Otitis Media Diagnosis for Developing Countries Using Tympanic Membrane Image-Analysis

AbstractBackgroundOtitis media is one of the most common childhood diseases worldwide, but because of lack of doctors and health personnel in developing countries it is often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. This may lead to serious, and life-threatening complications. There is, thus a need for an automated computer based image-analyzing system that could assist in making accurate otitis media diagnoses anywhere.MethodsA method for automated diagnosis of otitis media is proposed. The method uses image-processing techniques to classify otitis media. The system is trained using high quality pre-assessed images of tympanic membranes, captured by digital video-otoscopes, and classifies undiagnosed images into five otitis media categories based on predefined signs. Several verification tests analyzed the classification capability of the method.FindingsAn accuracy of 80.6% was achieved for images taken with commercial video-otoscopes, while an accuracy of 78.7% was achieved for images captured on-site with a low cost custom-made video-otoscope.InterpretationThe high accuracy of the proposed otitis media classification system compares well with the classification accuracy of general practitioners and pediatricians (~64% to 80%) using traditional otoscopes, and therefore holds promise for the future in making automated diagnosis of otitis media in medically underserved populations

Morphological changes associated with Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) phallic glans inflation

The crocodylian phallic glans is the distal inflatable structure that makes the most direct contact with the female cloacal and associated reproductive tract openings during copulation. Therefore, its form and function directly impact female tissue sensory interactions and insemination mechanics. Compared to mammals, less is known about glans functional anatomy among other amniotes, including crocodylians. Therefore, we paired an ex vivo inflation technique with magnetic resonance imaging 3D-reconstructions and corresponding histological analyses to better characterize the morphological glans restructuring occurring in the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) at copulation. The expansion of contiguous inflatable spongiform glans tissues is variably constrained by adjacent regions of dense irregular collagen-rich tissues. Therefore, expansion shows regional differences with greater lateral inflation than dorsal and ventral. Furthermore, this enlargement elaborates the cup-like glans lumen, dorsally reorients the glans ridge, stiffens the blunt and bifid glans tip, and putatively works to seal the ventral sulcus spermaticus semen conduit groove. We suggest how these dynamic male structures may interact with structures of the female cloacal urodeum and how these morphological changes, in concert with the varying material properties of the structural tissue compartments visualized in this study, aid copulatory gamete transfer and resulting fecundity. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS : Nile crocodile glans inflation produces a reproductively relevant copulatory structure directing insemination and female tissue interactions. Pairing magnetic resonance imaging 3D reconstruction with corresponding histology effectively studies functional anatomy.DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The MRI data that support the findings of this study are openly available in Morphosource at https://www.morphosource.org/reference number S30335.SUPPORTING INFORMATION : Figure S1. Correspondence between proximal glans tissue compartment histological staining and MRI. (a) Milligan's trichrome section: dense collagen tissue (DC), spongiform tissue (Sp), elastin-rich tissues (E), sulcus spermaticus (SS) note the groove opening is a histological processing artifact, smooth muscle fiber bundles (SM). Scale bar = 2 mm. (b) MRI dotted line traces: epithelia (pink), dense collage tissues (blue), spongiform tissues (purple), elastin-rich tissues (green), sulcus spermaticus (red), and smooth muscle fiber bundles (yellow).University of Pretoriahttp://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jmorhj2021Anatomy and PhysiologyParaclinical Science

Technique for the collection of clear urine from the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Urine samples can be a very useful diagnostic tool for the evaluation of animal health. In this article, a simple technique to collect urine from the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) was described, based on a similar unpublished technique developed for the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) using a canine urinary catheter. With this technique, it was possible to collect relatively clean urine samples from Nile crocodiles of different sizes using canine urinary catheters or small diameter stomach tubes. Based on the gross anatomical features of the cloaca of the Nile crocodile, it was confirmed that urine accumulates in a chamber consisting of the urodeum and coprodeum. Faecal material is stored temporarily in the very short rectum, which is separated from the urinary chamber by the rectocoprodeal sphincter.The Norwegian Council for Higher Education’s Program for Development, Research and Educationhttp://www.jsava.co.zamn201

A primer on equalization, decoding and non-iterative joint equalization and decoding

In this article, a general model for non-iterative joint equalization and decoding is systematically derived for use in systems transmitting convolutionally encoded BPSK-modulated information through a multipath channel, with and without interleaving. Optimal equalization and decoding are discussed first, by presenting the maximum likelihood sequence estimation and maximum a posteriori probability algorithms and relating them to equalization in single-carrier channels with memory, and to the decoding of convolutional codes. The non-iterative joint equalizer/decoder (NI-JED) is then derived for the case where no interleaver is used, as well as for the case when block interleavers of varying depths are used, and complexity analyses are performed in each case. Simulation results are performed to compare the performance of the NI-JED to that of a conventional turbo equalizer (CTE), and it is shown that the NI-JED outperforms the CTE, although at much higher computational cost. This article serves to explain the state-of-the-art to students and professionals in the field of wireless communication systems, presenting these fundamental topics clearly and concisely.http://asp.eurasipjournals.com/content/2013/1/79am2013ai201

