Sub Pixel Classification Analysis for Hyperspectral Data (Hyperion) for Cairo Region, Egypt

Traditional hard classifiers in remote sensing applications can label image pixels only with one class, so landcover (e.g. trees) can only be recorded as either present or absent. This approach might lead to inaccurate imageclassification and accordingly inaccurate land cover. The proposed analysis technique provides the relativeabundance of surface materials and the context within a pixel that may be a potential solution to effectivelyidentifying the land-cover distribution. This research is applied on the central region of Cairo using hyperspectralimage data, which provides a large amount of spectral information. A spectral mixture analysis approach is usedon Hyperion data (hyperspectral data) to produce abundance images representing the percentage of the existenceof each material/land cover with a pixel. The uniqueness of this study comes from the fact that it is the first timeHyperion data has been used to extract land cover in Egypt.Keywords: Spectral Mixture Analysis, Hyperspectral Data, Hyperion Data, Cairo, Egyp

A Developed Algorithm for Automating the Multiple Bands Multiple Endmember Selection of Hyperion data Applied on Central of Cairo, Egypt

This study attempts to provide an answer regarding the utility of Hyperion imagery in mapping urban settings in developed countries. The authors present a novel method for extracting quantitative land cover information at the sub-pixel level from hyperspectral or Hyperion imagery. The proposed method is based on the multiple endmember spectral mixture (MESMA) proposed by Roberts et al. (1998b), but extends it to handle the high-dimensional pixels characterizing hyperspectral images. The proposed method utilizes a multiband multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (Multiband MESMA) model that allows for both spectral bands and endmembers to vary on a per-pixel basis across a hyperspectral image. The goal is to select an optimal subset of spectral bands that maximizes spectral separability among a candidate set of endmembers for a given pixel, and accordingly to minimize spectral confusion among modeled endmembers and increase the accuracy and physical representativeness of derived fractions for that pixel. The authors develop a tool to automate this method and test its utility in a case study using a Hyperion image of Central Cairo, Egypt. The EO-1 Hyperion hyperspectral sensor is the only source of hyperspectral data currently available for Cairo, unlike cities in Europe and North America, where multiple sources of such data generally exist. The study scene represents a very heterogeneous landscape and has an ecological footprint of a complex range of interrelated socioeconomic, environmental and urban dynamics. The results of this study show that Hyperion data, with its rich spectral information, can help address some of the limitations in automated mapping that are reported by previous studies. For this, proper bands and endmembers are selected and used within a multiple endmember, with a multiple-band SMA process to determine the best Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and abundance percentages. This results in a better mapping of land cover extricated from hyperspectral imagery (Hyperion). Keywords: Spectral Mixture Analysis, Hyperspectral Data, Hyperion Data, Cairo, Egyp

Applying Association Rules and Co-location Techniques on Geospatial Web Services

Most contemporary GIS have only very basic spatial analysis and data mining functionality and many are confined to analysis that involves comparing maps and descriptive statistical displays like histograms or pie charts. Emerging Web standards promise a network of heterogeneous yet interoperable Web Services. Web Services would greatly simplify the development of many kinds of data integration and knowledge management applications. Geospatial data mining describes the combination of two key market intelligence software tools: Geographical Information Systems and Data Mining Systems. This research aims to develop a Spatial Data Mining web service it uses rule association techniques and correlation methods to explore results of huge amounts of data generated from crises management integrated applications developed. It integrates between traffic systems, medical services systems, civil defense and state of the art Geographic Information Systems and Data Mining Systems functionality in an open, highly extensible, internet-enabled plug-in architecture. The Interoperability of geospatial data previously focus just on data formats and standards. The recent popularity and adoption of the Internet and Web Services has provided a new means of interoperability for geospatial information not just for exchanging data but for analyzing these data during exchange. An integrated, user friendly Spatial Data Mining System available on the internet via a web service offers exciting new possibilities for spatial decision making and geographical research to a wide range of potential users.   Keywords: Spatial Data Mining, Rule Association, Co-location, Web Services, Geospatial Dat

