Cell differentiation usually occurs with high fidelity, but the expression of many transcription factors is variable. Using touch receptor neurons (TRNs) in C. elegans, we found that Hox proteins CEH-13/lab and EGL-5/Abd-B overcome this variability by facilitating activation common TRN fate determinant mec-3 anterior posterior TRNs, respectively. CEH-13 EGL-5 increase probability transcriptional POU-homeodomain factor UNC-86 using same Hox/Pbx binding site. Mutation ceh-13 egl-5 resulted an...

Using a 3D rotational shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) setup, data were acquired in the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">vastus lateralis</i> of healthy volunteer. The innate tilt between transducer face and muscle fibers results excitation multiple modes, allowing for more complete characterization as an elastic, incompressible, transversely isotropic (ITI) material. ability to measure both vertical (SV) horizontal (SH)...

Objective: Childhood hearing loss has well-known, lifelong consequences. Infection-related disproportionately affects underserved communities yet can be prevented with early identification and treatment. This study evaluates the utility of machine learning in automating tympanogram classifications middle ear to facilitate layperson-guided tympanometry resource-constrained communities. Design: Diagnostic performance a hybrid deep model for classifying narrow-band tracings was evaluated. Using...

Terminal differentiation generates the specialized features and functions that allow postmitotic cells to acquire their distinguishing characteristics. This process is thought be controlled by transcription factors called “terminal selectors” directly activate a set of downstream effector genes. In Caenorhabditis elegans both mechanosensory touch receptor neurons (TRNs) multidendritic nociceptor FLP utilize terminal selectors UNC-86 MEC-3. The fail TRN genes, however, because complex two...

Ultrasonic rotational 3-D shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) has been used to induce and evaluate multiple modes, including both the horizontal (SH) vertical (SV) modes in vivo muscle. Observations of SH SV allow muscle be characterized as an elastic, incompressible, transversely isotropic (ITI) material with three parameters: longitudinal modulus μL , transverse μT tensile anisotropy χE . Measurement is necessary characterize but factors that influence mode generation characterization...

There is increasing interest in using ultrasound shear wave elasticity imaging to study tissues described as incompressible, transversely isotropic (ITI) materials, such skeletal muscle. In silico modeling helps us predict and understand behavior complex materials like the ITI model, which supports two polarizations with different, direction-dependent propagation speeds. Existing techniques, finite element method (FEM) Greens functions, are computationally expensive generate large file...

The stress–strain relation in a transversely isotropic (TI) material is described by five independent parameters. In the incompressible limit, only three parameters are required to describe shear wave propagation. Existing parameterization models not ideal for analysis of propagation nearly TI (NITI) regime due difficult-to-interpret parameters, complicated forms stiffness matrix elements, or lack This study describes new model general, that uses bulk modulus K, moduli μT and μL,...

Research ultrasound scanners such as the Verasonics Vantage often lack advanced image processing algorithms used by clinical systems. Image quality is even lower in plane wave imaging - for shear elasticity (SWEI) which sacrifices spatial resolution temporal resolution. As a result, delay-and-summed images acquired from SWEI have limited interpretability. In this project, two-stage machine learning model was trained to enhance single of muscle with system. The first stage consists U-Net...

Skin stiffness correlates with the progression of sclerotic skin diseases. Ultrasound shear wave elasticity imaging techniques can measure stiffness, but an accurate thickness measurement is required to compute elastic modulus. We explored different automated methods segment for use in real-time elastography. Local gradient-based could not robustly on our B-mode images, so we developed a new thresholding method detect edges skin. also used generate labels train deep neural network. compared...

In 10 patients with cutaneous sclerotic skin conditions, shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) was used to measure speed in the vivo. The dermis segmented using an thresholding-based algorithm and group speeds were found both subcutaneous tissue. Phase velocities calculated layer, a linear regression fit obtain dispersion slope. A statistically significant non-zero An ordinary least squares multiple performed assess what factors affected Thickness did not have statistical effect on slope each...

In ultrasound shear wave elasticity (SWE) imaging, a number of algorithms exist for estimating the speed (SWS) from spatiotemporal displacement data. However, no method provides well-calibrated and practical uncertainty metric, hindering SWE's clinical adoption utility in downstream decision-making. Here, we designed deep learning SWS estimator that simultaneously outputs quantitative value each estimate. Our neural network (DNN) takes as input single 2D plane tracked data two parameters $m$...

The Radon Transform (RT) approach is a common method used to estimate shear wave trajectory and speed in ultrasound elasticity imaging (SWEI). RT calculates the sum of 2D spatiotemporal data amplitude under each potential linear determine with greatest value. We divide by ones matrix normalize path length, enabling use arbitrary masks. demonstrate that masking can isolate two simultaneous SH SV modes observed vivo skeletal muscle data. 38 rotational SWEI acquisitions were collected vastus...

Abstract Terminal differentiation generates the specialized features and functions that allow postmitotic cells to acquire their distinguishing characteristics. This process is thought be controlled by transcription factors called “terminal selectors” directly activate a set of downstream effector genes. In Caenorhabditis elegans both mechanosensory touch receptor neurons (TRNs) multidendritic nociceptor FLP utilize terminal selectors UNC-86 MEC-3. The fail TRN genes, however, because...

Ultrasound shear wave elasticity (SWE) imaging measures tissue stiffness by tracking the speed (SWS), which is directly related to elastic moduli. One application of SWE quantify cervical softening during pregnancy in an effort detect risk spontaneous preterm birth and predict success induction labor. Accurate SWS estimation clinical data challenging; existing robust methods are slow do not provide a calibrated uncertainty metric. Here, we use deep learning approach estimate from tracked...

Received ultrasonic data are carrier-modulated broadband signals and converted to different formats depending on the application. Common extracted from raw radio-frequency (RF) include a complex-valued analytic signal, envelope/magnitude, demodulated in-phase quadrature (IQ) components, phase angle. Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been applied variety of ultrasound signal processing tasks, yet how format input affects DNN results has not well-characterized. Here, we investigate performance...

Correctly calculating skin stiffness with ultrasound shear wave elastography techniques requires an accurate measurement of thickness. We developed and compared two algorithms, a thresholding method deep learning method, to measure thickness on images. Here, we also present framework for weakly annotating unlabeled dataset in time-effective manner train the neural network. Segmentation labels training were proposed using validated visual inspection by human expert reader. reduced decision...

Skeletal muscle exhibits transverse isotropy with a symmetry axis in the fiber direction. Characterization of mechanical properties ultrasound shear wave elasticity imaging requires an accurate measurement 3D orientation (MFO): rotation and tilt. Existing approaches apply to 2D B-mode images, extract only tilt, detect individual fibers. Here, we present Fourier-domain approach for calculating MFO from volumes acquired using two setups: 1) cylindrical volume by rotating linear transducer, 2)...

We previously have demonstrated the use of ultrasonic rotational 3D SWEI to measure all three mechanical properties necessary fully characterize vastus lateralis muscle in vivo as an incompressible transversely isotropic material: transverse shear modulus <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mu_{T}$</tex> , longitudinal xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mu_{L}$</tex> and tensile anisotropy...

Endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS/NOS3)-derived NO represents an important vasculoprotective molecule in the cardiovascular system. The transient receptor potential ion channel vanilloid subtype 4 (TRPV4) mediates vascular mechanosensitivity, part through increase blood flow-mediated production and endothelium-dependent relaxation. Here, we hypothesized that non-mechanical TRPV4 activation can mimic laminar flow-induced signaling thereby limits monocyte adhesion atherosclerosis....