Assessment of interactions amoung viruses infecting sweetpotato

Viral diseases, especially those caused by mixed infections, are among the economically most important diseases of sweetpotato. Real-time PCR assays were developed for the detection and quantification of the potyviruses Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), Sweet potato virus G (SPVG), Ipomoea vein mosaic virus (IVMV); the crinivirus Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV), and the begomovirus Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) directly from infected sweetpotato plants. Titers of SPFMV, IVMV, and SPVG were lower in singly-infected sweetpotato plants compared to singly-infected plants of the standard indicator host Brazilian morning-glory (Ipomoea setosa) and the standard propagation host I. nil cv. ‘Scarlet O’ Hara’ plants. The effect of SPSCV on titers of potyviruses infecting sweetpotato in the U.S. was investigated in a separate study. Titers of all potyviruses evaluated were enhanced in the presence of SPCSV suggesting that a conserved mechanism may underlie the enhancement of different potyviruses. Although titers of the common strain of SPFMV (SPFMV-C) were enhanced similarly to the russet crack strain (SPFMV-RC), SPFMV-C did not cause typical sweet potato virus disease (SPVD) symptoms when co-infecting with SPCSV, whereas SPFMV-RC with SPCSV caused severe SPVD symptoms. Titers of SPCSV were lower when coinfecting with potyviruses compared to plants infected with SPCSV alone. Expression analysis using cDNA microarrays revealed that the number of differentially expressed genes in plants infected with either SPFMV or SPCSV alone compared to virus-tested plants was 3 and 14, respectively. These findings were in stark contrast with SPVD-affected plants where over 200 genes were differentially expressed. SPVD-responsive genes are involved in various cellular processes including several that were identified as pathogenesis- or stress-induced. Even though titers of the U.S. isolate of SPLCV (SPLCV-US) were greater in the presence of potyviruses compared to titers of SPLCV in single infections, they were statistically different only when co-infecting SPFMV-RC and IVMV. Quantification of SPLCV in sweetpotato cultivars revealed that titers were significantly lower in cultivars known to be tolerant of the effects of SPLCV on yield. Real-time PCR was a more sensitive and specific detection method for the viruses evaluated compared to conventional PCR or ELISA assays

Implementation and evaluation of simultaneous video-electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the addition of simultaneous and synchronised video to electroencephalography (EEG)-correlated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) could increase recorded information without data quality reduction. We investigated the effect of placing EEG, video equipment and their required power supplies inside the scanner room, on EEG, video and MRI data quality, and evaluated video-EEG-fMRI by modelling a hand motor task. Gradient-echo, echo-planner images (EPI) were acquired on a 3-T MRI scanner at variable camera positions in a test object [with and without radiofrequency (RF) excitation], and human subjects. EEG was recorded using a commercial MR-compatible 64-channel cap and amplifiers. Video recording was performed using a two-camera custom-made system with EEG synchronization. An in-house script was used to calculate signal to fluctuation noise ratio (SFNR) from EPI in test object with variable camera positions and in human subjects with and without concurrent video recording. Five subjects were investigated with video-EEG-fMRI while performing hand motor task. The fMRI time series data was analysed using statistical parametric mapping, by building block design general linear models which were paradigm prescribed and video based. Introduction of the cameras did not alter the SFNR significantly, nor did it show any signs of spike noise during RF off conditions. Video and EEG quality also did not show any significant artefact. The Statistical Parametric Mapping{T} maps from video based design revealed additional blood oxygen level-dependent responses in the expected locations for non-compliant subjects compared to the paradigm prescribed design. We conclude that video-EEG-fMRI set up can be implemented without affecting the data quality significantly and may provide valuable information on behaviour to enhance the analysis of fMRI data

Weakly-supervised mesh-convolutional hand reconstruction in the wild

We introduce a simple and effective network architecture for monocular 3D hand pose estimation consisting of an image encoder followed by a mesh convolutional decoder that is trained through a direct 3D hand mesh reconstruction loss. We train our network by gathering a large-scale dataset of hand action in YouTube videos and use it as a source of weak supervision. Our weakly-supervised mesh convolutions-based system largely outperforms state-of-the-art methods, even halving the errors on the in the wild benchmark. The dataset and additional resources are available at https://arielai.com/mesh_hands

Long-term survival after CABG in diabetics with aggressive risk factor management

