Grid Databases for Shared Image Analysis in the MammoGrid Project

The MammoGrid project aims to prove that Grid infrastructures can be used for collaborative clinical analysis of database-resident but geographically distributed medical images. This requires: a) the provision of a clinician-facing front-end workstation and b) the ability to service real-world clinician queries across a distributed and federated database. The MammoGrid project will prove the viability of the Grid by harnessing its power to enable radiologists from geographically dispersed hospitals to share standardized mammograms, to compare diagnoses (with and without computer aided detection of tumours) and to perform sophisticated epidemiological studies across national boundaries. This paper outlines the approach taken in MammoGrid to seamlessly connect radiologist workstations across a Grid using an "information infrastructure" and a DICOM-compliant object model residing in multiple distributed data stores in Italy and the UKComment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Micro-photogrammetry as a tool for characterisation of dissolution behaviour of pharmaceutical dosage forms

The aim of this project is to develop an innovative analytical technique for the 3D chemical mapping of pharmaceutical dosage forms, via simultaneous topographic characterisation and dissolution analysis of solid drug delivery systems. The developed apparatus was optimised using the results obtained from the application of micro-photogrammetry to the analysis of commercial solid drug delivery systems. Results of the application of the developed method on the dissolution of a sugarcoated tablet sample are here presented

Knowledge, attitudes and experience associated with testing for prostate cancer: a comparison between male doctors and men in the community

Background: Debate about testing for prostate cancer using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) continues. The evidence of benefit from screening for prostate cancer using PSA tests is inconclusive, and it is unclear how PSA can be used most effectively in the detection of prostate cancer. Given the lack of consensus, it is important that consumers understand the issues in a way that will permit them to decide whether or not to have a test and, if symptomatic, how their condition is managed.Aims: To compare prostate cancer knowledge, attitudes and testing experiences reported by male doctors and men in the community, despite the lack of evidence of a benefit.Methods : The primary method for ascertaining the attitudes of male doctors (MD) was a telephone survey, with some doctors electing to complete a written survey. Each MD was selected, at random, from a register of male practitioners aged &ge; 49 years of age. A total of 266 MD participated in the survey. The community sample (CS) was accessed using a telephone survey. Five hundred male Victorian residents aged &ge; 49 years of age participated in the study.Results:Knowledge &minus; Overall, 55% of the CS indicated &shy;correctly that prostate disease is sometimes cancer, compared to 83% of MD.Attitudes &minus; Fifty-five per cent of MD believed men should be tested for prostate disease at least every 2 years, compared to 68% of men in the CS.Testing experience &minus; Forty-five per cent of MD had been tested for prostate cancer in the past, and 92% of those tests were reported as negative. In the CS, 56% had been tested for prostate cancer in the past, and 78% of the results were reported as negative. The &shy;significant independent predictors of having had a prostate test among MD were: (i) age (&ge; 60 years; odds ratio (OR): 1.59; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.30&minus;1.88) and (ii) positive attitudes towards regular testing for prostate cancer (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.98&minus;2.56). The significant independent predictors for the CS were: (i) age (&ge; 60 years; OR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.40&minus;1.89), (ii) being married (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.00&minus;1.60), (iii) knowledge that prostate disease was sometimes cancer (OR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.26&minus;1.66) and (iv) positive attitudes towards regular testing for prostate cancer (OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.90&minus;2.34).Conclusions: The results highlight that testing for prostate cancer is widespread in the community and in the medical profession. Further research should be undertaken to identify how to help men make fully informed decisions about prostate cancer testing.<br /

Soluble Host Defense Lectins in Innate Immunity to Influenza Virus

Host defenses against viral infections depend on a complex interplay of innate (nonspecific) and adaptive (specific) components. In the early stages of infection, innate mechanisms represent the main line of host defense, acting to limit the spread of virus in host tissues prior to the induction of the adaptive immune response. Serum and lung fluids contain a range of lectins capable of recognizing and destroying influenza A viruses (IAV). Herein, we review the mechanisms by which soluble endogenous lectins mediate anti-IAV activity, including their role in modulating IAV-induced inflammation and disease and their potential as prophylactic and/or therapeutic treatments during severe IAV-induced disease

