A robust adaptive wavelet-based method for classification of meningioma histology images

Intra-class variability in the texture of samples is an important problem in the domain of histological image classification. This issue is inherent to the field due to the high complexity of histology image data. A technique that provides good results in one trial may fail in another when the test and training data are changed and therefore, the technique needs to be adapted for intra-class texture variation. In this paper, we present a novel wavelet based multiresolution analysis approach to meningioma subtype classification in response to the challenge of data variation.We analyze the stability of Adaptive Discriminant Wavelet Packet Transform (ADWPT) and present a solution to the issue of variation in the ADWPT decomposition when texture in data changes. A feature selection approach is proposed that provides high classification accuracy

Contemporary Issues in Current Account Operations in Pakistani IBs - Sharia Compliant Solution

Contemporary Sharia scholars have three stances about the Current Account Operations in Pakistani Islamic Banks (IBs) i.e., (i) Ijarah based contract (ii) Wadi'ah based contract, and (iii) Qard based contract. This paper is an attempt to delve into the root causes of the differences of scholars and to find the Sharia-compliant solution acceptable for all. Descriptive as well as applied approaches are used in this paper. Clearing of ambiguity on this issue may result in twofold benefits: from the public point of view, it would satisfy practising Muslims which may result in form of huge deposits in this account (ii) from IBs viewpoint the Current Account is a bonus deposit

Seasonal and monthly prevalence pattern of fasciolosis in buffaloes and its relation to some climatic factors in northeastern areas of Punjab, Pakistan

Summary A study was conducted in the northeastern areas of Punjab province (Pakistan) to analyse the monthly and seasonal pattern of fasciolosis in buffaloes and its relation to some climatic factors (temperature, humidity, rainfall and pan-evaporation) was also worked out. The faecal samples of buffaloes were collected from April 2003 to March 2005 on a monthly basis from randomly selected areas and analysed for the presence of Fasciola egg. From 7200 samples, 1058 (14.69%) were found positive. Seasonal data showed the highest prevalence and egg count (EPG) in autumn and the lowest in spring. Monthly results showed the highest prevalence in September (32.33%) and the lowest in May (4.83%), while mean EPG was highest in October (567 ± 95.5) and the lowest in June (3.2 ± 0.48). Statistically, significant difference (P<0.05) was noted within seasonal and monthly prevalences. Impact of humidity was found significant (P<0.05) on disease as compared to other climatic factors

On the Complexity of Average Path length for Biological Networks and Patterns

Path length calculation is a frequent requirement in studies related to graph theoretic problems such as genetics. Standard method to calculate average path length of a graph requires traversing all nodes in the graph repeatedly, which is computationally expensive for graphs containing large number of nodes. We propose a novel method to calculate average path length for graphs commonly required in the studies of genetics. The proposed method is computationally less expensive and less time consuming compared to standard method. In this paper, a mathematical formulation is provided that calculates Average Path Length for graphs commonly present in biological networks, at the cost of uniform time complexity, for different size of networks

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response: Signaling from the powerhouse

Mitochondria are multifaceted and indispensable organelles required for cell performance. Accordingly, dysfunction to mitochondria can result in cellular decline and possibly the onset of disease. Cells use a variety of means to recover mitochondria and restore homeostasis, including the activation of retrograde pathways such as the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt). In this Minireview, we will discuss how cells adapt to mitochondrial stress through UPRmt regulation. Furthermore, we will explore the current repertoire of biological functions that are associated with this essential stress-response pathway

Tocotrienols-induced inhibition of platelet thrombus formation and platelet aggregation in stenosed canine coronary arteries

