Groupwise Non-Rigid Registration with Deep Learning: An Affordable Solution Applied to 2D Cardiac Cine MRI Reconstruction

Groupwise image (GW) registration is customarily used for subsequent processing in medical imaging. However, it is computationally expensive due to repeated calculation of transformations and gradients. In this paper, we propose a deep learning (DL) architecture that achieves GW elastic registration of a 2D dynamic sequence on an affordable average GPU. Our solution, referred to as dGW, is a simplified version of the well-known U-net. In our GW solution, the image that the other images are registered to, referred to in the paper as template image, is iteratively obtained together with the registered images. Design and evaluation have been carried out using 2D cine cardiac MR slices from 2 databases respectively consisting of 89 and 41 subjects. The first database was used for training and validation with 66.6–33.3% split. The second one was used for validation (50%) and testing (50%). Additional network hyperparameters, which are—in essence—those that control the transformation smoothness degree, are obtained by means of a forward selection procedure. Our results show a 9-fold runtime reduction with respect to an optimization-based implementation; in addition, making use of the well-known structural similarity (SSIM) index we have obtained significative differences with dGW with respect to an alternative DL solution based on Voxelmorph

Biostimulant Capacity of an Enzymatic Extract From Rice Bran Against Ozone-Induced Damage in Capsicum annum

Ozone is a destructive pollutant, damaging crops, and decreasing crop yield. Therefore, there is great interest in finding strategies to alleviate ozone-induced crop losses. In plants, ozone enters leaves through the stomata and is immediately degraded into reactive oxygen species (ROS), producing ROS stress in plants. ROS stress can be controlled by ROS-scavenging systems that include enzymatic or non-enzymatic mechanisms. Our research group has developed a product from rice bran, a byproduct of rice milling which has bioactive molecules that act as an antioxidant compound. This product is a water-soluble rice bran enzymatic extract (RBEE) which preserves all the properties and improves the solubility of proteins and the antioxidant components of rice bran. In previous works, the beneficial properties of RBEE have been demonstrated in animals. However, to date, RBEE has not been used as a protective agent against oxidative damage in agricultural fields. The main goal of this study was to investigate the ability of RBEE to be used as a biostimulant by preventing oxidative damage in plants, after ozone exposure. To perform this investigation, pepper plants (Capsicum annuum) exposed to ozone were treated with RBEE. RBEE protected the ozone-induced damage, as revealed by net photosynthetic rate and the content of photosynthetic pigments. RBEE also decreased the induction of antioxidant enzyme activities in leaves (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase) due to ozone exposure. ROS generation is a common consequence of diverse cellular traumas that also activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Thus, it is known that the ozone damages are triggered by the MAPK cascade. To examine the involvement of the MAPK cascade in the ozone damage CaMPK6-1, CaMPK6-2, and CaMKK5 genes were analyzed by qRT-PCR. The results showed the involvement of the MAPK pathway in both, not only in ozone damage but especially in its protection by RBEE. Taken together, these results support that RBEE protects plants against ozone exposure and its use as a new biostimulant could be proposed

RepA-WH1 prionoid: Clues from bacteria on factors governing phase transitions in amyloidogenesis

10 p.-1 fig.In bacterial plasmids, Rep proteins initiate DNA replication by undergoing a structural transformation coupled to dimer dissociation. Amyloidogenesis of the ‘winged-helix’ N-terminal domain of RepA (WH1) is triggered in vitro upon binding to plasmid-specific DNA sequences, and occurs at the bacterial nucleoid in vivo. Amyloid fibers are made of distorted RepA-WH1 monomers that assemble as single or double intertwined tubular protofilaments. RepA-WH1 causes in E. coli an amyloid proteinopathy, which is transmissible from mother to daughter cells, but not infectious, and enables conformational imprinting in vitro and in vivo; i.e. RepA-WH1 is a ‘prionoid’. Microfluidics allow the assessment of the intracellular dynamics of RepA-WH1: bacterial lineages maintain two types (strains-like) of RepA-WH1 amyloids, either multiple compact cytotoxic particles or a single aggregate with the appearance of a fluidized hydrogel that it is mildly detrimental to growth. The Hsp70 chaperone DnaK governs the phase transition between both types of RepA-WH1 aggregates in vivo, thus modulating the vertical propagation of the prionoid. Engineering chimeras between the Sup35p/[PSI*] prion and RepA-WH1 generates [REP-PSI*], a synthetic prion exhibiting strong and weak phenotypic variants in yeast. These recent findings on a synthetic, self-contained bacterial prionoid illuminate central issues of protein amyloidogenesis.Research on RepA-WH1 amyloids at CIBCSIC is currently financed by Spanish MINECO grants BIO2012-30852 and CSD2009-00088.Peer reviewe

Dynamics of an infectious keratoconjunctivitis outbreak by Mycoplasma conjunctivae on Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica

