Hyperspectral imaging involves large amounts of information. This paper presents a technique for dimensionality reduction to deal with hyperspectral images. The proposed method is based on a ...hierarchical clustering structure to group bands to minimize the intracluster variance and maximize the intercluster variance. This aim is pursued using information measures, such as distances based on mutual information or Kullback-Leibler divergence, in order to reduce data redundancy and non useful information among image bands. Experimental results include a comparison among some relevant and recent methods for hyperspectral band selection using no labeled information, showing their performance with regard to pixel image classification tasks. The technique that is presented has a stable behavior for different image data sets and a noticeable accuracy, mainly when selecting small sets of bands.
We present a new concept, Punt Politics, and apply it to the COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in two epicenters of the pandemic: Mexico and Brazil. Punt Politics refers to national ...leaders in federal systems deferring or deflecting responsibility for health systems decision-making to sub-national entities without evidence or coordination. The fragmentation of authority and overlapping functions in federal, decentralized political systems make them more susceptible to coordination problems than centralized, unitary systems. We apply the concept to pandemics, which require national health system stewardship, using sub-national NPI data that we developed and curated through the Observatory for the Containment of COVID-19 in the Americas to illustrate Punt Politics in Mexico and Brazil. Both countries suffer from protracted, high levels of COVID-19 mortality and inadequate pandemic responses, including little testing and disregard for scientific evidence. We illustrate how populist leadership drove Punt Politics and how partisan politics contributed to disabling an evidence-based response in Mexico and Brazil. These cases illustrate the combination of decentralization and populist leadership that is most conducive to punting responsibility. We discuss how Punt Politics reduces health system functionality, providing lessons for other countries and future pandemic responses, including vaccine rollout.
► 1-MCP treatment delay degreening and chlorophyll degradation in broccoli. ► Treatment with 1-MCP enhances BoCLH2 expression. ► Treatment with 1-MCP does not affect BoCLH1 expression. ► The ...expression of BoPPH, BoPaO and BoRCCR is reduced by the treatment with 1-MCP.
Degreening caused by chlorophyll degradation is the most evident visual manifestation of broccoli senescence and deterioration. In this work, the effect of 1-MCP on color change, chlorophyll degradation and expression of genes associated to chlorophyll catabolism was evaluated during postharvest storage. 1-MCP treatment markedly delayed degreening and reduction of chlorophyll content. The expression of genes encoding chlorophyllases showed different behaviors. In controls, the expression of BoCLH1 decreased during postharvest storage while that of BoCLH2 increased after 72h and then decreased. The treatment with 1-MCP did not cause any effect on BoCLH1 but induced a higher expression of BoCLH2. A high BoPPH expression level was found in senescent broccoli florets, but the up-regulation of this gene was delayed by 1-MCP treatment. The expression of BoPaO, a gene encoding a pheophorbide a oxygenase, increased after three days and then decreased. In contrast, this expression was reduced in treated broccoli. Finally, the expression of BoRCCR decreased during senescence and the treatment with 1-MCP caused a higher decrement. These results show that postharvest 1-MCP inhibit selectively some of the genes encoding enzymes related chlorophyll catabolism.
Abstract Background In patients with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), no conclusive agreement has been reached to date regarding the association between the different types of atrial fibrillation ...(AF) and the in-hospital mortality risk. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in patients with ACS to determine the prognostic implications of the different types of AF. Methods We analyzed 6705 consecutive patients with ACS admitted to a coronary care unit (CCU), including 3094 with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and 3611 with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). We identified the patients with pre-existing AF, new-onset AF at admission, and new-onset AF at the CCU. Results The overall incidence of AF was documented in 360 (5.4%) of the patients (STEMI, 5%; NSTE-ACS, 5.6%), 140 (2.1%) of whom had pre-existing AF, and 220 (3.2%) of whom had new-onset AF (AF at admission, 1.3%; AF at the CCU, 1.9%). The patients with AF had high-risk clinical characteristics and developed major adverse events more frequently than did the patients without AF. The unadjusted in-hospital mortality risk was significantly higher in the patients with pre-existing AF (STEMI, 3.79-fold; NSTE-ACS, 3.4-fold) and AF at the CCU (STEMI, 2.02-fold; NSTE-ACS, 8.09-fold). After adjusting for the multivariate analysis, only the AF at the CCU in the NSTE-ACS group was associated with a 4.40-fold increase in the in-hospital mortality risk (odds ratio 4.40, CI 1.82–10.60, p = 0.001). In the STEMI group, the presence of any type of AF was not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Conclusion Among the different types of AF in patients with ACS, only the new-onset AF that developed during the CCU stay in patients with NSTE-ACS was associated with a 4.40-fold increase in the in-hospital mortality risk.
In this study, we utilized the pulsed photoacoustic (PA) technique to analyze globular sedimentation in whole human blood, with a focus on distinguishing between healthy individuals and those with ...hemolytic anemia.
Blood samples were collected from both healthy individuals (women and men) and those with hemolytic anemia, and temporal and spectral parameters of PA signals were employed for analysis.
Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in PA metrics between the two groups. The proposed spectral analysis allowed significant differentiation within a 25-minute measurement window. Anemic blood samples exhibited higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values, indicating increased erythrocyte aggregation.
This study underscores the potential of PA signal analysis in ESR assessment as an efficient method for distinguishing between healthy and anemic blood, surpassing traditional approaches. It represents a promising contribution to the development of precise and sensitive techniques for analyzing human blood samples in clinical settings.
Leukemia is a neoplasm with high incidence and mortality rates. Mitotic death has been observed in tumor cells treated with chemotherapeutic agents. Ras family proteins participate in the ...transduction of signals involved in different processes, such as proliferation, differentiation, survival, and paradoxically, initiation of cell death.
