Unsupervised image segmentation is an important component in many image understanding algorithms and practical vision systems. However, evaluation of segmentation algorithms thus far has been largely ...subjective, leaving a system designer to judge the effectiveness of a technique based only on intuition and results in the form of a few example segmented images. This is largely due to image segmentation being an ill-defined problem-there is no unique ground-truth segmentation of an image against which the output of an algorithm may be compared. This paper demonstrates how a recently proposed measure of similarity, the normalized probabilistic rand (NPR) index, can be used to perform a quantitative comparison between image segmentation algorithms using a hand-labeled set of ground-truth segmentations. We show that the measure allows principled comparisons between segmentations created by different algorithms, as well as segmentations on different images. We outline a procedure for algorithm evaluation through an example evaluation of some familiar algorithms - the mean-shift-based algorithm, an efficient graph-based segmentation algorithm, a hybrid algorithm that combines the strengths of both methods, and expectation maximization. Results are presented on the 300 images in the publicly available Berkeley segmentation data set
Aims/hypothesis
This study reports the results of the first phase of a national study to determine the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose ...tolerance) in India.
Methods
A total of 363 primary sampling units (188 urban, 175 rural), in three states (Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and Jharkhand) and one union territory (Chandigarh) of India were sampled using a stratified multistage sampling design to survey individuals aged ≥20 years. The prevalence rates of diabetes and prediabetes were assessed by measurement of fasting and 2 h post glucose load capillary blood glucose.
Results
Of the 16,607 individuals selected for the study, 14,277 (86%) participated, of whom 13,055 gave blood samples. The weighted prevalence of diabetes (both known and newly diagnosed) was 10.4% in Tamilnadu, 8.4% in Maharashtra, 5.3% in Jharkhand, and 13.6% in Chandigarh. The prevalences of prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance) were 8.3%, 12.8%, 8.1% and 14.6% respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, male sex, family history of diabetes, urban residence, abdominal obesity, generalised obesity, hypertension and income status were significantly associated with diabetes. Significant risk factors for prediabetes were age, family history of diabetes, abdominal obesity, hypertension and income status.
Conclusions/interpretations
We estimate that, in 2011, Maharashtra will have 6 million individuals with diabetes and 9.2 million with prediabetes, Tamilnadu will have 4.8 million with diabetes and 3.9 million with prediabetes, Jharkhand will have 0.96 million with diabetes and 1.5 million with prediabetes, and Chandigarh will have 0.12 million with diabetes and 0.13 million with prediabetes. Projections for the whole of India would be 62.4 million people with diabetes and 77.2 million people with prediabetes.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs; including coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes) are rapidly increasing in India causing nearly 5.8 million deaths per year. Primary reasons for rise in NCDs in ...India are nutrition and lifestyle transitions. Further, presence of higher body fat, abdominal fat, liver and pancreatic fat and lower lean mass than whites, contribute to heightened metabolic and cardiovascular risk in Asian Indians. Importantly, conversion from pre-diabetes to diabetes occurs more rapidly, and reversion to normal glucose regulation with appropriate lifestyle measures is more difficult in Asian Indians than white population. Huge number of patients with diabetes and with complications increase morbidity, mortality and pose substantial economic burden. It is difficult, though not impossible, to decrease pace of rapidly expanding juggernaut of NCDs in India. Only concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders, consistently sincere efforts and intensely focused attention from health officialdom and clear political will may help counter this increasingly difficult challenge. Finally, all prevention and management approaches should be cost-effective, pragmatic, and focused on children and underprivileged populations.
Retinal vasospasm was visualized in a young female; a known case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) retinopathy with unaffected vision. The fundus fluorescein angiogram showed a cyclical filling ...and emptying of the retinal vessels which was suggestive of vasospasm and a retinal Raynaud's-like phenomenon with no obvious perfusion deficit. There was retinal thinning involving the superficial layers that was seen on optical coherence tomography (OCT), capillary fill voids on OCT angiography, and retinal surface undulations seen on multicolor imaging. All imaging was performed on Spectralis (Heidelberg, Germany).
