Enhancing spatial resolution of GRACE-derived groundwater storage anomalies in Urmia catchment using machine learning downscaling methods.

The Urmia lake in north-west Iran has dried up to perilously low levels in the past two decades. In this study, we investigate the drivers behind the decline in lake water level with the help of in-situ and remote sensing data. We use total water storage (TWS) changes from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) satellite mission. TWS from GRACE includes all the water storage compartments in a column and is the only remote sensing product that can help in estimating groundwater storage (GWS) changes. The coarse spatial (approx. 300 km) resolution of GRACE does not allow us to identify local changes that may have led to the Urmia lake disaster. In this study, we tackle the poor resolution of the GRACE data by employing three machine learning (ML) methods including random forest (RF), support vector regression (SVR) and multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The methods predict the groundwater storage anomaly (GWSA), derived from GRACE, as a function of hydro-climatic variables such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on a finer scale of 0.25° × 0.25°. We found that i) The RF model exhibited highest R (0.98), highest NSE (0.96) and lowest RMSE (18.36 mm) values. ii) The RF downscaled data indicated that the exploitation of groundwater resources in the aquifers is the main driver of groundwater storage and changes in the regional ecosystem, which has been corroborated by few other studies as well. The impact of precipitation and evapotranspiration on the GWSA was found to be rather weak, indicating that the anthropogenic derivers had the most significant impact on the GWSA changes. iii) We generally observed a significant negative trend in GWSA, having also significant positive correlations with the well data. However, over regions with dam construction significant negative correlations were found.

Internal dosimetry studies of 177Lu-BBN-GABA-DOTA, as a cancer therapy agent, in human tissues based on animal data.

The goal of using radiopharmaceuticals for therapeutic purposes is twofold: first, the most damage to cancer cells and, second, the most negligible dose transfers to healthy tissues. As 177Lu has the potential to cure a wide range of malignancies due to its varied range of beta energies, 177Lu-BBN-GABA-DOTA has been developed for therapeutic applications. In addition, 177Lu-BBN-GABA-DOTA can be over-expressed on gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) receptors of the prostate, breast, small cell lung cancer, gastric, and colon tumors. The purpose of this study was to calculate the amount of dose absorption in human body organs using medical internal radiation dose (MIRD) and GATE code methods, after animal injection. In this study, the amount of absorbed dose in different organs (spleen, kidney, Lung, Pancreas, Heart, Adrenal, Intestine, Stomach, and Liver) were calculated for 1-MBq accumulation of 177Lu-BBN-GABA-DOTA in source organs (spleen, kidney, Lung, Pancreas, Heart, Adrenal, Intestine, Stomach, and Liver) using Monte Carlo Simulation (GATE code) with Zubal phantom. Moreover, compared with MIRD method, the results of the simulation showed considerable consistency. It was estimated that a 1-MBq administration of 177Lu-BBN-GABA-DOTA to the human body would result in an absorbed dose of 1.07E-02 mGy and 4.97E-02 (MIRD method) and 1.26E-02 mGy and 5.19E-02 (Gate code) in the Pancreas and adrenal 120 h after injection, respectively. The highest and lowest percentage differences between MIRD and Gate results are related to the Pancreas and spleen, respectively. Finally, the results showed that there is a good agreement between MIRD method and Gate code simulation for absorbed dose estimation.

A Quantitative Investigation on the Effect of Edge Enhancement for Improving Visual Acuity at Different Levels of Contrast.

BACKGROUND: The major limitation in human vision is refractive error. Auxiliary equipment and methods for these people are not always available. In addition, limited range of accommodation in adult people when switching from a far point to a near point is not simply possible. In this paper, we are looking for solutions to use the facilities of digital image processing and displaying to improve visual acuity when using digital display devices. We quantitatively investigate the effect of edge enhancement on improving the visual acuity at different levels of contrast. We can improve visual acuity for people such as emmetropia, myopia and hyperopia when they utilize display devices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: According to the objective of this research, 24 visual acuity optical charts were designed using MATLAB software, based on logMAR standard. The charts have different levels of contrast with enhanced edges of optotypes at two brightness levels: 0 and 255. The proposed patterns were tested on 20 human subjects. The obtained results for each chart were analyzed in SPSS software. RESULTS: The results show that at all contrast levels, edge enhancement improves visual acuity. The degree of improvement where the edges have brightness level of 0 is higher than where the edges have brightness level of 255. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, enhancing the edges of optotypes in the background image improves visual acuity by about 16.1% on logMAR scale.

