Enhanced low-light image fusion through multi-stage processing with Bayesian analysis and quadratic contrast function.

This manuscript introduces an innovative multi-stage image fusion framework that adeptly integrates infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) spectrum images to surmount the difficulties posed by low-light settings. The approach commences with an initial preprocessing stage, utilizing an Efficient Guided Image Filter for the infrared (IR) images to amplify edge boundaries and a function for the visible (VIS) images to boost local contrast and brightness. Utilizing a two-scale decomposition technique that incorporates Lipschitz constraints-based smoothing, the images are effectively divided into distinct base and detail layers, thereby guaranteeing the preservation of essential structural information.

Multimodal Medical Image Fusion Utilizing Two-scale Image Decomposition via Saliency Detection.

Background: Modern medical imaging modalities used by clinicians have many applications in the diagnosis of complicated diseases. These imaging technologies reveal the internal anatomy and physiology of the body. The fundamental idea behind medical image fusion is to increase the image's global and local contrast, enhance the visual impact, and change its format so that it is better suited for computer processing or human viewing while preventing noise magnification and accomplishing excellent real-time performance.

Fusion of Multimodal Medical Images Based on Fine-Grained Saliency and Anisotropic Diffusion Filter.

Background: A clinical medical image provides vital information about a person's health and bodily condition. Typically, doctors monitor and examine several types of medical images individually to gather supplementary information for illness diagnosis and treatment. As it is arduous to analyze and diagnose from a single image, multi-modality images have been shown to enhance the precision of diagnosis and evaluation of medical conditions.

MTU: A multi-tasking U-net with hybrid convolutional learning and attention modules for cancer classification and gland Segmentation in Colon Histopathological Images.

A clinically comparable multi-tasking computerized deep U-Net-based model is demonstrated in this paper. It intends to offer clinical gland morphometric information and cancer grade classification to be provided as referential opinions for pathologists in order to abate human errors. It embraces enhanced feature learning capability that aids in extraction of potent multi-scale features; efficacious semantic gap recovery during feature concatenation; and successful interception of resolution-degradation and vanishing gradient problems while performing moderate computations.

A convolution neural network with multi-level convolutional and attention learning for classification of cancer grades and tissue structures in colon histopathological images.

A clinically comparable Convolutional Neural Network framework-based technique for performing automated classification of cancer grades and tissue structures in hematoxylin and eosin-stained colon histopathological images is proposed in this paper. It comprised of Enhanced Convolutional Learning Modules (ECLMs), multi-level Attention Learning Module (ALM), and Transitional Modules (TMs). The ECLMs perform a dual mechanism to extract multi-level discriminative spatial features and model cross-channel correlations with fewer computations and effectual avoidance of vanishing gradient issues.

Proteomic Profiles of Neurodegeneration Among Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites in the HABS-HD Study.

Background: Hispanics are expected to experience the largest increase in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD related dementias over the next several decades. However, few studies have examined biomarkers of AD among Mexican Americans, the largest segment of the U.S.

Neurodegeneration from the AT(N) framework is different among Mexican Americans compared to non-Hispanic Whites: A Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) Study.

Introduction: We sought to examine a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based marker of neurodegeneration from the AT(N) (amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration) framework among a multi-ethnic, community-dwelling cohort.

Methods: Community-dwelling Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic White adults and elders were recruited. All participants underwent comprehensive assessments including an interview, functional exam, clinical labs, informant interview, neuropsychological testing and 3T MRI of the brain.

The Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study methods and participant characteristics.

Introduction: Mexican Americans remain severely underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. The Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study was created to fill important gaps in the existing literature.

Methods: Community-dwelling Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic White adults and elders (age 50 and above) were recruited.

Neuroprotective effects of quercetin produced by an endophytic fungus Nigrospora oryzae isolated from Tinospora cordifolia.

Aims: Alzheimer's disease is considered one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders and dementia is the core symptom of this disease. This study was aimed to test the bioactive compounds produced by endophytic fungus for the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and to identify the compound responsible for this activity.

Methods And Results: Endophytic fungi were isolated from the medicinal plant Tinospora cordifolia and screened for AChE inhibition and antioxidant activity.

Correlations between Waist and Neck Circumferences and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Characteristics.

Purpose: The body mass index (BMI), an estimate of body fat, provides a rather imprecise indication of risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We examined whether other measures, including waist and neck circumference, provide improved indicators of risk in treatment-naïve OSA subjects.

Methods: We studied 59 OSA subjects [age, 48.

Identification and classification of upper limb motions using PCA.

This paper describes the utility of principal component analysis (PCA) in classifying upper limb signals. PCA is a powerful tool for analyzing data of high dimension. Here, two different input strategies were explored.

Non-Gaussian Diffusion Imaging Shows Brain Myelin and Axonal Changes in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is accompanied by brain changes in areas that regulate autonomic, cognitive, and mood functions, which were initially examined by Gaussian-based diffusion tensor imaging measures, but can be better assessed with non-Gaussian measures. We aimed to evaluate axonal and myelin changes in OSA using axial (AK) and radial kurtosis (RK) measures.

Materials And Methods: We acquired diffusion kurtosis imaging data from 22 OSA and 26 controls; AK and RK maps were calculated, normalized, smoothed, and compared between groups using analysis of covariance.

The effect of early-life stress on airway inflammation in adult mice.

Background/aims: Neonatal stress induces permanent physiological changes that may influence the immune system. Early-life stress increases asthma disease severity in children. We investigated the effects of early-life stress on allergic airway inflammation using a murine model of asthma coupled to maternal separation as an early-life stress stimulus.

Myelin-mediated inhibition of oligodendrocyte precursor differentiation can be overcome by pharmacological modulation of Fyn-RhoA and protein kinase C signalling.

Failure of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) differentiation contributes significantly to failed myelin sheath regeneration (remyelination) in chronic demyelinating diseases. Although the reasons for this failure are not completely understood, several lines of evidence point to factors present following demyelination that specifically inhibit differentiation of cells capable of generating remyelinating oligodendrocytes. We have previously demonstrated that myelin debris generated by demyelination inhibits remyelination by inhibiting OPC differentiation and that the inhibitory effects are associated with myelin proteins.

ABCC1: a gateway for pharmacological compounds to the ischaemic brain.

By preventing access of drugs to the CNS, the blood-brain barrier hampers developments in brain pharmacotherapy. Strong efforts are currently being made to identify drugs that accumulate more efficaciously in ischaemic brain tissue. We identified an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, ABCC1, which is expressed on the abluminal surface of the brain capillary endothelium and mildly downregulated in response to focal cerebral ischaemia, induced by intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion.

The role of stress in asthma: insight from studies on the effect of acute and chronic stressors in models of airway inflammation.

Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, is greatly influenced by psychosocial factors and stress. This review looks at clinical studies that have shown strong associations between psychological stress and asthma to identify potential mechanisms for these interactions. Furthermore, we review animal studies involving stress and airway inflammation or airway hyperresponsiveness, and discuss possible mechanisms of stress action in asthma.

D4T-5'-[p-bromophenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate] as a potent and non-toxic anti-human immunodeficiency virus agent.

Three aryl phosphate derivatives of 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (d4T) were tested for their anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient CEM T cells. Compared to the parent compound d4T, the lead compound d4T-5'-[p-bromophenyl methoxyalaninylphosphate] with a para-bromo substituent in the aryl moiety was 12.6-fold more potent in inhibiting p24 production (IC50 values: 44 nM versus 556 nM) and 41.

Aryl phosphate derivatives of 3'-deoxythymidine are not potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus agents.

Aryl phosphate derivatives of 3'-deoxythymidine (3dT), albeit more active than 3dT in thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient cells, are not potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) agents and are capable of inhibiting HIV replication only at micromolar concentrations.

Enhancing effects of a mono-bromo substitution at the para position of the phenyl moiety on the metabolism and anti-HIV activity of d4T-phenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate derivatives.

d4T-5'-[p-Bromophenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate] (d4T-pBPMAP), a novel phenyl phosphate derivative of 2',3'-didehydro-2',3'-dideoxythymidine (d4T) that has an enhanced ability to undergo hydrolysis due to the electron withdrawing properties of its single bromo substituent at the para-position of the phenyl moiety, was found to yield substantially more of the key metabolite alaninyl d4T monophosphate (A-d4T-MP) than the unsubstituted d4T-5'-phenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate or para-methoxy substituted d4T-5'-phenyl methoxyalaninyl phosphate. d4T-pBPMAP was tested for its anti-HIV-1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient CEM T-cells. d4T-pBPMAP was 12.

