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Left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony (LVMD) is an important prognostic factor for heart failure (HF). Phase analysis of myocardial perfusion SPECT is actively being researched to evaluate LVMD. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prognostic significance of LVMD using gated SPECT in HF patient. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library were searched until January 10, 2024, for studies reporting the prognostic value of LVMD in HF patients using gated SPECT for outcomes of all-cause death, cardiac death, or major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE). Hazard ratios (HRs) along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined through meta-analysis employing a random-effects model. Funnel plots and Egger's tests were utilized to evaluate publication bias, and trim-and-fill method were applied where bias was identified. Ten studies (2585 patients) were included; six on MACE and five on all-cause or cardiac death. Prognoses were worse in patients with LVMD assessed by SPECT than in those without LVMD, with the overall pooled HR for MACE being 2.05 (95% CI, 1.65–2.54). The pooled HR for all-cause or cardiac death was 2.08 (95% CI, 1.10–3.94); however, publication bias was present (p = 0.0024), and after adjustment, the prognostic value of LVMD was not statistically significant (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.68–2.23). Assessing LVMD through myocardial perfusion SPECT proves to be a significant indicator of subsequent adverse cardiac events in HF patients. Utilizing phase analysis of SPECT could offer valuable insights for risk assessment and decision-making regarding therapy in HF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

T cell anergy refers to a state where T cells become unresponsive, playing an important role in several types of immune tolerance, such as oral tolerance. This tolerance is vital for preventing some diseases, including food allergies. Understanding the mechanism underlying T cell anergy is essential to addressing food allergies. Previous studies often identified anergic T cells by their decreased ability to produce cytokine compared to the control cells. In the studies, unstimulated or naïve T cells were commonly used as the control cells. These systems could evaluate the hyporesponsiveness of anergic T cells; however, it was challenging to distinguish whether the decrease in cytokine production by anergic T cells was owing to anergy induction or merely a temporarily response to a certain stimulation. This complexity arises because some T cell responses are temporarily suppressed, even by activating stimuli. Therefore, this study aims to explore a new evaluation index that can differentiate the responsiveness of activated T cells from that of anergic T cells compared to the control cells. It was demonstrated that CD25 expression levels serve as an appropriate indicator for distinguishing between T-cell activation and anergy. Conversely, cytokine-producing ability proved inadequate for this purpose. It was found that CD25 expression increased in activated T cells than in naïve T cells, whereas it decreased in anergic T cells after restimulation. This occurred despite decreased cytokine production in the activated and anergic T cells than in the naïve T cells. This new evaluation system, centered on CD25 expression, may help in identifying the mechanism for determining T cell activation and anergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), which is classified as a group 4 pulmonary hypertension (PH), is a life-threatening complication of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). With the introduction of multidisciplinary approaches and innovative treatment strategies for CTEPH, it is currently regarded not as a fatal disease, but as a curable form of PH. Ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan is the preferred imaging method for screening for CTEPH, with superior sensitivity to CT pulmonary angiography. The findings and interpretations of V/Q scan in CTEPH may differ from those observed in acute PE. The use of V/Q scan in combination with SPECT or SPECT/CT is becoming more popular than planar scan alone. Comprehensive understanding of the role of V/Q scan in CTEPH will assist in providing early diagnosis, proper therapeutic decision making, and improved prognosis. This review outlines the current roles and potential clinical applications of V/Q scan in the diagnosis and evaluation of CTEPH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of alkaline extraction on the behavior of rare earth elements in coal ashes were investigated in the present study. Independent variables are the concentration of extractant and particle size of coal ashes. Sodium hydroxide was used as an extractant, and the molarity of the solvents varied from 1.0 to 7.0 M. The coal ashes used here were fly and bottom ashes. Fly and bottom ashes were classified into four samples by particle size, with each categorized at both 45 and 300 µm. The particle size distribution and crystalline characteristics of coal ashes, leaching, and the contents of rare earth elements in coal ashes after alkaline extraction were investigated, and the effects of independent variables on the content of rare earth elements in coal ashes were discussed. The test results showed that the dissolution of amorphous phase in coal ashes mainly occurred when the molarity was not more than 3 M, while dissolution and precipitation such as geopolymerization and the formation of zeolite occurred simultaneously when the molarity was more than 5 M. The dissolution and formation of precipitates such as geopolymer in the present study affected the variation of the rare earth element contents in the ashes. Besides, the ashes being smaller in size was more favorable for an increase in the rare earth elements in coal ashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed survival for lung cancer patients meeting criteria for the National Lung Cancer Screening Program in Korea launched in 2019 and updated guideline reported by the US Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF). We assessed all-cause mortality based on the Korean Lung Cancer Registry (KLCR), including lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2014–2016. We compared survival among lung cancer patients eligible for extended USPSTF criteria (age 50–80 years and ≥ 20 pack-years) and those meeting current criteria (age 54–74 years and ≥ 30 pack-years, current or within the past 15 years). The nearest neighbour propensity-score matching was performed to generate a matched set. Kaplan–Meier curves were generated to compare survival among groups; differences in survival were analyzed using the stratified log-rank test. The mortality risk was estimated based on a Cox proportional hazards regression model and the robust standard error was calculated. Of 8110 patients, 37.4% and 24.3% met the extended USPSTF eligibility criteria and National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) criteria, respectively. Overall mortality risk was not significantly different between the extended younger age group and the NLCSP group (hazard ratio [HR] [95% confidence interval (CI)]: 0.78 [0.59–1.02]). The extended older age group had a significantly higher mortality risk (HR [95% CI]: 1.41 [1.26–1.58]). Mortality risk was not significantly different between patients who smoked 20–29 pack-years and those who smoked ≥ 30 pack-years (HR [95% CI]: 0.90 [0.79–1.03]). Lung cancer patients aged 50–53 years and those with a 20–29 pack-years smoking history exhibited similar mortality risk to individuals meeting current criteria, while patients aged 75–80 years were at a higher risk of death. Although we verified similar or higher mortality risks in extended subgroups, a careful assessment of the benefits and harms of the screening tests is necessary when contemplating the extension of criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In subway stations, where passengers are crowed in enclosed spaces with restricted ventilation, airborne microorganisms have been detected, potentially contributing to the spread of infectious aerosols. In South Korea's metropolitan subways, air purifiers are installed on platforms to reduce particulate matter. Efficiency particulate air (EPA) filters in air purifiers lack disinfection capabilities and can serve as a source of airborne pathogens during filter replacement. In this field study, antimicrobial filters were applied to air purifiers installed on a subway platform to assess their ability to reduce the captured microorganisms. After 1 week of operation, the microbiomes were collected from both the control and test filters, followed by microbial identification. Additionally, the composition of metal elements was analyzed using particulate matter collected by the EPA filters. While 19 types of bacterial species were detected in control filters, the antimicrobial filters showed the presence of 15 bacterial species, with overall 64.71% of antibacterial efficacy. Specifically, the antimicrobial filter exhibited 100% reduction in Micrococcus and 93.75% reduction in Staphylococcus genus, related to anthropogenic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affective disorders are frequently associated with disrupted circadian rhythms. The existence of rhythmic secretion of central serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) pattern has been reported; however, the functional mechanism underlying the circadian control of 5-HTergic mood regulation remains largely unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the circadian nuclear receptor REV-ERBα in regulating tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (Tph2), the rate-limiting enzyme of 5-HT synthesis. We demonstrate that the REV-ERBα expressed in dorsal raphe (DR) 5-HTergic neurons functionally competes with PET-1—a nuclear activator crucial for 5-HTergic neuron development. In mice, genetic ablation of DR 5-HTergic REV-ERBα increases Tph2 expression, leading to elevated DR 5-HT levels and reduced depression-like behaviors at dusk. Further, pharmacological manipulation of the mice DR REV-ERBα activity increases DR 5-HT levels and affects despair-related behaviors. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular and cellular link between the circadian rhythm and the mood-controlling DR 5-HTergic systems. Circadian nuclear receptor, REV-ERBa regulates the rhythmic serotonin synthesis in the central nervous system, highlighting the molecular connections between circadian clock and mood regulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we successfully prepare solid acid catalysts using plastic as the starting material for the production of methyl 2-hydroxyisobutyrate (HBM) through the esterification of 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid (HBA) and methanol. Polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are sulfonated at different temperatures (X) to obtain sulfonated polymer catalysts (SPE_X and SPVC_X). Various characterizations clearly confirm the introduction of sulfonic acid groups (–SO3H groups), which serve as active sites in this reaction, on the PE and PVC surfaces via sulfonation. For the SPVC_X catalysts, an excessively high sulfonation temperature facilitate the loss of chlorine groups (–Cl groups) via dehydrochlorination, resulting in a decrease in catalytic activity. In particular, the –Cl groups improve the acidic properties and accessibility of reactants to the –SO3H groups of the SPVC_X catalysts, leading to a high HBM yield. Therefore, the SPVC_120 catalyst show the highest HBM yield (ca. 75%) because of the abundant –SO3H and –Cl groups on the catalyst surface. Furthermore, the catalytic performance of the SPVC_120 catalyst surpassed those of commercial ion-exchange resins such as Amberlyst-15 and Nafion NR50, which are representative solid acid catalysts for esterification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the response to balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) using semi-quantitative analysis of lung perfusion SPECT/CT. Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study of patients with CTEPH who underwent BPA and pre- and post-BPA lung perfusion SPECT/CT between 2015 and 2022. Segmental defects on SPECT/CT were visually assessed and semi-quantitatively scored as 1 (large defect) or 0.5 (moderate defect) in accordance with modified PIOPED II criteria. The perfusion defect score was defined as (Σ segmental defect scores/18) × 100 (%). Associations between perfusion defect score and hemodynamic or functional parameters including WHO functional class, six-minute walking distance (6MWD), serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), mean arterial pulmonary pressure (mPAP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), and tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient (TRPG) on echocardiography were statistically analyzed. Results: A total of 24 consecutive patients were included. The perfusion defect score significantly improved after BPA (median 58.3% vs. 47.2%, P < 0.001), in conjunction with the WHO functional class, 6MWD, serum BNP, mPAP, and TRPG. Perfusion defect scores were significantly correlated with 6MWD (rho = − 0.583, P < 0.001), serum BNP (rho = 0.514, P < 0.001), mPAP (rho = 0.583, P < 0.001), and PVR (rho = 0.575, P < 0.001). The improvement in the perfusion defect score was significantly associated with improvement in mPAP (rho = 0.844, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results suggest that semi-quantitative analysis of lung perfusion SPECT/CT can provide a potential imaging biomarker for monitoring the efficacy of BPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a deep learning (DL) model for generating automated regions of interest (ROIs) on 99mTc-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) renal scans for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurement. Methods: Manually-drawn ROIs retrieved from a Picture Archiving and Communications System were used as ground-truth (GT) labels. A two-dimensional U-Net convolutional neural network architecture with multichannel input was trained to generate DL ROIs. The agreement between GFR values from GT and DL ROIs was evaluated using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and slope coefficients for linear regression analyses. Bias and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were assessed using Bland-Altman plots. Results: A total of 24,364 scans (12,822 patients) were included. Excellent concordance between GT and DL GFR was found for left (CCC 0.982, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.981–0.982; slope 1.004, 95% CI 1.003–1.004), right (CCC 0.969, 95% CI 0.968–0.969; slope 0.954, 95% CI 0.953–0.955) and both kidneys (CCC 0.978, 95% CI 0.978–0.979; slope 0.979, 95% CI 0.978–0.979). Bland-Altman analysis revealed minimal bias between GT and DL GFR, with mean differences of − 0.2 (95% LOA − 4.4–4.0), 1.4 (95% LOA − 3.5–6.3) and 1.2 (95% LOA − 6.5–8.8) mL/min/1.73 m² for left, right and both kidneys, respectively. Notably, 19,960 scans (81.9%) showed an absolute difference in GFR of less than 5 mL/min/1.73 m². Conclusion: Our DL model exhibited excellent performance in the generation of ROIs on 99mTc-DTPA renal scans. This automated approach could potentially reduce manual effort and enhance the precision of GFR measurement in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronics manufacturing industry has undergone a transition towards lead-free processes and miniaturization; these changes require advancements in assembly techniques. Recent studies have identified that solder paste misalignment leads to larger component shifting, particularly observed with small passive components, resulting in more frequent quality rejections based on Institute of Printed Circuits standards. To address these challenges, various placement methods have been introduced. Among these, the AI-based mounter optimization module emerges as a leading approach, leveraging advanced machine learning methods to optimize component placement. However, it