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Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe liver condition characterized by excessive fat deposition, ballooning, and lobular inflammation. This investigation was conducted to estimate the capability of concomitant tamoxifen administration (TAM) with a high fat diet (HFD) to induce a reliable NASH model that mimics human NASH features. Rats were administered TAM (25 mg/kg/day p.o.) and consumed HFD for 5 weeks. A time-course investigation was conducted to determine the optimal time for NASH development. Liver function indices, hepatic lipid profile factors, oxidative stress biomarkers, and inflammatory mediators were estimated. Additionally, macroscopic and microscopic changes were examined. Compared with the time-matched control group receiving vehicle alone, TAM/HFD significantly impaired liver function indices represented as marked elevation in ALT, AST, and ALP serum levels. TAM/HFD significantly increased lipid profile factors including high TG and TC hepatic levels. Additionally, TAM/HFD remarkably raised hepatic levels of TNF-α and IL-17 and significantly decreased IL-10. The combination also increases the oxidative status evidenced by high content of MDA as well as low activity of GPx and SOD. Accordingly, the combination of TAM and HFD for 5 weeks collaboratively promotes NASH development by initiating compromised hepatocyte functionality, elevated lipid levels, oxidative stress, and liver inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies show a significant association between the first vaginal delivery and injuries of the levator ani muscle (LAM), which can cause pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). Objectives: This study aims to identify the prevalence of short and long‐term LAM injuries after vaginal delivery in primiparous women and its influence on PFDs. Method: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA methodology. The databases used were Pubmed, Cochrane, and PEDro. The quality assessment of the evidence was carried out using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). Both the selection of studies and their evaluation were done by two researchers and a third reviewer in cases of disagreement. Results: From the search, 57 articles were gathered, and 19 were included to match the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of avulsion of the LAM was found in association with vaginal delivery between 13% and 28% ≤ 1 year after delivery and between 16% and 29% > 1 year after delivery. Ballooning was detected between 20% and 37% ≤ 1 year, and 33% of women > 1 year after delivery, appearing to be more common when compared to avulsion. Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) was considered the most common disorder associated with injuries of the LAM, and there seems to be some connection with sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: Avulsion of the LAM and ballooning of the hiatal area have a high prevalence in primiparous women after vaginal delivery and have a strong direct relation to the development of POP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stratospheric balloons are platforms with great relevance in space missions to reach scientific observations. The payload thermal analyses of such missions are usually focused on the float phase. However, during the ascent phase, the coolest temperatures of the entire mission may be reached, mainly due to the convective cooling in the tropopause. This can be explained by the combination of relative wind speed and the harsh thermal environment. The aim of this work is to evaluate the impact of the thermal environment on the relative wind speed to determine the worst-case thermal analysis. Therefore, in order to perform a robust payload thermal during the ascent phase, the uncertainty in the thermal environment and the relative velocity must be evaluated. The former are reduced by defining the thermal environment based on real-data. The latter are reduced by evaluating the parameters involved in the ascent rate. For this purpose, a dynamic model has been developed to characterise the ascent rate and the horizontal relative velocity of the balloon-borne system. This tool has been validated with flight data from the REXUS/BEXUS programme, with the BEXUS missions launched from Esrange, Kiruna, Sweden from 2014 to 2018. The thermal analysis performed shows a temperature difference greater than 10 °C depending on the thermal worst-case selection. The work here presented reduces the uncertainties of the stratospheric payloads ascent phase thermal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ballooning is a mechanism of aerial dispersal present in some groups of spiders. By releasing silken threads that are blown by the wind, spiders can travel long distances through the air. Aglaoctenus lagotis is a wolf spider that lives its entire life associated with a funnel‐web, despite the wandering habit that characterizes species in this family. We can find two forms of the species in Uruguay, one of them a strict inhabitant of grasslands of Uruguay. The high habitat specificity and the spiderlings observed surrounding the maternal web suggest a low aerial dispersal capacity in this species. In this study, we tested whether A. lagotis spiderlings are capable of dispersing by ballooning. We conducted laboratory and field experiments during the day and night, to record the occurrence of ballooning and typical behaviours that precede ballooning. We recorded ballooning both in the laboratory and in the field, and it was more frequent during the day. Although it has been reported repeatedly in species from this family, we never observed the pre‐ballooning tip‐toeing behaviour in A. lagotis. Ballooning was preceded by dropping on dragline, considered a behaviour that could generate aerial dispersion of lesser distance than that generated by the tip‐toeing. In this paper, we shall discuss the implications of this form of aerial dispersal, considering that the species analysed is a web wolf spider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma without Helicobacter pylori (HP) has increased recently, a specific endoscopic classification has not been established; its endoscopic characteristics have not been investigated. In this study, we retrospectively investigated gastric MALT lymphoma without HP in our hospital and assessed differences in the endoscopic findings according to HP infection status. Fifty-seven patients with gastric MALT lymphoma Lugano stage I, diagnosed between January 2013 and March 2023, were divided into three groups (currently HP infected, previously infected, and uninfected), wherein their endoscopic findings were evaluated. Furthermore, the superficial type, as per the classification of Sano et al., was independently subdivided based on the endoscopic differential diagnoses, as follows: atrophic gastritis-like, angiodysplasia-like, superficial gastritis-like, and undifferentiated carcinoma-like. Compared with the currently infected group, the HP-uninfected group tended to have more small lesions without erosion and more discolored, undifferentiated carcinoma-like depressed lesions. In addition, the positive rate of the tree-like appearance (TLA) and ballooning characteristics of gastric MALT lymphoma in magnified findings was lower in the HP-uninfected group. In patients without HP infection, MALT lymphoma should be excluded, even in the absence of suspicious magnifying findings such as TLA or ballooning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopidae Simon, 1889 is mostly composed of spiders known as trapdoor spiders, which create structures for shelter, hunting and protection against possible predators (Mason et al., 2013). It is divided into three subfamilies: Arbanitinae Simon, 1903, with spiders restricted to Oceania, Genysinae Simon, 1903, occurring in India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and South America, and Idiopinae Simon, 1889, from South America, Africa, East Middle and South to Southeast Asia (Raven 1985; World Spider Catalog 2023). Idiopidae is widely distributed throughout the world, however, only two genera are present in Brazil: Idiops Perty, 1833 and Neocteniza Pocock, 1895. In this work, we describe a new species for both genera present in Brazil and a new record of Idiops.