A low complexity Hopfield neural network turbo equalizer

In this article, it is proposed that a Hopfield neural network (HNN) can be used to jointly equalize and decode information transmitted over a highly dispersive Rayleigh fading multipath channel. It is shown that a HNN MLSE equalizer and a HNN MLSE decoder can be merged in order to realize a low complexity joint equalizer and decoder, or turbo equalizer, without additional computational complexity due to the decoder. The computational complexity of the Hopfield neural network turbo equalizer (HNN-TE) is almost quadratic in the coded data block length and approximately independent of the channel memory length, which makes it an attractive choice for systems with extremely long memory. Results show that the performance of the proposed HNN-TE closely matches that of a conventional turbo equalizer in systems with short channel memory, and achieves near-matched filter performance in systems with extremely large memory.http://asp.eurasipjournals.com/content/2013/1/15am201

Low-Complexity Filter for Software-Defined Radio by Modulated Interpolated Coefficient Decimated Filter in a Hybrid Farrow

Realising a low-complexity Farrow channelisation algorithm for multi-standard receivers in software-defined radio is a challenging task. A Farrow filter operates best at low frequencies while its performance degrades towards the Nyquist region. This makes wideband channelisation in software-defined radio a challenging task with high computational complexity. In this paper, a hybrid Farrow algorithm that combines a modulated Farrow filter with a frequency response interpolated coefficient decimated masking filter is proposed for the design of a novel filter with low computational complexity. A design example shows that the HFarrow filter bank achieved multiplier reduction of 50%, 70% and 64%, respectively, in comparison with non-uniform modulated discrete Fourier transform (NU MDFT FB), coefficient decimated filter bank (CD FB) and interpolated coefficient decimated (ICDM) filter algorithms. The HFarrow filter bank is able to provide the same number of sub-band channels as other algorithms such as non-uniform modulated discrete Fourier transform (NU MDFT FB), coefficient decimated filter bank (CD FB) and interpolated coefficient decimated (ICDM) filter algorithms, but with less computational complexity

Histological investigation of the nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) phallic glans

The male crocodylian phallus, an intromittent organ, transfers sperm to the female cloaca during reproduction. During copulation, the distal phallic glans inflates via blood-filled spongiform tissues; it enlarges into an elaborate shape that directly interacts with the female urodeum—the cloacal chamber that contains the female reproductive tract openings. Alas, the specific mechanics of crocodylian insemination and gamete transfer remain unclear. To that end, we investigated the gross and cellular morphology of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) glans characterizing tissues types and structural morphologies to better predict how these male tissues may interact with those of the female. We tracked blood flow from the descending aorta to the phallic glans by way of sulcus spermaticus-adjacent blood vessels. Utilizing an artificial inflation technique, we documented how the glans tissue shape changes with increased hydrostatic pressure in spongiform tissues including increases in height and width and the enlargement of a cup-like distal lumen. Sectioning the glans, we traced the decrease in dense collective tissues and the proliferation of inflatable tissues moving from proximal to distal. Concomitant with the development of the inflatable glans, we identified elastin-rich tissues around the inflatable glans regions and the deep sulcus spermaticus semen conduit. Together, these observations demonstrated the dynamic nature of the tissues, where collagen fibers supply mechanical strength and elastin fibers provide resilience and recoil. We hypothesize how these glans characteristics may interact with female tissues during copulation to increase the chance of successful gamete transfer.A Sewanee faculty research grant.https://bioone.org/journals/south-american-journal-of-herpetology/scope-and-detailsam2021Anatomy and PhysiologyParaclinical Science

Method to determine solar-blind ultraviolet energy and electrical corona loss relation

Solar-blind ultraviolet cameras as part of high-voltage electrical inspections until recently have mostly been used for pure observations. These observations only imply the presence of corona discharges and not the severity thereof. A radiometric algorithm together with a calibration algorithm to perform an optical energy measurement were presented earlier. This is a guide on how to apply the algorithm to determine the total optical measurement from corona discharges, plus additional processing. This guide and additions are used to compare the electrical and optical domains with actual examples. The main objective is to illustrate how to determine the electrical and optical relation for the IEC 60720 high-voltage electrical test configurations using a standard open procedure

Modernising speech audiometry: using a smartphone application to test word recognition

<p><b>Objective:</b> This study aimed to develop and assess a method to measure word recognition abilities using a smartphone application (App) connected to an audiometer.</p> <p><b>Design:</b> Word lists were recorded in South African English and Afrikaans. Analyses were conducted to determine the effect of hardware used for presentation (computer, compact-disc player, or smartphone) on the frequency content of recordings. An Android App was developed to enable presentation of recorded materials via a smartphone connected to the auxiliary input of the audiometer. Experiments were performed to test feasibility and validity of the developed App and recordings.</p> <p><b>Study sample:</b> Participants were 100 young adults (18–30 years) with pure tone thresholds ≤15 dB across the frequency spectrum (250–8000 Hz).</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Hardware used for presentation had no significant effect on the frequency content of recordings. Listening experiments indicated good inter-list reliability for recordings in both languages, with no significant differences between scores on different lists at each of the tested intensities. Performance-intensity functions had slopes of 4.05%/dB for English and 4.75%/dB for Afrikaans lists at the 50% point.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> The developed smartphone App constitutes a feasible and valid method for measuring word recognition scores, and can support standardisation and accessibility of recorded speech audiometry.</p