Objectives: Diabetes is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and diabetics have a threefold increase in risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to non-diabetics. Following coronary artery bypass grafting, tight glycemic control improves short-term outcomes, however limited data exist for long-term outcomes. Here we examine these outcomes in diabetics using aggressive risk factor management. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients under-going coronary artery bypass between 1991 and 2000 at a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center was undertaken. 973 patients were included, 313 with diabetes and 660 without. Strict glucose control was maintained for all patients. Additional risk factor modification, including anti-platelets medications, statins, and beta blockers were also used. Survival analysis was performed. Results: The diabetic group was at higher risk, with age, BSA, and NYHA class all being greater (p \u3c 0.05). The mean follow-up time was 6.7 ± 3 years. There were 28 deaths/1000 person-years for non-diabetics, and 48 deaths/1000 person-years for diabetics. Survival rates were significantly higher for non-diabetics (72% versus 58% in the diabetic group, p \u3c 0.001). Cox proportional hazard analysis demonstrated mortality risk was 57% higher for diabetic patients (hazard ratio = 1.57; CI: 1.19 - 2.09; p = 0.002). The mortality risk in diabetics with and without prior MI was similar (HR = 0.83; CI: 0.54 - 1.28; p = 0.40). Conclusions: Diabetics undergoing coronary bypass have poorer long-term survival than non-diabetics despite perioperative glycemic control and risk factor modification. The long-term survival decrease in diabetics with history of MI is attenuated with surgical revascularization

Statin therapy, fitness, and mortality risk in middle-aged hypertensive male veterans

BACKGROUND Hypertension often coexists with dyslipidemia, accentuating cardiovascular risk. Statins are often prescribed in hypertensive individuals to lower cardiovascular risk. Higher fitness is associated with lower mortality, but exercise capacity may be attenuated in hypertension. The combined effects of fitness and statin therapy in hypertensive individuals have not been assessed. Thus, we assessed the combined health benefits of fitness and statin therapy in hypertensive male subjects. METHODS Peak exercise capacity was assessed in 10,202 hypertensive male subjects (mean age = 60.4±10.6 years) in 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. We established 4 fitness categories based on peak metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved and 8 categories based on fitness status and statin therapy. RESULTS During the follow-up period (median = 10.2 years), there were 2,991 deaths. Mortality risk was 34% lower (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.59–0.74; P \u3c 0.001) among individuals treated with statins compared with those not on statins. The fitness-related mortality risk association was inverse and graded regardless of statin therapy status. Risk reduction associated with exercise capacity of 5.1–8.4 METs was similar to that observed with statin therapy. However, those achieving ≥8.5 METs had 52% lower risk (HR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.37–0.63) when compared with the least-fit subjects (≤5 METs) on statin therapy. CONCLUSIONS The combination of statin therapy and higher fitness lowered mortality risk in hypertensive individuals more effectively than either alone. The risk reduction associated with moderate increases in fitness was similar to that achieved by statin therapy. Higher fitness was associated with 52% lower mortality risk when compared with the least fit subjects on statin therapy

A Graph Theoretic Approach for Object Shape Representation in Compositional Hierarchies Using a Hybrid Generative-Descriptive Model

A graph theoretic approach is proposed for object shape representation in a hierarchical compositional architecture called Compositional Hierarchy of Parts (CHOP). In the proposed approach, vocabulary learning is performed using a hybrid generative-descriptive model. First, statistical relationships between parts are learned using a Minimum Conditional Entropy Clustering algorithm. Then, selection of descriptive parts is defined as a frequent subgraph discovery problem, and solved using a Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle. Finally, part compositions are constructed by compressing the internal data representation with discovered substructures. Shape representation and computational complexity properties of the proposed approach and algorithms are examined using six benchmark two-dimensional shape image datasets. Experiments show that CHOP can employ part shareability and indexing mechanisms for fast inference of part compositions using learned shape vocabularies. Additionally, CHOP provides better shape retrieval performance than the state-of-the-art shape retrieval methods.Comment: Paper : 17 pages. 13th European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV 2014), Zurich, Switzerland, September 6-12, 2014, Proceedings, Part III, pp 566-581. Supplementary material can be downloaded from http://link.springer.com/content/esm/chp:10.1007/978-3-319-10578-9_37/file/MediaObjects/978-3-319-10578-9_37_MOESM1_ESM.pd

Targeting the undruggable in pancreatic cancer using nano-based gene silencing drugs

Pancreatic cancer is predicted to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2025. The best chemotherapy only extends survival by an average of 18 weeks. The extensive fibrotic stroma surrounding the tumor curbs therapeutic options as chemotherapy drugs cannot freely penetrate the tumor. RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a promising approach to revolutionize cancer treatment. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be designed to inhibit the expression of any gene which is important given the high degree of genetic heterogeneity present in pancreatic tumors. Despite the potential of siRNA therapies, there are hurdles limiting their clinical application such as poor transport across biological barriers, limited cellular uptake, degradation, and rapid clearance. Nanotechnology can address these challenges. In fact, the past few decades have seen the conceptualization, design, pre-clinical testing and recent clinical approval of a RNAi nanodrug to treat disease. In this review, we comment on the current state of play of clinical trials evaluating siRNA nanodrugs and review pre-clinical studies investigating the efficacy of siRNA therapeutics in pancreatic cancer. We assess the physiological barriers unique to pancreatic cancer that need to be considered when designing and testing new nanomedicines for this disease