The article discusses how aeronauts attempted to validate their profession via the use of balloons in military operations during the U.S. Civil War. It also briefly examines science and the military in the 19th century, the manned flight observations of scientist and philosopher Benjamin Franklin, and the proposals of aeronaut John Wise regarding the use of balloons in the Mexican-American War.

The worldwide prevalence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing, causing a significant medical burden, but no approved therapeutics are currently available. NASH drug development requires histological analysis of liver biopsies by expert pathologists for trial enrolment and efficacy assessment, which can be hindered by multiple issues including sample heterogeneity, inter-reader and intra-reader variability, and ordinal scoring systems. Consequently, there is a high unmet need for accurate, reproducible, quantitative, and automated methods to assist pathologists with histological analysis to improve the precision around treatment and efficacy assessment. Digital pathology (DP) workflows in combination with artificial intelligence (AI) have been established in other areas of medicine and are being actively investigated in NASH to assist pathologists in the evaluation and scoring of NASH histology. DP/AI models can be used to automatically detect, localise, quantify, and score histological parameters and have the potential to reduce the impact of scoring variability in NASH clinical trials. This narrative review provides an overview of DP/AI tools in development for NASH, highlights key regulatory considerations, and discusses how these advances may impact the future of NASH clinical management and drug development. This should be a high priority in the NASH field, particularly to improve the development of safe and effective therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sebastiana Atzori,1,2 Yasmin Pasha,1 James B Maurice,1,3 Simon D Taylor-Robinson,1 Louise Campbell,1,4 Adrian KP Lim1,5 1Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, W1 1NY, UK; 2Department of Medicine, Sassari University Hospital, Sassari, 07100, Italy; 3UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital Campus, London, NW3 2QG, UK; 4Office of the Clinical Director, Tawazun Health, London, W1G 9QN, UK; 5Department of Imaging, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, W6 8RF, UKCorrespondence: Sebastiana Atzori, Department of Medicine, Sassari University Hospital, Via Enrico de Nicola, Sassari, 07100, Italy, Tel +39 3483359085, Email sebastiana_atzori@yahoo.itPurpose: The Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP score) is based on ultrasonic properties of retropropagated radiofrequency signals acquired by FibroscanTM (Echosens, Paris, France). Since ultrasound propagation is influenced by the presence of fat, CAP score was developed to quantify steatosis. The aim of this study was to delineate the accuracy of CAP in diagnosing hepatic steatosis, compared to the gold standard of liver biopsy.Patients and Methods: A total of 150 patients underwent same-day liver biopsy and measurement of hepatic steatosis with Fibroscan. Only examinations with 10 satisfactory measurements, and an inter-quartile range of less than 30% of the median liver stiffness values were included for data analysis. Histological staging was then correlated with median values and Spearman correlation calculated. P values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: For diagnosis of hepatic steatosis (HS), CAP could predict the steatosis S2 with AUROC 0.815 (95% CI 0.741– 0.889), sensitivity (0.81) and specificity (0.73) when the optimal cut-off value was set at 288 dB/m. CAP detected histological grade S3 with AUROC 0.735 (95% CI 0.618– 0.851), sensitivity (0.71) and specificity (0.74), with a cut-off value of 330 dB/m. The AUROC for steatosis grade S1 was 0.741 (95% CI 0.650– 0.824), with a cut-off value of 263 dB/m with sensitivity 0.75 and specificity 0.70. Univariate analysis showed a correlation between CAP and diabetes (p 0.048).Conclusion: The performance of CAP to diagnose steatosis severity decreases as steatosis progresses. CAP is associated with diabetes but not other clinical factors and parameters of the metabolic syndrome.Keywords: fibroscan, steatosis, diabetes, ballooning, liver, fibrosis

From the 1870s to the 1900s, several French men had the idea of flying to the North Pole in a balloon and submitted their ideas either to the Paris Geographical Society or to the very active French association of aeronauts. Some of these projects elicited enthusiasm, others indifference or ridicule. None of them were realised, although some came much closer than others to gathering enough money to launch towards the Arctic. This article analyses these expedition projects and argues that the reason for their failure was that, while both the French aeronauts and geographers had Arctic dreams, they were not compatible. They imagined the polar regions and the role of an explorer too differently for them to be able to come to an agreement as to what expeditions were worth supporting: as a result, none of these projects concretised.

