Real-Time Embedded Eye Image Defocus Estimation for Iris Biometrics.

One of the main challenges faced by iris recognition systems is to be able to work with people in motion, where the sensor is at an increasing distance (more than 1 m) from the person. The ultimate goal is to make the system less and less intrusive and require less cooperation from the person. When this scenario is implemented using a single static sensor, it will be necessary for the sensor to have a wide field of view and for the system to process a large number of frames per second (fps). In such a scenario, many of the captured eye images will not have adequate quality (contrast or resolution). This paper describes the implementation in an MPSoC (multiprocessor system-on-chip) of an eye image detection system that integrates, in the programmable logic (PL) part, a functional block to evaluate the level of defocus blur of the captured images. In this way, the system will be able to discard images that do not have the required focus quality in the subsequent processing steps. The proposals were successfully designed using Vitis High Level Synthesis (VHLS) and integrated into an eye detection framework capable of processing over 57 fps working with a 16 Mpixel sensor. Using, for validation, an extended version of the CASIA-Iris-distance V4 database, the experimental evaluation shows that the proposed framework is able to successfully discard unfocused eye images. But what is more relevant is that, in a real implementation, this proposal allows discarding up to 97% of out-of-focus eye images, which will not have to be processed by the segmentation and normalised iris pattern extraction blocks.

New record of the species Pseudorinelepis genibarbis (Loricariidae: Rhinelepinae) for the Caquetá river basin, Colombia.

The Neotropical fish family Loricariidae is the most diverse family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) and the fifth largest fish family, with approximately 993 valid species. The species of the family are geographically distributed from Costa Rica in Central America to Argentina in South America and are grouped into 83 genera and the following six subfamilies: Hypoptopomatinae, Hypostominae, Loricariinae Delturinae, Lithogeninae and Rhinelepinae (Roberto et al., 2006, Birindelli et al., 2007, Corea et al., 2014, Eschmeyer Fong, 2019).

[A case series of pure neural leprosy in patients diagnosed in a specialized center for the control of Hansen's disease in Colombia].

Pure neural leprosy, defined as a peripheral neuropathy in which the patient has no skin lesions, is difficult to diagnose. Its verification by bacteriological index and histopathology is not possible in the majority of the patients.We describe four cases of pure neural leprosy diagnosed by clinical criteria. The clinical outcome of three of the patients after specific treatment was satisfactory, while the other one developed progressive neural damage despite the therapy. All patients were treated in a specialized center for the management and control of Hansen's disease in the municipality of Contratación, Santander, Colombia.

A case series of pure neural leprosy in patients diagnosed in a specialized center for the control of Hansen's disease in Colombia / Serie de casos de lepra neural pura en pacientes diagnosticados en un centro especializado en el control de la enfermedad de Hansen en Colombia

Abstract Pure neural leprosy, defined as a peripheral neuropathy in which the patient has no skin lesions, is difficult to diagnose. Its verification by bacteriological index and histopathology is not possible in the majority of the patients. We describe four cases of pure neural leprosy diagnosed by clinical criteria. The clinical outcome of three of the patients after specific treatment was satisfactory, while the other one developed progressive neural damage despite the therapy. All patients were treated in a specialized center for the management and control of Hansen's disease in the municipality of Contratación, Santander, Colombia.

Resumen La lepra neural pura se presenta como una neuropatía periférica sin presencia de lesiones cutáneas. La verificación del diagnóstico mediante el índice bacilary la histopatología, no es posible en la mayoría de los pacientes. Se describen cuatro casos de lepra neural pura diagnosticados por clínica; la evolución de tres de los pacientes que recibieron tratamiento específico fue satisfactoria, en tanto que la otra paciente presentó deterioro progresivo a pesar de las medidas terapéuticas. Todos los pacientes fueron atendidos en un centro especializado en el manejo y control de la enfermedad de Hansen, ubicado en el municipio de Contratación, Santander, Colombia.

Human Genetic Ancestral Composition Correlates with the Origin of Mycobacterium leprae Strains in a Leprosy Endemic Population.

Recent reports have suggested that leprosy originated in Africa, extended to Asia and Europe, and arrived in the Americas during European colonization and the African slave trade. Due to colonization, the contemporary Colombian population is an admixture of Native-American, European and African ancestries. Because microorganisms are known to accompany humans during migrations, patterns of human migration can be traced by examining genomic changes in associated microbes. The current study analyzed 118 leprosy cases and 116 unrelated controls from two Colombian regions endemic for leprosy (Atlantic and Andean) in order to determine possible associations of leprosy with patient ancestral background (determined using 36 ancestry informative markers), Mycobacterium leprae genotype and/or patient geographical origin. We found significant differences between ancestral genetic composition. European components were predominant in Andean populations. In contrast, African components were higher in the Atlantic region. M. leprae genotypes were then analyzed for cluster associations and compared with the ancestral composition of leprosy patients. Two M. leprae principal clusters were found: haplotypes C54 and T45. Haplotype C54 associated with African origin and was more frequent in patients from the Atlantic region with a high African component. In contrast, haplotype T45 associated with European origin and was more frequent in Andean patients with a higher European component. These results suggest that the human and M. leprae genomes have co-existed since the African and European origins of the disease, with leprosy ultimately arriving in Colombia during colonization. Distinct M. leprae strains followed European and African settlement in the country and can be detected in contemporary Colombian populations.

Cell-to-cell stochastic variation in gene expression is a complex genetic trait.

