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Since the turn of the 21st century, image-based velocimetry techniques have become an increasingly popular approach for determining open-channel flow in a range of hydrological settings across Europe and beyond. Simultaneously, a range of large-scale image velocimetry algorithms have been developed that are equipped with differing image pre-processing and analytical capabilities. Yet in operational hydrometry, these techniques are utilised by few competent authorities. Therefore, imagery collected for image velocimetry analysis (along with reference data) is required both to enable inter-comparisons between these differing approaches and to test their overall efficacy. Through benchmarking exercises, it will be possible to assess which approaches are best suited for a range of fluvial settings, and to focus future software developments. Here we collate and describe datasets acquired from seven countries across Europe and North America, consisting of videos that have been subjected to a range of pre-processing and image velocimetry analyses (Perks et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.4121/uuid:014d56f7-06dd-49ad-a48c-2282ab10428e). Reference data are available for 12 of the 13 case studies presented, enabling these data to be used for reference and accuracy assessment.

Abstract Self-supervised learning has become the cornerstone of building generalizable and transferable artificial intelligence systems in medical imaging. In particular, contrastive representation learning techniques trained on large multi-modal datasets have demonstrated impressive capabilities of producing highly transferable representations for different downstream tasks. In ophthalmology, large multi-modal datasets are abundantly available and conveniently accessible as modern retinal imaging scanners acquire both 2D fundus images and 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans to assess the eye. In this context, we introduce a novel multi-modal contrastive learning-based pipeline to facilitate learning joint representations for the two retinal imaging modalities. After self-supervised pre-training on 153,306 scan pairs, we show that such a pre-training framework can provide both a retrieval system and encoders that produce comprehensive OCT and fundus image representations that generalize well for various downstream tasks on three independent external datasets, explicitly focusing on clinically pertinent prediction tasks. In addition, we show that interchanging OCT with lower-cost fundus imaging can preserve the predictive power of the trained models.

Abstract Sarcopenia, defined as age-associated loss of skeletal muscle function and muscle mass, is a negative prognostic marker for survival in several tumor entities. However, data evaluating the impact of sarcopenia and fat distribution on penile cancer are rarely described. We performed a retrospective study including 38 patients who were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. By measuring skeletal muscle mass and fat distribution at axial abdominal computed tomography images at the third lumbar vertebra several body composition parameters including skeletal muscle index (SMI), psoas muscle index (PMI), visceral obesity and visceral-to-subcutaneous fat ratio were determined. Among 38 patients, 26% (n = 10) of the patients with penile cancer were identified as sarcopenic. SMI, age, lymph node metastases, distant metastases and penile cancer of the shaft were identified as significant risk factors for overall survival. PMI and distant metastases were significantly associated with cancer specific survival. None of the analysed adipose tissue parameters could be identified as risk factors for survival in this study. We showed that sarcopenia occurs in a relevant part of patients with penile cancer and is a significant risk factor for overall survival (p = 0.032) and cancer specific survival (p = 0.034) for patients with penile cancer. Regarding fat distribution further studies are needed to evaluate its impact on sarcopenia and survival.

Abstract Objective This study aimed to evaluate subjective cognitive, physical, and mental health symptoms as well as objective cognitive deficits in COVID‐19 patients 1 year after infection. Methods This was a cross‐sectional study. Seventy‐four patients, who contracted a SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in 2020, underwent an in‐person neuropsychological assessment in 2021. This included standardized tests of memory, attention, and executive functions. In addition, participants also responded to scales on subjective attention deficits, mental health symptoms, and fatigue. Patients' scores were compared to published norms. Results Patients (N = 74) had a median age of 56 years (42% female). According to the initial disease severity, they were classified as mild (outpatients, 32%), moderate (hospitalized, non‐ICU‐admitted, 45%), or severe (ICU‐admitted, 23%). Hospitalized patients were more often affected than outpatients. In general, deficits were most common in attention (23%), followed by memory (15%) and executive functions (3%). Patients reported increased levels of fatigue (51%), anxiety (30%), distractibility in everyday situations (20%), and depression (15%). An additional analysis suggested an association between lower scores in an attention task and hyperferritinemia. As indicated by a hierarchical regression analysis, subjective distractibility was significantly predicted by current anxiety and fatigue symptoms but not by objective attention performance (final model, adj‐R 2 = 0.588, P