Aims: According to the last WHO classification, steatohepatitic hepatocellular carcinoma (SH‐HCC) is recognized as a distinct HCC subtype, even though a consensual definition is still lacking. The objectives of the study were to carefully describe the morphological features of SH‐HCC and evaluate its impact on prognosis. Methods and results: We conducted a single‐centre retrospective study including 297 surgically resected HCC. Pathological features including SH criteria (steatosis, ballooning, Mallory–Denk bodies, fibrosis, and inflammation) were assessed. SH‐HCC was defined by the presence of at least four of the five SH criteria and the SH component represented >50% of the tumour area. According to this definition, 39 (13%) HCC cases corresponded to SH‐HCC and 30 cases (10%) corresponded to HCC with an SH component (<50%). SH criteria in SH‐HCC and non–SH‐HCC were distributed as follows: ballooning (100% versus 11%), fibrosis (100% versus 81%), inflammation (100% versus 67%), steatosis (92% versus 8%), and Mallory–Denk bodies (74% versus 3%). Inflammation markers (c‐reactive protein [CRP] and serum amyloid A [SAA]) were significantly more expressed in SH‐HCC compared to non–SH‐HCC (82% versus 14%, P = <0.001). Five‐year recurrence‐free survival (RFS) and 5‐year overall survival (OS) were similar for SH‐HCC and non–SH‐HCC (P = 0.413 and P = 0.866, respectively). The percentage of SH component does not impact OS and RFS. Conclusion: We confirm in a large cohort the relatively high prevalence (13%) of SH‐HCC. Ballooning is the most specific criteria for this subtype. The percentage of the SH component does not impact prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there are 2 proposed causes of acute left ventricular ballooning. The first is the most cited hypothesis that ballooning is caused by direct catecholamine toxicity on cardiomyocytes or by microvascular ischemia. We refer to this pathogenesis as Takotsubo syndrome. More recently, a second cause has emerged: that in some patients with underlying hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, left ventricular ballooning is caused by the sudden onset of latent left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. When it becomes severe and unrelenting, severe afterload mismatch and acute supply–demand ischemia appear and result in ballooning. In the context of 2 causes, presentations might overlap and cause confusion. Knowing the pathophysiology of each mechanism and how to determine a correct diagnosis might guide treatment.

Stratospheric ballooning flights are becoming more relevant due to these platforms can place payloads to an altitude above almost 99% of the atmosphere, where the environmental conditions are very similar to the space ones. From a thermal point of view, during the ascent phase convection is very relevant and, despite what a priori may be thought, depending on the element considered, convection may not be negligible at the float phase. With this in mind, the Thermal Analysis Support and Environment Characterization Laboratory (TASEC-Lab) was born. It is an experiment based on COTS, which consists in a 3U CubeSat-like experiment, which was launched onboard a stratospheric balloon in León (Spain) on 16th, July 2021. The upper unit of the 3U box contains a heated plate, with the aim of quantifying the relevance of convection during the flight. In this paper, the relevance of convection during the ascent phase is described, the correlation of in-flight temperature measurements with those provided by the thermal mathematical model developed in ESATAN-TMS is performed, using the air mass flow inside the cavity as a fitting parameter with a fitting error lower than 5 °C during the ascent phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is one of the world's most important corn pests. FAW larval dispersal is a major factor contributing to local spread and damage by this pest. In this study, we investigated the crawling and ballooning dispersal characteristics of FAW larvae in the laboratory and found that airflow was an important factor influencing larval ballooning and, thereby, the long-distance dispersal of FAW larvae. These results provide scientific information for field monitoring and control strategies against FAW. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a major pest of corn worldwide. FAW larval dispersal is an important life strategy that influences FAW population distribution in corn fields and subsequent plant damage. We studied FAW larval dispersal in the laboratory with sticky plates placed around the test plant and a unidirectional airflow source. Crawling and ballooning were the main dispersal means of FAW larvae both within and between corn plants. All larval instars (1st–6th) could disperse by crawling, with crawling being the only dispersal mechanism for 4th–6th instars. By crawling, FAW larvae could reach all aboveground parts of a corn plant as well as adjacent corn plants where leaves overlapped. Ballooning was used primarily by 1st-3rd instar larvae, and the proportion of these larvae that used ballooning decreased with age. Ballooning was largely governed by the larva's interaction with airflow. Airflow influenced the direction and distance of larval ballooning. With an airflow speed of about 0.05 m/s, 1st instars could travel up to 196 cm from the test plant, indicating that long-distance FAW larval dispersal depends on ballooning. These results increase our understanding of FAW larval dispersal and provide scientific information for the development of FAW monitoring and control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SkyWinder is an open-source Python package useful for instrument control, telemetry, and image analysis. It is adapted from software that successfully managed flight control, telemetry, preliminary image analysis, and data visualization for a balloon-borne mission and it has broad uses for mid- and upper-atmosphere science instrumentation including aurora, cloud, and airglow imagers. SkyWinder will save future aeronomy experiments significant time and money, and lowers the barrier to entry in analyzing data hosted in public available repositories. Our software consists of two distinct parts: the flight and analysis modules. The SkyWinder flight package includes modular distributed flight control including telemetry and subsystem coordination for running mobile aeronomy experiments such as balloon-borne payloads, airplanes, sounding rockets, and suborbital reusable launch vehicles (sRLVs), as well as isolated semi-autonomous ground instruments. The SkyWinder analysis software provides functionality more broadly useful in neutral upper atmosphere dynamics, such as pointing reconstruction, image projection, preliminary image processing, and various image analysis techniques.

