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Akram F, Wolf JL, Trandafir TE, Dingemans AMC, Stubbs AP, von der Thüsen JH. Artificial intelligence-based recurrence prediction outperforms classical histopathological methods in pulmonary adenocarcinoma biopsies. Lung Cancer 2023; 186:107413. [PMID: 37939498 DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2023.107413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Between 10 and 50% of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma patients experience local or distant recurrence. Histological parameters such as a solid or micropapillary growth pattern are well-described risk factors for recurrence. However, not every patient presenting with such a pattern will develop recurrence. Designing a model which can more accurately predict recurrence on small biopsy samples can aid the stratification of patients for surgery, (neo-)adjuvant therapy, and follow-up. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, a statistical model on biopsies fed with histological data from early and advanced-stage lung adenocarcinomas was developed to predict recurrence after surgical resection. Additionally, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based artificial intelligence (AI) classification model, named AI-based Lung Adenocarcinoma Recurrence Predictor (AILARP), was trained to predict recurrence, with an ImageNet pre-trained EfficientNet that was fine-tuned on lung adenocarcinoma biopsies using transfer learning. Both models were validated using the same biopsy dataset to ensure that an accurate comparison was demonstrated. RESULTS The statistical model had an accuracy of 0.49 for all patients when using histology data only. The AI classification model yielded a test accuracy of 0.70 and 0.82 and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.74 and 0.87 on patch-wise and patient-wise hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained whole slide images (WSIs), respectively. CONCLUSION AI classification outperformed the traditional clinical approach for recurrence prediction on biopsies by a fair margin. The AI classifier may stratify patients according to their recurrence risk, based only on small biopsies. This model warrants validation in a larger lung biopsy cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Akram
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J L Wolf
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - T E Trandafir
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Anne-Marie C Dingemans
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Erasmus MC Cancer Center, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A P Stubbs
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - J H von der Thüsen
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
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Khoraminia F, Fuster S, Kanwal N, Olislagers M, Engan K, van Leenders GJLH, Stubbs AP, Akram F, Zuiverloon TCM. Artificial Intelligence in Digital Pathology for Bladder Cancer: Hype or Hope? A Systematic Review. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4518. [PMID: 37760487 PMCID: PMC10526515 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15184518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bladder cancer (BC) diagnosis and prediction of prognosis are hindered by subjective pathological evaluation, which may cause misdiagnosis and under-/over-treatment. Computational pathology (CPATH) can identify clinical outcome predictors, offering an objective approach to improve prognosis. However, a systematic review of CPATH in BC literature is lacking. Therefore, we present a comprehensive overview of studies that used CPATH in BC, analyzing 33 out of 2285 identified studies. Most studies analyzed regions of interest to distinguish normal versus tumor tissue and identify tumor grade/stage and tissue types (e.g., urothelium, stroma, and muscle). The cell's nuclear area, shape irregularity, and roundness were the most promising markers to predict recurrence and survival based on selected regions of interest, with >80% accuracy. CPATH identified molecular subtypes by detecting features, e.g., papillary structures, hyperchromatic, and pleomorphic nuclei. Combining clinicopathological and image-derived features improved recurrence and survival prediction. However, due to the lack of outcome interpretability and independent test datasets, robustness and clinical applicability could not be ensured. The current literature demonstrates that CPATH holds the potential to improve BC diagnosis and prediction of prognosis. However, more robust, interpretable, accurate models and larger datasets-representative of clinical scenarios-are needed to address artificial intelligence's reliability, robustness, and black box challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farbod Khoraminia
- Department of Urology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Saul Fuster
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway; (S.F.); (N.K.); (K.E.)
| | - Neel Kanwal
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway; (S.F.); (N.K.); (K.E.)
| | - Mitchell Olislagers
- Department of Urology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Kjersti Engan
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Stavanger, 4021 Stavanger, Norway; (S.F.); (N.K.); (K.E.)
| | - Geert J. L. H. van Leenders
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.J.L.H.v.L.); (A.P.S.); (F.A.)
| | - Andrew P. Stubbs
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.J.L.H.v.L.); (A.P.S.); (F.A.)
| | - Farhan Akram
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands; (G.J.L.H.v.L.); (A.P.S.); (F.A.)
