Lung nodule segmentation in computed tomography image

The key process to detect the Lung cancer is the critical observation on the CT scan images where the visual inspection carefully analysis the geometrical features of blob shaped objects found inside the lung region. This traditional approach becomes tedious for the clinical experts when analyzing large amount of CT images and courses to introduce error in the prediction of the cancer nodules. Further the detection of blobs touching the inner wall of the chest is very challenging task and most of the proposed methods are time consuming due to the complex architecture of the algorithms. Therefore, in this paper a computer vision solution is proposed to automatically localize the lung nodules and to overcome the difficulties found in the earlier methods. Experimentation is conducted on CT scan data and shows promising results in the localization of the lung nodules

Cellular tracking in time-lapse phase contrast images

The quantitative analysis of live cells is a key issue in evaluating biological processes. The current clinical practice involves the application of a tedious and time consuming manual tracking procedure on large amount of data. As a result, automatic tracking systems are currently developed and evaluated. However, problems caused by cellular division, agglomeration, Brownian motion and topology changes are difficult issues that have to be accommodated by automatic tracking techniques. In this paper, we detail the development of a fully automated multi-target tracking system that is able to deal with Brownian motion and cellular division. During the tracking process our approach includes the neighbourhood relationship and motion history to enforce the cellular tracking continuity in the spatial and temporal domain. The experimental results reported in this paper indicate that our method is able to accurately track cellular structures in time-lapse data

The therapeutic potential of plant flavonoids on rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that mainly affects peripheral joints. Although immunosuppressive drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to treat this condition, these drugs have severe side effects. Flavonoids are the most abundant phenolic compounds which exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Many bioactive flavonoids have powerful anti-inflammatory effects. However, a very few have reached clinical use. Dietary flavonoids have been reported to control joint inflammation and alleviate arthritis symptoms in both human RA and animal models of arthritis. There is little scientific evidence about their mechanism of actions in RA. We review the therapeutic effects of different groups of flavonoids belonging to the most common and abundant groups on RA. In particular, the probable mechanisms of major flavonoids on cells and chemical messengers involved in the inflammatory signalling components of RA are discussed in detail

A novel framework for tracking in-vitro cells in time-lapse phase contrast data

With the proliferation of modern microscopy imaging technologies the amount of data that has to be analysed by biologists is constantly increasing and as a result the development of automatic approaches that are able to track cellular structures in timelapse images has become an important field of research. The aim of this paper is to detail the development of a novel tracking framework that is designed to extract the cell motility indicators in phase-contrast image sequences. To address issues that are caused by nonstructured (random) motion and cellular agglomeration, cell tracking is formulated as a sequential process where the inter-frame cell association is achieved by assessing the variation in the local structures contained in consecutive frames of the image sequence. We have evaluated the proposed algorithm on dense phase contrast cellular data and the reported results indicate that the developed algorithm is able to accurately track MadinDarby Canine Kidney (MDCK) Epithelial Cells in image data that is characterised by low contrast and high level of noise

Automatic cellular segmentation in time-lapse phase contrast images

The process of cellular detection and tracking is a key task in the analysis of cellular motility and proliferation. The current clinical procedure involves a time consuming procedure that requires the manual annotation of cells in sequences of time-lapse phase contrast microscopy images. With the development of modern imaging modalities, the amount of data to be interpreted by biologists is constantly increasing, thus the development of automatic techniques that are able to detect cellular structures in large image sequences is more necessary than ever before. Robust cellular detection represents the first step in the development of cellular tracking algorithms and one of the objectives of our work was focused on the development of an automatic technique that is able to segment the cells in various sequences of cellular data. The proposed segmentation framework adaptively determines the criteria to separate the cells and the background and additional morphological operations are applied to detect the initial structures that define the cells in each image of the sequence. The initial segmentation results are refined by applying motion consistency constraints to detect the cells that are missed by the initial segmentation process due to factors such as image noise and low contrast. In our experiments we have applied the proposed segmentation framework to NE4C, MDCK and HUVEC cellular data. A number of experimental results are illustrated in Figure 1

