Illumination uniformity in endoscopic imaging

Standardised endoscopic digital images were taken and analysed using an image analysis software (National Instruments Vision Assistant version 7.1.1). The luminance plane was extracted and the pixel intensity distribution was determined along a horizontal line at the position of highest average intensity (centroid). The data was exported to MS Excel and the pixel intensity (y-axis) was plotted against pixel position (x-axis). A trendline using a 2nd order polynomial curve was fitted to each data set. The resultant equation for each curve was compared with equations obtained from other images taken under various illumination conditions and settings

CD9 shapes glucocorticoid sensitivity in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Resistance to glucocorticoids (GCs), the common agents for remission induction in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), poses a significant therapeutic hurdle. Therefore, dissecting the mechanisms shaping GC resistance could lead to new treatment modalities. Here, we showed that CD9- BCP-ALL cells were preferentially resistant to prednisone and dexamethasone over other standard cytotoxic agents. Concordantly, we identified significantly more poor responders to the prednisone prephase among BCP-ALL patients with a CD9- phenotype, especially for those with adverse presenting features including older age, higher white cell count and BCR-ABL1. Furthermore, gain- and loss-of-function experiments dictated a definitive functional linkage between CD9 expression and GC susceptibility, as demonstrated by the reversal and acquisition of relative GC resistance in CD9low and CD9high BCP-ALL cells, respectively. Despite physical binding to the GC receptor NR3C1, CD9 did not alter its expression, phosphorylation or nuclear translocation but potentiated the induction of GC-responsive genes in GCresistant cells. Importantly, the MEK inhibitor trametinib exhibited higher synergy with GCs against CD9- than CD9+ lymphoblasts to reverse drug resistance in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our results elucidate a previously unrecognized regulatory function of CD9 in GC sensitivity, and inform new strategies for management of children with resistant BCP-ALL

Advanced Robotic Therapy Integrated Centers (ARTIC): an international collaboration facilitating the application of rehabilitation technologies

Background: The application of rehabilitation robots has grown during the last decade. While meta-analyses have shown beneficial effects of robotic interventions for some patient groups, the evidence is less in others. We established the Advanced Robotic Therapy Integrated Centers (ARTIC) network with the goal of advancing the science and clinical practice of rehabilitation robotics. The investigators hope to exploit variations in practice to learn about current clinical application and outcomes. The aim of this paper is to introduce the ARTIC network to the clinical and research community, present the initial data set and its characteristics and compare the outcome data collected so far with data from prior studies. Methods: ARTIC is a pragmatic observational study of clinical care. The database includes patients with various neurological and gait deficits who used the driven gait orthosis Lokomat® as part of their treatment. Patient characteristics, diagnosis-specific information, and indicators of impairment severity are collected. Core clinical assessments include the 10-Meter Walk Test and the Goal Attainment Scaling. Data from each Lokomat® training session are automatically collected. Results: At time of analysis, the database contained data collected from 595 patients (cerebral palsy: n = 208; stroke: n = 129; spinal cord injury: n = 93; traumatic brain injury: n = 39; and various other diagnoses: n = 126). At onset, average walking speeds were slow. The training intensity increased from the first to the final therapy session and most patients achieved their goals. Conclusions: The characteristics of the patients matched epidemiological data for the target populations. When patient characteristics differed from epidemiological data, this was mainly due to the selection criteria used to assess eligibility for Lokomat® training. While patients included in randomized controlled interventional trials have to fulfill many inclusion and exclusion criteria, the only selection criteria applying to patients in the ARTIC database are those required for use of the Lokomat®. We suggest that the ARTIC network offers an opportunity to investigate the clinical application and effectiveness of rehabilitation technologies for various diagnoses. Due to the standardization of assessments and the use of a common technology, this network could serve as a basis for researchers interested in specific interventional studies expanding beyond the Lokomat®

Interpreting tables in text using probabilistic two-dimensional context-free grammars

