An Imaging and Computational Algorithm for Efficient Identification and Quantification of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are associated with multiple disease pathologies including sepsis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and COVID-19. NETs, being a disintegrated death form, suffered inconsistency in their identification, nomenclature, and quantifications that hindered therapeutic approaches using NETs as a target. Multiple strategies including microscopy, ELISA, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and image-stream-based methods have exhibited drawbacks such as being subjective, non-specific, error-prone, and not being high throughput, and thus demand the development of innovative and efficient approaches for their analyses. Here, we established an imaging and computational algorithm using high content screening (HCS)—cellomics platform that aid in easy, rapid, and specific detection as well as analyses of NETs. This method employed membrane-permeable and impermeable DNA dyes in situ to identify NET-forming cells. Automated algorithm-driven single-cell analysis of change in nuclear morphology, increase in nuclear area, and change in intensities provided precise detection of NET-forming cells and eliminated user bias with other cell death modalities. Further combination with Annexin V staining in situ detected specific death pathway, e.g., apoptosis, and thus, discriminated between NETs, apoptosis, and necrosis. Our approach does not utilize fixation and permeabilization steps that disturb NETs, and thus, allows the time-dependent monitoring of NETs. Together, this specific imaging-based high throughput method for NETs analyses may provide a good platform for the discovery of potential inhibitors of NET formation and/or agents to modulate neutrophil death, e.g., NETosis-apoptosis switch, as an alternative strategy to enhance the resolution of inflammation.

A COMPUTATIONAL ALGORITHM FOR THE NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF NONLINEAR FRACTIONAL INTEGRAL EQUATIONS

In this paper, we develop a numerical method for the solution of nonlinear fractional integral equations (NFIEs) based on Haar wavelet collocation technique (HWCT). Under certain conditions, we also prove the uniqueness and existence as well as Hyers–Ulam (HU) stability of the solution. With the help of the mentioned technique, the considered problem is transformed to a system of algebraic equations which is then solved for the required results by using Broyden algorithm. To check the validation and convergence of the proposed technique, some examples are given. For different number of collocation points (CPs), maximum absolute and mean square root errors are computed. The results show that for solving these equations, the HWCT is effective. The convergence rate is also measured for different CPs, which is nearly equal to [Formula: see text].

Geoprocessing and Landscape Ecology for Assessment Fragmentation and Connectivity of the Habitats of the Microregion of Ceres, Goiás (Brazil)

This study aimed to map and evaluate the evolution of habitat fragmentation between 2009 and 2018, using the Microregion of Ceres (Goiás) as a sample reference, using principles of Landscape Ecology. The methodology comprised the mapping of the fragments in the two years analyzed, using the OLI/Landsat 8 sensor, using scenes 222/70 and 222/71. The SPRING 5.2 software was used, where the supervised classification was performed, applying the semi-automatic process. The computational algorithm applied to classify the scenes was Maxver, which classifies pixel by pixel and groups the information of each one into homogeneous regions. After extracting the fragments of native vegetation, the methodology proposed by Juvanhol et al. (2011), in which the fragments were grouped into classes: Very Small (MP) ≤5 hectares; Small (P) ≥5.01 and ≤10 hectares; Medium (M) ≥10.01 and ≤100 hectares and Large (G) ≥100.01 hectares. For the analysis based on metrics in Landscape Ecology, the ArcGis 9.2 Patch Analyst extension was used. The results showed the expansion of vegetation cover areas in the study area, concentrated on tops of hills, APP and legal reserves. However, they pointed out intense fragmentation of native vegetation, which hinders the performance of fragments as habitats. It is considered that, from the contemporary problem of degradation of natural environments to the detriment of economic development, studies like this are necessary in order to identify existing environmental problems and propose strategies to minimize and mitigate ecological imbalances.

Analysis of the stability of the computational algorithm to a change in the geometric parameters of cylindrical shell structures

This study deals with testing sustainability of a computational algorithm to a change in geometric parameters of cylindrical shell structures. A change in geometry implies the replacement of one type of a cylindrical shell (elliptic, hyperbolic, parabolic) with another so that the quantitative change (the difference in elevations) in the area under consideration is minimal. On the one hand, this test allows to assessing the correctness of the algorithm itself and is relevant for algorithms that use both numerical methods and symbolic calculations. On the other hand, it allows to evaluating the possibility of simplifying calculations by approximating a complex surface with a simpler one both in understanding the surface definition itself and in expressing its basic characteristics such as Lame coefficients and main curvatures. A mathematical model of deformations of shell structures based on the hypotheses of Timoshenko (Mindlin - Reisner) are used in the work. The model takes into account transverse shifts, geometric nonlinearity and orthotropy of the material, and its written in the form of a functional of the total potential strain energy. The calculation algorithm is built on the basis of the Ritz method to reduce the variational problem of the minimum functional to the solution of a system of nonlinear algebraic equations, and on the method of continuing the solution with the best parameter for its solution. All calculations were carried out in dimensionless parameters. Three types of cylindrical panels are calculated, and critical loads of buckling and deflection fields at subcritical and supercritical moments are obtained. It is shown that for the considered class of problems the previously proposed mathematical model and computational algorithm are resistant to changes in the geometry of the structure.

Proposal of an algorithm to evaluate geometric distortion and artifact spreading in digital breast tomosynthesis

Background According to the European Reference Organization for Quality Assurance Breast Screening and European Diagnostic Services, the spatial accuracy of reconstructed images and reconstruction artifacts must be evaluated in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) quality control procedures. Purpose To propose a computational algorithm to evaluate the geometric distortion and artifact spreading (GDAS) in DBT images. Material and Methods The proposed algorithm analyzed tomosynthesis images of a phantom that contains aluminum spheres (1 mm in diameter) arranged in a rectangular matrix spaced 5 cm apart that was inserted in 5-mm-thick polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Results The obtained results were compared with the values provided by the algorithm developed by the National Coordinating Center for the Physics of Mammography (NCCPM). In the comparison, the results depended on the dimensions of the region of interest (ROI). This dependence proves the benefit of the proposed algorithm because it allows the user to select the ROI. Conclusion The computational algorithm proved to be useful for the evaluation of GDAS in DBT images, in the same way as the reference algorithm (NCCPM), as well as allowing the selection of the ROI dimensions that best suit the spreading of the artifact in the analyzed images.

Parallel Computational Algorithm for Object-Oriented Modeling of Manipulation Robots

An algorithm for parallel calculations in a dynamic model of manipulation robots obtained by the Lagrange–Euler method is developed. Independent components were identified in the structure of the dynamic model by its decomposition. Using the technology of object-oriented programming, classes corresponding to the structures of the selected components of the dynamic model were described. The algorithmization of parallel computing is based on the independence of the calculation of objects of individual classes and the sequence of matrix operations. The estimation of the execution time of parallel algorithms, the resulting acceleration, and the efficiency of using processors is given.