Search results for "specificity"
showing 10 items of 2234 documents
Tower of London test: a comparison between conventional statistic approach and modelling based on artificial neural network in differentiating fronto…
2011
The early differentiation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) may be difficult. The Tower of London (ToL), thought to assess executive functions such as planning and visuo-spatial working memory, could help in this purpose. Twentytwo Dementia Centers consecutively recruited patients with early FTD or AD. ToL performances of these groups were analyzed using both the conventional statistical approaches and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) modelling. Ninety-four non aphasic FTD and 160 AD patients were recruited. ToL Accuracy Score (AS) significantly (p < 0.05) The use of hidden information contained in the different items of ToL and the non linear processing of…
Spectral clustering of shape and probability prior models for automatic prostate segmentation.
2013
Imaging artifacts in Transrectal Ultrasound (TRUS) images and inter-patient variations in prostate shape and size challenge computer-aided automatic or semi-automatic segmentation of the prostate. In this paper, we propose to use multiple mean parametric models derived from principal component analysis (PCA) of shape and posterior probability information to segment the prostate. In contrast to traditional statistical models of shape and intensity priors, we use posterior probability of the prostate region determined from random forest classification to build, initialize and propagate our model. Multiple mean models derived from spectral clustering of combined shape and appearance parameters…
Transposition of minisatellite-like DNA in Chironomus midges.
1994
Cla elements are a family of tandem repetitive DNA sequences present in the genome of several Chironomus species. Interspersed clusters of Cla elements are widely distributed all over the chromosomes in C. thummi thummi, while they seem to be limited to the centromeric regions in the closely related subspecies C. t. piger. Here we present molecular evidence that this differential distribution is due to a transposition of Cla elements during evolution of the C. t. thummi genome. We have cloned a "filled" integration site (containing a Cla element cluster) from C. t. thummi and the corresponding "empty" genomic site from C. t. piger and other related species. The comparison shows that tandem…
Strain differences in the ratio of synaptic body types in photoreceptors of the rat retina.
1993
In the retinal outer plexiform layer of seven different rat strains, synaptic bodies (SB) were counted and, according to their morphology, characterized as synaptic ribbons (SR), synaptic spheres (SS) or intermediate structures. It was found that absolute SB numbers showed relatively small variations while SR/SS ratios differed considerably between the strains investigated. These results are discussed with respect to retinal pigmentation and to formation and degradation, respectively, of synaptic ribbons.
Differential modulation of CYP2E1 activity by cAMP-dependent protein kinase upon Ser129 replacement.
1998
Many toxic compounds are activated by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2E1 to reactive metabolites, which represents a potential hazard for cellular homeostasis. Therefore knowledge about CYP2E1 regulation could be of great biological importance. It has been shown that CYP2E1 is controlled transcriptionally and post-translationally by phosphorylation. In the present study we investigated the role of serine-129 (Ser129) in the protein kinase A (PKA) recognition sequence motif Arg-Arg-Phe-Ser129. To gain further insights into the possible relevance of Ser129 for CYP2E1 function, Ser129 was replaced by alanine (Ala) or glycine (Gly) by site-directed mutations of the cDNA coding for CYP2E1. The mutant cDN…
Susceptibility of mouse skeletal muscles to exercise injuries.
1983
The susceptibility to exercise-induced myopathy was studied by histological and biochemical methods in various skeletal muscles of mice 3-4 days after a single bout of prolonged running. The degree of exercise injuries varied greatly in different muscles. Soleus and the red deep parts of quadriceps femoris were the most severely affected muscles. Extensive or scattered necrosis of muscle fibers was associated with focal inflammation and a five- to nine-fold increase in the activity of beta-glucuronidase in these muscles. Slight necrotic changes and a two- to three-fold increase in the activity of beta-glucuronidase were observed in tibialis anterior, plantaris, and the red deep parts of gas…
Validation of a New Cognitive Screening Method for Stroke Patients
2019
Objective. Two million adults under fifty years of age have a cerebral stroke every year worldwide. Neuropsychological assessment is the best way to identify poststroke cognitive dysfunction, but it is often time-consuming and can be tiring for the patient, and hospitals vary in their availability of neuropsychological expertise. A valid and reliable cognitive screening method could be advantageous in identifying patients who need comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Our purpose in this study was to validate a newly developed cognitive screening method as an identifier of cognitive dysfunction after stroke in working-aged patients. Methods. We analyzed new cognitive screening metho…
Stability of Corynosoma populations with fluctuating population densities of the seal definitive host.
2004
In theory there should be a strong coupling between host and parasite population sizes. Here, we investigated population size and structure in 3 species of acanthocephalans,Corynosoma semerme,C. strumosumandC. magdaleni, in ringed seals (Phoca hispida) from the Bothnian Bay over a period of more than 20 years. During this period, seal numbers first decreased markedly and then increased steadily; at the same time, a paratenic fish host particularly important forC. strumosumhas gradually disappeared from the bay due to decreasing salinity. We found no evidence that the mean abundance of any of the 3 acanthocephalan species changed significantly over time, nor was there any relationship betwee…
Neurogranin as a Novel Biomarker in Alzheimer's Disease
2020
Abstract Background In this study, we investigated the possible role of 2 novel biomarkers of synaptic damage, namely, neurogranin and α-synuclein, in Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods The study was performed in a cohort consisting of patients with AD and those without AD, including individuals with other neurological diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurogranin and α-synuclein levels were measured by sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). Results We found significantly increased levels of CSF neurogranin and α-synuclein in patients with AD than those without AD. Neurogranin was correlated with total tau (tTau) and phosphorylated tau (pTau), as well as with cognitive declin…
Dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activities of rabbit liver are associated with hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and aldo-keto reductases.
1992
1. Dihydrodiol dehydrogenase activities were investigated in rabbit liver. Using a five-step purification scheme, eight isoenzymes of dihydrodiol dehydrogenase with isoelectric points of 5.55-9.3 and promoter molecular masses of 34-35 kDa were purified to apparent homogeneity and designated CF-1 to CF-6, CM-1 and CM-2. 2. CF-1 and CF-2 had near-neutral isoelectric points of 7.4 and 6.8 and molecular masses of about 125 kDa in the native state. Both enzymes readily accepted NAD+ as well as NADP+ as coenzymes, had relatively low Km values of 0.33 mM and 0.47 mM for benzene dihydrodiol and resembled previously described carbonyl reductases in their substrate specificity towards ketones and qui…