bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utilising clinical parameters to improve the selection of nerve biopsy candidates
Authors: Kopanidis Paul , Baskozos Georgios , Byrne Elizabeth , Hofer Monika , Themistocleous Andreas C. , Rinaldi Simon , Bennett David L.
Published: April 2023

Background

Peripheral nerve biopsy is a valuable final diagnostic tool; however, histopathological results can be non‐diagnostic.

Aims

We aim to identify quality improvement measures by evaluating the pre‐biopsy assessment and diagnostic yield of specific histopathological diagnosis.

Methods

This was a retrospective study based on 10 years of experience with peripheral nerve biopsies at a single centre. Clinical data were obtained regarding pre‐biopsy history, examination, serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) investigations, neurophysiology and peripheral nerve imaging. Based upon a histopathological outcome, patients were grouped into vasculitis, granulomatous and infiltrative (diagnostic) group, or a comparison group of non‐specific axonal neuropathy and normal (non‐specific/normal) group.

Results

From a cohort of 64 patients, 21 (32.8%) were included in the diagnostic group and 30 (46.9%) in the non‐specific/normal group. Clinical parameters associated with the diagnostic group were shorter history (mean 10.2 months vs 38.1), stepwise progression (81% vs 20%), neuropathic pain (85.7% vs 56.7%), vasculitic rash (23.8% vs 0%), mononeuritis multiplex (57.1% vs 10%), asymmetry (90.5% vs 60%), raised white cell count (47.6% vs 16.7%), myeloperoxidase antibody (19.1% vs 0%) and abnormal peripheral nerve imaging (33.3% vs 10%).

Conclusion

Selection of patients undergoing nerve biopsy requires careful consideration of clinical parameters, including peripheral nerve imaging. Several quality improvement measures are proposed to improve yield of clinically actionable information from nerve biopsy.
Feeding enhances fibronectin adherence of quiescent lymphocytes through non‐canonical insulin signalling
Authors: Mallu Abhiram Charan Tej , Sivagurunathan Sivapriya , Paul Debasish , Aggarwal Hobby , Nathan Abel Arul , Manikandan Amrutha , Ravi Mahalakshmi M. , Boppana Ramanamurthy , Jagavelu Kumaravelu , Santra Manas Kumar , Dixit Madhulika
Published: April 2023

Nutritional availability during fasting and refeeding affects the temporal redistribution of lymphoid and myeloid immune cells among the circulating and tissue‐resident pools. Conversely, nutritional imbalance and impaired glucose metabolism are associated with chronic inflammation, aberrant immunity and anomalous leukocyte trafficking. Despite being exposed to periodic alterations in blood insulin levels upon fasting and feeding, studies exploring the physiological effects of these hormonal changes on quiescent immune cell function and trafficking are scanty. Here, we report that oral glucose load in mice and healthy men enhances the adherence of circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and lymphocytes to fibronectin. Adherence to fibronectin is also observed upon regular intake of breakfast following overnight fasting in healthy subjects. This glucose load‐induced phenomenon is abrogated in streptozotocin‐injected mice that lack insulin. Intra‐vital microscopy in mice demonstrated that oral glucose feeding enhances the homing of PBMCs to injured blood vessels in vivo. Furthermore, employing flow cytometry, Western blotting and adhesion assays for PBMCs and Jurkat‐T cells, we elucidate that insulin enhances fibronectin adherence of quiescent lymphocytes through non‐canonical signalling involving insulin‐like growth factor‐1 receptor (IGF‐1R) autophosphorylation, phospholipase C gamma‐1 (PLCγ‐1) Tyr783 phosphorylation and inside‐out activation of β‐integrins respectively. Our findings uncover the physiological relevance of post‐prandial insulin spikes in regulating the adherence and trafficking of circulating quiescent T‐cells through fibronectin–integrin interaction.
Statewide Assessment Reveals Spatiotemporal Variability of Iron in Iowa Lakes
Authors: Leung Tania , Swanner Elizabeth D.
Published: April 2023

The micronutrient iron has been noted to play a crucial role in regulating phytoplankton growth; however, most studies have focused on large lakes with persistent phytoplankton blooms that are known to undergo iron limitation, such as Lake Erie. Iron abundance in boreal lakes is also known to correlate with dissolved organic carbon and increased iron concentrations causing “browning.” To assess the spatial distribution of dissolved Fe (DFe) in lakes throughout Iowa, a landscape once dominated by prairies, DFe was measured in surface waters of 124 lakes distributed across the state over the 2018 summer season. Thirty lakes were selected for 15 weeks of weekly DFe monitoring to assess temporal trends over the summer season. Dissolved Fe concentrations in surface waters ranged from 5 to 1000 μg L‐1. Iowan lakes exhibited temporal trends in DFe, with decreasing concentrations from May to mid‐July and an increase into August. Unsupervised learning method (k‐means) identified three main groups of lakes based on temporal DFe trends. In this study, surface water temperature was associated with DFe trends in some lakes. This study serves as a baseline for DFe in Iowa’s lakes and can provide insights into iron biogeochemical cycling and its role in phytoplankton blooms, which are important to ecosystem and public health.
Chlorophyll and Phycocyanin Raw Fluorescence May Inform Recreational Lake Managers on Cyanobacterial HABs and Toxins: Lake Fayetteville Case Study
Authors: Haggard Brian E. , Grantz Erin , Austin Bradley J. , Wagner Nicole D. , Scott J. Thad
Published: April 2023

