Search results for "vision."
showing 10 items of 4900 documents
Portable remote photoplethysmography device for monitoring of blood volume changes with high temporal resolution
2016
The compact remote photoplethysmography device for monitoring of blood volume pulsations from human skin were developed. The prototype device comprises electronics board with twelve circullary oriented bright near-infrared LED illuminators, which are precisely controlled, high-speed video camera and battery charging circuit. Device was tested in laboratory and could be used for non-contact monitoring of human blood volume changes in palm.
Quality enhancement of multispectral images for skin cancer optical diagnostics
2018
Melanoma is the least common but deadliest skin cancer, accounting for only about 1% of all cases, but is the cause of the vast majority of skin cancer death. In some parts of the world, especially among western countries, melanoma is becoming more common every year. The detection of melanoma in early stage can be helpful to cure it. Unfortunately, long ques and high prices for dermatology service can result in the skin cancer diagnosis at its later stage, thus increasing the risk of mortality for the patient. It is important to provide a non-invasive optical device for primary care physicians to help diagnose different skin malformation based on obtained optical images. Such device will be…
Analysis of low-correlated spatial gene expression patterns: A clustering approach in the mouse brain data hosted in the Allen Brain Atlas
2018
The Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) provides a similar gene expression dataset by genome-scale mapping of the C57BL/6J mouse brain. In this study, the authors describe a method to extract the spatial information of gene expression patterns across a set of 1047 genes. The genes were chosen from among the 4104 genes having the lowest Pearson correlation coefficient used to compare the expression patterns across voxels in a single hemisphere for available coronal and sagittal volumes. The set of genes analysed in this study is the one discarded in the article by Bohland et al. , which was considered to be of a lower consistency, not a reliable dataset. Following a normalisation task with a global and …
The molecular epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of influenza B virus in two Italian regions during 2010-2015: The experience of Sicily and Ligur…
2016
Molecular epidemiology of influenza B virus remained poorly studied in Italy, despite representing a major contributor to seasonal epidemics. This study aimed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of the hemagglutinin gene sequences of 197 influenza B strains circulating in both Southern (Sicily) and Northern (Liguria) Italy between 2010 and 2015. Upper respiratory tract specimens of patients displaying symptoms of influenza-like illness were screened by real-time RT-PCR assay for the presence of influenza B virus. PCR-positive influenza B samples were further analyzed by sequencing. Neighbor-joining phylogenetic trees were constructed and the amino-acid alignm…
Pathophysiology of non alcoholic fatty liver disease
2016
The physiopathology of fatty liver and metabolic syndrome are influenced by diet, life style and inflammation, which have a major impact on the severity of the clinicopathologic outcome of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A short comprehensive review is provided on current knowledge of the pathophysiological interplay among major circulating effectors/mediators of fatty liver, such as circulating lipids, mediators released by adipose, muscle and liver tissues and pancreatic and gut hormones in relation to diet, exercise and inflammation.
Targeting Angiogenesis in Biliary Tract Cancers: An Open Option
2017
Abstract: Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are characterized by a bad prognosis and the armamentarium of drugs for their treatment is very poor. Although the inflammatory status of biliary tract represents the first step in the cancerogenesis, the microenvironment also plays a key role in the pathogenesis of BTCs, promoting tumor angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. Several molecules, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF), are involved in the angiogenesis process and their expression on tumor samples has been explored as prognostic marker in both cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder cancer. Recent studies evaluated the genomic landscape of BTCs and…
p38α regulates actin cytoskeleton and cytokinesis in hepatocytes during development and aging.
2017
[Background]: Hepatocyte poliploidization is an age-dependent process, being cytokinesis failure the main mechanism of polyploid hepatocyte formation. Our aim was to study the role of p38α MAPK in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and cytokinesis in hepatocytes during development and aging. [Methods]: Wild type and p38α liver-specific knock out mice at different ages (after weaning, adults and old) were used. [Results]: We show that p38α MAPK deficiency induces actin disassembly upon aging and also cytokinesis failure leading to enhanced binucleation. Although the steady state levels of cyclin D1 in wild type and p38α knock out old livers remained unaffected, cyclin B1- a marker for G2/M…
Rhythmic Regulation of Photoreceptor and RPE Genes Important for Vision and Genetically Associated With Severe Retinal Diseases.
2018
Purpose The aim of the present study was to identify candidate genes for mediating daily adjustment of vision. Methods Genes important for vision and genetically associated with severe retinal diseases were tested for 24-hour rhythms in transcript levels in neuronal retina, microdissected photoreceptors, photoreceptor-related pinealocytes, and retinal pigment epithelium-choroid (RPE-choroid) complex by using quantitative PCR. Results Photoreceptors of wildtype mice display circadian clock-dependent regulation of visual arrestins (Arr1, Arr4) and the visual cycle gene Rdh12, whereas cells of the RPE-choroid exhibit light-dependent regulation of the visual cycle key genes Lrat, Rpe65, and Rdh…
Vitamin D Status and the Relationship with Bone Fragility Fractures in HIV-Infected Patients: A Case Control Study
2018
HIV-infected patients show high risk of fracture. The aims of our study were to determine the prevalence of vertebral fractures (VFs) and their associations with vitamin D in HIV patients. 100 patients with HIV infection and 100 healthy age-and sex-matched controls were studied. Bone mineral density was measured by quantitative ultrasound at the non-dominant heel. Serum osteocalcin and C-terminal telopeptide of collagen type 1 served as bone turnover markers. Bone ultrasound measurements were significantly lower in patients compared with controls (Stiffness Index (SI): 80.58 ± 19.95% vs. 93.80 ± 7.10%, respectively, p < 0.001). VFs were found in 16 patients and in 2 controls. HIV patie…
Maternal Inheritance of a Recessive RBP4 Defect in Canine Congenital Eye Disease
2018
SUMMARY Maternally skewed transmission of traits has been associated with genomic imprinting and oocyte-derived mRNA. We report canine congenital eye malformations, caused by an amino acid deletion (K12del) near the N terminus of retinol-binding protein (RBP4). The disease is only expressed when both dam and offspring are deletion homozygotes. RBP carries vitamin A (retinol) from hepatic stores to peripheral tissues, including the placenta and developing eye, where it is required to synthesize retinoic acid. Gestational vitamin A deficiency is a known risk factor for ocular birth defects. The K12del mutation disrupts RBP folding in vivo, decreasing its secretion from hepatocytes to serum. T…