Coherence of PRNU weighted estimations for improved source camera identification

This paper presents a method for Photo Response Non Uniformity (PRNU) pattern noise based camera identification. It takes advantage of the coherence between different PRNU estimations restricted to specific image regions. The main idea is based on the following observations: different methods can be used for estimating PRNU contribution in a given image; the estimation has not the same accuracy in the whole image as a more faithful estimation is expected from flat regions. Hence, two different estimations of the reference PRNU have been considered in the classification procedure, and the coherence of the similarity metric between them, when evaluated in three different image regions, is used as classification feature. More coherence is expected in case of matching, i.e. the image has been acquired by the analysed device, than in the opposite case, where similarity metric is almost noisy and then unpredictable. Presented results show that the proposed approach provides comparable and often better classification results of some state of the art methods, showing to be robust to lack of flat field (FF) images availability, devices of the same brand or model, uploading/downloading from social networks

An allelic variant in the intergenic region between ERAP1 and ERAP2 correlates with an inverse expression of the two genes

The Endoplasmatic Reticulum Aminopeptidases ERAP1 and ERAP2 are implicated in a variety of immune and non-immune functions. Most studies however have focused on their role in shaping the HLA class I peptidome by trimming peptides to the optimal size. Genome Wide Association Studies highlighted non-synonymous polymorphisms in their coding regions as associated with several immune mediated diseases. The two genes lie contiguous and oppositely oriented on the 5q15 chromosomal region. Very little is known about the transcriptional regulation and the quantitative variations of these enzymes. Here, we correlated the level of transcripts and proteins of the two aminopeptidases in B-lymphoblastoid cell lines from 44 donors harbouring allelic variants in the intergenic region between ERAP1 and ERAP2. We found that the presence of a G instead of an A at SNP rs75862629 in the ERAP2 gene promoter strongly influences the expression of the two ERAPs with a down-modulation of ERAP2 coupled with a significant higher expression of ERAP1. We therefore show here for the first time a coordinated quantitative regulation of the two ERAP genes, which can be relevant for the setting of specific therapeutic approaches

automatic and noninvasive indoor air quality control in hvac systems

This paper presents a methodology for assessing and monitoring the cleaning state of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building. It consists of a noninvasive method for measuring the amount of dust in the whole ventilation system, that is, the set of filters and air ducts. Specifically, it defines the minimum amount of measurements, their time table, locations, and acquisition conditions. The proposed method promotes early intervention on the system and it guarantees high indoor air quality and proper HVAC working conditions. The effectiveness of the method is proved by some experimental results on different study cases

Sirt1 activity in pbmcs as a biomarker of different heart failure phenotypes

Heart Failure (HF) is a syndrome, which implies the existence of different phenotypes. The new categorization includes patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), mid-range EF (HFmrEF), and reduced EF (HFrEF) but the molecular mechanisms involved in these HF phenotypes have not yet been exhaustively investigated. Sirt1 plays a crucial role in biological processes strongly related to HF. This study aimed to evaluate whether Sirt1 activity was correlated with EF and other parameters in HFpEF, HFmrEF, and HFrEF. Seventy patients, HFpEF (n = 23), HFmrEF (n = 23) and HFrEF (n = 24), were enrolled at the Cardiology Unit of the University Hospital of Salerno. Sirt1 activity was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) activity, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) levels were quantified in plasma. HFpEF showed lower Sirt1 and ACE2 activities than both HFmrEF and HFrEF (p < 0.0001), without difference compared to No HF controls. In HFmrEF and HFrEF a very strong correlation was found between Sirt1 activity and EF (r2 = 0.899 and r2 = 0.909, respectively), and between ACE2 activity and Sirt1 (r2 = 0.801 and r2 = 0.802, respectively). HFrEF showed the highest TNF-α levels without reaching statistical significance. Significant differences in BNP were found among the groups, with the highest levels in the HFrEF. Determining Sirt1 activity in PBMCs is useful to distinguish the HF patients’ phenotypes from each other, especially HFmrEF/HFrEF from HFpEF

Combination of an implantable defibrillator multi-sensor heart failure index and an apnea index for the prediction of atrial high-rate events

Aims Patients with atrial fibrillation frequently experience sleep disorder breathing, and both conditions are highly prevalent in presence of heart failure (HF). We explored the association between the combination of an HF and a sleep apnoea (SA) index and the incidence of atrial high-rate events (AHRE) in patients with implantable defibrillators (ICDs). Methods and results Data were prospectively collected from 411 consecutive HF patients with ICD. The IN-alert HF state was measured by the multi-sensor HeartLogic Index (>16), and the ICD-measured Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) was computed to identify severe SA. The endpoints were as follows: daily AHRE burden of ≥5 min, ≥6 h, and ≥23 h. During a median follow-up of 26 months, the time IN-alert HF state was 13% of the total observation period. The RDI value was ≥30 episodes/h (severe SA) during 58% of the observation period. An AHRE burden of ≥5 min/day was documented in 139 (34%) patients, ≥6 h/ day in 89 (22%) patients, and ≥23 h/day in 68 (17%) patients. The IN-alert HF state was independently associated with AHRE regardless of the daily burden threshold: hazard ratios from 2.17 for ≥5 min/day to 3.43 for ≥23 h/day (P < 0.01). An RDI ≥ 30 episodes/h was associated only with AHRE burden ≥5 min/day [hazard ratio 1.55 (95% confidence interval: 1.11–2.16), P = 0.001]. The combination of IN-alert HF state and RDI ≥ 30 episodes/h accounted for only 6% of the follow-up period and was associated with high rates of AHRE occurrence (from 28 events/100 patient-years for AHRE burden ≥5 min/day to 22 events/100 patient-years for AHRE burden ≥23 h/day). Conclusions In HF patients, the occurrence of AHRE is independently associated with the ICD-measured IN-alert HF state and RDI ≥ 30 episodes/h. The coexistence of these two conditions occurs rarely but is associated with a very high rate of AHRE occurrence

"There's nothing I can't do – I just put my mind to anything and I can do it": a qualitative analysis of how children with chronic disease and their parents account for and manage physical activity

The results of this study suggest that for these children and young people, having a chronic disease was not perceived as a barrier to participation in organised sport and recreational activities. They were physically active and perceived themselves to be no different from their peers. Their positive beliefs were shared by their parents and the level of participation described was enabled by the high level of parental support and background planning involved in managing their child's health care needs

Skeleton-based reassignment of nonstationary signals spectrogram

Many practical applications require ridge curves detection and enhancement as they allow for instantaneous frequency estimation of nonstationary signals. Unfortunately, the reconstruction of those curves becomes a difficult task whenever multicomponent signals having non-separable modes have to be analyzed. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel binary model for the spectrogram of multicomponent signals, and applies skeleton to enhance IF curves. To further improve the skeleton-based reassignment, a convolution-deconvolution scheme, that is directly derived from a specific evolution law for signal time-frequency (TF) distribution, is also defined. Experimental results show that the skeleton-based approach can reproduce IF curves of separable modes accurately. In addition, it allows to outperform classical amplitude-based reassignment method in the case of non separable modes