This paper presents a new image denoising algorithm based on fractional filters. The fractional filters are derived using a newly introduced fractional operator. The proposed algorithm identifies the ...noisy pixels based on pixel-density and upgrades them by an adaptive fractional integral mask. To maintain the correlation and recover the lost information, the noise-free pixels are also processed by an adaptive fractional differential mask. We formulate the order function for the fractional mask with the help of gradient features and variance of the image. The algorithm is applied to standard images of different characteristics. The experimental results are compared with some other existing techniques. Evaluation parameters and visual perceptions show that the proposed method performs better than most of the discussed methods. The proposed approach is applicable for image denoising due to its applicability over different types of noises and denoising performance.
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are shown to be responsible for initiation and progression of tumors in a variety of cancers. We previously showed that anthocyanin-containing baked purple-fleshed potato ...(PP) extracts (PA) suppressed early and advanced human colon cancer cell proliferation and induced apoptosis, but their effect on colon CSCs is not known. Considering the evidence of bioactive compounds, such as anthocyanins, against cancers, there is a critical need to study anticancer activity of PP, a global food crop, against colon CSCs. Thus, isolated colon CSCs (positive for CD44, CD133 and ALDH1b1 markers) with functioning p53 and shRNA-attenuated p53 were treated with PA at 5.0 μg/ml. Effects of baked PP (20% wt/wt) against colon CSCs were also tested in vivo in mice with azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis. Effects of PA/PP were compared to positive control sulindac. In vitro, PA suppressed proliferation and elevated apoptosis in a p53-independent manner in colon CSCs. PA, but not sulindac, suppressed levels of Wnt pathway effector β-catenin (a critical regulator of CSC proliferation) and its downstream proteins (c-Myc and cyclin D1) and elevated Bax and cytochrome c, proteins-mediating mitochondrial apoptosis. In vivo, PP reduced the number of crypts containing cells with nuclear β-catenin (an indicator of colon CSCs) via induction of apoptosis and suppressed tumor incidence similar to that of sulindac. Combined, our data suggest that PP may contribute to reduced colon CSCs number and tumor incidence in vivo via suppression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and elevation of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.
A new feature of plasma depletion bay (PDB) on the longitudinal structure over the equatorial and low latitudes is observed by the FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC (F3/C) electron density profiles. The existence of ...the PDB feature is confirmed by the OI 135.6 nm radiance from TIMED/GUVI, which together with F3/C electron density shows that one North PDB extending to the Southern Hemisphere prominently appears over Southwest America while three South PDBs extending to the Northern Hemisphere occur over North Atlantic, India Ocean, and Southeast Asia. Three‐dimensional F3/C ionospheric electron densities are further used to examine PDB structures at various local times, seasons, solar activities, and altitudes during 2007−2014. It is found that the north PDB is observed during October−March, while the south PDBs mostly exist during April−September. These PDBs can be observed within 250–350 km altitudes in the nighttime, appearing pronounced over 275–300 km altitudes around 2300–0100 LT, in the low solar activity year of 2007. Global effective wind patterns computed using the horizontal wind model HWM93 in solstice months suggest that summer‐to‐winter field‐aligned winds projected from zonal neutral winds play an important role.
Key Points
A new feature of plasma depletion bays (PDBs) in the electron density fixedly appears over the equatorial/low‐latitude nighttime ionosphere
PDBs prominently appear in particular longitudes, summer hemisphere, nighttime, solstice months, and low solar activity years
Horizontal wind model simulations show that the zonal neutral winds projected on the magnetic field lines are essential to form PDBs
(
) are a longstanding hydrophyte belonging to the Pontederiaceae family and subfamily Trollioideae. It is classified as an invasive plant owing to its phenomenal growth and propagation and is often ...described as the worst aquatic plant. Natural antioxidants, such as phenolic compounds and flavonoids, have an increased protective effect against free radicals. A single laboratory test is insufficient to comprehend all of the mechanisms entailed in investigating the antioxidant effects of the phytoconstituents. The antioxidant propensity of methanolic extracts from
petioles was investigated in this study utilizing 2,2'-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). Additionally, the cytotoxic effect of
methanolic petiole extract upon MG-63 cell lines for the inhibition of osteosarcoma cells was investigated.