| | - Tahlita C. M. Zuiverloon
- Department of Urology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands;
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Wolf JL, Trandafir TE, Akram F, Andrinopoulou ER, Maat AWPM, Mustafa DAM, Kros JM, Stubbs AP, Dingemans AC, von der Thüsen JH. The value of prognostic and predictive parameters in early-stage lung adenocarcinomas: A comparison between biopsies and resections. Lung Cancer 2023; 176:112-120. [PMID: 36634572 DOI: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2022.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Revised: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Since lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) biopsies are usually small, it is questionable if their prognostic and predictive information is comparable to what is offered by large resection specimens. This study compares LUAD biopsies and resection specimens for their ability to provide prognostic and predictive parameters. METHODS We selected 187 biopsy specimens with stage I and II LUAD. In 123 cases, subsequent resection specimens were also available. All specimens were evaluated for growth pattern, nuclear grade, fibrosis, inflammation, and genomic alterations. Findings were compared using non-parametric testing for categorical variables. Model performance was assessed using the area under the curve for both biopsies and resection specimens, and overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) was calculated. RESULTS The overall growth pattern concordance between biopsies and resections was 73.9%. The dominant growth pattern correlated with OS and DFS in resected adenocarcinomas and for high-grade growth pattern in biopsies. Multivariate analysis of biopsy specimens revealed that T2-tumors, N1-status, KRAS mutations and a lack of other driver mutations were associated with poorer survival. Model performance using clinical, histological and genetic data from biopsy specimens for predicting OS and DSF demonstrated an AUC of 0.72 and 0.69, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrated the prognostic relevance of a high-grade growth pattern in biopsy specimens of LUAD. Combining clinical, histological and genetic information in one model demonstrated a suboptimal performance for DFS prediction and good performance for OS prediction. However, for daily practice, more robust (bio)markers are required to predict prognosis and stratify patients for therapy and follow-up.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Wolf
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - T E Trandafir
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - F Akram
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - E R Andrinopoulou
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A W P M Maat
- Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - D A M Mustafa
- Department of Laboratory of Tumor Immuno-Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J M Kros
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Laboratory of Tumor Immuno-Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A P Stubbs
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - A C Dingemans
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Erasmus MC Cancer Center, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J H von der Thüsen
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Laboratory of Tumor Immuno-Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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Abstract
Level set models are suitable for processing topological changes in different regions of images while performing segmentation. Active contour models require an empirical setting for initial parameters, which is tedious for the end-user. This study proposes an incremental level set model with the automatic initialization of contours based on local and global fitting energies that enable it to capture image regions containing intensity corruption or other light artifacts. The region-based area and the region-based length terms use signed pressure force (SPF) to strengthen the balloon force. SPF helps to achieve a smooth version of the gradient descent flow in terms of energy minimization. The proposed model is tested on multiple synthetic and real images. Our model has four advantages: first, there is no need for the end user to initialize the parameters; instead, the model is self-initialized. Second, it is more accurate than other methods. Third, it shows lower computational complexity. Fourth, it does not depend on the starting position of the contour. Finally, we evaluated the performance of our model on microscopic cell images (Coelho et al., in: 2009 IEEE international symposium on biomedical imaging: from nano to macro, IEEE, 2009) to confirm that its performance is superior to that of other state-of-the-art models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asim Niaz
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, South Korea
| | - Ehtesham Iqbal
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, South Korea
| | - Farhan Akram
- Department of Pathology and Clinical Bioinformatics, Erasmus Medical Center (EMC), 3015, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jin Kim
- SecuLayer Inc., Seoul, 04781, South Korea
| | - Kwang Nam Choi
- Computer Science and Engineering Department, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, South Korea.
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Gulnaz N, Akram F, Dixon M, Siddique K. TU6.8 An Audit of Day case surgery for cholecystectomy. Br J Surg 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znac248.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Aims
To compare the trust-wide performance with the standard by the British Association of Day Surgery in the management of cholecystectomy
Methods
4 months of Electronic data of patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 2020 was analyzed. Those who had emergency cholecystectomy were excluded.
Results
112 of 145 total patients were female and 33 were male. The age range was 18–82 Around 65% of patients were sent home the same day. 51 Patients ended up being admitted. 33 of these were Pre-booked as inpatients' intent. 39% (13/33) had no specific reason for being booked as an inpatient. The rest Majority had medical issues quoted as the reason for booking.35% (18) of the 51 admitted patients were actually brought in as day-case lap-chole. 6 of these were admitted for perioperative surgical issues and 8 had no documented reason. The Mean length of stay was 2.56 days(0–13). Our Performance was noted to be 10% lower than the BADS standard.
