Clinical utility, reproducibility, and radiologist acceptance of ILD-RADS.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical utility, reproducibility, and radiologists' acceptance of the Interstitial Lung Disease Imaging-Reporting and Data System (ILD-RADS). METHOD: In this single-institutional retrospective study, three radiologists independently reviewed the chest high-resolution CT (HRCT) scans of 111 consecutive patients diagnosed with ILDs. They assessed the HRCT pulmonary features using the ILD-RADS template and assigned an ILD-RADS category (1-4) to each scan based on the identified imaging pattern. Patients were classified into idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (n = 14) and non-IPF ILD (n = 97) groups based on clinical diagnoses determined by multidisciplinary discussion. Association between ILD-RADS categories and clinical diagnoses was assessed using the Chi-square test for trend. Reproducibility was evaluated using kappa (k) scores, and radiologists' acceptance of the ILD-RADS was evaluated with a questionnaire. RESULTS: We found a significant association between the ILD-RADS categories and patients' clinical diagnoses (P ≤ 0.0001) for the three readers, with a trend toward increased assignment of ILD-RADS-1 to IPF patients (50 %-57.1 %), and ILD-RADS-4 to non-IPF patients (46.4 %-49.5 %). The ILD-RADS categories showed excellent intra-reader agreement (k = 0.873) and moderate inter-reader agreement (k = 0.440). ILD-RADS-1 and -4 categories showed the highest inter-reader agreement (k = 0.681 and 0.481, respectively). Radiologists gave a positive response to using the ILD-RADS in daily practice. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical utility of the ILD-RADS was demonstrated by the significant association between the ILD-RADS categories and patients' clinical diagnoses, particularly the ILD-RADS-1 and -4 categories. Excellent intra-reader and moderate inter-reader reproducibility was observed. ILD-RADS has the potential to be widely accepted for standardized HRCT reporting among radiologists.

Responses of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) to Single and Consortium Bio-Fertilizers in Clay and Newly Reclaimed Soils.

The huge development of climatic change highly affects our crop production and soil fertility. Also, the rise in the uncontrolled, excessive use of chemical fertilizers diminishes the soil prosperity and generates pollutants, threatening all environmental life forms, including us. Replacement of these chemical fertilizers with natural ones is becoming an inevitable environmental strategy. In our study, we evaluated the responses of Pisum sativum L. to the action of single species and consortiums of plant growth-promoting bacteria (Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium, and Bacillus cerkularice) in clay and new reclaimed soil types in terms of phenotype, yield components, and physiological and biochemical responses. Data analysis showed single or consortium microbial inoculation significantly increased the measured traits under clay and calcareous sandy soils compared to the control. Shoot physiological and biochemical activities, and seed biochemical activities were significantly enhanced with the inoculation of pea seeds with three types of bacteria in both soil types. The bud numbers, fresh weight, and seeds' dry weight increased in seeds treated with A. chroococcum and B. megaterium in the sandy soil. Taken together, these findings suggested that the inoculation of plants with PGP bacteria could be used to diminish the implementation of chemical fertilizer and improve the goodness of agricultural products. These findings expand the understanding of the responsive mechanism of microbial inoculation under different soil types, especially at physiological and biochemical levels.

Eugenol; Effective Anthelmintic Compound against Foodborne Parasite Trichinella spiralis Muscle Larvae and Adult.

Trichinosis is a foodborne parasitic infection that results from ingestion of raw or under-cooked pork meat infected by parasitic nematode Trichinella spiralis with cosmopolitan distribution. Anthelmintic drugs are used to eliminate intestinal adult parasites and larvae as well as tissue-migrating newborn and in-turn encysted larvae. However, eliminating the infection or averting it from transmission is rarely possible using anthelmintic groups of benzimidazole derivatives. Eugenol (EO) is the main extracted constituent of clove oil (80−90%) and is responsible for its aroma. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of eugenol on both adult and muscle larvae of Trichinella spiralis in vitro. IC50 for different concentrations of eugenol were calculated for both muscle larvae (187.5 µM) and adults (190.4 µM) to determine the accurate dose range. Both the nematode stages were cultured in the commonly used RPMI-1640 media in 24-well plates. Different concentrations of eugenol (122, 305, 609, 1218, and 3045 µM) were administered in different groups of larvae/adults. The parasitological parameters were monitored after 1, 3, 6, 10, 24 h for each EO concentration in concomitant with the control groups. Reference chemotherapeutic anthelminthic drug "albendazole" (at dose 377 µM) was experimentally grouped in triplicates as positive control and the untreated as negative control, respectively. Mortality was observed where time-dependent adult stages were less susceptible than muscle larvae. Eugenol achieved 100% efficacy against T. spiralis larvae and killed the total larvae after 10 and 24 h at concentrations of 1218 and 3045 µM, the same as albendazole's effect on the positive control group. In regard to adults, resembling muscle larvae (ML), a significant effect of both concentrations at p < 0.0001 was obtained, and the concentration × time interaction was significant at p < 0.0001. Furthermore, the treated/untreated adult and muscle larvae were collected and processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Massive destruction of parasite burden was observed, especially at high concentrations (1218 and 3045 µM). In addition, complete and mild loss in cuticular striation in both the treated and positive controls were confirmed by SEM, respectively, in comparison to the control untreated group.

