BioTwist - overcoming severe distortions in ridge-based biometrics for successful identication

Biometrics rely on a physical trait's permanence and stability over time, as well as its individuality, robustness and ease to be captured. Challenges arise when working with newborns or infants because of the tininess and fragility of an infant's features, their uncooperative nature and their rapid growth. The last of these is particularly relevant when one tries to verify an infant's identity based on captures of a biometric taken at an earlier age. Finding a physical trait that is feasible for infants is often referred to as the infant biometric problem. This thesis explores the quality aspect of adult fingermarks and the correlation between image quality and the mark’s usefulness for an ongoing forensic investigation, and researches various aspects of the “ballprint” as an infant biometric. The ballprint, the friction ridge skin area of the foot pad under the big toe, exhibits similar properties to fingerprint but the ball possesses larger physical structures and a greater number of features. We collected a longitudinal ballprint database from 54 infants within 3 days of birth, at two months old, at 6 months and at 2 years. It has been observed that the skin of a newborn's foot dries and cracks so the ridge lines are often not visible to the naked eye and an adult fingerprint scanner cannot capture them. This thesis presents the physiological discovery that the ballprint grows isotropically during infancy and can be well approximated by a linear function of the infant's age. Fingerprint technology developed for adult fingerprints can match ballprints if they are adjusted by a physical feature (the inter-ridge spacing) to be of a similar size to adult fingerprints. The growth in ballprint inter-ridge spacing mirrors infant growth in terms of length/height. When growth is compensated for by isotropic rescaling, impressive verification scores are achieved even for captures taken 22 months apart. The scores improve even further when low-quality prints are rejected; the removal of the bottom third improves the Equal Error Rate from 1-2% to 0%. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that the ballprint is a feasible solution to the infant biometric problem

Mutations of the ret protooncogene in German multiple endocrine neoplasia families: Relation between genotype and phenotype.

It has been suggested that not only the position but also the nature of the mutations of the ret protooncogene strongly correlate with the clinical manifestation of the multiple endocrine neoplasm type 2 (MEN 2) syndrome. In particular, individuals with a Cys634-Arg substitution should have a greater risk of developing parathyroid disease. We, therefore, analyzed 94 unrelated families from Germany with inherited medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) for mutation of the ret protooncogene. In all but 1 of 59 families with MEN 2A, germline mutations in the extracellular domain of the ret protein were found. Some 81% of the MEN 2A mutations affected codon 634. Phenotype-genotype correlations suggested that the prevalence of pheochromocytoma and hyperparathyroidism is significantly higher in families with codon 634 mutations, but there was no correlation with the nature of the mutation. In all but 1 of 27 familial MTC (FMTC) families, mutations were detected in 1 of 4 cysteines in the extracellular domain of the ret protooncogene. Half of the FMTC mutations affected codon 634. Mutations outside of codon 634 occurred more often in FMTC families than in MEN 2A families. In all but 1 of 8 MEN 2B patients, de novo mutations in codon 918 were found. These data confirm the preferential localization of MEN 2-associated mutations and the correlation between disease phenotype and the position of the ret mutation, but there was no correlation between the occurrence of hyperparathyroidism or pheochromocytoma and the nature of the mutation

Nuclear medicine procedures and the evaluation of male sexual organs: a short review

Sexuality consists of three aspects that are interrelated and inseparable, biological, physiological and social. The biological aspect considers the individual's capability to give and to receive pleasure. In consequence, it covers the functionality of the sexual organs and the physiology of human sexual response cycle. Diagnostic imaging modalities, such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) have been used to evaluate clinical disorders of the male reproductive system. PET and SPECT procedures basically involve the administration of a radiopharmaceutical that has a higher uptake in a specific tumor or tissue. The aim of this brief review is to present some radiopharmaceuticals that have been used in the clinical evaluation of the male sexual organs (testes, prostate, seminal vesicles, penis) related with male sexuality. This information could be useful in better understanding the male sexual response cycle, as well as the sexual disorders, when considering the male sexual organs and the pelvic floor. Moreover, the findings obtained with PET and SPECT imaging could help to evaluate the efficacy of clinical results of therapeutic procedures. In conclusion, the knowledge from these images could aid in better understanding the physiology of the different organs related with sexuality. Furthermore, they could be important tools to evaluate the physiological integrity of the involved organs, to improve clinical strategies and to accompany the patients under treatment

