Automatic Hotspots Detection for Intracellular Calcium Analysis in Fluorescence Microscopic Videos

In recent years, life-cell imaging techniques and their software applications have become powerful tools to investigate complex biological mechanisms such as calcium signalling. In this paper, we propose an automated framework to detect areas inside cells that show changes in their calcium concentration i.e. the regions of interests or hotspots, based on videos taken after loading living mouse cardiomyocytes with fluorescent calcium reporter dyes. The proposed system allows an objective and efficient analysis through the following four key stages: (1) Pre-processing to enhance video quality, (2) First level segmentation to detect candidate hotspots based on adaptive thresholding on the frame level, (3) Second-level segmentation to fuse and identify the best hotspots from the entire video by proposing the concept of calcium fluorescence hit-ratio, and (4) Extraction of the changes of calcium fluorescence over time per hotspot. From the extracted signals, different measurements are calculated such as maximum peak amplitude, area under the curve, peak frequency, and inter-spike interval of calcium changes. The system was tested using calcium imaging data collected from Heart muscle cells. The paper argues that the automated proposal offers biologists a tool to speed up the processing time and mitigate the consequences of inter-intra observer variability

The Use of head CT scanning in mild head injury

Objectives: To determine the number of brain CT scans carried out in patients with mild head injury (MHI) during 13 months of trauma registry, and to investigate means of reducing the rate of unnecessary scans. Methods: During a trauma registry (from August 23, 1999 to September 21, 2000) in 6 general Hospitals (Imam Hussein, Moayer, Sina, Hafteteer, Imam Khomeini and Shariatti) in Tehran, Iran, 1209 cases with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score >13 underwent brain CT scan. To be included in the study, patients must have sustained their injury within one week prior to presentation to Emergency Rooms, and were hospitalized for more than 24 hours. The attending physicians formally reported all brain CT scan findings. Results: For 1209 patients, there were the following characteristics: mean age was 29.4 years; the main cause of injury was traffic accidents (60.1%), followed by falls (28.5%), fights (7.2%), and other reasons (4.2%). Seventyseven cases (6.4%) had a GCS score of 13, 212 (17.5%) had a score of 14, and 920 (76%) had a score of 15. A total of 481 abnormalities on CT scan were reported for 405 patients (33.5%) with positive report of brain CT scan, while 804 cases (66.5%) did not report abnormalities. The most common intracranial lesion was epidural hemorrhage with 146 cases (30.3%). The rate of negative reporting of brain CT scan in patients who had GCS score of 15 was 72.2%. Conclusion: Patients who have GCS score of 13 or 14 on admission should be considered to have a moderate rather than a mild head injury. For reduction of unnecessary brain CT scan performance in MHI patients, we must define the appropriate criteria.4 page(s

Helicopter emergency medical system in a region lacking trauma coordination (experience from Tehran)

Background: The helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) has been working in Iran since 2000. The present study is the first prospective research to determine the epidemiological characteristics of injured patients transported by helicopter in Tehran. Methods: All injured patients brought to three hospitals from the injury scene by HEMS were reviewed in a 4-month period. Results: The mean transport time was 54 minutes. The most common mechanism of trauma was road traffic accidents (96.2%). The mean injury severity score was 8.6 (SD 8.6) and 9.6% of patients were sent to the intensive care unit; 10.2% of patients died. Conclusion: This study shows that overtriage in HEMS (transportation of patients without severe injuries) and the long transportation time is mainly a result of not having a trauma system. The study has shown HEMS to be an effective and feasible option in countries with heavy traffic and no trauma system

Microstructural features and mechanical properties of spray -formed hypereutectic Al-Si-Ti alloy