Stoma bag filter-related issues, such as ballooning (the bag filling with gas), remain highly prevalent among users. The full-circle filter was purposely designed to reduce ballooning through the inclusion of a unique, full-circle pre-filter. Two similar randomized crossover trials were conducted to compare the performance of the full-circle filter with a dual filter in adults with a colostomy (n = 20) or an ileostomy (n = 20). The frequency of ballooning was significantly lower with the full-circle filter versus the dual filter in participants with a colostomy (p < 0.0007) and in participants with an ileostomy (p < 0.0001). No significant differences were observed in the frequency of other issues (pancaking, odor problems, and ostomy solution discretion) between the filters. On average, participants with an ileostomy wore ostomy solutions with the full-circle filter for 3.3 h longer than ostomy solutions with the dual filter (p < 0.0001); wear-time in users with a colostomy was comparable between the filters. Considering the lack of published research on stoma bag filters and the high prevalence of filter-related issues, these data provide important information for health care practitioners who support people living with a stoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine whether laparoscopic surgery by sacrocolpopexy or sacrocervicopexy with posterior mesh attachment to levator ani to treat pelvic organ prolapse reduces the levator hiatus area, as measured by transperineal 3- and 4-dimensional ultrasound. The secondary objective was to assess the risk factors for prolapse recurrence. This is a prospective cohort study. A university tertiary hospital. Women with symptomatic apical prolapse at a high risk of recurrence were included. High risk of recurrence was defined as age <60 years and levator injury (avulsion and/or ballooning) or stage III-IV prolapse Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification. Women were treated with laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy or sacrocervicopexy. Women underwent clinical examination according to assessment by the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system and transperineal ultrasound for the levator hiatus area at Valsalva. We collected demographic, clinical, and ultrasound data before surgery from clinical records and performed a comparative analysis of the levator hiatus areas before and after surgery and univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk factors for recurrence. Among the 30 women who enrolled, the levator hiatus area at Valsalva decreased significantly after surgery by an average of 4.68 cm2 (p =.028). However, despite a recurrence rate of 13.3%, we found no risk factors associated with recurrence in either the univariate or the multivariate analyses. Laparoscopic surgery by sacrocolpopexy or sacrocervicopexy for pelvic organ prolapse with mesh posterior attachment to levator ani significantly reduces the levator hiatus area measured by transperineal ultrasound. Further large-scale studies will be needed to confirm our results and identify risk factors for recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for digitization has inspired organizations to move towards cloud computing, which has increased the challenge for cloud service providers to provide quality service. One of the challenges is energy consumption, which can shoot up the cost of using computing resources and has raised the carbon footprint in the atmosphere; therefore, it is an issue that it is imperative to address. Virtualization, bin-packing, and live VM migration techniques are the key resolvers that have been found to be efficacious in presenting sound solutions. Thus, in this paper, a new live VM migration algorithm, live migration with efficient ballooning (LMEB), is proposed; LMEB focuses on decreasing the size of the data that need to be shifted from the source to the destination server so that the total energy consumption of migration can be reduced. A simulation was performed with a specific configuration of virtual machines and servers, and the results proved that the proposed algorithm could trim down energy usage by 18%, migration time by 20%, and downtime by 20% in comparison with the existing approach of live migration with ballooning (LMB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Thermal Analysis Support and Environment Characterization Laboratory (TASEC-Lab) is an experiment designed, integrated, and tested in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid by bachelor's, master's and doctoral students. The aim of this project is to study the convection heat transfer, the thermal environment and the balloon dynamics during the ascent and float phases of a stratospheric balloon launched from the León (Spain) airfield on 16th, July 2021. TASEC-Lab has been designed following the CubeSat philosophy using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. It consists of an aluminium structure of 130 × 130 × 330 mm3 with three compartments where the Electrical Power Subsystem, the Electronics, and the Heat Transfer Laboratory, are located. In addition, it carries a cup anemometer to be tested at the low-pressure conditions at high altitude to provide the relative speed of the balloon-gondola system in order to characterize the dynamics and the forced convection heat transfer. In this paper, the TASEC-Lab design is detailed as well as the different development phases considered in a university environment where all tasks were carried out by students, with the technical support of the research staff of the Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad "Ignacio da Riva" (IDR) and the group of Sistemas de Tiempo Real y Arquitectura de Servicios Telemáticos (STRAST). • Stratospheric experiment designed by engineering students in a university project. • A low-cost manufacturing of a CubeSat-like experiment is achieved using COTS. • Description of an experiment for characterizing the convective heat transfer on stratospheric balloon missions. • Description of analyses and tests performed to guarantee a successful flight. • Preliminary results and some lessons learnt after the flight are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: We aimed to determine whether lobular inflammation and ballooning grades in the Non‐alcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) scoring system can be directly translated into the same for the Steatosis Activity Fibrosis scoring system (SAF) and to look at intra‐observer and inter‐observer agreement for each individual histological component and for diagnosis of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) using the two scoring systems. Methods: Four pathologists from two Asian centers scored 20 digitalized slides, twice using the NASH CRN, twice using the SAF. Intra‐observer and inter‐observer agreement was analyzed using Fleiss' kappa, weighted kappa, or Cohen kappa, where appropriate. Results: The intra‐observer discrepancy rate when using the NASH CRN compared with the SAF was higher than when using the individual scoring system for lobular inflammation (15% comparing both scoring systems vs 10% and 1.8% for the NASH CRN and the SAF, respectively) and hepatocyte ballooning (33.8% vs 12.5% and 5%, respectively), but not for diagnosis of NASH (6.3% vs 6.3% and 0%, respectively). Intra‐observer and inter‐observer agreement was substantial to almost perfect, except for inter‐observer agreement for lobular inflammation and diagnosis of NASH, which was only fair to moderate in most instances. Conclusion: These findings do not support the direct inter‐translation between the NASH CRN and the SAF. However, the diagnosis of NASH during examinations using the NASH CRN may be comparable with diagnosis of NASH using the SAF, vice versa. The inter‐observer agreement for lobular inflammation and NASH diagnosis needs to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate wall-thinning impact on axial load resistance of Zircaloy-4 cladding rods after a LOCA transient, axial tensile samples have been machined on as-received tubes with reduced thicknesses between 370 and 580 μm. After high temperature oxidation under steam at 1200 °C with measured ECR ranging from 10 to 18% and water quenching, machined samples were axially loaded until fracture. These tests were modeled using a fracture mechanics approach developed in a previous study. Fracture stresses are rather well predicted. However, the slightly lower fracture stress observed for wall-thinned samples is not anticipated by this modeling approach. The results from this study confirm that characterizing the axial load resistance using semi-integral tests including the creep and burst phases was the best option to obtain accurate axial strengths describing accurately the influence of wall-thinning at burst region.