Interactions between dietary flavonoids and the gut microbiome: a comprehensive review.

Flavonoids are natural polyphenol secondary metabolites that are widely produced in planta. Flavonoids are ubiquities in human dietary intake and exhibit a myriad of health benefits. Flavonoids-induced biological activities are strongly influenced by their in situ availability in the human GI tract, as well as the levels of which are modulated by interaction with the gut bacteria. As such, assessing flavonoids­microbiome interactions is considered a key to understand their physiological activities. Here, we review the interaction between the various classes of dietary flavonoids (flavonols, flavones, flavanones, isoflavones, flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins) and gut microbiota. We aim to provide a holistic overview of the nature and identity of flavonoids on diet and highlight how flavonoids chemical structure, metabolism and impact on humans and their microbiomes are interconnected. Emphasis is placed on how flavonoids and their biotransformation products affect gut microbiota population, influence gut homoeostasis and induce measurable physiological changes and biological benefits.

Linear and non-linear feature extraction from rat electrocorticograms for seizure detection by support vector machine.

Seizures, the main symptom of epilepsy, are provoked due to a neurological disorder that underlies the disease. The accurate detection of seizures is a crucial step in any procedure of treatment. In the present study, electrocorticogram (ECoG) signals were recorded from awake and freely moving animals implanted with cortical electrodes before and after pentylenetetrazol, the chemo-convulsant injection. ECoG signals were segmented into 4-s epochs and labeled. Twenty-four linear and non-linear features were extracted from the time and frequency domains of the ECoG signals. The extracted features either individually or in combinations were fed to an automatic support vector machine (SVM) classification system. SVM classifier was trained with 5 min of ictal and non-ictal labeled ECoG signals to build the hyperplane that separates two sets of training signals. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were determined for the testing dataset using the different feature combinations. It has been found that some linear features either individually or in combinations outperform non-linear features in terms of the accuracy for seizure detection. The maximum accuracy achieved by the system was 95.3% and has been obtained only after linear and non-linear features were combined. ECoG signals were classified without pre-processing or removal of artifacts to reduce the required computational time to be suitable for online implementation purposes. This may prove the detection system's robustness and supports its use in online seizure detection protocols.

Comparative transcriptome profiling reveals that brassinosteroid-mediated lignification plays an important role in garlic adaption to salt stress.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop which is used worldwide for culinary and medicinal purposes. Soil salinity constrains the yield components of garlic. Understanding the responsive mechanism of garlic to salinity is crucial to improve its tolerance. To address this problem, two garlic cultivars differing in salt tolerance were used to investigate the long-term adaptive responses to salt stress at phenotype and transcriptome levels. Phenotypic analysis showed four-week salt stress significantly decreased the yield components of salt-sensitive cultivar. Transcriptomes of garlics were de novo assembled and mined for transcriptional activities regulated by salt stress. The results showed that photosynthesis, energy allocation, and secondary metabolism were commonly enriched in both sensitive and tolerant genotypes. Moreover, distinct responsive patterns were also observed between the two genotypes. Compared with the salt-tolerant genotype, most transcripts encoding enzymes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway were coordinately down regulated in the salt-sensitive genotype, resulting in alternation of the content and composition of lignin. Meanwhile, transcripts encoding the enzymes in the brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis pathway were also systematically down regulated in the salt-sensitive genotypes. Taken together, these results suggested that BR-mediated lignin accumulation possibly plays an important role in garlic adaption to salt stress. These findings expand the understanding of responsive mechanism of garlic to salt stress.