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have been observed across the USA and worldwide, and even locally in Lake Fayetteville (Arkansas, USA) once we started monitoring for total microcystin. The goal of this research note was to present a framework that might help guide cyanoHAB and toxin public health advisories at Lake Fayetteville. We evaluated nonparametric change points (i.e., thresholds) and hierarchical structure (using classification and regression trees) between total microcystin concentrations, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin; chlorophyll‐a is a pigment in all algae, while phycocyanin is specific to cyanobacteria. Pigment concentrations and raw fluorescence units (RFUs) all showed significant thresholds with total microcystin concentrations, basically showing that as concentration or RFUs increased above the thresholds that total microcystin was greater at Lake Fayetteville. The regression tree with total microcystin concentrations showed a first split with phycocyanin RFUs at 4524, and then when phycocyanin RFUs were greater there was an optimal range for the phycocyanin to chlorophyll RFU ratio (0.64‐1.5). At this recreational lake, total microcystin concentrations were greatest when water samples met these criteria, providing a possible framework for when lake managers might suggest an increased risk for elevated cyanobacterial toxins.
Incorporation of feeding behaviour traits to increase the genetic gain of feed efficiency in Pietrain pigs
Authors: Núñez Pedro , Gol Sofía , Reixach Josep , Casto‐Rebollo Cristina , Ibáñez‐Escriche Noelia
Published: April 2023

Improved feed efficiency is an essential goal for the sustainability of pig production in economic and environmental terms. Traits such as feed conversion rate (FCR), residual feed intake (RFI), residual body weight gain (RG) and feeding behaviour, such as duration (TPV) and feeding rate per visit (FR) can now be measured by automatic feeding systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of incorporating feeding behaviour traits into a selection index to improve feed efficiency in a nucleus of purebred Pietrain pigs. Data on body weight, feed intake and duration were recorded at each visit in 1608 animals. The information contained in 843,605 visits was grouped by animal ID to obtain a set of feed efficiency and feeding behaviour traits. These traits were obtained in three periods (first, second and total period). Bayesian models were built to estimate the posterior marginal distribution of the variance components. The heritabilities were between 0.44 and 0.59 for feeding behaviour traits and between 0.31 and 0.49 for feed efficiency traits. The FCR and RFI showed a considerable genetic correlation with daily feed intake (~0.65). FCR showed a genetic correlation with feeding behaviour traits, such as feed intake per visit (FPV) (0.44) and FR (0.33). Furthermore, the fast‐eating pigs were less efficient. This was due to the positive genetic correlation found between the FR and the FCR (0.33) and the RFI (0.23), and the negative correlation found with the RG (−0.28). On the other hand, the inclusion of the feeding behaviour traits into a selection index slightly increased the selection response for FCR (4%) and RFI (1.8%). However, there was an increase of up to 19% in the selection response for RG and an improvement in accuracy from 0.59 to 0.70. Therefore, we concluded that it would be interesting to include feeding behaviour traits in a selection index to improve the selection response and accuracy of feed efficiency traits.
Working with the EU: How Discourses Shape the Application of EU State Aid Rules
Authors: Steunenberg Bernard , Zwaan Pieter
Published: April 2023

State aid rules are an important part of the European Union's (EU) competition policy that aims to ensure a fair competition in the common market. These rules directly affect national and sub‐national governments of member states, which are sometimes confronted with different and opposing claims about what to do. The question is how implementing civil servants interpret and resolve these claims in practice. In this article, discourse analysis is applied to identify how civil servants apply and interpret state aid rules based on empirical research in the Netherlands. The main finding is that, even within the existing regulatory framework of one member state, the application of state aid rules is understood differently based on the discourses we identified. We describe the content, dissemination amongst civil servants and the relationship of these discourses with compliance. The article shows that discourses matter and help to understand how state aid rules are applied.
The importance and challenges of improving early identification of language abilities: a commentary on Gasparini et al. (2023)
Authors: Botting Nicola , Spicer‐Cain Helen
Published: April 2023

Finding early predictors of later language skills and difficulties is fraught with challenges because of the wide developmental variation in language. Gasparini et al. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2023) aimed to address this issue by applying machine learning methods to parent reports taken from a large longitudinal database (Early Language in Victoria Study). Using this approach, they identify two short, straightforward item sets, taken at 24 and 36 months, that can adequately predict language difficulties when children are 11 years of age. Their work represents an exciting step towards earlier recognition and support for children with Developmental Language Disorder. This commentary highlights the advantages and challenges of identifying early predictors of language in this way, and discusses future directions that can build on this important contribution.
Clin‐STAR corner: 2021 update in musculoskeletal pain in older adults with a focus on osteoarthritis‐related pain
Authors: Adogwa Owoicho , Reid M. Cary , Chilakapati Sai , Makris Una E.
Published: April 2023

Chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain remains a leading cause of disability and functional impairment among older adults and is associated with substantial societal and personal costs. Chronic pain is particularly challenging to manage in older adults because of multimorbidity, concerns about treatment‐related harm, as well as older adults' beliefs about pain and its management. This narrative review presents data on nine high‐quality, peer‐reviewed clinical trials published primarily over the past two years that focus on MSK pain management in older adults, of which four were comprehensively reviewed. These studies address contributors to knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain (insomnia), provide evidence for digital delivery or artificial intelligence driven behavioral interventions and potentially more efficient/equally effective modes of delivering glucocorticoids for OA; each of the selected studies have potential for scalability and meaningful impact in the care of older adults.
Confronting the deep problem of consumption: Why individual responsibility for mindful consumption matters
Authors: Parvatiyar Atul , Sheth Jagdish N.
Published: April 2023

Decades of intentional cultivation of consumerism, materialism, affluence, and hedonism, fueled by advertising messages, have created a consumption culture that is not sustainable anymore. In addition to the problems of climate change, there are also significant social costs associated with overconsumption and harmful consumption. We identify the causes of the consumption problem and why individual consumers must take responsibility to avoid harmful consumption for their own and societal well‐being. Although multi‐faceted action by governments, marketers, and civil societies is essential, a bottom‐up transformational movement is also required to drive the mindful consumption mindset. Top‐down measures of technology‐led efficient product solutions and consumer nudging strategies have had limited success compared to the rate at which the problem is compounding. Thus, we suggest four critical interventions to socialize the bottom‐up mindful consumption movement—education for transformative social learning; alternative hedonism; advertising, tv, and social media messaging; and creating an engagement forum for all like‐minded people devoted to the cause. Through socializing the bottom‐up mindful consumption movement, these interventions will encourage a cultural shift toward alternative lifestyle conceptions of well‐being, leading to increased sustainable consumption behavior and eudaimonia.
Psychological distancing and language intensity in Peer‐to‐Peer lending
Authors: Huang Jin , Li Jun , Sena Vania
Published: April 2023

Peer‐to‐peer (P2P) lending is referred to as lending money to unknown borrowers directly through online platforms without using traditional financial intermediaries. We leverage insights from the literature on psychological distancing and affective intensity to argue that linguistic styles, as the manifestation of social psychological distance, have a negative impact on P2P funding success. Testing our arguments with data from a major Chinese P2P platform, we find that using too many “you” and negations (proxies for social psychological distance) in the borrower's description will dampen a lender's willingness to support a funding campaign. Moreover, when the social psychological distance is large, language intensity can be perceived as desperate, making a lender even less willing to support the funding campaign. Our research shed new light on the role of language in P2P funding success and has practical implications for lenders, borrowers and regulators in overcoming barriers in P2P lending.
Digital beading for a CAD–CAM framework for an implant‐supported overdenture: A dental technique
Authors: Altoman Majed S. , Gadah Thuraya S. , Alfaifi Mohammed A. , Kattadiyil Mathew T.
Published: April 2023

The analog technique of making bead lines for a metal superstructure framework for the maxillary implant‐supported overdenture is created by scribing shallow grooves on the surface of a definitive gypsum cast. This report describes a digital technique that uses computer‐aided design and computer‐aided manufacturing technology to make dental bead lines on an intraoral impression without using the gypsum cast.
Jejunal arteriovenous malformation and multiple acquired extrahepatic portosystemic shunts in a juvenile dog, presenting with melena
Authors: Zurita M. , Herrmann A. , Ryan T. , Carrera I. , Di Bella A.
Published: April 2023

A juvenile dog referred with a 1‐month history of persistent melena and severe anaemia, was diagnosed with a jejunal arteriovenous malformation, and multiple acquired extrahepatic portosystemic shunts. A midline coeliotomy was performed, the jejunal arteriovenous malformation was localised intraoperatively and was successfully removed via an enterectomy. Histopathology confirmed a true arteriovenous malformation. Despite the initial improvement, the patient developed seizure episodes secondary to hepatic encephalopathy 8 months after surgery. Fifteen months after surgery, the owner opted for euthanasia due to the ongoing seizure episodes. Post‐mortem histologic examination of the liver showed features consistent with portal vein hypoplasia. A congenital arteriovenous malformation should be considered as a differential diagnosis in juvenile patients with a chronic history of haemorrhage from the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, acquired portosystemic shunts may occur in patients with portal vein hypoplasia and jejunal arteriovenous malformations.
Serum proteome of dogs with chronic enteropathy
Authors: Yu Jane , Ruaux Craig , Griebsch Christine , Boland Lara , Wong Nadia , Bennett Peter , Wasinger Valerie C.
Published: April 2023

Background

Chronic enteropathy (CE) is common in dogs and can occur with multiple etiologies including food‐responsive enteropathy (FRE) and idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Hypothesis/Objective

To study the protein profile and pathway differences among dogs with FRE, IBD, and healthy controls using serum proteome analysis.

Animals

Nine CE dogs with signs of gastrointestinal disease and histologically confirmed chronic inflammatory enteropathy and 16 healthy controls.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study with cases recruited from 2 veterinary hospitals between May 2019 and November 2020 was performed. Serum samples were analyzed using mass spectrometry‐based proteomic techniques.

Results

Proteomic profiles showed marked variation in relative protein abundances. Forty‐five proteins were significantly (P ≤ .01) differentially expressed among the dogs with CE and controls with ≥2‐fold change in abundance. The fold change of dogs with IBD normalized to controls was more pronounced for the majority of proteins than that seen in the dogs with FRE normalized to control dogs. Proteins involving reactive oxygen species, cytokine activation, acute phase response signaling, and lipid metabolism were altered in dogs with CE.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Cytokine alterations, acute phase response signaling, and lipid metabolism are likely involved in pathogenesis of CE. Although there are insufficient current data to justify the use of proteomic biomarkers for assessment of CE in dogs, our study identifies potential candidates.
Designing universal causal deep learning models: The geometric (Hyper)transformer
Authors: Acciaio Beatrice , Kratsios Anastasis , Pammer Gudmund
Published: April 2023

Several problems in stochastic analysis are defined through their geometry, and preserving that geometric structure is essential to generating meaningful predictions. Nevertheless, how to design principled deep learning (DL) models capable of encoding these geometric structures remains largely unknown. We address this open problem by introducing a universal causal geometric DL framework in which the user specifies a suitable pair of metric spaces and and our framework returns a DL model capable of causally approximating any “regular” map sending time series in to time series in while respecting their forward flow of information throughout time. Suitable geometries on include various (adapted) Wasserstein spaces arising in optimal stopping problems, a variety of statistical manifolds describing the conditional distribution of continuous‐time finite state Markov chains, and all Fréchet spaces admitting a Schauder basis, for example, as in classical finance. Suitable spaces are compact subsets of any Euclidean space. Our results all quantitatively express the number of parameters needed for our DL model to achieve a given approximation error as a function of the target map's regularity and the geometric structure both of and of . Even when omitting any temporal structure, our universal approximation theorems are the first guarantees that Hölder functions, defined between such and can be approximated by DL models.
Study of NIT domain‐containing chemoreceptors from two global phytopathogens and identification of NIT domains in eukaryotes
Authors: Monteagudo‐Cascales Elizabet , Ortega Álvaro , Velando Félix , Morel Bertrand , Matilla Miguel A. , Krell Tino
Published: April 2023

Bacterial signal transduction systems are typically activated by the binding of signal molecules to receptor ligand binding domains (LBDs), such as the NIT LBD. We report here the identification of the NIT domain in more than 15,000 receptors that were present in 30 bacterial phyla, but also in 19 eukaryotic phyla, expanding its known phylogenetic distribution. The NIT domain formed part of seven receptor families that either control transcription, mediate chemotaxis or regulate second messenger levels. We have produced the NIT domains from chemoreceptors of the bacterial phytopathogens Pectobacterium atrosepticum (PacN) and Pseudomonas savastanoi (PscN) as individual purified proteins. High‐throughput ligand screening using compound libraries revealed a specificity for nitrate and nitrite binding. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments showed that PacN‐LBD bound preferentially nitrate ( K D  = 1.9 μM), whereas the affinity of PscN‐LBD for nitrite ( K D  = 2.1 μM) was 22 times higher than that for nitrate. Analytical ultracentrifugation experiments indicated that PscN‐LBD is monomeric in the presence and absence of ligands. The R182A mutant of PscN did not bind nitrate or nitrite. This residue is not conserved in the NIT domain of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa chemoreceptor PA4520, which may be related to its failure to bind nitrate/nitrite. The magnitude of P. atrosepticum chemotaxis towards nitrate was significantly greater than that of nitrite and pacN deletion almost abolished responses to both compounds. This study highlights the important role of nitrate and nitrite as signal molecules in life and advances our knowledge on the NIT domain as universal nitrate/nitrite sensor module.
Validity of the Manchester triage system in the prioritization of patients with transient global amnesia in the emergency department
Authors: Zaboli Arian , Turcato Gianni , Nucera Bruna , Sibilio Serena , Rinaldi Fabrizio , D'Acunto Laura , Manganotti Paolo , Nardone Raffaele , Pfeifer Norbert , Brigo Francesco
Published: April 2023

Background

The Manchester Triage System (MTS) is one of the most widely used and studied triage systems in emergency departments (ED). MTS does not have a specific presentational flow chart for patients with transient global amnesia (TGA). The goal of this study was to determine the adequacy of priority code assignment for patients with TGA presenting at the ED and triaged using the MTS.

Methods

This is a single‐center observational retrospective study from January 01, 2013 to June 31, 2020. All patients with a medical diagnosis of TGA were considered. An audit was conducted on these triages to assess the correct application of MTS by the triage nurses. Correct triage was considered as a patient classified as yellow.