We report a tarsometatarsus and an associated pedal phalanx from the lower Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the- Naze (Essex, UK). The specimen resembles the tarsometatarsus of the taxon Limnofregata (Fregatidae), but it belongs to a species that is distinctly larger than any other, extinct or extant, frigatebird, from which it also differs in some morphological features. Because of a close stratigraphical and geographical provenance, as well as a similar large size and frigatebird-like morphology, we consider it possible that the fossil belongs to Marinavis longirostris. This large seabird was initially described from the London Clay of Abbey Wood and is based on fragments of the rostrum, which likewise show a resemblance to the Fregatidae. If correctly assigned to the Fregatidae, the fossils would be among the earliest records of frigatebirds and the first fossils of this group of birds from the Paleogene of Europe, but we note that our tentative classification is still afflicted with considerable uncertainty.

Abstract Inflammasome activation results in the cleavage of gasdermin D (GSDMD) by pro-inflammatory caspases. The N-terminal domains (GSDMDNT) oligomerize and assemble pores penetrating the target membrane. As methods to study pore formation in living cells are insufficient, the order of conformational changes, oligomerization, and membrane insertion remained unclear. We have raised nanobodies (VHHs) against human GSDMD and find that cytosolic expression of VHHGSDMD-1 and VHHGSDMD-2 prevents oligomerization of GSDMDNT and pyroptosis. The nanobody-stabilized GSDMDNT monomers partition into the plasma membrane, suggesting that membrane insertion precedes oligomerization. Inhibition of GSDMD pore formation switches cell death from pyroptosis to apoptosis, likely driven by the enhanced caspase-1 activity required to activate caspase-3. Recombinant antagonistic nanobodies added to the extracellular space prevent pyroptosis and exhibit unexpected therapeutic potential. They may thus be suitable to treat the ever-growing list of diseases caused by activation of (non-) canonical inflammasomes.

Abstract Mobile applications hold promise to foster sustainable mobility behavior, but evaluations of their effectiveness are subject to a number of empirical challenges. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with three distinctive features: unobtrusive tracking of the control group, limited sample attrition, and a representative sample. In our study, 410 participants track their mobility behavior over a 5 week period. After 1 week, the treatment group engages with the user interface of the “Swiss Climate Challenge App”. The user interface combines information on individual $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ CO 2 emissions with gamification features. We find a treatment effect that implies a $$9.8\%$$ 9.8 % reduction in emissions caused by access to the mobile application. While we lack the statistical power to exclude a zero average effect, we find statistically significant emission reductions in the second half of the intervention period, among subjects in medium population density areas, and among men. Our findings suggest that mobile applications could generate considerable net benefits, but larger studies will be needed for validation.

Jefferson Hunter introduced the term phototext in 1987 to describe a combination of words and photographic images, in which both parts ‘contribute equally to their meaning’. This paper argues that photographs in biographies, although commonly considered to illustrate or support the biographical text, form an inseparable union with the words that accompany them – a phototext. I therefore develop Hunter’s concept by using the term phototext to denote not only ‘composite publications’ but also other forms of combinations between photographs and words, namely ekphrasis and delayed connections, where image and text are separated. By looking at two frequently portrayed women writers – Sylvia Plath and Ingeborg Bachmann – this paper analyses common patterns of biographical phototexts. I have chosen one photograph of each writer, which is imprinted or referred to in at least two books, to explain the workings of such hybrid narratives. Together, these phototexts form an interacting net of correspondences across the biographies. Phototextual patterns focus on topics that cannot easily be represented by words only, for example the condition of the author’s body or spatial settings, and therefore cause a shift in the bimedia (im)balance. By applying the concept of phototext on literary biographies, the article shows how they stage not only images of Bachmann and Plath – both literal and metaphorical – but also images of women writers in general. The intermedial approach can disclose the biographer’s strategy of representing the writer.