Automatic Detection of Cow's Oestrus in Audio Surveillance System

Early detection of anomalies is an important issue in the management of group-housed livestock. In particular, failure to detect oestrus in a timely and accurate way can become a limiting factor in achieving efficient reproductive performance. Although a rich variety of methods has been introduced for the detection of oestrus, a more accurate and practical method is still required. In this paper, we propose an efficient data mining solution for the detection of oestrus, using the sound data of Korean native cows (Bos taurus coreanea). In this method, we extracted the mel frequency cepstrum coefficients from sound data with a feature dimension reduction, and use the support vector data description as an early anomaly detector. Our experimental results show that this method can be used to detect oestrus both economically (even a cheap microphone) and accurately (over 94% accuracy), either as a standalone solution or to complement known methods.

Cyclosporine A up-regulates Sonic hedgehog in gingiva: role of the up-regulation on gingival cell proliferation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Sonic hedgehog protein (SHH) is a mitogen that stimulates cell proliferation. Cyclosporine A enhances the proliferation of gingival cells; however, the relationships of SHH to cyclosporine A or to cyclosporine A-enhanced gingival cell proliferation have not been described.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Here, we investigated SHH expression in gingiva in vitro and in vivo after cyclosporine A treatment and tested the effect of SHH inhibition on cyclosporine A-enhanced gingival fibroblast proliferation in vitro.

RESULTS

In human gingival fibroblasts, cyclosporine A treatment increased the expression of SHH transcripts and SHH protein, and stimulated cell proliferation; the addition of cyclopamine, an SHH signaling inhibitor, suppressed cyclosporine A-enhanced cell proliferation. Up-regulated expression of SHH and up-regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen transcripts and protein were observed in the edentulous gingiva of cyclosporine A-treated rats.

CONCLUSION

Cyclosporine A up-regulates gingival SHH expression in vitro and in vivo, and the inhibition of the SHH pathway counteracts the stimulatory effect of cyclosporine A on gingival fibroblast proliferation. Therefore, we suggest that SHH mediates a novel molecular mechanism for cyclosporine A-induced gingival complications.

A Feasibility Study of a Tilted Head Position in Helical Tomotherapy for Fractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy of Intracranial Malignancies

Herein, we evaluated the feasibility of placing patients in a tilted head position as part of routine clinical practice for fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) of intracranial tumors using helical tomotherapy (HT), by assessing its dosimetric benefit and setup accuracy. We reviewed treatment plans of four cases that were to receive FSRT for brain lesions in normal and head-tilted positions. These patients underwent two computed tomography (CT) scans: first in the normal supine position and then in the supine position with the head tilted at a 458 angle. Two separate HT plans for each position were generated in these four patients, using the same planning parameters. Plans were compared for target conformity and dose homogeneity. Maximum and average doses to critical organs, including normal brain, brain stem, optic chiasm, optic nerves, and the eyes, were considered. To evaluate setup accuracy, patient movement during treatment was assessed by post-treatment megavoltage CT scans. Both HT plans achieved similar conformal and homogeneous dose coverage to the target. Head-tilted HT delivered lower average and maximum doses to critical organs in the cases where the tumor was located on the same plane with critical organs, particularly when they were not directly attached. Placement in the head-tilted position without a mouthpiece allowed for increased patient movement during treatment, while use of a mouthpiece reduced patient movement to even less than that observed for normal setup in the supine position. This pilot study showed that placement in a tilted head position for FSRT of intracranial tumors using HT may be of clinical use, but depends on the tumor location.

Multi-valued logic gates based on ballistic transport in quantum point contacts

Multi-valued logic gates, which can handle quaternary numbers as inputs, are developed by exploiting the ballistic transport properties of quantum point contacts in series. The principle of a logic gate that finds the minimum of two quaternary number inputs is demonstrated. The device is scalable to allow multiple inputs, which makes it possible to find the minimum of multiple inputs in a single gate operation. Also, the principle of a half-adder for quaternary number inputs is demonstrated. First, an adder that adds up two quaternary numbers and outputs the sum of inputs is demonstrated. Second, a device to express the sum of the adder into two quaternary digits [Carry (first digit) and Sum (second digit)] is demonstrated. All the logic gates presented in this paper can in principle be extended to allow decimal number inputs with high quality QPCs.

Charge frustration in a triangular triple quantum dot

We experimentally investigate the charge (isospin) frustration induced by a geometrical symmetry in a triangular triple quantum dot. We observe the ground-state charge configurations of sixfold degeneracy, the manifestation of the frustration. The frustration results in omnidirectional charge transport, and it is accompanied by nearby nontrivial triple degenerate states in the charge stability diagram. The findings agree with a capacitive interaction model. We also observe unusual transport by the frustration, which might be related to elastic cotunneling and the interference of trajectories through the dot. This work demonstrates a unique way of studying geometrical frustration in a controllable way.

