IFTrace: Video segmentation of deformable objects using the Image Foresting Transform

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Expressão imuno-hitoquímica das proteínas RANK, RANKL e OPG em cistos radiculares e cistos dentígeros

Receptor ativador nuclear κappa B (RANK), ligante do receptor ativador nuclear κappa B (RANKL) e osteoprotegerina (OPG) são membros da família do fator de necrose tumoral relacionados com o metabolismo ósseo. A formação, diferenciação e atividade dos osteoclastos são reguladas por estas três proteínas. RANK é um receptor transmembrana presente em diversos tipos celulares, principalmente em células de linhagem macrofágica, linfócitos, células dendríticas e fibroblastos e quando ativado pelo seu ligante, RANKL, promove a diferenciação e ativação de células osteoclásticas responsáveis pelo processo de reabsorção óssea. A OPG impede a ligação RANK/RANKL atuando como um receptor inibitório para a atividade osteolítica. O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a expressão imuno-histoquímica destes biomarcadores em cistos radiculares (n=20) e cistos dentígeros (n=20). A expressão imuno-histoquímica destes marcadores foi avaliada no epitélio e na cápsula dos cistos por escores e percentuais médios de imunomarcação. Para o epitélio, a análise semi-quantitativa revelou um padrão similar dos escores de imunomarcação de RANK, RANKL e OPG nas lesões, não havendo diferença estatística significante (p=0.589, p=0.688, p=0.709, respectivamente). Para a cápsula cística a análise quantitativa, mostrou diferença estatística significante entre os percentuais médios de imunomarcação do RANK e RANKL (p=0,001 e p=0,005, respectivamente) nos cistos. A correlação dos escores de imunomarcação de RANKL e OPG no epitélio do CR e do CD revelou diferença estatística significante (p=0,029, p=0,003, respectivamente). No epitélio dos CRs e dos CDs observou-se uma maior imunoexpressão da OPG comparada a do RANKL. Os resultados apontam a presença de RANK, RANKL e OPG nos cistos radiculares e cistos dentígeros, sugerindo a atuação destas proteínas no desenvolvimento e expansão das lesões no osso adjacente

Systematic analysis of the Fourier transform spectrum of (CH3OH)-C-13 between 400 and 950 cm(-1)

We have investigated a high-resolution Fourier transform (FT) absorption spectrum of the (CH3OH)-C-13 isotopomer of methanol from 400 to 950 cm(-1) with the Ritz program. We present the assignments of 7160 transitions, 3021 of which belong to Asymmetry, and 4139 to E-symmetry. These transitions occur between states labeled by K quantum numbers up to 14, and by torsional quantum numbers n up to 4. The Ritz program evaluated the energies of the 4684 involved levels with an accuracy of the order of 10(-4) cm(-1). All of the assigned lines correspond to transitions involving torsionally excited levels within the ground small-amplitude vibrational state. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eye color as an indicator of social rank in the fish Nile tilapia

We investigated the association of eye color with the dominant-subordinate relationship in the fish Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Eye color pattern was also examined in relation to the intensity of attacks. We paired 20 size-matched fish (intruder: 73.69 ± 11.49 g; resident: 75.42 ± 8.83 g) and evaluated eye color and fights. These fish were isolated in individual aquaria for 10 days and then their eye color was measured 5 min before pairing (basal values). Twenty minutes after pairing, eye color and fights were quantified for 10 min. Clear establishment of social hierarchy was observed in 7 of 10 pairs of fish. Number of attacks ranged from 1 to 168 among pairs. The quartile was calculated for these data and the pairs were then divided into two classes: low-attack (1 to 111 attacks - 2 lower quartiles) or high-attack (112 to 168 attacks - 2 higher quartiles). Dominance decreased the eye-darkening patterns of the fish after pairing, while subordinance increased darkening compared to dominance. Subordinate fish in low-attack confrontations presented a darker eye compared to dominant fish and to the basal condition. We also observed a paler eye pattern in dominants that shared low-attack interactions after pairing compared to the subordinates and within the group. However, we found no differences in the darkening pattern between dominants and subordinates from the high-attack groups. We conclude that eye color is associated with social rank in this species. Moreover, the association between eye color and social rank in the low-attack pairs may function to reduce aggression.

NDIM achievements: massive, arbitrary tensor rank and N-loop insertions in Feynman integrals

One of the main difficulties in studying quantum field theory, in the perturbative regime, is the calculation of D-dimensional Feynman integrals. In general, one introduces the so-called Feynman parameters and, associated with them, the cumbersome parametric integrals. Solving these integrals beyond the one-loop level can be a difficult task. The negative-dimensional integration method (NDIM) is a technique whereby such a problem is dramatically reduced. We present the calculation of two-loop integrals in three different cases: scalar ones with three different masses, massless with arbitrary tensor rank, with and N insertions of a two-loop diagram.

