Three-Dimensional GPU-Accelerated Active Contours for Automated Localization of Cells in Large Images

Cell segmentation in microscopy is a challenging problem, since cells are often asymmetric and densely packed. This becomes particularly challenging for extremely large images, since manual intervention and processing time can make segmentation intractable. In this paper, we present an efficient and highly parallel formulation for symmetric three-dimensional (3D) contour evolution that extends previous work on fast two-dimensional active contours. We provide a formulation for optimization on 3D images, as well as a strategy for accelerating computation on consumer graphics hardware. The proposed software takes advantage of Monte-Carlo sampling schemes in order to speed up convergence and reduce thread divergence. Experimental results show that this method provides superior performance for large 2D and 3D cell segmentation tasks when compared to existing methods on large 3D brain images

High-fidelity inelastic post-buckling response for balanced design and performance improvement of X-braced moment resisting frames

In this paper, the nonlinear post buckling response of X-Braced Moment Resisting Frame (X-BMRF) systems are studied. The X-BMRF comprises of X-bracing diagonals attached to the moment frame by corner gusset plates to form the structural system acting as a dual frame. In common practice today, one of the X-bracing diagonal members is discontinuous, and a middle gusset plate is used to connect the diagonals to each other at the intersection. In this study, the effect of mid-connection details and different types sizes of corner gusset plate connection are well measured to evaluate behavioral characteristics of the above systems. An accurate and robust three-dimensional finite element modeling of the above systems validatedverified against available test data and numerical simulation are demonstrated. Then, a number of X-BMRFs are designed and analyzed under monotonic (and cyclic) loading(s), and later ductility values and energy dissipation ratios of such systems are appraised. The results are used to evaluate the secondary yield mechanisms, probable failure modes, and to quantify the loading share of story shear when different rigidity ratios between the X-bracing and moment frame systems are deliberated. Finally, the results can provide a suitable ground to present a new set of balanced design criteria which can improve nonlinear performance and assure maximum system ductility of such system

Polyacrylamide Ferrogels with Magnetite or Strontium Hexaferrite: Next Step in the Development of Soft Biomimetic Matter for Biosensor Applications

Magnetic biosensors are an important part of biomedical applications of magnetic materials. As the living tissue is basically a " soft matter." this study addresses the development of ferrogels (FG) with micron sized magnetic particles of magnetite and strontium hexaferrite mimicking the living tissue. The basic composition of the FG comprised the polymeric network of polyacrylamide, synthesized by free radical polymerization of monomeric acrylamide (AAm) in water solution at three levels of concentration (1.1 M, 0.85 M and 0.58 M) to provide the FG with varying elasticity. To improve FG biocompatibility and to prevent the precipitation of the particles, polysaccharide thickeners-guar gum or xanthan gum were used. The content of magnetic particles in FG varied up to 5.2 wt % depending on the FG composition. The mechanical properties of FG and their deformation in a uniform magnetic field were comparatively analyzed. FG filled with strontium hexaferrite particles have larger Young's modulus value than FG filled with magnetite particles, most likely due to the specific features of the adhesion of the network's polymeric subchains on the surface of the particles. FG networks with xanthan are stronger and have higher modulus than the FG with guar. FG based on magnetite, contract in a magnetic field 0.42 T, whereas some FG based on strontium hexaferrite swell. Weak FG with the lowest concentration of AAm shows a much stronger response to a field, as the concentration of AAm governs the Young's modulus of ferrogel. A small magnetic field magnetoimpedance sensor prototype with Co68.6Fe3.9Mo3.0Si12.0B12.5 rapidly quenched amorphous ribbon based element was designed aiming to develop a sensor working with a disposable stripe sensitive element. The proposed protocol allowed measurements of the concentration dependence of magnetic particles in gels using magnetoimpedance responses in the presence of magnetite and strontium hexaferrite ferrogels with xanthan. We have discussed the importance of magnetic history for the detection process and demonstrated the importance of remnant magnetization in the case of the gels with large magnetic particles.This work was supported in part within the framework of the state task of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia 3.6121.2017/8.9; RFBR grant 16-08-00609 and by the ACTIMAT grant of the Basque Country Government. Selected studies were made at SGIKER Common Services of UPV-EHU and URFU Common Services. We thank I.V. Beketov, A.A. Svalova, Burgoa Beitia, A. Amirabadizadeh, A. Garcia-Arribas and I. Orue for their special support

