Bull Environ Contam Toxicol
September 2024
A field experiment was conducted to study the persistence and reduction of quinalphos residues in cauliflower curd by applying quinalphos 25 EC twice at 250 g a.i./ha at 10 days intervals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection is an emerging infectious entity that often presents as lymphadenitis in the pediatric age group. Current practice involves invasive testing and excisional biopsy to diagnose NTM lymphadenitis. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of 249 lymph nodes selected from 143 CT scans of pediatric patients presenting with lymphadenopathy at the Montreal Children's Hospital between 2005 and 2018.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Major postoperative adverse events (MPAEs) following head and neck surgery are not infrequent and lead to significant morbidity. The objective of this study was to ascertain which factors are most predictive of MPAEs in patients undergoing head and neck surgery.
Methods: A cohort study was carried out based on data from patients registered in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) from 2006 to 2018.
Current radiomic studies of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are typically based on datasets combining tumors from different locations, assuming that the radiomic features are similar based on histopathologic characteristics. However, molecular pathogenesis and treatment in HNSCC substantially vary across different tumor sites. It is not known if a statistical difference exists between radiomic features from different tumor sites and how they affect machine learning model performance in endpoint prediction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomarkers which can identify Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) likely to be refractory to first-line therapy are essential for selecting this population prior to therapy initiation to offer alternate therapeutic options that can improve prognosis. We tested the ability of a CT-based radiomics approach with machine learning to predict Primary Treatment Failure (PTF)-DLBCL from initial imaging evaluation. Twenty-six refractory patients were matched to 26 non-refractory patients, yielding 180 lymph nodes for analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpatiotemporal parameters of gait serve as an important biomarker to monitor gait impairments as well as to develop rehabilitation systems. In this work, we developed a computationally-efficient algorithm (SDI-Step) that uses segmented double integration to calculate step length and step time from wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) and assessed its ability to reliably and accurately measure spatiotemporal gait parameters. Two data sets that included simultaneous measurements from wearable sensors and from a laboratory-based system were used in the assessment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe deployment of machine learning (ML) models in the health care domain can increase the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and improve treatment planning and patient care. Translating academic research to applications that are deployable in clinical settings requires the ability to generalize and high reproducibility, which are contingent on a rigorous and sound methodology for the development and evaluation of ML models. This article describes the fundamental concepts and processes for ML model evaluation and highlights common workflows.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article reviews the history of artificial intelligence and introduces the reader to major events that prompted interest in the field, as well as pitfalls and challenges that have slowed its development. The purpose of this article is to provide a high-level historical perspective on the development of the field over the past decades, highlighting the potential of the field for transforming health care, but also the importance of setting realistic expectations for artificial intelligence applications to avoid repeating historical cyclical trends and a third "artificial intelligence winter."
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are routinely used for the delivery of macromolecules into live human cells. To enter the cytosolic space of cells, CPPs typically permeabilize the membrane of endosomes. In turn, several approaches have been developed to increase the endosomal membrane permeation activity of CPPs so as to improve delivery efficiencies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultiple applications of dual energy computed tomography (DECT) have been described for the evaluation of disorders in the head and neck, especially in oncology. We review the body of evidence suggesting advantages of DECT for the evaluation of the neck compared with conventional single energy computed tomography scans, but the full potential of DECT is still to be realized. There is early evidence suggesting significant advantages of DECT for the extraction of quantitative biomarkers using radiomics and machine learning, representing a new horizon that may enable this technology to reach its full potential.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProgressive gait dysfunction is one of the primary motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). It is generally expressed as reduced step length and gait speed and as increased variability in step time and step length. People with PD also exhibit stooped posture which disrupts gait and impedes social interaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine whether machine learning assisted-texture analysis of multi-energy virtual monochromatic image (VMI) datasets from dual-energy CT (DECT) can be used to differentiate metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) lymph nodes from lymphoma, inflammatory, or normal lymph nodes.
Materials And Methods: A retrospective evaluation of 412 cervical nodes from 5 different patient groups (50 patients in total) having undergone DECT of the neck between 2013 and 2015 was performed: (1) HNSCC with pathology proven metastatic adenopathy, (2) HNSCC with pathology proven benign nodes (controls for (1)), (3) lymphoma, (4) inflammatory, and (5) normal nodes (controls for (3) and (4)). Texture analysis was performed with TexRAD® software using two independent sets of contours to assess the impact of inter-rater variation.
In this paper, we present a soft-inflatable exosuit to assist knee extension during gait training for stroke rehabilitation. The soft exosuit is designed to provide 25% of the knee moment required during the swing phase of the gait cycle and is integrated with inertial measurement units (IMUs) and insole sensors to improve gait phase detection and controller design. The stiffness of the knee joint during level walking is computed using inverse dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe active sites of multisubunit RNA polymerases have a "trigger loop" (TL) that multitasks in substrate selection, catalysis, and translocation. To dissect the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase II TL at individual-residue resolution, we quantitatively phenotyped nearly all TL single variants en masse. Three mutant classes, revealed by phenotypes linked to transcription defects or various stresses, have distinct distributions among TL residues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArginine-rich peptides can penetrate cells and consequently be used as delivery agents in various cellular applications. The activity of these reagents is often context-dependent, and the parameters that impact cell entry are not fully understood, giving rise to variability and limiting progress toward their usage. Herein, we report that the cytosolic penetration of linear polyarginine peptides is dependent on the oxidation state of the cell.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUpon light irradiation, Fluorophore-cell-penetrating peptide (Fl-CPP) conjugates can disrupt the integrity of biological membranes. This activity can in turn be used to photoinduce the disruption of endocytic organelles and promote the delivery of entrapped macromolecules such as proteins or RNAs into live cells. Recent mechanistic studies have shown that ROS production by the fluorophore and a latent lytic ability of CPPs act in synergy to elicit photolysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: Upon irradiation with visible light, the photosensitizer-peptide conjugate eosin-(KLAKLAK)2 kills a broad spectrum of bacteria without damaging human cells. Eosin-(KLAKLAK)2 therefore represents an interesting lead compound for the treatment of local infection by photodynamic bacterial inactivation. The mechanisms of cellular killing by eosin-(KLAKLAK)2, however, remain unclear and this lack of knowledge hampers the development of optimized therapeutic agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fluorescently labeled cell-penetrating peptides can translocate into cells by endocytosis and upon light irradiation, lyse the endocytic vesicles. This photo-inducible endosomolytic activity of Fl-CPPs can be used to efficiently deliver macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids and other small organic molecules into the cytosol of live cells. The requirement of a light trigger to induce photolysis provides a more spatial and temporal control to the intracellular delivery process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-penetrating peptides such as TAT or R9 labeled with small organic fluorophores can lyse endosomes upon light irradiation. The photoendosomolytic activity of these compounds can in turn be used to deliver proteins and nucleic acids to the cytosol of live cells with spatial and temporal control. In this report, we examine the mechanisms by which such fluorescent peptides exert a photolytic activity using red blood cells as a membrane model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe test the hypothesis that the antimicrobial peptide (KLAKLAK)(2) enhances the photodynamic activity of the photosensitizer eosin Y upon conjugation. The conjugate eosin-(KLAKLAK)(2) was obtained by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Photoinactivation assays were performed against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii AYE, as well as the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus , and Staphylococcus epidermidis .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Lysis of endocytic organelles is a necessary step in many cellular delivery methodologies. This is achieved efficiently in the photochemical internalization approach but the cell death that accompanies this process remains a problem.
Methods: We investigate the mechanisms of cell death that accompanies photochemical internalization of the fluorescent peptide TMR-TAT.
Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) can deliver cell-impermeable therapeutic cargos into cells. In particular, CPP-cargo conjugates tend to accumulate inside cells by endocytosis. However, they often remain trapped inside endocytic organelles and fail to reach the cytosolic space of cells efficiently.
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