Introduction and spread of non-native parasites with Silurus glanis L. (Teleostei: Siluridae) in UK fisheries

Despite growing concern of the ecological risks posed by the European catfish Siluris glanis L. in freshwater fisheries, little information exists on the parasite fauna of this silurid catfish in Britain. Parasitological examinations of released S. glanis from four still-water fisheries in England revealed the presence of Thaparocleidus vistulensis (Siwak, 1932) and Ergasilus sieboldi (Nordmann, 1832), both non-native parasites, the latter known to be an important fish pathogen. This represents the first record of T. vistulensis from British freshwater fish. The human-assisted movement of S. glanis between UK recreational still-water fisheries provides a clear avenue for the introduction and spread of non-native parasites

Crustal structure of southeast Australia from teleseismic receiver functions

Abstract. In an effort to improve our understanding of the seismic character of the crust beneath southeast Australia and how it relates to the tectonic evolution of the region, we analyse teleseismic earthquakes recorded by 24 temporary and 8 permanent broadband stations using the receiver function method. Due to the proximity of the temporary stations to Bass Strait, only 13 of these stations yielded usable receiver functions, whereas seven permanent stations produced receiver functions for subsequent analysis. Crustal thickness, bulk seismic velocity properties, and internal crustal structure of the southern Tasmanides – an assemblage of Palaeozoic accretionary orogens that occupy eastern Australia – are constrained by H–κ stacking and receiver function inversion, which point to the following: a ∼ 39.0 km thick crust; an intermediate–high Vp/Vs ratio (∼ 1.70–1.76), relative to ak135; and a broad (&gt; 10 km) crust–mantle transition beneath the Lachlan Fold Belt. These results are interpreted to represent magmatic underplating of mafic materials at the base of the crust. a complex crustal structure beneath VanDieland, a putative Precambrian continental fragment embedded in the southernmost Tasmanides, that features strong variability in the crustal thickness (23–37 km) and Vp/Vs ratio (1.65–193), the latter of which likely represents compositional variability and the presence of melt. The complex origins of VanDieland, which comprises multiple continental ribbons, coupled with recent failed rifting and intraplate volcanism, likely contributes to these observations. stations located in the East Tasmania Terrane and eastern Bass Strait (ETT + EB) collectively indicate a crust of uniform thickness (31–32 km), which clearly distinguishes it from VanDieland to the west. Moho depths are also compared with the continent-wide AusMoho model in southeast Australia and are shown to be largely consistent, except in regions where AusMoho has few constraints (e.g. Flinders Island). A joint interpretation of the new results with ambient noise, teleseismic tomography, and teleseismic shear wave splitting anisotropy helps provide new insight into the way that the crust has been shaped by recent events, including failed rifting during the break-up of Australia and Antarctica and recent intraplate volcanism.PhD study of lead author has been jointly funded by Abubakar TafawaBalewa University (ATBU

Differential neutrophil activation in viral infections: Enhanced TLR-7/8-mediated CXCL8 release in asthma

© 2015 The Authors. Respirology published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Asian Pacific Society of Respirology. Background and objective Respiratory viral infections are a major cause of asthma exacerbations. Neutrophils accumulate in the airways and the mechanisms that link neutrophilic inflammation, viral infections and exacerbations are unclear. This study aims to investigate anti-viral responses in neutrophils from patients with and without asthma and to investigate if neutrophils can be directly activated by respiratory viruses. Methods Neutrophils from peripheral blood from asthmatic and non-asthmatic individuals were isolated and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 μg/mL), f-met-leu-phe (fMLP) (100 nM), imiquimod (3 μg/mL), R848 (1.5 μg/mL), poly I:C (10 μg/mL), RV16 (multiplicity of infection (MOI)1), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (MOI1) or influenza virus (MOI1). Cell-free supernatants were collected after 1 h of neutrophil elastase (NE) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 release, or after 24 h for CXCL8 release. Results LPS, fMLP, imiquimod and R848 stimulated the release of CXCL8, NE and MMP-9 whereas poly I:C selectively induced CXCL8 release only. R848-induced CXCL8 release was enhanced in neutrophils from asthmatics compared with non-asthmatic cells (P < 0.01). RSV triggered the release of CXCL8 and NE from neutrophils, whereas RV16 or influenza had no effect. Conclusion Neutrophils release CXCL8, NE and MMP-9 in response to viral surrogates with R848-induced CXCL8 release being specifically enhanced in asthmatic neutrophils. Toll-like receptor (TLR7/8) dysregulation may play a role in neutrophilic inflammation in viral-induced exacerbations. We aimed to investigate and compare neutrophil responses to bacterial compounds and viral mimetics as well as compare responses between people with and without asthma. We also investigated neutrophil responses to live respiratory viruses. Here we provide a novel comprehensive comparison showing differential and specific activation in innate immune cells. See Editorial, page 1

