基于对称边缘方向直方图自动提取主要道路

提出一种从航空影像中自动提取主要道路的方法。以对称边缘方向直方图作为主要道路特征矢量,先采用一种顾及数据空间分布特性的模糊C均值聚类算法分割提取主要道路种子段,然后利用Snakes算法跟踪提取完整主要道路网络。实验结果表明,所提方法能有效地从航空影像中自动提取主要道路网。     

艾灸与经络穴位红外辐射特性

人体是一个天然的红外辐射源.人体红外辐射是人体生命活动的外在表现,可反映人体脏器和全身各部的代谢变化.经络对热的远距离传递以及艾灸激发循经高温线的现象,提示艾灸除了温热效应之外,光的非热效应可能是其发挥疗效的重要因素.而传统间接灸与人体穴位红外辐射光谱的惊人一致性,提示艾灸与穴位红外共振辐射可能是其发挥疗效的基础.这给艾灸的临床应用及灸疗仪器制作提供了一些启示.     

A Survey on Intelligent Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the leading causes of vision loss and can be effectively avoided by screening, early diagnosis and treatment. In order to increase the universality and efficiency of DR screening, many efforts have been invested in developing intelligent screening, and there have been great advances. In this paper, we survey DR screening from four perspectives: 1) public color fundus image datasets of DR; 2) DR classification and related lesion-extraction approaches; 3) existing computer-aided systems for DR screening; and 4) existing issues, challenges, and research trends. Our goal is to provide insights for future research directions on DR intelligent screening.     

Thermal sensitisation by lonidamine of human melanoma cells grown at low extracellular pH

Purpose: This study tested the ability of lonidamine (LND), a clinically applicable inhibitor of monocarboxylate transporters (MCT), to thermally sensitise human melanoma cells cultured at a tumour-like extracellular pH (pH_e) 6.7.

Materials and methods: Human melanoma DB-1 cells cultured at pH_e 6.7 and pH_e 7.3 were exposed to 150?µM LND for 3?h, beginning 1?h prior to heating at 42?°C (2?h). Intracellular pH (pH_i) was determined using 2′,7′-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) and whole spectrum analysis. Levels of heat shock proteins (HSPs) were determined by immunoblot analysis. Cell survival was determined by colony formation.

Results: Treatment with LND at pH_e 6.7 reduced pH_i to 6.30?±?0.21, reduced thermal induction of HSPs, and sensitised cells growing at pH_e 6.7 to 42?°C. When LND was combined with an acute acidification from pH_e 6.7 to pH_e 6.5, pH_i was reduced to 6.09?±?0.26, and additional sensitisation was observed. LND had negligible effects on cells cultured at pH 7.3.

Conclusions: The results show that LND can reduce pH_i in human melanoma cells cultured at a tumour-like low pH_e so that the 42?°C induction of HSPs are abrogated and the cells are sensitised to thermal therapy. Cells cultured at a normal tissue-like pH_e 7.3 were not sensitised to 42?°C by LND. These findings support the strategy that human melanoma cells growing in an acidic environment can be sensitised to thermal therapy in vivo by exposure to an MCT inhibitor such as LND.     

The heat shock response: Role in radiation biology and cancer therapy

Since prehistoric times, elevated temperatures have been used to treat cancer in a variety of forms. In modern times (the last 40 years) efforts have concentrated on combining heat with other anti-tumour modalities, principally ionizing radiation and some chemotherapeutic drugs. Despite the emphasis on combined therapy, rodent data relating to heat sensitivity and thermal tolerance development assumed principal importance. These considerations suggested treating at 43°C as a target temperature and fractionation schemes emphasizing thermal tolerance avoidance. Concomitantly crucial data on heat-induced tumour reoxygenation and its temperature dependence were largely ignored. In reality these were unrealistic and undesirable goals. The preponderance of evidence now suggests that lower temperatures (40–42°C) administered more frequently, optimally immediately before and during each administration of ionizing radiation, are likely to yield optimal results. Factoring in trimodality therapy and other combinations of chemotherapeutic drugs will require some modifications of such fractionation schemes.     