Conclusion
Relatively more patients are being treated as inpatients than the recommended standard. About 1/4th of those who were inpatient had no specific/genuine grounds to be kept in. There is a need for improvement in pre and perioperative documentation to explain the reason for inpatient management. Development of inpatient surgery booking criteria and adherence to set criteria.
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Gulnaz N, Akram F, Masala I, Dar G, Siddique K. EP-503 An Audit of Day case surgery for Inguinal Hernia Repair. Br J Surg 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znac245.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Aims
To compare the trust-wide performance with the standard by the British Association of Day Surgery in the management of inguinal hernias.
Methods
Electronic data of patients who underwent Inguinal Hernia Repairs in the trust from September 2019 to December 2019 was analyzed.
Results
A total of 122 male and 11 female patients had hernias repaired in this time period.18 were emergency while the rest of the cases were elective. The ages ranged from 19–91 with a mean age of 62. Of the 115 electives, 60% were performed as day-case. The mean length of stay was 1.7days (R 0–12).34 out of 46 (74%) patients who stayed inpatient were actually booked as day-case. 73% had no documented reason for their admission.4 patients were admitted for medical reasons 2 for post-operative surgical complications. Of patients pre-booked as inpatients,10 were quoted to have serious medical issues while 5 had no clear reason. The vast majority had open repairs while 26% of the 115 patients had laparoscopic repairs.
Conclusion
Our Performance was noted to be 30% lower than the BADS standard. There is a need of:
Development of inpatient surgery booking criteria and adherence.
Discussion with anesthetic colleagues to assist drive towards day-case surgery.
Clear documentation in the clinical letters to explain the reason for inpatient management and booking.
Perioperative notes need improvement.
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Naureen U, Kayani A, Akram F, Rasheed A, Saleem M. Protease production and molecular characterization of a protease dipeptidyl-aminopeptidase gene from different strains of Sordaria fimicola. BRAZ J BIOL 2022; 84:e255692. [PMID: 35584457 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.255692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The current research was designed to reach extracellular protease production potential in different strains of Sordaria fimicola which were previously obtained from Dr. Lamb (Imperial College, London) from North Facing Slope and South Facing Slope of Evolution Canyon. After initial and secondary screening, two hyper-producers strains S2 and N6 were selected for submerged fermentation and cultural conditions including temperature, pH, incubation period, inoculum size, substrate concentration, and different carbon and nitrogen sources were optimized for enzyme production. S2 strain showed maximum protease production of 3.291 U/mL after 14 days of incubation at 30 °C with 7 pH, 1% substrate concentration and 1 mL inoculum, While N6 strain showed maximum protease production of 1.929 U/mL under fermentation optimized conditions. Another aim of the present research was to underpin the biodiversity of genetics and post-translational modifications (PTMs) of protease DPAP (peptidyl-aminopeptidase) in Sordaria fimicola. Five polymorphic sites were observed in amino acid sequence of S. fimicola strains with reference to Neurospora crassa. PTMs prediction from bioinformatics tools predicted 38 phosphorylation sites on serine residues for protease peptidyl-aminopeptidase in S1 strain of S. fimicola while 45 phosphorylation sites on serine in N7 strain and 47 serine phosphorylation modifications were predicted in N. crassa. Current research gave an insight that change in genetic makeup effected PTMs which ultimately affected the production of protease enzyme in different strains of same organism (S. fimicola). The production and molecular data of the research revealed that environmental stress has strong effects on the specific genes through mutations which may cause genetic diversity. S. fimicola is non- pathogenic fungus and has a short life cycle. This fungus can be chosen to produce protease enzyme on a commercial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- U Naureen
- University of the Punjab, Department of Botany, Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - A Kayani
- Government Model Degree College for Women, Model Town, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - F Akram
- University of the Punjab, Department of Botany, Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - A Rasheed
- University of the Punjab, Department of Botany, Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - M Saleem
- University of the Punjab, Department of Botany, Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Lahore, Pakistan
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Akram F, Pidcock M, Oake D, Sholler G, Farrar M, Kasparian N. “The Usual Challenges of Work Are All Magnified”: Australian Paediatric Health Professionals’ Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Heart Lung Circ 2022. [PMCID: PMC9345548 DOI: 10.1016/j.hlc.2022.06.468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Abstract
