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Current theories regarding accumulation of Alzheimer's disease-related deposits of abnormal intra- and extracellular proteins include reactions to inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. In this study, we explored whether age, genotype and inflammation via diet have a greater effect on dysregulatory protein accumulation in any particular subfield of the hippocampus. We stained for ferritin, ferroportin, hyperphosphorylated tau and β-amyloid proteins in the hippocampal region of Apolipoprotein E2 (ApoE2), ApoE3 or ApoE4 mice fed a control diet or a hypothesized inflammation-inducing methionine diet and euthanized at 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. We analysed stains based on hippocampal subfield and compared the protein accumulation levels within each group. We found significantly decreased ferritin expression in ApoE4 mice in the CA1 and Hi regions and decreased ferroportin expression in ApoE4 mice in the Hi region. There was also a significant effect on hyperphosphorylated tau protein levels based upon a given mouse genotype and diet interaction. Additionally, there were nonsignificant trends in each hippocampal subfield of increasing ferroportin and hyperphosphorylated tau after 6 months of age and decreasing β-amyloid and ferritin with age. This study identified that there are changes in iron regulatory molecules based on genotype in the Hi and CA1 regions. Our findings also suggest a diet-genotype interaction, which affects levels of specific Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in the hippocampus. Additionally, we identified a trend toward increased ability to clear β-amyloid and decreased ability to clear hyperphosphorylated tau with age in all subfields, in addition to evidence of increasing iron load with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful planning and execution of a major field campaign relies on the availability and reliability of weather forecasts on a range of time‐scales. Here, we describe the wide range of forecast products generated in support of a field campaign that took place in India in 2016 as part of the Interaction of Convective Organization with Monsoon Precipitation, Atmosphere, Surface and Sea (INCOMPASS) project. We show examples of the suite of plots generated every day from the forecasts and supplied to the mission scientists, and describe how these were used to plan the flights. We highlight the benefits of having access to forecasts from a range of model resolutions and configurations; these allowed judgements to be made about uncertainty, particularly in the amount and location of deep convective rainfall, which is an important consideration for flight planning. Finally, we discuss the legacy of the forecasting activity, which has not only advanced our understanding of monsoon forecasting but also created a large database of targeted model forecast products for the whole of the 2016 monsoon season. These can be used by researchers for comparisons with in situ observations as well as future modelling studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence of intestinal protozoal and helminthic infection in a rural population.Method: Seventy-eight members of 15 families from a village were studied. Stool samples from all subjects were examined on alternate days for one month.Results: The overall prevalence rate of various parasitic infections was 97.4%, with only 2 of 78 subjects not excreting parasites in any of their 15 samples. Eighteen (23.1%) persons had only one type of parasite, while 58 (74.3%) excreted multiple parasites. Giardia and Cryptosporidium were the commonest protozoan infections, affecting 42/78 (53.8%) and 31/78 (39.7%), respectively. Hookworm infestations were the commonest helminthic infections, seen in 48/78 (61.5%). Based on excretion patterns, the asymptomatic individuals could be divided into 2 groups of infrequent and frequent excretors, indicating that the host response may determine the level of parasite replication in the gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image and video matting are still challenging problems in areas with low foreground-background contrast. Video matting also has the challenge of ensuring temporally coherent mattes because the human visual system is highly sensitive to temporal jitter and flickering. On the other hand, video provides the opportunity to use information from other frames to improve the matte accuracy on a given frame. In this paper, we present a new video matting approach that improves the temporal coherence while maintaining high spatial accuracy in the computed mattes. We build sample sets of temporal and local samples that cover all the color distributions of the object and background over all previous frames. This helps guarantee spatial accuracy and temporal coherence by ensuring that proper samples are found even when distantly located in space or time. An explicit energy term encourages temporal consistency in the mattes derived from the selected samples. In addition, we use localized texture features to improve spatial accuracy in low contrast regions where color distributions overlap. The proposed method results in better spatial accuracy and temporal coherence than existing video matting methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) determined by invasive ventriculography (routine cardiac cath; LV-gram) was compared with that determined by echocardiography in 100 patients scheduled for angiography (86% had LV-gram and 2DE during same hospital admission). Seventy percent of patients had at least single-vessel obstructive coronary artery disease, defined as more than 50% stenosis. By all estimates, the LVEF was higher in patients without coronary artery disease (CAD) compared to patients with CAD. There was an excellent correlation between the LVEF by cath and echo, but this correlation was noticeably less strong in patients with CAD, especially with involvement of the left circumflex artery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method of daily rainfall analysis on a regular latitude by longitude grid over the Indian monsoon region is described. Daily rainfall estimates obtained from INSAT IR radiances and rain-gauge observations are combined to produce this analysis. A case of a typical westward moving monsoon depression during the 1994 monsoon season is chosen to present the characteristics of the rainfall analysed. The results obtained show that the analysis is able to represent adequately the large-scale distribution of the rainfall realized, which can further be used for modelling studies. By inserting rain-gauge observations it is seen that, in general, the final analysis removes the large negative bias imposed by the satellite estimates. Owing to the non-availability of the precipitable water estimates over this region in real time, at present there is a necessity to have alternative procedures for analysed rainfall