requires a substantial design of experiments and intentionally applies solder paste and chip placement offsets, which can lead to lower assembly quality, increased rework, or higher scrap rates. This paper proposes a placement method that collects real-time data from all inspection machines and positions a component considering the displacement occurring during the reflow process to reduce component misalignment after soldering. The proposed method utilizes a statistical approach by estimating the upper and lower confidence intervals for the average self-alignment degree and updates the chip placing location without requiring the design of experiments. The purpose of this study is to develop a placement method that enhances assembly quality, such as side overhang and end overlap, under solder paste misalignment. The proposed method is compared with the industry-standard placement method to demonstrate its effectiveness in improving assembly quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of various system configurations of hydrogen refueling stations and the types of failures that can occur in these stations is presented herein. Although the major components (compressor, storage tank, dispenser and chiller) are the same across various configurations, the numbers of compressors and storage tanks, as well as the system layouts, are different. Because compressors are operated at high pressure, leakage from valves and malfunctioning of lubricant oil pumps occur frequently (−50 % of all failures). Moreover, because hydrogen gas at −40 °C flows through the dispenser, the receptacle at the inlet of the storage cylinder can freeze, and leakage of cold refrigerant from the chiller system occurs frequently (both account for −20 % of all failures). Periodic maintenance of pipes and valves, compressor, and dispenser should be performed to pre-vent leakages and compressor malfunction. The outcomes of this study can help improve the economic feasibility of hydrogen refueling stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional fire detection approaches typically relied on distinct models to address the varying characteristics of fires and smoke, particularly under different day and night conditions. Additionally, the distinction between wildfires and urban fires, which is influenced by camera shooting distances, often requires the use of separate detection algorithms. To address this, we introduce a novel domain-free (day, night, urban, and forest) fire detection algorithm within YOLOv5, incorporating linear attention for spatial attention extraction and gated temporary pooling (GTP) for temporal attention extraction. This study utilizes YOLOv5 as a base framework, and deviates from the conventional approach of modifying only pre-processing and downstream tasks. Within the dynamic attention block of GTP, our method extracts fire-related features by effectively discerning fires from background, while considering the spatiotemporal characteristics of fire flames and smoke. Despite the compact model size, our proposed approach significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods for still image and continuous video datasets, demonstrating the effectiveness of our approach. This performance holds true for various fire types, locations, and under day and night conditions. This study marks a significant advancement in domain-free fire detection, offering a unified solution capable of addressing the diverse challenges presented by different fire scenarios and lighting conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thymic cysts are a rare benign disease that needs to be distinguished from low-risk thymoma. [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) is a non-invasive imaging technique used in the differential diagnosis of thymic epithelial tumours, but its usefulness for thymic cysts remains unclear. Our study evaluated the utility of visual findings and quantitative parameters of [18F]FDG PET/CT for differentiating between thymic cysts and low-risk thymomas. Methods: Patients who underwent preoperative [18F]FDG PET/CT followed by thymectomy for a thymic mass were retrospectively analyzed. The visual [18F]FDG PET/CT findings evaluated were PET visual grade, PET central metabolic defect, and CT shape. The quantitative [18F]FDG PET/CT parameters evaluated were PET maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), CT diameter (cm), and CT attenuation in Hounsfield units (HU). Findings and parameters for differentiating thymic cysts from low-risk thymomas were assessed using Pearson's chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney U-test, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. Results: Seventy patients (18 thymic cysts and 52 low-risk thymomas) were finally included. Visual findings of PET visual grade (P < 0.001) and PET central metabolic defect (P < 0.001) showed significant differences between thymic cysts and low-risk thymomas, but CT shape did not. Among the quantitative parameters, PET SUVmax (P < 0.001), CT diameter (P < 0.001), and CT HU (P = 0.004) showed significant differences. In ROC analysis, PET SUVmax demonstrated the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.996 (P < 0.001), with a cut-off of equal to or less than 2.1 having a sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 94.2%. The AUC of PET SUVmax was significantly larger than that of CT diameter (P = 0.009) and CT HU (P = 0.004). Conclusions: Among the [18F]FDG PET/CT parameters examined, low FDG uptake (SUVmax ≤ 2.1, equal to or less than the mediastinum) is a strong diagnostic marker for a thymic cyst. PET visual grade and central metabolic defect are easily accessible findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis of sequence-regulated oligosulfates has not yet been established due to the difficulties in precise reactivity control. In this work, we report an example of a multi-directional divergent iterative method to furnish oligosulfates based on a chain homologation approach, in which the fluorosulfate unit is regenerated. The oligosulfate sequences are determined by high resolution mass spectrometry of the hydrolyzed fragments, and polysulfate periodic copolymers are synthesized by using oligomeric bisfluorosulfates in a bi-directional fashion. The synthetic utility of this iterative ligation is demonstrated by preparing crosslinked network polymers as synthetic adhesive materials. The synthesis of sequence-regulated oligosulfates has not yet been established due to the difficulties in precise reactivity control. Here, the authors report a multi-directional divergent iterative method to furnish oligosulfates based on a chain homologation approach, in which the fluorosulfate unit is regenerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) exhibits excellent performance for view synthesis tasks, but it requires a large amount of memory and model parameters during three-dimensional (3D) scene reconstruction. This paper proposes a block-term tensor decomposition radiance field (BTD-RF), which is a novel approach that achieves significant model compression while preserving reconstruction quality. BTD-RF decomposes high-dimensional radiance fields into low-dimensional tensor blocks, resulting in a value 2.21 times smaller than the baseline method. Decomposing the model into low-dimensional tensor blocks allows substituting the standard multi-head attention of transformers with a lightweight multi-linear attention mechanism, employing element-wise products and sharing parameters. This significantly reduces the model complexity without compromising performance. Extensive evaluations on various datasets demonstrate that BTD-RF achieves superior image reconstruction quality compared to prior methods. Quantitative metrics and qualitative assessments confirm that BTD-RF generates images that are structurally and perceptually close to ground truth, showcasing exceptional performance despite its lightweight design. BTD-RF offers a compelling trade-off between model size and reconstruction quality for three-dimensional (3D) scene reconstruction. Its efficient design makes it suitable for resource-constrained applications while delivering high-fidelity results, paving the way for broader NeRF utilization. The code is available at https://github.com/seonbin-kim/BTDRF [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased body fluids during pregnancy complicates the application of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) formulas that are based on body surface area. Furthermore, gestational renal dysfunction cannot be identified if the serum creatinine (SCr) concentration is within the non-pregnant reference interval (RI) despite inadequate pregnancy-related renal hyperfiltration. 