203 research outputs found
Implementation of an Intelligent Target Classifier with Bicoherence Feature Set
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the feasibility of bispectral analysing of acoustic signals emanated from underwater targets, for the purpose of classification. Higher order analysis, especially bispectral analysis has been widely used to analyse signals when non-Gaussianity and non-linearity are involved. Bicoherence, which is a normalized form of bispectrum, has been used to extract source specific features, which is finally fed to a neural network classifier. Vector quantization has been used to reduce the dimensionality of the feature set, thereby reducing computational costs. Simulations were carried out with linear, tan and log-sigmoid transfer functions and also with different code book sizes. It is found that the bicoherence feature set can provide acceptable levels of classification accuracy with a properly trained neural network classifier
Genetic variability of the bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, occurring on different host plants
The bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest of worldwide occurrence inflicting annual crop damage in India worth US$ 1billion. In India this insect occurs as a major pest in many economically important crops, including cotton, pigeonpea, chickpea, tomato, okra, and blackgram. Understanding the genetic variation among the H. armigera populations occurring on host plants has become essential to understand the variation in their susceptibility to different insecticides, including Bacillus thuringiensis. This preliminary study uses 10 microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, to provide insight into the genetic variability of H. armigera populations from six different host plants. Nine of the SSR primers indicated high variability across the different host associated populations with polymorphism ranging from 75 to 100 per cent. Using the un-weighted pair-group method analysis, H. armigera collected and reared from cotton stood out as unique in one cluster while the insects collected and reared on all other hosts grouped separately
Monkeypox: An Update on Current Knowledge and Research Advances
The resurgence of the disease in humans that is very similar to smallpox called monkeypox (MPX) disease, caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), is the dominant topic of discussion in the scientific and popular press around the world right now. This is taking place as the world celebrates the historic accomplishments made in the fight against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic MPX is currently thought to pose a risk to the general public's health, particularly in areas with high rates of MPXV infection and close human-wild animal contact. Despite the rarity of MPX outbreaks, they are often caused by human-to-human transmission, especially in households and healthcare settings. Recent decades have seen recurrent outbreaks of the MPX after the smallpox disease was declared eliminated and the consequent cessation of smallpox vaccination programs. MPX has presently spread to several countries throughout the world and posed a global public health emergency, with nearly 45000 confirmed cases in 96 countries and locations, and 12 deaths as of August 24, 2022. Even though this viral illness is thought to be self-limiting, its consequences and feasible pandemic potential seriously jeopardize public health. The main approach to avoiding MPX is to adopt appropriate prevention and control measures, increase awareness of risk factors, and inform the public of the steps they may take to reduce viral exposure. Scientific studies are currently looking at the viability and suitability of the MPX vaccination. This article presents a general introduction to MPXV / MPX along with progress in diagnosis, treatment, vaccination, and prevention and control strategies for tackling this global health emergency
Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) â a review and proposed strategies toward a better understanding of pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and therapy
Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) is one of the leading causes of currently incurable canine vision loss diagnosed by veterinary ophthalmologists. The disease is characterized by acute onset of blindness due to loss of photoreceptor function, extinguished electroretinogram with an initially normal appearing ocular fundus, and mydriatic pupils which are slowly responsive to bright white light, unresponsive to red, but responsive to blue light stimulation. In addition to blindness, the majority of affected dogs also show systemic abnormalities suggestive of hyperadrenocorticism, such as polyphagia with resulting obesity, polyuria, polydipsia, and a subclinical hepatopathy. The pathogenesis of SARDS is unknown, but neuroendocrine and autoimmune mechanisms have been suggested. Therapies that target these disease pathways have been proposed to reverse or prevent further vision loss in SARDSâ affected dogs, but these treatments are controversial. In November 2014, the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists' Vision for Animals Foundation organized and funded a Think Tank to review the current knowledge and recently proposed ideas about disease mechanisms and treatment of SARDS. These panel discussions resulted in recommendations for future research strategies toward a better understanding of pathogenesis, early diagnosis, and potential therapy for this condition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/122446/1/vop12291.pd
MENCA experiment aboard India’s Mars Orbiter Mission
The Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) aboard the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is a quadrupole mass spectrometer-based experiment. Making use of the highly elliptical and low inclination (~150°) orbit of MOM, MENCA will conduct in situ measurements of the composition and radial distribution of the Martian neutral exosphere in the 1–300 amu mass range in the equatorial and low latitudes of Mars. The functionality of MENCA has been tested during the Earth-bound and heliocentric phases of MOM before its operation in the Martian orbit. This article describes the scientific objectives, instrument details, design and development, test and evaluation, and calibration of the MENCA instrument
An Integrated In Vitro and In Vivo High-Throughput Screen Identifies Treatment Leads for Ependymoma
SummaryUsing a mouse model of ependymoma—a chemoresistant brain tumor—we combined multicell high-throughput screening (HTS), kinome-wide binding assays, and in vivo efficacy studies, to identify potential treatments with predicted toxicity against neural stem cells (NSC). We identified kinases within the insulin signaling pathway and centrosome cycle as regulators of ependymoma cell proliferation, and their corresponding inhibitors as potential therapies. FDA approved drugs not currently used to treat ependymoma were also identified that posses selective toxicity against ependymoma cells relative to normal NSCs both in vitro and in vivo, e.g., 5-fluorouracil. Our comprehensive approach advances understanding of the biology and treatment of ependymoma including the discovery of several treatment leads for immediate clinical translation
Chemokine CXCL13 is overexpressed in the tumour tissue and in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients
The abilities of chemokines in orchestrating cellular migration are utilised by different (patho-)biological networks including malignancies. However, except for CXCR4/CXCL12, little is known about the relation between tumour-related chemokine expression and the development and progression of solid tumours like breast cancer. In this study, microarray analyses revealed the overexpression of chemokine CXCL13 in breast cancer specimens. This finding was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction in a larger set of samples (n=34) and cell lines, and was validated on the protein level performing Western blot, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry. Levels of CXCR5, the receptor for CXCL13, were low in malignant and healthy breast tissues, and surface expression was not detected in vitro. However, we observed a strong (P=0.0004) correlation between the expressions of CXCL13 and CXCR5 in breast cancer tissues, indicating a biologically relevant role of CXCR5 in vivo. Finally, we detected significantly elevated serum concentrations of CXCL13 in patients with metastatic disease (n=54) as compared with controls (n=44) and disease-free patients (n=48). In conclusion, CXCL13 is overexpressed within breast cancer tissues, and increased serum levels of this cytokine can be found in breast cancer patients with metastatic disease pointing to a role of CXCL13 in the progression of breast cancer, suggesting that CXCL13 might serve as a useful therapeutic target and/or diagnostic marker in this malignancy
HOXA1 is overexpressed in oral squamous cell carcinomas and its expression is correlated with poor prognosis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HOX genes encode homeodomain-containing transcription factors involved in the regulation of cellular proliferation and differentiation during embryogenesis. However, members of this family demonstrated oncogenic properties in some malignancies. The present study investigated whether genes of the HOXA cluster play a role in oral cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to identify differentially expressed HOXA genes, duplex RT-PCR in oral samples from healthy mucosa and squamous cell carcinoma was used. The effects of HOXA1 on proliferation, apoptosis, adhesion, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and anchorage-independent growth were assessed in cells with up- and down-regulation of HOXA1. Immunohistochemical analysis using a tissue microarray (TMA) containing 127 oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) was performed to determine the prognostic role of HOXA1 expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We showed that transcripts of HOXA genes are more abundant in OSCC than in healthy oral mucosa. In particular, HOXA1, which has been described as one of the HOX members that plays an important role in tumorigenesis, was significantly more expressed in OSCCs compared to healthy oral mucosas. Further analysis demonstrated that overexpression of HOXA1 in HaCAT human epithelial cells promotes proliferation, whereas downregulation of HOXA1 in human OSCC cells (SCC9 cells) decreases it. Enforced HOXA1 expression in HaCAT cells was not capable of modulating other events related to tumorigenesis, including apoptosis, adhesion, invasion, EMT and anchorage-independent growth. A high number of HOXA1-positive cells was significantly associated with T stage, N stage, tumor differentiation and proliferative potential of the tumors, and was predictive of poor survival. In multivariate analysis, HOXA1 was an independent prognostic factor for OSCC patients (HR: 2.68; 95% CI: 1.59-2.97; p = 0.026).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings indicate that HOXA1 may contribute to oral carcinogenesis by increasing tumor cell proliferation, and suggest that HOXA1 expression might be helpful as a prognostic marker for patients with OSCC.</p
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