Clinical electromagnetic brain scanner.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and early diagnosis and prompt medical intervention are thus crucial. Frequent monitoring of stroke patients is also essential to assess treatment efficacy and detect complications earlier. While computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used for stroke diagnosis, they cannot be easily used onsite, nor for frequent monitoring purposes.

Elucidating Discrepancy in Explanations of Predictive Models Developed Using EMR.

The lack of transparency and explainability hinders the clinical adoption of Machine learning (ML) algorithms. While explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods have been proposed, little research has focused on the agreement between these methods and expert clinical knowledge. This study applies current state-of-the-art explainability methods to clinical decision support algorithms developed for Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data to analyse the concordance between these factors and discusses causes for identified discrepancies from a clinical and technical perspective.

Stroke Classification With Microwave Signals Using Explainable Wavelet Convolutional Neural Network.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability. To address this challenge, microwave imaging has been proposed as a portable medical imaging modality. However, accurate stroke classification using microwave signals is still an open challenge.

Proteolytic activity of cosmetic enzyme peel products.

Our goal was to verify the proteolytic mode of action and activity levels among several commercial cosmetic facial peels advertised by manufacturers as "enzymatic". Eleven enzyme peels were analyzed for their proteolytic activity against casein as a generic substrate and compared to the activity found in pineapple and papaya fruits. The highest specific protease activity was observed in the flesh of a pineapple (5.

Calibrated Frequency-Division Distorted Born Iterative Tomography for Real-Life Head Imaging.

The clinical use of microwave tomography (MT) requires addressing the significant mismatch between simulated environment, which is used in the forward solver, and real-life system. To alleviate this mismatch, a calibrated tomography, which uses two homogeneous calibration phantoms and a modified distorted Born iterative method (DBIM), is presented. The two phantoms are used to derive a linear model that matches the forward solver to real-life measurements.

Case Report: Preliminary Images From an Electromagnetic Portable Brain Scanner for Diagnosis and Monitoring of Acute Stroke.

Electromagnetic imaging is an emerging technology which promises to provide a mobile, and rapid neuroimaging modality for pre-hospital and bedside evaluation of stroke patients based on the dielectric properties of the tissue. It is now possible due to technological advancements in materials, antennae design and manufacture, rapid portable computing power and network analyses and development of processing algorithms for image reconstruction. The purpose of this report is to introduce images from a novel, portable electromagnetic scanner being trialed for bedside and mobile imaging of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke.

Adaptive Clustering Distorted Born Iterative Method for Microwave Brain Tomography With Stroke Detection and Classification.

A modified distorted Born iterative method (DBIM), which includes clustering of reconstructed electrical properties (EPs) after certain iterations, is presented for brain imaging aiming at stroke detection and classification. For this approach to work, a rough estimation of number of different materials (or bio-tissues) in the imaged domain and their corresponding rough dielectric properties (permittivity and conductivity) are needed as a prior information. The proposed adaptive clustering DBIM (AC-DBIM) is compared with three conventional methods (DBIM, multiplicative regularized contrast source inversion (MR-CSI), and CSI for shape and location reconstruction (SL-CSI)) in two-dimensional scenario on a head phantom and numerical head model with different strokes.

Specific 8-oxo-dGTPase activity of MTH1 (NUDT1) protein as a quantitative marker and prognostic factor in human colorectal cancer.

The MTH1 (NUDT1) gene, because it is frequently upregulated in many types of human cancers, has been considered a general marker of carcinogenesis for over two decades. The MTH1 protein hydrolyzes the oxidized mutagenic DNA precursor, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-triphosphate (8-oxo-dGTP), to the corresponding 5'-monophosphate and inorganic pyrophosphate. This prevents its incorporation into DNA by DNA polymerases and protects cells from the accumulation of 8-oxo-dGTP-induced point mutations.

Flexible Electromagnetic Cap for Head Imaging.

A wideband wearable electromagnetic (EM) head imaging system for brain stroke detection is presented. The proposed system aims at overcoming the challenges of size, rigidity, and complex structures of existing systems. The proposed system is built into a light-weight and compact imaging platform, which integrates a 16-element antenna array into a highly flexible custom-made wearable cap made of a cost-effective and robust room-temperature-vulcanizing (RTV) silicone.

Implantable Sensor for Detecting Changes in the Loss Tangent of Cerebrospinal Fluid.

The increasing utilization of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is attributed to the change of Amyloid- β proteins. Since, the brain is suspended in CSF, changes of Amyloid- β proteins in CSF reflect a pathophysiological variation of the brain due to AD. However, the correlation between Amyloid- β proteins and the dielectric properties (DPs) of CSF is still an open question.

Millimeter-Wave Substrate Integrated Waveguide Probe for Skin Cancer Detection.

This article presents an efficient and low-cost near-field probe, designed for early-stage skin cancer detection. Thanks to a tapered section, the device can achieve a sharp concentration of electric field at its tip. Moreover, the adoption of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology ensures an easy and cheap fabrication process.

A profile of 8-oxo-dGTPase activities in the NCI-60 human cancer panel: Meta-analytic insight into the regulation and role of MTH1 (NUDT1) gene expression in carcinogenesis.

We measured the specific 8-oxo-dGTPase activity profile of the NCI-60 panel of malignant cell lines, and MTH1 protein levels in a subset of 16 lines. Their 8-oxo-dGTPase activity was compared to twelve publicly accessible MTH1 mRNA expression data bases and their cross-consistency was analyzed. 8-oxo-dGTPase and MTH1 protein levels in these cell lines are generally, but not always, mainly determined by MTH1 mRNA expression levels.

Three-Dimensional Electromagnetic Torso Scanner.

