Real-time automated image segmentation technique for cerebral aneurysm on reconfigurable system-on-chip

Cerebral aneurysm is a weakness in a blood vessel that may enlarge and bleed into the surrounding area, which is a life-threatening condition. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis of aneurysm is highly required to help doctors to decide the right treatment. This work aims to implement a real-time automated segmentation technique for cerebral aneurysm on the Zynq system-on-chip (SoC), and virtualize the results on a 3D plane, utilizing virtual reality (VR) facilities, such as Oculus Rift, to create an interactive environment for training purposes. The segmentation algorithm is designed based on hard thresholding and Haar wavelet transformation. The system is tested on six subjects, for each consists 512 × 512 DICOM slices, of 16 bits 3D rotational angiography. The quantitative and subjective evaluation show that the segmented masks and 3D generated volumes have admitted results. In addition, the hardware implement results show that the proposed implementation is capable to process an image using Zynq SoC in an average time of 5.2 ms

Analgesia nociception index as a tool to predict hypotension after spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section

Arterial hypotension is the main disadvantage of spinal anaesthesia (SA) for caesarean delivery with deleterious effects on maternal–foetal outcomes. Recently, a non-invasive device ‘analgesia nociception index’ (ANI) has been developed to evaluate the parasympathetic component of the nervous autonomous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of ANI to predict the risk of hypotension after SA for elective caesarean section. One hundred patients scheduled for elective caesarean delivery under SA were recruited in this observational prospective study. Hemodynamic and ANI parameters were recorded in supine position (TB), in sitting position (T0), after induction of SA (T1) and then every three minutes (T2, T3, Tn) until the end of surgery or having resort to ephedrine. After SA, women were classified into two groups according to occurrence of hypotension (group H, n = 80) or not (group C, n = 20). The variations of ANI between T2 and T0 were significantly higher in the group H as compared to the control group. A threshold of 4.5 points decrease in instantaneous ANI value could predict maternal hypotension. ANI is a simple and effective tool in predicting the risk of SA-related hypotension.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Arterial hypotension is the main disadvantage of spinal anaesthesia for caesarean delivery with deleterious effects on maternal-foetal outcomes. The balance between the sympathic and parasympathic systems could be used to predict the onset of hypotension following spinal anaesthesia. Analgesia nociception index (ANI) is an index calculated based on heart rate variability HRV analysis, designed originally to evaluate the antinociception/Nociception balance. What do the results of this study add? We have shown that the analysis of HRV with ANI was a predictor of maternal hypotension after spinal anaesthesia. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? ANI is an effective tool in predicting the risk of spinal anaesthesia-related hypotension. These findings are of potential clinical importance in the obstetrical anaesthesia setting. Further studies are required in order to implement this simple tool and optimise prophylactic measures especially vasopressors

Efficacy and safety of Parecoxib for prevention of catheter-related bladder discomfort in patients undergoing transurethral resection of bladder tumor: Prospective randomised trial

Background and Aims: Catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD) is the urge to void or discomfort in the suprapubic region secondary to an indwelling urinary catheter. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of single-dose of intravenous parecoxib in reducing the incidence and severity of CRBD in patients undergoing transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). Methods: Sixty-one adult patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II, undergoing elective TURBT under spinal anaesthesia, were randomly allocated to receive 40 mg of IV parecoxib (group P; n = 29) or an equal volume of normal saline (control group C; n = 32). CRBD was graded as none, mild, moderate, and severe. Between-group comparisons were made for the incidence and severity of CRBD, postoperative Visual analog scales (VAS), rescue analgesia equirements, and occurrence of adverse events. Statistical analysis done with the Mann–Whitney U-test and Fisher's Exact Test. A P value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Parecoxib significantly reduced the incidence and severity of CRBD at 2, 4, 6, and 12 hours postoperatively compared to placebo (P < 0.05). Median pain VAS scores were lower in the P group at all times except the first hour. Rescue analgesia was given to more patients in group C (16/32, 50%) than in group P (1/29) (P < 0.001). None of the patients who received parecoxib experienced an adverse event. Conclusion: A single intravenous injection of parecoxib is safe and effective in decreasing the incidence and severity of CRBD in patients undergoing TURBT. Trial Registration Identifier: NCT02729935(www.clinicaltrials.gov)

Changes in Genotype and Fluconazole Susceptibility of Isolates from Patients with

Candida glabrata has emerged as an opportunistic pathogen of considerable importance in invasive and superficial infections. Aims. To analyze the development of fluconazole resistance in patients under treatment through epidemiological survey in our hospital. Patients and methods. Twenty two patients (89 clinical strains) were collected. Molecular typing of isolates was performed by polymorphic markers. Analysis of gene expression was realized by reverse transcriptase-real time polymerase chain reactions (RT-qPCR). Results. Genetic analysis showed that 63% persists with apparently unchanged strains (n=14). Among them, four showed fluconazole resistance development. A strain replacement was observed in 6 patients and two patients selected more resistant isolates during the course of treatment. An analysis of Candida glabrata cerebellar degeneration-related protein 1 (CgCDR1), Candida glabrata cerebellar degeneration-related protein 2 (CgCDR2) and Candida glabrata sterol 14 alpha-demetylase Erg 11 (CgERG11) expression revealed an over-expression in 10 resistant isolates. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that C. glabrata strain undergo frequent changes in vivo. The increase in CgCDR1 and CgCDR2 expression was the most mechanism associated with fluconazole resistance

Synthesis, structural characterizations, in vitro biological evaluation and computational investigations of pyrazole derivatives as potential antidiabetic and antioxidant agents

