Automatic Fetal Middle Sagittal Plane Detection in Ultrasound Using Generative Adversarial Network.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In the first trimester of pregnancy, fetal growth, and abnormalities can be assessed using the exact middle sagittal plane (MSP) of the fetus. However, the ultrasound (US) image quality and operator experience affect the accuracy. We present an automatic system that enables precise fetal MSP detection from three-dimensional (3D) US and provides an evaluation of its performance using a generative adversarial network (GAN) framework. METHOD: The neural network is designed as a filter and generates masks to obtain the MSP, learning the features and MSP location in 3D space. Using the proposed image analysis system, a seed point was obtained from 218 first-trimester fetal 3D US volumes using deep learning and the MSP was automatically extracted. RESULTS: The experimental results reveal the feasibility and excellent performance of the proposed approach between the automatically and manually detected MSPs. There was no significant difference between the semi-automatic and automatic systems. Further, the inference time in the automatic system was up to two times faster than the semi-automatic approach. CONCLUSION: The proposed system offers precise fetal MSP measurements. Therefore, this automatic fetal MSP detection and measurement approach is anticipated to be useful clinically. The proposed system can also be applied to other relevant clinical fields in the future.

Overexpression of ferredoxin, PETF, enhances tolerance to heat stress in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by plants in adverse environments can cause damage to organelles and trigger cell death. Removal of excess ROS can be achieved through the ascorbate scavenger pathway to prevent plant cell death. The amount of this scavenger can be regulated by ferredoxin (FDX). Chloroplastic FDXs are electron transfer proteins that perform in distributing photosynthetic reducing power. In this study, we demonstrate that overexpression of the endogenous photosynthetic FDX gene, PETF, in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii could raise the level of reduced ascorbate and diminish H2O2 levels under normal growth conditions. Furthermore, the overexpressing PETF transgenic Chlamydomonas lines produced low levels of H2O2 and exhibited protective effects that were observed through decreased chlorophyll degradation and increased cell survival under heat-stress conditions. The findings of this study suggest that overexpression of PETF can increase the efficiency of ROS scavenging in chloroplasts to confer heat tolerance. The roles of PETF in the downregulation of the ROS level offer a method for potentially improving the tolerance of crops against heat stress.

Development of a hierarchical oligonucleotide primer extension assay for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii subspecies in freshwater.

A newly-developed molecular method, hierarchical oligonucleotide primer extension (HOPE), was used to analyze various groups within the species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. PCR-amplified internally transcribed spacer sequences of 16S-23S from C. raciborskii in reservoir samples of Taiwan and Kinmen were examined. One of eight sequevars in the clone libraries was closely related to strains obtained from the European continent, while the others, designated of Taiwan (TW) type, belonged to a novel group. Optimized HOPE analyses showed that C. raciborskii distributed in different reservoirs with a relative abundance of 0.5% to 76.4% in the cyanobacterial communities. They further detected the concurrence of three C. raciborskii subpopulations, in which European and TW groups were predominant. The TW sequevars accounted for greater than 87.5% of C. raciborskii in the reservoirs Taihu, Yangmin, Jinsha, and Mudan, while this decreased to 55.4-58.1%, accompanied by a proportional increase of the European group, in reservoirs Lantan and Renyi. These findings revealed the complex subspecies structure within C. raciborskii and the subspecies dynamics associated with geographic locations.

Single meal food intake characteristics reliably predict nutrition status and body composition in patients undergoing continuous peritoneal dialysis.

AIM: This study aimed to determine whether single meal food intake characteristics measured via visual analogue scales (VAS) predict appetite and have a clinical impact on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. METHODS: The nutritional status of 50 continuous ambulatory PD patients (30 men, mean age 44.26 +/- 13.53 years, and 20 women, mean age 48.70 +/- 12.53 years) at a single tertiary referral hospital was evaluated via subjective global assessment and VAS questionnaires. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the linear association between continuous variables, while the two-sample Student's t-test was performed to compare ghrelin levels between the two groups. P-values less than 0.05 were considered to be of statistical significance. RESULTS: Subjective global assessment was correlated with VAS scores in each single patient. VAS score for fullness sensation was significantly positively correlated with age (r = 0.41, P = 0.02), triceps skin fold (r = 0.46, P = 0.01), waist-hip ratio (r = 0.50, P = 0.005) and fat content (r = 0.37, P = 0.04), and significantly negatively correlated with daily energy (r = -0.36, P = 0.04) and protein intake (r = -0.52, P = 0.003). By contrast, serum ghrelin level and the four VAS scores were not correlated. CONCLUSION: Single meal food intake characteristics can reliably estimate nutrition status and predict body composition in patients undergoing continuous PD.