Introduction Much has changed in healthcare during the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic. Medicine, a profession of traditional principles and virtues, has faced unprecedented challenges in the light of scarce and unequal distribution of ventilators, testing, and personal protective equipment. Healthcare workers have been- and are increasingly likely to be- forced into situations that require difficult decision making under life-and-death conditions. Concepts of "medical necessity" and "maximum benefit" challenge healthcare systems that already struggle to manage unequal treatment and access to services, giving rise to moral distress and moral injury on the front lines. Methods This article focuses on moral injury in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic. I review recent literature to highlight the psychological impact of many morally-injurious events that have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of a clinical vignette, I point out how healthcare systems adopt many utilitarian policies in times of excessive healthcare burden. A viewpoint is offered that many morally injurious events happen when healthcare workers, traditionally practicing Kantian and virtue ethics, are forced to follow utilitarian policies of healthcare system. Conclusion One form of moral injury may arise from inherent conflicts between individual deontological moral judgments and organizational utilitarian moral judgments. More research is needed to validate the philosophical viewpoint as well as to explore whether increased awareness and education of key principles within moral philosophy can better equip healthcare workers in situations when public health takes precedence over individual health.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Akram
- Saint-Elizabeths Hospital/DC Department of Behavioral Health, Washington, DC, USA
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10
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Westbroek D, Akram F. Autologous Fat Grafting in Breast Cancer Patients: Update on Current Practice. Eur J Surg Oncol 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2019.11.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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11
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Lim ZV, Akram F, Ngo CP, Winarto AA, Lee WQ, Liang K, Oon HH, Thng STG, Lee HK. Automated grading of acne vulgaris by deep learning with convolutional neural networks. Skin Res Technol 2019; 26:187-192. [DOI: 10.1111/srt.12794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Farhan Akram
- Bioinformatics Institute Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Singapore
| | - Cuong Phuc Ngo
- Bioinformatics Institute Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Singapore
- Hwa Chong Institution Singapore Singapore
| | - Amadeus Aristo Winarto
- Bioinformatics Institute Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Singapore
- Hwa Chong Institution Singapore Singapore
| | - Wei Qing Lee
- School of Computing National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
| | - Kaicheng Liang
- Bioinformatics Institute Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Singapore
| | | | - Steven Tien Guan Thng
- National Skin Centre Singapore Singapore
- Skin Research Institute Singapore A*STAR Singapore Singapore
| | - Hwee Kuan Lee
- Bioinformatics Institute Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Singapore Singapore
- School of Computing National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- Image and Pervasive Access Lab CNRS Singapore Singapore
- Singapore Eye Research Institute Singapore Singapore
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Akram F, Fuchs D, Daue M, Nijjar G, Ryan A, Benros ME, Okusaga O, Baca‐Garcia E, Brenner LA, Lowry CA, Ryan KA, Pavlovich M, Mitchell BD, Snitker S, Postolache TT. Association of plasma nitrite levels with obesity and metabolic syndrome in the Old Order Amish. Obes Sci Pract 2018; 4:468-476. [PMID: 30338117 PMCID: PMC6180710 DOI: 10.1002/osp4.290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Plasma nitrite is a metabolite of nitric oxide and reflects endogenous nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity. Although plasma nitrites were previously linked with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS), the direction of association remains inconsistent, possibly due to sample heterogeneity. In a relatively homogeneous population, we hypothesized that nitrite levels will be positively associated with overweight/obesity and MetS. METHODS Fasting nitrite levels were measured in 116 Old Order Amish (78% women). We performed age-and-sex-adjusted ancovas to compare nitrite levels between three groups (a) overweight/obese(-)MetS(-), (b) overweight/obese(+)MetS(-) and (c) overweight/obese(+)MetS)(+). Multivariate linear regressions were conducted on nitrite associations with continuous metabolic variables, with successive adjustments for demographics, body mass index, C-reactive protein and neopterin. RESULTS Nitrite levels were higher in the obese/overweight(+)MetS(+) group than in the other two groups (p < 0.001). Nitrites were positively associated with levels of triglycerides (p < 0.0001), total cholesterol (p = 0.048), high-density lipoprotein/cholesterol ratio (p < 0.0001) and fasting glucose (p < 0.0001), and negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (p < 0.0001). These associations were robust to adjustments for body mass index and inflammatory markers. CONCLUSION Further investigation of the connection between obesity/MetS and plasma nitrite levels may lead to novel dietary and pharmacological approaches that ultimately may contribute to reducing the increasing burden of obesity, MetS and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. Akram
- Mood and Anxiety ProgramUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
- Psychiatry Residency Training ProgramSt. Elizabeth's HospitalWashingtonDCUSA
| | - D. Fuchs
- Division of Biological Chemistry, BiocenterInnsbruck Medical UniversityInnsbruckAustria
| | - M. Daue
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - G. Nijjar
- Mood and Anxiety ProgramUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - A. Ryan
- Department of Veterans AffairsVISN 5 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)BaltimoreMDUSA
| | - M. E. Benros
- Mental Health Centre CopenhagenCopenhagen University HospitalCopenhagenDenmark
| | - O. Okusaga
- Michael E DeBakey VA Medical CenterHoustonTXUSA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesBaylor College of MedicineHoustonTXUSA
| | - E. Baca‐Garcia