Abstract In this study, a two pyrazole derivatives; 2-(5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carbonyl)-N-phenylhydrazine-1-carboxamide (Pyz-1) and 4-amino-5-(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (Pyz-2) were synthesized and characterized by 13C-NMR, 1H-NMR, FT-IR, and mass spectrometry. A complete molecular structures optimization, electronic and thermodynamic properties of Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 in gas phase and aqueous solution were predicted by using hybrid B3LYP method with the 6-311++G** basis sets. Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 were evaluated in vitro for their anti-diabetic, antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibition activities. For anti-diabetic activity, Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 showed a potent α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition with IC50 values of 75.62 ± 0.56, 95.85 ± 0.92 and 119.3 ± 0.75, 120.2 ± 0.68 µM, respectively, compared to Acarbose (IC50(α-glucosidase) = 72.58 ± 0.68 µM, IC50(α-amylase) = 115.6 ± 0.574 µM). In xanthine oxidase assay, Pyz-1 and Pyz-2 exhibited remarkable inhibitory ability with IC50 values 24.32 ± 0.78 and 10.75 ± 0.54 µM, respectively. The result of antioxidant activities showed that the title compounds have considerable antioxidant and radical scavenger abilities. In addition, molecular docking simulation was used to determine the binding modes and energies between the title compounds and α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes

Crystal structure, physicochemical, DFT, optical, keto-enol tautomerization, docking, and anti-diabetic studies of (Z)-pyrazol β-keto-enol derivative

The new (Z)-pyrazol β-keto-enol as model-molecule has been prepared in accepted high yield; the structure was investigated by X-ray single crystal diffraction (XRD) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) modeling. Several hydrogen bonds interactions were recorded experimentally via XRD and theoretically via Hirshfeld surface analysis (HSA) calculations. The recorded vibrational frequencies FT-IR were further compared to computed ones. Natural Population Analysis (NPA), Mulliken Atomic Charge (MAC), and Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) has been carried out to complete the set of theoretical tools. The HOMO/LUMO, density of state (DOS) and TD-SCF/DFT were applied to compare these quantum parameters with experimental electron transfer and direct optical activity. DFT calculations, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and non-covalent interactions (NCI) analysis were used to explore the mechanism of the single proton keto-enol intra-migration tautomerization reaction. Additionally, the desired compound was screened for its in-vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. The title compound reflected a potent inhibitory activity α-glucosidase enzyme with IC50 value of 72.20 ± 1.50 µM. Moreover, the solved 3D-crystal structure was used for 1BNA DNA docking evaluation

High Frequency of Enterocytozoon bieneusi Genotype WL12 Occurrence among Immunocompromised Patients with Intestinal Microsporidiosis

International audienceMicrosporidiosis is an emerging opportunistic infection causing severe digestive disorders in immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of intestinal microsporidia carriage among immunocompromised patients hospitalized at a major hospital complex in the Tunis capital area, Tunisia (North Africa), and perform molecular epidemiology and population structure analyses of Enterocytozoon bieneusi, which is an emerging fungal pathogen. We screened 250 stool samples for the presence of intestinal microsporidia from 171 patients, including 81 organ transplant recipients, 73 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive patients, and 17 patients with unspecified immunodeficiency. Using a nested PCR-based diagnostic approach for the detection of E. bieneusi and Encephalitozoon spp., we identified 18 microsporidia-positive patients out of 171 (10.5%), among which 17 were infected with E. bieneusi. Microsporidia-positive cases displayed chronic diarrhea (17 out of 18), which was associated more with HIV rather than with immunosuppression other than HIV (12 out of 73 versus 6 out of 98, respectively, p = 0.02) and correlated with extended hospital stays compared to microsporidia-negative cases (60 versus 19 days on average, respectively; p = 0.001). Strikingly, internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-based genotyping of E. bieneusi strains revealed high-frequency occurrence of ITS sequences that were identical (n = 10) or similar (with one single polymorphic site, n = 3) to rare genotype WL12. Minimum-spanning tree analyses segregated the 17 E. bieneusi infection cases into four distinct genotypic clusters and confirmed the high prevalence of genotype WL12 in our patient population. Phylogenetic analyses allowed the mapping of all 17 E. bieneusi strains to zoonotic group 1 (subgroups 1a and 1b/1c), indicating loose host specificity and raising public health concern. Our study suggests a probable common source of E. bieneusi genotype WL12 transmission and prompts the implementation of a wider epidemiological investigation

Antioxidant, antimicrobial, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of saponin extracts from walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaves

Objective: To investigate the relationship between triterpenoid saponin content and antioxidant, antimicrobial, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of 70% ethanolic, butanolic, aqueous, supernate and precipitate extracts of Juglans regia leaves. Methods: Triterpenoid saponins of different Juglans regia leaf extracts were measured by the vanillin method. Antioxidant activity was evaluated against DPPH and ABTS free radicals. We also assessed α-glucosidase inhibitory and antimicrobial activities of the leaf extracts. Pearson's correlation coefficient was evaluated to determine the correlation between the saponin content and biological activities. Results: The butanolic extract was most effective against DPPH with an IC50 of 6.63 μg/mL, while the aqueous extract showed the highest scavenging activity against ABTS free radical with an IC50 of 42.27 μg/mL. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated a strong negative correlation (r = -0.956) between DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50) and the saponin content in the samples examined. In addition, the aqueous extract showed the best α-glucosidase inhibitory activity compared with other extracts. All the extracts had fair antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae except for the aqueous extract. Conclusions: Juglans regia extracts show potent antioxidant, antimicrobial, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. There is a correlation between saponin levels in Juglans regia leaf extracts and the studied activities. However, additional research is required to establish these relationships by identifying the specific saponin molecules responsible for these activities and elucidating their mechanisms of action