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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.05.021 Byline: Q. Tian (a)(b), Z. Luo (a), J.M. Chen (c), M. Chen (c), F. Hui (a) Keywords: Landsat ETM+; Coniferous forest; Leaf area index; Vegetation index Abstract: Spatial distributions of the leaf area index (LAI) needed for carbon cycle modeling in Xingguo County, China were estimated based on correlations between the field-measurements and vegetation indices (VIs). After making geometric and atmospheric corrections to two Landsat ETM+ images, one in January 2000 and the other in May 2003, three VIs (SR, NDVI, and RSR) were derived, and their separate correlations with ground LAI measurements were established. The correlation with RSR was the highest among the three VIs. The retrieved LAI values for January 2000 were lower than those for May 2003 because of a small seasonal variation in the coniferous forests (predominantly masson pine) and the decrease in the understorey vegetation during winter. Author Affiliation: (a) International Institute for Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University, 210093, China (b) China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station Key Lab, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100086, China (c) Department of Geography and Program in Panning, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Room 5047,Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G3 Article History: Received 11 May 2005; Revised 20 March 2006; Accepted 13 May 2006

Abstract: Due to their widespread use in domestic and commercial premises, polyurethane foams, as either fragmented or bulk foam, are types of evidence commonly found at crime scenes. The traditional approach to determining the evidential value of polyurethane foam (PF) involves comparing recovered and control fragments under low and high magnification, under various lighting conditions, as well as the comparison of their respective dye spectra. As with most forms of trace evidence, chemical comparison is also desirable. In this work, two approaches to chemically comparing foam fragments were investigated, i.e. inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES) analysis of the Tin (Sn) content in different foam types; and gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC–FID) analysis of soluble components in PFs mobilized by dichloromethane. Seven different foam types were studied and their Sn content was found to be different. They also produced characteristic GC–FID chromatographic profiles whose compounds were identified with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. This study suggests that incorporating chemical data obtained from GC–FID/GC–MS and ICP–OES into a case involving PF could be advantageous, as this will enable the forensic scientist to broaden the comparison between control and recovered fragments, and further assess the strength of the evidence. However, ICP–OES analysis is a destructive technique with a relatively short sample turnaround time, whilst GC–FID analysis is more time-consuming and non-destructive, requiring corroboration with GC–MS data. The values of these two analytical techniques in the forensic chemical characterization of PFs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing stroke burden in our aging population, as the risk of stroke increases twofold every 10 years after the age of 55. Demographic, procedural, and outcome variables, such as 90-day modified Rankin scale (mRS), mortality, and National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), were compared between patients less than 80 years old (n = 162) and 80+ years old (n = 70). On initial presentation at the hospital, patients aged 80 and older were more likely to present with higher NIHSS (17.1, SD 5.8) than the younger patients (15.3, SD 6.9, P = 0.02). [Extracted from the article]

The list of standard abbreviations for JDS is available at adsa.org/jds-abbreviations-24. Nonstandard abbreviations are available in the Notes. This study is aimed at investigating the effects of dietary supplementation with Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharides (AOCP) on lactation performance, antioxidant status, and immune status of lactating donkeys and analyzing rectal microbiomes and serum metabolomes. Fourteen lactating Dezhou donkeys with similar age (6.16 ± 0.67 yr of BW ± SD), weight (250.06 ± 25.18 kg), DIM (39.11 ± 7.42 d), and average parity of 3 were randomly allocated into 2 treatments: a control group (CON, basal diet) and an AOCP group (AOCP, basal diet with 1.0 g/kg DM AOCP). Ten weeks were allotted for the experiment, 2 wk for adaptation, and 8 wk for collecting data and samples. The results showed that supplementation of donkey diets with AOCP increased lactation performance, including DMI, milking yield, estimated milk yield, solids-corrected milk, ECM, milk fat yield, milk protein yield, milk lactose yield, milk TS yield, and milk SNF yield. The digestibility of DM, CP, ADF, and NDF was increased in the AOCP group compared with the CON group. The AOCP group increased the concentrations of IgA, IgG, and IgM, the activities of the superoxide dismutase, catalase, and total antioxidant capacity in the serum. Artemisia ordosica crude polysaccharides decreased the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, and malondialdehyde in the serum. Compared with the CON group, AOCP increased propionate, butyrate, isovalerate, and total VFA concentrations in rectal feces (P < 0.05). The addition of AOCP to increased diversity (Shannon index) and altered structure of the rectal microflora. As a result of AOCP supplementation, there has been a significant improvement in the colonization of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillus, Unclassified_f_Prevotellacea, Ruminococcus , and Fibrobacter genera. In contrast, a decrease in the colonization of the Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 bacterial genus and other pathogenic bacteria was observed. Meanwhile, metabolomics analysis found that AOCP supplementation upregulated metabolites l -tyrosine content while downregulating 9(S)-HODE, choline, sucrose, lysophosphatidylcholine (LysoPC) (18:0), LysoPC (18:1(9Z)), and LysoPC (20:2(11Z,14Z)) concentrations. These altered metabolites were involved in the PPAR signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolism, carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and tyrosine metabolism pathways, which were mainly related to antioxidant capacity, immune responses, and protein metabolism in the lactating donkeys. As a consequence of feeding AOCP diets, beneficial bacteria were abundant, and antioxidant and protein metabolism-related pathways were enriched, which may enhance lactation performance in donkeys. Therefore, supplementing AOCP diets is a desirable dietary strategy to improve donkey health and lactation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two sets of CTP and DWI maps: (1) 116 lesions from patients from a large academic center (LAC) who presented with ischemic stroke and (2) 94 lesions from the 2018 Ischemic Stroke Lesion Segmentation (ISLES) challenge were combined for the project. The ISLES patients presented within 8 hours of stroke onset and underwent a DWI within 3hrs after CTP while LAC patients averaged 15 hours. [Extracted from the article]