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dietary supplementation with tocotrienols has been shown to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. Tocotrienols are plant-derived forms of vitamin E, which have potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, hypocholesterolemic, and neuroprotective properties. Our objective in this study was to determine the extent to which tocotrienols inhibit platelet aggregation and reduce coronary thrombosis, a major risk factor for stroke in humans. The present study was carried out to determine the comparative effects of α-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, or tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF; a mixture of α- + γ- + δ-tocotrienols) on <it>in vivo platelet thrombosis </it>and <it>ex vivo </it>platelet aggregation (PA) after intravenous injection in anesthetized dogs, by using a mechanically stenosed circumflex coronary artery model (Folts' cyclic flow model).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Collagen-induced platelet aggregation (PA) in platelet rich plasma (PRP) was decreased markedly after treatment with α-tocotrienol (59%; <b><it>P </it></b>< 0.001) and TRF (92%; <b><it>P </it></b>< 0.001). α-Tocopherol treatment was less effective, producing only a 22% (<b><it>P </it></b>< 0.05) decrease in PA. Adenosine diphosphate-induced (ADP) PA was also decreased after treatment with α-tocotrienol (34%; <b><it>P </it></b>< 0.05) and TRF (42%; <b><it>P </it></b>< 0.025). These results also indicate that intravenously administered tocotrienols were significantly better than tocopherols in inhibiting cyclic flow reductions (CFRs), a measure of the acute platelet-mediated thrombus formation. Tocotrienols (TRF) given intravenously (10 mg/kg), abolished CFRs after a mean of 68 min (range 22 -130 min), and this abolition of CFRs was sustained throughout the monitoring period (50 - 160 min).</p> <p>Next, pharmacokinetic studies were carried out and tocol levels in canine plasma and platelets were measured. As expected, α-Tocopherol treatment increased levels of total tocopherols in post- vs pre-treatment specimens (57 vs 18 μg/mL in plasma, and 42 vs 10 μg/mL in platelets). However, treatment with α-tocopherol resulted in slightly decreased levels of tocotrienols in post- vs pre-treatment samples (1.4 vs 2.9 μg/mL in plasma and 2.3 vs 2.8 μg/mL in platelets). α-Tocotrienol treatment increased levels of both tocopherols and tocotrienols in post- vs pre-treatment samples (tocopherols, 45 vs 10 μg/mL in plasma and 28 vs 5 μg/mL in platelets; tocotrienols, 2.8 vs 0.9 μg/mL in plasma and 1.28 vs 1.02 μg/mL in platelets). Treatment with tocotrienols (TRF) also increased levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols in post- vs pre-treatment samples (tocopherols, 68 vs 20 μg/mL in plasma and 31.4 vs 7.9 μg/mL in platelets; tocotrienols, 8.6 vs 1.7 μg/mL in plasma and 3.8 vs 3.9 μg/mL in platelets).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present results indicate that intravenously administered tocotrienols inhibited acute platelet-mediated thrombus formation, and collagen and ADP-induced platelet aggregation. α-Tocotrienols treatment induced increases in α-tocopherol levels of 4-fold and 6-fold in plasma and platelets, respectively. Interestingly, tocotrienols (TRF) treatment induced a less pronounced increase in the levels of tocotrienols in plasma and platelets, suggesting that intravenously administered tocotrienols may be converted to tocopherols. Tocotrienols, given intravenously, could potentially prevent pathological platelet thrombus formation and thus provide a therapeutic benefit in conditions such as stroke and myocardial infarction.</p

Diversity, urban space and the right to the provincial city

Using three vignettes of the same physical space this article contributes to understanding of how the right to the city is contested in provincial England in the early twenty-first century. Oral history and ethnographic material gathered in Peterborough between 2010 and 2012 are drawn on to shed new light on the politics of diversity and urban space. This highlights the multiple place attachments and trans-spatial practices of all residents, including the white ethnic majority, as well as contrasting forms of active intervention in space with their different temporalities and affective intensities. The article carries its own diversity politics, seeking to reduce the harm done by racism through challenging the normalisation of the idea of a local, indigenous population, left out by multiculturalism. It simultaneously raises critical questions about capitalist regeneration strategies in terms of their impact both on class inequality and on the environment

An alternative explanation for the density depletions observed by Freja and Viking satellites

In this paper, we have studied the linear and nonlinear propagation of ion acoustic waves in the presence of electrons that follow the generalized (r,q) distribution. It has been shown that for positive values of r, which correspond to a flat-topped electron velocity distribution, the nonlinear ion acoustic waves admit rarefactive solitary structures or density depletions. It has been shown that the generalized (r,q) distribution function provides another way to explicate the density depletions observed by Freja and Viking satellites previously explained by proposing Cairns distribution function.In this paper, we have studied the linear and nonlinear propagation of ion acoustic waves in the presence of electrons that follow the generalized (r,q) distribution. It has been shown that for positive values of r, which correspond to a flat-topped electron velocity distribution, the nonlinear ion acoustic waves admit rarefactive solitary structures or density depletions. It has been shown that the generalized (r,q) distribution function provides another way to explicate the density depletions observed by Freja and Viking satellites previously explained by proposing Cairns distribution function

Hairy roots induction and artemisinin analysis in Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica

Transformation of two Artemisia species (Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica) was carried out by using two Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains LBA 9402 and 8196 for hairy roots production. Induction of hairy roots was higher in both Artemisia species when infected with LBA9402 as compared to 8196. When biomass of roots along with their artemisinin content was evaluated, a significant effect of Agrobacterium strain on fresh weight of roots was observed. While artemisinin content was significantly affected by both plant species as well as Agrobacterium strains used for infection. However roots of A. dubia infected either with LBA9402 or 8196 produced maximum artemisinin (0.603% and 0.753, respectively). When transformed roots were cultured in liquid medium, highest root fresh weight as well as artemisinin content (3.9 g and 0.042%, respectively) was observed in hairy roots of A. indica induced by Agrobacterium 819

AEGRP: an enhanced geographical routing protocol for vanet

Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET), is a derivative type of mobile ad hoc networks with its unique characteristics and an essential part of intelligent transportation system (ITS). In VANET, the vehicles can disseminate information to certain or all vehicles within a region for different applications. Applications can be categorized as safety, convenience and comfort of the driver and passengers such as traffic conditions, accident detection, roadway safety, mobile sensing, and infotainment. These promising applications require intelligent and efficient routing protocols, which are capable of adapting rapidly changing topologies, high mobility in the network. Geographic routing protocols have become a popular routing type because of its simplicity and low overhead features, but recent research has recognized these protocols are not considering many particular constraints of the vehicular environment. However, existing routing protocols offered limited performance due to frequent disconnectivity, high signal interference in the presence of obstacles and lead to network delay and overhead issues. The main objective of this paper is to design an enhanced geographical routing protocol that addresses the network delay problems and provide necessary improvements over conventional geographic routing in light of constraints of these environments