Combined tumor plus nontumor interim FDG‐PET parameters are prognostic for response to chemoradiation in squamous cell esophageal cancer

We have investigated the prognostic value of two novel interim F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) parameters in patients undergoing chemoradiation (CRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): one tumor parameter (maximal standardized uptake ratio rSUR) and one normal tissue parameter (change of FDG uptake within irradiated nontumor-affected esophagus increment SUVNTO). PET data of 134 European and Chinese patients were analyzed. Parameter establishment was based on 36 patients undergoing preoperative CRT plus surgery, validation was performed in 98 patients receiving definitive CRT. Patients received PET imaging prior and during fourth week of CRT. Clinical parameters, baseline PET parameters, and interim PET parameters (rSUR and increment SUVNTO) were analyzed and compared to event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS), loco-regional control (LRC) and freedom from distant metastases (FFDM). Combining rSUR and increment SUVNTO revealed a strong prognostic impact on EFS, OS, LRC and FFDM in patients undergoing preoperative CRT. In the definitive CRT cohort, univariate analysis with respect to EFS revealed several staging plus both previously established interim PET parameters as significant prognostic factors. Multivariate analyses revealed only rSUR and increment SUVNTO as independent prognostic factors (p = 0.003, p = 0.008). Combination of these parameters with the cutoff established in preoperative CRT revealed excellent discrimination of patients with a long or short EFS (73% vs. 17% at 2 years, respectively) and significantly discriminated all other endpoints (OS, p < 0.001; LRC, p < 0.001; FFDM, p = 0.02), even in subgroups. Combined use of interim FDG-PET derived parameters increment SUVNTO and rSUR seems to have predictive potential, allowing to select responders for definitive CRT and omission of surgery

Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor-based targeting using bombesin analogues is superior to metabolism-based targeting using choline for in vivo imaging of human prostate cancer xenografts

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PC) is a major health problem. Overexpression of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) in PC, but not in the hyperplastic prostate, provides a promising target for staging and monitoring of PC. Based on the assumption that cancer cells have increased metabolic activity, metabolism-based tracers are also being used for PC imaging. We compared GRPR-based targeting using the68Ga-labelled bombesin analogue AMBA with metabolism-based tar

Sorption and Photodegradation Processes Govern Distribution and Fate of Sulfamethazine in Freshwater−Sediment Microcosms

The antibiotic sulfamethazine can be transported from manured fields to surface water bodies. We investigated the degradation and fate of sulfamethazine in pond water using 14C-phenyl-sulfamethazine in small pond water microcosms containing intact sediment and pond water. We found a 2.7-day half-life in pond water and 4.2-day half-life when sulfamethazine was added to the water (5 mg L–1 initial concentration) with swine manure diluted to simulate runoff. Sulfamethazine dissipated exponentially from the water column, with the majority of loss occurring via movement into the sediment phase. Extractable sulfamethazine in sediment accounted for 1.9–6.1% of the applied antibiotic within 14 days and then declined thereafter. Sulfamethazine was transformed mainly into nonextractable sediment-bound residue (40–60% of applied radioactivity) and smaller amounts of photoproducts. Biodegradation, as indicated by metabolite formation and 14CO2 evolution, was less significant than photodegradation. Two photoproducts accounted for 15–30% of radioactivity in the water column at the end of the 63-day study; the photoproducts were the major degradates in the aqueous and sediment phases. Other unidentified metabolites individually accounted for \u3c7% of radioactivity in the water or sediment. Less than 3% of applied radioactivity was mineralized to 14CO2. Manure input significantly increased sorption and binding of sulfamethazine residues to the sediment. These results show concurrent processes of photodegradation and sorption to sediment control aqueous concentrations and establish that sediment is a sink for sulfamethazine and sulfamethazine-related residues. Accumulation of the photoproducts and sulfamethazine in sediment may have important implications for benthic organisms