Conception et développement d'un procédé d'électrodéposition d'alliages biodégradables à base de fer pour stents cardiovasculaires

Les maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) sont les principales responsables de décès dans le monde. L'athérosclérose est la forme la plus répandue de MCV, causée en partie et dans les cas extrêmes par l'occlusion des vaisseaux en raison du vieillissement ou des facteurs de risque. L’implantation d’un stent vasculaire est le traitement le plus efficace pour les traitements des artères sténosées, en fournissant un support mécanique pour rétablir la circulation sanguine. En considérant une période approximative d'un an pour la guérison des artères, les Métaux Biodégradables (MB) ont été proposés et développées pour la fabrication de stents. Ils sont censés se dissoudre complètement après un certain délai, offre un support mécanique temporaire, empêcher des complications à long terme. Présentant des propriétés mécaniques supérieures par rapport aux alliages à base de Mg et à base de Zn, les MB à base de Fe, en particulier les alliages binaires de Fe-Mn, sont parmi les candidats les plus appropriés pour la fabrication des stents cardiovasculaires. La fabrication des stents est un procédé multi-étape qui inclut l’extrusion, le coupe laser, des traitements thermiques, et des procédés de neutralisation, et un fini de surface. L'électrodéposition s'est déjà révélé être une méthode efficace pour la micro-fabrication telle que le stent en fer pur. Par conséquent, ce travail porte sur la conception et le développement d'un procédé d'électrodéposition pour la production d'alliages biodégradables binaires de Fe-Mn pour l'application de stents vasculaires. Dans ce projet, deux approches ont été étudiées. Dans la première, l'alliage binaire de Fe-Mn a été fabriqué par un processus d'interdiffusion entre des couches précédemment déposées de fer pur et de manganèse pur. Dans la deuxième, le co-dépôt d'alliage de Fe-Mn était visé par un dépôt simultané à partir du même électrolyte. Les deux approches aboutissent à un alliage binaire de fer et de manganèse, mais elles présentent certaines limites. Dans le premier, une couche de diffusion de quelques micromètres d'épaisseur s'est formée à leur interface, mais les surfaces extérieures ont été partiellement oxydées. Dans ce dernier, le manganèse a été déposé jusqu'à 7% en poids, mais la couche déposée souffre de faibles propriétés physiques.Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading reason for mortality in the world. Atherosclerosis is the most widespread form of CVD, partly caused in extreme cases by vessel occlusion because of aging or risk factors.Stenting is the most effective treatment for late atherosclerosis by providing mechanical support to re-open the arteries. It takes approximately one-year period for artery healing, so biodegradable metals (BMs) have been considered for stent manufacturing. They are supposed to dissolve completely after a specific time while providing temporary mechanical support, with imposing lower long-term complications. Showing superior mechanical properties compared to Mg-based and Zn-based alloys, Fe-based BMs, particularly binary Fe-Mn, are among the most suitable candidates for cardiovascular stents. The stent fabrication is a multi-step process that involves many steps, namely, extrusion, laser cutting, thermal treatment,neutralization processes, surface finishing. Electrodeposition has shown to be an efficient method for microfabrication, such as the pure iron stent.Therefore, this work deals with the development of an electrodeposition process for the production of binary Fe-Mn biodegradable alloys for vascular stent application. In this project, two different approaches for the development of the binary Fe-Mn alloy are explored. In the first, binary Fe-Mn alloy was approached through the interdiffusion process between the previously deposited layers of pure iron and pure manganese. In the second, however, the co-deposition of Fe-Mn alloy was aimed through simultaneous deposition from the same electrolyte. Both approaches result in binary iron and manganese alloy, but they showed some limitations. In the former, a diffusion layer of some micrometers thickness was formed at their interface, but exterior surfaces were partially oxidized. In the latter, manganese was co-deposited up to 7 wt. %, but the deposited layer suffers from low physical properties

A New Correlation Method for Estimating Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Dioxide in Liquid, Vapor and Supercritical Phases

