Deep learning–based automated measurements of the scrotal circumference of Norwegian Red bulls from 3D images

The main aim of this study was to create an automated method for the measurement of the scrotal circumference (SC) of Norwegian Red bulls using 3D images of the scrotum based on convolutional neural networks. The study population was bull calves recruited for performance testing before the selection of bulls for semen production in the breeding program. Bulls were measured at four different time points: upon arrival in quarantine (Q) and thereafter at approximately 6, 9 and 12 months of age. Both 3D images and manual SC measurements were performed at all time points. In our approach, SC could be calculated without direct contact with the bull, using only 3D images and a simple, user–friendly application into which mentioned images are uploaded. The results show that SC measurements obtained using semantic segmentation are comparable with manual measurements. The mean prediction error was significantly different between age groups Q, 6, 9 and 12, and it was -3.07 cm, -3.02 cm, -1.79 cm and -1.11 cm, respectively. The results show a significant difference in the measurement error of the SC based on the quality of the images. Images were categorised into three quality groups. For good prediction accuracy, we recommend capturing 3D images of quality 2 – full circle from individuals older than 6 months.publishedVersio

Protein cohabitation: long-term immunoglobulin G storage at room temperature

Long-term functional storage of therapeutic proteins at room temperature has been an eternal challenge. Inspired by the cellular cooperativity of proteins, we have taken a step forward to address this challenge by cohabitating Immunoglobulin G (IgG1) with a food protein gelatin in the solid-state at room temperature. Interestingly, IgG1 remained functionally active for a record 14 months revealed from the western-blot assay. Further quantification by HP-LC analysis showed 100% structural integrity of IgG1 with no degradation in the gelatin matrix during this period. The developed formulation has a direct application in oral medical nutrition therapy to cure gastrointestinal microbial infections. Also the strategy provides a robust energy economic alternative to the protein engineering methods for long-term functional storage of therapeutic proteins at room temperature

Index sorting resolves heterogeneous murine hematopoietic stem cell populations.

Recent advances in the cellular and molecular biology of single stem cells have uncovered significant heterogeneity in the functional properties of stem cell populations. This has prompted the development of approaches to study single cells in isolation, often performed using multiparameter flow cytometry. However, many stem cell populations are too rare to test all possible cell surface marker combinations, and virtually nothing is known about functional differences associated with varying intensities of such markers. Here we describe the use of index sorting for further resolution of the flow cytometric isolation of single murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Specifically, we associate single-cell functional assay outcomes with distinct cell surface marker expression intensities. High levels of both CD150 and EPCR associate with delayed kinetics of cell division and low levels of differentiation. Moreover, cells that do not form single HSC-derived clones appear in the 7AAD(dim) fraction, suggesting that even low levels of 7AAD staining are indicative of less healthy cell populations. These data indicate that when used in combination with single-cell functional assays, index sorting is a powerful tool for refining cell isolation strategies. This approach can be broadly applied to other single-cell systems, both to improve isolation and to acquire additional cell surface marker information.This work was supported by grants from Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, and core support grants by the Wellcome Trust to the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research and Wellcome Trust–MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. DGK is the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship and a European Hematology Association non-clinical advanced research fellowship. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version will be available from Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exphem.2015.05.006

Wide range applications of botulinum toxin in medicine - literature review

Introduction and purpose : Botulinum toxin is one of the most dangerous natural toxins. Botulinum toxin poisoning causes botulism. Botulism is a set of systemic symptoms resulting from flaccid muscle paralysis. The first symptomatology of toxin poisoning was described at the beginning of the 19th century. After more than 200 years, botulinum toxin is associated primarily with aesthetic medicine treatments, where it is used to temporarily improve the appearance, mainly by reducing mimic wrinkles. Aim of the study: The aim of the study is to collect information available in PubMed, Google Scholar, academic textbooks and characteristics of botulinum toxin medicinal products, especially regarding its wide use, mechanism of action, adverse events and contraindications. As a result, the presentation of the versatile use of botulinum toxin as a medicinal product in many fields of medicine. Brief description of the state of knowledge: Botulinum toxin is produced by the anaerobic bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Its mechanism of action consists in flaccid muscle paralysis. Most preparations with botulinum toxin are only registered for strictly defined aesthetic medicine treatments. Other registered indications for the use of medicinal products with botulinum toxin include overactive bladder, various types of spasticity and prevention of headaches. In addition, in medicine, botulinum toxin is commonly used off-label. Summary: Botulinum toxin is widely used not only in aesthetic medicine. Intramuscular injections of botulinum toxin are successfully used in various fields of medicine, such as: urology, neurology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, dermatology, gynecology, otolaryngology, dentistry and even psychiatry

Ultrafast Chemical Exchange Dynamics of Hydrogen Bonds Observed via Isonitrile Infrared Sensors: Implications for Biomolecular Studies

Local probes are indispensable to study protein structure and dynamics with site-specificity. The isonitrile functional group is a highly sensitive and H-bonding interaction-specific probe. Isonitriles exhibit large spectral shifts and transition dipole moment changes upon H-bonding while being weakly affected by solvent polarity. These unique properties allow a clear separation of distinct subpopulations of interacting species and an elucidation of their ultrafast dynamics with two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy. Here, we apply 2D-IR to quantify the picosecond chemical exchange dynamics of solute–solvent complexes forming between isonitrile-derivatized alanine and fluorinated ethanol, where the degree of fluorination controls their H-bond-donating ability. We show that the molecules undergo faster exchange in the presence of more acidic H-bond donors, indicating that the exchange process is primarily dependent on the nature of solvent–solvent interactions. We foresee isonitrile as a highly promising probe for studying of H-bonds dynamics in the active site of enzymes. © 2019 American Chemical Society11sciescopu

Effects of drought and meteorological forcing on carbon and water fluxes in Nordic forests during the dry summer of 2018

The Nordic region was subjected to severe drought in 2018 with a particularly long-lasting and large soil water deficit in Denmark, Southern Sweden and Estonia. Here, we analyse the impact of the drought on carbon and water fluxes in 11 forest ecosystems of different composition: spruce, pine, mixed and deciduous. We assess the impact of drought on fluxes by estimating the difference (anomaly) between year 2018 and a reference year without drought. Unexpectedly, the evaporation was only slightly reduced during 2018 compared to the reference year at two sites while it increased or was nearly unchanged at all other sites. This occurred under a 40 to 60% reduction in mean surface conductance and the concurrent increase in evaporative demand due to the warm and dry weather. The anomaly in the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was 93% explained by a multilinear regression with the anomaly in heterotrophic respiration and the relative precipitation deficit as independent variables. Most of the variation (77%) was explained by the heterotrophic component. Six out of 11 forests reduced their annual NEP with more than 50 g C m(-2)yr(-1)during 2018 as compared to the reference year. The NEP anomaly ranged between -389 and +74 g C m(-2)yr(-1)with a median value of -59 g C m(-2)yr(-1). This article is part of the theme issue 'Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'.Peer reviewe

The primary structural photoresponse of phytochrome proteins captured by a femtosecond X-ray laser

Phytochrome proteins control the growth, reproduction, and photosynthesis of plants, fungi, and bacteria. Light is detected by a bilin cofactor, but it remains elusive how this leads to activation of the protein through structural changes. We present serial femtosecond X-ray crystallographic data of the chromophore-binding domains of a bacterial phytochrome at delay times of 1 ps and 10 ps after photoexcitation. The data reveal a twist of the D-ring, which leads to partial detachment of the chromophore from the protein. Unexpectedly, the conserved so-called pyrrole water is photodissociated from the chromophore, concomitant with movement of the A-ring and a key signaling aspartate. The changes are wired together by ultrafast backbone and water movements around the chromophore, channeling them into signal transduction towards the output domains. We suggest that the observed collective changes are important for the phytochrome photoresponse, explaining the earliest steps of how plants, fungi and bacteria sense red light.Peer reviewe

RECENT RESEARCH IN VLSI, MEMS AND POWER DEVICES WITH PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO THE ITER AND DREAM PROJECTS

Several MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) devices have been analysed and simulated. The new proposed model of SiC MPS (Merged PIN-Schottky) diodes is in full agreement with the real MPS devices. The real size DLL (Dynamic Lattice Liquid) simulator as well as the research on modelling and simulation of modern VLSI devices with practical applications have been presented. In the basis of experience in the field of ATCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture) based systems a proof-of-concept DAQ (data acquisition) system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) have been proposed

Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25–50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines

Zarządzanie procesami rynkowymi

Ze wstępu: "Opracowanie niniejsze przekazywane do rąk czytelników to plon działalności naukowej pracowników Wydziału Zarządzania i Marketingu Krakowskiej Szkoły Wyższej im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego oraz pracowników innych uczelni z Polski i Europy. Duże zróżnicowanie tematyczne wynika m. in. z rozwoju Uczelni, Wydziału i poszerzenia współpracy krajowej i międzynarodowej z innymi jednostkami naukowymi. Pomimo tego, iż wiele artykułów ze względu na podejmowane w nich problemy trudno jednoznacznie zakwalifikować do jednej wąskiej dziedziny, zdecydowano o podziale materiału na trzy części: zarządzanie, finanse i marketing. O zakwalifikowaniu opracowania do poszczególnych części zadecydowała nie tylko istota rozważanego tematu, ale także często bardzo interesujące i odkrywcze powiązania z innymi dziedzinami szeroko pojętego zarządzania i ekonomii. Stąd też publikacja jest recenzowana przez trzech niezależnych recenzentów."(...