Efficient implementation of parametric spectral estimation techniques for DNA exon prediction.

This paper is mainly concerned with the application of different parametric spectral estimation techniques on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences. The objective of this study is to allow the analysis of these sequences for useful information extraction such as exon information. It is known that the exon, if existing, is represented with a spectral peak at the normalized frequency of 0.667. A comparison study is presented between Burg, Covariance, Modified Covariance, Yule-Walker, MUltiple SIgnal Classification (MUSIC) and Auto-Regressive Moving Average (ARMA) techniques for efficient representation of DNA sequences in the frequency domain for further exon prediction. Moreover, to filter the out-of-band noise that appears in the frequency domain in the prediction process, an inverse Chebyshev bandpass filter tuned at 0.667 is utilized. The obtained results reveal the importance of bandpass filtering and ensure that Burg, Covariance and Modified Covariance techniques are the best for exon prediction with a detection range of about 60 dB.

Skin test reactivity to female sex hormones in women with primary unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss.

The objective was to examine the hypothesis that primary unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss might be associated with an inappropriate immunologically mediated response to progesterone and/or estrogen. This prospective study included 47 women with two or more documented consecutive early pregnancy losses of unknown etiology, and no previous history of deliveries. Intradermal skin testing was performed in the luteal phase of the cycle (days 16-20) using estradiol benzoate, progesterone, and a placebo of refined sesame oil. Immediate (20 min) and late (24h and 1 week) skin test readings for all cases were compared with those of 12 parous women of comparable age with no history of spontaneous miscarriages, premenstrual disorders, pregnancy, or sex hormone-related allergic or autoimmune diseases. Main outcome measure was skin test reactivity to estradiol and/or progesterone. Immediate skin test reactivity to both hormones was observed among half of the cases at 20 min. A papule after 24h, which persisted for up to 1 week, was observed among 32 (68.1%) and 34 (72.3%) cases at the sites of estrogen and progesterone injection, respectively. 55.3% of cases had combined skin test reactivity to both estradiol and progesterone at 1 week. All women in the control group showed absence of skin test reactivity for both estradiol and progesterone at 20 min, 24h, and 1 week. None of the subjects in either group showed skin test reactivity to placebo. There is an association between primary unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss and skin test reactivity to female sex hormones.

Laparoscopic radical cystectomy with orthotopic neobladder.

PURPOSE: We report our technique of laparoscopic radical cystectomy in nine patients. Diversion was achieved by a modified Camey II orthotopic neobladder (the Y bladder) performed by a minilaparotomy in three cases and laparoscopically in the last six cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were eight men with muscle-invasive transitional-cell carcinoma and one woman with verrucous squamous-cell carcinoma of the bladder. The age range was 41 to 65 years. The control of the posterior and lateral bladder pedicles was achieved by vascular Endo-GIA in the first three cases and by the 10-mm Harmonic Shears (Ultracision; Ethicon) in the last six cases. The operative specimen was extracted through a 3- to 5-cm muscle-splitting incision in the right iliac fossa. The detubularized pouch was prepared extracorporeally through the same incision. The urethral and ureteral anastomoses were performed using laparoscopic intracorporeal suturing in the last six cases. RESULTS: The operative time ranged from 6.5 to 12 hours (median 8.3 hours). The blood loss was 150 to 500 mL. Oral feeding was resumed on the 3rd postoperative day. The stents were usually removed on the 8th postoperative day. A pouchogram was obtained on the 10th postoperative day, and the urethral catheter was removed. The lymph nodes as well as the surgical margins were tumor free. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic radical cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder creation is feasible, although difficult and technically demanding. The use of the Harmonic Shears in the cystectomy reduces the operative cost significantly. With growing experience, laparoscopic radical cystectomy and continent urinary diversion can be an alternative to the open technique.