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Two varieties (Maki and Walana) of field peas were hammer- and disc-milled to various particle size distributions. Water hydration characteristics were significantly (p

The aim of the work is to increase the visual information in magnetic resonance imaging based susceptibility weighted images. Our approach is to amplify spatial frequency information of the phase mask used to increase susceptibility weighting using a modified version of the human contrast sensitivity function. Thereby, we propose a modified version of the human contrast sensitivity function for use in phase mask creation. Comparison with conventional susceptibility-weighted imaging was undertaken on a qualitative basis and quantitatively with a number of established image quality metrics on ex vivo mouse brain magnetic resonance images obtained at 16.4 T at various echo times. Four experts also compared the quality of in vivo 1.5 and 3 T human brain magnetic resonance images generated with traditional susceptibility weighted imaging and with the new method. We found that parameters of the modified human contrast sensitivity function can be chosen to improve delineation of structural detail of mouse and human brains. Information contained in susceptibility-weighted images generated using the modified human contrast sensitivity function based phase mask corresponds to that in the conventional method, however the visual range over which it is depicted has improved visual perception. Hence, qualitative evaluation of information contained in susceptibility-weighted images can be improved by amplifying spatial frequencies where human contrast sensitivity is reduced., Highlights • Perception of image content is defined by the human contrast sensitivity function. • Human contrast sensitivity function enhanced susceptibility weighted images. • Marked increase in spatial frequency perception of brain images was achieved. • The approach can potentially be used to improve diagnosis of diseases and disorders., Graphical abstract

Background and purpose Increased blood–brain barrier permeability is believed to be associated with complications following acute ischemic stroke and with infarct expansion. Measurement of blood–brain barrier permeability requires a delayed image acquisition methodology, which prolongs examination time, increasing the likelihood of movement artefacts and radiation dose. Existing quantitative methods overestimate blood–brain barrier permeability when early phase CT perfusion data are used. The purpose of this study is to develop a method that yields the correct blood–brain barrier permeability value using first-pass perfusion CT data. Methods We acquired 43 CT perfusion datasets, comprising experimental (n = 30) and validation subject groups (n = 13). The Gjedde–Patlak method was used to estimate blood–brain barrier permeability using first-pass (30–60 s after contrast administration) and delayed phase (30–200 s) data. In the experimental group, linear regression was used to obtain a function predicting first-pass blood–brain barrier permeability estimates from delayed phase estimates in each stroke compartment. The reliability of prediction with this function was then tested using data from the validation group. Results The predicted delayed phase blood–brain barrier permeability was strongly correlated with the measured delayed phase value (r = 0.67 and 0.6 for experimental and validation group respectively; p, Graphical abstract, Highlights • Delayed phase BBBP can be predicted from first-pass perfusion CT data. • Predicted BBBP was not significantly different from delayed phase measurements. • Prediction model allows reliable BBBP estimation within the standard acquisition time.

Summary Fasciolosis has emerged as an important zoonotic disease in many parts of the world. In recent years, an increasing number of human cases were reported in Vietnam. In this study, the 27-kDa component protein from the excretory/secretory production of adult Fasciola gigantica, purified by high performance liquid chromatography, was assessed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against Fasciola spp. for diagnosis of human fasciolosis. The ELISA showed a high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (97.67%) when tested on patients with fasciolosis, other parasitic infections, cholangiocarcinoma and on healthy controls. The assay was applied for diagnosis on 143 patients in the Viet Duc-Hanoi hospital who presented with clinical signs of liver disease and lesions in their livers as shown by imaging techniques. Antibodies were found in 37 (25.9%) of these patients, of whom only 3 shed Fasciola eggs in their stools (2.1%). The excellent response to triclabendazole treatment of 37 sero-positive patients confirmed the diagnosis of fasciolosis. This study demonstrated the diagnostic potential for human fasciolosis of the 27-kDa antigen ELISA. Fasciolosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatic disease in Vietnam.

Formal methods, techniques and tools are, at the present time, an active research topic in different areas of computer science (knowledge representation, real-time systems, algorithms, etc.). These formal techniques are intended to help users specify consistently their needs and verify them. Only mathematical techniques are able to prove or to verify the coherence of the specification of a given system or algorithm, etc. However, there is an enormous difficulty to put into use the mathematical techniques and concepts. This difficulty stems from the fact that these mathematical techniques and concepts are accessible only by a minority of specialists. To solve this problem, we have to develop tools and methods to help users to make the most out of formal approaches, without the apparent complexity of mathematical problems.

Object-oriented database systems ususally exhibit specific advantages over traditional database management systems and programming languages. Among them stand the ease of writing, maintaining and debugging application programs, code modularity, inheritance, persistency and sharability. Of particular interest to software engineering and computer-aided design applications is also the ability to dynamically change the object definitions and the opportunity to define incrementally composite objects. This paper gives an overview of current research efforts directed towards evolving data definitions in object-oriented database systems. The emphasis is on their ability to support two complementary aspects: supporting evolving schemas, and propagating the changes on the object instances. Several projects are analyzed: Cadb, Encore, GemStone, Orion and Sherpa. Current results indicate that if most of them provide schema evolution facilities, they seldom support automatic propagation mechanisms. A proposal is described that enables Sherpa to fully support the propagation of changes and the dynamic classification of the instances whose class definitions are modified. This approach is an extension of techniques used in artificial intelligence for knowledge representation. It extends previous classification mechanisms with a dynamic capability which adequately supports evolving class definitions and instances.

Ce travail présente une approche générale du traitement de l'intégrité sémantique des données gérées par les systèmes de gestion de bases de données. Une organisation des connaissances (lois générales, données, etc.) d'une réalité/environnement est également présentée, accompagnée d'une méthode permettant leur définition cohérente. Les idées proposées ont été formalisées au moyen du calcul des prédicats du 1(e)r ordre puis mises en œuvre par l'intermédiaire du langage Prolog.