Ceria supported gold catalysts containing 0.1–5
wt.% gold are prepared by deposition–precipitation technique in which the precipitate is subjected to ultrasound treatment and aging in the parent ...solution at 65
°C for 2
h prior to filtration and drying. The catalysts are found to be very active for the room temperature oxidation of CO. Au/CeO
2 catalyst containing as low as 1
wt.% Au is found to be a highly active catalyst for the room temperature oxidation of CO to CO
2 with complete conversion of CO and specific activity up to 490
×
10
−4
mol
CO
s
−1
g
Au
−1. The catalyst shows good stability and sustains its high activity for a prolonged period. Aging of the catalyst in the parent solution is found to be important in obtaining a highly active catalyst. The catalysts are characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and TPR/TPD. TPR, TPD and XPS studies suggest that the active site for CO oxidation may be a combination of Au
+
OH
− and metallic gold in interface with reduced Ce
3+ sites. In other words, the presence of highly dispersed gold particles in close contact with the ceria surface defects is vital for the superior performance of the catalyst.
3 High levels of endogenous (i.e., in Cushing's syndrome or in pregnancy) or exogenous (i.e., intra-articular, intranasal, systemic, or topical) corticosteroids, type A personality, abnormal ...coagulation and platelet aggregation, male gender, smoking, hypertension, and oxidative stress have been considered to be significant risk factors for the development of CSCR. ...discrepancies reflect the still non-elucidated complexity of steroids regulation on ocular physiopathology. Since glucocorticoids aggravate rather than improve CSCR, inflammation was disregarded among potential disease mechanisms. 5 The article in the current issue explores the theory of oxidative stress and inflammation resulting in higher levels of nitric oxide, prostaglandins and reactive oxygen species that result in choroidal vascular hyperpermeability and abnormal leakage.
A novel texture analysis approach is aimed to elucidate the role of strain path change in extending the superior strain hardening capacity of a twinning-induced-plasticity steel up to the large ...compressive imposed strains at room temperature, in lights of step-by-step texture modification. In this context, activation of different deformation mechanisms during multi-axial forging (MAF) process is fully studied using macrotexture and microtexture analyses by means of calculating Schmid factors of slip and twinning. Synergetic development of deformation twin and dislocation substructure throughout the 1st MAF pass leads to exponential strain hardening rate. This is correlated with the formation of texture components with twin-favoring (near to ) and slip-favoring (near to and ) orientations in each compression of one MAF pass. Such cooperation can also be reached for larger imposed strains during the 2nd MAF pass at ∑Ԑ = 2.4. However, it results in a steady-state flow behavior through continuous dynamic recrystallization stemming from turning dislocation cells of slip-favoring grains into the new ultrafine grains. This is phenomenal as can be understandable by recognizing the orientation dependency of dislocation substructures including Taylor lattice and dislocation cells as representatives for deformation twins and cross-slip, respectively. Having grains with dislocation cell and Taylor lattice respectively is the origin of facilitating restoration-based process and twinning activation, which modifies the texture by developing a twofold configuration in the course of imposing strain path change. As the second phase of this study, a detailed analyzation of subsequent mechanical responses of MAFed materials is focused through the room-temperature tensile and compression testing methods with the emphasis on the effect of pre-test microtexture on asymmetrical behavior. The shear-punch test is also used to prove the positive effect of recrystallized grains to enhance the mechanical properties.
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•Strain path change effect on texture evolutions during severe plastic deformation.•Texture tuning via twofold texture development favoring for slip and twinning.•Orientation dependent Taylor lattice and dislocation cell under large compressions.•Strain path change-driven room temperature continuous dynamic recrystallization.•Contribution of recrystallized grains in enhancing the mechanical properties.
