Scalable Unsupervised Domain Adaptation for Electron Microscopy

While Machine Learning algorithms are key to automating organelle segmentation in large EM stacks, they require annotated data, which is hard to come by in sufficient quantities. Furthermore, images acquired from one part of the brain are not always representative of another due to the variability in the acquisition and staining processes. Therefore, a classifier trained on the first may perform poorly on the second and additional annotations may be required. To remove this cumbersome requirement, we introduce an Unsupervised Domain Adaptation approach that can leverage annotated data from one brain area to train a classifier that applies to another for which no labeled data is available. To this end, we establish noisy visual correspondences between the two areas and develop a Multiple Instance Learning approach to exploiting them. We demonstrate the benefits of our approach over several baselines for the purpose of synapse and mitochondria segmentation in EM stacks of different parts of mouse brains

Malaria vector research and control in Haiti: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Haiti has a set a target of eliminating malaria by 2020. However, information on malaria vector research in Haiti is not well known. This paper presents results from a systematic review of the literature on malaria vector research, bionomics and control in Haiti. METHODS: A systematic search of literature published in French, Spanish and English languages was conducted in 2015 using Pubmed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, EMBASE, JSTOR WHOLIS and Web of Science databases as well other grey literature sources such as USAID, and PAHO. The following search terms were used: malaria, Haiti, Anopheles, and vector control. RESULTS: A total of 132 references were identified with 40 high quality references deemed relevant and included in this review. Six references dealt with mosquito distribution, seven with larval mosquito ecology, 16 with adult mosquito ecology, three with entomological indicators of malaria transmission, eight with insecticide resistance, one with sero-epidemiology and 16 with vector control. In the last 15 years (2000–2015), there have only been four published papers and three-scientific meeting abstracts on entomology for malaria in Haiti. Overall, the general literature on malaria vector research in Haiti is limited and dated. DISCUSSION: Entomological information generated from past studies in Haiti will contribute to the development of strategies to achieve malaria elimination on Hispaniola. However it is of paramount importance that malaria vector research in Haiti is updated to inform decision-making for vector control strategies in support of malaria elimination

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Bottom-current control on sedimentation in the western Bellingshausen Sea, West Antarctica

A set of single channel and multi channel seismic reflection profiles provide insights in the young Cenozoic sedimentation history on the continental rise of the western Bellingshausen Sea west and north of Peter I Island. This area was mainly influenced by the glacial controlled sediment supply from the continental shelf and by bottom current activity. The seismic data show northwards structural altering of a prominent sediment mound from a sediment drift structure into a oppositional orientated large channel-levee complex lying west of an erosional channel. This change indicates a northward decreasing influence of a westward flowing bottom contour current. The topography suggests Peter I Island to be the main feature for the change of the bottom current influence, acting as a barrier for the bottom current and the entrained sediment material. West of Peter I Island the eastward orientated Coriolis force remains as the affecting force which deflects suspended load of the turbidites to the west and leads to a stronger grow of the western channel-levee. Calculated sediment deposition rates based on the seismic data reveal the sediment mound as a remarkable and important sediment depocentre for young Cenozoic glacial transported and contouritic sediment material in the Bellingshausen Sea

The catalytic activity of Wells-Dawson and Keggin heteropolyoxotungstates in the selective oxidation of isobutane to isobutene

The catalytic performance of the Wells-Dawson-type polyoxotungstate, K6P2W18O62, in the oxydehydrogenation of isobutane to isobutene has been studied, and compared with the activity of the corresponding Keggin compound, K3PW12O40 The Wells-Dawson compound is characterized by a lower activity than the Keggin salt, but by a remarkably higher selectivity to the olefin. The activity of the Wells-Dawson catalyst is strongly dependent on the hydrocarbon content in the feed, and increases with increased partial pressure of isobutane. This unexpected autocatalytic behavior is explained by a proposed mechanism where the olefin product induces a modification of the catalyst surface, with the creation of more active sites. In addition, at the highest hydrocarbon content in the feed, the contribution of heterogeneously-initiated, homogeneous gas-phase reactions become important, thus favoring high selectivity to isobutene

Benthic foraminiferal fauna from anoxic sediments in the Kveithola Trough, northwest Barents Sea (Arctic region).

The recent sedimentary records preserve the imprint of the climatic changes in the last decades. One of the most sensitive region to these changes is the Arctic region, as it responds more rapidly to global warming than most of the other areas on our planet. The Kveithola Trough, in the NW Barents Sea, represents an important repository of the history of the past climatic changes affecting the local oceanographic configuration and ice sheet evolution. Indeed this zone is characterized by the interaction of two main water masses: the cold, fresh Arctic Water coming from the north and the warm, salty Atlantic Water flowing from the south. During the oceanographic cruise EUROFLEETS2-BURSTER (June 2016), seven multi-cores were collected from three sampling sites in the Kveithola Trough area. The aim of this study is to analyze three of these cores focusing on dead and living benthic foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentological parameters, in order to study the past variability and present conditions of the water masses, the organic matter flux and oxygen concentration to the sea floor during the last decades. A total of 77 dead benthic species (calcareous perforated, miliolids and agglutinated) and 78 living (50 species of calcareous perforated, miliolids and agglutinated, plus 28 species of soft-shelled) foraminiferal species were identified. The dominant (live and dead) foraminiferal species are Globobulimina auriculata, Globobulimina arctica, Nonionellina labradorica, Cassidulina laevigata, and Cassidulina neoteretis, present in different percentages at each site. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages allow to distinguish different (palaeo)- environmental conditions along the study area. The preliminary results shows that during the last 200 years until present, the deeper part of the Kveithola trough has been a highly dynamic environment. The inner part is a stressful environment with low oxygen concentrations and high superficial phytodetritus influx, likely influenced by methane seepage. A higher influence of warm water masses, North Atlantic Water Currents, is reflected by the presence of warm taxa (such as Melonis barleeanus, Cassidulina neoteretis, Cassidulina laevigata) during the last decades. During the same time, the high percentage of Nonionellina labradorica, Globobulimina auriculata, Globobulimina arctica, shows a low oxygen concentration along the Kveithola Trough area. These preliminary results need further research to be confirmed by multidisciplinary analysis, including oceanographic, biological, sedimentological and chemical data