Image registration techniques with multiresolution analysis in satellite oceanography

En aquest article es fa una descripció dels procediments realitzats per enregistrar dues imatges geomètricament, de forma automàtica, si es pren la primera com a imatge de referència. Es comparen els resultats obtinguts mitjançant tres mètodes. El primer mètode és el d’enregistrament clàssic en domini espacial maximitzant la correlació creuada (MCC)[1]. El segon mètode es basa en aplicar l’enregistrament MCC conjuntament amb un anàlisi multiescala a partir de transformades wavelet [2]. El tercer mètode és una variant de l’anterior que es situa a mig camí dels dos. Per cada un dels mètodes s’obté una estimació dels coeficients de la transformació que relaciona les dues imatges. A continuació es transforma per cada cas la segona imatge i es georeferencia respecte la primera. I per acabar es proposen unes mesures quantitatives que permeten discutir i comparar els resultats obtinguts amb cada mètode.

An Atkinson-Gini family of social evaluation functions

We investigate the properties of a family of social evaluation functions and inequality indices which merge the features of the family of Atkinson (1970) and S-Gini (Donaldson and Weymark (1980, 1983), Yitzhaki (1983) and Kakwani (1980)) indices. Income inequality aversion is captured by decreasing marginal utilities, and aversion to rank inequality is captured by rank-dependent ethical weights, thus providing an ethically-flexible dual basis for the assessment of inequality and equity. These ocial evaluation functions can be interpreted as average utility corrected for the illfare of relative deprivation. They can alternatively be understood as averages of altruistic well-being in a population. They moreover have a simple graphical interpretation.

Insertion dans les soins après une première hospitalisation dans un secteur pour psychose [Linkage to care after first hospitalisation for psychosis]

BACKGROUND: First hospitalisation for a psychotic episode causes intense distress to patients and families, but offers an opportunity to make a diagnosis and start treatment. However, linkage to outpatient psychiatric care remains a notoriously difficult step for young psychotic patients, who frequently interrupt treatment after hospitalisation. Persistence of symptoms, and untreated psychosis may therefore remain a problem despite hospitalisation and proper diagnosis. With persisting psychotic symptoms, numerous complications may arise: breakdown in relationships, loss of family and social support, loss of employment or study interruption, denial of disease, depression, suicide, substance abuse and violence. Understanding mechanisms that might promote linkage to outpatient psychiatric care is therefore a critical issue, especially in early intervention in psychotic disorders. OBJECTIVE: To study which factors hinder or promote linkage of young psychotic patients to outpatient psychiatric care after a first hospitalisation, in the absence of a vertically integrated program for early psychosis. Method. File audit study of all patients aged 18 to 30 who were admitted for the first time to the psychiatric University Hospital of Lausanne in the year 2000. For statistical analysis, chi2 tests were used for categorical variables and t-test for dimensional variables; p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: 230 patients aged 18 to 30 were admitted to the Lausanne University psychiatric hospital for the first time during the year 2000, 52 of them with a diagnosis of psychosis (23%). Patients with psychosis were mostly male (83%) when compared with non-psychosis patients (49%). Furthermore, they had (1) 10 days longer mean duration of stay (24 vs 14 days), (2) a higher rate of compulsory admissions (53% vs 22%) and (3) were more often hospitalised by a psychiatrist rather than by a general practitioner (83% vs 53%). Other socio-demographic and clinical features at admission were similar in the two groups. Among the 52 psychotic patients, 10 did not stay in the catchment area for subsequent treatment. Among the 42 psychotic patients who remained in the catchment area after discharge, 20 (48%) did not attend the scheduled or rescheduled outpatient appointment. None of the socio demographic characteristics were associated with attendance to outpatient appointments. On the other hand, voluntary admission and suicidal ideation before admission were significantly related to attending the initial appointment. Moreover, some elements of treatment seemed to be associated with higher likelihood to attend outpatient treatment: (1) provision of information to the patient regarding diagnosis, (2) discussion about the treatment plan between in- and outpatient staff, (3) involvement of outpatient team during hospitalisation, and (4) elaboration of concrete strategies to face basic needs, organise daily activities or education and reach for help in case of need. CONCLUSION: As in other studies, half of the patients admitted for a first psychotic episode failed to link to outpatient psychiatric care. Our study suggests that treatment rather than patient's characteristics play a critical role in this phenomenon. Development of a partnership and involvement of patients in the decision process, provision of good information regarding the illness, clear definition of the treatment plan, development of concrete strategies to cope with the illness and its potential complications, and involvement of the outpatient treating team already during hospitalisation, all came out as critical strategies to facilitate adherence to outpatient care. While the current rate of disengagement after admission is highly concerning, our finding are encouraging since they constitute strategies that can easily be implemented. An open approach to psychosis, the development of partnership with patients and a better coordination between inpatient and outpatient teams should therefore be among the targets of early intervention programs. These observations might help setting up priorities when conceptualising new programs and facilitate the implementation of services that facilitate engagement of patients in treatment during the critical initial phase of psychotic disorders.

Prévention des alcoolisations aiguës a l'adolescence: quel rôle pour le médecin de famille [Prevention of binge drinking in adolescents: do family doctors have a role to play?].

