Biomedical subjects

Fei Cao

Publications and source records attributed to Fei Cao.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Computer-assisted bone age assessment: graphical user interface for image processing and comparison.

The current study is part of a project resulting in a computer-assisted analysis of a hand radiograph yielding an assessment of skeletal maturity. The image analysis is based on features selected from six regions of interest. At various stages of skeletal development different image processing problems have to be addressed. At the early stage, feature extraction is based on Lee filtering followed by the random Gibbs fields and mathematical morphology. Once the fusion starts, wavelet decomposition methods are implemented. The user interface displays the closest neighbors to each image under consideration. Results show the sensitivity of different regions to both stages of development and certain feature sensitivity within each region. At the early stage of development, the distal features are more reliable indicators, whereas at the stage of epiphyseal fusion, a larger dynamic range of middle features makes them more sensitive. In the current study, a graphical user interface has been designed and implemented for testing the image processing routines and comparing the results of quantitative image analysis with the visual interpretation of extracted regions of interest. The user interface may also serve as a teaching tool. At the later stage of the project it will be used as a classification tool.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Point mutation in the parkin gene on patients with Parkinson's disease.

To investigate the distribution of possible novel mutations from parkin gene in variant subset of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in China and explore whether parkin gene plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PD, 70 patients were divided into early-onset group and late-onset group; 70 healthy subjects were included as controls. Genomic DNA from 70 normal controls and from those of PD patients were extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes by using standard procedures. Mutations of parkin gene (exon 1-12) in all the subjects were screened by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP), and further sequencing was performed in the samples with abnormal SSCP results, in order to confirm the mutation and its location. A new missense mutation Gly284Arg in a patient and 3 abnormal bands in SSCP electrophoresis from samples of another 3 patients were found. All the DNA variants were sourced from the samples of the patients with early-onset PD. It was concluded that Parkin point mutation also partially contributes to the development of early-onset Parkinson's disease in Chinese.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Experimental study on inhibition of neuronal toxical effect of levodopa by ginkgo biloba extract on Parkinson disease in rats.

In order to observe neuronal toxical effect of Levodopa and investigate if using Levodopa together with Ginkgo Bilobar Extract (EGb) would be an workable method to treat Parkinson disease, rat models of Parkinson disease (PD) were made by injecting 6-OHDA stereotaxically to right side of the mesencephic ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Rotational behavioral observation, TUNEL, immunocytochemistry, Nissl's body staining were performed to measure the difference between group treated by Levodopa (50 mg/kg every day for 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, L-dopa group) and group treated by Levodopa combined with EGb (100 mg/kg every day, E-D group). The results showed that in the L-dopa group, the numbers of apoptosis of substantial nigra, rings of rotational behavior were more than those in the E-D group (P < 0.05). The numbers of Nissl's cells in L-dopa group were fewer than in E-D group (P < 0.05). The results suggested that Levodopa had neur toxic effect and EGb may decrease the toxicity of levodopa. The combined use of EGb with Levodopa may be a workable method to treat PD and may be better than using Levodopa alone.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Blocking oligo--a novel approach for improving chip-based DNA hybridization efficiency.

For most of the commonly used DNA chips, the probes are usually single-stranded oligonucleotides and the targets are double-stranded DNAs (dsDNAs). Only one strand of the DNA serves as the target while the other competes with the probes immobilized on the chip for the target and therefore is regarded as the interfering strand. In this report, a novel technique was developed for improving the hybridization efficiency on DNA chips by using blocking oligos, which is complimentary to the target interfering strand to reduce the influence of the interfering strand. The hybridization efficiency of dsDNA was much lower than that of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) when synthesized DNA targets were tested on the DNA chip. Blocking oligos can improve the hybridization efficiency of dsDNA to about 2/3 that of ssDNA. Blocking oligos have also been applied to PCR products of different lengths for hybridization. The hybridization efficiency with blocking oligos is about three times higher than that without blocking oligos. We have tested PCR products of 1054 and 435 bp using our blocking procedure, and the results are consistent.

DNA↗

PubMed2003

Integration of computer assisted bone age assessment with clinical PACS.

Computer assisted bone age assessment (BAA) integrated with a clinical PACS is described. The image analysis is performed on a DICOM compliant workstation able to accept images from a PACS server or directly from an image modality (digital radiography or film scanner). Images can be processed in two modes. If the image is acquired from a normally developed subject, it can be added to the digital hand atlas. An image may also be subjected only to a diagnostic analysis for the BAA without archiving the features in the database. The image analysis is performed in three steps. A location of six region of interest is followed by their segmentation and feature extraction. The features analysis results in retrieving the closest image match from the standard database. Based on currently analyzed image data in the hand atlas, the standard deviation of the assessment bone age does not exceed 1 yr of age.

Age Determination by Skeleton↗

PubMed2003

[A novel point mutation in parkin gene was identified in an early-onset case of Parkinson's disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of possible novel mutation of parkin gene in variant subset patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in China and to explore the role of parkin gene in the pathogenesis of PD. METHODS: Seventy patients were divided into early onset and late-onset groups, and 70 healthy subjects were included as controls. Genomic DNA from 70 normal controls and from those of PD patients were extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes with standard procedures. Mutations of parkin gene (exons 1-12) in all subjects mentioned above were screened by PCR-SSCP. And in the samples with abnormal SSCP result, further sequencing was performed to confirm the mutation and its location. RESULTS: A new missense mutation (Gly284Arg) on exon 7 was found in a sample, while 4 samples from all subjects exhibited abnormal mobility shift on SSCP electrophoresis. All mentioned DNA variants were sourced from the samples of the patients with early-onset PD. CONCLUSION: Point mutation in parkin gene also contributes partly to the development of early-onset Parkinson's disease in Chinese population.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Informatics in radiology (infoRAD): A complete continuous-availability PACS archive server.

The operational reliability of the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) server in a filmless hospital environment is always a major concern because server failure could cripple the entire PACS operation. A simple, low-cost, continuous-availability (CA) PACS archive server was designed and developed. The server makes use of a triple modular redundancy (TMR) system with a simple majority voting logic that automatically identifies a faulty module and removes it from service. The remaining two modules continue normal operation with no adverse effects on data flow or system performance. In addition, the server is integrated with two external mass storage devices for short- and long-term storage. Evaluation and testing of the server were conducted with laboratory experiments in which hardware failures were simulated to observe recovery time and the resumption of normal data flow. The server provides maximum uptime (99.999%) for end users while ensuring the transactional integrity of all clinical PACS data. Hardware failure has only minimal impact on performance, with no interruption of clinical data flow or loss of data. As hospital PACS become more widespread, the need for CA PACS solutions will increase. A TMR CA PACS archive server can reliably help achieve CA in this setting.

Computer Communication Networks↗