In this study, a new correlation for estimating thermal conductivity (TC) of carbon dioxide was developed based on 2319 data points. The data points were at the temperature ranging from 250 to 1100 K, pressure ranging from 1 to 3000 bar and density ranging from 0.3 to 1400 Kg.m-3 in different phases of liquid, vapor and supercritical. The statistical parameters including average absolute deviation (AAD%), average percent relative error (ARE%), sum of absolute residual (SAR) and the coefficient of determination (R2) have been calculated to evaluate the accuracy of present correlation. The obtained values of AAD%, ARE%, SAR and R2 were 1.98, −0.64, 3510.1 and 0.995, respectively. The predictions of proposed correlation were also compared with three widely used correlations. The results showed that the proposed correlation is able to accurately calculate thermal conductivity of carbon dioxide. In addition, the proposed model is superior to all the existing empirical models considered

New Functionality for Energy Parameter of Redlich-Kwong Equation of State for Density Calculation of Pure Carbon Dioxide and Ethane in Liquid, Vapor and Supercritical Phases

A new equation of state has been proposed for calculating densities of pure carbon dioxide and ethane in the liquid, vapor, and supercritical phases. In this equation of state, a new function (β function) for energy parameter of Redlich-Kwong equation of state has been used versus temperature and pressure. The constants of the β function were calculated by minimizing of average absolute relative deviation percent (AARD%) between calculation results and experimental densities data reported in literature. The data points used for optimization were 2770 for carbon dioxide in the ranges of (220-1273) K for temperature and (8- 2000) bar for pressure and 2002 for ethane in the ranges of (95-625) K and (2-700) bar. The densities calculated by the proposed EoS (βRK-EoS) were in good agreement with experimental densities with AARD% of 1.68 and 0.49 for ethane and carbon dioxide, respectively

A New Simple Equation of State for Calculating Solubility of Solids in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

In this work, a modified Redlich–Kwong (βRK) equation of state has been proposed to calculate the solubilities of twenty solids including Ascorbic acid, Fluoranthene, Propyl gallate, Acenaphthene, Asprin, Climbazole, Cinnamic acid, Triclocarban, 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid, Phenoxyacetic acid, Cholesterol,Cholesteryl butyrate, Cholestrol acetat,Triphenylene, Ibuprofen, Acetanilide, Propanamide, Butanamide, Chrysene and Dodecyl gallate in supercritical carbon dioxide (440 data points). The proposed equation of state has been coupled with the van der Waals zero (vdW0) mixing rule. To distinguish the accuracy of the proposed model, the results of the model have been compared with the results of Peng–Robinson (PR) equation of state in combination with the van der Waals one (vdW1) and the Wong-Sandler (WS) mixing rules. The calculation results showed that the proposed model performed well for reproducing the solubility of these twenty solids in supercritical carbon dioxide with absolute average relative deviation (AARD) = 5.7 %

A role as an ethologist in the Swedish society : the first step to certify ethologists

Ethology is a relatively young science, since the first studies of animal behaviour was done by Charles Darwin. The definition of the term ethology has been discussed over the years, however present scientists agree on the interpretation “animal behaviour and the causes behind them”. Even though a big part of the Swedish society depends on animals, for instance within meat and dairy production, as pets, zoos, laboratory animals and game management, it seems like the term ethology and ethologist as a professional role is not well known. The aim of this paper is to investigate the need of ethologists in today’s society in two different areas, and also what the possibilities are to certify ethologists. A questionaire was made and used for understanding what knowledge Swedish pet-owners have of ethology and ethologists, how pet-owners finds knowledge about their pets and to understand if there is a need of ethologists in this context or not. A study of current research was made to conclude whether ethologists are needed as co-workers with veterinarians towards a better animal welfare. Also politicians, a federation of labor union and an interest organization was contacted to take the first step of certifying Swedish ethologists. The results showed that ethologists actually are needed to help spreading knowledge about animal behaviour and welfare, to maintain the Swedish animal welfare and to work in collaboration with veterinarians. It also showed that ethologists as a professional role is not well known yet, but if a certification is successful that would presumably change and have a great impact on the animal welfare in Sweden

The Anti-Inflammatory and Pro-Angiogenic Capacity of High-Density Lipoproteins in Diabetic Wound Healing

