A toolbox for automated video analysis of rodents engaged in string-pulling: Phenotyping motor behavior of mice for sensory, whole-body and bimanual skilled hand function

AbstractString-pulling in rodents (rats and mice) is a task in which animals make hand-over-hand movements to spontaneously reel in a string with or without a food reward attached to its end. The task elicits bilateral skilled hand movements for which rodents require little training. The task is suitable for phenotyping physiology and pathophysiology of sensorimotor integration in rodent models of neurological and motor disorders. Because a rodent stands in the same location and its movements are repetitive, the task lends itself to quantification of topographical and kinematic parameters for on-line tactile tracking of the string, skilled hand movements for grasping, and rhythmical bilateral forearm movements to advance the string. Here we describe a Matlab® based software with a graphical user interface to assist researchers in analyzing the video record of string pulling. The software allows global characterization of position and motion using optical flow estimation, descriptive statistics, principal component, and independent component analyses as well as temporal measures of Fano factor, entropy, and Higuchi fractal dimension. Based on image segmentation and object tracking heuristic algorithms, the software also allows independent tracking of the body, ears, nose, and forehands for estimation of kinematic parameters such as body length, body angle, head roll, head yaw, head pitch, movement paths and speed of hand movement. The utility of the task and that of the software is presented by describing mouse strain characteristics in string-pulling behavior of two strains of mice, C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster. Postural and skilled hand kinematic differences that characterize the strains highlight the utility of the task and assessment methods for phenotypic and neurological analysis of healthy and rodent models of diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and other neurological and motor disorders.Significance statementMouse models are used to investigate the physiology and pathophysiology of motor deficits observed in human neurological conditions, for testing substances for therapeutic drug development, and to investigate the role of neural systems and their genetic basis in the expression of behavior. Behavioral tasks involving unconditioned and natural behavior can provide rich insights into motor performance in animal models and analyses can be aided by the automated processing of video data for reliable quantification and high throughput.

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A Matlab-based toolbox for characterizing behavior of rodents engaged in string-pulling

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.54540 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Samsoon Inayat ◽

Surjeet Singh ◽

Arashk Ghasroddashti ◽

Qandeel ◽

Pramuka Egodage ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heuristic Algorithms ◽

Principal Component ◽

Fano Factor ◽

Body Motion ◽

Whole Body ◽

Hand Movements ◽

Body Angle ◽

String Pulling ◽

Motion Characterization ◽

Temporal Measures

String-pulling by rodents is a behavior in which animals make rhythmical body, head, and bilateral forearm as well as skilled hand movements to spontaneously reel in a string. Typical analysis includes kinematic assessment of hand movements done by manually annotating frames. Here, we describe a Matlab-based software that allows whole-body motion characterization using optical flow estimation, descriptive statistics, principal component, and independent component analyses as well as temporal measures of Fano factor, entropy, and Higuchi fractal dimension. Based on image-segmentation and heuristic algorithms for object tracking, the software also allows tracking of body, ears, nose, and forehands for estimation of kinematic parameters such as body length, body angle, head roll, head yaw, head pitch, and path and speed of hand movements. The utility of the task and software is demonstrated by characterizing postural and hand kinematic differences in string-pulling behavior of two strains of mice, C57BL/6 and Swiss Webster.

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A Simple and Inexpensive Clinical Whole Body Counter

Nuklearmedizin ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1624972 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 15 (05) ◽

pp. 248-253

Author(s):

A. K. Basu ◽

S. K. Guha ◽

B. N. Tandon ◽

M. M. Gupta ◽

M. ML. Rehani

Keyword(s):

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Vitro Assay ◽

Body Counter ◽

Optimum Parameters ◽

Whole Body Counter ◽

Single Detector ◽

Background Index ◽

Iodide Crystal

SummaryThe conventional radioisotope scanner has been used as a whole body counter. The background index of the system is 10.9 counts per minute per ml of sodium iodide crystal. The sensitivity and derived sensitivity parameters have been evaluated and found to be suitable for clinical studies. The optimum parameters for a single detector at two positions above the lying subject have been obtained. It has been found that for the case of 131I measurement it is possible to assay a source located at any point in the body with coefficient of variation less than 5%. To add to the versatility, a fixed geometry for in-vitro counting of large samples has been obtained. The retention values obtained by the whole body counter have been found to correlate with those obtained by in-vitro assay of urine and stool after intravenous administration of 51Cr-albumin.