• OFFBEAT validation matrix for LOCA scenarios has been extended. • 2D and 3D analysis of REBEKA separate-effects tests have been done using OFFBEAT. • The results are compared against those from BISON and Falcon codes. • The impact of cladding azimuthal temperature difference is also analyzed. The OpenFOAM Fuel Behaviour Analysis Tool (OFFBEAT), developed jointly by EPFL and PSI in Switzerland, is rapidly gaining recognition as a comprehensive code for multi-dimensional thermo-mechanical fuel behaviour analysis. Like for any novel code, verification and validation (V&V) studies are crucial to test the capabilities of the code as new developments are made. The verification and validation of OFFBEAT is an ongoing effort and new verification studies are done as new models or methodology is implemented in the code. At the same time validation against experimental data are carried out to test the capabilities of the code to simulate fuel behaviour in normal and accidental conditions. In this paper, validation studies of OFFBEAT have been done for the REBEKA tests, which are separate effects tests to obtain data on cladding ballooning and burst under typical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. For the verification study, a code-to-code comparison of OFFBEAT is made with more validated codes such as Falcon and BISON. The results are compared with those obtained using Falcon, which is the reference fuel performance code at PSI, and with the results available in open literature using the BISON fuel performance code. A 2D axisymmetric analysis has been done to predict the burst temperature as a function of the rod internal pressure at different heating rates. The obtained results are compared with experimental data and are found to be in good agreement. The code-to-code comparison with BISON and Falcon shows that OFFBEAT results are in close agreement to BISON results, whereas Falcon underpredicts the burst temperatures. Further 3D analysis has been done using OFFBEAT and the 3D results are in good agreement with the 2D results, showcasing OFFBEAT's capabilities to model multi-dimensional phenomena. An azimuthal temperature gradient in the cladding leads to non-uniformity in the ballooning of the cladding, bowing of the cladding and higher burst temperatures, which was also predicted in the experiments and in the study done using the BISON code. This V&V study provides great insights into the cladding ballooning and burst behaviour in separate-effects tests during LOCA conditions and proves OFFBEAT's capability to simulate multi-dimensional, macroscopic fuel behaviour during accident scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundThe evolution of pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with unique histological features. Pathological evaluation of liver specimen is often hindered by observer variability and diagnostic consensus is not always attainable. We investigated whether the qFIBS technique derived from adult NASH could be applied to pediatric NASH.Materials and Methods102 pediatric patients ( 0.85 (0.85–0.95)] and ability to distinguish different stages of fibrosis. qFIBS showed weak correlation with ballooning (r = 0.38, P = 0.028) and inflammation (r = 0.46, P = 0.005); however, it could distinguish different grades of ballooning (AUROCs 0.73, sensitivity 0.36, and specificity 0.92) and inflammation (AUROCs 0.77, sensitivity 0.83, and specificity 0.53).ConclusionIt was demonstrated that when qFIBS derived from adult NASH was performed on pediatric NASH, it could best distinguish the various histological grades of steatosis and fibrosis.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a major pest of corn worldwide. FAW larval dispersal is an important life strategy that influences FAW population distribution in corn fields and subsequent plant damage. We studied FAW larval dispersal in the laboratory with sticky plates placed around the test plant and a unidirectional airflow source. Crawling and ballooning were the main dispersal means of FAW larvae both within and between corn plants. All larval instars (1st–6th) could disperse by crawling, with crawling being the only dispersal mechanism for 4th–6th instars. By crawling, FAW larvae could reach all aboveground parts of a corn plant as well as adjacent corn plants where leaves overlapped. Ballooning was used primarily by 1st-3rd instar larvae, and the proportion of these larvae that used ballooning decreased with age. Ballooning was largely governed by the larva’s interaction with airflow. Airflow influenced the direction and distance of larval ballooning. With an airflow speed of about 0.05 m/s, 1st instars could travel up to 196 cm from the test plant, indicating that long-distance FAW larval dispersal depends on ballooning. These results increase our understanding of FAW larval dispersal and provide scientific information for the development of FAW monitoring and control strategies.