Effects of genotypes and explants on garlic callus production and endogenous hormones.

High callus production is a feasible way to improve the propagation coefficient of garlic. It remains unknown how genotypes and explants affect garlic callus formation. In the present investigation, we found that there were significant differences in callus formation among garlic varieties. Tip explants were the best calli-producing source, and 91.05% of the explants from four varieties, on average, formed calli after 45 d of primary culturing. Upper leaf parts explants produced lower values. Among the different varieties and explant types, tip explants of variety T141 induced calli in the shortest time and had the greatest callus fresh weight at 45 d. An endogenous hormone contents analysis showed that auxins (indole-3-acetic acid and methyl indole-3-acetic acetate), cytokinins (trans-zeatin and dihydrozeatin), gibberellins4, 9,15,19,24 and 53, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, and dihydrojasmonic acid were significantly greater in the tips than those in the upper leaf parts. High endogenous jasmonic acid content might play important roles in callus formation. These results will help us not only establish an efficient garlic callus induction protocol that can be applied to large-scale callus multiplication and regeneration, and to genetically improvement of garlic production, but also understand endogenous hormone roles in tissue/organ differentiation and dedifferentiation.

Cerebral small vessel disease due to a unique heterozygous HTRA1 mutation in an African man.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the case of an African patient who was diagnosed with cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL). METHODS: Case report and literature review. RESULTS: We present a 39-year-old Gabonese man who developed progressive gait difficulty at the age of 32, followed by insidious tetraparesis, urinary sphincter disturbance, spastic dysarthria, cognitive dysfunction, and seizures. Brain imaging was performed many years after disease onset and revealed diffuse confluent white matter lesions and lacunar infarcts. He tested negative for acquired white matter disease, but genetic screening detected a genetic variant of HTRA1 gene (G283R), which has not been previously reported. CONCLUSIONS: CARASIL is a disease that usually affects Asian patients. This case report describes a unique case of an African patient diagnosed with CARASIL and a novel genetic mutation in HTRA1 that has not been previously described in the literature.

Low-Power Hardware Implementation of a Support Vector Machine Training and Classification for Neural Seizure Detection.

In this paper, a low power support vector machine (SVM) training, feature extraction, and classification algorithm are hardware implemented in a neural seizure detection application. The training algorithm used is the sequential minimal optimization (SMO) algorithm. The system is implemented on different platforms: such as field programmable gate array (FPGA), Xilinx Virtex-7 and application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) using hardware-calibrated UMC 65 nm CMOS technology. The implemented training hardware is introduced as an accelerator intellectual property (IP), especially in the case of large number of training sets, such as neural seizure detection. Feature extraction and classification blocks are implemented to achieve the best trade-off between sensitivity and power consumption. The proposed seizure detection system achieves a sensitivity around 96.77% when tested with the implemented linear kernel classifier. A power consumption evaluation is performed on both the ASIC and FPGA platforms showing that the ASIC power consumption is improved by a factor of 2X when compared with the FPGA counterpart.

RF Energy Harvesting IoT System for Museum Ambience Control with Deep Learning.

Museum contents are vulnerable to bad ambience conditions and human vandalization. Preserving the contents of museums is a duty towards humanity. In this paper, we develop an Internet of Things (IoT)-based system for museum monitoring and control. The developed system does not only autonomously set the museum ambience to levels that preserve the health of the artifacts and provide alarms upon intended or unintended vandalization attempts, but also allows for remote ambience control through authorized Internet-enabled devices. A key differentiating aspect of the proposed system is the use of always-on and power-hungry sensors for comprehensive and precise museum monitoring, while being powered by harvesting the Radio Frequency (RF) energy freely available within the museum. This contrasts with technologies proposed in the literature, which use RF energy harvesting to power simple IoT sensing devices. We use rectenna arrays that collect RF energy and convert it to electric power to prolong the lifetime of the sensor nodes. Another important feature of the proposed system is the use of deep learning to find daily trends in the collected environment data. Accordingly, the museum ambience is further optimized, and the system becomes more resilient to faults in the sensed data.

Comparative mechanical analysis of deep brain stimulation electrodes.