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Visualization of Invasion into the Body and Internal Diffusion of Nanoparticles

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.396-398.569 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 396-398 ◽

pp. 569-572

Author(s):

Fumio Watari ◽

Shigeaki Abe ◽

I.D. Rosca ◽

Atsuro Yokoyama ◽

Motohiro Uo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomedical Applications ◽

Fluorescent Microscopy ◽

The Body ◽

Internal Diffusion ◽

Whole Body ◽

X Ray ◽

Body Level ◽

Organ Level ◽

Level 2 ◽

Internal Body

Nanoparticles may invade directly into the internal body through the respiratory or digestive system and diffuse inside body. The behavior of nanoparticles in the internal body is also essential to comprehend for the realization of DDS. Thus it is necessary to reveal the internal dynamics for the proper treatments and biomedical applications of nanoparticles. In the present study the plural methods with different principles such as X-ray scanning analytical microscope (XSAM), MRI and Fluorescent microscopy were applied to enable the observation of the internal diffusion of micro/nanoparticles in the (1) whole body level, (2) inner organ level and (3) tissue and intracellular level. Chemical analysis was also done by ICP-AES for organs and compared with the results of XSAM mapping.

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Making the choice between bioelectrical impedance measures for body hydration status assessment

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-87253-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dmitry M. Davydov ◽

Andrey Boev ◽

Stas Gorbunov

Keyword(s):

Body Schema ◽

Bioelectrical Impedance ◽

Information Criterion ◽

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Hydration Status ◽

Status Assessment ◽

Best Fitting ◽

Body Compartments ◽

Fitting In

AbstractSituational or persistent body fluid deficit (i.e., de- or hypo-hydration) is considered a significant health risk factor. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) has been suggested as an alternative to less reliable subjective and biochemical indicators of hydration status. The present study aimed to compare various BIA models in the prediction of direct measures of body compartments associated with hydration/osmolality. Fish (n = 20) was selected as a biological model for physicochemically measuring proximate body compartments associated with hydration such as water, dissolved proteins, and non-osseous minerals as the references or criterion points. Whole-body and segmental/local impedance measures were used to investigate a pool of BIA models, which were compared by Akaike Information Criterion in their ability to accurately predict the body components. Statistical models showed that ‘volumetric-based’ BIA measures obtained in parallel, such as distance2/Rp, could be the best approach in predicting percent of body moisture, proteins, and minerals in the whole-body schema. However, serially-obtained BIA measures, such as the ratio of the reactance to resistance and the resistance adjusted for distance between electrodes, were the best fitting in predicting the compartments in the segmental schema. Validity of these results should be confirmed on humans before implementation in practice.

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Integumentary Colour Allocation in the Stork Family (Ciconiidae) Reveals Short-Range Visual Cues for Species Recognition

Birds ◽

10.3390/birds2010010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 138-146

Author(s):

Eduardo J. Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽

Juan J. Negro

Keyword(s):

Short Range ◽

Visual Cues ◽

Species Recognition ◽

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Divergent Evolution ◽

Black And White ◽

Extant Species ◽

Chromatic Spectrum ◽

Mixed Species Flocks

The family Ciconiidae comprises 19 extant species which are highly social when nesting and foraging. All species share similar morphotypes, with long necks, a bill, and legs, and are mostly coloured in the achromatic spectrum (white, black, black, and white, or shades of grey). Storks may have, however, brightly coloured integumentary areas in, for instance, the bill, legs, or the eyes. These chromatic patches are small in surface compared with the whole body. We have analyzed the conservatism degree of colouration in 10 body areas along an all-species stork phylogeny derived from BirdTRee using Geiger models. We obtained low conservatism in frontal areas (head and neck), contrasting with a high conservatism in the rest of the body. The frontal areas tend to concentrate the chromatic spectrum whereas the rear areas, much larger in surface, are basically achromatic. These results lead us to suggest that the divergent evolution of the colouration of frontal areas is related to species recognition through visual cue assessment in the short-range, when storks form mixed-species flocks in foraging or resting areas.