Structure-based design of N-[2-(1-piperidinylethyl)]-N'-[2-(5-bromopyridyl)]-thiourea and N-[2-(1-piperazinylethyl)]-N'-[2-(5-bromopyridyl)]-thiourea as potent non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase.

A novel computer model of the HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) non-nucleoside inhibitor (NNI) binding pocket, which was generated using high resolution crystal structure information from 9 individual RT/NNI complexes, revealed previously unrecognized ligand derivatization sites for phenethylthiazolylthiourea (PETT) derivatives. Spatial gaps surrounding the pyridyl ring of the active PETT derivative trovirdine were discovered during modeling procedures. Docking studies using the computer-generated model of the binding pocket (composite binding pocket) suggested that the replacement of the planar pyridyl ring of trovirdine with a nonplanar piperidinyl or piperazinyl ring, which occupy larger volumes, would better fill the spacious Wing 2 region of the butterfly-shaped NNI binding pocket.

5-Alkyl-2-[(methylthiomethyl)thio]-6-(benzyl)-pyrimidin-4-(1H)-ones as potent non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors of S-DABO series.

Novel dihydroalkoxybenzyloxopyrimidine (S-DABO) derivatives targeting the non-nucleoside inhibitor (NNI) binding site of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) have been synthesized using a novel computer model for the NNI binding pocket and tested for their RT inhibitory activity in cell-free assays using purified recombinant HIV RT as well as for their anti-HIV activity in HTL VIIIB-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our computational approach allowed the identification of several ligand derivatization sites for the generation of more potent S-DABO derivatives. Our lead S-DABO derivative, 5-isopropyl-2-[(methylthiomethyl)thio]-6-(benzyl)-pyrimidin-4-(1H)-one (compound 3), elicited potent anti-HIV activity with an IC50 value of less than 1nM for inhibition of HIV replication without any evidence of cytotoxicity and an unprecedented selectivity index of > 100,000.

Rational design and synthesis of phenethyl-5-bromopyridyl thiourea derivatives as potent non-nucleoside inhibitors of HIV reserve transcriptase.

A series of novel phenethylthiazolylthiourea (PETT) derivatives targeting the nonnucleoside inhibitor (NNI) binding site of HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) have been designed based on the structure of the NNI binding pocket. The structure-based design and synthesis of these new PETT derivatives were complemented by biological assays of their anti-HIV activity. Modeling studies for rational drug design included the construction of a composite NNI binding pocket from nine RT-NNI crystal structures, the analyses of surface complementarity between NNI and RT, and application of Ki calculations combined with a docking procedure involving the novel PETT derivatives.

Structure-based design of novel dihydroalkoxybenzyloxopyrimidine derivatives as potent nonnucleoside inhibitors of the human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase.

Two highly potent dihydroalkoxybenzyloxopyrimidine (DABO) derivatives targeting the nonnucleoside inhibitor (NNI) binding site of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) have been designed based on the structure of the NNI binding pocket and tested for anti-HIV activity. Our lead DABO derivative, 5-isopropyl-2-[(methylthiomethyl)thio]-6-(benzyl)-pyrimidin-4-(1H)-on e, elicited potent inhibitory activity against purified recombinant HIV RT and abrogated HIV replication in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at nanomolar concentrations (50% inhibitory concentration, <1 nM) but showed no detectable cytotoxicity at concentrations as high as 100 microM.

The enzymatic sulfation of glycoprotein carbohydrate units: blood group T-hapten specific and two other distinct Gal:3-O-sulfotransferases as evident from specificities and kinetics and the influence of sulfate and fucose residues occurring in the carbohydrate chain on C-3 sulfation of terminal Gal.

Enzymatic 3-O-sulfation of terminal beta-Gal residues was investigated by screening sulfotransferase activity present in 37 human tissue specimens toward the following synthesized acceptor moieties: Galbeta1,3GalNAc alpha-O-Al, Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-O-Al, Galbeta1,3GlcNAcbeta-O-Al, and mucin-type Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,6(Galbeta1,3)GalNAc alpha-O-Bn structures containing a C-3 methyl substituent on either Gal. Two distinct types of Gal: 3-O-sulfotransferases were revealed. One (Group A) was specific for the Galbeta1, 3GalNAc alpha- linkage and the other (Group B) was directed toward the Galbeta1,4GlcNAc branch beta1,6 linked to the blood group T hapten.