The new field of neuro-prosthetics focuses on the design and implementation of neural prostheses to restore some of the lost neural functions. The electrode-tissue contacts remain one of the major obstacles of neural prostheses microstructure. Recently, Microelectrode fabrication techniques have been developed to have a long-term and stable interface with the brain. In this paper, a comparative analysis of finite element models (FEM) for several electrode layouts is conducted. FEM involves parametric and sensitivity analysis to show the effects of the different design parameters on the electrode mechanical performance. These parameters include electrode dimensions, geometry, and materials. The electrodes mechanical performance is evaluated with various analysis techniques including: linear buckling analysis, stationary analysis with axial and shear loading, and failure analysis for brittle and ductile materials. Finally, a novel figure of merit (FOM) is presented and dedicated to the various electrodes prototypes. The proposed designs take into account mechanical performance, fabrication cost, and cross sectional area of the electrode. The FOM provides important design insights to help the electrodes designers to select the best electrode design parameters that meet their design constraints.

Relationship of pulsatility and resistance indices to cerebral arteriovenous malformation angioarchitectural features and hemorrhage.

The role that hemodynamics plays in the pathophysiology of cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) hemorrhage remains unclear. Here, we examine the relationship of pulsatility and resistance indices to AVM angioarchitectural features and hemorrhage. Records of patients with cerebral AVMs evaluated at our institution between 2007-2014 and with flows obtained before treatment using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography (QMRA) were retrospectively reviewed. Flow volume rate and flow velocity were measured in primary arterial feeders and compared to their contralateral counterparts. Pulsatility index (PI)=[(systolic flow velocity-diastolic flow velocity)/mean flow velocity] and resistance index (RI)=[(systolic flow velocity-diastolic flow velocity)/systolic flow velocity] were calculated for each feeder and compared to the normal contralateral vessel. Relationships between PI, RI and AVM clinical and angioarchitectural features were assessed using linear regression. Seventy-two patients with a total of 101 feeder arteries were included. PI and RI were significantly lower in AVM arterial feeders compared to normal vessels, thereby resulting in significantly higher flow volume rates and flow velocities in feeder vessels. There was no significant association of PI and RI with hemorrhagic presentation, exclusive deep venous drainage, venous stenosis, single draining vein, or deep location. In conclusion, PI and RI can be measured using QMRA and are lower in AVM arterial feeders compared to normal vessels. Although we found no significant correlation between PI, RI, and AVM angioarchitectural characteristics thought to be associated with increased hemorrhage risk, future studies with larger sample sizes may better elucidate this relationship.

Hemodynamic Characteristics of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation Feeder Vessels With and Without Aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pathogenesis of aneurysms associated with cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) feeder vessels is poorly understood. We sought to determine the hemodynamic characteristics of AVM feeder vessels with and without aneurysms. METHODS: Patients with AVMs associated with feeder aneurysms who had flow, vessel diameter, and wall shear stress measured before treatment using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography were retrospectively reviewed. Feeders within each AVM were classified into 2 groups based on presence or absence of aneurysms. Hemodynamic parameters were calculated for each arterial feeder and then compared between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Eleven patients had AVMs with feeder aneurysms. Of 35 total feeder arteries, 12 had an aneurysm and 23 feeders did not have any aneurysms. Absolute mean flow was higher (510.2 versus 438.4 mL/min; P=0.53) and vessel diameter was lower (4.0 versus 4.8 mm; P=0.24) in feeders with aneurysms but not significantly. However, wall shear stress (96.2 versus 28.0 dynes/cm2; P=0.04) was significantly higher in feeders with aneurysms. CONCLUSIONS: Wall shear stress is significantly higher among cerebral AVM feeders harboring aneurysms. Despite similarly high flows, feeder artery diameter tended to be smaller if an aneurysm was present, suggesting that AVM feeders with aneurysms are a subgroup in which vessel remodeling cannot compensate for increased blood flow.