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Amine-Grafted Mesoporous Carbons as Benzocaine-Delivery Platforms

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14092188 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (9) ◽

pp. 2188

Author(s):

Joanna Goscianska ◽

Aleksander Ejsmont ◽

Anita Kubiak ◽

Dominika Ludowicz ◽

Anna Stasiłowicz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Release Kinetics ◽

The Body ◽

Therapeutic Drug ◽

Mesoporous Carbons ◽

Precise Control ◽

Pharmaceutical Ingredients ◽

Sorption Ability ◽

Porous Carriers ◽

Textural Parameters ◽

Amine Groups

Smart porous carriers with defined structure and physicochemical properties are required for releasing the therapeutic drug with precise control of delivery time and location in the body. Due to their non-toxicity, ordered structure, and chemical and thermal stability, mesoporous carbons can be considered modern carriers for active pharmaceutical ingredients whose effectiveness needs frequent dosing algorithms. Here, the novel benzocaine delivery systems based on ordered mesoporous carbons of the cubic structure were obtained with the use of a hard template method and functionalization with amine groups at 40 °C for 8 h. It has been shown that amine grafting strongly modifies the surface chemistry and textural parameters of carbons. All samples indicated good sorption ability towards benzocaine, with evident improvement following the functionalization with the amine groups. The sorption capacity and drug release kinetics were strongly affected by the porosity of carbon carriers and the surface functional groups. The smallest amount of benzocaine (~12%) was released from pristine mesoporous carbon, which could be correlated with strong API–carrier interactions. Faster and more efficient release of the drug was observed in the case of triethylenetetramine modified carbon (~62%). All benzocaine delivery platforms based on amine-grafted mesoporous carbons revealed high permeability through the artificial membrane.

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Comparison of superficial wound documentation using 2D forensic photography, 3D photogrammetry, Botscan© and VR with real-life examination

Forensic Science Medicine and Pathology ◽

10.1007/s12024-021-00393-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 422-430

Author(s):

Federico Massini ◽

Lars Ebert ◽

Garyfalia Ampanozi ◽

Sabine Franckenberg ◽

Lena Benz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gold Standard ◽

3D Visualization ◽

Real Life ◽

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Forest Plot ◽

Technical Documentation ◽

Forensic Photography ◽

Head Mounted Display ◽

Significant Difference

AbstractEvidence acquisition, interpretation and preservation are essential parts of forensic case work that make a standardized documentation process fundamental. The most commonly used method for the documentation and interpretation of superficial wounds is a combination of two modalities: two-dimensional (2D) photography for evidence preservation and real-life examination for wound analysis. As technologies continue to develop, 2D photography is being enhanced with three-dimensional (3D) documentation technology. In our study, we compared the real-life examination of superficial wounds using four different technical documentation and visualization methods.To test the different methods, a mannequin was equipped with several injury stickers, and then the different methods were applied. A total of 42 artificial injury stickers were documented in regard to orientation, form, color, size, wound borders, wound corners and suspected mechanism of injury for the injury mechanism. As the gold standard, superficial wounds were visually examined by two board-certified forensic pathologists directly on the mannequin. These results were compared to an examination using standard 2D forensic photography; 2D photography using the multicamera system Botscan©, which included predefined viewing positions all around the body; and 3D photogrammetric reconstruction based on images visualized both on screen and in a virtual reality (VR) using a head-mounted display (HMD).The results of the gold standard examination showed that the two forensic pathologists had an inter-reader agreement ranging from 69% for the orientation and 11% for the size of the wounds. A substantial portion of the direct visual documentation showed only a partial overlap, especially for the items of size and color, thereby prohibiting the statistical comparison of these two items. A forest plot analysis of the remaining six items showed no significant difference between the methods. We found that among the forensic pathologists, there was high variability regarding the vocabulary used for the description of wound morphology, which complicated the exact comparison of the two documentations of the same wound.There were no significant differences for any of the four methods compared to the gold standard, thereby challenging the role of real-life examination and 2D photography as the most reliable documentation approaches. Further studies with real injuries are necessary to support our evaluation that technical examination methods involving multicamera systems and 3D visualization for whole-body examination might be a valid alternative in future forensic documentation.