Characterization and purification of angiogenic factor derived from highly liver metastatic colon cancer cells

We investigated the effects of serum-free conditioned medium (SFCM) of colon cancer cells on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). SFCM of highly liver metastatic cell line (LM-HS) strongly enhanced proliferation, migration and tube formation of HUVECs. Moreover, it was suggested that a main angiogenic factor derived from LM-H5 may be VEGF based on HPLC, SDS-PAGE analysis and neutralizing experiment using anti-growth factor antibodies. These findings suggest that angiogenesis is related to the processes of metastasis of colon cancer, and that VEGF synthesized by colon cancer cells acts as a key factor inducing angiogenesis.

Immunohistochemical study on cathepsin-B and cathepsin-d in pancreatic-cancer

Lysosomal enzymes, cathepsin B and D, have been studied in their possible relationship to the ability of malignant cells to invade and metastasize. In the current investigation, these cathepsins were detected immunohistochemically using avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method in the pancreatic cancer cells of 21 patients. The positive rate of identification of cathepsin B and D was 43% and 81%, respectively. Cathepsin D stained more strongly than cathepsin B and the plasma membrane stained quite strongly in two instances. A correlation between the presence of cathepsin B or D in cancer cells and the degree of metastasis to lymph nodes, liver, or lung was not recognized.

Establishment and characterization of a new human gallbladder carcinoma cell line (OCUG-1) producing TA-4

A new human cell line (OCUG-1) was established from peritoneal effusion of a patient with malignant gallbladder carcinoma. OCUG-1 cells proliferated mainly in clusters of cells partially floating in a monolayered sheet. The population doubling time is 47.1 h. DNA analysis showed that OCUG-1 cells were aneuploid and had two G(0)/G(1) peaks. The number of chromosomes was distributed in a broad range from 52 to 139. Subcutaneous injections of the cells induced tumor formation in all nude mice. The reconstituted tumors were poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. High levels of SLX, CA19-9, SPan-1 and TA-4 were found in the serum of the original patient, but OCUG-1 cells produced only TA-4. We speculate that OCUG-1 may be a transitional form from adenocarcinoma to squamous cell carcinoma. Since OCUG-1 produces a high level of TA-4, it will be useful for the study of the biological nature of this carcinoma and the relationship between the expression of TA-4 and squamatization.

Preparation of mouse-human chimeric antibody against pancreatic cancer-associated mucin

A murine monoclonal antibody, designated Nd2, was generated using a purified mucin from the human pancreatic cancer cell line SW1990 as the immunogen. Administration of Nd2 into the patients with pancreatic cancer has shown that Nd2 is of clinical use for in vivo diagnostics of pancreatic cancer. In this study, starting with a previously established hybridoma producing Nd2, we have established a transfected cell line expressing a recombinant chimeric Nd2 composed of mouse-derived antigen-binding variable regions and human-derived constant regions. The chimeric Nd2 was shown to bind purified mucin from SW1990 cells with the same dose-response curve as the original Nd2. Immunohistochemical experiments have shown that the reactivity of the chimeric Nd2 in normal and malignant pancreatic tissue is also the same as that of the original Nd2. Replacement of a substantial portion of the mouse protein makes this chimeric Nd2 more promising for clinical application than the original mouse-derived Nd2 because its antigenicity is expected to be reduced.

Combined evaluation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 expression in gastric carcinoma

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (UPA) is a serine protease implicated in cancer invasion and metastasis. There are at least two kinds of specific inhibitor which act on UPA: plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2). It has been reported that both UPA and PAI-1 antigen levels are associated with short survival in patients with breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the correlation between the expression of UPA, PAI-2 and prognosis in gastric carcinoma. One hundred and twenty specimens resected from patients with gastric carcinoma were investigated by staining with monoclonal antibodies against UPA and PAI-2. UPA positive rate was significantly higher in patients with liver metastases than in those without such metastases, There was no significant association between PAI-2 expression and clinicopathologic factors. However, patients with UPA-positive and PAI-2-negative tumors had more advanced cancer than other patients. According to the prognosis, the patients with UPA-positive and PAI-2-negative tumors had a significantly poorer prognosis than other patients. In conclusion, the combined evaluation of UPA and PAI-2 expression is associated with tumor progression in gastric cancer.

New radioimmunoassay for pancreatic cancer-associated antigen span-1 with reference to differential-diagnosis and monitoring in pancreatic-cancer

Sera from patients with various malignant benign disorders, as well as from a large number of healthy blood donors (2197). were analyzed with a newly developed SPan-1 coated bead radioimmunoassay. Only 0.9% of the healthy patients had SPan-1 levels above the cut-off value. SPan-1 antigen levels were elevated in 89.2% of sera from pancreatic cancer patients and in 75% of T1 and T2 cancers. High diagnostic accuracy was also recognized in differentiating benign pancreatic diseases from pancreatic cancers. SPan-I levels decreased after pancreatic resection and rose again at recurrence of disease. SPan-1 could be distinguished from other tumor markers such as DU-PAN-2 and OC-125 by competition radioimmunoassays and was elevated in individuals with malignant gastrointestinal diseases who had normal levels of either or both CEA and CA 19-9 antigens. This rapid. reproducible and sensitive assay for SPan-I appears to be a useful procedure for the detection and follow-up of pancreatic cancer.