Immediate percutaneous drainage compared with surgical drainage of renal abscess.

PURPOSE: To compare immediate percutaneous drainage of renal abscess via ultrasonographic guidance to surgical drainage. PROCEDURES: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 27 patients (mean age of 59.37 +/- 12.25 years) with renal abscesses. Immediate percutaneous catheter drainage was performed in patients with pus-containing cavities greater than 3 cm who consented in the emergency section (n = 12). Other patients underwent surgical drainage (n = 11). Both groups were also treated with empirical antibiotic therapy. Four patients were treated exclusively with antibiotics and were excluded from the analysis. FINDINGS: Abscess size on computer tomography (CT) was similar between the percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) patients and open surgical drainage patients (7.47 +/- 1.75 cm vs. 8.67 +/- 1.87 cm; P = 0.13). There was no significant difference in mean duration of hospitalization (PCD, 19.5 +/- 10.5 days; surgical drainage, 14.55 +/- 4.52 days. P = 0.15). Larger abscess size and higher C-reactive protein levels were important prognostic factors in both groups. Microbiological analysis revealed Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in most abscesses. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with percutaneous drainage for renal abscess had outcomes comparable to those treated with surgical drainage.

Peritoneal transport characteristics and dwelling time significantly impact ghrelin clearance in peritoneal dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: Plasma ghrelin exerts widespread bioactivities. Although it is effectively removed from the blood by a single course of haemodialysis, peritoneal clearance of ghrelin is uncertain. Our study aimed to determine (i) whether there is a correlation between plasma ghrelin levels and characteristics of peritoneal ghrelin clearance, and (ii) whether plasma ghrelin levels significantly impact markers of mortality or morbidity in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. METHODS: We enrolled 50 qualified CAPD patients. Blood was drawn during the fasting state and 2 h post-prandially. Also during these periods, peritoneal effluents were collected for radioimmunoassay of total plasma ghrelin level and measurement of other parameters. Twenty-four hour ascites were collected for determination of ghrelin daily mass transfer. RESULTS: Peritoneal ghrelin clearance was positively correlated with the dialysate-peritoneal creatinine (D/P(Cr)) ratio. Fasting plasma ghrelin levels were inversely correlated with the peritoneal/plasma (D/P(ghrelin)) ratio (P = 0.045). Plasma ghrelin levels were negatively correlated with body mass index, waist-hip ratio, fasting insulin and triglyceride level, and positively correlated with lean body mass. Plasma ghrelin levels were positively correlated with left ventricular mass (LVM), left ventricular mass index and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Peritoneal transporter characteristics may modulate plasma ghrelin levels in CAPD subjects. By contributing to the level of plasma ghrelin, dwelling time may have an impact on LVM and associated morbidity in CAPD patients.

The relationship of plasma ghrelin level to energy regulation, feeding and left ventricular function in non-diabetic haemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE: Inadequate plasma ghrelin levels determine the suppression of appetite, nutritional state and morbidity. We investigated the correlation between plasma ghrelin levels and appetite, nutritional status and cardiovascular morbidity in maintenance haemodialysis (HD) patients. METHODS: We measured plasma ghrelin levels at 2 h intervals during a 24 h period in 22 non-diabetic HD patients, who were grouped into normal intake or disturbed intake according to subjective global assessments, and in six healthy controls. RESULTS: A significant positive correlation existed between the 24 h plasma ghrelin profile and most time-specific plasma ghrelin levels in non-diabetic HD patients. Ghrelin levels in the abnormal intake group were higher than those in the normal intake group. A significant positive correlation existed between ghrelin and left ventricle functions, including left ventricle mass index (r = 0.75, P = 0.008), left ventricle mass (r = 0.57, P = 0.03) and interventricular septum thickness (r = 0.70, P = 0.009). An inverse correlation existed between plasma ghrelin and right ventricular dimension (r = -0.45, P = 0.035). Body mass index (r = -0.64, P = 0.033) and body fat content (r = -0.619, P = 0.002) had significant negative correlations with plasma ghrelin. CONCLUSIONS: Anorexia was found in patients with higher plasma ghrelin levels. Plasma ghrelin levels in non-diabetic HD patients showed a significant correlation with left ventricular function.