Lyashko-Looijenga morphisms and submaximal factorisations of a Coxeter element

When W is a finite reflection group, the noncrossing partition lattice NCP_W of type W is a rich combinatorial object, extending the notion of noncrossing partitions of an n-gon. A formula (for which the only known proofs are case-by-case) expresses the number of multichains of a given length in NCP_W as a generalised Fuss-Catalan number, depending on the invariant degrees of W. We describe how to understand some specifications of this formula in a case-free way, using an interpretation of the chains of NCP_W as fibers of a Lyashko-Looijenga covering (LL), constructed from the geometry of the discriminant hypersurface of W. We study algebraically the map LL, describing the factorisations of its discriminant and its Jacobian. As byproducts, we generalise a formula stated by K. Saito for real reflection groups, and we deduce new enumeration formulas for certain factorisations of a Coxeter element of W.Comment: 18 pages. Version 2 : corrected typos and improved presentation. Version 3 : corrected typos, added illustrated example. To appear in Journal of Algebraic Combinatoric

Improvement in immune parameters and human immunodeficiency virus-1 viral response in individuals treated with 16α-bromoepiandrosterone (HE2000)

ABSTRACTA randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the safety, tolerance, immunological effect and anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity of sub-cutaneously administered HE2000 (16α-bromoepiandrosterone) as monotherapy in treatment-naïve patients with HIV-1. Twenty-four patients received five sequential daily doses of 50 or 100 mg of HE2000 or placebo every 6 weeks for up to three courses, and were followed thereafter for 3 months. HE2000 was safe, with transient injection site reactions being the main side-effect. Peripheral blood samples, collected serially, were analysed for changes in immune cell phenotypes. Significant increases were observed in the numbers of circulating dendritic cells, early activated (CD69+CD25–) CD8 T-cells and T-NK cells after administration of 50-mg doses of HE2000 (p <0.05). Gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was analysed by real-time RT-PCR. Before treatment, HIV-1-infected patients had significantly elevated transcripts for a number of inflammatory mediators (p <0.012). After 50 mg or 100 mg HE2000, but not after placebo, there were significant sustained decreases in IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and Cox-2 transcripts (p <0.05). There were no significant differences in CD4 cell numbers, although patients receiving 50-mg doses demonstrated a significant decrease in viral load (– 0.6 log; p <0.01). Anti-HIV-1 T-cell responses were analysed serially using GAG-peptides to stimulate cytoplasmic IFN-γ responses. After three courses, the 50-mg dose group demonstrated a significant increase in CD8 T-cell response against two distinct GAG peptide pools (p <0.03). These findings suggest that immune-based therapies may be able to impact viral load by decreasing inflammation and/or stimulating CD8 T-cells

Anomalous magnetic phase in an undistorted pyrochlore oxide Cd2Os2O7 induced by geometrical frustration

We report on the muon spin rotation/relaxation study of a pyrochlore oxide, Cd2Os2O7, which exhibits a metal-insulator (MI) transition at T_{MI}~225 K without structural phase transition. It reveals strong spin fluctuation (>10^8/s) below the MI transition, suggesting a predominant role of geometrical spin frustration amongst Os^{5+} ions. Meanwhile, upon further cooling, a static spin density wave discontinuously develops below T_{SDW}~150 K. These observations strongly suggest the occurrence of an anomalous magnetic transition and associated change in the local spin dynamics in undistorted pyrochlore antiferromagnet.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure