Speaker-independent emotion recognition exploiting a psychologically-inspired binary cascade classification schema

In this paper, a psychologically-inspired binary cascade classification schema is proposed for speech emotion recognition. Performance is enhanced because commonly confused pairs of emotions are distinguishable from one another. Extracted features are related to statistics of pitch, formants, and energy contours, as well as spectrum, cepstrum, perceptual and temporal features, autocorrelation, MPEG-7 descriptors, Fujisakis model parameters, voice quality, jitter, and shimmer. Selected features are fed as input to K nearest neighborhood classifier and to support vector machines. Two kernels are tested for the latter: Linear and Gaussian radial basis function. The recently proposed speaker-independent experimental protocol is tested on the Berlin emotional speech database for each gender separately. The best emotion recognition accuracy, achieved by support vector machines with linear kernel, equals 87.7%, outperforming state-of-the-art approaches. Statistical analysis is first carried out with respect to the classifiers error rates and then to evaluate the information expressed by the classifiers confusion matrices. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

In vitro models of cancer stem cells and clinical applications

Cancer cells, stem cells and cancer stem cells have for a long time played a significant role in the biomedical sciences. Though cancer therapy is more effective than it was a few years ago, the truth is that still none of the current non-surgical treatments can cure cancer effectively. The reason could be due to the subpopulation called “cancer stem cells” (CSCs), being defined as those cells within a tumour that have properties of stem cells: self-renewal and the ability for differentiation into multiple cell types that occur in tumours. The phenomenon of CSCs is based on their resistance to many of the current cancer therapies, which results in tumour relapse. Although further investigation regarding CSCs is still needed, there is already evidence that these cells may play an important role in the prognosis of cancer, progression and therapeutic strategy. Therefore, long-term patient survival may depend on the elimination of CSCs. Consequently, isolation of pure CSC populations or reprogramming of cancer cells into CSCs, from cancer cell lines or primary tumours, would be a useful tool to gain an in-depth knowledge about heterogeneity and plasticity of CSC phenotypes and therefore carcinogenesis. Herein, we will discuss current CSC models, methods used to characterize CSCs, candidate markers, characteristic signalling pathways and clinical applications of CSCs. Some examples of CSC-specific treatments that are currently in early clinical phases will also be presented in this review

Tail shape and the swimming speed of sharks

Trait-based ecology is a rapidly growing approach for developing insights and predictions for data-poor species. Caudal tail fin shape has the potential to reveal much about the energetics, activity and ecology of fishes and can be rapidly measured from field guides, which is particularly helpful for data-sparse species. One outstanding question is whether swimming speed in sharks is related to two morphological traits: caudal fin aspect ratio (CFAR, height2/tail area) and caudal lobe asymmetry ratio (CLAR). We derived both metrics from the species drawings in Sharks of the world (Ebert et al. 2013 Sharks of the world: a fully illustrated guide) and related fin shape to two published datasets of (1) instantaneous swimming speeds (Jacoby et al. 2015 Biol. Lett. 11, 20150781 (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0781)) and (2) cruising speeds (Harding et al. 2021 Funct. Ecol. 35, 1951–1959 (doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13869)) for 28 total unique shark species. Both estimates of swimming speed were positively related to CFAR (and weakly negatively to CLAR). Hence, shark species with larger CFAR and more symmetric tails (low CLAR) tended to be faster-moving and have higher average speeds. This relationship demonstrates the opportunity to use tail shape as an easily measured trait to index shark swimming speed to broader trait-based analyses of ecological function and extinction risk