The antioxidant propensity was appraised by employing DPPH and ABTS assays. The cytotoxic effects of the methanolic petiole extract of
at varying concentrations on MG-63 cell lines were evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay. The absorbance scores were computed using the mean and standard deviation. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated by applying probit analysis. The data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics for the descriptive statistics of the percentage of cell viability and regression analysis.
The antioxidant potential was assessed by employing DPPH and ABTS assays at various concentration levels of 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml, and 400 μg/ml of methanolic petiole extracts. The antioxidant potential of DPPH (57.95%) and ABTS (60.47%) was more at the elevated doses of 400 μg/mL. The percentage of cell viability upon MG-63 cell line was measured at varying doses of 12.5 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, and 200 μg/ml of methanolic petiole extracts and was found to be 99.36%, 93.92%, 86.77%, 69.14%, and 45.08%, respectively. The IC50 value for the extract of
against the MG-63 cell line was 177.65 μg/mL. The regression equation computed from the findings of the probit analysis was y = -0.2881x + 101.18 with a coefficient of determination of R² = 0.992.
The methanolic extracts of the various parts of the plant, such as leaves, flower, rhizome, and petioles, have been established in similar prior studies to contain the highest phenolic constituents and were found to have a high rate of DPPH radical scavenging activity and reducing power. It is inferred from the findings of the present study that
petiole extracts have a significant protective role against oxidative stress, potentially attributed to the antioxidant potential. Further, the findings of the study reveal that the methanolic petiole extract of
induced cytotoxicity upon MG-63 cell lines with an IC50 value of 177.65 μg/mL.
The first‐principles three‐dimensional ionosphere model Naval Research Laboratory SAMI3/ESF is used to study the low‐latitude nighttime medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) ...triggered by the typhoon‐induced concentric gravity waves (CGWs) for the first time. Simulation results demonstrate that the electrodynamic coupling between CGWs and Perkins instability can initiate the rarely observed low‐latitude nighttime MSTIDs by accelerating their growth rates. Both the simulations and observations show that the westward and westward/equatorward propagating CGWs with similar wavefront alignments to the Perkins instability could enhance the generation of MSTIDs rather than the northward propagating CGWs. The CGWs penetrating to the ionospheric F layer without severe dissipation can induce greater polarization electric fields to accelerate the Perkins instability via E × B drifts.
Plain Language Summary
Nighttime medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) are electrodynamical structures, which are primarily observed in the midlatitude ionosphere over the Asian, European, and American regions. These structures have typical wavelengths of a few hundred kilometers and propagate westward and equatorward with a unique frontal alignment along northwest‐southeast and northeast‐southwest in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively. Recently, low‐latitude nighttime MSTIDs were observed over the Taiwan Strait when Super Typhoon Nepartak swept toward Taiwan on 7 July 2016. It is suggested that the typhoon‐induced concentric gravity waves (CGWs) could play an important role to seed the low‐latitude MSTIDs. To confirm this hypothesis, we used a SAMI3/ESF ionosphere model to identify the interconnection between CGWs and MSTIDs. Simulations demonstrate that the CGWs can modulate the ionospheric electrodynamics and electron density distribution through wind perturbation, leading to the generation of low‐latitude nighttime MSTIDs. CGWs propagating upward into the ionosphere without severe dissipation could efficiently initiate the MSTIDs. The study confirms the impact of CGWs on the nighttime equatorial ionosphere, providing important implications for the electrodynamic coupling between the meteorological events and ionospheric instabilities.