Between 2006 and 2008, an outbreak of Infectious Keratoconjunctivitis (IKC) affected Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica, an endemic subspecies of mountain ungulate that lives in the Pyrenees. The study focused on 14 mountain massifs (180,000 ha) where the species’ population is stable. Cases of IKC were detected in ten of the massifs and, in five of them, mortality was substantial. The outbreak spread quickly from the first location detected, with two peaks in mortality that affected one (2007) and three (2008) massifs. In the latter, the peak was seasonal (spring to autumn) and, in the former, the outbreak persisted through winter. To identify the outbreak’s aetiology, we examined 105 Pyrenean chamois clinically affected with IKC. TaqMan rt-PCR identified Mycoplasma conjunctivae in 93 (88.5%) of the chamois. Another rt-PCR detected Chlamydophila spp. in 14 of chamois, and 12 of those had mixed infections with mycoplasmas. In the period 2000–2007, the chamois population increased slightly (¿ 1.026) but decreased significantly during the IKC outbreak (¿ 0.8, 2007–2008; ¿ 0.85, 2008–2009) before increasing significantly after the outbreak (¿ 1.1, 2009–2010). Sex-biased mortality shifted the adult sex ratio toward males (from 0.6 to 0.7 males per female) and reduced productivity slightly. Hunting was practically banned in the massifs where chamois experienced significant mortality and allowed again after the outbreak ended. Long-term monitoring of wild populations provides a basis for understanding the impacts of disease outbreaks and improves management decisions, particularly when species are subject to extractive exploitation

Environmental management of seaport water bodies: application to the port of Tarragona

RESUMEN. Puertos del Estado, tras la aprobación de la Directiva Marco del Agua (DMA), consideró esencial el proporcionar herramientas científica y técnicamente sólidas que pudieran contribuir a la gestión de las aguas portuarias. Fruto de esta inquietud, se desarrolló la ROM 5.1 “Calidad de aguas litorales en áreas portuarias”, procedimiento fácil de implementar dentro de los esquemas de gestión portuaria, y económicamente viable. La aplicación de la ROM 5.1 al Puerto de Tarragona ha permitido confirmar que dicha recomendación permite llevar a cabo una gestión integral de los sistemas acuáticos portuarios coherente con los principios establecidos por la Directiva Marco del Agua.ABSTRACT. On the passing of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), Puertos del Estado, Spain’s national port agency, considered it essential to provide scientific and technically proven tools to contribute to the management of seaport waters. This led to the development of the ROM 5.1 (Recommendations for Maritime Works) “Quality of coastal waters in seaport areas”, an economically viable procedure that may be readily implemented within port management schemes. The application of the ROM 5.1 to the Port of Tarragona has confirmed the validity of these recommendations to ensure the integral management of port water bodies in accordance with the guidelines established by the Water Framework Directive

Aplastic anemia and severe pancytopenia during treatment with peg-interferon, ribavirin and telaprevir for chronic hepatitis C

Telaprevir and Boceprevir are the first direct acting antivirals approved for chronic hepatitis C in combination with peg-interferon alfa and ribavirin. Pancytopenia due to myelotoxicity caused by these drugs may occur, but severe hematological abnormalities or aplastic anemia (AA) have not been described. We collected all cases of severe pancytopenia observed during triple therapy with telaprevir in four Spanish centers since approval of the drug in 2011. Among 142 cirrhotic patients receiving treatment, 7 cases of severe pancytopenia (5%) were identified and three were consistent with the diagnosis of AA. Mean age was 59 years, five patients had compensated cirrhosis and two patients had severe hepatitis C recurrence after liver transplantation. Severe pancytopenia was diagnosed a median of 10 wk after the initiation of therapy. Three patients had pre-treatment hematological abnormalities related to splenomegaly. In six patients, antiviral treatment was interrupted at the onset of hematological abnormalities. Two patients died due to septic complications and one patient due to acute alveolar hemorrhage. The remaining patients recovered. Severe pancytopenia and especially AA, are not rare during triple therapy with telaprevir in patients with advanced liver disease. Close monitoring is imperative in this setting to promptly detect serious hematological disorders and to prevent further complications

Estudio del duelo migratorio en pacientes inmigrantes que acuden a las consultas de atención primaria. Presentación de un cuestionario de valoración del duelo migratorio