In the present study, the effect of the addition of Ti on the microstructural and mechanical properties of hypereutectic (Al/15 wt. %Si) spray-formed (SF) alloys has been investigated and compared with as-cast (AC) alloys. Al/15Si and Al/15Si/2Ti alloys were synthesised by spray forming method. The microstructural features of the alloys were explored under an optical microscope, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were carried out for phase identification. The phase analysis confirmed the presence of α-Al and Si phases in all the alloys, with additional peaks attributed to Al3Ti and AlSi2Ti present in the Al/15Si/2Ti alloys. The microstructure of the SF1 alloy (Al/15Si) consisted of globular, fine Si phases (primary and eutectic) distributed homogeneously in the equiaxed Al matrix. The addition of Ti to the binary SF1 alloy led to the formation of an SF2 alloy (Al/15Si/2Ti) with a fine intermetallic phase of Al3Ti and further spheroidisation of Si particles. The SF1 and SF2 alloys exhibited 30% and 40% greater microhardness, respectively, than did their corresponding AC alloys. With the addition of Ti, the ultimate tensile strength of the SF2 alloy increased by 19% compared to that of the SF1 alloy. Furthermore, a significant increase in yield strength and ductility was observed in the SF alloys compared to the AC alloys. Adding Ti to hypereutectic Al/15Si alloy via the spray-forming method provides a better alternative material for aerospace and automotive applications

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF PATIENTS WITH PENETRATING ABDOMINAL TRAUMA IN TEHRAN-IRAN

Trauma continues to be the most frequent cause of death in the first four decades of life that is a main public health problem in some countries. We perform an epidemiological study of Penetrating Abdominal Trauma (PAT). We describe epidemiological of patients in PAT. In a cross-sectional study we evaluated epidemiological PAT admitted to emergency department in six general hospitals in Tehran. The data was collected through a questionnaire that was completed by trained physician trauma center. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software (version 11.5 for windows). Statistical analysis using the chi-square and P<0.05 was accepted as being statistically significant. During the study period, 0.86 % (69/8000) of our patients sustained PAT. Sixty-six (95.7%) patients were male and 3(4.3%) cases were female. The peak age incidence was 15-29 years, with 43(62.3%) patients. Stab wound was the leading cause of PAT in male and female, with 62(89.9%) cases. Firearm was responsible for 7(10.1%) cases. Young males are the most common victims. This is the most productive age group and this has grave implication for the national economy

Epidemiology of outpatient burns in Tehran: An analysis of 4813 cases

This study aims to demonstrate the epidemiologic characteristics of outpatient burn injuries in Tehran. This cross-sectional study was performed over a 1-year period in a referral burn centre in Tehran and included all outpatient burns. The required data were recorded by two trained physicians. Of the 4813 studied patients, including 293 infants, 2901 patients (60) were male (P < 0.001). The mean age of the adult patients was 31.3 ± 18.3 years, while for infants it was 10.68 ± 2.27 months. In all age groups and both genders, scalding was the most common aetiology. Majority of the burns were non-intentianal (n = 4808) and 70.5 of the injuries occurred at home. Housewives consisted of 24 of the burn patients. With respect to the site of burn, multiple injuries were the most frequent (53) followed by upper extremities (37). Most of the burns (96) were partial thickness. Significant association was present between the aetiology and depth of burn (P < 0.001). The mean affected total body surface area (TBSA) was 3.16 ± 2.92 and there was significant association between burnt TBSA and the mechanism of injury (P < 0.001). In conclusion, it seems that women aged 21-30 years and children younger than 10 years are at greater risk of these injuries and therefore should be the target for preventive strategies. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI

Women Pose Innocent Victims of Landmines in Postwar Iran

&quot;nBackground: Although in the last few years there has been an increasing attention to the problem of landmines, to date, the implications of women being victims of landmine has not been duly dealt with in the world including Iran, which is estimated to be the second most landmine infested country in the world. Still, provinces by the west border of Iran, 18 years after cessation of Iraq-Iran war suffer from the burden of vast areas, highly infested with landmines. This study aimed to provide a gender focused insight into landmine accidents in Iran.&quot;nMethods: In this retrospective study, women with documented deaths or injuries due to landmine and/or unexploded ordnances (UXO) explosions as documented in their medical records between Jul 1988 (after ceasefire) and Feb 2003 were studied in 5 western provinces of Iran. Data was analyzed by SPSS for Windows Version 11.P value under 0.05 was consid&amp;shy;ered statistically significant.&quot;nResults: During the 14-year study period, 252 women from 5 western provinces of Iran were reported to have injuries or death due to landmine and UXOs. All of the victims were civilians and the majority of them (47.6%) had one or more amputations. Most of them were injured in the period between1994 and 1998. The majority of the patients were young.&quot;nConclusion: Women who should take care of themselves as well as their families are more prone to sufferings inflicted by landmines and UXO

1D numerical analysis of CO2vibrational non-equilibrium in supersonic expansions

The CO2 dissociation in supersonic nozzles has recently become of great interest. The non-equilibrium in supersonic nozzles is the key for an efficient CO2 dissociation. This study has two objectives. First, the development of one dimensional models is targeted. Second, the influence of different steering conditions and design parameters on CO2 vibrational non-equilibrium have been studied within the framework of developed models. In this paper, a simple method, the semi-analytical model, is presented which despite being very simple and fast (few seconds) can perform as well as its more sophisticated counterparts. For validation purposes we also developed and applied a quasi-1D numerical model. The influence of the expansion length, as a design parameter, on the non-equilibrium is investigated. It is found that there is no optimal Mach number as long as the expansion length is carefully chosen. The higher the Mach number, the more significant the non-equilibrium. The effect of inlet parameters such as the gas temperature, the pressure and the electron temperature have been studied. The highest non-equilibrium is obtained when a low inlet temperature is taken provided that an appropriate expansion length is used. The inlet pressure is shown to have theoretically no influence on the state of non-equilibrium as long as the expansion length is accordingly chosen. Finally, the study of the impact of the electron temperature on the vibrational distribution function indicates that a continuous pooling of higher vibrational states can be obtained in the diverging part of the nozzle. The higher the electron temperature, the higher the yield.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Gender disparities in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia, 1991–2014: a time of civil wars and global crisis

Infectious diseases remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The aim of this descriptive epidemiological study was to analyse the trends in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia (excluding the Autonomous Province of Kosovo & Metohia) from 1991 to 2014 using joinpoint regression analysis. The mortality rates from infectious diseases were found to have increased markedly from 1991 to 1994 (+12·4% per year), followed by a significant decline from 1994 to 2009 (–4·6% per year) and then another increase from 2009 to 2014 (+4·3% per year). Throughout the study period, mortality rates were consistently higher in men than in women. Although a substantial decline was observed for young people of both sexes, no consistent pattern was evident for the middle-aged nor the elderly. Since 1991, septicaemia has emerged as a leading cause of infectious disease mortality, particularly in older men. The Yugoslav civil wars in the 1990s and the global financial crisis in 2008 corresponded with changes in the trends in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia, with the elderly showing particular vulnerability during those time periods. Data presented in this study might be useful to improve control of infectious diseases in Serbia

Monomorphic adenoma: A rare benign neoplasm of the minor salivary gland: Case report and review of literature

Monomorphic adenoma is a rare benign salivary gland epithelial tumor representing <3% of all tumors in general population, and more than 80% of them arise in the major salivary glands, mostly the parotid gland and rarely in upper lip, buccal mucosa - as observed in the present case. Monomorphic adenomas are defined as epithelial benign tumors of the salivary glands, which are not pleomorphic adenomas. Due to prognostic implications, differential diagnosis (adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, basaloid squamous cell carcinoma, mucocele, sebaceous cyst, lipoma, nasolabial cyst, etc.,) is mandatory. The present case report describes a rare case of monomorphic adenoma involving minor salivary glands with added review the literature; discuss the diagnosis and management of this rare entity and special emphasis on the need for periodic follow-up, due to the important relapse potential and aggressivity of these lesions