神经血管治疗仪联合前列地尔等治疗糖尿病足疗效观察

目的探讨神经血管治疗仪联合前列地尔等治疗糖尿病足的临床疗效。方法将70例糖尿病足患者随机分为2组,每组各35例。试验组给予神经血管治疗仪、红外线照射疼痛治疗仪联合前列地尔治疗,并给予无菌换药;对照组仅给予前列地尔针剂等药物和无菌换药治疗。观察两组的临床疗效、平均住院时间、症状体征消失时间、ABI指标水平。结果试验组的总有效率显著高于对照组(P<0.05);平均住院时间和症状体征消失时间显著短于对照组(P<0.05);ABI指标水平显著优于对照组(P<0.05)。结论神经血管治疗仪、红外线照射疼痛治疗仪联合前列地尔、无菌换药治疗糖尿病足临床疗效显著,值得临床推广应用。     

The Cystine Knot Is Responsible for the Exceptional Stability of the Insecticidal Spider Toxin ω-Hexatoxin-Hv1a

The inhibitor cystine knot (ICK) is an unusual three-disulfide architecture in which one of the disulfide bonds bisects a loop formed by the two other disulfide bridges and the intervening sections of the protein backbone. Peptides containing an ICK motif are frequently considered to have high levels of thermal, chemical and enzymatic stability due to cross-bracing provided by the disulfide bonds. Experimental studies supporting this contention are rare, in particular for spider-venom toxins, which represent the largest diversity of ICK peptides. We used ω-hexatoxin-Hv1a (Hv1a), an insecticidal toxin from the deadly Australian funnel-web spider, as a model system to examine the contribution of the cystine knot to the stability of ICK peptides. We show that Hv1a is highly stable when subjected to temperatures up to 75 °C, pH values as low as 1, and various organic solvents. Moreover, Hv1a was highly resistant to digestion by proteinase K and when incubated in insect hemolymph and human plasma. We demonstrate that the ICK motif is essential for the remarkable stability of Hv1a, with the peptide’s stability being dramatically reduced when the disulfide bonds are eliminated. Thus, this study demonstrates that the ICK motif significantly enhances the chemical and thermal stability of spider-venom peptides and provides them with a high level of protease resistance. This study also provides guidance to the conditions under which Hv1a could be stored and deployed as a bioinsecticide.     

Artificial intelligence for the early detection of colorectal cancer: A comprehensive review of its advantages and misconceptions

Colorectal cancer (CRC) was the second-ranked worldwide type of cancer during 2020 due to the crude mortality rate of 12.0 per 100000 inhabitants. It can be prevented if glandular tissue (adenomatous polyps) is detected early. Colonoscopy has been strongly recommended as a screening test for both early cancer and adenomatous polyps. However, it has some limitations that include the high polyp miss rate for smaller (< 10 mm) or flat polyps, which are easily missed during visual inspection. Due to the rapid advancement of technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a thriving area in different fields, including medicine. Particularly, in gastroenterology AI software has been included in computer-aided systems for diagnosis and to improve the assertiveness of automatic polyp detection and its classification as a preventive method for CRC. This article provides an overview of recent research focusing on AI tools and their applications in the early detection of CRC and adenomatous polyps, as well as an insightful analysis of the main advantages and misconceptions in the field.     

Handheld infrared thermometer to evaluate cellulitis: the HI-TEC study

ObjectivesDifferentiating cellulitis from pseudocellulitis is challenging, and misdiagnosis leads to unnecessary antimicrobial use and increased healthcare expenditure. Clinical diagnosis remains the criterion standard and may involve expert consultation. Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of a handheld infrared thermometer to improve diagnostic certainty in cases of suspected cellulitis.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study from August 2018 to January 2020 at a tertiary-care hospital in Montreal, Canada. We enrolled adult patients with suspected limb cellulitis. Using the infrared thermometer, we compared the average temperature of the affected area with that of the contralateral limb, and we used Youden's method to determine the optimal temperature difference which best differentiated cellulitis from pseudocellulitis as determined by an independent and blinded infectious diseases specialist. We used bootstrapping to estimate 95% confidence intervals for the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating curve.ResultsOf 65 patients screened for enrolment, 52 patients were recruited (median age: 64 years, IQR 52–76); 39 of these were diagnosed with cellulitis and 13 were not. The mean temperature difference between affected and unaffected limbs was 2.6°C (95%CI 2.1–3.1°C) for patients with cellulitis and 0.4°C (95%CI –1.2°C to 2.1°C) for patients without (p < 0.001). An average temperature difference between limbs of 0.8°C or more was 95% sensitive (95%CI 74–100%) and 69% specific (95%CI 44–95%) for the diagnosis of cellulitis (c-statistic 0.82).ConclusionsIn this proof-of-concept single-centre study, a handheld infrared thermometer was a useful aid to differentiate cellulitis from pseudocellulitis.