Fundus2Angio: A Conditional GAN Architecture for Generating Fluorescein Angiography Images from Retinal Fundus Photography

Carrying out clinical diagnosis of retinal vascular degeneration using Fluorescein Angiography (FA) is a time consuming process and can pose significant adverse effects on the patient. Angiography requires insertion of a dye that may cause severe adverse effects and can even be fatal. Currently, there are no non-invasive systems capable of generating Fluorescein Angiography images. However, retinal fundus photography is a non-invasive imaging technique that can be completed in a few seconds. In order to eliminate the need for FA, we propose a conditional generative adversarial network (GAN) to translate fundus images to FA images. The proposed GAN consists of a novel residual block capable of generating high quality FA images. These images are important tools in the differential diagnosis of retinal diseases without the need for invasive procedure with possible side effects. Our experiments show that the proposed architecture outperforms other state-of-the-art generative networks. Furthermore, our proposed model achieves better qualitative results indistinguishable from real angiograms.Comment: 14 pages, Accepted to 15th International Symposium on Visual Computing 202

r.hu-Erythropoietin (EPO) treatment of pre-ESRD patients slows the rate of progression of renal decline

BACKGROUND: As EPO treatment of chronic anemia of advanced renal disease is now the standard of care we examined if such treatment may slow the progression of renal function decline. METHODS: Data of 18 pre-ESRD patients were analyzed retrospectively 12 months prior and prospectively 12 months after the initiation of EPO. Mean creatinine was 5.0 ± 1.8 mg/dL (Mean ± SEM) when starting EPO at a weekly dose of 5000 ± 500 units once the hematocrit was below 30 %. EPO dose was titrated monthly for a hematocrit between 33.0% and 37.0%. Metabolic complications and hypertension were controlled. RESULTS: At month_0 the average blood pressure was 148/76 ± 5/4 mmHg and at month_12 it was 145/73 ± 6/3 mmHg (p = 0.75 by 2 tailed paired Student's t test). 12/18 patients were on an ACE-i or ARB before month_0 and 14/18 were on it after (p = 0.71 by Fisher's 2 tailed exact test). The average hematocrit rose from 26.9% ± 0.6 to 33.1 % ± 0.1. When linear regression analysis was applied to pre- and post-EPO 1/creatinine data the mean rate of decline was -0.0140 ± 0.0119 (mean ± SD) and -0.0017 ± 0.0090 (non-parametric Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank sum test: Z value: -2.91; P = 0.004) respectively. 5/18 patients did not require dialysis 12 months after starting EPO (month_0). CONCLUSION: Treatment of the anemia of chronic renal failure with erythropoietin, when instituted together with vigorous metabolic control may slow the rate of renal function decline

Reversal of isolated unilateral optic nerve edema with concomitant visual impairment following blunt trauma: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Serious injury to the optic nerve is an uncommon entity but may result in permanent visual disability. Isolated trauma of the optic nerve is usually associated with blunt skull trauma involving fractures of both skull and optic canal, but may also occur from blunt ocular trauma.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a woman who developed isolated unilateral optic nerve edema with corresponding visual deficits after a rear-end collision accident. She was treated with corticosteroids and had a favourable outcome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The approach described here was successful in this case but the current body of evidence still lacks a validated approach to the management of traumatic optic neuropathy and each case needs to be individually assessed.</p

Walks4work: Rationale and study design to investigate walking at lunchtime in the workplace setting

Background: Following recruitment of a private sector company, an 8week lunchtime walking intervention was implemented to examine the effect of the intervention on modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors, and further to see if walking environment had any further effect on the cardiovascular disease risk factors. Methods. For phase 1 of the study participants were divided into three groups, two lunchtime walking intervention groups to walk around either an urban or natural environment twice a week during their lunch break over an 8week period. The third group was a waiting-list control who would be invited to join the walking groups after phase 1. In phase 2 all participants were encouraged to walk during their lunch break on self-selecting routes. Health checks were completed at baseline, end of phase 1 and end of phase 2 in order to measure the impact of the intervention on cardiovascular disease risk. The primary outcome variables of heart rate and heart rate variability were measured to assess autonomic function associated with cardiovascular disease. Secondary outcome variables (Body mass index, blood pressure, fitness, autonomic response to a stressor) related to cardiovascular disease were also measured. The efficacy of the intervention in increasing physical activity was objectively monitored throughout the 8-weeks using an accelerometer device. Discussion. The results of this study will help in developing interventions with low researcher input with high participant output that may be implemented in the workplace. If effective, this study will highlight the contribution that natural environments can make in the reduction of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors within the workplace. © 2012 Brown et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Pathotyping the Zoonotic Pathogen Streptococcus suis: Novel Genetic Markers To Differentiate Invasive Disease-Associated Isolates from Non-Disease-Associated Isolates from England and Wales.