Results

During the study period, 216 patients with a diagnosis of TGA were considered. Of these 49.5% were classified as yellow, 13.0% were undertriage and classified as green or blue and 37.5% were overtriaged and classified as orange or red. The audit demonstrated that 98.8% of overtriaged patients and 57.1% of undertriage patients were triaged incorrectly. In addition, in 38 patients the triage nurse confused TGA with an acute neurological deficit suggestive of stroke or transient ischemic attack.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates an inability of MTS to correctly stratify patients with TGA. The results of the present study indicate the need for a specific flow chart for patients with neurological problems to improve the performance of MTS.
Perspectives on certification of community health workers: A statewide mixed‐methods assessment in Nebraska
Authors: Ern Jessica , Chaidez Virginia , Trout Kate E. , Karsting Kathy , Su Dejun
Published: April 2023

Objectives

While the Community Health Worker (CHW) workforce in the United States has been growing, so far only 19 states certify CHWs. This study sought to identify perspectives on CHW certification among stakeholders in Nebraska, a state that has not established official certification for CHWs yet.

Design

A concurrent triangulation mixed methods design.

Sample

Study data came from a survey of 142 CHWs in Nebraska and interviews with 8 key informants employing CHWs conducted in 2019.

Methods

Logistic regression was used to identify significant factors associated with favoring CHW certification, supplemented by thematic analysis of qualitative data from CHWs and key informants.

Results

The majority (84%) of CHWs were in favor of a statewide CHW certification in Nebraska, citing community benefits, workforce validation, and standardization of knowledge as the main reasons. Participant characteristics associated with favoring CHW certification included younger age, racial minority, foreign born, education lower than bachelor's degree, volunteering as a CHW, and employed for less than 5 years as a CHW. Key informants employing CHWs were divided in whether Nebraska should develop a state certification program.

Conclusions

While most CHWs in Nebraska wanted to have a statewide certification program, employers of CHWs were less sure of the need for certification.
Choosing not to choose—Patients' justification of a disengaged choice of primary care provider
Authors: Hoffstedt Caroline , Fredriksson Magnus , Winblad Ulrika , Holmström Inger K.
Published: April 2023

A key underpinning of choice of health care provider is that patients make active and informed decisions which stimulate quality competition. By imitating the principles of a market in the steering of health care, patients thus assume the role of consumers. Few patients however neither consider alternative providers nor seek information about quality. The aim of this study was to investigate if and how patients engage in the role of being active and informed consumers in the setting of primary care, and how they argue for their choice. The study was based on semi‐structured interviews with 18 respondents in a municipality in mid‐Sweden. Respondents were purposefully sampled and interviews were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. Findings demonstrated that patients disengaged from choice by arguing, for instance, that they were satisfied with their current provider or because they perceived no differences in quality. Overall, results were in line with previous studies performed in US and European hospital settings, indicating that patients present some similar arguments regarding disengagement from choice irrespective of level of care or geographical setting. Arguments specifically related to the primary care level were that patients found it more important to achieve continuity in the patient‐doctor relationship than ‘shopping around’ for the best provider, or that they desired more profiled services to actively make a choice. In contrast to previous literature, patients refuted the ‘patient‐consumer’ role by referring to, for instance, the belief that care should be of equal quality independent of what choice they made.
Gene expression and expression quantitative trait loci analyses uncover natural variations underlying the improvement of important agronomic traits during modern maize breeding
Authors: Li Changyu , Li Yaoyao , Song Guangshu , Yang Di , Xia Zhanchao , Sun Changhe , Zhao Yuelei , Hou Mei , Zhang Mingyue , Qi Zhi , Wang Baobao , Wang Haiyang
Published: April 2023

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major staple crop worldwide, and during modern maize breeding, cultivars with increased tolerance to high‐density planting and higher yield per plant have contributed significantly to the increased yield per unit land area. Systematically identifying key agronomic traits and their associated genomic changes during modern maize breeding remains a significant challenge because of the complexity of genetic regulation and the interactions of the various agronomic traits, with most of them being controlled by numerous small‐effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Here, we performed phenotypic and gene expression analyses for a set of 137 elite inbred lines of maize from different breeding eras in China. We found four yield‐related traits are significantly improved during modern maize breeding. Through gene‐clustering analyses, we identified four groups of expressed genes with distinct trends of expression pattern change across the historical breeding eras. In combination with weighted gene co‐expression network analysis, we identified several candidate genes regulating various plant architecture‐ and yield‐related agronomic traits, such as ZmARF16, ZmARF34, ZmTCP40, ZmPIN7, ZmPYL10, ZmJMJ10, ZmARF1, ZmSWEET15b, ZmGLN6 and Zm00001d019150. Further, by combining expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) analyses, correlation coefficient analyses and population genetics, we identified a set of candidate genes that might have been under selection and contributed to the genetic improvement of various agronomic traits during modern maize breeding, including a number of known key regulators of plant architecture, flowering time and yield‐related traits, such as ZmPIF3.3, ZAG1, ZFL2 and ZmBES1. Lastly, we validated the functional variations in GL15, ZmPHYB2 and ZmPYL10 that influence kernel row number, flowering time, plant height and ear height, respectively. Our results demonstrates the effectiveness of our combined approaches for uncovering key candidate regulatory genes and functional variation underlying the improvement of important agronomic traits during modern maize breeding, and provide a valuable genetic resource for the molecular breeding of maize cultivars with tolerance for high‐density planting.
Insights into the evolutionary history of Diestramimini cave crickets (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)
Authors: Zhu Qidi , Zhou Zhijun , Guo Qi , Duan Yanhao , Wang Haijian , Shi Fuming
Published: April 2023

Diestramimini is one of the two tribes of Aemodogryllinae and is mainly distributed in southern China and Southeast Asia. The intergeneric phylogenetic relationship and historical biogeography of this tribe remain unclear. Here, we present the first phylogenetic and biogeographical analyses of Diestramimini based on three mitochondrial (COI, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA) and two nuclear (18S rRNA and 28S rRNA) gene fragments. The molecular phylogenetic inference strongly supports the monophyly of Diestramimini and recovers the sister‐group relationship between Diestramima + Tamdaotettix and Arboramima + Gigantettix. A new genus, Bidiestramima Zhu & Shi gen. n., is established and recovered as sister to all the remaining genera of Diestramimini. Moreover, a new species Bidiestramima hekouensis Zhu & Shi gen. et sp. n. is described. Mimadiestra is recovered as paraphyletic, and thus, we propose two new combinations based on the combination of morphological and molecular evidence: Bidiestramima dicha comb. n. and Tamdaotettix (Laotettix) gracilus comb. n. Divergence time estimation and reconstruction of ancestral areas indicate that Diestramimini in China may have originated from Southern Yunnan and Guangxi during the mid‐Oligocene and had two separate evolutionary routes. The diversification of Diestramimini has been driven by several dispersal and vicariance events since the Miocene, linked to the uplift of the Himalaya–Tibetan Plateau, the formation of the monsoon and climate fluctuations.
Motives of moduli spaces of bundles on curves via variation of stability and flips
Authors: Fu Lie , Hoskins Victoria , Pepin Lehalleur Simon
Published: April 2023

We study the rational Chow motives of certain moduli spaces of vector bundles on a smooth projective curve with additional structure (such as a parabolic structure or Higgs field). In the parabolic case, these moduli spaces depend on a choice of stability condition given by weights; our approach is to use explicit descriptions of variation of this stability condition in terms of simple birational transformations (standard flips/flops and Mukai flops) for which we understand the variation of the Chow motives. For moduli spaces of parabolic vector bundles, we describe the change in motive under wall‐crossings, and for moduli spaces of parabolic Higgs bundles, we show the motive does not change under wall‐crossings. Furthermore, we prove a motivic analogue of a classical theorem of Harder and Narasimhan relating the rational cohomology of moduli spaces of vector bundles with and without fixed determinant. For rank 2 vector bundles of odd degree, we obtain formulae for the rational Chow motives of moduli spaces of semistable vector bundles, moduli spaces of Higgs bundles and moduli spaces of parabolic (Higgs) bundles that are semistable with respect to a generic weight (all with and without fixed determinant).
Estimation of rain amount over global oceans using ambient sound recorded on Argo floats relating to global water cycle studies
Authors: Yang Jie , Riser Stephen , Thorsos Eric I.
Published: April 2023

Rain over the ocean is a central process in the global freshwater cycle. The freshening of the ocean surface due to rain can be seen in global maps of sea surface salinity, where areas with high precipitation are broadly coincident with areas of low salinity and regions of high salinity occur in regions with low precipitation and high evaporation. The transfer of water from these evaporating regions to the precipitating regions drives the global water cycle, and understanding its dynamics is essential in determining how weather patterns will respond to changes in global climate. Rain is difficult to measure over the ocean due to its spatial and temporal variability and the limitations imposed by rain gauges when mounted on moving platforms. However, the loud and distinctive underwater sound generated by raindrops on the ocean surface can be used to detect and quantify rainfall and to track climate change impacts. The work here will focus on deriving time series of rain rate with temporal resolution on the order of minutes using ambient noise recorded by Passive Aquatic Listener (PAL) on both Argo floats and deep ocean moorings (Nystuen, J., Atmos. Oceanic Tech, 13, 74–84, 1996). [Work supported by NOAA and NASA.]
Unraveling the link between sediment acoustics and organic carbon
Authors: Venegas Gabriel R. , Clemo W. Cyrus , Dorgan Kelly M. , Rahman Abdullah F. , Lee Kevin M. , Ballard Megan , Chaytor Jason , Wilson Preston S.
Published: April 2023