A three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic torso scanner system is presented. This system aims at providing a complimentary/auxiliary imaging modality to supplement conventional imaging devices, e.g.

Wearable Electromagnetic Head Imaging System Using Flexible Wideband Antenna Array Based on Polymer Technology for Brain Stroke Diagnosis.

Given the increased interest in a fast, portable, and on-spot medical diagnostic tool that enables early diagnosis for patients with brain stroke, a new approach of a wearable electromagnetic head imaging system based on the polymer material is proposed. A flexible low-profile, wideband, and unidirectional antenna array with electromagnetic band gap (EBG) and metamaterial (MTM) unit cells reflector is utilized. The designed antenna consists of a 4 × 4 radiating patch loaded with symmetrical extended open-ended U-slots and fed by combination of series and corporate transmission lines.

Correction: Profiles of a broad spectrum of epigenetic DNA modifications in normal and malignant human cell lines: Proliferation rate is not the major factor responsible for the 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine level in cultured cancerous cell lines.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Near-Field Inductive-Coupling Link to Power a Three-Dimensional Millimeter-Size Antenna for Brain Implantable Medical Devices.

Objective: Near-field inductive-coupling link can establish a reliable power source to a batteryless implantable medical device based on Faraday's law of induction.

Methods: In this paper, the design, modeling, and experimental verification of an inductive-coupling link between an off-body loop antenna and a 0.9  three-dimensional (3-D) bowtie brain implantable antenna is presented.

Profiles of a broad spectrum of epigenetic DNA modifications in normal and malignant human cell lines: Proliferation rate is not the major factor responsible for the 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine level in cultured cancerous cell lines.

Active demethylation of 5-methylcytosine moiety in DNA occurs by its sequential oxidation to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxycytosine, catalysed by enzymes of the Ten-Eleven Translocation family proteins (TETs 1, 2 and 3). Here we analyzed for the first time all the intermediate products of DNA demethylation pathway in the form of deoxynucleosides (5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine, 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2'-deoxycytidine, 5-formyl-2'-deoxycytidine and 5-carboxy-2'-deoxycytidine as well as 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2'-deoxyuridine) using automated isotope-dilution online two-dimensional ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. DNA was isolated from human malignant cell lines of colon adenocarcinoma (HCT 116), melanoma (Me45), myelogenous leukemia bone marrow blasts (K562), EBV-positive Burkitt's lymphoma lymphoblasts (Raji), EBV-negative Burkitt's lymphoma lymphoblasts (male-CA46 and female-ST486), as well as normal neonatal dermal fibroblasts (NHDF-Neo).

Half-sized cylindrical invisibility cloaks using double near zero slabs with realistic material size and properties.

A method is introduced to miniaturize invisibility cloaks by 50% using wave tailoring and finite/non-zero wave impedance of double near zero (DNZ) slabs. Unlike previous works, which use thick dielectric matching layers to miniaturize internal cloaks, the proposed technique is applied to both internal and external cylindrical cloaks using a thin and short DNZ slab to change cloaks' shapes to half-cylinder shells. Moreover, sets of structures are introduced for the half sized cloaks to enable using feasible-to-fabricate structures with the help of a rigorous theoretical analysis, which is validated via full-wave simulations.

Closed-form equation to estimate the dielectric properties of biological tissues as a function of age.

Developing microwave systems for biomedical applications requires accurate dielectric properties of biological tissues for reliable modeling before prototyping and subject testing. Dielectric properties of tissues decrease with age due to the change in their water content, but there are no detailed age-dependent data, especially for young tissue-like newborns, in the literature. In this article, an age-dependent formula to predict the dielectric properties of biological tissues was derived.

Novel Microwave Torso Scanner for Thoracic Fluid Accumulation Diagnosis and Monitoring.

Thoracic fluid accumulation is one of the significant and early-stage manifestations of fatal diseases, such as lung-cancer, liver-failure and congestive heart-failure. Currently, computational-tomography (CT)-Scan is the most widely used tool for the detection of thoracic fluid. Yet, it is unable to detect small amounts of fluid, has ionizing radiation and lacks mobility.

Dielectric properties of dog brain tissue measured in vitro across the 0.3-3 GHz band.

Dielectric properties of dead Greyhound female dogs' brain tissues at different ages were measured at room temperature across the frequency range of 0.3-3 GHz. Measurements were made on excised tissues, in vitro in the laboratory, to carry out dielectric tests on sample tissues.

Design and Experimental Evaluation of a Non-Invasive Microwave Head Imaging System for Intracranial Haemorrhage Detection.

An intracranial haemorrhage is a life threatening medical emergency, yet only a fraction of the patients receive treatment in time, primarily due to the transport delay in accessing diagnostic equipment in hospitals such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging or Computed Tomography. A mono-static microwave head imaging system that can be carried in an ambulance for the detection and localization of intracranial haemorrhage is presented. The system employs a single ultra-wideband antenna as sensing element to transmit signals in low microwave frequencies towards the head and capture backscattered signals.

Feasibility of Using Wideband Microwave System for Non-Invasive Detection and Monitoring of Pulmonary Oedema.

Pulmonary oedema is a common manifestation of various fatal diseases that can be caused by cardiac or non-cardiac syndromes. The accumulated fluid has a considerably higher dielectric constant compared to lungs' tissues, and can thus be detected using microwave techniques. Therefore, a non-invasive microwave system for the early detection of pulmonary oedema is presented.

Desulfurization of mucin by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: influence of sulfate in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common cause of chronic respiratory infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Infection is established within the lung epithelial mucus layer through adhesion to mucins. Terminal residues on mucin oligosaccharide chains are highly sulfated and sialylated, which increases their resistance to degradation by bacterial enzymes.