Streptococcus suis is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens of pigs, causing significant economic losses to the global swine industry. S. suis is also a very successful colonizer of mucosal surfaces, and commensal strains can be found in almost all pig populations worldwide, making detection of the S. suis species in asymptomatic carrier herds of little practical value in predicting the likelihood of future clinical relevance. The value of future molecular tools for surveillance and preventative health management lies in the detection of strains that genetically have increased potential to cause disease in presently healthy animals. Here we describe the use of genome-wide association studies to identify genetic markers associated with the observed clinical phenotypes (i) invasive disease and (ii) asymptomatic carriage on the palatine tonsils of pigs on UK farms. Subsequently, we designed a multiplex PCR to target three genetic markers that differentiated 115 S. suis isolates into disease-associated and non-disease-associated groups, that performed with a sensitivity of 0.91, a specificity of 0.79, a negative predictive value of 0.91, and a positive predictive value of 0.79 in comparison to observed clinical phenotypes. We describe evaluation of our pathotyping tool, using an out-of-sample collection of 50 previously uncharacterized S. suis isolates, in comparison to existing methods used to characterize and subtype S. suis isolates. In doing so, we show our pathotyping approach to be a competitive method to characterize S. suis isolates recovered from pigs on UK farms and one that can easily be updated to incorporate global strain collections.This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Knowledge Transfer Network CASE studentship co-funded by Zoetis (previously Pfizer Animal Health UK) and with significant contribution from BQP Ltd (Award Reference: BB/L502479/1). Funding bodies provided scholarship support but had no part in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript. AWT is supported by a BBSRC Longer and Larger (LoLa) grant (Award Reference: BB/G019274/1). LAW is supported by a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship funded by the Royal Society (Grant Number: DH140195) and a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship co-funded by the Royal Society and Wellcome Trust (Grant Number: 109385/Z/15/Z)

Genetic Covariance Structure of Reading, Intelligence and Memory in Children

This study investigates the genetic relationship among reading performance, IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in a sample of 112, 9-year-old twin pairs and their older siblings. The relationship between reading performance and the other traits was explained by a common genetic factor for reading performance, IQ, WM and STM and a genetic factor that only influenced reading performance and verbal memory. Genetic variation explained 83% of the variation in reading performance; most of this genetic variance was explained by variation in IQ and memory performance. We hypothesize, based on these results, that children with reading problems possibly can be divided into three groups: (1) children low in IQ and with reading problems; (2) children with average IQ but a STM deficit and with reading problems; (3) children with low IQ and STM deficits; this group may experience more reading problems than the other two

Chordin Is a Modifier of Tbx1 for the Craniofacial Malformations of 22q11 Deletion Syndrome Phenotypes in Mouse

Point mutations in TBX1 can recapitulate many of the structural defects of 22q11 deletion syndromes (22q11DS), usually associated with a chromosomal deletion at 22q1.2. 22q11DS often includes specific cardiac and pharyngeal organ anomalies, but the presence of characteristic craniofacial defects is highly variable. Even among family members with a single TBX1 point mutation but no cytological deletion, cleft palate and low-set ears may or may not be present. In theory, such differences could depend on an unidentified, second-site lesion that modifies the craniofacial consequences of TBX1 deficiency. We present evidence for such a locus in a mouse model. Null mutations of chordin have been reported to cause severe defects recapitulating 22q11DS, which we show are highly dependent on genetic background. In an inbred strain in which chordin−/− is fully penetrant, we found a closely linked, strong modifier—a mutation in a Tbx1 intron causing severe splicing defects. Without it, lack of chordin results in a low penetrance of mandibular hypoplasia but no cardiac or thoracic organ malformations. This hypomorphic Tbx1 allele per se results in defects resembling 22q11DS but with a low penetrance of hallmark craniofacial malformations, unless chordin is mutant. Thus, chordin is a modifier for the craniofacial anomalies of Tbx1 mutations, demonstrating the existence of a second-site modifier for a specific subset of the phenotypes associated with 22q11DS

The effects of the Islamic revolution and the gulf war on Iran's economy

The Islamic revolution, followed by the eight-year Gulf war, has caused severe disruption and extensive changes in the structure of the Iranian economy. This thesis is concerned with an analytical study of Iran’s economy In the period from the Shah's western-style modernisation to the Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq. Thus, the thesis provides first, an overview of the economic development and industrialisation activity under the Shah, which glides a yardstick for understanding the post-revolutionary economy. Secondly, the thesis examines the concept of Islamic economics as articulated by the prominent contemporary Shi'i figures that continue to influence the post-revolutionary economic policies. Thirdly, the major part of the thesis devotes considerable attention to the study and evaluation of the post-revolutionary economy, focusing on agriculture, industry, foreign and domestic trade. Islamic balancing, public finance, the oil sector and the oil war. The latter was a determining factor in the continuation of the Gulf war. The appraisal and the overall picture of the post-revolutionary economy makes bleak reading. The negative Impact of the revolution and the war has left Iran with a shattered infrastructure and a moribund industrial base. Unprecedented destruction of wealth, both in human and non-human terms, has further exacerbated the pre-revolutionary economic problems. The politico-religious government has not been able to address the country's economic Ills effectively, partly owing to self -imposed constraints. A lack of active and structured economic policies has adversely affected all sectors of the economy, in particular, agriculture. While facing the daunting task of post-war reconstruction, Iran, more than ever before, is dependent on trading oil in exchange for basic commodities and consumer goods

The Argentine Competition Law and its Enforcement

This article analyzes the basic characteristics of the Argentine competition law and the way in which it has been enforced in several important antitrust cases. We begin with a section that introduces the evolution of the law, followed by another section about the basic economic and legal principles underlying that law. The rest of the article describes the enforcement of the law, in a number of cases that involve collusive practices, exclusionary practices, vertical restraints, abuses of dominant position, and mergers