Deep learning-based phenotyping reclassifies combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma.

Primary liver cancer arises either from hepatocytic or biliary lineage cells, giving rise to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA). Combined hepatocellular- cholangiocarcinomas (cHCC-CCA) exhibit equivocal or mixed features of both, causing diagnostic uncertainty and difficulty in determining proper management. Here, we perform a comprehensive deep learning-based phenotyping of multiple cohorts of patients. We show that deep learning can reproduce the diagnosis of HCC vs. CCA with a high performance. We analyze a series of 405 cHCC-CCA patients and demonstrate that the model can reclassify the tumors as HCC or ICCA, and that the predictions are consistent with clinical outcomes, genetic alterations and in situ spatial gene expression profiling. This type of approach could improve treatment decisions and ultimately clinical outcome for patients with rare and biphenotypic cancers such as cHCC-CCA

Burden of community-acquired and nosocomial rotavirus gastroenteritis in the pediatric population of Western Europe: a scoping review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rotavirus affects 95% of children worldwide by age 5 years and is the leading cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea. The objective of this review was to estimate the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in the Western European pediatric population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive literature search (1999-2010) was conducted in PubMed and other sources (CDC; WHO, others). Data on the epidemiology and burden of RVGE among children < 5 years-old in Western Europe --including hospital-acquired disease--were extracted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>76 studies from 16 countries were identified. The mean percentage of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases caused by rotavirus ranged from 25.3%-63.5% in children < 5 years of age, peaking during winter. Incidence rates of RVGE ranged from 1.33-4.96 cases/100 person- years. Hospitalization rates for RVGE ranged from 7% to 81% among infected children, depending on the country. Nosocomial RVGE accounted for 47%-69% of all hospital-acquired AGE and prolonged hospital stays by 4-12 days. Each year, RVGE incurred $0.54-$53.6 million in direct medical costs and $1.7-$22.4 million in indirect costs in the 16 countries studied. Full serotyping data was available for 8 countries. G1P[8], G2P[4], G9P[8], and G3P[8] were the most prevalent serotypes (cumulative frequency: 57.2%- 98.7%). Serotype distribution in nosocomial RVGE was similar.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This review confirms that RVGE is a common disease associated with significant morbidity and costs across Western Europe. A vaccine protecting against multiple serotypes may decrease the epidemiological and cost burden of RVGE in Western Europe.</p

Intentional communication between wild bonnet macaques and humans

Comparative studies of nonhuman communication systems could provide insights into the origins and evolution of a distinct dimension of human language: intentionality. Recent studies have provided evidence for intentional communication in diferent species but generally in captive settings. We report here a novel behaviour of food requesting from humans displayed by wild bonnet macaques Macaca radiata, an Old World cercopithecine primate, in the Bandipur National Park of southern India. Using both natural observations and feld experiments, we examined four diferent behavioural components— coo-calls, hand-extension gesture, orientation, and monitoring behaviour—of food requesting for their conformity with the established criteria of intentional communication. Our results suggest that food requesting by bonnet macaques is potentially an intentionally produced behavioural strategy as all the food requesting behaviours except coo-calls qualify the criteria for intentionality. We comment on plausible hypotheses for the origin and spread of this novel behavioural strategy in the study macaque population and speculate that the cognitive precursors for language production may be manifest in the usage of combination of signals of diferent modalities in communication, which could have emerged in simians earlier than in the anthropoid ape

The role of marine aggregates in the ecological epidemiology of Quahog Parasite X (QPX) disease of northern quahogs (= hard clams) Mercenaria mercenaria

Ecological epizootiology is the study of environmental influences on the health of animals including disease incidence, persistence and transmission. It is a conceptual approach that unifies molecular biology, environmental sciences, and epidemiology for the purpose of identifying causes, classifying risks, and controlling health problems. Ecological epizootiology has been successfully applied in terrestrial systems, but its adaptation to marine ecosystems is relatively new. My dissertation uses this approach to evaluate the role of marine aggregates (i.e., marine snow, organic aggregates, flocs) in the ecology of Quahog Parasite X (QPX), a disease of northern quahogs (=hard clam), Mercenaria mercenaria. Marine aggregates are a ubiquitous feature of aquatic ecosystems, but have no terrestrial counterpart. They have the potential to serve as a link between aquatic pathogens (e.g., QPX) and benthic hosts (e.g., hard clams) in two ways: (1) as environmental reservoirs for pathogens embedded in aggregates; and (2) as vectors for aggregate-bound pathogens transported between hosts. The results of this research include the descriptive epizootiology of QPX disease in hard clams, along with the first quantitative assay for the QPX organism, and data to support QPX as a facultative pathogen. Evidence that QPX is facultative is critical because it supports that once QPX is established in a location, eradication will be difficult because QPX is capable of surviving on environmental resources other than hard clams. In this research, marine aggregates were characterized using underwater video surveys coupled with direct collection of suspended aggregates in modified settling cones. The results provide a starting point for determining the temporal and spatial scales at which aggregates influence persistence and transmission of aquatic pathogens. Overall, these results have important implications for the way in which aquatic pathogens are collected, quantified, and monitored for water quality assessments in shallow-water ecosystems.

Les traitements par prothèses prévisionnelles

Comment prévoir l'avulsion d'une dent postérieure dans le tracé du châssis ? Comment envisager la transformation d'une prothèse fixée en prothèse composite ? Quels sont les éléments de jonction transformables

Aspects of trypanotolerance and their association with performance in N'Dama cattle

A study was conducted to assess the correlation between criteria of trypanotolerance and production. N'dama post weaner cattle with different weights and from different age groups were studied for weight gain, packed cell volume (PCV) and for the presence of trypanosomes. The analysis approach was to simultaneously estimate the phenotypic relationships between parasitaemia aspects, anaemia control aspects and daily liveweight change of the animals

Long-range transport across the Atlantic in summertime does not enhance the hygroscopicity of African mineral dust

We present the first direct evidence that the hygroscopic properties of super micron (>1 mu m) African dust particles did not change despite undergoing long-range transport across the Atlantic toward the Caribbean. Concurrent measurements of chemical composition show that most of mineral dust was chemically unprocessed and externally mixed. A minor portion of mineral dust was internally mixed with sulfate and chloride (similar to 13-24% by number) or aggregated with sea-salt particles (similar to 3-6%). Only dust particles aggregated with sea salt showed significant hygroscopic growth above 75% relative humidity (RH), resulting in a decrease in extinction mass efficiency by up to a factor 2.2. All other dust particles did not take up significant amounts of water when exposed to up to 94% RH. These results demonstrate that the direct radiative effect of African dust in this region remained independent of RH and an external mixing state could be considered for evaluating the climate effects of dust