Objetivos: Validar un cuestionario que permita conocer la existencia de duelo migratorio (DM) y sus dimensiones en la población inmigrante, y estudiar la relación del mismo con determinadas variables sociodemográficas (VSD). Diseño: Estudio descriptivo, transversal, multicéntrico. Emplazamiento: Consultas de atención primaria (AP). Pacientes: 290 pacientes inmigrantes (PI) de AP, excluyendo los < 18 años. Se produjeron 12 negativas por falta de tiempo, falta de entendimiento y ausencia de traductor. Mediciones principales: Se usa el cuestionario sobre DM con 17 preguntas, realizándose su análisis factorial, con extracción final de 4 factores que explican el 52,1% de la varianza global. Se recogen VSD: género, edad, estado civil, nacionalidad, red social, tiempo en España, situación legal y laboral y dificultades de comunicación. Se realiza análisis multivariante de las variables construidas con las VSD. Resultados: Se han encontrado 4 factores (miedo, nostalgia, preocupación y pérdida de identidad [PdI]) comprobándose que ninguna comunalidad era < 0,30 considerándose que los 4 factores representan el conjunto de variables del cuestionario del DM. Analizando las correlaciones entre factores se apreció que la preocupación se relaciona con el miedo y la nostalgia, siendo ésta independiente del miedo. La PdI tiene una correlación baja con los otros factores. El alfa de Cronbach muestra una consistencia buena en los factores 1, 2 y 3. Algunas VSD se relacionan con la presencia de cada factor. Conclusiones: Se presenta un instrumento validado para estudiar y caracterizar el DM, adecuado para estudiar las distintas dimensiones del duelo en la población inmigrante.Objectives: To validate a questionnaire designed to show the existence of migratory grief (MG) and its dimensions in the immigrant population, and to study its relationship with certain sociodemographic variables. Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional, multicentre study. Emplacement: Consultations in Primary Health Care. Patients: The study included 290 Primary Health Care immigrant patients over 18-years old. There were 12 rejections due to, lack of time, absence of a translator, and lack of understanding. Principal measurements: An MG questionnaire with 17 questions was employed, carrying out a factor analysis with final extraction of 4 factors explaining 52.1% of overall variance. Sociodemographic variables were collected: gender, age, marital status, nationality, social network, time in Spain, legal and work situation and communication difficulties. Multivariate analysis was performed using the sociodemographic variables. Results: Four factors were found (fear, homesickness, concern and loss of identity), showing that non-communality was < 0.30 and considering that the 4 factors represent the group of variables from the questionnaire. After analysing the correlations between the different factors, it was observed that concern is related to fear and homesickness, this latter being independent from fear. The loss of identity had a low correlation with other factors. Cronbach's alpha showed good consistency in factors 1, 2 and 3. Some sociodemographic variables are associated with the presence of each factor. Conclusions: We present a validated instrument to study and characterise MG, adapted to study the different dimensions of the grief in immigrant population

Consumo de drogas ilegales, apoyo familiar y factores relacionadosen estudiantes universitarios. Un estudio transversal basado en datosdel Proyecto uniHcos

Objective: To assess the prevalence of illegal drug use in college students on any previous occasion, duringthe previous year and the previous month, and to analyze the relationship between illegal drug use andfamily support and other factors.Methods: A cross-sectional study using data from students participating in the uniHcos project (n = 3767)was conducted. The prevalence and age of onset of consumption of cannabis, non-prescription sedatives,stimulants and depressants was evaluated. Polyconsumption was also assessed. The independent vari-ables were: family support, age, residence, and employment status. To determine the factors related todrug use multivariate logistic regression models stratified by gender were fitted.Results: Differences between men and women in prevalence of illegal drug use except non-prescriptionsedatives were observed. In both genders, less family support was associated with higher consumptionof all drugs, except depressants, and with polyconsumption. To be studying and looking for work wasrelated to cannabis and stimulant use and to polyconsumption among women, but only to cannabis useamong men.Conclusions: These results support the notion that the start of university studies is a particularly relevantstage in the onset of illegal drug use and its prevention, and that consumption may be especially associatedwith family support.Objetivo: Evaluar la prevalencia del consumo de drogas ilegales en estudiantes universitarios y analizarla relación entre dicho consumo, el apoyo familiar y otros factores.Método: Se realizó un dise?no transversal basado en datos de participantes en el proyecto uniHcos (n =3767). Se evaluaron la prevalencia y la edad de inicio del consumo de cannabis, tranquilizantes sin receta,estimulantes y depresores, y el policonsumo. Como variables independientes se consideraron el apoyofamiliar, la edad, la residencia y la situación laboral. Para la determinación de los factores asociados alconsumo de drogas se ajustaron modelos de regresión logística estratificados por sexo.Resultados: Se observaron diferencias entre hombres y mujeres en la prevalencia del consumo de todaslas drogas ilegales, excepto tranquilizantes sin receta. En ambos sexos, cuanto peor apoyo familiar, mayorconsumo de todas las drogas, excepto depresores y policonsumo. Encontrarse estudiando y buscandotrabajo se relacionó con el consumo de cannabis, estimulantes y policonsumo en las mujeres, y solo concannabis en los hombres.Conclusiones: Los resultados de este estudio aportan nueva evidencia a favor de que el inicio de la etapauniversitaria es un momento de especial relevancia en el inicio del consumo de drogas ilegales y suprevención, pudiendo este consumo estar especialmente relacionado con el apoyo familiar