BioMed research international
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This work explains an advanced and accurate brain MRI segmentation method. MR brain image segmentation is to know the anatomical structure, to identify the abnormalities, and to detect various tissues which help in treatment planning prior to radiation therapy. This proposed technique is a Multilevel Thresholding (MT) method based on the phenomenon of Electromagnetism and it segments the image into three tissues such as White Matter (WM), Gray Matter (GM), and CSF. ⋯ It is the combination of Electromagnetism-Like optimization algorithm with the Otsu and Kapur objective functions. The results obtained by using the proposed method are compared with the ground-truth images and have given best values for the measures sensitivity, specificity, and segmentation accuracy. The results using 10 MR brain images proved that the proposed method has accurately segmented the three brain tissues compared to the existing segmentation methods such as K-means, fuzzy C-means, OTSU MT, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (BFA), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Fuzzy Local Gaussian Mixture Model (FLGMM).
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Convincing evidences have demonstrated the associations between HHIP and FAM13a polymorphisms and COPD in non-Asian populations. Here genetic variants in HHIP and FAM13a were investigated in Southern Han Chinese COPD. ⋯ Genetic variants in HHIP were related with FEV1/FVC in COPD. Significant relationships between risk alleles and risk genotypes and FEV1/FVC in COPD were also identified.
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Although it is widely accepted that uterine artery embolization (UAE) is an effective therapeutic strategy for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), no consensus has been reached regarding the efficacy of UAE in patients with PPH with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). This single-center retrospective cohort study included patients treated with UAE using NBCA for PPH between 2010 and 2015. The patients were divided into DIC and non-DIC groups, according to the obstetrical DIC score and the overt DIC diagnostic criteria issued by the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), and their clinical outcomes were compared. ⋯ In eight of nine patients with unsuccessful hemostasis, surgical hemostatic interventions were performed after UAE, and hemostasis was achieved in seven patients. UAE using NBCA showed no significant intergroup differences in complete hemostasis according to the presence or absence of DIC based on obstetrical DIC score (70% versus 62.5%, P = 1.000) or ISTH DIC score (54.5% versus 76.5%, P = 0.409). UAE using NBCA may be a useful first-choice treatment for PPH with DIC.
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Clinical Trial
Insulin Resistance in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Associated with Low Appendicular Lean Mass.
In established rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the presence of insulin resistance (IR) is well proven but, in the early stage of the disease, data are inconclusive. We evaluated the presence of IR and associations with body composition (BC) parameters among early RA (ERA) and control subjects. The study group consisted of 92 ERA and 321 control subjects. ⋯ In the multivariable model in the ERA group, IR was associated with male gender (b-Coefficient) (7.4, CI: 153-34.9), high disease activity (6.2, CI: 1.7-22.2), and lower ALM (0.03, CI: 0.001-0.97). IR develops in the early stage of RA in the majority of patients. IR is more common among males and is associated with RA disease activity and lower ALM.
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Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) may be critical for intestinal barrier function which may play a key role in the development of sepsis, and insulin has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into five groups: control group, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) group, sham surgery group, CLP plus glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) group, and CLP plus glucose and potassium (GK) group. Ileum tissues were collected at 24 h after surgery. ⋯ Moreover, the CLP + GIK group exhibited decreased epithelial permeability of the ileum and increased expression of zonula occludens-1, occludin, and claudin-1 in the ileum. The findings demonstrated that the UCP2 and NLR family-pyrin domain-containing 3/caspase 1/interleukin 1β signaling pathway may be involved in intestinal barrier injury and that GIK treatment decreased intestinal barrier permeability. Thus, GIK may be a useful treatment for intestinal barrier injury during sepsis.