Bio-Inspired Multimodal Imaging in Reduced Visibility

The visual systems found in nature rely on capturing light under different modalities, in terms of spectral sensitivities and polarization sensitivities. Numerous imaging techniques are inspired by this variety, among which, the most famous is color imaging inspired by the trichromacy theory of the human visual system. We investigate the spectral and polarimetric properties of biological imaging systems that will lead to the best performance on scene imaging through haze, i.e., dehazing. We design a benchmark experiment based on modalities inspired by several visual systems, and adapt state-of-the-art image reconstruction algorithms to those modalities. We show the difference in performance of each studied systems and discuss it in front of our methodology and the statistical relevance of our data.

Raman Fingerprints of Rice Nutritional Quality: A Comparison between Japanese Koshihikari and Internationally Renowned Cultivars

Raman spectroscopy was applied to characterize at the molecular scale the nutritional quality of the Japanese Koshihikari rice cultivar in comparison with other renowned rice cultivars including Carnaroli from Italy, Calrose from the USA, Jasmine rice from Thailand, and Basmati from both India and Pakistan. For comparison, two glutinous (mochigome) cultivars were also investigated. Calibrated and validated Raman analytical algorithms allowed quantitative determinations of: (i) amylopectin and amylose concentrations, (ii) fractions of aromatic amino acids, and (iii) protein content and secondary structure. The Raman assessments non-destructively linked the molecular composition of grains to key nutritional parameters and revealed a complex intertwine of chemical properties. The Koshihikari cultivar was rich in proteins (but with low statistical relevance as compared to other investigated cultivars) and aromatic amino acids. However, it also induced a clearly higher glycemic impact as compared to long-grain cultivars from Asian countries. Complementary to genomics and wet-chemistry analyses, Raman spectroscopy makes non-destructively available factual and data-driven information on rice nutritional characteristics, thus providing customers, dietitian nutritionists, and producers with a solid science-consolidated platform.

Demographical, Anatomical, Disease-Related, and Occupational Risk Factors for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common focal mononeuropathy. It causes characteristic symptoms, including numbness and paresthesia in hand due to median nerve compression at the wrist. Objectives: We aimed to investigate CTS prevalence and personal, psychosocial, biomedical, and occupational factors related to it comprehensively, according to scattered publications, without the simultaneous evaluation of all CTS risk factors. Methods: A total of 345 patients referred to a hand clinic with a complaint of paresthesia in upper extremities and suspected CTS. The patients underwent neurological assessment and electrodiagnostic (EDX) tests to confirm the diagnosis. The demographic information, past medical history, past trauma history, and occupational history of all the patients were recorded and finally analyzed with SPSS software. Results: Of the patients, 213 (67.1%) met the criteria for CTS, of whom 160 (75%) were female. Females were significantly more affected by CTS than males (P < 0.05). The mean age was higher in the CTS patients (53.80 ± 11.57 years) than in non-patients (42.39 ± 12.31 years, P < 0.001). No statistical relevance was found between CTS prevalence with occupational history, underlying medical conditions, positive Tinel’s and Phalen's tests, and muscle atrophy. Conclusions: We recognized age and gender as main determinants in developing CTS. We also found that older age was related to higher CTS intensity.

Prevalence of Dyslipidemia in HIV-Positive Women with HPV Coinfection: A Preliminary Study

Objective. The present study aimed to evaluate the lipid profile and atherogenic indexes in HIV-positive women with and without coinfection with human papillomavirus. Methods. Preliminary study was conducted with HIV-positive women. Laboratory tests (lipid profile, glycid profile, and atherogenic indexes) and detection of human papillomavirus (nested PCR technique using PGMY 09 and 11 primers, GP+5, and GP+6) were performed. For the analysis of the results, the data were categorized into two groups: with coinfection (HIV+/HPV+) and without coinfection (HIV+/HPV–). Results. Eighty-two HIV-positive women, aged between 35 and 49 years, participated in this study among whom 50% had HPV coinfection (HIV+/HPV+). Regarding comorbidities, there was a predominance of dyslipidemia (46.3%). The analysis of laboratory determinations and atherogenic indexes showed statistical relevance in the serum concentrations of total cholesterol ( p = 0.04 ), LDL cholesterol ( p = 0.03 ), and non-HDL cholesterol ( p = 0.04 ), as well as for the Castelli I index, Castelli II index, and atherogenic coefficient ( p = 0.04 , 0.04, and 0.03, respectively). Conclusion. The present study demonstrated a correlation between the lipid profile and atherogenic indexes with HIV/HPV coinfection, demonstrating a possible synergy between these viruses. However, further studies in this area must be carried out.

Gravimetric study and statistical data on the symbiotic effect of organic intermixtures on corrosion inhibition of P4 mold steel

The corrosion protection properties of the intermixed of l-leucine and vanillin (LLVL) on P4 mold steel within 1.5 M H2SO4 and HCl media was studied by weight loss analysis. Calculated data revealed the inhibition effect of the intermixed compound performed poorly at low H2SO4 concentrations due to inability of the combined inhibitor molecules to aggregate and effectively hinder the dispersion of the destructive anions to the steel surface. The inhibition efficiency decreased significantly with time to values below effective inhibitor performance. However, from mid to optimum concentration, inhibition efficiency of the compound was generally stable with time with values generally above 85%. In HCl media, the inhibition efficiency of the intermixture was generally above 80% at all concentrations with respect to the inspection time. The inhibitor compound exhibited greater stability in HCl compared to H2SO4 solution. Calculated values of standard deviation in H2SO4 were broadly greater than the outputs received in HCl due to the degree of variation between LLVL inhibition efficiency values. The margin of error at 95% confidence shows 65% of LLVL inhibition efficiency values obtained in H2SO4 solution have values above 70% inhibition efficiency with margin of error at +12.07% while in HCl solution, 100% of the LLVL inhibition efficiency data obtained is above 70% with margin of error of +1%. Analysis of variance showed the statistical relevance of inhibition efficiency in H2SO4 and HCl solution is significantly higher the corresponding relevance for inspection time with values of 70.45% and 71.18%.

Macrophages, the main marker in biocompatibility evaluation of new hydrogels after subcutaneous implantation in rats

Biocompatibility of materials is one of the most important conditions for their successful application in tissue regeneration and repair. Cell-surface interactions stimulate adhesion and activation of macrophages whose acquaintance can assist in designing novel biomaterials that promote favorable macrophage–biomaterial surface interactions for clinical application. This study is designed to determine the distribution and number of macrophages as a means of biocompatibility evaluation of two newly synthesized materials [silver/poly(vinyl alcohol) (Ag/PVA) and silver/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene (Ag/PVA/Gr) nanocomposite hydrogels] in vivo, with approval of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade. Macrophages and giant cells were analyzed in tissue sections stained by routine H&E and immunohistochemical methods (CD68+). Statistical relevance was determined in the statistical software package SPSS 20 (IBM corp). The results of the study in terms of the number of giant cells localized around the implant showed that their number was highest on the seventh postoperative day (p.o.d.) in the group implanted with Ag/PVA hydrogels, and on the 30th p.o.d. in the group implanted with Ag/PVA/Gr. Interestingly, the number of macrophages measured in the capsular and pericapsular space was highest in the group implanted with the commercial Suprasorb© material. The increased macrophage number, registered around the Ag/PVA/Gr implant on 60th p.o.d. indicates that the addition of graphene can, in a specific way, modulate different biological responses of tissues in the process of wound healing, regeneration, and integration.

FORUM: Building a Knowledge Graph from public databases and scientific literature to extract associations between chemicals and diseases

Motivation Metabolomics studies aim at reporting a metabolic signature (list of metabolites) related to a particular experimental condition. These signatures are instrumental in the identification of biomarkers or classification of individuals, however their biological and physiological interpretation remains a challenge. To support this task, we introduce FORUM: a Knowledge Graph (KG) providing a semantic representation of relations between chemicals and biomedical concepts, built from a federation of life science databases and scientific literature repositories. Results The use of a Semantic Web framework on biological data allows us to apply ontological based reasoning to infer new relations between entities. We show that these new relations provide different levels of abstraction and could open the path to new hypotheses. We estimate the statistical relevance of each extracted relation, explicit or inferred, using an enrichment analysis, and instantiate them as new knowledge in the KG to support results interpretation/further inquiries. Availability A web interface to browse and download the extracted relations, as well as a SPARQL endpoint to directly probe the whole FORUM knowledge graph, are available at https://forum-webapp.semantic-metabolomics.fr. The code needed to reproduce the triplestore is available at https://github.com/eMetaboHUB/Forum-DiseasesChem. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Consumer attitudes towards the mountain product label: Implications for mountain development

To protect and promote the originality and authenticity of mountain foodstuffs, the European Union set Regulation No 1151/2012 to create the optional quality term “mountain product”. Our research aimed at exploring the attractiveness of the mountain product label for consumers, considering both attitude towards the label itself and purchase intentions. We propose a model to investigate relationships between four latent constructs — mountain attractiveness, mountain food attractiveness, attitude towards the mountain product label, and purchase intention — which have been tested, thus confirming the statistical relevance of the relationships. All 47 items selected for describing the latent constructs are suitable for this purpose. Ridge and LASSO results also show that 17 items of the first three constructs are relevant in explaining purchase intentions. Some contextual variables, such as age, income, geographical origin of consumers, and knowledge of mountain products and mountains for tourism purposes, can positively influence consumers’ behavior. These findings could support the design of mountain development strategies, in particular marketing actions for both the product and the territory.

Minimally invasive chevron/akin osteotomy: radiographic outcomes

Objective: To evaluate radiographic outcomes in patients undergoing minimally invasive Chevron/Akin osteotomy (MICA) for hallux valgus correction. Methods: We have treated 31 patients (40 feet). Preoperative and postoperative hallux metatarsophalangeal angles (hallux valgus angles, HVA), intermetatarsal angles (IMA) between the first and second metatarsals, and distal metatarsal articular angles (DMAA) were followed up for 12 months. Results: The mean age of the patients was 53.2 years. Mean preoperative HVA, IMA, and DMAA values were 28.85°, 15.38°, and 14.35°, respectively. The mean postoperative angles measured after 1 year were 10.60°, 7.95°, and 7.48°. Improvements in HVA, IMA, and DMAA values showed statistical relevance. There were no losses in angular parameters during follow-up. Conclusion: The radiographic outcomes in patients undergoing MICA osteotomy for hallux valgus correction followed up for 12 months showed significant improvements and no recurrence of the deformity. Our results suggest that this technique is effective for correcting hallux valgus. Level of Evidence III; Therapeutic Studies; Comparative Retrospective Study.