Regulatory effects of the novel synthesized Indole-3-carbaldehyde on expression of cell cycle genes: A study on Cyclin D and P21 expression by acute promylocytic leukemia cell line (NB4)

This article has been withdrawn. The Publisher and the editor apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Mouth sticks: their past, present and future.

Patients with physical disabilities precluding functional use of their limbs can benefit enormously from the expertise of the dental profession. The dental clinician is able to not only meet the routine oral health needs of these patients, but possesses the unique skills and knowledge to provide specialised oral prosthetic appliances which can facilitate a range of independent activities. Mouth sticks, as they are commonly known, are dental prostheses that are held intra-orally by the patient and manipulated to perform numerous actions such as drawing, writing and painting. They have been well documented within dental and occupational therapy literature and reports of their fabrication date back over 150 years, albeit in a very rudimentary form. The enduring value of mouth sticks to the physically disabled population is that they can provide a degree of self-reliance which would otherwise not be afforded to them. This article discusses the evolution of mouth sticks, principles of mouth stick design, patient selection criteria and treatment planning considerations. We present two recent clinical cases where mouth sticks have been indicated and have been indispensable to the user, detailing the clinical and laboratory stages involved.

First isolation and establishment of in vitro culture of Theileria lestoquardi from a naturally infected cow.

Theileria infected cell line was isolated from the prescapular lymph node of an adult crossbred cow. Molecular study confirmed this cell line of bovine lymphocyte has been transformed by the Theileria lestoquardi. This strain of T. lestoquardi designated Ka-6 and sheep were inoculated with this strain didn't show any clinical signs of theileriosis which shows the significance of this cell line to develop a tissue-culture vaccine against malignant ovine theileriosis. Contrary to accepted belief that the T. lestoquardi not capable of causing disease in cattle, the present study describes the first isolation and establishment of in vitro culture of T. lestoquardi-infected cell line from a naturally infected cow with typical singes of acute theileriosis.

Covalent immobilization of recombinant organophosphorus hydrolase on spores of Bacillus subtilis.

AIMS: Organophosphorus pesticides are widely used in agriculture. Accordingly, decontamination of these pesticides and their residual in environment is an important aim of researchers. One of the best approaches is enzymatic detoxification of these compounds with organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH). The immobilization of OPH on environmentally friendly supports is of great importance for developing stabilized enzymes for degradation of organophosphorus compounds. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, Bacillus subtilis spores were applied as a new matrix for immobilizing OPH for the first time; this enzyme was covalently bound to the spores by using EDC-NHS as coupling reagents and the immobilization was confirmed by enzymatic activity, Western blot, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopic analysis. The immobilization yield was about 55% and the immobilized OPH hydrolysed paraoxon, an organophosphate substrate, without significant loss of activity was six times. The spores with immobilized OPH on their surface were successfully characterized using FT-IR analysis and SEM imaging. Thermal and pH stability was improved by immobilization of OPH on the spore surface. CONCLUSIONS: Owing to safety, environmentally friendly and low cost of spores, these spores can be employed in biosensors for monitoring and biodegradation of organophosphate contaminants in the environment and detoxification processes in bioreactors with high reusability without decrease in the activity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: We believe that the spore, an environmentally friendly matrix, can be used for covalent immobilization of OPH efficiently and can be applied for detoxification of organophosphorus compounds under adverse environmental conditions.

Education, regulation, representation and remuneration in dentistry - who does what?

Dentistry in the United Kingdom demands a wide range of supportive and regulative bodies, the roles of which are intertwined, overlapping and changeable. The interaction between these bodies is not always clear, and often the present-day role of the body is far removed from its original purpose. Consequently, the system can appear daunting and opaque. Even so, a thorough understanding of this topic is requisite for those considering applying for higher specialist training, and pertinent for practitioners with an interest in the dental political arena. We hope this paper goes some way towards unravelling the tangle of boards, committees, associations, societies and councils that commonly influence dentistry, and provides a starting point for those interested in increasing their knowledge of the profession at the strategic level.

Getting into medical school - a guide for dental graduates.

Dentists may apply to medical school with a view to ultimately specialising in oral and maxillofacial surgery or oral medicine. While there is much information on applying to medical school, very little is specific to the dental graduate. This paper discusses the contemporary admissions process including the application form, admissions tests, and interview.

Root resorption of a maxillary permanent first molar by an impacted second premolar.

