Registration and Segmentation of Multimodality Images for Post Processing of Skeleton in Preclinical Oncology Studies

Advancements in medical imaging techniques provide biomedical researchers with quality anatomical and functional information inside preclinical subjects in the fields of cancer, osteopathic, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative research. The throughput of the preclinical imaging studies is a critical factor which determines the pace of small animal medical research. The time involved in manual analysis of large amount of imaging data prior to data interpretation by the researcher, limits the number of studies in a time frame. In the proposed solution, an automated image segmentation method was used to segment individual vertebrae in mice. Individual vertebrae of MOBY atlas were manually segmented and registered to the CT data. The PET activity for L1-L5 vertebrae was measured by applying the CT registered atlas vertebrae ROI. The algorithm was tested on three datasets from a PET/CT bone metastasis study using 18F-NaF radiotracer. The algorithm was found to reduce the analysis time threefold with a potential to further reduce the automated analysis time by use of computer system with better specification to run the algorithm. The manual analysis value can vary each time the analysis is performed and is dependent on the individual performing the analysis. Also the error percent was recorded and showed an increasing trend as the analysis moves down the spine from skull to caudal vertebrae. This method can be applied to segment the rest of the bone in the CT data and act as the starting point for the registration of the soft tissues

The New Sociology of Childhood: Animal Representations in Leslie Marmon Silko’s Garden in the Dunes, Amazon’s Oh My Dog and Netflix’s Mughizh: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

The theory of “new sociology of childhood” and “universalism in cross-cultural psychology” highlights that children experience different childhood based on their cultural and social contexts. Children are social actors responsible for taking situations into action. Research considers children as neglected bodies in the field of children and childhood. This research paper compares Native American and Indian children’s competence as social actors, the definition of, experiences, and feelings towards animals. The objective is to show that children and animals are closely connected and that children’s childhood is based on their experiences with animals. In the children’s novel, Garden in Dunes (1999), Leslie Marmon Silko narrates the story of Indigo accompanied by Linnaeus (a monkey) and Rainbow (a parrot) which shapes the world around her. Oh My Dog (2022) and Mugzhil (2021), broadcasted on Amazon Prime and Netflix respectively, are stories based on young children who love and care for their pet dogs. Findings suggest that children’s emotions and approach towards animals are the same in both cultures but their experiences vary from one place to another

Female Body as the ‘Other’: Rituals and Biotechnical approach using Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman and Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women

The article attempts to show how women’s identities are restricted to the female body, and its procreative function and also highlights the dangerous rituals such as female infanticide. With a focus on the societal demands placed on the female body, this study aims to focus on how much society intrudes into a person's private life. The article also offers a thorough examination using the novel One Part Woman (2018) and the movie Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003) of how the objectification of women has entered our culture and become embedded in our way of thinking, causing us to view the female body as an inanimate object that must adhere to predefined gender stereotypes. It investigates how infertility is linked with the curse and performance of rituals takes place. Infertility is no longer viewed as a problem owing to advances in biotechnology, which have been particularly focused on the reproductive area. However, cultural customs and beliefs disregard the medical approach, while many harsh rituals are conducted in the hope of causing fertility. The research paper focuses on how cultural behaviours and rituals prevent women from using a medical anthropology perspective. The study piece illustrates the sinister rituals that are practised and how women are objectified by using One Part Woman (2018) and Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003)

Cerebellar and basal ganglia structural connections in humans: Effect of aging and relation with memory and learning