Histologically assessed hepatocyte ballooning is a key feature discriminating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from steatosis (NAFL). Reliable identification underpins patient inclusion in clinical trials and serves as a key regulatory-approved surrogate endpoint for drug efficacy. High inter/intra-observer variation in ballooning measured using the NASH CRN semi-quantitative score has been reported yet no actionable solutions have been proposed. A focused evaluation of hepatocyte ballooning recognition was conducted. Digitized slides were evaluated by 9 internationally recognized expert liver pathologists on 2 separate occasions: each pathologist independently marked every ballooned hepatocyte and later provided an overall non-NASH NAFL/NASH assessment. Interobserver variation was assessed and a 'concordance atlas' of ballooned hepatocytes generated to train second harmonic generation/two-photon excitation fluorescence imaging-based artificial intelligence (AI). The Fleiss kappa statistic for overall interobserver agreement for presence/absence of ballooning was 0.197 (95% CI 0.094–0.300), rising to 0.362 (0.258–0.465) with a ≥5-cell threshold. However, the intraclass correlation coefficient for consistency was higher (0.718 [0.511–0.900]), indicating 'moderate' agreement on ballooning burden. 133 ballooned cells were identified using a ≥5/9 majority to train AI ballooning detection (AI-pathologist pairwise concordance 19–42%, comparable to inter-pathologist pairwise concordance of between 8–75%). AI quantified change in ballooned cell burden in response to therapy in a separate slide set. The substantial divergence in hepatocyte ballooning identified amongst expert hepatopathologists suggests that ballooning is a spectrum, too subjective for its presence or complete absence to be unequivocally determined as a trial endpoint. A concordance atlas may be used to train AI assistive technologies to reproducibly quantify ballooned hepatocytes that standardize assessment of therapeutic efficacy. This atlas serves as a reference standard for ongoing work to refine how ballooning is classified by both pathologists and AI. For the first time, we show that, even amongst expert hepatopathologists, there is poor agreement regarding the number of ballooned hepatocytes seen on the same digitized histology images. This has important implications as the presence of ballooning is needed to establish the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and its unequivocal absence is one of the key requirements to show 'NASH resolution' to support drug efficacy in clinical trials. Artificial intelligence-based approaches may provide a more reliable way to assess the range of injury recorded as "hepatocyte ballooning". [Display omitted] • Hepatocyte ballooning identification underpins regulatory-approved drug efficacy endpoints in clinical trials. • We report substantial variation in ballooned cell identification by expert hepatopathologists. • Our data suggest that ballooning is too subjective for its presence or complete absence to be used as a trial endpoint. • A 'concordance atlas' of cells identified as ballooned by multiple pathologists can be used to train AI-based image analysis. • AI-based approaches may provide a more reliable way to assess the range of injury recorded as hepatocyte ballooning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Endoscopic endonasal balloon-assisted dacryoplasty is a minimally invasive surgical approach that can be applied after failure of dacryocystorhinostomy with recurrence of distal acquired lacrimal obstruction. Methods: At the Department of Otolaryngology, San Raffaele Hospital, Milan (Italy), from December 2016 to October 2020, 14 patients underwent trans-nasal balloon-assisted dacryoplasty after a failed dacryocystorhinostomy (both external and endoscopic endonasal). The routinary pre-operative work-up included multidisciplinary study of the lacrimal disease, which consisted in primary ophthalmological and otorhinolaryngological visits associated with nasal endoscopy, in which a radiological exam was added if needed. The surgical approach includes pneumatic enlargement of the stenotic rhinostomy, created during the primary dacryocystorhinostomy, using a high-pressure trans-nasal balloon catheter. Anatomical success was considered when the ostium was patent upon irrigation, while functional success was considered as resolution of epiphora or free lacrimal flow on functional test. Results: Among 14 patients included and after a mean follow-up of 19.5 months (range 13–51 months), anatomic success was achieved in 100% of patients and functional success was achieved in the 85.7% (12/14). Operative time ranged from 9 to 28 min (mean 18 min) and no complications were reported. Conclusion: Trans-nasal balloon-assisted dacryoplasty is a mini-invasive surgical approach to treat failed dacryocystorhinostomies with reliable and stable outcomes in the long term. The absence of post-surgical complications, high success rate and short operative time are the main features of this innovative procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital megaprepuce is a urological pathology typical of childhood. It can be easily mistaken for other clinical entities such as physiological phimosis or buried penis. Owing to the risk of associated complications -- primarily infectious and obstructive complications, with upper urinary tract involvement --, achieving an accurate diagnosis proves particularly significant for early treatment initiation. We present three cases of congenital megaprepuce diagnosed and operated on at our department from January 2019 to May 2020. Diagnosis, therapy, and clinical progression are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of hepatic iron overload (HIO) in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effect of HIO and examine the diagnostic usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐based R2* quantification in evaluating hepatic