The top meter of marine sediments is estimated to store a total of 2322 Pg of carbon [Atwood et al., 2020. Front. Mar. Sci., vol. 7 p.165], which is twice that of terrestrial soils. Physical disturbance and remineralization of these carbon stocks could further accelerate climate change. Rapid and accurate quantification of sediment carbon stocks can (1) better inform carbon budgets and management of human activities in the ocean to minimize carbon remineralization and (2) monitor changes in sediment carbon stocks due to anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Sediment acoustics, which have been linked with sediment total organic carbon/content in mud banks, seagrass beds, and estuarine environments, can be measured in situ and offer a scalable solution toward rapid estimation of carbon stocks. However, before this modality can be applied broadly, a fundamental understanding between sediment acoustic properties and sediment organic/inorganic constituents must be realized. Here, direct ex situ measurements of sediment acoustic properties, sediment organic carbon, and grain size distribution will be compiled and compared across a variety of sediment types and locations from our own measurements and from published datasets. The development of a non-site-specific constitutive-based relationship will be discussed. [Work supported in part by ONR.]
Motion model ultrasound localisation microscopy: Preclinical findings and clinical challenges
Authors: Kiessling Fabian
Published: April 2023

Superresolution ultrasound represents a major breakthrough for noninvasive tissue characterization. It mainly comprises ultrafast and motion model driven approaches. This talk will focus on motion model Ultrasound Localisation Microscopy (mULM), an approach working at frame rates of most clinical ultrasound devices. It realizes vascular tracks by subwavelength localization of microbubbles and estimating their probability to have moved from one voxel to another. mULM reliably depicts vascular pattern of different tumors and provides functional vascular characteristics that cannot be obtained by other imaging modalities. We will also report on our experiences in clinically translating mULM and applying it to track breast cancer response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Currently, we are exploring mULM for other indications, i.e., chronic kidney diseases preclinically and clinically. Here, it became obvious that microbubble dose and injection speed must be carefully adapted to each application to ensure that vascular architectures are sufficiently displayed and to avoid microbubble overload in the images, which complicates correct assignments of microbubbles to tracks. Motion compensation is another challenge for clinical translation, potentially demanding 3D transducers. Thus, we are highlighting the significant potential of superresolution ultrasound and pinpointing challenges that need to be addressed to make it a robust and reliable clinical tool.
Deep learning-based super-resolution ultrasound imaging for a wide range of microbubble density
Authors: Chen Qiyang , Batmanghelich Kayhan , Tan Roderick , Kim Kang
Published: April 2023

Super-resolution ultrasound (SRU) imaging that can identify the vasculature with a high spatial resolution has a great potential for assessing and monitoring the progression of diseases associated with microvascular changes. One limitation of the conventional SRU is that the image quality is highly sensitive to the microbubbles (MBs) concentration at the imaging site, an aspect that is difficult to control in vivo due to the varying local perfusion and vessel sizes in the different organs. Deep learning (DL) techniques have been explored in the field of medical ultrasound for various applications, including image reconstruction, segmentation, and disease classifications. In this study, we developed a DL-based SRU imaging that works in end-to-end fashion without parameter tuning and is robust over a wide range of MB density while preserving the spatial resolution. The DL network containing U-net and interpolation layers was trained by the simulated MB images to replace the conventional MB center localization algorithms. The developed algorithm was evaluated in vivo on the mouse kidney for different MB injection doses and shown consistent performance, which support the robustness of this approach to varying MB density. The end-to-end operation that requires minimum parameter tuning would also potentially benefit the clinical applications.
Acousto-optical camera for super-resolution imaging
Authors: Popa Bogdan-Ioan
Published: April 2023

I will present a hybrid acousto-optical imaging system that probes the environment with acoustic waves, converts the back-scattered sound into a coherent optical field on an aperture using an acousto-optical metasurface, and focuses the latter into an image with existing optical lenses. Preliminary theoretical analysis and experiments show that this approach can produce images of significantly higher resolution than possible with conventional methods, thus enabling high quality images produced with low frequency probing sound. Our imaging approach takes advantage of the best properties of optic and acoustic waves, namely, (1) the high image quality produced by existing optical systems and (2) the ability of low frequency acoustic waves to penetrate most materials. An additional advantage of our method is that it puts essentially no constraints on the sound source. For example, the source could have low directivity and may consist of a single transducer or it could even miss when imaging noisy environments. In the latter scenarios, our imaging method becomes purely passive.
Ultrasound mediated control of neurons and immune cells
Authors: Arvanitis Costas , Dash Pradosh Pritam , Kim Chulyong
Published: April 2023

Ultrasound holds great promise for realizing noncontact stimulation and control of cell function. Here, we will present our ongoing efforts in controlling cell responses using two distinct approaches. The first is based on engineered cytotoxic immune cells with thermal switches, where closed-loop controlled MRgFUS-hyperthermia (20-mins at 42 °C) is employed to drive the local production of key transgenes and potentiate anti-tumor responses in brain tumors. The responses are assessed using bioluminescence, cell viability, and cell cytotoxicity assays. The second is based on US pulse sequences designed to promote mechanical effects on cultured cells with the goal to decode US neuromodulation. For our investigations, we employed a high throughput ultrasonic platform designed to monitor and locally control sound and vibration in combination DRG sensory neurons. The later are the most sensitive neuronal type to mechanical stretch and present an excellent experimental system to examine and identify mechanosensitive ion channels sensing sonication-induced membrane stretch. Cell responses are quantified and analyzed for different pulse durations and amplitude, cell culture conditions, and degassing protocols. Together, our findings show that ultrasound thermal and mechanical effects can be employed to control the function of different cell types, albeit cells with thermal switches provide more robust responses.
Tracking macrophages with ultrasound
Authors: Alva Ashley , Kim Chulyong , Lee Hohyun , Arvanitis Costas
Published: April 2023