Diabetes is the one of the most common metabolic disorders and is associated with a range of complications including diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) [1]. It is estimated that 25% of patients with diabetes develop DFU and of these a quarter do not heal resulting in amputation. This places them at risk of lower limb amputation [1]. There are currently no therapies that actively promote wound healing. It is increasingly being recognised that to improve biologically complex wound healing, an effective therapy requires pleiotropic actions that targets multiple facets of impaired wound healing such as prolonged inflammation and poor revascularisation. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) possess significant wound healing properties and regulate multiple important wound healing mechanisms including anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic effects. HDL has traditionally been viewed as an atheroprotective protein, with a well-established inverse relationship between plasma HDL-cholesterol levels and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Efforts to pharmacologically raise HDL in large-scale clinical trials have failed to show benefit on MI risk. This redirected the focus from HDL-cholesterol levels to HDL functionality as a better predictor of disease. The relationship between HDL functionality and diabetic wound healing is yet to be explored. In this thesis we aimed to 1) determine the anti-inflammatory properties of topically applied reconstituted HDL (rHDL) in a murine model of wound healing and to track its fate, 2) compare changes in the functionality of HDL in patients with and without diabetes post-toe/s amputation over time, and 3) determine the relationship between HDL functionality and wound closure in patients with and without diabetes and an acute toe amputation/s. Firstly, we utilised a murine model of diabetic wound healing to assess the effect of topical rHDL on wound inflammation. Diabetic mice had delayed wound healing and higher levels of wound macrophages, when compared to non-diabetic mice. Topical application of rHDL completely rescued diabetes-impaired wound healing but had no effect on wound macrophage content. There were, however, significant reductions in the mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators Rela and Ccl2, and CCL2 protein in diabetic wounds following topical rHDL, 72hrs post-wounding. Overall, this study showed topical rHDL exhibits anti-inflammatory effects in diabetic wounds. We next conducted a clinical study that determined changes in HDL functionality of patients with and without diabetes at the time of amputation (baseline), 1- and 6-months post amputation/s and tracked wound closure. We found that HDL isolated from patients with diabetes had impaired cholesterol efflux, anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic functionality, when compared to non-diabetic HDL at 1- and 6-months post-toe amputation/s. We identified a significant positive correlation between HDL-cholesterol levels and the rate of wound closure. Furthermore, there were significant negative correlations between the anti-inflammatory effects of HDL for Ccl2 and Icam1, and the rate of wound healing in patients with diabetes 1-month post-amputation. In conclusion, this thesis has demonstrated that topical rHDL has anti-inflammatory effects in diabetic wounds. This adds to its already well-characterised pro-angiogenic effects, making rHDL a potential wound healing therapy with important pleiotropic properties. Our clinical study revealed that HDL from patients with diabetes and toe amputations had impaired functionality. Furthermore, we identified for the first time that the anti-inflammatory functionality of HDL inversely correlated with wound closure rate, highlighting its potential as new predictive marker of healing. In conclusion, rHDL presents as an exciting new topical agent for improving wound healing in people with diabetes, and the anti-inflammatory capacity of endogenous HDL shows potential as a predictive biomarker for diabetic wound healing outcomes.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Health and Medical Sciences, 202

Self-induced Anuria with Diclofenac: An Interesting Case of “Quadruple Whammy” Acute Kidney Injury

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a group of drugs widely prescribed and used worldwide. Patients taking NSAIDs, including diclofenac, should be aware of its potential nephrotoxic effects. However, the rapid onset of acute kidney injury (AKI) after a single dose of diclofenac is considered a very rare side effect.Case Presentation: We present a 66-year-old woman with habitual self-induced anuria with the chief complaint of shoulder pain due to falling down. The patient presented with various co-morbid conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, tricuspid valve repair, and aortic valve replacement. She rapidly developed anuria after receiving a single dose of diclofenac over the previous two days of admission. Creatinine and BUN exhibited a significant rise in laboratory tests. During hospitalization, the consumption of NSAIDs was prohibited and losartan and furosemide were discontinued. Moreover, phenacetin was used to relieve pain instead. Luckily, after two days of hospitalization, urine output returned to normal levels. Additionally, creatinine and BUN levels gradually decreased to baseline values.Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, we described a rare case of diclofenac-induced AKI presenting with anuria, a complete cessation of urine flow, in a patient with no previous kidney complications. This case can be explained by the phenomenon known as “quadruple Whammy,” which involves the concurrent use of NSAIDs, ARBs, and diuretics in the setting of hypovolemia