Key Points
Numerical modeling shows the initiation of low‐latitude nighttime MSTIDs by typhoon‐induced concentric gravity waves
Electrodynamical coupling of Perkins instability and CGW‐induced electric fields drives the low‐latitude nighttime MSTIDs
The westward/southwestward propagating CGWs penetrating to the ionospheric F layer initiate the MSTIDs most efficiently
The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros Linn. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is one of the major pests of coconut causing severe yield losses. The adult beetles feed on unopened spear ...leaf (resulting in the typical ‘V’-shaped cuts), spathes, inflorescence, and tender nut leading to stunted palm growth and yield reduction. Moreover, these damages serve as predisposing factors to the entry of other fatal enemies on palms, viz., red palm weevil and bud rot disease, causing yield loss as high as 10%. CRB attacks juvenile palms through the collar region, affecting the growth and initial establishment of the juvenile palms. While the immature stages of CRB sustain on organic debris, the adult beetles are ubiquitous pests on coconut and other palms. The discovery of a new invasive haplotype of CRB from Guam and other Pacific Islands, insensitive to Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV), a potent biocontrol agent, has raised serious concerns. The draft genome sequence and simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker data for this important pest of coconut are presented here. A total of 30 Gb of sequence data from an individual third instar larva was obtained on an Illumina HiSeq X Five platform. The draft genome assembly was found to be 372 Mb, with 97.6% completeness based on Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) assessment. Functional gene annotation predicted about 16,241 genes. In addition, a total of 21,999 putative simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were identified. The obtained draft genome is a valuable resource for comprehending population genetics, dispersal patterns, phylogenetics, and species behavior.
We consider a double-auction mechanism, which was recently proposed in the context of rate allocation in mobile data-offloading markets; our mechanism is also applicable to the problem of bandwidth ...allocation in network slicing markets. Network operators ( users ) derive benefit from offloading their traffic to third party WiFi or femtocell networks ( link-suppliers ). Link-suppliers experience costs for the additional capacity that they provide. Users and link-suppliers (collectively referred to as agents ) have their pay-offs and cost functions as private knowledge. A network-manager decomposes the problem into a network problem (with surrogate pay-offs and surrogate cost functions) and agent problems (one per agent). The surrogate pay-offs and cost functions are modulated by the agents' bids. Agents' payoffs and costs are then determined by the allocations and prices set by the network-manager. Under this design, so long as the agents do not anticipate the effect of their actions on the prices set by the network-manager (i.e., price-taking agents), a competitive equilibrium exists as a solution to the network and agent problems, and this equilibrium optimizes the sum utility of all agents. However, this design fails when the agents (including the link-supplier) are all strategic ( price-anticipating ). Specifically, the presence of a strategic link-supplier drives the system to an undesirable equilibrium with zero participation resulting in an efficiency loss of 100%. This is in stark contrast to an earlier setting where the users alone are strategic but the link-supplier is not − the efficiency loss is known to be at most 34%. The paper then proposes the following Stackelberg game modification with asymmetric information structures for link-supplier and users in order to alleviate the efficiency-loss problem: the network-manager first announces the allocation and payment functions; he then invites the link-supplier to announce its bid, following which the users are invited to respond with their bids. The resulting Stackelberg games' efficiency losses can be characterized in terms of the link-supplier's cost function when the users' pay-off functions are linear. Specifically, when the link-supplier's cost function is quadratic, the worst case efficiency loss is 25%. Further, the loss in efficiency improves for polynomial cost functions of higher degree. For non-linear utility functions (e.g., <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\alpha </tex-math></inline-formula>-fair and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\log </tex-math></inline-formula> utilities), we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed mechanism via. a detailed numerical study.
An increasing number of people are turning to herbal medicines in their search for innovative pharmaceuticals since they are effective treatments for a wide variety of conditions and traditional ...herbs are rich in bioactive chemicals. In this study, we looked at whether or not a petiole extract of Eichhornia crassipes preserved in methanol inhibited the proliferation of prostate cancer (PC3) cell lines.
Lakes in Ezhikkara, Ernakulum, Kerala, were the source of E. crassipes. Soxhlet extraction was used to create the extract. 3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine the cell viability of methanolic petiole extract at various concentrations. Mean and standard deviation was used to determine absorbance scores. Utilizing probit analysis, we determined the IC50 value. The descriptive statistics to measure the percent of viable cells along with the regression equation were calculated using SPSS.