Table interpretation is the process of extracting meaningful information from tex-tual tables. More precisely, interpreting tables entails producing a semantic analysis in the form of a logical representation that is suitable for the kinds of inferences one would need to perform upon the information contained in the table. To a large ex-tent, the quality of a table interpretation model depends on how accurately the model disambiguates the types of the table and its subparts. This in turn depends on three major factors that we address in this thesis: (1) the expressiveness and suitability of the logical representation for semantic interpretation, (2) the adequacy of the inventory of table types and subparts, and (3) the power of the disambiguation algorithms. We present a new elegant and extensible table analysis model that is capable of interpret-ing an unusually wide range of textual tables in documents. Unlike the few existing table analysis models, which largely rely on relatively ad hoc heuristics that produce semantically vague interpretation of tables, our linguistically oriented approach is sys-tematic and grammar based, which allows our analysis model to be concise and yet recognize a wider range of types of tables than others. Specifically, our table anal-ysis model introduces the use of Viterbi parsing under probabilistic two-dimensional CFGs. This cleaner grammatical approach facilitates not only greater coverage, but also grammar extension and maintenance, as well as a more direct and declarative link to semantic interpretation, for which we also introduce a cleaner underlying semantic model that exploits database theory to address the semantic vagueness problem of ex-isting table analysis models. In semantic interpretation experiments, our model was able to classified unseen web tables from different domains into semantic types more comprehensive than provided by previous works with 65% precision and 77% recall

Two-dimensional analysis of electrokinetically driven out-of-plane vortices in a microchannel liquid flow using patterned surface charge

The technology developed for photolithographically patterning the electric surface charge to be negative, positive, or neutral enables the realization of complex liquid flows even in straight and uniform microchannels with extremely small Reynolds number. A theoretical model to analyze a steady incompressible electrokinetically driven two-dimensional liquid flow in a microchannel with an inhomogeneous surface charge under externally applied electric field is derived. The flow field is obtained analytically by solving the biharmonic equation with the Helmholtz-Smoluchowski slip boundary condition using the Fourier series expansion method. The model has been applied to study three basic out-of-plane vortical flow fields: single vortex and a train of corotating and a series of counterrotating vortex pairs. For model verification, the solution for the single vortex has been tested against numerical computations based on the full Navier-Stokes equations revealing the dominant control parameters. Two interesting phenomena have been observed in out-of-plane multivortex dynamics: merging of corotating vortices and splitting of counterrotating vortices. The criteria for the onset of both phenomena are discussed

A Grammatical Approach to Understanding Textual Tables using

We present an elegant and extensible model that is capable of providing semantic interpretations for an unusually wide range of textual tables in documents. Unlike the few existing table analysis models, which largely rely on relatively ad hoc heuristics, our linguistically-oriented approach is systematic and grammar based, which allows our model (1) to be concise and yet (2) recognize a wider range of data models than others, and (3) disambiguate to a significantly finer extent the underlying semantic interpretation of the table in terms of data models drawn from relation database theory. To accomplish this, the model introduces Viterbi parsing under two-dimensional stochastic CFGs. The cleaner grammatical approach facilitates not only greater coverage, but also grammar extension and maintenance, as well as a more direct and declarative link to semantic interpretation, for which we also introduce a new, cleaner data model. In disambiguation experiments on recognizing relevant data models of unseen web tables from different domains, a blind evaluation of the model showed 60 % precision and 80 % recall.

Electrokinetically-driven micro mixer with a novel surface-charge pattern

An electrokinetically-driven micro mixer with a special surface-charge pattern was designed, fabricated and characterized using fluorescence video microscopy. Zeta potential of the working fluids was measured to facilitate the numerical simulation and optimization of the proposed mixer. The mixing flow of the electrolyte with and without microparticle was digitally recorded and analyzed in terms of concentration profile and mixing index. The experimental mixing enhancement is consistent with the simulation result