Indoor Localization Solutions for a Marine Industry Augmented Reality Tool

In this report are described means for indoor localization in special, challenging circum-stances in marine industry. The work has been carried out in MARIN project, where a tool based on mobile augmented reality technologies for marine industry is developed. The tool can be used for various inspection and documentation tasks and it is aimed for improving the efficiency in design and construction work by offering the possibility to visualize the newest 3D-CAD model in real environment. Indoor localization is needed to support the system in initialization of the accurate camera pose calculation and auto-matically finding the right location in the 3D-CAD model. The suitability of each indoor localization method to the specific environment and circumstances is evaluated.

Localization of the cotyledon reserves of Theobroma grandiflorum (Willd. ex Spreng.) K. Schum., T. subincanum Mart., T. bicolor Bonpl. and their analogies with T. cacao L.

Cotyledon mesophyll cell morphology and lipid and protein synthesis of T. grandiflorum, T. subincanum and T. bicolor were analyzed and compared with T. cacao. These species possess foliar cotyledons folded around the hypocotyl radicle axis, typical of Sterculiaceae. Fruit size, morphology and weight are very distinct amongst the four species and so are the respective seeds. The main axis of the T. grandiflorum and T. bicolor seeds measured about 30 mm, while T. subincanum and T. cacao seeds measured 17 mm and 26 mm respectively. The seed weights of T. grandiflorum, T. bicolor, T. subincanum and T. cacao were 11.6 g, 9.4 g, 2.1 g and 3.0 g, respectively. The cotyledon mesophylls of the four species contained mainly polysaccharides and lipid-protein reserve cells. Theobroma cacao, T. grandiflorum and T. subincanum were composed of greater than 50% lipids. For the four species, lipid globules gradually accumulated adjacent to the cell wall, and these globules measured from 1 to 3 µm. TEM showed low-density proteins inside the central vacuole of the young mesophyll cells of T. cacao. The protein reserves of the mature cells were densely scattered amongst the lipid bodies, and a few starch granules occurred together with the cotyledon mesophyll of the four species. Polyphenolic cells were found throughout the mesophyll cells or aligned with the respective vascular bundles. Immature cells demonstrated the capacity to synthesize all these reserves, but gradually the pre-determined cells produced mainly lipid-protein reserves. Besides the unique characteristics of the T. cacao products, the lipid-protein synthesis capacities of T. grandiflorum, T. subincanum and T. bicolor suggest various possibilities for new industrialized food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

Localization of NMDA receptors in the cerebral cortex: a schematic overview

The fundamental role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in many cortical functions has been firmly defined, as has its involvement in a number of neurological and psychiatric diseases. However, until recently very little was known about the anatomical localization of NMDA receptors in the cerebral cortex of mammals. The recent application of molecular biological techniques to the study of NMDA receptors has provided specific tools which have greatly expanded our understanding of the localization of NMDA receptors in the cerebral cortex. In particular, immunocytochemical studies on the distribution of cortical NMDA receptors have shown that NMDA receptors are preferentially localized on dendritic spines, have disclosed an unknown fraction of presynaptic NMDA receptors on both excitatory and inhibitory axon terminals, and demonstrated that cortical astrocytes do express NMDA receptors. These studies suggest that the effects induced by the activation of NMDA receptors are not due solely to the opening of NMDA channels on neuronal postsynaptic membranes, as previously assumed, but that the activation of presynaptic and glial NMDA receptors may mediate part of these effects

Receptor localization of steroid hormones and drugs: discoveries through the use of thaw-mount and dry-mount autoradiography

The history of receptor autoradiography, its development and applications, testify to the utility of this histochemical technique for localizing radiolabeled hormones and drugs at cellular and subcellular sites of action in intact tissues. Localization of diffusible compounds has been a challenge that was met through the introduction of the "thaw-mount" and "dry-mount" autoradiographic techniques thirty years ago. With this cellular receptor autoradiography, used alone or combined with other histochemical techniques, sites of specific binding and deposition in vivo and in vitro have been characterized. Numerous discoveries, some reviewed in this article, provided information that led to new concepts and opened new areas of research. As an example, in recent years more than fifty target tissues for vitamin D have been specified, challenging the conventional view about the main biological role of vitamin D. The functions of most of these vitamin D target tissues are unrelated to the regulation of systemic calcium homeostasis, but pertain to the (seasonal) regulation of endo- and exocrine secretion, cell proliferation, reproduction, neural, immune and cardiovascular responses, and adaptation to stress. Receptor autoradiography with cellular resolution has become an indispensable tool in drug research and development, since information can be obtained that is difficult or impossible to gain otherwise