It has been shown that the methanol extract significantly impacted PC3 cell lines' capacity to survive. It was also determined that increasing the medication concentration resulted in a decrease in cell viability. The percentage of living cells was measured after being exposed to methanol extracts at concentrations of 12.5 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, and 200 μg/ml, and found to be 95.13, 85.88, 76.12, 64.33, and 53.62 percent, respectively. With IC50 values of 199.488 g/ml, it was shown that methanolic petiole extracts of E. crassipes are cytotoxic. Using probit analysis, we determined that the regression equation is y = -0.2051x + 90.915, with an R2 value of 0.893.
As a result of its chemotherapeutic properties, the E. crassipes petiole extract has the potential to be employed in therapeutic applications, with the ultimate goal of bettering prostate cancer management practices and clinical results by drastically lowering cell viability. The study's results may pave the way for fresh chemotherapeutic approaches to be developed for the treatment of androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Background Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, accounting for 3% of all malignant cancers. Phytochemicals and their related compounds are found in various parts of the plant
and have ...a variety of pharmacological actions. The current research was intended to compare and evaluate the anti-proliferative action of methanolic extracts of
roots and petioles against the Sloan Kettering Melanoma (SK-Mel-5) cell line. Materials and methods The waters around Ezhikkara, Ernakulum, Kerala, were discovered to contain
. We used a Soxhlet extractor to get this concentrated liquid. For this test, we employed a methanolic extract of roots and petioles to determine the extent to which different concentrations of the extract inhibited cell proliferation. Data on absorbance were reported as a mean standard deviation. Using Probit analysis, the IC
was calculated by evaluating the gradient of the regression line to get a value. Results Concentrations of methanolic root and petiole extracts of 12.5 µg/ml, 25 µg/ml, 50 µg/ml, 100 µg/ml, and 200 µg/ml were analyzed. The methanol petiole extract reduced the viability of SK-Mel-5 cells more than the root extract, with IC
values of 323.59 µg/ml and 174.70 µg/ml of the test sample concentration, respectively. The regression equation for the root extract was y = -0.1264x + 90.902 and R
= 0.845, and for the petiole extract, it was y = -0.2187x + 88.206 and R
= 0.917. Conclusion The current study found that increasing the concentration of methanolic extracts of roots and petioles of
exhibited an increased cell growth inhibition rate. However, methanolic petiole extracts were more cytotoxic than the roots. Thus, the current study demonstrated the therapeutic use of
as an anticancer agent, thereby providing a valuable alternative for enabling the early management of melanoma.
Introduction
Grey Scale Inversion Imaging (GSII), a radiology reading software, has been utilized to improve anatomical and pathological delineation and consequently increase the diagnostic accuracy ...in a variety of trauma and Orthopaedic conditions.
Objective/aim
The objective of this study was to assess whether Grey Scale Inversion Imaging (GSII) has any impact on the diagnostic accuracy and inter-observer reliability in diagnosing neck of femur fractures.
Method
We performed a retrospective, single-centre study, to identify 50 consecutive anteroposterior (AP) pelvis radiographs of patients who presented to our unit with suspected neck of femur fractures between 2020 and 2021. The images included a combination of normal pelvic radiographs and others with features suggestive either intracapsular or extracapsular neck of femur fractures, which had been confirmed on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or subsequent surgery.
Four independent observers (two Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) consultants, one T&O Trainee Registrar (ST3 level) and one Trainee Senior House Officer (SHO in T&O) reviewed the images and graded each radiograph image using the Likert scale in response to the statement “there is a fracture”. Following this, the same radiographs were inverted to Grey Scale Inversion Imaging (GSII) grey scale images and reassessed. RAND correlation was used for statistical analysis.
Results
Overall, observers appeared to have similar accuracy with normal radiographic imaging and with GSI sequences.
Conclusion
Grey Scale Inversion Imaging (GSII) of digital radiographs did not affect the diagnostic accuracy of detecting neck of femur fractures in our study.
PDF