- Department of Psychiatry, Fundación Jimenez Diaz HospitalAutónoma University, Centro de Investigacion en Red Salud MentalMadridSpain
| | - L. A. Brenner
- Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC)DenverCOUSA
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAuroraCO80045USA
- Military and Veteran Microbiome: Consortium for Research and Education (MVM‐CoRE)DenverCO80220USA
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of Colorado BoulderBoulderCO80309USA
| | - C. A. Lowry
- Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC)DenverCOUSA
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAuroraCO80045USA
- Military and Veteran Microbiome: Consortium for Research and Education (MVM‐CoRE)DenverCO80220USA
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of Colorado BoulderBoulderCO80309USA
| | - K. A. Ryan
- Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - M. Pavlovich
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - B. D. Mitchell
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
- Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - S. Snitker
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition, Department of MedicineUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
| | - T. T. Postolache
- Mood and Anxiety ProgramUniversity of Maryland, School of MedicineBaltimoreMDUSA
- Department of Veterans AffairsVISN 5 Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)BaltimoreMDUSA
- Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC)DenverCOUSA
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAuroraCO80045USA
- Military and Veteran Microbiome: Consortium for Research and Education (MVM‐CoRE)DenverCO80220USA
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Abstract
In this paper, a novel edge-based active contour method is proposed based on the difference of Gaussians (DoG) to segment intensity inhomogeneous images. DoG is known as a feature enhancement tool, which can enhance the edges of an image. However, in the proposed energy functional it is used as an edge-indicator parameter, which acts like a balloon force during the level-set curve evolution process. In the proposed formulation, the internal energy term penalizes the deviation of the level-set function from a signed distance function and external energy term evolves the contour towards the boundaries of the objects. There are three main advantages of the proposed method. First, image difference computed using the DoG function provides the global structure of an image, which helps to segment the image globally that the traditional edge-based methods are unable to do. Second, it has a low time complexity compared to the state-of-the-art active contours developed in the context of intensity inhomogeneity. Third, it is not sensitive to the initial position of contour. Experimental results using both synthetic and real brain magnetic resonance (MR) images show that the proposed method yields better segmentation results compared to the state-of-the-art.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Akram
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, 43007, Spain.
- Bioinformatics Institute, 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore.
| | - Miguel Angel Garcia
- Department of Electronic and Communications Technology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Domenec Puig
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, 43007, Spain
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Soomro S, Akram F, Munir A, Lee CH, Choi KN. Segmentation of Left and Right Ventricles in Cardiac MRI Using Active Contours. Comput Math Methods Med 2017; 2017:8350680. [PMID: 28928796 PMCID: PMC5591936 DOI: 10.1155/2017/8350680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2017] [Accepted: 07/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Segmentation of left and right ventricles plays a crucial role in quantitatively analyzing the global and regional information in the cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In MRI, the intensity inhomogeneity and weak or blurred object boundaries are the problems, which makes it difficult for the intensity-based segmentation methods to properly delineate the regions of interests (ROI). In this paper, a hybrid signed pressure force function (SPF) is proposed, which yields both local and global image fitted differences in an additive fashion. A characteristic term is also introduced in the SPF function to restrict the contour within the ROI. The overlapping dice index and Hausdorff-Distance metrics have been used over cardiac datasets for quantitative validation. Using 2009 LV MICCAI validation dataset, the proposed method yields DSC values of 0.95 and 0.97 for endocardial and epicardial contours, respectively. Using 2012 RV MICCAI dataset, for the endocardial region, the proposed method yields DSC values of 0.97 and 0.90 and HD values of 8.51 and 7.67 for ED and ES, respectively. For the epicardial region, it yields DSC values of 0.92 and 0.91 and HD values of 6.47 and 9.34 for ED and ES, respectively. Results show its robustness in the segmentation application of the cardiac MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafiullah Soomro
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
| | - Farhan Akram
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Asad Munir
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang Ha Lee
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwang Nam Choi
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
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15