This study investigated the effect of
expression on human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia MOLT-4 cells. Cells were electroporated with either wild-type (Ras
) or oncogenic mutant in codon 12 exon 1 (Ras
) versions of
gene and stained for morphological analysis. Cell viability was assessed using trypan blue staining and cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry.
gene expression was determined using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The
, ANOVA, and Scheffe tests were used for statistical analysis.
Human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia MOLT-4 cells showed nuclear fragmentation and presence of multiple nuclei and micronuclei after transfection with either wt or mutant
genes. Cell cycle analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in cells in the S phase when transfected with either wt (83.67%,
<0.0005) or mutated (81.79%,
<0.0001)
genes. Although similar effects for both versions of
were found, cells transfected with the mutated version died at 120 h of mitotic catastrophe.
Transfection of human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia MOLT-4 cells with either normal or mutated
genes induced alterations in morphology, arrest in the S phase, and death by mitotic catastrophe.
The incidence of postoperative spinal infection (PSI) ranges from 0% to 10%, with devastating effects on the patient prognosis because of higher morbidity while increasing costs to the health care ...system. PSIs are elusive and difficult to diagnose, especially in the early postoperative state, because of confusing clinical symptoms, rise in serum biomarkers, or imaging studies. Current research on diagnosis has focused on serum biomarkers; nevertheless, most series rely on retrospective cohorts where biomarkers are studied individually and at different time points.
This paper presents the protocol for a systematic review that aims to determine the inflammatory biomarker behavior profile of patients following elective degenerative spine surgery and their differences compared to those coursing with PSIs.
The proposed systematic review will follow the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement. This protocol was registered at PROSPERO on January 19, 2022. We will include studies related to biomarkers in adult patients operated on for degenerative spinal diseases and those developing PSIs. The following information will be extracted from the papers: (1) study title; (2) study author; (3) year; (4) evidence level; (5) research type; (6) diagnosis group (elective postoperative degenerative disease or PSI); (7a) region (cervical, thoracic, lumbosacral, and coccygeal); (7b) type of infection by anatomical or radiological site; (8) surgery type (including instrumentation or not); (9) number of cases; (10) mean age or individual age; (11) individual serum biomarker values from the preoperative state up to 90 days postoperative for both groups, including (10a) interleukin-6, (10b) presepsin, (10c) erythrocyte sedimentation rate, (10d) leukocyte count, (10e) neutrophil count, (10f) C-reactive protein, (10g) serum amyloid, (10h) white cell count, (10i) albumin, (10j) prealbumin, (10k) procalcitonin, (10l) retinol-associated protein, and (10m) Dickkopf-1; (11) postoperative days at symptoms or diagnosis; (12) type of organism; (13) day of starting antibiotics; (14) duration of treatment; and (15) any biases (including comorbidities, especially those affecting immunological status). All data on biomarkers will be presented graphically over time.
No ethical approval will be required, as this review is based on published data and does not involve interaction with human participants. The search for this systematic review commenced in February 2021, and we expect to publish the findings in mid-2023.
This study will provide the behavior profile of biomarkers for PSI and patients following elective surgery for degenerative spinal diseases from the preoperative period up to 90 days postoperative, providing cutoff values on the day of diagnosis. This research will provide clinicians with highly trustable cutoff reference values for PSI diagnosis. Finally, we expect to provide a basis for future research on biomarkers that help diagnose more accurately and in a timely manner in the early stages of illness, ultimately impacting the patient's physical and mental health, and reducing the disease burden.
PROSPERO CRD42022304645; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=304645.
DERR1-10.2196/41555.
IL-15 is a proinflammatory myokine essential for activating NK cells and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and its overexpression has been related to reducing overall survivorship in patients with acute ...lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Physical exercise has been shown to be safe, feasible, and beneficial in hematological cancers. Exercise requires the activation of muscles that secrete cytokines, such as IL-15, causing immune mobilization. The objective was to compare the outcomes of two training routines on IL-15 and survival prognosis in adult patients diagnosed with ALL. A blind randomized clinical study was carried out where twenty-three peripheral blood samples were obtained pre and postexercise intervention from patients categorized into three types of intervention: the resistance exercise group (REG), the cross-training exercise group (CEG), and the control group (CG). Changes in IL-15 levels during the intervention were not significant in any of the groups (CG
= 0.237, REG
= 0.866, and CEG
= 0.678). However, 87.5% of patients who received an exercise intervention achieved remission, while only 21.73% experienced a relapse. There were no deaths during the study. Although IL-15 level adaptation in the REG and the CG performed similarly, the REG induced a better clinical outcome. Resistance exercises may help improve survival prognosis and reduce relapses in patients with ALL.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous hematologic malignancy characterized by different genetic alterations that cause changes in the normal mechanisms of differentiation, which are ...associated with chemoresistance. The ABCB1 gene is part of a family of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter genes involved in the progression of various types of cancer. The following work aimed to evaluate the expression levels of the ABCB1 gene and the C3435T SNP with the response to first-line treatment and survival in patients with AML.
In total 135 samples were taken to isolate total RNA and DNA at the beginning of the treatment. Expression analysis by RT-qPCR and SNP C3435T assessment method were performed for real-time Polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).
The expression levels impact on the survival of patients with AML compared to low or absent levels; the CC genotype was found in 22.9%, the CT genotype was found in 47.4%, and the TT genotype was found in 29.6%, the presence of the C3435T SNP, the TT genotype also impacts with a lower survival compared to CT and CC genotypes. In addition, it was shown that the dominant model significantly impacts survival.
In conclusion, we have found that the overexpression of the ABCB1 gene, as well as the presence of the TT genotype of the C3435T SNP, contributes to a worse prognosis in AML.
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