Macrophages play a key role among the immune cells in host defense. They are also known to be involved in various complex processes like angiogenesis and can infiltrate disease environments like in the case of cancer and atherosclerosis. Hence, imaging macrophages and their trafficking patterns could provide important prognostic and diagnostic markers of various human diseases. Previous attempts at imaging macrophages have been limited in depth of penetration, spatial resolution, and sensitivity. We hypothesize that labelling macrophages with microbubble (MB) contrast agents could render them visible to ultrasound and potentially overcome these limitations to enable imaging of macrophage trafficking at high resolution and sensitivity deep into tissues. Here, we show that macrophages can be labeled with MB to make them echogenic. Subsequently, we demonstrate that there are ultrasound exposure settings where these macrophages can retain high echogenicity and viability without affecting their functionality. We also confirmed that these MB-labeled macrophages can be imaged invivo (7-fold increase in CNR as compared to unlabeled macrophages) following intratumoral injection into subcutaneous tumors. In summary, our research findings demonstrate a highly sensitive approach to study macrophage interactions with disease environments that may lead to novel biomarkers for disease diagnosis.
Underwater low frequency subwoofer systems
Authors: Morozov Andrey K.
Published: April 2023

Experiments with a gas-filled adiabatic bubble resonator of large diameter have shown that it is an efficient emitter of low-frequency seismic waves. The resonator has a single resonant frequency with a narrow bandwidth. The internal acoustic resonant structure changes the frequency response of the entire source and makes it possible to expand its bandwidth. An internal Helmholtz resonator converts the system into a double resonant system with a wide bandwidth. The bass-reflex resonator separates the pressure in front and behind the speaker cone, and the speaker works as an internal monopole driver. Any other known loudspeaker enclosure design can be used to create the desired multi-pole frequency response. A specific of the underwater enclosure is that it is loaded into the inner chamber of the bubble resonator. The bubble resonator works as an efficient impedance converter, matching the impedance of the internal resonant system to the water radiation impedance. Examples of various systems and the results of their tests in water are considered. Experiments have shown that a gas-filled underwater bubble covered with an elastic membrane and driven by an audio subwoofer can achieve source levels of 180–185 dB re 1 μPa@1 m over a wide frequency band.
Implementation of lumped element multimode modeling for balanced-armature receivers
Authors: Mohammadi Mohammad
Published: April 2023

Lumped element (LE) modeling is one of the simplest and fastest tools for designing and predicting the performance of miniature speakers. Tweeters are being incorporated more frequently to extend the high-frequency range of earphones in the commercial earphone market with balanced armature (BA) receivers being commonly used as tweeters. To support this trend, it is necessary to develop LE models of BAs that are accurate at high frequencies. Developing accurate models has been challenging due to several mechanical and acoustic modes interacting at frequencies over 10 kHz. Based on the work of Sun and Hu [“Lumped element multimode modeling of balanced-armature receiver using modal analysis,” J. Vib. Acoust. 2016 Dec 1;138(6)], a multimode LE modeling method using finite element (FE) modal analysis is implemented and compared with older LE models. The simulation results are compared with experimental data for several production models of BA. The multimode LE method shows significant improvements compared to the old single-mode LE models in predicting BA receiver acoustic response, especially at frequencies above 10 kHz.
Recent developments regarding the 15 dB improvement in SNR in noise available from four talkers in noise with wireless signals provided by simple clip-on-collar Companion Mics Remote Microphones
Authors: Killion Mead C. , Dunn Frank , Cevette Michael , Haapapuro Andrew
Published: April 2023

The Companion Mics® (CMICS™) by Etymotic Research, and more recently by the author’ company MCK Audio, have frequently demonstrated a 10–20 dB improvement in SNR in noisy groups and restaurants for up to four talkers, each of whom wears a CMIC wireless microphone unit on the collar or held near the chin. Until recently, however, the listener would need to wear an earphone. (Experimentally, two ears listening to the same signal provide only a 2 dB advantage.) The disadvantage was that the hearing aid audiologist would have to say: “If you have trouble in noise, take off your hearing aids and put on these earphones.” While waiting for the incorporation of Bluetooth circuits, two other successful alternates have been introduced. The first is an open-ear HearHook© sound tube which hooks over the ear and delivers sound near the earcanal, which is also near the microphone of a hearing aid. The second is the use of a neckloop connected to the CMIC, with the hearing aid switched to “tcoil” mode. An amplified tcoil HHearbud with built-in hum filter allows that use even when electrical hum interference is present.