X chromosomal regulation in flies: when less is more

In Drosophila, dosage compensation of the single male X chromosome involves upregulation of expression of X linked genes. Dosage compensation complex or the male specific lethal (MSL) complex is intimately involved in this regulation. The MSL complex members decorate the male X chromosome by binding on hundreds of sites along the X chromosome. Recent genome wide analysis has brought new light into X chromosomal regulation. It is becoming increasingly clear that although the X chromosome achieves male specific regulation via the MSL complex members, a number of general factors also impinge on this regulation. Future studies integrating these aspects promise to shed more light into this epigenetic phenomenon

Development and validation of cystectomy assessment and surgical evaluation (CASE) scoring for male radical cystectomy

Introduction: It is vital to ensure standardization and objective feedback during training and skill acquisition for optimal surgical outcomes and patient safety. We aimed to develop a structured scoring tool, Cystectomy Assessment and Surgical Evaluation (CASE), which objectively measures and quantifies performance during radical cystectomy (RC) for men. Methods: A multinational expert panel (11 surgeons who perform open and/or robot-assisted radical cystectomy [RARC]) collaborated towards development and content validation of the male RC scoring system. The critical steps of male RC were deconstructed into nine key domains, where each domain was assessed by five anchors evaluating surgical principles, technical proficiency, and safety. Content validation was done using the Delphi methodology. Each anchor statement was assessed in terms of three aspects: contextual relevance, concordance between language used and anchor score, and clarity of wording. An independent coordinator collated the comments from the expert panel and computed the Content Validity Index (CVI) for each aspect of each anchor. If CVI was ≥0.75, consensus was reached and the statement was removed from the next round. If consensus was not achieved, the coordinator incorporated the comments from the panel and the updated scoring system was redistributed. This process was repeated until consensus was achieved for all statements. All experts were blinded to each other\u27s assessment. Results: The expert panel reached consensus after four rounds on all aspects, including language, relevance of skills assessed, and concordance between the language used and the skill assessed. A ninth domain assessing disposition of tissue was removed from the system after the second round. CVI ≥0.75 was achieved in eight (11%) statements in the first round, 44 (61%) statements in the second, 17 (24%) statements in the third, and three (4%) statements in the fourth round. The final eight domains of the CASE include: pelvic lymph node dissection, development of the periureteral space, lateral pelvic space, anterior rectal space, control of the vascular pedicle, anterior vesical space, control of the dorsal venous complex, and apical dissection. Conclusions: We developed and validated a scoring system for RC that can provide structured feedback for surgical quality assessment, training, and feedback. Validation of the scoring system is in process

Towards cough sound analysis using the Internet of things and deep learning for pulmonary disease prediction

International audienceCough is a symptom in over a hundred respiratory diseases. The audio features in cough signals contain erudition about the predicament of the respiratory system. Using deep learning or signal processing, these features can be used to build an effective disease prediction system. However, cough analysis remains an area that has received scant attention from machine learning researchers. This can be attributed to several factors such as inefficient ancillary systems, high expenses in obtaining datasets, or difficulty in building classifiers. This paper categorized and reviewed the current progress on cough audio analysis for the classification of pulmonary diseases. It also explored potential future issues in research. Additionally, it proposed a model for the classification of ten serious pulmonary ailments commonly seen in Indian adolescents. The proposed model is evaluated against four existing state of the art techniques in the literature