Functional characterization and localization of AQP3 in the human colon

Water channels or aquaporins (AQPs) have been identified in a large variety of tissues. Nevertheless, their role in the human gastrointestinal tract, where their action is essential for the reabsorption and secretion of water and electrolytes, is still unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structure and function of water channels expressed in the human colon. A cDNA fragment of about 420 bp with a 98% identity to human AQP3 was amplified from human stomach, small intestine and colon by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and a transcript of 2.2 kb was expressed more abundantly in colon than in jejunum, ileum and stomach as indicated by Northern blots. Expression of mRNA from the colon of adults and children but not from other gastrointestinal regions in Xenopus oocytes enhanced the osmotic water permeability, and the urea and glycerol transport in a manner sensitive to an antisense AQP3 oligonucleotide, indicating the presence of functional AQP3. Immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence studies in human colon revealed that the AQP3 protein is restricted to the villus epithelial cells. The immunostaining within these cells was more intense in the apical than in the basolateral membranes. The presence of AQP3 in villus epithelial cells suggests that AQP3 is implicated in water absorption across human colonic surface cells.

Ligand-induced endocytosis and nuclear localization of angiotensin II receptors expressed in CHO cells

A construct (AT1R-NF) containing a "Flag" sequence added to the N-terminus of the rat AT1 receptor was stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells and quantified in the cell membrane by confocal microscopy after reaction with a fluorescein-labeled anti-Flag monoclonal antibody. Angiotensin II bound to AT1R-NF and induced endocytosis with a half-time of 2 min. After 60-90 min, fluorescence accumulated around the cell nucleus, suggesting migration of the ligand-receptor complex to the nuclear membrane. Angiotensin antagonists also induced endocytosis, suggesting that a common step in the transduction signal mechanism occurring after ligand binding may be responsible for the ligand-receptor complex internalization.

Losses of immunoreactive parvalbumin amacrine and immunoreactive alphaprotein kinase C bipolar cells caused by methylmercury chloride intoxication in the retina of the tropical fish Hoplias malabaricus

To quantify the effects of methylmercury (MeHg) on amacrine and on ON-bipolar cells in the retina, experiments were performed in MeHg-exposed groups of adult trahiras (Hoplias malabaricus) at two dose levels (2 and 6 µg/g, ip). The retinas of test and control groups were processed by mouse anti-parvalbumin and rabbit anti-alphaprotein kinase C (alphaPKC) immunocytochemistry. Morphology and soma location in the inner nuclear layer were used to identify immunoreactive parvalbumin (PV-IR) and alphaPKC (alphaPKC-IR) in wholemount preparations. Cell density, topography and isodensity maps were estimated using confocal images. PV-IR was detected in amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer and in displaced amacrine cells from the ganglion cell layer, and alphaPKC-IR was detected in ON-bipolar cells. The MeHg-treated group (6 µg/g) showed significant reduction of the ON-bipolar alphaPKC-IR cell density (mean density = 1306 ± 393 cells/mm²) compared to control (1886 ± 892 cells/mm²; P < 0.001). The mean densities found for amacrine PV-IR cells in MeHg-treated retinas were 1040 ± 56 cells/mm² (2 µg/g) and 845 ± 82 cells/mm² (6 µg/g), also lower than control (1312 ± 31 cells/mm²; P < 0.05), differently from the data observed in displaced PV-IR amacrine cells. These results show that MeHg changed the PV-IR amacrine cell density in a dose-dependent way, and reduced the density of alphaKC-IR bipolar cells at the dose of 6 µg/g. Further studies are needed to identify the physiological impact of these findings on visual function.

Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Prenatal insults have been shown to be associated with later development of mental disorders and there is a growing interest in the potential role of prenatal and perinatal risk factors in the development of BPD. The aims of this thesis were to describe the overall study design of the Finnish Prenatal Study of Bipolar Disorders (FIPS-B) and demographic characteristics of the sample. Furthermore, it was aimed to examine the association of parental age, parental age difference, perinatal complications and maternal smoking during pregnancy with BPD. This thesis is based on FIPS-B, a nested case-control study using several nationwide registers. The cases included all people born in Finland between January 1st 1983 and December 31st 1998 and diagnosed with BPD according to the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR) before December 31st 2008. Controls for this study were people who were without BPD, schizophrenia or diagnoses related to these disorders, identified from the Population Register Centre (PRC), and matched two-fold to the cases on sex, date of birth (+/- 30 days), and residence in Finland on the first day of diagnosis of the matched case. Conditional logistic regression models were used to examine the association between risk factors and BPD. This study included 1887 BPD cases and 3774 matched controls. The mean age at diagnosis was 19.3 years and females accounted for 68% of the cases. Mothers with the lowest educational level had the highest odds of having BPD in offspring. Being born in Eastern and Southern region of Finland increased the odds of having BPD later in life. A U-shaped distribution of odds ratio was observed between paternal age and BPD in the unadjusted analysis. Maternal age and parental age difference was not associated with BPD. Birth by planned caesarean section was associated with increased odd of BPD. Smoking during pregnancy was not associated with BPD in the adjusted analyses. Region of birth and maternal educational level were associated with BPD. Both young and old father’s age was associated with BPD. Most perinatal complications and maternal smoking during pregnancy were not associated with BPD. The findings of this thesis, considered together with previous literature, suggest that the pre- and perinatal risk factor profile varies among different psychiatric disorders.