Purines and cell death

Increasing evidence suggests that adenosine and ATP not only modulate cell growth and differentiation, but may also act as inducers of cell death. In the session 'Purines and cell death,' held during the Purines '96 Symposium and chaired by Claudio Franceschi (Modena, Italy) and Geoffrey Burnstock (London, UK) presentation and discussion of new studies on the modulation of cell death by adenosine and ATP raised novel implications for a possible role of purines in both development and in the pathophysiology of various diseases. The cloning of a new ligand-gated P2X receptor (the P2X7) was reported, and pharmacological studies have demonstrated that this is the unique P(2Z) receptor known to cause cell death by cytolysis. During the session, induction of apoptosis by ATP was reported in a murine macrophage cell line (confirming a role for ATP in inflammation and immunomodulation), in cultures of renal mesangial cells and of endothelial cells from bovine main pulmonary artery; furthermore, ATP was shown to modulate glutamate neurotoxicity in cerebellar granule cells, suggesting that apoptosis by ATP is not only restricted to cells of the immune lineage, but may represent a more general means to regulate cell survival. Adenosine and its derivatives have been known for years to induce apoptosis of human lymphoid tissues, but it has been demonstrated only recently that these effects can also occur in other cell types, and that they can be due either to the activation of extracellular adenosine receptors or to an intracellular mechanism of action. During the session 'Purines and cell death,' various authors reported apoptosis by adenosine analogues in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, but also in chick sympathetic neurons, rat chromaffin cells, rat cerebellar granule neurons, intact chick embryos and rat microglial cells, suggesting that adenosine may play an important role not only in modulation of survival of lymphoid cells but also in the development and remodelling of the nervous system. A dual role for the adenosine A3 receptor in cell survival was also demonstrated in cells of the astroglial lineage, as shown by induction of apoptosis at high concentrations of A3 receptor-agonists and protection from spontaneous cell death at low concentrations, suggesting that this receptor may promote either cell death or survival likely depending on the metabolic and functional state of the tissue. It was also reported that, following an ischemic episode, an alterated metabolism of adenine nucleotides and nucleosides in the heart may be the basis of the lack of recovery of phosphorylated forms of adenosine due to oxidative stress, therefore contributing to heart damage. Taken together, all these data confirm the involvement of purines in modulation of cell survival in various organs and systems; moreover, based on these data, it is expected that the characterization of the specific purinoceptor subtypes involved in these actions may lead to the development of entirely new therapeutic approaches to several diseases

EU-CaRE study: Could exercise-based cardiac telerehabilitation also be cost-effective in elderly?

Background: The role of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is well established in the secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease. Unfortunately, the participation rates across Europe remain low, especially in elderly. The EU-CaRE RCT investigated the effectiveness of a home-based mobile CR programme in elderly patients that were not willing to participate in centre-based CR. The initial study concluded that a 6-month home-based mobile CR programme was safe and beneficial in improving VO2 peak when compared with no CR.Objective: To assess whether a 6-month guided mobile CR programme is a cost-effective therapy for elderly patients who decline participation in CR.Methods: Patients were enrolled in a multicentre randomised clinical trial from November 11, 2015, to January 3, 2018, and follow-up was completed on January 17, 2019, in a secondary care system with 6 cardiac institutions across 5 European countries. A total of 179 patients who declined participation in centre-based CR and met the inclusion criteria consented to participate in the European Study on Effectiveness and Sustainability of Current Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs in the Elderly trial. The data of patients (n = 17) that were lost in follow-up were excluded from this analysis.The intervention (n = 79) consisted of 6 months of mobile CR programme with telemonitoring, and coaching based on motivational interviewing to stimulate patients to reach exercise goals. Control patients did not receive any form of CR throughout the study period. The costs considered for the cost-effectiveness analysis of the RCT are direct costs 1) of the mobile CR programme, and 2) of the care utilisation recorded during the observation time from randomisation to the end of the study. Costs and outcomes (utilities) were compared by calculation of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.Results: The healthcare utilisation costs (P = 0.802) were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the total costs were significantly higher in the intervention group (P = 0.040). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for the primary endpoint VO(2)peak at 6 months was (sic)1085 per 1-unit [ml/kg/min] improvement in change VO(2)peak and at 12 months it was (sic)1103 per 1 unit [ml/kg/min] improvement in change VO(2)peak. Big differences in the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for the primary endpoint VO(2)peak at 6 months and 12 months were present between the adherent participants and the non-adherent participants.Conclusion: From a health-economic point of view the home-based mobile CR programme is an effective and cost-effective alternative for elderly cardiac patients who are not willing to participate in a regular rehabilitation programme to improve cardiorespiratory fitness. The change of QoL between the mobile CR was similar for both groups. Adherence to the mobile CR programme plays a significant role in the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Future research should focus on the determinants of adherence, on increasing the adherence of patients and the implementation of comprehensive home-based mobile CR programmes in standard care

Quaternary structure of the human Cdt1-Geminin complex regulates DNA replication licensing

All organisms need to ensure that no DNA segments are rereplicated in a single cell cycle. Eukaryotes achieve this through a process called origin licensing, which involves tight spatiotemporal control of the assembly of prereplicative complexes (pre-RCs) onto chromatin. Cdt1 is a key component and crucial regulator of pre-RC assembly. In higher eukaryotes, timely inhibition of Cdt1 by Geminin is essential to prevent DNA rereplication. Here, we address the mechanism of DNA licensing inhibition by Geminin, by combining X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering, and functional studies in Xenopus and mammalian cells. Our findings show that the Cdt1: Geminin complex can exist in two distinct forms, a "permissive" heterotrimer and an "inhibitory" heterohexamer. Specific Cdt1 residues, buried in the heterohexamer, are important for licensing. We postulate that the transition between the heterotrimer and the heterohexamer represents a molecular switch between licensing-competent and licensing-defective states