Association between Inflammatory Cytokines and Liver Functions in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with abnormal liver tests, and the medications used for RA are often hepatotoxic. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate an association between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and liver function tests in RA patients. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 88 RA patients were included, 84 of them were women and 4 men, aged 21–81 years. Serum interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-17 (IL-17), Osteopontin (OPN) were measured and liver function tests were conducted. Results: The frequency of RA was higher among adults aged >41 years (72 [81.8%]) than young adults aged ≤41 years (16 [18.2%]). RA was more common in women (84 [95.5%]) than in men (4 [4.5%]) – approximately 21:1-fold. Young adults had higher abnormal IL-10 than adult RA patients (OR = 3.72, p-value 0.044). Abnormal IL-17 (OR = 5.67, p-value 0.034) was found to be increased in young-adult RA patients. No association was observed between age and OPN and between the duration of disease and IL-10, IL-17, and OPN. Similarly, no association was noted between the types of treatment and IL-10, IL-17, and OPN, nor between IL-10, IL-17, OPN and liver parameters (AST, ALT, ALP, ALB, TP, and GGT). Conclusion: Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines are not associated with abnormal liver functions, as has been demonstrated in RA patients

Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 Impairs Retinal Endothelial Cell Barrier, a Potential Role in Diabetic Retinopathy

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 (BMP4) is a secreted growth factor of the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily. The goal of this study was to test whether BMP4 contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). Immunofluorescence of BMP4 and the vascular marker isolectin-B4 was conducted on retinal sections of diabetic and non-diabetic human and experimental mice. We used Akita mice as a model for type-1 diabetes. Proteins were extracted from the retina of postmortem human eyes and 6-month diabetic Akita mice and age-matched control. BMP4 levels were measured by Western blot (WB). Human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) were used as an in vitro model. HRECs were treated with BMP4 (50 ng/mL) for 48 h. The levels of phospho-smad 1/5/9 and phospho-p38 were measured by WB. BMP4-treated and control HRECs were also immunostained with anti-Zo-1. We also used electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) to calculate the transcellular electrical resistance (TER) under BMP4 treatment in the presence and absence of noggin (200 ng/mL), LDN193189 (200 nM), LDN212854 (200 nM) or inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2; SU5416, 10 μM), p38 (SB202190, 10 μM), ERK (U0126, 10 μM) and ER stress (Phenylbutyric acid or PBA, 30 μmol/L). The impact of BMP4 on matrix metalloproteinases (MMP2 and MMP9) was also evaluated using specific ELISA kits. Immunofluorescence of human and mouse eyes showed increased BMP4 immunoreactivity, mainly localized in the retinal vessels of diabetic humans and mice compared to the control. Western blots of retinal proteins showed a significant increase in BMP4 expression in diabetic humans and mice compared to the control groups (p p = 0.039) and phospho-p38 (p = 0.013). Immunofluorescence of Zo-1 showed that BMP4-treated cells exhibited significant barrier disruption. ECIS also showed a marked decrease in TER of HRECs by BMP4 treatment compared to vehicle-treated HRECs (p < 0.001). Noggin, LDN193189, LDN212854, and inhibitors of p38 and VEGFR2 significantly mitigated the effects of BMP4 on the TER of HRECs. Our finding provides important insights regarding the role of BMP4 as a potential player in retinal endothelial cell dysfunction in diabetic retinopathy and could be a novel target to preserve the blood–retinal barrier during diabetes

In Vitro Antifungal and Topical Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Essential Oil from Wild-Growing Thymus vulgaris (Lamiaceae) Used for Medicinal Purposes in Algeria: A New Source of Carvacrol

The aim of this study is to investigate the Thymus vulgaris essential oil (TVEO) as an antifungal agent in aromatherapy and/or as an active ingredient in the prevention or management of topical inflammatory diseases. The chemical composition of TVEO was determined with gas chromatography and revealed the presence of 25 compounds. Carvacrol was found to be the major component (56.8%). Antifungal action of TVEO was determined in vitro by using different methods. By the disc diffusion method, TVEO showed more potent antifungal activity against Candida strains than the positive control. The diameter of inhibition zone (DIZ) varied from 34 to 60 mm for Candida yeasts. Significantly higher antifungal activity was observed in the vapor phase at lower quantities. Candida albicans and C. parapsilosis were the most susceptible strains to the oil vapor with DIZ varying from 35 to 90 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of yeast were determined with an agar dilution method and revealed that MIC varied from 0.3 to 0.15 &micro;L/mL for yeast species. The topical anti-inflammatory potential of TVEO was also explored in vivo with the croton oil-induced ear edema assay. TVEO exhibited a potent anti-inflammatory effect at all doses (100, 10 and 2 mg/kg), which were statistically similar (p &gt; 0.05) to the positive control. This activity was also confirmed at the cellular level with histopathology analysis. Our results suggest the potential application of this carvacrol-rich TVEO in the prevention and management of fungal infections and topical inflammation and deserve further investigation for clinical applications. Furthermore, while the mode of action remains mainly undetermined and should be studied