MoNuSAC2020:A Multi-Organ Nuclei Segmentation and Classification Challenge

Detecting various types of cells in and around the tumor matrix holds a special significance in characterizing the tumor micro-environment for cancer prognostication and research. Automating the tasks of detecting, segmenting, and classifying nuclei can free up the pathologists' time for higher value tasks and reduce errors due to fatigue and subjectivity. To encourage the computer vision research community to develop and test algorithms for these tasks, we prepared a large and diverse dataset of nucleus boundary annotations and class labels. The dataset has over 46,000 nuclei from 37 hospitals, 71 patients, four organs, and four nucleus types. We also organized a challenge around this dataset as a satellite event at the International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI) in April 2020. The challenge saw a wide participation from across the world, and the top methods were able to match inter-human concordance for the challenge metric. In this paper, we summarize the dataset and the key findings of the challenge, including the commonalities and differences between the methods developed by various participants. We have released the MoNuSAC2020 dataset to the public

Mineralogy, geochemistry and fluid inclusions of the Qinglong Sb-(Au) deposit, Youjiang basin (Guizhou, SW China)

The Qinglong deposit is a newly-characterized, large Sb-(Au) deposit in the Youjiang basin (Guizhou, SW China). Four mineralization stages are identified (i.e., pre-ore, early-ore, late-ore and post-ore) in this study based on crosscutting relationships. Our study shows that the Qinglong Sb mineralization (early-ore stage) was dominated by quartz-stibnite +/- fluorite, whilst the Sb-Au mineralization (late-ore stage) comprises quartz-stibnite pyrite. Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) indicates that the Au is present as Au1+ in the arsenian pyrite. Besides, our new fluid inclusion data from fluorite, stibnite and quartz show that the Sb-Au-rich hydrothermal fluids were derived from the mixing fluids consisting of H2O, NaCl, hydrocarbon and minor CO2. In the early-ore stage, the ore-forming fluids are characterized by medium to low temperatures (161-294 degrees C, mean: 220 degrees C), medium to low salinities (0.35-13.18 wt% NaCl equiv.), low pH, and the presence of hydrocarbons and CO2. In comparison, the late-ore stage ore-forming fluids are featured by low temperatures (113-255 degrees C, mean: 175 degrees C), low salinities (0.18-6.30 wt% NaCl equiv.) and nearly neutral pH. The delta S-34(Sigma s) values (-2.8 to 2.3 parts per thousand) of the ore forming fluids suggest that the sulfur at Qinglong was dominantly magmatic-derived. From the early-ore to late ore stage, the ore-forming fluid temperature and oxygen fugacity (fO(2)) decrease but the pH increases (from acidic to neutral). Such physicochemical transition may have significantly decreased the Sb solubility from 10 s to 100 s of ppm to 0.001 ppm. Therefore, we propose that fluid mixing was the main process that substantially reduced the fluid temperature and oxygen fugacity, which effectively lowered the Sb solubility and led to abundant stibnite precipitation. The stibnite precipitation had likely decreased the H2S concentrations of the ore forming fluids, thereby destabilizing the AuHS0 complexes in the fluids and caused local Au precipitation

The regulation mechanism of apoptosis by visfatin in the mesenteric lymph nodes of LPS-treated rats

Visfatin is an adipocytokine displaying multiple functional properties, which plays a role in the regulation of cell apoptosis and inflammation by an as yet unidentified mechanism. The aim of the present study was to determine if visfatin is involved in apoptosis pathway induced by LPS in rat Mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs). Experimental rats were divided into four groups and MLNs samples were collected from each group. The morphological changes of the MLNs were examined by histological imaging. CD68 and ENPP1 were detected with immunohistochemistry and Western Blot. Apoptosis was evaluated with TUNEL and Flow Cytometry, the mRNA levels of the apoptosisrelated genes were detected by qRT-PCR, and the protein levels of the apoptotic-related factors were detected by western blot. The main results showed that visfatin could significantly increase the macrophages in MLNs and prevent cell apoptosis from LPS-induced mesenteric lymph nodes, activate apoptotic signaling pathways and regulate the mRNA levels of the apoptosis-related genes. Visfatin had a pro-apoptotic effect on normal MLNs, whereas it exerted an anti-apoptotic effect during LPSinduced cell apoptosis in rat MLNs. In short, visfatin plays a dual role in the apoptosis in rat MLNs, which is mediated by both the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and the death-receptor apoptotic pathway

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation ameliorates anxiety-like behavior and impaired sensorimotor gating in a rat model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND:Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been employed for decades as a non-pharmacologic treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although a link has been suggested between PTSD and impaired sensorimotor gating (SG), studies assessing the effects of rTMS against PTSD or PTSD with impaired SG are scarce. AIM:To assess the benefit of rTMS in a rat model of PTSD. METHODS:Using a modified single prolonged stress (SPS&S) rat model of PTSD, behavioral parameters were acquired using open field test (OFT), elevated plus maze test (EPMT), and prepulse inhibition trial (PPI), with or without 7 days of high frequency (10Hz) rTMS treatment of SPS&S rats. RESULTS:Anxiety-like behavior, impaired SG and increased plasma level of cortisol were observed in SPS&S animals after stress for a prolonged time. Interestingly, rTMS administered immediately after stress prevented those impairment. CONCLUSION:Stress-induced anxiety-like behavior, increased plasma level of cortisol and impaired PPI occur after stress and high-frequency rTMS has the potential to ameliorate this behavior, suggesting that high frequency rTMS should be further evaluated for its use as a method for preventing PTSD

Heat exposure and hospitalizations for chronic kidney disease in China: a nationwide time series study in 261 major Chinese cities

Abstract Background Climate change profoundly shapes the population health at the global scale. However, there was still insufficient and inconsistent evidence for the association between heat exposure and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods In the present study, we studied the association of heat exposure with hospitalizations for cause-specific CKD using a national inpatient database in China during the study period of hot season from 2015 to 2018. Standard time-series regression models and random-effects meta-analysis were developed to estimate the city-specific and national averaged associations at a 7 lag-day span, respectively. Results A total of 768,129 hospitalizations for CKD was recorded during the study period. The results showed that higher temperature was associated with elevated risk of hospitalizations for CKD, especially in sub-tropical cities. With a 1 °C increase in daily mean temperature, the cumulative relative risks (RR) over lag 0–7 d were 1.008 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.003–1.012] for nationwide. The attributable fraction of CKD hospitalizations due to high temperatures was 5.50%. Stronger associations were observed among younger patients and those with obstructive nephropathy. Our study also found that exposure to heatwaves was associated with added risk of hospitalizations for CKD compared to non-heatwave days (RR = 1.116, 95% CI 1.069–1.166) above the effect of daily mean temperature. Conclusions Short-term heat exposure may increase the risk of hospitalization for CKD. Our findings provide insights into the health effects of climate change and suggest the necessity of guided protection strategies against the adverse effects of high temperatures