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Correlation of age, sex and season with the state of human decomposition as quantified by postmortem computed tomography

Forensic Science Medicine and Pathology ◽

10.1007/s12024-021-00356-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Dominic L. C. Guebelin ◽

Akos Dobay ◽

Lars Ebert ◽

Eva Betschart ◽

Michael J. Thali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

The State ◽

The Body ◽

Seasonal Effects ◽

Whole Body ◽

Postmortem Computed Tomography ◽

Whole Body Computed Tomography ◽

Urban Study

AbstractDead bodies exhibit a variable range of changes with advancing decomposition. To quantify intracorporeal gas, the radiological alteration index (RAI) has been implemented in the assessment of postmortem whole-body computed tomography. We used this RAI as a proxy for the state of decomposition. This study aimed to (I) investigate the correlation between the state of decomposition and the season in which the body was discovered; and (II) evaluate the correlations between sociodemographic factors (age, sex) and the state of decomposition, by using the RAI as a proxy for the extent of decomposition. In a retrospective study, we analyzed demographic data from all autopsy reports from the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Zurich between January 2017 to July 2019 and evaluated the radiological alteration index from postmortem whole-body computed tomography for each case. The bodies of older males showed the highest RAI. Seasonal effects had no significant influence on the RAI in our urban study population with bodies mostly being discovered indoors. Autopsy reports contain valuable data that allow interpretation for reasons beyond forensic purposes, such as sociopolitical observations.

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A Multi-Channel Uncertainty-Aware Multi-Resolution Network for MR to CT Synthesis

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11041667 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1667

Author(s):

Kerstin Klaser ◽

Pedro Borges ◽

Richard Shaw ◽

Marta Ranzini ◽

Marc Modat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Image Analysis ◽

Absolute Error ◽

Magnetic Resonance Images ◽

The Body ◽

Whole Body ◽

Image Size ◽

Body Images ◽

Image Translation ◽

The Mean ◽

Synthetic Ct

Synthesising computed tomography (CT) images from magnetic resonance images (MRI) plays an important role in the field of medical image analysis, both for quantification and diagnostic purposes. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved state-of-the-art results in image-to-image translation for brain applications. However, synthesising whole-body images remains largely uncharted territory, involving many challenges, including large image size and limited field of view, complex spatial context, and anatomical differences between images acquired at different times. We propose the use of an uncertainty-aware multi-channel multi-resolution 3D cascade network specifically aiming for whole-body MR to CT synthesis. The Mean Absolute Error on the synthetic CT generated with the MultiResunc network (73.90 HU) is compared to multiple baseline CNNs like 3D U-Net (92.89 HU), HighRes3DNet (89.05 HU) and deep boosted regression (77.58 HU) and shows superior synthesis performance. We ultimately exploit the extrapolation properties of the MultiRes networks on sub-regions of the body.

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An Intelligent Baby Monitor with Automatic Sleeping Posture Detection and Notification

AI ◽

10.3390/ai2020018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 290-306

Author(s):

Tareq Khan

Keyword(s):

Language Translation ◽

Video Data ◽

The Body ◽

Night Vision ◽

Monitoring Device ◽

Peace Of Mind ◽

Image Processing Techniques ◽

Pose Detection ◽

Processing Techniques ◽

Monitoring Devices

Artificial intelligence (AI) has brought lots of excitement to our day-to-day lives. Some examples are spam email detection, language translation, etc. Baby monitoring devices are being used to send video data of the baby to the caregiver’s smartphone. However, the automatic understanding of the data was not implemented in most of these devices. In this research, AI and image processing techniques were developed to automatically recognize unwanted situations that the baby was in. The monitoring device automatically detected: (a) whether the baby’s face was covered due to sleeping on the stomach; (b) whether the baby threw off the blanket from the body; (c) whether the baby was moving frequently; (d) whether the baby’s eyes were opened due to awakening. The device sent notifications and generated alerts to the caregiver’s smartphone whenever one or more of these situations occurred. Thus, the caregivers were not required to monitor the baby at regular intervals. They were notified when their attention was required. The device was developed using NVIDIA’s Jetson Nano microcontroller. A night vision camera and Wi-Fi connectivity were interfaced. Deep learning models for pose detection, face and landmark detection were implemented in the microcontroller. A prototype of the monitoring device and the smartphone app were developed and tested successfully for different scenarios. Compared with general baby monitors, the proposed device gives more peace of mind to the caregivers by automatically detecting un-wanted situations.

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