Quantification of the presence of enzymes in gelatin zymography using the Gini index.

Gel zymography quantifies the activity of certain enzymes in tumor processes. These enzymes are widely used in medical diagnosis. In order to analyze them, experts classify the zymography spots into various classes according to their tonalities. This classification is done by visual analysis, which is what makes it a subjective process. This work proposes a methodology to carry out this classifications with a process that involves an unsupervised learning algorithm in the images, denoted as the GI algorithm. With the experiments shown in this paper, this methodology could constitute a tool that bioinformatics scientists can trust to perform the desired classification since it is a quantitative indicator to order the enzymatic activity of the spots in a zymography.

Central and Peripheral Effects of Transcutaneous Acupuncture Treatment for Nausea in Patients with Diabetic Gastroparesis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Nausea, an unpleasant symptom of diabetic gastroparesis (DMGP), has been reported to be alleviated by needleless transcutaneous electrical acupuncture (TEA). Our study was designed to utilize electroencephalography (EEG) and electrogastrography (EGG) recordings to investigate the central and peripheral responses of TEA in the treatment of nausea in DMGP patients. METHODS: Eleven DMGP subjects underwent simultaneous EEG and EGG testing while grading the severity of nausea following 30-minute intervals of: (1) baseline, (2) visual stimulation (VS) to provoke more nausea, (3) active VS together with TEA, and (4) TEA alone, and a final 15-minute recording without any intervention. RESULTS: The nausea score was increased to 5.9 ± 1.5 with VS (P < 0.05, vs 3.5 ± 1.0 at baseline), then reduced to 3.5 ± 1.2 with VS plus TEA, and to 2.5 ± 1.3 with TEA alone, while it continued at a score of 2.9 ± 1.0 post TEA (all significant, P < 0.05, vs VS without TEA). The mean percentage of normal gastric slow waves was decreased to 60.0 ± 5.7% with VS (P < 0.05, vs 66.6 ± 4.5% at baseline), then improved to 69.2 ± 4.8% with VS plus TEA, and maintained at 70 ± 3.6% with TEA alone. During initial VS, EEG signals showed right inferior frontal activity as the prominent finding, but during VS with TEA, left inferior frontal activity predominated. CONCLUSIONS: In DMGP, TEA improves gastric dysrhythmia and ameliorates nausea. TEA treatment of nausea provoked by VS resulted in a change of dominance from right to left inferior frontal lobe activity. These data provide new understandings of peripheral and central mechanisms for nausea, and potential future directions for DMGP treatment approaches.