We propose a novel approach to auditory stream segregation which extracts individual sounds (auditory stream) from a mixture of sounds in auditory scene analysis. The HBSS (Harmonic-Based Stream Segregation) system is designed and developed by employing a multi-agent system. HBSS uses only harmonics as a clue to segregation and extracts auditory streams incrementally. When the tracer-generator ...

PURPOSE Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and metastases, thus bestowing obvious importance upon methodologies which could enable its inhibition. MATERIALS C57BL/6 female mice bearing a subcutaneous (s.c.) MCA205 fibrosarcoma were used. METHODS Ten mice were divided equally into two groups. One group was injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 10 mug tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF...

BACKGROUND Perioperative blood transfusion is usually given to sickle cell disease patients to reduce or prevent perioperative morbidity. Assessment of such a practice was the subject of our study. METHODS A retrospective one year survey of sickle cell disease patients undergoing surgery at Salmaniya Medical Complex, Bahrain was conducted. The medical records were reviewed to characterize the...

2-Fluorofucose (2FF) blocks the fucosylation and the tethering of sialyl-Lewisx tetrasaccharide and structural variants on leukocytes and red blood cells to P- and E-selectins on activated endothelial cell surfaces. Because P- and E-selectin are required for vaso-occlusion in murine sickle cell disease (SCD), we investigated whether 2FF would inhibit vaso-occlusion in SCD mice. Microvascular st...

Introduction Sickle cell anaemia (HbSS) and sickle cell haemoglobin-C disease (HbSC) are the varieties of sickle cell disease usually encountered during pregnancy in Nigeria (Akinla, 1972). The incidence, though low, is certainly increasing. This is because young girls with a chronic haemolytic anaemia who in the past readily succumbed to intercurrent disease and malnutrition are now, with impr...

AIM The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of egg white in maintaining the viability of human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells on avulsed teeth. METHODS AND MATERIALS The experimental media were: egg white, milk, Hanks' Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) as the positive control, and tap water as the negative control. The storage times were 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours. Extracted premol...

Fetal haemoglobin (HbF) is a major ameliorating factor in sickle cell disease. We investigated if a quantitative trait locus on chromosome 6q23 was significantly associated with HbF and F cell levels in individuals of African descent. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a 24-kb intergenic region, 33-kb upstream of the HBS1L gene and 80-kb upstream of the MYB gene, were typed in 177 health...

Contribution of bone turnover to the hypercatabolic state observed in sickle cell anemia is unknown. We examined the association between markers of bone turnover and basal rates of whole body protein turnover and energy expenditure in 28 adolescents with homozygous sickle cell anemia (HbSS) and in 26 matched controls with normal phenotype (HbAA). Whole body protein breakdown and synthesis were ...

BACKGROUND Structural systematics is the comparison of sets of chemically related crystal structures with the aim to establish and describe relevant similarities and relationships. An important topic in this context is the comparison of hydrogen-bonded structures (HBSs) and their representation by suitable descriptors. RESULTS Three different description methods for HBSs are proposed, a graph...