This case report highlights the importance of careful clinical and radiographic examination to identify developmental abnormalities before commencing orthodontic treatment.

In vitro and in vivo expression of interleukin-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA in pemphigus vulgaris: interleukin-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha are involved in acantholysis.

Keratinocyte-derived cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of skin diseases. In this study we examined the possible role of keratinocyte-derived cytokines in the development of acantholysis in pemphigus vulgaris. Nineteen patients with pemphigus vulgaris, demonstrating the characteristic clinical, pathologic, and immunopathologic findings were studied. In situ immunolabeling demonstrated the presence of two cytokines interleukin-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, in lesional and perilesional areas. Results were confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, demonstrating overexpression of both cytokines in vivo. To study the role of these cytokines in the pathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed. The results of the in vitro study demonstrated that pemphigus vulgaris IgG induced interleukin-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA in the skin. The potential pathogenic role of these mediators was demonstrated by a blocking study using antibodies against human interleukin-1alpha and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in keratinocytes cultures. A combination of anti-interleukin-1alpha and anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha antibodies inhibited in vitro pemphigus vulgaris IgG induced acantholysis. To confirm the role of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in pemphigus, we utilized passive transfer studies using interleukin-1 deficient mice (ICE-/-, interleukin-1beta-/-) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor deficient mice (TNFR1R2-/-). Both groups demonstrated a decreased susceptibility to the passive transfer of pemphigus. Our data support the role of cytokines interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the pathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris.

A Th2-like cytokine response is involved in bullous pemphigoid. the role of IL-4 and IL-5 in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Bullous Pemphigoid is an autoimmune bullous disorder characterized by production of IgG against an hemidesmosomal antigen (230 kDa, 180 kDa) responsible for blistering of the skin. In the past several mediators have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease such as proteases and collagenases secreted by local inflammatory cells. In order to investigate the role of cytokines in BP, the cytokine pattern was evaluated by an immunohistochemical analysis and by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction procedure in 13 BP patients. Cytokines examined were interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. The T cell inflammatory infiltrate was also characterized by monoclonal antibodies showing CD3+, CD4+ T cells with a perivascular and scattered distribution in lesional skin. IL-4 and IL-5 were detected in a similar distribution to the inflammatory infiltrate. IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA levels were also revealed by RT-PCR. Proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha, IL-6 and Th1-like cytokines (IL-2 and INF-gamma) were not detected neither as proteins nor as mRNA. Since IL-4 and IL-5 are important in eosinophil chemoattraction, maturation and functional activity, the presence of IL-4 and IL-5 in BP suggest that these cytokines could be important in the pathogenesis of the disease.

'Suction split' as a routine method to differentiate epidermolysis bullosa acquisita from bullous pemphigoid.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are diseases with similar clinical, histological, and immunofluorescent findings. Diagnosis requires the use of immunoelectron microscopy, immunoprecipitation or immunoblotting, but in recent years the differential diagnosis has been based on a cheaper technique named salt split skin. This study demonstrates that with a suction blister the fracture is at the same level as that obtained with the sodium split method and that it is also faster and cheaper. Suction blisters on normal skin and autoimmune perilesional bullous lesions, obtained with a hand vacuum pump, were studied by direct immunofluorescence and electron microscopy to evaluate the level of the split on normal suction split skin. Normal human split skin was also used as a substrate for an indirect immunofluorescent study using sera of patients with BP (68 sera), EBA (10 sera) and cicatricial pemphigoid (CP) (16 sera). Direct immunofluorescent examination was also done on perilesional skin after artificial separation obtained with a hand-vacuum pump in patients with the same diseases listed above (32 BP, 11 CP, 6 EBA). RESULTS: On normal human skin split by suction or sodium chloride (NaCl; 1 mol/l) direct immunofluorescence and electron microscopy demonstrated that the split is at the lamina lucida level. Indirect immunofluorescent study of both normal human skin and perilesional skin split using suction as a substrate showed IgG deposits localized on the floor of the suction blister in all cases of EBA, whereas in over 88% of cases of BP and in over 62% of CP the IgG were localized on the roof. Similar results were obtained with direct immunofluorescence in perilesional skin. CONCLUSIONS: 'Suction split' represents a simple technique to differentiate EBA from BP. This method provides final response in a few hours compared to at least 1-2 days with the sodium split method. Furthermore, the suction split method is cheaper and the tissue can be re-utilized for molecular biology and immunohistochemical studies.

