Use of colour for hand-filled form analysis and recognition

Colour information in form analysis is currently under utilised. As technology has advanced and computing costs have reduced, the processing of forms in colour has now become practicable. This paper describes a novel colour-based approach to the extraction of filled data from colour form images. Images are first quantised to reduce the colour complexity and data is extracted by examining the colour characteristics of the images. The improved performance of the proposed method has been verified by comparing the processing time, recognition rate, extraction precision and recall rate to that of an equivalent black and white system

MRI cross sectional atlas of normal canine cervical musculoskeletal structure

Although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been increasingly used as a diagnostic tool for cervical spine injuries in canines, a comprehensive normal MRI anatomy of the canine cervical spine muscles is lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to build a magnetic resonance imaging atlas of the normal cross sectional anatomy of the muscles of the canine cervical spine. MRI scans were performed on a canine cadaver using a combination of T1 and T2-weighted images in the transverse, sagittal and dorsal planes acquired at a slice thickness of 1 mm. Muscle contours were traced manually in each slice, using local osseous structures as reference points for muscle identification. Twenty-two muscles were traced in 401 slices in the cervical region. A three dimensional surface model of all the contoured muscles was created to illustrate the complex geometrical arrangement of canine neck muscles. The cross-sectional area of the muscles was measured at the mid-level of each vertebra. The accuracy of the location of the mapped muscles was verified by comparing the sagittal view of the 3D model of muscles with still photographs obtained from anatomic canine cadaver dissection. We believe that this information will provide a unique and valuable resource for veterinary researchers, clinicians and surgeons who wish to evaluate MRI images of the cervical spine. It will also serve as the foundation for ongoing work to develop a computational model of the canine cervical spine in which anatomical information is combined with electromyographic, kinematic and kinetic data.This work was supported in part by Fitzpatrick Referrals Ltd., through the One Health/One Medicine Fellowship at The Ohio State University

The role of parental achievement goals in predicting autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting

Although autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting are linked to numerous positive and negative child outcomes respectively, fewer studies have focused on their determinants. Drawing on achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, we propose that parental achievement goals (i.e., achievement goals that parents have for their children) can be mastery, performance-approach or performance-avoidance oriented and that types of goals predict mothers' tendency to adopt autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors. A total of 67 mothers (aged 30-53 years) reported their goals for their adolescent (aged 13-16 years; 19.4 % girls), while their adolescent evaluated their mothers' behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parental performance-approach goals predict more controlling parenting and prevent acknowledgement of feelings, one autonomy-supportive behavior. In addition, mothers who have mastery goals and who endorse performance-avoidance goals are less likely to use guilt-inducing criticisms. These findings were observed while controlling for the effect of maternal anxiety

Comets, historical records and vedic literature

A verse in book I of Rigveda mentions a cosmic tree with rope-like aerial roots held up in the sky. Such an imagery might have ensued from the appearance of a comet having `tree stem' like tail, with branched out portions resembling aerial roots. Interestingly enough, a comet referred to as `heavenly tree' was seen in 162 BC, as reported by old Chinese records. Because of weak surface gravity, cometary appendages may possibly assume strange shapes depending on factors like rotation, structure and composition of the comet as well as solar wind pattern. Varahamihira and Ballala Sena listed several comets having strange forms as reported originally by ancient seers such as Parashara, Vriddha Garga, Narada and Garga. Mahabharata speaks of a mortal king Nahusha who ruled the heavens when Indra, king of gods, went into hiding. Nahusha became luminous and egoistic after absorbing radiance from gods and seers. When he kicked Agastya (southern star Canopus), the latter cursed him to become a serpent and fall from the sky. We posit arguments to surmise that this Mahabharata lore is a mythical recounting of a cometary event wherein a comet crossed Ursa Major, moved southwards with an elongated tail in the direction of Canopus and eventually went out of sight. In order to check whether such a conjecture is feasible, a preliminary list of comets (that could have or did come close to Canopus) drawn from various historical records is presented and discussed.Comment: This work was presented in the International Conference on Oriental Astronomy held at IISER, Pune (India) during November, 201