Parameters recorded included patient demographics, location of stenosis, pre- and posttreatment manometric venous sinus and internal jugular pressure measurements, and symptoms before and after treatment. Posttreatment mean gradients were 2 mm Hg for venous sinus stenosis and 1.5 mm Hg for jugular stenosis (no treatment yet for the C1-level patient). Intracranial hypertension caused by venous stenosis is a complex pathophysiological phenomenon with symptoms that correlate with observed manometric findings. [Extracted from the article]

4:12 PM Abstract No. 714 FEATURED ABSTRACT Y-90 endovascular radiosurgery for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme: a pilot study in a canine model To evaluate the safety and feasibility of Y-90 endovascular radiosurgery (ER) in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme in a canine model. Tumor volume decreased by 69% and 59% in P1 and P2 on postcontrast MRI and by 24% and 26% in P3 and P4 on FLAIR MRI. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of DCNNs in the identification of either celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery (SMA), or cerebral internal carotid artery (ICA) in DSA frames. This is an IRB-approved study, with an image database created retrospectively using DSA images of celiac, SMA, and cerebral ICA arteriograms from December 2017 to July 2019. DCNNs were able to identify cerebral ICA, SMA, and celiac arteries on DSA images with a high degree of accuracy. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Organic matter and living micro-organisms are responsible for surface modifications of any materials immersed in seawater. This phenomenon, called biofouling, has many detrimental effects and has to be prevented. Electrochemistry could be a very efficient tool for biofouling prevention in two ways, either by local biocide production through seawater electrolysis or by immobilizing electrogenerated biocides. In this paper, both strategies will be developed and illustrated in the particular case of tin dioxide as anode material. Chloride and bromide ions present in seawater are efficiently oxidized at antimony doped tin dioxide to form biocidal hypohalogenous acids, namely HOCl and HOBr. Underwater optical instruments having glass window coated with a transparent tin dioxide layer can be effectively protected against biofouling without environmental damages because hypohalogenous acids are produced at a low level and on the window itself. Another possibility explored in this paper is to perform a pre-treatment of the surface to be protected. It consists in seawater electrolysis in the presence of organic macromolecules, as for instance bovine serum albumin. In these conditions, chlorinated and brominated organic deposit is formed on the tin oxide surface as proved by EDX and XPS analyses. By testing adhesion and growth of Escherichia coli bacteria, it was shown that this deposit possesses biocidal property. Actually, this property is due to the presence of chloramine and bromamine groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For the quantitative analysis of iron oxides powders by infrared spectrometry, the importance of grinding, symmetry (three spectra per sample) and calibration are emphasized (five independent teams of two persons for nine phases, 60 spectra). Simple semi-quantitative problems (three FeOOH phases) are solved by a standard Cramer system. When maghemites are present, it is preferable to adjust the spectrum profile through a least squares method (425–587cm−1 range). Contrary to Beer’s law, the Bouguer–Lambert formalism gives absolute values (μmoles Fe). Slope measurements are useful for the most difficult substance (Fe3O4). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 3T offers increased signal to noise ratio with better background suppression, leading to exquisite depiction of the intracranial circulation. We present a pictorial review of the normal variations and anomalies of the intracranial circulation detected on MRA performed on a high field 3T clinical scanner using parallel imaging techniques. The salient imaging features of these anomalies and normal variations are discussed with relevance to clinical practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We conducted an experiment in Gejiu, Yunnan Province of China during the wet season of 2002 to examine the importance of resource complementarity and prevention of lodging in the fast-spreading practice of growing rice varietal mixtures in China to suppress rice blast disease and its associated damage. The hybrid rice variety Shanyou 63 and the glutinous or sticky rice variety Huangkenuo were used to study intra- and inter-varietal competition in the rice intercropping system. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in four replications with pure stands and mixtures of both varieties at different total planting densities and mixing ratios. In half of the pure stand treatments of glutinous rice a metal frame was installed to prevent lodging. The results showed that resource complementarity between the two rice varieties, resulting from niche differentiation, was marginal and did not greatly enhance the productivity of the rice varietal mixtures. In contrast, prevention of lodging of glutinous rice was identified as an important additional advantage of growing these rice varieties in mixture. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim: To investigate the dose-length product (DLP) during intracranial computed tomography angiography (CTA) using a patient-specific contrast formula.Materials and Methods: Intracranial CTA was performed on 120 patients using 64-channel CT. Patients were subjected in equal numbers to one of two acquisitions/contrast medium protocols. Protocol A, consisted of 80 ml contrast medium and protocol B, involved a novel contrast medium formula. In each protocol, contrast medium and saline were injected at a flow rate of 4.5 ml/s. The DLP and contrast volume (CV) were measured between each protocol and the data obtained were compared using two-tailed independent t-test.Results: Mean arterial vessel attenuation was up to 56% (p<0.01) higher using protocol B compared with A. In the venous system, the mean vessel attenuation was significantly lower in protocol B than A with a maximum reduction of 93% (p<0.001). The mean CV was significantly lower in protocol B (53±10 ml) compared to A (80±1 ml, p<0.001). The scan time was equal in each protocol (B, 4.22±1.2 seconds; A, 4.01±1.3 seconds). A significant reduction in mean DLP was demonstrated in protocol B (3.99±0.22 mSv) compared to A (4.74±0.22 mSv; p=0.02).Conclusion: A significant reduction in CV and DLP during intracranial CTA can be achieved when employing a patient-specific contrast medium formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.