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Akram F, Garcia MA, Puig D. Active contours driven by local and global fitted image models for image segmentation robust to intensity inhomogeneity. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0174813. [PMID: 28376124 PMCID: PMC5380353 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper presents a region-based active contour method for the segmentation of intensity inhomogeneous images using an energy functional based on local and global fitted images. A square image fitted model is defined by using both local and global fitted differences. Moreover, local and global signed pressure force functions are introduced in the solution of the energy functional to stabilize the gradient descent flow. In the final gradient descent solution, the local fitted term helps extract regions with intensity inhomogeneity, whereas the global fitted term targets homogeneous regions. A Gaussian kernel is applied to regularize the contour at each step, which not only smoothes it but also avoids the computationally expensive re-initialization. Intensity inhomogeneous images contain undesired smooth intensity variations (bias field) that alter the results of intensity-based segmentation methods. The bias field is approximated with a Gaussian distribution and the bias of intensity inhomogeneous regions is corrected by dividing the original image by the approximated bias field. In this paper, a two-phase model is first derived and then extended to a four-phase model to segment brain magnetic resonance (MR) images into the desired regions of interest. Experimental results with both synthetic and real brain MR images are used for a quantitative and qualitative comparison with state-of-the-art active contour methods to show the advantages of the proposed segmentation technique in practical terms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Akram
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Garcia
- Department of Electronic and Communications Technology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Domenec Puig
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain
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16
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Huggan PJ, Akram F, Er BHD, Christen LSJ, Weixian L, Lim V, Huang Y, Merchant RA. Measures of acute physiology, comorbidity and functional status to differentiate illness severity and length of stay among acute general medical admissions: a prospective cohort study. Intern Med J 2015; 45:732-40. [DOI: 10.1111/imj.12795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- P. J. Huggan
- Waikato Clinical School; University of Auckland; Hamilton New Zealand
| | - F. Akram
- University Medicine Cluster; National University Health System; Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
| | - B. H. D. Er
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health Singapore; Singapore
| | - L. S. J. Christen
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
| | - L. Weixian
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
| | - V. Lim
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
| | - Y. Huang
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
| | - R. A. Merchant
- University Medicine Cluster; National University Health System; Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; National University of Singapore; Singapore
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17
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Akram F, Kim JH, Lim HU, Choi KN. Segmentation of intensity inhomogeneous brain MR images using active contours. Comput Math Methods Med 2014; 2014:194614. [PMID: 25143780 PMCID: PMC4124790 DOI: 10.1155/2014/194614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Revised: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Segmentation of intensity inhomogeneous regions is a well-known problem in image analysis applications. This paper presents a region-based active contour method for image segmentation, which properly works in the context of intensity inhomogeneity problem. The proposed region-based active contour method embeds both region and gradient information unlike traditional methods. It contains mainly two terms, area and length, in which the area term practices a new region-based signed pressure force (SPF) function, which utilizes mean values from a certain neighborhood using the local binary fitted (LBF) energy model. In turn, the length term uses gradient information. The novelty of our method is to locally compute new SPF function, which uses local mean values and is able to detect boundaries of the homogenous regions. Finally, a truncated Gaussian kernel is used to regularize the level set function, which not only regularizes it but also removes the need of computationally expensive reinitialization. The proposed method targets the segmentation problem of intensity inhomogeneous images and reduces the time complexity among locally computed active contour methods. The experimental results show that the proposed method yields better segmentation result as well as less time complexity compared with the state-of-the-art active contour methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Akram
- Department of Computer Engineering and Mathematics, Rovira i Virgili University, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Jeong Heon Kim
- Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information, Daejeon 305-806, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Ul Lim
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwang Nam Choi
- Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
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Murtaza G, Khan S, Murtaza (Junior) G, Javed K, Akram F, Hamid A, Hussain I. An assessment of Pakistani pharmacy and medical students knowledge of black box warnings. ACTA BIOETH 2014. [DOI: 10.4067/s1726-569x2014000100013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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19
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Akram F, Bashir A, Gutiérrez-Guerrero LX, Masud B, Rodríguez-Quintero J, Calcaneo-Roldan C, Tejeda-Yeomans ME. Vacuum polarization and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking: Phase diagram of QED with four-fermion contact interaction. Int J Clin Exp Med 2013. [DOI: 10.1103/physrevd.87.013011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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