1484 SCr measurements from 957 healthy pregnant women were collected. The average SCr value of gestational week (GW) 0–3 was the representative SCr value of non-pregnant status. While the distribution of SCr measurements varied across GWs, it was transformed into a normal distribution using the bootstrap resampling method. A polynomial linear regression method was applied to achieve a continuous and smooth transformation of values. The normally distributed SCr values of each GW were compared to the non-pregnant status, leading to the calculation of SCr hyperfiltration. The final equation, (2 − SCr (μmol/L) / 55.25) × 103.1 × 55.25/(56.7 − 0.223 × GW − 0.113 × GW2 + 0.00545 × GW3 − 0.0000653 × GW4), and reference intervals for both SCr and eGFR for each GW were obtained. These RIs and novel equations can be effectively used to monitor renal dysfunction in pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark-field X-ray microscopy (DFXM) is a high-resolution, X-ray-based diffraction microstructure imaging technique that uses an objective lens aligned with the diffracted beam to magnify a single Bragg reflection. DFXM can be used to spatially resolve local variations in elastic strain and orientation inside embedded crystals with high spatial (~ 60 nm) and angular (~ 0.001°) resolution. However, as with many high-resolution imaging techniques, there is a trade-off between resolution and field of view, and it is often desirable to enrich DFXM observations by combining it with a larger field-of-view technique. Here, we combine DFXM with high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) applied to an in-situ investigation of static recrystallization in an 80% hot-compressed Mg–3.2Zn–0.1Ca wt.% (ZX30) alloy. Using HR-XRD, we track the relative grain volume of > 8000 sub-surface grains during annealing in situ. Then, at several points during the annealing process, we “zoom in” to individual grains using DFXM. This combination of HR-XRD and DFXM enables multiscale characterization, used here to study why particular grains grow to consume a large volume fraction of the annealed microstructure. This technique pairing is particularly useful for small and/or highly deformed grains that are often difficult to resolve using more standard diffraction microstructure imaging techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the clinical significance of two parameters, division of standardized uptake value (SUV) of target arterial activity by background venous blood pool activity (SUVA/V) and subtraction of background venous blood pool activity from SUV of target arterial activity (SUVA-V) of carotid arteries with atherosclerotic plaques using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT). Methods: Patients aged 50 years or more who were diagnosed with carotid artery stenosis of 50% or more with carotid Doppler ultrasonography and had torso 18F-FDG PET/CT were enrolled retrospectively and classified patients who developed cerebrovascular events (CVEs) within 5 years after 18F-FDG PET/CT scan as the active group and patients who did not experience the CVE within 5 years as an inactive group. We calculated SUVA/V and SUVA-V using measurements of SUVmax of carotid arteries and mean SUV of superior vena cava (SVC). Results: SUVA-V, SUVA-V_high, and SUVA-V_low were significantly higher in the active group than in the inactive group, but neither SUVA/V, SUVA/V_high, nor SUVA/V_low showed significant differences between the active and inactive groups. The difference in rank between groups of SUVA/V_high and SUVA/V_low was greater than the difference in rank between groups of SUVA-V_high and SUVA-V_low. The CVE incidence differed between SUVA/V_high and SUVA/V_low of high carotid FDG uptake, but the CVE incidence did not differ between SUVA-V_high and SUVA-V_low of high carotid FDG uptake. Conclusion: SUVA-V may be a more rational solution than SUVA/V for evaluating atherosclerotic plaque inflammation on 18F-FDG PET/CT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to investigate long-term changes on lymphoscintigraphy and their association with clinical factors in breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) patients. This single-center cohort study included BCRL patients who underwent baseline and follow-up lymphoscintigraphy. The percentage of excessive circumference (PEC) of the affected upper limb compared with the unaffected side was used as an indicator of the clinical severity of BCRL. Each 99mTc-phytate lymphoscintigraphy image was categorized according to the Taiwan lymphoscintigraphy staging system. Clinical parameters and the lymphoscintigraphy stage at baseline and follow-up were compared and analyzed. Eighty-seven patients were included. Baseline and follow-up lymphoscintigraphies were performed at median 7 (interquartile range [IQR]: 2‒14) and 78 (IQR: 49‒116) months after surgery, respectively. Both lymphoscintigraphy stage and PEC showed variable change with overall increases in their severity. Stepwise multivariable analysis revealed follow-up lymphoscintigraphy stage (P = 0.001) to be independent variables for PEC at follow-up, however, baseline lymphoscintigraphy stage was not. The clinical courses of BCRL and patients' lymphoscintigraphy patterns showed diverse changes over long-term follow-up. In addition to initial lymphoscintigraphy for diagnosis, lymphatic remapping by follow-up lymphoscintigraphy can be useful to visualize functional changes in the lymphatic system that may guide the optimal management in BCRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to low-carbon electricity is crucial for meeting global climate goals. However, given the uneven spatial distribution and temporal variability of renewable resources, balancing the supply and demand of electricity will be challenging when relying on close to 100% shares of renewable energy. Here, we use an electricity planning model with hourly supply-demand projections and high-resolution renewable resource maps, to examine whether transcontinental power pools reliably meet the growing global demand for renewable electricity and reduce the system cost. If all suitable sites for renewable energy are available for development, transcontinental trade in electricity reduces the annual system cost of electricity in 2050 by 5–52% across six transcontinental power pools compared to no electricity trade. Under land constraints, if only the global top 10% of suitable renewable energy sites are available, then without international trade, renewables are unable to meet 12% of global demand in 2050. Introducing transcontinental power pools with the same land constraints, however, enables renewables to meet 100% of future electricity demand, while also reducing costs by up to 23% across power pools. Our results highlight the benefits of expanding regional transmission networks in highly decarbonized but land-constrained future electricity systems. By building transcontinental power pools, Yang and colleagues find global electricity demand can be 100% met by renewables, at an affordable cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video action recognition needs to model any differences by subdividing the spatio-temporal features to distinguish various actions. We propose rethinking spatio-temporal cross attention transformer (STAR++), a multi-modal transformer-based model that uses both RGB and skeleton information as an extended version of STAR-Transformer. STAR++ unifies the encoder-decoder structure of the base spatio-temporal cross attention transformer (STAR-Transformer) into an encoder structure and applies a new method of using interval attention as spatio-temporal cross attention. STAR++ provides interval attention from local features to global features as the layer deepens, allowing it to learn appropriately based on the transformer properties, improving the performance. In addition, STAR++ additionally proposes a deformable 3D token selection that can dynamically select and learn tokens for an attention operation such that tokens can be efficiently learned. The proposed STAR++ demonstrated competitive performance when compared with other state-of-the-art models using Penn action and NTU-RGB+D 60, 120, which are action recognition benchmark datasets. In addition, an ablation study was conducted to confirm that each proposed module has an essential effect on the performance improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to develop deep learning classifiers for assessing therapeutic response on bone scans of patients with prostate cancer. Methods: A set of 3791 consecutive bone scans coupled with their last previous scan (1528 patients) was evaluated. Bone scans were labeled as "progression" or "nonprogression" on the basis of clinical reports and image review. A 2D-convolutional neural network architecture was trained with three different preprocessing methods: 1) no preprocessing (Raw), 2) spatial normalization (SN), and 3) spatial and count normalization (SCN). Data were allocated into training, validation, and test sets in the ratio of 72:8:20, with the 20% independent test set rotating all scans over a five-fold testing procedure. A Grad-CAM algorithm was employed to generate class activation maps to visualize the lesions contributing to the decision. Diagnostic performance was compared using area under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUCs). Results: The data consisted of 791 scans labeled as "progression" and 3000 scans labeled as "nonprogression." The AUCs of the classifiers were 0.632–0.710 on the Raw dataset, were significantly higher with the use of SN at 0.784–0.854 (p < 0.001 for Raw versus SN), and higher still with SCN at 0.954–0.979 (p < 0.001 for SN versus SCN). Class activation maps of the SCN model visualized lesions contributing to the model's decision of progression. Conclusion: With preprocessing of spatial and count normalization, our deep learning model achieved excellent performance in classifying the therapeutic response of bone scans in patients with prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors are the major contributor to the onset of immunological disorders such as ulcerative colitis. However, their identities remain unclear. Here, we discover that the amount of consumed L-Tryptophan (L-Trp), a ubiquitous dietary component, determines the transcription level of the colonic T cell homing receptor, GPR15, hence affecting the number of colonic FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and local immune homeostasis. Ingested L-Trp is converted by host IDO1/2 enzymes, but not by gut microbiota, to compounds that induce GPR15 transcription preferentially in Treg cells via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Consequently, two weeks of dietary L-Trp supplementation nearly double the colonic GPR15+ Treg cells via GPR15-mediated homing and substantially reduce the future risk of colitis. In addition, humans consume 3–4 times less L-Trp per kilogram of body weight and have fewer colonic GPR15+ Treg cells than mice. Thus, we uncover a microbiota-independent mechanism linking dietary L-Trp and colonic Treg cells, that may have therapeutic potential. Environmental factors such as diet have been shown to be involved with the development of colitis. Here the authors show that L-tryptophan promotes the development of GPR15+ Treg cells via the host IDO1/2 pathway and that tryptophan consumption in mice reduces severity of colitis in a C. rodentium mouse model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed an economical and eco-friendly high-performance catalyst for the oxidative coupling of methane from waste oyster shells, which cause environmental pollution. The oyster shells were successfully transformed into CaO-based catalysts by the calcining at different temperatures. During calcination process, foreign elements (Na, Mg, and Al) naturally present in waste oyster shells caused the generation of oxygen vacancies and changes in the surface chemical properties (base sites and surface oxygen species) of the catalysts. When the catalysts were used in oxidative methane coupling, the oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface played a crucial role in the conversion of methane to methyl radicals, which are expected to dimerize to ethane. However, the moderately basic sites and electrophilic lattice oxygen species facilitated the production of ethylene through the dehydrogenation of ethane. Therefore, the sample calcined at 800 °C not only exhibited an outstanding catalytic activity in the oxidative coupling of methane but also high long-term stability because of its abundant active sites: oxygen vacancies, moderately basic sites, and electrophilic lattice oxygen species. The study demonstrates that waste oyster shells can be successfully recycled into a high value-added product, such as a catalyst applicable in the oxidative coupling of methane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Patients with hypertension and additional cardiovascular risk factors pose a challenge by requiring more intensive blood pressure (BP) control. Single-pill combination (SPC) therapy can benefit these patients by improving medication adherence. Methods: This prospective, multicenter observational study assessed the real-world safety and effectiveness of an SPC containing olmesartan, amlodipine, and hydrochlorothiazide (O/A/H) in South Korean patients with hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors. BP control rates, defined as the percentage of patients achieving systolic BP (SBP) < 130 mmHg and diastolic BP (DBP) < 80 mmHg for intensive BP control, and < 140 mmHg and < 90 mmHg, respectively, for standard BP control, were investigated across various cardiovascular risk groups, along with changes in SBP and DBP from baseline to week 24. Results: The most prevalent cardiovascular risk factor was age (≥ 45 years in men, ≥ 55 years in women, 86.1%), followed by cardiovascular diseases (64.4%), dyslipidemia (53.7%), body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 (53.5%), and diabetes mellitus (DM) (46.3%). Switching to O/A/H showed significant BP reduction, with a mean change of − 17.8 mmHg/− 9.3 mmHg in SBP/DBP within 4 weeks. The intensive BP control rate was 41.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 39.5, 43.4), and the standard BP control rate was 73.3% (95% CI 71.5, 75.1), with better control rates in the risk age group (43.1% and 74.1%, respectively) and cardiovascular disease group (42.0% and 73.8%, respectively). The DM group had relatively lower control rates (37.5% for intensive control and 69.4% for standard control). Common adverse drug reactions included dizziness (2.91%), hypotension (1.51%), and headaches (0.70%). Conclusion: The SPC therapy of O/A/H caused a rapid and sustained reduction in SBP/DBP in patients' hypertension and additional cardiovascular risk factors. The therapy was safe and well tolerated. Study Registration Number: KCT0003401 (https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do/20795). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to examine the associations of cardiovascular risk factors with myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) in patients with type 2 diabetes and stable coronary artery disease. The study patients were retrospectively identified from a database of patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease at Asan Medical Center (Seoul, Republic of Korea), covering the period from 2017 to 2019. The primary outcome variable was MPR assessed by dynamic stress 201Tl/rest 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT. Univariable and stepwise multivariable analyses were performed to assess the associations of cardiovascular risk factors with MPR. A total of 276 patients (236 men and 40 women) were included. The median global MPR was 2.4 (interquartile range 1.9–3.0). Seventy-five (27.2%) patients had an MPR < 2.0. Multivariable linear regression showed that smoking (ß = − 0.44, 95% confidence interval − 0.68 to − 0.21, P < 0.001), hypertension (ß = − 0.24, 95% confidence interval − 0.47 to − 0.02, P = 0.033), and summed difference score (ß = − 0.05, 95% confidence interval − 0.07 to − 0.03, P < 0.001) were independently associated with MPR. Abnormal MPR (< 2.0) was associated with a higher incidence of cardiac death or myocardial infarction (P = 0.034). MPR assessed by dynamic stress 201Tl/rest 99mTc-tetrofosmin SPECT was impaired in a large cohort of patients with diabetes. After adjusting for risk variables, including standard myocardial perfusion imaging characteristics, smoking, and hypertension were associated with MPR. Our results may aid in identifying patients with impaired MPR and stratifying patients with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 exposed the vulnerability of compact cities against shock events. As the impact of COVID-19 not only persists, but also expands throughout the world, this study questions whether the compact city model would be sustainable in the post-COVID-19 era. As such, this study examines the dynamics among major COVID-19 outbreak events, government interventions, and subway ridership in two compact cities, Seoul and New York City. Then, to gain thorough understanding of the impact of risks on compact urban form, it narrows the scope to Seoul in comparing subway ridership patterns in 2019 and 2020, and identifying characteristics that affect the volatility of subway ridership levels. The results affirm that individual mobility, COVID-19 outbreaks, and government interventions are closely related, and reveal that the extent of social distancing measures in compact cities is limited. This finding aligns with existing literature that link diseases transmission with dense population and mixed land use, accentuating the vulnerability of the compact city model against shocks. As a result, a multidimensional urban planning approach that incorporates polycentric and decentralized urban form is recommended to effectively and sustainably control disease outbreaks in compact cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy skin is a mosaic of wild-type and mutant clones1,2. Although injury can cooperate with mutated Ras family proteins to promote tumorigenesis3–12, the consequences in genetically mosaic skin are unknown. Here we show that after injury, wild-type cells suppress aberrant growth induced by oncogenic Ras. HrasG12V/+ and KrasG12D/+ cells outcompete wild-type cells in uninjured, mosaic tissue but their expansion is prevented after injury owing to an increase in the fraction of proliferating wild-type cells. Mechanistically, we show that, unlike HrasG12V/+ cells, wild-type cells respond to autocrine and paracrine secretion of EGFR ligands, and this differential activation of the EGFR pathway explains the competitive switch during injury repair. Inhibition of EGFR signalling via drug or genetic approaches diminishes the proportion of dividing wild-type cells after injury, leading to the expansion of HrasG12V/+ cells. Increased proliferation of wild-type cells via constitutive loss of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 counteracts the expansion of HrasG12V/+ cells even in the absence of injury. Thus, injury has a role in switching the competitive balance between oncogenic and wild-type cells in genetically mosaic skin.Following skin injury, wild-type epithelial cells outcompete oncogenic Ras G12V mutant cells owing to differential activation of the EGFR signalling pathway during injury repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilized high energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction to probe microstructural evolution during uniaxial deformation of conventionally manufactured and additively manufactured (AM) 304L stainless steel with and without internal hydrogen. The objective of this effort is to highlight the effect of hydrogen on deformation-induced martensite phase transformations in austenitic stainless steels. Solute hydrogen depresses the required applied strain to initiate austenite transformation to ε-martensite and α'-martensite in both forged and AM stainless steel. Similarly, the total fraction of transformation product is larger when the microstructure is saturated with hydrogen. Deformation induced phase transformations also lead to a variation in strain partitioning behavior, which is linked to the chemical composition and stacking fault energy of the starting and hydrogen-charged materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine whether tumor uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) is associated with invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive ERBB2-negative early-stage breast cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: This is a single-center cohort study of women with breast cancer who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2015 at Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Patients were enrolled if they were diagnosed with HR-positive ERBB2-negative breast cancer with histology of invasive ductal carcinoma, had an American Joint Committee on Cancer pathologic tumor stage of T2N1 with 1–3 positive axillary nodes, underwent preoperative 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and underwent breast cancer surgery followed by anthracycline- or taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The primary outcome measure was IDFS. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was dichotomized using a predefined cut-off of 4.14. Results: A total of 129 patients were included. The median follow-up period for IDFS in those without recurrence was 82 months (interquartile range, 65–106). Multivariable Cox analysis showed that SUVmax was independently associated with IDFS [adjusted hazard ratio 2.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–5.84]. Ten-year IDFS estimates via the Kaplan–Meier method were 0.60 (95% CI, 0.42–0.74) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.65–0.91) for high and low SUVmax groups, respectively. The overall association between SUVmax and IDFS appeared to be consistent across subgroups divided according to age, progesterone receptor status, histologic grade, or presence of lymphovascular invasion. Conclusion: High SUVmax on preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT was independently associated with reduced long-term IDFS in T2N1 HR-positive ERBB2-negative breast cancer patients who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochip-based research is currently evolving into a three-dimensional and large-scale basis similar to the in vivo microenvironment. For the long-term live and high-resolution imaging in these specimens, nonlinear microscopy capable of label-free and multiscale imaging is becoming increasingly important. Combination with non-destructive contrast imaging will be useful for effectively locating regions of interest (ROI) in large specimens and consequently minimizing photodamage. In this study, a label-free photothermal optical coherence microscopy (OCM) serves as a new approach to locate the desired ROI within biological samples which are under investigation by multiphoton microscopy (MPM). The weak photothermal perturbation in sample by the MPM laser with reduced power was detected at the endogenous photothermal particles within the ROI using the highly sensitive phase-differentiated photothermal (PD–PT) OCM. By monitoring the temporal change of the photothermal response signal of the PD–PT OCM, the hotspot generated within the sample focused by the MPM laser was located on the ROI. Combined with automated sample movement in the x–y axis, the focal plane of MPM could be effectively navigated to the desired portion of a volumetric sample for high-resolution targeted MPM imaging. We demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method in second harmonic generation microscopy using two phantom samples and a biological sample, a fixed insect on microscope slide, with dimensions of 4 mm wide, 4 mm long, and 1 mm thick. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate post- and preoperative models for predicting recurrence after curative-intent surgery using an FDG PET-CT metabolic parameter to improve the prognosis of patients with synchronous colorectal cancer liver metastasis (SCLM). Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, consecutive patients with resectable SCLM underwent upfront surgery between 2006 and 2015 (development cohort) and between 2006 and 2017 (validation cohort). In the development cohort, we developed and internally validated the post- and preoperative models using multivariable Cox regression with an FDG metabolic parameter (metastasis-to-primary-tumor uptake ratio [M/P ratio]) and clinicopathological variables as predictors. In the validation cohort, the models were externally validated for discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. Model performance was compared with that of Fong's clinical risk score (FCRS). Results: A total of 374 patients (59.1 ± 10.5 years, 254 men) belonged in the development cohort and 151 (60.3 ± 12.0 years, 94 men) in the validation cohort. The M/P ratio and nine clinicopathological predictors were included in the models. Both postoperative and preoperative models showed significantly higher discrimination than FCRS (p <.05) in the external validation (time-dependent AUC = 0.76 [95% CI 0.68–0.84] and 0.76 [0.68–0.84] vs. 0.65 [0.57–0.74], respectively). Calibration plots and decision curve analysis demonstrated that both models were well calibrated and clinically useful. The developed models are presented as a web-based calculator (https://cpmodel.shinyapps.io/SCLM/) and nomograms. Conclusions: FDG metabolic parameter-based prognostic models are well-calibrated recurrence prediction models with good discriminative power. They can be used for accurate risk stratification in patients with SCLM. Key Points: • In this multicenter study, we developed and validated prediction models for recurrence in patients with resectable synchronous colorectal cancer liver metastasis using a metabolic parameter from FDG PET-CT. • The developed models showed good predictive performance on external validation, significantly exceeding that of a pre-existing model. • The models may be utilized for accurate patient risk stratification, thereby aiding in therapeutic decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various electrophysiological and imaging techniques have been studied for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. In particular, electrocorticography (ECoG) provides valuable information that can guide clinical treatment of patients with epilepsy. Currently, it is necessary to define the clinical benefits of ECoG in free-moving animals for the treatment of epilepsy. Here, we present the results of simultaneous recordings of multiple cortical sites and responsive neurostimulations for epilepsy treatment carried out in free-moving rats. In this study, we developed a high-density, flexible electrode array comprising graphene/Au/graphene that stably wraps onto the cortex surface of a living rat brain, exhibiting a superior signal-to-noise ratio. The hybrid graphene multichannel electrode successfully detected brain signals with high-throughput spatiotemporal resolution and substantially suppressed pilocarpine-induced epileptic discharges and behavior. Simultaneous recording and neurostimulation in awake animals can lead to a fundamental change in the treatment of medically intractable epilepsy. A hybrid surface electrode array was developed, which exhibits superior signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and outstanding conformality with the cortex surface. It was used to detect the brain signals in awake, free-moving rat models with high-throughput spatiotemporal resolution. In addition, the pilocarpine-induced epileptic discharges and behavior were considerably suppressed upon the usage of this electrode-array system. These findings pave the way for the integration of graphene into bio-medical device platforms, and their use in cranial neuropathy treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the measurement of income and wealth inequalities in samples with negative values. The Gini coefficient can exceed one when negative values represent a large share of the sample. A perfect concentration with non-negative values attains a Gini coefficient of one; thus, interpreting a Gini coefficient greater than one is difficult. Existing methods of deleting negative values or replacing them with zeros underestimate the inequality level. Alternative methods of normalizing the Gini coefficient to restrict it between zero and one cannot satisfy the basic requirements of an inequality index. Moreover, both methods distort inequality comparisons over time and across countries. This study analytically shows the theoretical drawbacks of extant methods and proposes measuring the standard Gini coefficient using an unadjusted sample, even when the sample contains negative values and the Gini coefficient exceeds one. This study also proposes generalizing the concentration such that it attains the same Gini coefficient value and is more severely concentrated than the perfect concentration with non-negative values. To facilitate the interpretation of a Gini coefficient greater than one, we can compare the generalized and perfect concentrations and infer the amount of transfer from one to the other. Finally, this study shows that the extant methods may cause a sizable distortion in inequality comparison over time for the U.S. net worth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the use of a Siamese network is the most popular approach in object tracking, it creates an undesirable trivial solution and requires a large amount of training data reflecting changes in the object's shape in every frame. To solve this problem, in this paper, a self-supervised learning method for multi-object tracking (SSL-MOT) based on a contrastive structure is proposed. Unlike the existing SSL, we adopt a generative adversarial network as a preprocessing step to generate various pose changes of tracking objects. A positive pair composed of the augmented image and pose data is applied to the SSL network to learn an encoder that can generate a non-collapsed output vector. To improve the discrimination power of the encoder output features, we propose an affinity correlation distance, which combines invariance and redundancy terms as a loss function for learning. During the test, because only the dot product between two output vectors of the tracker and detection was used for a data association, the computation time was significantly reduced, and thus real-time online tracking about 12 fps was possible. The proposed method is the first attempt to apply SSL to an online MOT. Experimental results on the MOT16, 17, and 20 challenge datasets proved that the proposed method is a fast and reasonable tracking method that occupies less memory and achieves an excellent tracking performance compared to other state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to different flow conditions—for example, Poiseuille and Couette flow—one could expect different deformations of large-sized bubbles; however, bubble dynamics has been mostly investigated in channel flow. Consequently, an intermediate flow condition shared by both the channel and ship surface is needed for large-sized bubbles, although it can be difficult to simultaneously generate turbulent Couette flow in the channel and measure the shear stress on the ship's surface experimentally. In this study, large-sized bubbles in turbulent Couette flow were investigated numerically to determine their common characteristics under such flow conditions. The interIsoFoam solver from OpenFOAM—which can directly capture the interface