Assessment of maturity degree of composts from domestic solid wastes by fluorescence and fourier transform infrared spectroscopies

Methods of assessment of compost maturity are needed so the application of composted materials to lands will provide optimal benefits. The aim of the present paper is to assess the maturity reached by composts from domestic solid wastes (DSW) prepared under periodic and permanent aeration systems and sampled at different composting time, by means of excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). EEM spectra indicated the presence of two different fluorophores centered, respectively, at Ex/Em wavelength pairs of 330/425 and 280/330 nm. The fluorescence intensities of these peaks were also analyzed, showing trends related to the maturity of composts. The contour density of EEM maps appeared to be strongly reduced with composting days. After 30 and 45 days of composting, FT-IR spectra exhibited a decrease of intensity of peaks assigned to polysaccharides and in the aliphatic region. EEM and FT-IR techniques seem to produce spectra that correlate with the degree of maturity of the compost. Further refinement of these techniques should provide a relatively rapid method of assessing the suitability of the compost to land application.

DIODE-LASER AND FOURIER-TRANSFORM SPECTROSCOPY OF THE (CH3OH)-C-13 C-O STRETCHING MODE

In this work we present high resolution Doppler limited absorption spectra measurements of the C-O stretching mode of (CH3OH)-C-13, obtained from diode laser spectroscopy, and the Fourier Transform spectrum obtained at 0. 12 cm-1 resolution. By using these data and previously known spectroscopic information, we determined the frequency and the J quantum number for the multiplets of the P and R(J) branches of the C-O stretching fundamental band. Infrared transitions in coincidence with emission lines of the regular CO2 laser and some of its isotope parents are pointed out.

Oriented texture classification based on self-organizing neural network and Hough transform

This paper presents a technique for oriented texture classification which is based on the Hough transform and Kohonen's neural network model. In this technique, oriented texture features are extracted from the Hough space by means of two distinct strategies. While the first operates on a non-uniformly sampled Hough space, the second concentrates on the peaks produced in the Hough space. The described technique gives good results for the classification of oriented textures, a common phenomenon in nature underlying an important class of images. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the new technique in comparison, with an implemented technique based on Gabor filters.

Symmetry transform in Faddeev-Jackiw quantization of dual models

We study the presence of symmetry transformations in the Faddeev-Jackiw approach for constrained systems. Our analysis is based in the case of a particle submitted to a particular potential which depends on an arbitrary function. The method is implemented in a natural way and symmetry generators are identified. These symmetries permit us to obtain the absent elements of the sympletic matrix which complement the set of Dirac brackets of such a theory. The study developed here is applied in two different dual models. First, we discuss the case of a two-dimensional oscillator interacting with an electromagnetic potential described by a Chern-Simons term and second the Schwarz-Sen gauge theory, in order to obtain the complete set of non-null Dirac brackets and the correspondent Maxwell electromagnetic theory limit. ©1999 The American Physical Society.

Common architecture for discrete wavelet transform analysis and synthesis with sequential and constant processing elements

This paper adresses the problem on processing biological data such as cardiac beats, audio and ultrasonic range, calculating wavelet coefficients in real time, with processor clock running at frequency of present ASIC's and FPGA. The Paralell Filter Architecture for DWT has been improved, calculating wavelet coefficients in real time with hardware reduced to 60%. The new architecture, which also processes IDWT, is implemented with the Radix-2 or the Booth-Wallace Constant multipliers. Including series memory register banks, one integrated circuit Signal Analyzer, ultrasonic range, is presented.

Discrete wavelet transform signal analyzer

This paper addresses the problem of processing biological data, such as cardiac beats in the audio and ultrasonic range, and on calculating wavelet coefficients in real time, with the processor clock running at a frequency of present application-specified integrated circuits and field programmable gate array. The parallel filter architecture for discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been improved, calculating the wavelet coefficients in real time with hardware reduced up to 60%. The new architecture, which also processes inverse DWT, is implemented with the Radix-2 or the Booth-Wallace constant multipliers. One integrated circuit signal analyzer in the ultrasonic range, including series memory register banks, is presented. © 2007 IEEE.

Microcalcification enhancement and classification on mammograms using the wavelet transform

This paper presents a method to enhance microcalcifications and classify their borders by applying the wavelet transform. Decomposing an image and removing its low frequency sub-band the microcalcifications are enhanced. Analyzing the effects of perturbations on high frequency subband it's possible to classify its borders as smooth, rugged or undefined. Results show a false positive reduction of 69.27% using a region growing algorithm. © 2008 IEEE.

Expression of opg, rank, and rankl proteins in tooth repair processes after immediate and delayed tooth

This study evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of OPG, RANK, and RANKL proteins in the repair after immediate and delayed replantation of rat teeth. Fifty-six Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) had their maxillary right lateral incisor extracted and then replanted, according to the following conditions: group I (control; n = 8), teeth were not extracted; group II (n = 16), immediate replantation; group III (n = 16), delayed replantation without treatment; and group IV (n = 16), delayed replantation after root surface treatment (periodontal ligament removal and immersion in 2% acidulated-phosphate sodium fluoride) and calcium hydroxide intracanal dressing. Rats in group I were euthanized on the first day of the experiment, while the animals in the other groups were euthanized 10 and 60 days after replantation (n = 8/period). Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were obtained for histological analysis. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed expression of OPG and RANKL proteins in all groups and both postreplantation times, except for group II at 60 days. In the experimental groups, RANK expression was observed only at 10 days. In conclusion, there was strong immunostaining for the OPG-RANK-RANKL system at the earlier postreplantation time, suggesting a more effective participation of these proteins at the start of the healing process, as their expression decreased at 60 days. Copyright © 2013 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.