iron content (HIC) and pathological findings in NAFLD. Study Type: Prospective and retrospective. Population A prospective study of 168 patients (age, 57.2 ± 15.0; male/female, 80/88) and a retrospective validation study of 202 patients (age, 57.0 ± 14.4; male/female, 113/89) with liver‐biopsy‐confirmed NAFLD were performed. Field Strength/Sequence: 3 T; chemical‐shift encoded multi‐echo gradient echo. Assessment Using liver tissues obtained by liver biopsy, HIC was prospectively evaluated in 168 patients by atomic absorption spectrometry. Diagnostic accuracies of HIC and R2* for grading hepatic inflammation plus ballooning (HIB) as an indicator of NAFLD activity were assessed. Statistical Tests: Student's t‐test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Scheffe's multiple testing correction for univariate comparisons; multivariate logistic analysis. P‐value less than 0.05 is statistically significant. Results: HIC was significantly correlated with HIB grades (r = 0.407). R2* was significantly correlated with HIC (r = 0.557) and HIB grades (r = 0.569). R2* mapped an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC; 0.774) for HIC ≥808 ng/mL (median value) with cutoff value of 62.5 s−1. In addition, R2* mapped AUROC of HIB for grades ≥3 was 0.799 with cutoff value of 58.5 s−1. When R2* was <62.5 s−1, R2* correlated weakly with HIC (r = 0.372) as it was affected by fat deposition and did not correlate with HIB grades (P = 0.052). Conversely, when R2* was ≥62.5 s−1, a significant correlation of R2* with HIC (r = 0.556) and with HIB grades was observed (P < 0.0001) with being less affected by fat deposition. Data Conclusion: R2* ≥ 62.5 s−1 is a promising modality for non‐invasive diagnosis of clinically important high grades (≥3) of HIB associated with increased HIC. Level of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Major floods of riparian and grassland habitats may lead to a shift in the availability of resources (e.g., food, space) that produces cascading effects on the organisms that rely on it. After flooding occurs, particularly in natural grasslands or agricultural fields, massive aggregative spider webs are occasionally observed. However, given it is an infrequent and unpredictable event, it is seldom reported in detail. 2. We characterise two instances of massive web aggregations that followed major floods in grasslands and agricultural fields in Argentina and Uruguay in 2015. In the Argentinean event, we compare the composition of spider assemblages on the webs, in grasses below the webs, and in grasses from nearby habitats, with samples taken in the same location but when the fields were not flooded. 3. The assemblage of spiders in the massive web aggregations largely consisted of immature Diapontia uruguayensis (Lycosidae). In the grass below the webs, we recorded an impressive density of 1007 specimens m−1 belonging to several spider species, 6–15 times the density of similar samples without aggregated webs, co‐occurring and showing low levels of aggression among them. 4. Our observations and review of the literature support the idea massive webs produced by lycosids are a byproduct of an unusually high density of spiders simultaneously attempting to disperse through the air via ballooning and escaping from floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of spiders’ pre-dispersal behavior can be used to answer various ecological and evolutionary questions. So far, dispersal experiments have often used air currents as a stimulating factor. Effects of electric fields on the pre-dispersal behavior of spiders have recently been discovered. Electric fields may lead to unexplained variation in results and limit comparability between previous studies. Here we aim to disentangle the roles of wind and electric fields on the passive aerial dispersal of three linyphiid spider species. Our results confirm that strong electric fields in the air elicit predispersal behavior, and in combination with a light wind, facilitate dispersal (take-off). Nevertheless, even the strong electric fields employed here played a rather supplementary role in spiders’ dispersal with wind remaining the most influential factor. We recommend that studies of passive aerial dispersal should control for electric field strength but otherwise use wind as the primary stimulating factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Endonasal balloon‐assisted dacryoplasty is a minimally invasive technique that uses a high‐pressure balloon catheter introduced into the lacrimal pathway through the nasal fossa into the neorhinostomy to treat recurrent epiphora after primary dacryocystorhinostomy. This procedure can be considered to be a reliable technique in patients unfit for general anesthesia.

Stoma bag filter-related issues, such as ballooning (the bag filling with gas), remain highly prevalent among users. The full-circle filter was purposely designed to reduce ballooning through the inclusion of a unique, full-circle pre-filter. Two similar randomized crossover trials were conducted to compare the performance of the full-circle filter with a dual filter in adults with a colostomy (n = 20) or an ileostomy (n = 20). The frequency of ballooning was significantly lower with the full-circle filter versus the dual filter in participants with a colostomy (p < 0.0007) and in participants with an ileostomy (p < 0.0001). No significant differences were observed in the frequency of other issues (pancaking, odor problems, and ostomy solution discretion) between the filters. On average, participants with an ileostomy wore ostomy solutions with the full-circle filter for 3.3 h longer than ostomy solutions with the dual filter (p < 0.0001); wear-time in users with a colostomy was comparable between the filters. Considering the lack of published research on stoma bag filters and the high prevalence of filter-related issues, these data provide important information for health care practitioners who support people living with a stoma.