Direct immunofluorescence diagnosis of pemphigus without biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Direct immunofluorescence (DIF) is a necessary examination tool for the diagnosis of pemphigus. The suction-blister-method splits the skin at the lamina lucida and it is possible with a scalpel to separate the entire epidermis from the dermis. OBJECTIVE: The study was to determine whether DIF is reliable on epidermal sheets separated using a suction apparatus. METHODS: Thirteen patients were selected for this study: (nine with pemphigus vulgaris (PV), one with paraneoplastic pemphigus (PP), and three with pemphigus erythematosus (PE). Frozen epidermal sheets, separated from the dermis with a scalpel, were used as a substrate. Diagnosis with routine fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) antibodies was made. RESULTS: In all patients a pericellular deposition of IgG was evident and in eight of these patients a pericellular deposition of C3 was present. In two cases of PE and one of PP, the C3 deposits were also present in the lower part of basal keratinocytes. CONCLUSION: This diagnostic method without skin biopsy is easy to perform and, together with the histology and clinical aspects, could be a useful tool in the diagnosis of pemphigus. We recommend this method when the patient is allergic to local anaesthetics, the patient easily produces hypertrophic scars, or in follow-up of already biopsied patients.

Th2-like cytokine activity in dermatitis herpetiformis.

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is a chronic subepidermal blistering disease, in which a perivascular cellular infiltrate, composed mainly of CD4+ T lymphocytes together with a varying number of neutrophils and eosinophils, is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of blister formation. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of cytokines such as the interleukins IL-4 and IL-5 and to quantify the distribution of T cells as well as their state of activation using alkaline phosphatase-antialkaline phosphatase and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) procedures in seven patients with typical clinical and histological features of DH. A strong extracellular staining with anti-IL-4 monoclonal antibody was detected in the upper dermis with a prevalent perivascular pattern in perilesional areas, whereas in the dermal-epidermal separation sites there was an intense, scattered distribution. IL-5 was intensely expressed, mainly at the intracellular level, by eosinophils and lymphocytes. Concerning RT-PCR, five DH patients showed a strong positive signal for both IL-4 and IL-5 cytokines while two patients showed a faint signal for both IL-4 and IL-5; these last two cases were histologically poor in inflammatory cells. In view of these results, it can be hypothesized that the recruitment of eosinophils and neutrophils in DH may be induced not only by granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor and IL-8 as previously demonstrated, but also by Th2 cytokines as well.

The 72-kDa and the 92-kDa gelatinases, but not their inhibitors TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, are expressed in early psoriatic lesions.

Psoriasis is histologically characterized by hyperkeratosis and papillomatosis with elongated vessels in the upper dermis. In order to evaluate the role of gelatinases in remodelling psoriatic skin in this study we examined the production of the 72-kDa (gelatinase A), 92-kDa collagenase (gelatinase B) and their tissue inhibitors TIMP-2 and TIMP-1. A total of 19 patients affected by different types of psoriasis were included in this study. An immunohistochemical study on cryosections was performed using antibodies to 72-kDa gelatinase, 92-kDa gelatinase, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, laminin, collagen types I, III, IV, VII. mRNA expression for gelatinases and their inhibitors were also analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In 14 of 19 patients there was a positivity in 92-kDa protein expression in keratinocytes. The 92-kDa gelatinase protein was also present in the upper dermis with prevalence around blood vessels. In 15 of 19 patients the 72-kDa was localized in the upper dermis, almost exclusively in the papillary dermis but absent in epidermis. TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were both negative in all cases in immunoperoxidase and RT-PCR. Using RT-PCR we show that the 72-kDa mRNA is expressed exclusively in the dermis, on the contrary the 92-kDa was present in epidermis and dermis. Type I, III, IV and VII collagens did not show any alteration or disruption. Overexpression and production of gelatinases without inhibitory effects suggest a role of these proteins in remodelling the psoriatic skin probably inducing the typical histological pattern of papillomatosis.

[Platysma myocutaneous flap for oral cavity reconstruction].

The use of myocutaneous flaps has revolutionized reconstructive surgery following tumor resections in the head and neck area. The platysma myocutaneous flap described almost a century ago has not received much attention, although it has been reported to be a satisfactory technique. Its successful use in 2 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, a man of 61 and a woman of 77, is presented.

Bilateral retrobulbar haemorrhage: a short case report.

A case of bilateral retrobulbar haemorrhage, a condition not previously reported, is documented.