Binge drinking has nearly become the norm for young people and is thus worrying. Although alcohol use in males attracts more media attention, females are also frequently affected. A variety of preventive measures can be proposed: at the individual level by parents, peers and family doctors; at the school and community level, particularly to postpone age of first use and first episode of drunkenness; at the structural level through a policy restricting access to alcohol for young people and increasing its price. Family doctors can play an important role in identifying at risk users and individualising preventive messages to which these young people are exposed in other contexts.

Heritability, determinants and reference values of renal length: a family-based population study.

OBJECTIVES: In this population-based study, reference values were generated for renal length, and the heritability and factors associated with kidney length were assessed. METHODS: Anthropometric parameters and renal ultrasound measurements were assessed in randomly selected nuclear families of European ancestry (Switzerland). The adjusted narrow sense heritability of kidney size parameters was estimated by maximum likelihood assuming multivariate normality after power transformation. Gender-specific reference centiles were generated for renal length according to body height in the subset of non-diabetic non-obese participants with normal renal function. RESULTS: We included 374 men and 419 women (mean ± SD, age 47 ± 18 and 48 ± 17 years, BMI 26.2 ± 4 and 24.5 ± 5 kg/m(2), respectively) from 205 families. Renal length was 11.4 ± 0.8 cm in men and 10.7 ± 0.8 cm in women; there was no difference between right and left renal length. Body height, weight and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were positively associated with renal length, kidney function negatively, age quadratically, whereas gender and hypertension were not. The adjusted heritability estimates of renal length and volume were 47.3 ± 8.5 % and 45.5 ± 8.8 %, respectively (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The significant heritability of renal length and volume highlights the familial aggregation of this trait, independently of age and body size. Population-based references for renal length provide a useful guide for clinicians. KEY POINTS: • Renal length and volume are heritable traits, independent of age and size. • Based on a European population, gender-specific reference values/percentiles are provided for renal length. • Renal length correlates positively with body length and weight. • There was no difference between right and left renal lengths in this study. • This negates general teaching that the left kidney is larger and longer.

Altered NKG2D function in NK cells induced by chronic exposure to NKG2D ligand-expressing tumor cells.

NKG2D is an activation receptor that allows natural killer (NK) cells to detect diseased host cells. The engagement of NKG2D with corresponding ligand results in surface modulation of the receptor and reduced function upon subsequent receptor engagement. However, it is not clear whether in addition to modulation the NKG2D receptor complex and/or its signaling capacity is preserved. We show here that the prolonged encounter with tumor cell-bound, but not soluble, ligand can completely uncouple the NKG2D receptor from the intracellular mobilization of calcium and the exertion of cell-mediated cytolysis. However, cytolytic effector function is intact since NKG2D ligand-exposed NK cells can be activated via the Ly49D receptor. While NKG2D-dependent cytotoxicity is impaired, prolonged ligand exposure results in constitutive interferon gamma (IFNgamma) production, suggesting sustained signaling. The functional changes are associated with a reduced presence of the relevant signal transducing adaptors DNAX-activating protein of 10 kDa (DAP-10) and killer cell activating receptor-associated protein/DNAX-activating protein of 12 kDa (KARAP/DAP-12). That is likely the consequence of constitutive NKG2D engagement and signaling, since NKG2D function and adaptor expression is restored to normal when the stimulating tumor cells are removed. Thus, the chronic exposure to tumor cells expressing NKG2D ligand alters NKG2D signaling and may facilitate the evasion of tumor cells from NK cell reactions.

The study of insect blood-feeding behaviour: 2. Recording techniques and the use of flow charts

This paper continues a discussion of approaches and methodologies we have used in our studies of feeding in haematophagous insects. Described are techniques for directly monitoring behaviour: electrical recording of feeding behaviour via resistance changes in the food canal, optical methods for monitoring mouthpart activity, and a computer technique for behavioural event recording. Also described is the use of "flow charts" or "decision diagrams" to model interrelated sequences of behaviours.

The vitellogenin gene family of Aedes aegypti

We have been interested in identifying genes that play a role in reproduction of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Our interests are currently focused on the vitellogenin genes which in the mosquito are expressed only in the fat body in response to the insect steroid hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone. Four of the five vitellogenin genes in the genome have been cloned. We have examined the relationships between these genes and find that they form a small gene family exhibiting different levels of relationship.

Liprin (beta)1 is highly expressed in lymphatic vasculature and is important for lymphatic vessel integrity.

The lymphatic vasculature is important for the regulation of tissue fluid homeostasis, immune response, and lipid absorption, and the development of in vitro models should allow for a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating lymphatic vascular growth, repair, and function. Here we report isolation and characterization of lymphatic endothelial cells from human intestine and show that intestinal lymphatic endothelial cells have a related but distinct gene expression profile from human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells. Furthermore, we identify liprin beta1, a member of the family of LAR transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase-interacting proteins, as highly expressed in intestinal lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro and lymphatic vasculature in vivo, and show that it plays an important role in the maintenance of lymphatic vessel integrity in Xenopus tadpoles.