Changes in wall shear stress of cerebral arteriovenous malformation feeder arteries after embolization and surgery.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Wall shear stress (WSS) has been implicated as an important stimulus for vascular remodeling. The purpose of this study is to measure WSS in AVM arterial feeders using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography pre- and post-embolization/surgery. METHODS: Records of patients who underwent AVM embolization and surgical resection at our institution between 2007 and 2013 and had WSS, flow rate, and vessel diameter obtained pre- and post-treatment using quantitative magnetic resonance angiography were retrospectively reviewed. WSS was compared between the feeder and contralateral artery pre- and post-embolization/surgery. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were included (mean age 34 years, 19% hemorrhagic presentation), with Spetzler-Martin grades 1 to 4. WSS, blood flow, and vessel diameter were assessed in a total of 51 feeder arteries. At baseline, mean WSS was significantly higher compared with the contralateral vessel (29.7±12.0 dynes/cm(2) versus 23.3±11.0 dynes/cm(2); P=0.007). After embolization (23.0 dynes/cm(2) versus 22.5 dynes/cm(2); P=0.78) and surgery (17.9 dynes/cm(2) versus 23.2 dynes/cm(2); P=0.09), WSS was not significantly different than in the contralateral vessel. Reduced WSS post-embolization corresponded to significantly decreased flow (338.1 mL/min versus 170.3 mL/min; P<0.001) and smaller vessel diameter (3.7 mm versus 3.5 mm; P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Enlargement of cerebral AVM arterial feeders is insufficient to compensate for increased blood flow, creating high WSS. After treatment, flow diminishes and so WSS and vessel diameter concomitantly decrease. Thus, WSS plays a pivotal role in vascular remodeling that may be exploited to monitor AVM response to treatment or understand other high-flow vascular pathologies.

Risk factors of hepatitis C infection among Egyptian blood donors.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance of infectious disease markers in the blood donor population is important in recognizing trends in prevalence and incidence of transfusion related infections in asymptomatic volunteer blood donors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: It was a cross sectional study. Samples were collected from volunteer blood donors and questionnaire was designed to collect the risk factors data. The prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies among 1,000 apparently healthy blood donors were determined. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of virus C hepatic infection and to illustrate the various socio-economic, behavioural and medical factors related to infection with Hepatitis C (HCV) among apparently healthy individuals. It contributed to analysis of the particularities of Egyptian blood donors and helped to better understand the challenges and solutions of blood safety. RESULTS: The prevalence of HCV was 16.8%. There was an association of positive anti-HCV test with socio-demographic, medical and behavioural risk factors. CONCLUSION: This study provided comprehensive and reliable information on the possible risk factors affecting spread of Hepatitis C in the area.

Inflammatory bowel disease in rats: bacterial and chemical interaction.

AIM: To develop a novel model of colitis in rats, using a combination of iodoacetamide and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), and to elucidate the pathophysiologic processes implicated in the development of ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 158) were inoculated intrarectally on a weekly basis with 4 different combinations: (a) 1% methylcellulose (MC), (b) 100 microL of 6% iodoacetamide (IA) in 1% MC, (c) 200 microL containing 4 x 10(8) colony factor units (CFU) of EPEC, and (d) combined treatment of (IA) followed by bacteria (B) after 2 d. Thirty days post treatment, each of the four groups was divided into two subgroups; the inoculation was stopped for one subgroup and the other subgroup continued with biweekly inoculation until the end of the experiment. Colitis was evaluated by the clinical course of the disease, the macroscopic and microscopic alterations, activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), and by TNF-alpha gene expression. RESULTS: Findings indicative of UC were seen in the combined treatment (IA + B) as well as the IA continued treatment groups: the animals showed slow rate of increase in body weight, diarrhea, bloody stools, high colonic ulcer score, as well as histological alterations characteristic of UC, with an extensive inflammatory reaction. During the course of the experiment, the MPO activity was consistently elevated and the TNF-alpha gene expression was upregulated compared to the control animals. CONCLUSION: The experimental ulcerative colitis model used in the present study resembles, to a great extent, the human disease. It is reproducible with characteristics indicative of chronicity.

Urban water management : North Africa and the Middle East

The state of water management in the urban environments in the region was described and evaluated, it was found far from being satisfactory. The assessment of research and research capacities on water management using three samples from various sources indicated weakness in the interdisciplinary coordinated type of research, and the fragmented pieces of water management research missed almost all the social aspects and ignored any role of communities in water management and urbanization planning. Published and disseminated information on water science expertise and institutions in the region uncovered usually inaccurate and confusing data. Examples of wastewater reuse projects in the region were given and seems that the technological side of such water issue is the most active one; a full comprehensive approach to water management is neglected. Common regional approaches to urbanization and water management were discussed, with emphasis on the size of the problem and available funds, Egypt was taken as a study case. The relationship between the URB Program aspects and specific objectives and the existing regional research record and capacity was illustrated; a training programme to enhance the research capacity on water management in the region is proposed (AU)