Abstract The mechanisms responsible for cholinergic dysfunction associated learning and memory impairment during hypoxia are not well-understood. However it is known that inflammatory mediators like ...inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) hamper the functions of cholinergic neurons. In this present experiment we made an effort to study the iNOS expression mediated retrograde and anterograde memory impairment in Balb/c mice following acute hypobaric hypoxia (at an altitude of 23,000ft for 6h) using elevated plus maze and passive avoidance step-through tasks. Our results demonstrated that hypoxia transiently impairs the retrograde memory without affecting the anterograde memory functions, accompanied with a substantial rise in iNOS expression and nitric oxide levels in cerebral cortex on days 2 and 3 post hypoxia. Treatment with aminoguanidine (iNOS inhibitor ), resulted in down-regulation of the iNOS expression, attenuation of the surge of nitric oxide (NO) in cerebral cortex and reversal of retrograde memory impairment due to hypoxia. Moreover the reduced AChE activity and elevated lipid peroxidation in cerebral cortex were evident during post hypoxia re-oxygenation period, which was not observed in the hippocampus. Additionally, NO donor spermine NONOate could inhibit the AChE activity in brain homogenates in a concentration-dependent manner, which further substantiate that nitric oxide produced during post hypoxia re-oxygenation, primarily contributes to the observed inhibition of cortical AChE activity. Based on these experiments we hypothesize that the NO burst as a result of iNOS upregulation during hypoxia interrupts the memory consolidation by altering the cholinergic functions.
Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three models of diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening from an economic perspective and their effectiveness in awareness creation, ...screening, and ability to deliver treatment. Materials and Methods: Analysis of a prospective screening program for diabetes mellitus and DR in South Kerala was done. Three models were created: Model 1: blood screening camp, Model 2: comprehensive eye camp, and Model 3: institution-based screening camp. Results: Forty-seven camps were conducted in Model 1, 438 in Model 2, and 18 in Model 3. Of 94,993 people screened, the percentage of diabetes was 17.4. Of the diabetics screened, the percentage of retinopathy was 22.8. Model 1 was most economically viable to detect a large number of new diabetics. Model 2 was more economically challenging but had the best overall pickup rate for new DR patients. Model 3 had a lesser pickup of new DR patients. Conclusion: Model 1 is effective in picking up new diabetics but poor for DR screening. Model 3 is cost-efficient with very high DR detection rates. Cost-effective screening activities and service delivery are best achieved through a well-planned Model 2 camp which has the best overall detection rate for DR.
Representative data on knowledge and awareness about diabetes is scarce in India and is extremely important to plan public health policies aimed at preventing and controlling diabetes.
The aim of the ...following study is to assess awareness and knowledge about diabetes in the general population, as well as in individuals with diabetes in four selected regions of India.
The study subjects were drawn from a representative sample of four geographical regions of India, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Maharashtra representing North, South, East and West and covering a population of 213 million. A total of 16,607 individuals (5112 urban and 11,495 rural) aged ≥20 years were selected from 188 urban and 175 rural areas. Awareness of diabetes and knowledge of causative factors and complications of diabetes were assessed using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire in 14,274 individuals (response rate, 86.0%), which included 480 self-reported diabetic subjects.
Only 43.2% (6160/14,274) of the overall study population had heard about a condition called diabetes. Overall urban residents had higher awareness rates (58.4%) compared to rural residents (36.8%) (P < 0.001). About 46.7% of males and 39.6% of females reported that they knew about a condition called diabetes (P < 0.001). Of the general population, 41.5% (5726/13,794) knew about a condition called diabetes. Among them, 80.7% (4620/5726) knew that the prevalence of diabetes was increasing, whereas among diabetic subjects, it was 93.0% (448/480). Among the general and diabetic population, 56.3% and 63.4% respectively, were aware that diabetes could be prevented. Regarding complications, 51.5% of the general population and 72.7% diabetic population knew that diabetes could affect other organs. Based on a composite knowledge score to assess knowledge among the general population, Tamil Nadu had the highest (31.7) and Jharkhand the lowest score (16.3). However among self-reported diabetic subjects, Maharashtra had the highest (70.1) and Tamil Nadu, the lowest score (56.5).
Knowledge and awareness about diabetes in India, particularly in rural areas, is poor. This underscores the need for conducting large scale diabetes awareness and education programs.
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