Chance mechanisms affecting the burden of metastases

BACKGROUND: The burden of cancer metastases within an individual is commonly used to clinically characterize a tumor's biological behavior. Assessments like these implicitly assume that spurious effects can be discounted. Here the influence of chance on the burden of metastasis is studied to determine whether or not this assumption is valid. METHODS: Monte Carlo simulations were performed to estimate tumor burdens sustained by individuals with cancer, based upon empirically derived and validated models for the number and size distributions of metastases. Factors related to the intrinsic metastatic potential of tumors and their host microenvironments were kept constant, to more clearly demonstrate the contribution from chance. RESULTS: Under otherwise identical conditions, both the simulated numbers and the sizes of metastases were highly variable. Comparable individuals could sustain anywhere from no metastases to scores of metastases, and the sizes of the metastases ranged from microscopic to macroscopic. Despite the marked variability in the number and sizes of the metastases, their respective growth times were rather more narrowly distributed. In such situations multiple occult metastases could develop into fully overt lesions within a comparatively short time period. CONCLUSION: Chance can have a major effect on the burden of metastases. Random variability can be so great as to make individual assessments of tumor biology unreliable, yet constrained enough to lead to the apparently simultaneous appearance of multiple overt metastases

Malignant pleural mesothelioma with long-term tumor disappearance of a local relapse after surgery: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

An EMG-driven biomechanical model of the canine cervical spine

Due to the frequency of cervical spine injuries in canines, the purpose of this effort was to develop an EMG-driven dynamic model of the canine cervical spine to assess a biomechanical understanding that enables one to investigate the risk of neck disorders. A canine subject was recruited in this investigation in order to collect subject specific data. Reflective markers and a motion capture system were used for kinematic measurement; surface electrodes were used to record electromyography signals, and with the aid of force plate kinetics were recorded. A 3D model of the canine subject was reconstructed from an MRI dataset. Muscles lines of action were defined through a new technique with the aid of 3D white light scanner. The model performed well with a 0.73 weighted R$^{2}$ value in all three planes. The weighted average absolute error of the predicted moment was less than 10% of the external moment. The proposed model is a canine specific forward-dynamics model that precisely tracks the canine subject head and neck motion, calculates the muscle force generated from the twelve major moment producing muscles, and estimates resulting loads on specific spinal tissues.This work was supported in part by Fitzpatrick Referrals Ltd., through the One Health/One Medicine Fellowship at The Ohio State University

A model for transition of 5 '-nuclease domain of DNA polymerase I from inert to active modes

Bacteria contain DNA polymerase I (PolI), a single polypeptide chain consisting of similar to 930 residues, possessing DNA-dependent DNA polymerase, 3'-5' proofreading and 5'-3' exonuclease (also known as flap endonuclease) activities. PolI is particularly important in the processing of Okazaki fragments generated during lagging strand replication and must ultimately produce a double-stranded substrate with a nick suitable for DNA ligase to seal. PolI's activities must be highly coordinated both temporally and spatially otherwise uncontrolled 5'-nuclease activity could attack a nick and produce extended gaps leading to potentially lethal double-strand breaks. To investigate the mechanism of how PolI efficiently produces these nicks, we present theoretical studies on the dynamics of two possible scenarios or models. In one the flap DNA substrate can transit from the polymerase active site to the 5'-nuclease active site, with the relative position of the two active sites being kept fixed; while the other is that the 5'-nuclease domain can transit from the inactive mode, with the 5'-nuclease active site distant from the cleavage site on the DNA substrate, to the active mode, where the active site and substrate cleavage site are juxtaposed. The theoretical results based on the former scenario are inconsistent with the available experimental data that indicated that the majority of 5'-nucleolytic processing events are carried out by the same PolI molecule that has just extended the upstream primer terminus. By contrast, the theoretical results on the latter model, which is constructed based on available structural studies, are consistent with the experimental data. We thus conclude that the latter model rather than the former one is reasonable to describe the cooperation of the PolI's polymerase and 5'-3' exonuclease activities. Moreover, predicted results for the latter model are presented

Has carbohydrate-restriction been forgotten as a treatment for diabetes mellitus? A perspective on the ACCORD study design

Prior to the discovery of medical treatment for diabetes, carbohydrate-restriction was the predominant treatment recommendation to treat diabetes mellitus. In this commentary we argue that carbohydrate-restriction should be reincorporated into contemporary treatment studies for diabetes mellitus