Information-theoretic active contour model for microscopy image segmentation using texture

High throughput technologies have increased the need for automated image analysis in a wide variety of microscopy techniques. Geometric active contour models provide a solution to automated image segmentation by incorporating statistical information in the detection of object boundaries. A statistical active contour may be defined by taking into account the optimisation of an information-theoretic measure between object and background. We focus on a product-type measure of divergence known as Cauchy-Schwartz distance which has numerical advantages over ratio-type measures. By using accurate shape derivation techniques, we define a new geometric active contour model for image segmentation combining Cauchy-Schwartz distance and Gabor energy texture filters. We demonstrate the versatility of this approach on images from the Brodatz dataset and phase-contrast microscopy images of cells

Activity-dependent dynamics and sequestration of proteasomes in dendritic spines

The regulated degradation of proteins by the ubiquitin proteasome pathway is emerging as an important modulator of synaptic function and plasticity. The proteasome is a large, multi-subunit cellular machine that recognizes, unfolds and degrades target polyubiquitinated proteins. Here we report NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor-dependent redistribution of proteasomes from dendritic shafts to synaptic spines upon synaptic stimulation, providing a mechanism for local protein degradation. Using a proteasome-activity reporter and local perfusion, we show that synaptic stimulation regulates proteasome activity locally in the dendrites. We used restricted photobleaching of individual spines and dendritic shafts to reveal the dynamics that underlie proteasome sequestration, and show that activity modestly enhances the entry rate of proteasomes into spines while dramatically reducing their exit rate. Proteasome sequestration is persistent, reflecting an association with the actin-based cytoskeleton. Together, our data indicate that synaptic activity can promote the recruitment and sequestration of proteasomes to locally remodel the protein composition of synapses

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Prolonged Sitting Time: Barriers, Facilitators and Views on Change among Primary Healthcare Patients Who Are Overweight or Moderately Obese

Background and Objectives Prolonged sitting time has negative consequences on health, although the population is not well aware of these harmful effects. We explored opinions expressed by primary care patients diagnosed as overweight or moderately obese concerning their time spent sitting, willingness to change, and barriers, facilitators, goals and expectations related to limiting this behaviour. Methods A descriptive-interpretive qualitative study was carried out at three healthcare centres in Barcelona, Spain, and included 23 patients with overweight or moderate obesity, aged 25 to 65 years, who reported sitting for at least 6 hours a day. Exclusion criteria were inability to sit down or stand up from a chair without help and language barriers that precluded interview participation. Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews (5 group, 5 individual) were audio recorded from January to July 2012 and transcribed. The interview script included questions about time spent sitting, willingness to change, barriers and facilitators, and the prospect of assistance from primary healthcare professionals. An analysis of thematic content was made using ATLAS.Ti and triangulation of analysts. Results The most frequent sedentary activities were computer use, watching television, and motorized journeys. There was a lack of awareness of the amount of time spent sitting and its negative consequences on health. Barriers to reducing sedentary time included work and family routines, lack of time and willpower, age and sociocultural limitations. Facilitators identified were sociocultural change, free time and active work, and family surroundings. Participants recognized the abilities of health professionals to provide help and advice, and reported a preference for patient-centred or group interventions. Conclusions Findings from this study have implications for reducing sedentary behaviour. Patient insights were used to design an intervention to reduce sitting time within the frame of the SEDESTACTIV clinical trial

H2A.Z Acidic Patch Couples Chromatin Dynamics to Regulation of Gene Expression Programs during ESC Differentiation

The histone H2A variant H2A.Z is essential for embryonic development and for proper control of developmental gene expression programs in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Divergent regions of amino acid sequence of H2A.Z likely determine its functional specialization compared to core histone H2A. For example, H2A.Z contains three divergent residues in the essential C-terminal acidic patch that reside on the surface of the histone octamer as an uninterrupted acidic patch domain; however, we know little about how these residues contribute to chromatin structure and function. Here, we show that the divergent amino acids Gly92, Asp97, and Ser98 in the H2A.Z C-terminal acidic patch (H2A.Z[superscript AP3]) are critical for lineage commitment during ESC differentiation. H2A.Z is enriched at most H3K4me3 promoters in ESCs including poised, bivalent promoters that harbor both activating and repressive marks, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 respectively. We found that while H2A.Z[superscript AP3] interacted with its deposition complex and displayed a highly similar distribution pattern compared to wild-type H2A.Z, its enrichment levels were reduced at target promoters. Further analysis revealed that H2A.Z[superscript AP3] was less tightly associated with chromatin, suggesting that the mutant is more dynamic. Notably, bivalent genes in H2A.Z[superscript AP3] ESCs displayed significant changes in expression compared to active genes. Moreover, bivalent genes in H2A.Z[superscript AP3] ESCs gained H3.3, a variant associated with higher nucleosome turnover, compared to wild-type H2A.Z. We next performed single cell imaging to measure H2A.Z dynamics. We found that H2A.Z[superscript AP3] displayed higher mobility in chromatin compared to wild-type H2A.Z by fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Moreover, ESCs treated with the transcriptional inhibitor flavopiridol resulted in a decrease in the H2A.Z[superscript AP3] mobile fraction and an increase in its occupancy at target genes indicating that the mutant can be properly incorporated into chromatin. Collectively, our work suggests that the divergent residues in the H2A.Z acidic patch comprise a unique domain that couples control of chromatin dynamics to the regulation of developmental gene expression patterns during lineage commitment.Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT Core Grant P30-CA14051)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (Grant CBET-0939511)MIT Faculty Start-up FundMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Computational and Systems Biology Initiative (Merck & Co. Postdoctoral Fellowship

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Measurements of normalized differential cross sections for tt̄ production in pp collisions at √(s)=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

Measurements of normalized differential cross sections for top-quark pair production are presented as a function of the top-quark transverse momentum, and of the mass, transverse momentum, and rapidity of the t¯t system, in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=7  TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.6  fb−1, recorded in 2011 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one lepton and at least four jets with at least one of the jets tagged as originating from a b-quark. The measured spectra are corrected for detector efficiency and resolution effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations and theory calculations. The results are in fair agreement with the predictions in a wide kinematic range. Nevertheless, data distributions are softer than predicted for higher values of the mass of the t¯t system and of the top-quark transverse momentum. The measurements can also discriminate among different sets of parton distribution functions

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta