S. Deivalakshmi^*, P. Palanisamy¹, X. Z. Gao²

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing, Vol.25, No.3, pp. 459-471, 2019, DOI:10.31209/2018.100000001

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to propose a new technique for enhancing the contrast of dark images using Dynamic Stochastic Resonance (DSR) and Multi Wavelet Transform (MWT), which is computationally more efficient than the conventional methods. In the work, for enhancing the contrast of dark images, the intrinsic noise (darkness) of dark images has been used. The proposed MWT-based DSR scheme (MWT-DSR) can yield better performances in terms of visual information and color preservation than already reported techniques. The desired output response is validated by the Relative Contrast Enhancement Factor (F), Perceptual Quality More >

Waldemar F. Carlo¹, Steven T. Clark², Santiago Borasino³, Jeffrey A. Alten³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 540-545, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12482

Abstract Objective: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication after cardiopulmonary bypass (CBP) for cardiac surgery in neonates. It is unclear if exposure to computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the preoperative period increases the risk of AKI. We hypothesized a short interval between CTA and CPB surgery would be associated with higher rates of AKI in infants.
Design: In this single center retrospective review of patients between 2012 and 2015, neonates less than one month old were analyzed if they had CTA prior to cardiac surgery with CPB. Baseline, demographic, fluid balance, and laboratory data was analyzed.… More >

Keri M. Shafer^1,2, Alexander R. Opotowsky^1,2, Jonathan Rhodes¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 903-910, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12661

Abstract Objective: Risk prediction using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in complex congenital heart disease tends to either focus on single diagnoses or complete cohorts. We aimed to evaluate patients with two distinct anatomies cared for at a single institution over the same time period to determine CPET variables associated with mortality.
Design: All Fontan and tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) subjects with CPET between November 1, 2002 and December 31, 2014 and subsequently died were identified (cases). Cases were matched 1:3 to controls with similar age, underlying anatomy and timing of exercise test.
Results: Of the 42 cases, 27 had… More >

Pablo Marino^1,2, Gabriella de Oliveira Lopes^1,3, Juliana Pereira Borges³, Maria Carolina Terra Cola¹, Daniel Arkader Kopiler¹, Eduardo Tibirica¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 978-987, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12660

Abstract Objective: Adults with congenital heart disease share some features with those with chronic heart failure. Although microvascular endothelial dysfunction has been de‐ scribed in chronic heart failure, evaluation of the microcirculation in adults with con‐ genital heart disease is lacking. The present study aimed to investigate systemic microvascular reactivity in adults with congenital heart disease.
Interventions: The patients initially underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Then, the cutaneous microvascular reactivity was evaluated in these patients using a laser speckle contrast imaging system coupled with skin iontophoresis of endothelial‐de‐ pendent (acetylcholine) or ‐independent (sodium nitroprusside) vasodilators and pos‐ tocclusive reactive… More >

Masashi Nishida, Shingo Kubo, Yuma Morishita, Kosuke Nishikawa, Kazuyuki Ikeda, Toshiyuki Itoi, Hajime Hosoi

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.6, pp. 1087-1093, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12853

Abstract Objective: This study aims to investigate the changes in renal function and levels of urinary biomarkers before and after cardiac angiography in children with congenital heart disease (CHD).
Setting: Children with CHD are at a risk for kidney injury during contrast exposure in cardiac angiography.
Outcome Measures: We measured urinary protein, albumin, N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase (NAG), β2‐microglobulin (BMG), and liver‐type fatty acid‐binding protein (L‐FABP) levels, as well as serum creatinine and cystatin C levels, before and after cardiac angiography in 33 children with CHD.
Results: No significant decrease was noted in either the creatinine‐based or cystatin C‐based estimated glomerular filtration rate… More >

Shaowei Weng^{1, 2, *}, Yiyun Liu¹, Yunqing Shi³, Bo Ou⁴, Chunyu Zhang⁵, Cuiping Wang⁶

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.62, No.1, pp. 157-177, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.05681

Abstract This paper proposes a two-step general framework for reversible data hiding (RDH) schemes with controllable contrast enhancement. The first step aims at preserving visual perception as much as possible on the basis of achieving high embedding capacity (EC), while the second step is used for increasing image contrast. In the second step, some peak-pairs are utilized so that the histogram of pixel values is modified to perform histogram equalization (HE), which would lead to the image contrast enhancement. However, for HE, the utilization of some peak-pairs easily leads to over-enhanced image contrast when a large… More >

Xihua Liu¹, Changjun Ding², Xiaohua Su^2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.4, pp. 425-433, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.08285

Abstract The European black poplar (Populus nigra L.) has been used as a germplasm resource for the breeding of new poplar varieties around the world. The identification and screening of its high nitrogen use efficiency genotypes could enable the breeding of new resource-efficient poplar varieties. The accessions were screened using MALDI-TOF MS genotyping technology for ammonium transporter (AMT) and nitrate transporters (NRT) genes against phenotypic data for seedling height and ground diameter traits, in both low and high nitrogen environments. Allele re-sequencing of seven genes related to root development was carried out using the minisequencing method. By cluster… More >

ANNIE JOUBERT^1*, SUMARI MARAIS¹, CHRISTINE MARITZ²

BIOCELL, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 67-70, 2009, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2009.33.067

Abstract Proteins of the B-cell lymphoma 2 family are crucial for the regulation of apoptosis. B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X is a pro-apoptotic protein, while B-cell lymphoma 2 protein opposes apoptosis. The influence of 1 μM 2-methoxyestradiol was investigated on the expression levels of these two proteins in MCF-7 cells. 2-Methoxyestradiol exposure did not influence B-cell lymphoma 2 protein expression levels after 24 h of exposure. In contrast, B-cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein levels were significantly reduced. An improved differential interference contrasting technique revealed compromised cell density and the presence of a mitotic block in exposed cells. More >

Lijian Xu^1,2, Lekang Yin³, Fuyou Liang^1,2,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.1, pp. 71-72, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.05741

Abstract Recent studies have revealed that aortic valve diseases are associated with the increased incidence of the aortopathy development. However, the influence of aortic valve diseases on aortic hemodynamics remains unclear. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the hemodynamic differences in patients with and without aortic valve disease through patient-specific simulations performed on two aorta models (BAV with severe stenosis vs. normal tricuspid aortic valve (TAV)). Realistic geometries and boundary conditions were obtained from computed tomography angiography (CTA) and phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) measurements, respectively. In addition, 4D-MRI were performed to validate More >

Xueying Huang¹, Chun Yang², Jie Zheng³, Pamela K. Woodard³, Dalin Tang¹

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 29-34, 2007, DOI:10.3970/icces.2007.001.029

Abstract Atherosclerotic plaques may rupture without warning and cause acute cardiovascular syndromes such as heart attack and stroke. Accurate identification of plaque components will improve the accuracy and reliability of computational models. In this article, we present a segmentation method using a cluster analysis technique to quantify and classify plaque components from magnetic resonance images (MRI). 3D in vivo and ex vivo multi-contrast (T1-, proton density-, and T2-weighted) MR Images were acquired from a patient of cardiovascular disease. Normal distribution Bayes classifier was performed on ex vivo and in vivo MR Images respectively. The resulting segmentation More >