenesis in young, healthy adults: A randomized crossover trial

Background: Harnessing cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity has been proposed as a means of counteracting a positive energy balance, and thus of combating obesity and its related comorbidities. However, it has remained unclear whether CIT and BAT activity show diurnal variation in humans - knowledge that might allow treatments based on these factors to be time-optimized.Methods: A randomized crossover experiment was designed to examine whether CIT shows morning/evening variation in young, healthy adults (n = 14, 5 women). On the first experimental day, subjects' shivering thresholds were determined following a cooling protocol. After ≈96 h had elapsed, the subjects then returned on two further days (approx. 48 h apart) at 08:00 h or 18:00 in random order. On both the latter days, the resting energy expenditure (REE) was measured before the subjects underwent personalized cold exposure (i.e., according to their shivering threshold). CIT was then assessed for 60 min by indirect calorimetry. In an independent cross-sectional study (n = 133, 88 women), subjects came to the laboratory between 8:00 and 18:00 h and their BAT 18F-fluordeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake was assessed after personalized cold stimulation.Results: Both the REE and CIT were similar in the morning and evening (all P > 0.05). Indeed, 60 min of personalized-mild cold exposure in the morning or evening elicited a similar change in energy expenditure (16.8 ± 12.8 vs. 15.7 ± 15.1% increase above REE, P = 0.72). BAT 18F-FDG uptake was also similar in the morning, evening and afternoon (all P > 0.05).Conclusion: CIT does not appear to show morning/evening variation in young healthy adults, with the current study design and methodology. BAT 18F-FDG uptake appears not to change across the day either, although experiments with a within-subject study design are needed to confirm these findings. Registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier no. NCT02365129.</p

Biological Activity and Implications of the Metalloproteinases in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Inadequate metabolic control predisposes diabetic patient to a series of complications on account of diabetes mellitus (DM). Among the most common complications of DM is neuropathy, which causes microvascular damage by hyperglycemia in the lower extremities which arrives characterized by a delayed closing. The global prevalence of diabetic neuropathy (DN) was 66% of people with diabetes in 2015, representing the principal cause of total or partial lower extremities amputation, with 22.6% of the patients with DN. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in healing. The function that these mainly play is the degradation during inflammation that has as consequence the elimination of the extracellular matrix (ECM), the disintegration of the capillary membrane to give way to angiogenesis and cellular migration for the remodeling of damaged tissue. The imbalance in MMPs may increase the chronicity of a wound, what leads to chronic foot ulcers and amputation. This chapter focuses on the role of MMPs in diabetic wound healing

Von Hippel-Lindau protein is required for optimal alveolar macrophage terminal differentiation, self-renewal, and function

The rapid transit from hypoxia to normoxia in the lung that follows the first breath in newborn mice coincides with alveolar macrophage (AM) differentiation. However, whether sensing of oxygen affects AM maturation and function has not been previously explored. We have generated mice whose AMs show a deficient ability to sense oxygen after birth by deleting Vhl, a negative regulator of HIF transcription factors, in the CD11c compartment (CD11c Delta Vhl mice). VHL-deficient AMs show an immature-like phenotype and an impaired self-renewal capacity in vivo that persists upon culture ex vivo. VHL-deficient phenotype is intrinsic in AMs derived from monocyte precursors in mixed bone marrow chimeras. Moreover, unlike control Vhl(fl/fl), AMs from CD11c Delta Vhl mice do not reverse pulmonary alveolar proteinosis when transplanted into Csf2rb(-/)(-) mice, demonstrating that VHL contributes to AM-mediated surfactant clearance. Thus, our results suggest that optimal AM terminal differentiation, self-renewal, and homeostatic function requires their intact oxygen-sensing capacity