Ocena dryfu morskiego z wykorzystaniem systemu ANFIS [Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System]

The amount of sand moving parallel to a coastline forms a prerequisite for many harbor design projects. Such information is currently obtained through various empirical formulae. Despite so many works in the past, an accurate and reliable estimation of the rate of sand drift has still remained a problem. It is a non-linear process and can be described by chaotic time-series. The current study addresses this issue through the use of Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). ANFIS is about taking an initial fuzzy inference system (FIS) and tuning it with a back propagation algorithm based on the collection of input-output data. ANFIS was developed to predict the sand drift from a variety of causative variables. The structure and algorithm of ANFIS for predicting the rate of sand drift is described. The Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System was validated by confi rming its consistency with a database of specifi ed physical process.W artykule przedstawiono adaptację systemu ANFIS do oceny wielkości dryfu fal piaskowych poruszających się wzdłuż wybrzeża morskiego. Pomimo wielu informacji o charakterze ilościowym oraz jakościowym zebranych w badaniach terenowych oraz opracowanych wzorów empirycznych opisujących analizowane zjawisko, autorzy widzą potrzebę stosowania symulacji zjawiska za pomocą metod numerycznych. Takie możliwości daje omówiony w pracy system ANFIS

Modulation of muscimol state-dependent memory by alpha 2- adrenoceptors of the dorsal hippocampal area

In the present study, the effects of bilateral intra-dorsal hippocampal (intra-CA1) injections of α2-adrenoceptor agonist and antagonist, on muscimol state-dependent memory were examined in mice. A single-trial step-down passive avoidance task was used for the assessment of memory retention in adult male NMRI mice. Administration of muscimol (0.1 μg/mouse, intra-CA1) 15 min before training or testing induced impairment of memory retention. Injection of the same dose of the drug 15 min before testing restored memory retention impaired under pre-training muscimol influence. Pre-test intra-CA1 administration of the α2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine (0.5 and 1 μg/mouse) impaired memory retention, although the low dose of the drug (0.25 μg/mouse) did not affect memory retention. Pre-test intra-CA1 administration of the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine (1 and 2 μg/mouse) improved memory retention, although the low dose of the drug (0.5 μg/mouse) did not affect memory retention. In other series of experiments, pre-test co-administration of certain doses of clonidine (0.125 and 0.25 μg/mouse, intra-CA1), doses which were ineffective when given alone, and muscimol (0.1 μg/mouse, intra-CA1) significantly inhibited muscimol state-dependent memory. Pre-test intra-CA1 administration of certain doses of yohimbine (0.25 and 0.5 μg/mouse), doses which were ineffective when given alone, improved pre-training muscimol (0.1 μg/mouse)-induced retrieval impairment. Moreover, pre-test co-administration of yohimbine (0.25 and 0.5 μg/mouse, intra-CA1) and muscimol (0.025 μg/mouse, intra-CA1), an ineffective dose, significantly restored the retrieval and induced muscimol state-dependent memory. It may be concluded that the α2-adrenoceptors of the dorsal hippocampal area play an important role in muscimol state-dependent memory. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Low birthweight and subsequent emotional and behavioural outcomes in 12-year-old children in Soweto, South Africa: findings from Birth to Twenty

Background. The fetal origins hypothesis suggests that an adverse prenatal environment, indexed by low birthweight (LBW), may increase the risk of developing later disease. Recently the hypothesis has been extended to psychological outcomes, especially depression. The aim of this analysis was to test, for the first time in a developing country setting, the association between LBW and psychological symptoms, in Soweto, South Africa. Methods. A sample of 1029 children was drawn from Birth to Twenty, a longitudinal cohort followed from pregnancy to young adulthood. This sample completed the Youth Self Report at age 12 years, a validated psychological measure of behavioural and emotional adjustment. Scores were compared between LBW (<2500 g) and normal birthweight children using multivariate analysis with adjustment for potential birth and life events confounding factors. Results. No associations were found between LBW and total [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-1.74], internalizing (adjusted OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.52-1.28) or externalizing profiles (adjusted OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.49-1.36). The only difference detected was for the internalizing sub-profile of Somatic Complaints (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.21-3.38), which on subgroup analysis was greatest among females. Conclusions. We found no convincing evidence of an association between LBW and emotional and behavioural outcomes in 12-year olds in this sample in urban South Africa. To our knowledge, this is the first published assessment of this association in a developing world context.

Targeting cancer stem cells by dietary agents: An important therapeutic strategy against human malignancies

As a multifactorial disease, treatment of cancer depends on understanding unique mechanisms involved in its progression. The cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for tumor stemness and by enhancing colony formation, proliferation as well as metastasis, and these cells can also mediate resistance to therapy. Furthermore, the presence of CSCs leads to cancer recurrence and therefore their complete eradication can have immense therapeutic benefits. The present review focuses on targeting CSCs by natural products in cancer therapy. The growth and colony formation capacities of CSCs have been reported can be attenuated by the dietary agents. These compounds can induce apoptosis in CSCs and reduce tumor migration and invasion via EMT inhibition. A variety of molecular pathways including STAT3, Wnt/β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog, Gli1 and NF-κB undergo down-regulation by dietary agents in suppressing CSC features. Upon exposure to natural agents, a significant decrease occurs in levels of CSC markers including CD44, CD133, ALDH1, Oct4 and Nanog to impair cancer stemness. Furthermore, CSC suppression by dietary agents can enhance sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In addition to in vitro studies, as well as experiments on the different preclinical models have shown capacity of natural products in suppressing cancer stemness. Furthermore, use of nanostructures for improving therapeutic impact of dietary agents is recommended to rapidly translate preclinical findings for clinical use. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Evaluation of multimodal MR imaging for differentiating infiltrative versus reactive edema in brain gliomas

Objective: To determine the border of glial tumors by diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), apparent diffusion co-efficient (ADC), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and perfusion brain MRI. Patients and methods: Ten patients with brain gliomas were enrolled mean age: 35.3 ± 13.2, range: 20�62. Conventional MRI was performed for all patients. Besides, tumor mapping based on Choline (Cho)/Creatine (Cr) color map in MRS, perfusion and diffusion color maps, were gathered. Different tumoral and peritumoral regions normal tissue, reactive edema, infiltrative edema, and tumor core were defined. MRI criteria were evaluated in areas targeted for biopsy and histopathologic evaluation was determined. Results: Tumor cell positive samples one necrosis, 26 infiltrative and nine tumor cores composed 36 (75%) of the 48 samples. Seven (19.4%) of the positive samples were interpreted as not tumor on MRI. Five were identified as reactive edema and two as normal tissue kappa:.67, p-value <.001. Mean of ADC, median of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and NAA/Cho were statistically different between positive and negative samples (p =.02 and p <.001, respectively). Mean ADC and median Cho/NAA were statistically different in missed tumor containing tissue presented as reactive edema compared to normal and correctly diagnosed reactive edema samples together (p-values <.05). Conclusions: Multimodal MRI could define infiltrated borders of brain gliomas. © 2020 The Neurosurgical Foundation