Route of Infection in Melioidosis

This publication does not have an abstract

Therapeutic effect of quercetin in collagen-induced arthritis

Quercetin, a bioactive flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and protective properties, is a potential agent for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is the most commonly used animal model for studying the pathogenesis of RA. This study analysed the therapeutic role of quercetin in collagen-induced arthritis in C57BL/6 mice. The animals were allocated into five groups that were subjected to the following treatments: negative (untreated) control, positive control (arthritis-induced), arthritis + methotrexate, arthritis + quercetin, and arthritis + methotrexate + quercetin. Assessments of weight, oedema, joint damage, and cytokine production were used to determine the therapeutic effect of quercetin. This study demonstrated for the first time the anti-inflammatory and protective effects of quercetin in vivo in CIA. The results also showed that the concurrent administration of quercetin and methotrexate did not offer greater protection than the administration of a single agent. The use of quercetin as a monotherapeutic agent resulted in the lowest degree of joint inflammation and the highest protection. The reduced severity of the disease in animals treated with quercetin was associated with decreased levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-17, and MCP-1. In conclusion, this study determined that quercetin, which was non-toxic, produced better results than methotrexate for the protection of joints from arthritic inflammation in mice. Quercetin may be an alternative treatment for RA because it modulates the main pathogenic pathways of RA

Cortisol awakening response and acute stress reactivity in First Nations people

First Nations people globally have a higher incidence of mental disorders and non-communicable diseases. These health inequalities are partially attributed to a complex network of social and environmental factors which likely converge on chronic psychosocial stress. We hypothesized that alterations in stress processing and the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis might underlie health disparities in First Nations people. We assessed the cortisol awakening response and the dynamic response to a laboratory induced psychosocial stress of young Indigenous tertiary students (n = 11, mean age 23.82 years) and non-Indigenous students (n = 11) matched for age and gender. Indigenous participants had a blunted cortisol awakening response (27.40 (SD 35.00) vs. 95.24 (SD 55.23), p = 0.002), which was differentially associated with chronic experience of stress in Indigenous (r = −0.641, p = 0.046) and non-Indigenous (r = 0.652, p = 0.03) participants. The cortisol response to the laboratory induced psychosocial stress did not differ between groups. Self-reported racial discrimination was strongly associated with flattened cortisol response to stress (r = −0676, p = 0.022) and with heart rate variability (r = 0.654, p = 0.040). Our findings provide insight into potential biological factors underlying health discrepancies in ethnic minority groups

Groundwater mapping and locally engaged water governance in a small island terrain: case study of Karainagar island, northern Sri Lanka

Groundwater is a vital resource under threat in island communities. Karainagar, a 22 km2 island, is one of seven islands off the coast of Jaffna in Northern Sri Lanka, with its population of just about 11,000 persons, experiences seasonal water shortage, and salinity in groundwater as twin threats impacting on their lives. This paper reports on a 3-year study (October 2019 to September 2022) to map groundwater dynamics of Karainagar island spatially and seasonally and discusses the patterns revealed in terms of community needs, policy implications, and governance ideas that could already be considered by relevant authorities and citizens jointly. Thirty-six dug wells used for drinking, domestic, agricultural, and public purposes were selected, and water level, salinity, and pH changes recorded along with daily rainfall. This paper offers a thorough description of the geography, land use, distribution of wells, and water bodies, followed by discussion of the current status of the groundwater in Karainagar island. Year-to-year differences in rainfall pattern resulted in different rates of change and range in water level with a corresponding reverse pattern seen in salinity with some exceptions across the island. Cumulative rainfall required to reach full capacity of wells ranged from 652 to 892 mm over the 3 years with an average figure of 739 mm of rain. This implies that any further rainfall during early phase of the main rainy season is potential surface water for storage and runoff. Practices such as unregulated pumping and construction of tube wells are argued to be contributing to increase in salinity levels with health implications for residents. A participatory governance approach that overcomes limitations of the existing institutional approach is proposed. Its success based on broad stakeholder engagement, improved equity, and transparency when supported by adequate policies and village level aquifer monitoring will enable sustainability of groundwater resources in Karainagar

Design and Development of an Internationally Applicable Educational Video to Increase Community Awareness in Regions with High Prevalence of Melioidosis and Diabetes

Melioidosis is a neglected tropical disease that causes high morbidity and mortality. Public health awareness is essential for both prevention and early detection of the infection. This project aimed to develop an internationally applicable educational tool to increase community awareness in regions with high prevalence of diabetes and melioidosis. The animation was created with international collaboration. Sixty-four delegates from different cultural backgrounds participated in the survey to evaluate the animation. Feedback was positive, with 85% agreeing that they would use this video for public education and 82% agreeing that the video was culturally appropriate to them in the context of their region. The animation was refined after feedback. To supplement the 3-minute animation, a 13-minute film footage of interviews with clinicians, researchers and patients was also created. These materials have been made available online through the International Melioidosis Network and can be readily downloaded or subtitled in any language using publicly available software, demonstrating the utility of developing low-cost adaptable health education material targeted for widespread use internationally