Isolation and intracellular localization of insulin-like proteins from leaves of Bauhinia variegata

Evidence based on immunological cross-reactivity and anti-diabetic properties has suggested the presence of insulin-like peptides in plants. The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of insulin-like proteins in the leaves of Bauhinia variegata ("pata-de-vaca", "mororó"), a plant widely utilized in popular medicine as an anti-diabetic agent. We show that an insulin-like protein was present in the leaves of this plant. A chloroplast protein with a molecular mass similar to that of bovine insulin was extracted from 2-mm thick 15% SDS-PAGE gels and fractionated with a 2 x 24 cm Sephadex G-50 column. The activity of this insulin-like protein (0.48 mg/mL) on serum glucose levels of four-week-old Swiss albino (CF1) diabetic mice was similar to that of commercial swine insulin used as control. Further characterization of this molecule by reverse-phase hydrophobic HPLC chromatographic analysis as well as its antidiabetic activity on alloxan-induced mice showed that it has insulin-like properties. Immunolocalization of the insulin-like protein in the leaves of B. variegata was performed by transmission electron microscopy using a polyclonal anti-insulin human antibody. Localization in the leaf blades revealed that the insulin-like protein is present mainly in chloroplasts where it is also found associated with crystals which may be calcium oxalate. The presence of an insulin-like protein in chloroplasts may indicate its involvement in carbohydrate metabolism. This finding has strengthened our previous results and suggests that insulin-signaling pathways have been conserved through evolution.

Erythrocyte phosphoglucomutase activity of bipolar I patients currently using lithium or carbamazepine

Lithium has been used for the last five decades to treat bipolar disorder, but the molecular basis of its therapeutic effect is unknown. Phosphoglucomutase is a key enzyme in the metabolism of glycogen. In yeast, rabbit and human HEK293 cells, it is inhibited by lithium in the therapeutic concentration range. We measured the phosphoglucomutase activity in erythrocytes and the inhibitor constant for lithium in a population of healthy subjects and compared them to those of bipolar patients treated with lithium or carbamazepine. The specific activity of phosphoglucomutase measured in vitro in erythrocytes from control subjects presented a normal distribution, with the difference between the lowest and the highest activity being approximately 2-fold (0.53-1.10 nmol mg Hb-1 min-1). Comparison of phosphoglucomutase activity in untreated bipolar patients and control subjects showed no significant difference, whereas comparison between bipolar patients treated with carbamazepine or lithium revealed significantly lower mean values in patients treated with carbamazepine (747.3 ± 27.6 vs 879.5 ± 35.9 pmol mg Hb-1 min-1, respectively). When we studied the concentration of lithium needed to inhibit phosphoglucomutase activity by 50%, a bimodal distribution among the population tested was obtained. The concentration of LiCl needed to inhibit phosphoglucomutase activity by 50% was 0.35 to 1.8 mM in one group of subjects and in the other it was 3 to 4 mM. These results suggest that phosphoglucomutase activity may be significant in patients with bipolar disorder treated with lithium and carbamazepine.

EEG spike source localization before and after surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy: a BOLD EEG-fMRI and independent component analysis study

Simultaneous measurements of EEG-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combine the high temporal resolution of EEG with the distinctive spatial resolution of fMRI. The purpose of this EEG-fMRI study was to search for hemodynamic responses (blood oxygen level-dependent - BOLD responses) associated with interictal activity in a case of right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy before and after a successful selective amygdalohippocampectomy. Therefore, the study found the epileptogenic source by this noninvasive imaging technique and compared the results after removing the atrophied hippocampus. Additionally, the present study investigated the effectiveness of two different ways of localizing epileptiform spike sources, i.e., BOLD contrast and independent component analysis dipole model, by comparing their respective outcomes to the resected epileptogenic region. Our findings suggested a right hippocampus induction of the large interictal activity in the left hemisphere. Although almost a quarter of the dipoles were found near the right hippocampus region, dipole modeling resulted in a widespread distribution, making EEG analysis too weak to precisely determine by itself the source localization even by a sophisticated method of analysis such as independent component analysis. On the other hand, the combined EEG-fMRI technique made it possible to highlight the epileptogenic foci quite efficiently.