distribution, especially for the purposes ofphysical initialization and other related applications of the tropical numerical weather prediction. When the Special Sensor Microwave Instrument (SSM/I) and other estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, etc. become available in future the present scheme willbe able to include these new products also for improving the qualityand representation of rainfall over oceanic region. ) 1997 by the Royal Meteorological Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Obliteration of the round window (RW) in cases of otosclerosis presents a significant clinical challenge due to its association with more severe hearing loss and a poorer prognosis for functional recovery after stapes surgery. The objective is to assess and characterize the occurrence of RW involvement in otosclerosis cases and to identify patterns of disease progression that may indicate a potential for RW obliteration., Methods: We selected archival temporal bones from donors with otosclerosis. We evaluated the degree of RW obliteration using a semi-quantitative scale and the location of the foci within the temporal bone, and whether the foci were continuous or isolated., Results: Most of the foci were located anteriorly to the oval window (89.2%), while RW area involvement was seen in 26.9% of the ears. In cases with fenestral foci, 68.1% directly involved and/or fixed the footplate. Among donors with bilateral otosclerosis, foci affected both ears in a similar pattern in 64.2%. Among donors with RW involvement, ones with continuous, large lesions that extended from the oval window associated with complete RW obliteration, while ones with smaller degrees of obliteration had solitary foci scattered within the otic capsule., Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a high rate of RW involvement in cases of otosclerosis. Ears with continuous lesions extending from the oval window region to the RW area were more likely to present with complete RW obliteration. These results provide insights that could lead to better prognostic assessment of patients with otosclerosis in the future., Level of Evidence: N/A Laryngoscope, 2024., (© 2024 The Author(s). The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives: Although previous research has indicated inner ear changes in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, no prior study has explored the middle ear, particularly the ossicles and their joints, in DM patients. This study aimed to investigate whether type 2 DM is associated with middle ear changes, specifically affecting the ossicular chain and joints., Methods: This study included 47 ears from 25 patients with DM (male = 13, female = 12, age: 51.0 ± 20.5) and age- and sex-matched controls (male = 10, female = 10, age: 54.8 ± 15.9) (sex; p = 1.000, Age; p = 0.991). Otopathological evaluations of the auditory ossicles and incudomalleolar joint (IMJ) were performed using light microscopy., Results: In the IMJ of DM cases, malleus hyalinized cartilage (Malleus hC) and incus hyalinized cartilage (Incus hC) were significantly increased compared with control cases (Malleus hC; DM, 34.17 ± 9.71 μm vs. control 21.96 ± 4.16 μm, p < 0.001) (Incus hC; DM 35.11 ± 10.12 μm vs. control 22.42 ± 4.368 μm, p < 0.001). In addition, bone-line distance was significantly longer than in DM cases than control cases (DM 266.72 ± 59.11 μm vs. control 239.81 ± 35.56 μm p = 0.040). On the other hand, joint discus distance was longer in the control group than in DM cases (DM 96.84 ± 36.80 μm vs. Control 113.63 ± 23.81 μm, p = 0.001)., Conclusions: This study reveals a notable increase in the hyalinized cartilage layer and bone-line distance accompanied by reducing joint discus distance within the IMJ in DM cases. These findings suggest that DM may influence microjoints, such as the IMJ, and potentially impact auditory function., Evidence Level: N/A Laryngoscope, 134:2871-2878, 2024., (© 2024 The Authors. The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Pathogenic variants in GEMIN4 have recently been linked to an inherited autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized with microcephaly, cataracts, and renal abnormalities (NEDMCR syndrome). This report provides a retrospective review of 16 patients from 11 unrelated Saudi consanguineous families with GEMIN4 mutations. The cohort comprises 11 new and unpublished clinical details from five previously described patients. Only two missense, homozygous, pathogenic variants were found in all affected patients, suggesting a founder effect. All patients shared global developmental delay with variable ophthalmological, renal, and skeletal manifestations. In addition, we knocked down endogenous Drosophila GEMIN4 in neurons to further investigate the mechanism of the functional defects in affected patients. Our fly model findings demonstrated developmental defects and motor dysfunction suggesting that loss of GEMIN4 function is detrimental in vivo; likely similar to human patients. To date, this study presents the largest cohort of patients affected with GEMIN4 mutations. Considering that identifying GEMIN4 defects in patients presenting with neurodevelopmental delay and congenital cataract will help in early diagnosis, appropriate management and prevention plans that can be made for affected families., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The ability to identify the clinical nature of the recurrent duplication of chromosome 17q12 has been limited by its rarity and the diverse range of phenotypes associated with this genomic change. In order to further define the clinical features of affected patients, detailed clinical information was collected in the largest series to date (30 patients and 2 of their siblings) through a multi-institutional collaborative effort. The majority of patients presented with developmental delays varying from mild to severe. Though dysmorphic features were commonly reported, patients do not have consistent and recognizable features. Cardiac, ophthalmologic, growth, behavioral, and other abnormalities were each present in a subset of patients. The newly associated features potentially resulting from 17q12 duplication include height and weight above the 95th percentile, cataracts, microphthalmia, coloboma, astigmatism, tracheomalacia, cutaneous mosaicism, pectus excavatum, scoliosis, hypermobility, hypospadias, diverticulum of Kommerell, pyloric stenosis, and pseudohypoparathryoidism. The majority of duplications were inherited with some carrier parents reporting learning disabilities or microcephaly. We identified additional, potentially contributory copy number changes in a subset of patients, including one patient each with 16p11.2 deletion and 15q13.3 deletion. Our data further define and expand the clinical spectrum associated with duplications of 17q12 and provide support for the role of genomic modifiers contributing to phenotypic variability., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)