31 research outputs found
An automated workflow for parallel processing of large multiview SPIM recordings
Multiview light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) allows to image
developing organisms in 3D at unprecedented temporal resolution over long
periods of time. The resulting massive amounts of raw image data requires
extensive processing interactively via dedicated graphical user interface (GUI)
applications. The consecutive processing steps can be easily automated and the
individual time points can be processed independently, which lends itself to
trivial parallelization on a high performance cluster (HPC). Here we introduce
an automated workflow for processing large multiview, multi-channel,
multi-illumination time-lapse LSFM data on a single workstation or in parallel
on a HPC. The pipeline relies on snakemake to resolve dependencies among
consecutive processing steps and can be easily adapted to any cluster
environment for processing LSFM data in a fraction of the time required to
collect it.Comment: 13 pages with supplement, LATEX; 1 table, 1 figure, 2 supplementary
figures, 2 supplementary lists, 2 supplementary tables; corrected error in
results table, results unchange
A Primal-Dual Solver for Large-Scale Tracking-by-Assignment
We propose a fast approximate solver for the combinatorial problem known as
tracking-by-assignment, which we apply to cell tracking. The latter plays a key
role in discovery in many life sciences, especially in cell and developmental
biology. So far, in the most general setting this problem was addressed by
off-the-shelf solvers like Gurobi, whose run time and memory requirements
rapidly grow with the size of the input. In contrast, for our method this
growth is nearly linear.
Our contribution consists of a new (1) decomposable compact representation of
the problem; (2) dual block-coordinate ascent method for optimizing the
decomposition-based dual; and (3) primal heuristics that reconstructs a
feasible integer solution based on the dual information. Compared to solving
the problem with Gurobi, we observe an up to~60~times speed-up, while reducing
the memory footprint significantly. We demonstrate the efficacy of our method
on real-world tracking problems.Comment: 23rd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and
Statistics (AISTATS), 202
scenery: Flexible Virtual Reality Visualization on the Java VM
Life science today involves computational analysis of a large amount and
variety of data, such as volumetric data acquired by state-of-the-art
microscopes, or mesh data from analysis of such data or simulations.
Visualization is often the first step in making sense of data, and a crucial
part of building and debugging analysis pipelines. It is therefore important
that visualizations can be quickly prototyped, as well as developed or embedded
into full applications. In order to better judge spatiotemporal relationships,
immersive hardware, such as Virtual or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) headsets and
associated controllers are becoming invaluable tools. In this work we introduce
scenery, a flexible VR/AR visualization framework for the Java VM that can
handle mesh and large volumetric data, containing multiple views, timepoints,
and color channels. scenery is free and open-source software, works on all
major platforms, and uses the Vulkan or OpenGL rendering APIs. We introduce
scenery's main features and example applications, such as its use in VR for
microscopy, in the biomedical image analysis software Fiji, or for visualizing
agent-based simulations.Comment: Added IEEE DOI, version published at VIS 201
Auf dem Weg zum nachhaltigen Stadtviertel
Wie die nachhaltige Stadt der Zukunft aussehen könnte, zeigt der Stadtteil „Scharnhauser Park“ in Ostfildern bei Stuttgart. In diesem Quartier versuchen Wissenschaftler und Investoren, einen ganzen Stadtteil so optimal wie möglich nach nachhaltigen Gesichtspunkten zu gestalten
Increased cancer prevalence in peripartum cardiomyopathy
Objectives This study was designed to analyze the prevalence and potential genetic basis of cancer and heart failure in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). Background PPCM manifests as heart failure late in pregnancy or postpartum in women without previous heart disease. Methods Clinical history and cancer prevalence were evaluated in a cohort of 236 PPCM patients from Germany and Sweden. Exome sequencing assessed variants in 133 genes associated with cancer predisposition syndromes (CPS) and in 115 genes associated with dilated/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (DCM/HCM) in 14 PPCM patients with a history of cancer, and in 6 PPCM patients without a history of cancer. Results The prevalence of cancer was 16-fold higher (8.9%, 21 of 236 patients) in PPCM patients compared to age-matched women (German cancer registry, Robert-Koch-Institute: 0.59%; p < 0.001). Cancer before PPCM occurred in 12 of 21 patients of whom 11 obtained cardiotoxic cancer therapies. Of those, 17% fully recovered cardiac function by 7 ± 2 months of follow-up compared to 55% of PPCM patients without cancer (p = 0.015). Cancer occurred after PPCM in 10 of 21 patients; 80% had left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥50% after cancer therapy. Whole-exome sequencing in 14 PPCM patients with cancer revealed that 43% (6 of 14 patients) carried likely pathogenic (Class IV) or pathogenic (Class V) gene variants associated with DCM/HCM in CPT2, DSP, MYH7, TTN, and/or with CPS in ATM, ERCC5, NBN, RECQL4, and SLX4. All CPS variants affected DNA damage response genes. Conclusions Cardiotoxic cancer therapy before PPCM is associated with delayed full recovery. The high cancer prevalence in PPCM is linked to likely pathogenic/pathogenic gene variants associated with DCM/HCM and/or CPS/DNA damage response–related cancer risk. This may warrant genetic testing and screening for heart failure in pregnant women with a cancer history and screening for cancer in PPCM patients
Recommended from our members
The association between frailty and MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease
Abstract: Frailty is a common syndrome in older individuals that is associated with poor cognitive outcome. The underlying brain correlates of frailty are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between frailty and MRI features of cerebral small vessel disease in a group of non-demented older individuals. We included 170 participants who were classified as frail (n = 30), pre-frail (n = 85) or non-frail (n = 55). The association of frailty and white matter hyperintensity volume and shape features, lacunar infarcts and cerebral perfusion was investigated by regression analyses adjusted for age and sex. Frail and pre-frail participants were older, more often female and showed higher white matter hyperintensity volume (0.69 [95%-CI 0.08 to 1.31], p = 0.03 respectively 0.43 [95%-CI: 0.04 to 0.82], p = 0.03) compared to non-frail participants. Frail participants showed a non-significant trend, and pre-frail participants showed a more complex shape of white matter hyperintensities (concavity index: 0.04 [95%-CI: 0.03 to 0.08], p = 0.03; fractal dimensions: 0.07 [95%-CI: 0.00 to 0.15], p = 0.05) compared to non-frail participants. No between group differences were found in gray matter perfusion or in the presence of lacunar infarcts. In conclusion, increased white matter hyperintensity volume and a more complex white matter hyperintensity shape may be structural brain correlates of the frailty phenotype
Probing the Hofmeister Effect with Ultrafast Core Hole Spectroscopy
In the current work, X-ray emission spectra of aqueous solutions of different inorganic salts within the Hofmeister series are presented. The results reflect the direct interaction of the ions with the water molecules and therefore, reveal general properties of the salt-water interactions. Within the experimental precision a significant effect of the ions on the water structure has been observed but no ordering according to the structure maker/structure breaker concept could be mirrored in the results indicating that the Hofmeister effect-if existent-may be caused by more complex interactions