Tissue expression and subcellular localization of Mipu1, a novel myocardial ischemia-related gene

Myocardial ischemic preconditioning up-regulated protein 1 (Mipu1), a novel zinc finger protein, was originally cloned using bioinformatic analysis and 5' RACE technology of rat heart after a transient myocardial ischemia/reperfusion procedure in our laboratory. In order to investigate the functions of Mipu1, the recombinant prokaryotic expression vector pQE31-Mipu1 was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli M15(pREP4), and Mipu1-6His fusion protein was expressed and purified. The identity of the purified protein was confirmed by mass spectrometry. The molecular mass of the Mipu1 protein was 70.03779 kDa. The fusion protein was intracutaneously injected to immunize New Zealand rabbits to produce a polyclonal antibody. The antibody titer was approximately 1:16,000. The antibody was tested by Western blotting for specificity and sensitivity. Using the antibody, it was found that Mipu1 was highly expressed in the heart and brain of rats and was localized in the nucleus of H9c2 myogenic cells. The present study lays the foundation for further study of the biological functions of Mipu1.

Memory mood congruency phenomenon in bipolar I disorder and major depression disorder patients

The objective of the present study was to evaluate memory performance in tasks with and without affective content (to confirm the mood congruency phenomenon) in acutely admitted patients with bipolar I disorder (BD) and major depression disorder (MDD) and in healthy participants. Seventy-eight participants (24 BD, 29 MDD, and 25 healthy controls) were evaluated. Three word lists were used as the memory task with affective content (positive, negative and indifferent). Psychiatric symptoms were also evaluated with rating scales (Young Mania Rating Scale for mania and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for depression). Patients were selected during the first week of hospitalization. BD patients showed higher scores in the word span with positive tone than MDD patients and healthy controls (P = 0.002). No other difference was observed for tests with affective tone. MDD patients presented significantly lower scores in the Mini-Mental State Exam, logical memory test, visual recognition span, and digit span, while BD patients presented lower scores in the visual recognition test and digit span. Mood congruency effect was found for word span with positive tone among BD patients but no similar effect was observed among MDD patients for negative items. MDD patients presented more memory impairment than BD patients, but BD patients also showed memory impairment

Group cognitive behavior therapy for bipolar disorder can improve the quality of life

Bipolar disorder (BD) can have an impact on psychosocial functioning and quality of life (QoL). Several studies have shown that structured psychotherapy in conjunction with pharmacotherapy may modify the course of some disorders; however, few studies have investigated the results of group cognitive behavior therapy (G-CBT) for BD. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of 14 sessions of G-CBT for BD patients, comparing this intervention plus pharmacotherapy to treatment as usual (TAU; only pharmacotherapy). Forty-one patients with BD I and II participated in this study and were randomly allocated to each group (G-CBT: N = 27; TAU: N = 14). Thirty-seven participants completed the treatment (women: N = 66.67%; mean age = 41.5 years). QoL and mood symptoms were assessed in all participants. Scores changed significantly by the end of treatment in favor of the G-CBT group. The G-CBT group presented significantly better QoL in seven of the eight sub-items assessed with the Medical Outcomes Survey SF-36 scale. At the end of treatment, the G-CBT group exhibited lower scores for mania (not statistically significant) and depression (statistically significant) as well as a reduction in the frequency and duration of mood episodes (P < 0.01). The group variable was significant for the reduction of depression scores over time. This clinical change may explain the improvement in six of the eight subscales of QoL (P < 0.05). The G-CBT group showed better QoL in absolute values in all aspects and significant improvements in nearly all subscales. These results were not observed in the TAU control group.

The N-terminal 33 amino acid domain of Siva-1 is sufficient for nuclear localization

Siva-1 induces apoptosis in multiple pathological processes and plays an important role in the suppression of tumor metastasis, protein degradation, and other functions. Although many studies have demonstrated that Siva-1 functions in the cytoplasm, a few have found that Siva-1 can relocate to the nucleus. In this study, we found that the first 33 amino acid residues of Siva-1 are required for its nuclear localization. Further study demonstrated that the green fluorescent protein can be imported into the nucleus after fusion with these 33 amino acid residues. Other Siva-1 regions and domains showed less effect on Siva-1 nuclear localization. By site-mutagenesis of all of these 33 amino acid residues, we found that mutants of the first 1-18 amino acids affected Siva-1 nuclear compartmentalization but could not complete this localization independently. In summary, we demonstrated that the N-terminal 33 amino acid residues were sufficient for Siva-1 nuclear localization, but the mechanism of this translocation needs additional investigation.