The genetic control of common traits is rarely deterministic, with many genes contributing only to the chance of developing a given phenotype. This incomplete penetrance is poorly understood and is usually attributed to interactions between genes or interactions between genes and environmental conditions. Because many traits such as cancer can emerge from rare events happening in one or very few cells, we speculate an alternative and complementary possibility where some genotypes could facilitate these events by increasing stochastic cell-to-cell variations (or 'noise'). As a very first step towards investigating this possibility, we studied how natural genetic variation influences the level of noise in the expression of a single gene using the yeast S. cerevisiae as a model system. Reproducible differences in noise were observed between divergent genetic backgrounds. We found that noise was highly heritable and placed under a complex genetic control. Scanning the genome, we mapped three Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) of noise, one locus being explained by an increase in noise when transcriptional elongation was impaired. Our results suggest that the level of stochasticity in particular molecular regulations may differ between multicellular individuals depending on their genotypic background. The complex genetic architecture of noise buffering couples genetic to non-genetic robustness and provides a molecular basis to the probabilistic nature of complex traits.

[Study of rifampin and dapsone resistance in three patients with recurring leprosy]. / Estudio de resistencia a la rifampicina y la dapsona en tres pacientes con recurrencia de lepra.

OBJECTIVE: To detect the presence of rifampin- and dapsone-resistant strains of Mycobacterium leprae in three patients with recurring leprosy and clinically-suspected antimicrobial resistance through molecular techniques. METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted of three multibacillary patients at the "Agua de Dios" Sanitarium in Cundinamarca, Colombia, that presented leprosy relapses that were documented by medical history, bacilloscopy, and biopsy. Biopsies were taken of the skin lesions and the bacteria were subject to DNA extraction and purification. Regions of the rpoB and folP1 genes associated with antimicrobial resistance were amplified and subjected to touch-down polymerase chain reaction and the amplified products were sequenced using the Sanger method. RESULTS: A punctual mutation was identified in nucleotide 1367 of the rpoB gene in two of the samples studied. This mutation was not found in the folP1 gene of any of the three patients. CONCLUSIONS: The mutation identified showed strains of rifampin-resistant M. leprae in two of the three patients with recurring leprosy. Mutations that indicate dapsone-resistance were not detected in any of the three patients.

Estudio de resistencia a la rifampicina y la dapsona en tres pacientes con recurrencia de lepra / Study of rifampin and dapsone resistance in three patients with recurring leprosy

OBJETIVO: Detectar la presencia de cepas de Mycobacterium leprae resistentes a la rifampicina y la dapsona en tres pacientes con recurrencia de lepra y sospecha clínica de resistencia antimicrobiana, mediante la aplicación de técnicas moleculares. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo retrospectivo en tres pacientes multibacilares del Sanatorio de Agua de Dios, Cundinamarca, Colombia, que habían presentado recidivas de lepra documentadas por su historia clínica, baciloscopia y biopsia. Se obtuvieron biopsias de lesiones cutáneas que se procesaron para la extracción y purificación del ADN bacilar. Se amplificaron regiones de los genes rpoB y folP1 asociadas con la resistencia antimicrobiana, mediante la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa "touch-down" y se secuenciaron los productos amplificados mediante el método de Sanger. RESULTADOS: Se detectó una mutación puntual en el nucleótido 1367 del gen rpoB en dos de las muestras estudiadas. No se encontró la mutación estudiada en el gen folP1 en ninguno de los tres pacientes. CONCLUSIONES: La mutación identificada demostró la presencia de bacilos de M. leprae resistentes a la rifampicina en dos de los tres pacientes estudiados con recurrencia de la enfermedad. No se detectó la mutación indicadora de resistencia a la dapsona en ninguno de los tres pacientes.

OBJECTIVE: To detect the presence of rifampin- and dapsone-resistant strains of Mycobacterium leprae in three patients with recurring leprosy and clinically-suspected antimicrobial resistance through molecular techniques. METHODS: A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted of three multibacillary patients at the "Agua de Dios" Sanitarium in Cundinamarca, Colombia, that presented leprosy relapses that were documented by medical history, bacilloscopy, and biopsy. Biopsies were taken of the skin lesions and the bacteria were subject to DNA extraction and purification. Regions of the rpoB and folP1 genes associated with antimicrobial resistance were amplified and subjected to touch-down polymerase chain reaction and the amplified products were sequenced using the Sanger method. RESULTS: A punctual mutation was identified in nucleotide 1367 of the rpoB gene in two of the samples studied. This mutation was not found in the folP1 gene of any of the three patients. CONCLUSIONS: The mutation identified showed strains of rifampin-resistant M. leprae in two of the three patients with recurring leprosy. Mutations that indicate dapsone-resistance were not detected in any of the three patients.

Frecuencia de Infección por Mycobacterium Leprae en convivientes de pacientes con lepra, Antioquia 2001-2002 / Infection response frequency by Micobacterium Leprae in household contacts by leprae patients. Antioquia 2001-2002

Se detectó la infección por Mycobacterium leprae y se evaluó la respuesta inmune en convivientes de pacientes con lepra multibacterial (MB) registrados en el departamento de Antioquia en 2001 y 2002. Se estudiaron 61 convivientes de 16 pacientes con lepra multibacterial (MB) de los municipios de Apartadó, Marinilla, Caucasia, Puerto Berrio, Nechí, Bello, Amalfi, Chigorodó y Medellín. Los convivientes se evaluaron con examen físico para detectar signos clínicos de lepra y documentar cicatriz BCG, Ziehl Neelsen y reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) en muestras de moco nasal y linfa para detectar M. leprae, ELISA para detectar anticuerpos IgManti glicolíptido fenólico 1(PGL-1) y aplicación de lepromina A con lectura de reacción de Mitsuda a los 21-28 dias...