via the geometric volume of fluid method—was used to conduct the simulations of the gas–liquid interface problem. The turbulent Couette flow was driven by top wall velocity condition with an initial perturbation, and three different bubble sizes with Weber numbers in the range of 200–300 were chosen to determine the characteristics of large-sized bubbles. By monitoring the results according to bubble size, we could determine bubble characteristics that were distinguishable from those in turbulent Poiseuille flow. Consequently, bubble deformation was dominated by the velocity gradient and shear rate, which was greater than that during single-phase flow from the liquid-film region. These results allowed us to generalize the deformation mechanism of large-sized bubbles in turbulent Couette flow into five categories—namely, the initial shape, deformation on the front side, change of the center of gravity, pinch-off/breaking of the ligament, and deformation to a stable shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ribosome is a macromolecular machine that catalyzes the sequence-defined polymerization of L-α-amino acids into polypeptides. The catalysis of peptide bond formation between amino acid substrates is based on entropy trapping, wherein the adjacency of transfer RNA (tRNA)-coupled acyl bonds in the P-site and the α-amino groups in the A-site aligns the substrates for coupling. The plasticity of this catalytic mechanism has been observed in both remnants of the evolution of the genetic code and modern efforts to reprogram the genetic code (e.g., ribosomal incorporation of non-canonical amino acids, ribosomal ester formation). However, the limits of ribosome-mediated polymerization are underexplored. Here, rather than peptide bonds, we demonstrate ribosome-mediated polymerization of pyridazinone bonds via a cyclocondensation reaction between activated γ-keto and α-hydrazino ester monomers. In addition, we demonstrate the ribosome-catalyzed synthesis of peptide-hybrid oligomers composed of multiple sequence-defined alternating pyridazinone linkages. Our results highlight the plasticity of the ribosome's ancient bond-formation mechanism, expand the range of non-canonical polymeric backbones that can be synthesized by the ribosome, and open the door to new applications in synthetic biology. Ribosomes have evolved to polymerize L-α-amino acids into proteins comprising a peptide backbone. Here, a pyridazinone backbone is formed using ribosomes in vitro, producing a variety of sequence-defined alternating block-copolymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent focus in thermoelectric research is to boost the thermoelectric figure of merit of existing materials through different approaches for energy conversion and cooling applications at room temperature. In this work, we have developed mixed-grain (coarse and fine) structured B0.5Sb1.5Te3 samples by combining water atomization, ball milling, and spark plasma sintering (SPS). It was observed that the grains in the mixed powder samples were well compacted and oriented randomly. However, there were pores on the surface of the grains that increased with the inclusion of fine particles. The mixed samples comprised coarse (submicron to several tens of microns) and fine grains (1.8 µm). It is found that the optimized mixed-grain structured (80C:20F) sample exhibited a synchronized enhancement of Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity due to the increased effective mass (m*) and carrier concentration. Consequently, the power factor (PF) increased to 4.2 × 10–3 W/mK2 at 300 K. The peak ZT of 1.16 at 350 K and average ZT of 1.12 in the range of 300–500 K were obtained for the optimized mixed-grain structured sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing complexity of design technology and the emergence of intelligent design assistance, architectural studio classes are facing a new pedagogical paradigm. The digital literacy of younger generations and availability of scientific simulation have the potential to transform the traditional master–apprentice model. In our experiment, we had students perform a museum layout task and observed their behaviors from three perspectives: (1) how students utilize an assistance tool and whether we can group their behavior, (2) how the new simulation-aided design process is different from a traditional one, particularly in terms of the evolution of solution over iteration, and (3) whether students' behavior is affected by the type of design problem given. Protocol analysis on design processes and interviews revealed that individual's characteristic design processes in terms of iteration ranged from distinct iterations guided by simulation to monotonous progress with little simulation. When comparing between an instructor and software, it was not the given environment but the designer's subjectivity that determined their attitudes toward either type of feedback. Lastly, the challenge of integrating design concepts with performance requirements stemmed from a misalignment between their true evaluative measures. We propose that a versatile design platform implement real-time, non-intrusive mechanisms for performance reporting and solution branching, and include social and psychological measures as well as physical ones in order to expand designers' concept choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have been developed into essential hardware units for a wide range of solid-state-based quantum technology applications. While such applications require the long spin lifetimes of the NV centers, they are often limited due to decoherence. In this study, we theoretically investigate the decoherence of NV-spin ensembles induced by nitrogen impurities (P1 centers), which are one of the most dominant and inevitable magnetic field noise sources in diamond. We combined cluster correlation expansion and density functional theory to compute the Hahn-echo spin-coherence time of the NV centers for a broad range of P1 concentrations. Results indicate a clear linear dependence of T2 on P1 concentrations on a log scale with a slope of −1.06, which is in excellent agreement with previous experimental results. The interplay between the Jahn–Teller effect and the hyperfine interaction in the P1 center plays a critical role in determining the bath dynamics and the resulting NV decoherence. Our results provide a theoretical upper bound for the NV-spin T2 over a wide range of P1 densities, serving as a key reference for materials optimization and spin bath characterization to develop highly coherent NV-based devices for quantum information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum creatinine level (SCr) typically decreases during pregnancy due to physiologic glomerular hyperfiltration. Therefore, the clinical practice of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on SCr concentrations might be inapplicable to pregnant women with kidney disease since it does not take into account of the pregnancy-related biological changes. We integrated the Wonju Severance Christian Hospital (WSCH)-based findings and prior knowledge from big data to reveal the relationship between the abnormal but hidden SCr level and adverse pregnancy outcomes. We analyzed 4004 pregnant women who visited in WSCH. Adverse pregnancy outcomes included preterm birth, preeclampsia, fetal growth retardation, and intrauterine fetal demise. We categorized the pregnant women into four groups based on the gestational age (GA)-unadjusted raw distribution (Q1–4raw), and then GA-specific (Q1–4adj) SCr distribution. Linear regression analysis revealed that Q1-4adj groups had better predictive outcomes than the Q1–4raw groups. In logistic regression model, the Q1–4adj groups exhibited a robust non-linear U-shaped relationship with the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, compared to the Q1–4raw groups. The integrative analysis on SCr with respect to GA-specific distribution could be used to screen out pregnant women with a normal SCr coupled with a decreased renal function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]