IntroductionThe cerebellum and basal ganglia were initially considered anatomically distinct regions, each connected via thalamic relays which project to the same cerebral cortical targets, such as the motor cortex. In the last two decades, transneuronal viral transport studies in non-human primates showed bidirectional connections between the cerebellum and basal ganglia at the subcortical level, without involving the cerebral cortical motor areas. These findings have significant implications for our understanding of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. While these subcortical connections were established in smaller studies on humans, their evolution with natural aging is less understood.MethodsIn this study, we validated and expanded the previous findings of the structural connectivity within the cerebellum-basal ganglia subcortical network, in a larger dataset of 64 subjects, across different age ranges. Tractography and fixel-based analysis were performed on the 3 T diffusion-weighted dataset using Mrtrix3 software, considering fiber density and cross-section as indicators of axonal integrity. Tractography of the well-established cerebello-thalamo-cortical tract was conducted as a control. We tested the relationship between the structural white matter integrity of these connections with aging and with the performance in different domains of Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination.ResultsTractography analysis isolated connections from the dentate nucleus to the contralateral putamen via the thalamus, and reciprocal tracts from the subthalamic nucleus to the contralateral cerebellar cortex via the pontine nuclei. Control tracts of cerebello-thalamo-cortical tracts were also isolated, including associative cerebello-prefrontal tracts. A negative linear relationship was found between the fiber density of both the ascending and descending cerebellum-basal ganglia tracts and age. Considering the cognitive assessments, the fiber density values of cerebello-thalamo-putaminal tracts correlated with the registration/learning domain scores. In addition, the fiber density values of cerebello-frontal and subthalamo-cerebellar (Crus II) tracts correlated with the cognitive assessment scores from the memory domain.ConclusionWe validated the structural connectivity within the cerebellum-basal ganglia reciprocal network, in a larger dataset of human subjects, across wider age range. The structural features of the subcortical cerebello-basal ganglia tracts in human subjects display age-related neurodegeneration. Individual morphological variability of cerebellar tracts to the striatum and prefrontal cortex was associated with different cognitive functions, suggesting a functional contribution of cerebellar tracts to cognitive decline with aging. This study offers new perspectives to consider the functional role of these pathways in motor learning and the pathophysiology of movement disorders involving the cerebellum and striatum

Enhancing Mobility and Exploration in Young Children with Motor Delays

PURPOSE: Young children with severe motor, cognitive, and communication deficits are often dismissed as either too young or too physically involved to use the common power mobility options such as power wheelchair, ride-on-toys for lack of external support necessary to ensure safety and effective access to motion initiators (joystick or switch). Given that self-initiated locomotion is critical in the development of you children’s perceptual and social skills, the Play & Mobility Device affords an opportunity for them to safely explore power mobility while providing sufficient external support to optimize a child’s safety, posture and access to motion initiators. PROCEDURES: The Play & Mobility Device was designed and built following medical device design procedure, which takes customer’s requirements (sponsor’s in our case) as inputs, develops the design and then the device using engineering know-how and skills, and finally validates the performance of the device through test runs by the customer. Safety, power mobility, maneuverability and control components constitute this device. Small size and maneuverability of the device, allows its transportation and storage without any special requirement. OUTCOME: A child can drive and control the device through the joystick or switch as interface. Parent or attendant of the child can set the speed of the device and override child’s control as safe. Because of the use of FDA licensed, crush tested car seat with 5-point harness system, the child’s posture remains secured. Use of a universal arm to hold the joystick or switch ensures any child’s convenient access to these motion initiators. IMPACT: Building the Play & Mobility Device utilized the involved students’ electromechanical and biomedical design know-how. The process got them through the regulator’s manufacturing guidelines, licensing and patenting procedures. Engineering discipline enriched its footprints with the contribution of a performing device to the real field of pediatric physiotherapy

Automated analysis of pen-on-paper spirals for tremor detection, quantification, and differentiation

Objective: To develop an automated algorithm to detect, quantify, and differentiate between tremor using pen-on-paper spirals. Methods: Patients with essential tremor (n = 25), dystonic tremor (n = 25), Parkinson’s disease (n = 25), and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 25) drew free-hand spirals. The algorithm derived the mean deviation (MD) and tremor variability from scanned images. MD and tremor variability were compared with 1) the Bain and Findley scale, 2) the Fahn–Tolosa–Marin tremor rating scale (FTM–TRS), and 3) the peak power and total power of the accelerometer spectra. Inter and intra loop widths were computed to differentiate between the tremor. Results: MD was higher in the tremor group (48.9 ± 26.3) than in HV (26.4 ± 5.3; p < 0.001). The cut-off value of 30.3 had 80.9% sensitivity and 76.0% specificity for the detection of the tremor [area under the curve: 0.83; 95% confidence index (CI): 0.75, 0.91, p < 0.001]. MD correlated with the Bain and Findley ratings (rho = 0.491, p = 0 < 0.001), FTM–TRS part B (rho = 0.260, p = 0.032) and accelerometric measures of postural tremor (total power, rho = 0.366, p < 0.001; peak power, rho = 0.402, p < 0.001). Minimum Detectable Change was 19.9%. Inter loop width distinguished Parkinson’s disease spirals from dystonic tremor (p < 0.001, 95% CI: 54.6, 211.1), essential tremor (p = 0.003, 95% CI: 28.5, 184.9), or HV (p = 0.036, 95% CI: -160.4, -3.9). Conclusion: The automated analysis of pen-on-paper spirals generated robust variables to quantify the tremor and putative variables to distinguish them from each other. Significance: This technique maybe useful for epidemiological surveys and follow-up studies on tremor