Background and aim: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). However, few studies have investigated the association between the histological severity of NAFLD and ASCVD. Therefore, we investigated whether the histological severity of NAFLD is associated with ASCVD risk. Methods: We performed cross-sectional analysis of prospectively enrolled, biopsy-proven NAFLD patients. The 10-year ASCVD risk was assessed using the Korean Risk Prediction Model. The histological spectrum of NAFLD was classified by the nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) clinical research network histological scoring system. The association between each histological subgroup and ASCVD risk was analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Results: This study included 398 Korean subjects (mean age, 57.9 years; male, 44.2%) with biopsy‐proven NAFLD and 102 no-NALFD controls. Subjects with ASCVD risk ≥ 10% showed more severe grades of hepatocellular ballooning and more advanced stages of fibrosis when compared with subjects with ASCVD risk < 10% (p < 0.05 for each). The presence of NASH (odds ratio [OR] 4.07; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40–11.88) or advanced fibrosis (OR 8.11; 95% CI 1.83–35.98) was independently associated with a higher risk of ASCVD even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, blood pressure, lipids, liver enzymes, systemic inflammation, and insulin resistance. Conclusions: Patients with NASH or advanced fibrosis are at an increased risk of developing ASCVD compared with no-NAFLD controls or subjects with NAFL, independent of conventional metabolic risk factors for CVD. Histological information on NAFLD may be helpful to promote our understanding of extrahepatic complications, such as ASCVD, resulting from NAFLD progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Histological score systems may not fully capture the essential nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) features, which is one of the leading causes of screening failure in clinical trials. We assessed the NASH distribution and its components across the fibrosis stages and their impact on the prognosis and their relationship with the concept of metabolic‐associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Methods: Spanish multicenter study including 1893 biopsy‐proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients from HEPAmet registry. NASH was diagnosed by NAS score ≥4 (including steatosis, ballooning and lobular inflammation) and fibrosis by Kleiner score. The presence of MAFLD was determined. Progression to cirrhosis, first episode of decompensated cirrhosis and death were collected during the follow‐up (4.7 ± 3.8 years). Results: Fibrosis was F0 34.3% (649/1893), F1 27% (511/1893), F2 16.5% (312/1893), F3 15% (284/1893) and F4 7.2% (137/1893). NASH diagnosis 51.9% (982/1893), and its individual components (severe steatosis, ballooning and lobular inflammation), increased from F0 (33.6%) to F2 (68.6%), and decreased significantly in F4 patients (51.8%) (P =.0001). More than 70% of non‐NASH patients showed some inflammatory activity (ballooning or lobular inflammation), showing a similar MAFLD rate than NASH (96.2% [945/982] vs. 95.2% [535/562]) and significantly higher than nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) subjects (89.1% [311/349]) (P <.0001). Progression to cirrhosis was similar between NASH (9.5% [51/539]) and indeterminate NASH (7.9% [25/316]), and higher than steatosis (5% [14/263]) (logRank 8.417; P =.015). Death and decompensated cirrhosis were similar between these. Conclusions: The prevalence of steatohepatitis decreased in advanced liver disease. However, most of these patients showed some inflammatory activity histologically and had metabolic disturbances. These findings should be considered in clinical trials whose main aim is to prevent cirrhosis progression and complications, liver transplant and death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The primary aim of the present study was to assess the association between levator ani muscle (LAM) integrity and function on the one hand, and the risk of urinary incontinence (UI) on the other. A secondary objective was to assess the association between fundal pressure in the second stage of labor (Kristeller maneuver) and the risk of postpartum UI. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, women underwent a clinical and transperineal ultrasound examination at rest, at pelvic floor muscle contraction (PFMC), and at Valsalva maneuver 3–6 months after their first vaginal delivery. LAM avulsion and levator hiatal area (LHA) were evaluated. In addition, women were interviewed about the presence of UI, whether stress (SUI) or urgency (UUI). Results: Overall, data of 244 women were analyzed. SUI was reported in 50 (20.5%), while UUI was reported in 19 (7.8%) women. Women who reported SUI had a higher prevalence of LAM avulsion and less proportional reduction in LHA from rest to a maximum contraction in comparison to women with no SUI. Women who reported UUI had a greater LHA at rest, during contraction, and during maximal Valsalva in comparison to women without UUI. No significant association was found between the Kristeller maneuver and the incidence of any UI. Conclusion: Levator ani avulsion and less proportional reduction of LHA with PFMC appear to be associated with a higher risk of postpartum urinary stress incontinence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the risk of levator ani muscle (LAM) avulsion and enlargement of the levator hiatus following vaginal birth after Cesarean section (VBAC) in comparison with vaginal delivery in primiparous women. Methods: In this two‐center observational case–control study, we identified all women who had a term VBAC for their second delivery at the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen and the 1st Faculty of Medicine in Prague, Charles University, Czech Republic, between 2012 and 2016. Women with a repeat VBAC, preterm birth or stillbirth were excluded from the study. As a control group, we enrolled a cohort of primiparous women who delivered vaginally during the study period. To increase our control sample, we also invited all primiparous women who delivered vaginally in both participating units between May and June 2019 to participate. All participants were invited for a four‐dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound scan to assess LAM trauma. LAM avulsion and the area of the levator hiatus were assessed offline from the stored pelvic floor volumes obtained at rest, during maximum contraction and during Valsalva maneuver. The laterality of the avulsion was also noted. The cohorts were then compared using the χ2 test and Wilcoxon's two‐sample test according to the normality of the distribution. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Multivariate regression analysis, controlling for age and body mass index (BMI), was also performed. Results: A total of 356 women had a VBAC for their second delivery during the study period. Of these, 152 (42.7%) attended the ultrasound examination and full data were available for statistical analysis for 141 women. The control group comprised 113 primiparous women. A significant difference was observed between the VBAC group and the control group in age (32.7 vs 30.1 years; P < 0.05), BMI (28.4 vs 27.4 kg/m2; P < 0.05) and duration of the first and second stages of labor (293.1 vs 345.9 min; P < 0.05 and 27.6 vs 35.3 min; P < 0.05, respectively) at the time of the index birth. The LAM avulsion rate was significantly higher in the VBAC compared with the control group (32.6% vs 18.6%; P = 0.01). The difference between the groups was observed predominantly in the rate of unilateral avulsion and remained significant after controlling for age and BMI (adjusted odds ratio 2.061 (95% CI, 1.103–3.852)). There was no statistically significant difference in the area of the levator hiatus at rest (12.0 vs 12.6 cm2; P = 0.28) or on maximum Valsalva maneuver (18.6 vs 18.7 cm2; P = 0.55) between the VBAC and control groups. The incidence of levator hiatal ballooning was comparable between the groups (17.7% and 18.6%; P = 0.86). Conclusions: VBAC is associated with a significantly higher rate of LAM avulsion than is vaginal birth in nulliparous women. The difference was significant even after controlling for age and BMI. © 2021 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clad ballooning, which is a plastic instability, results in sudden large deformation and thereby coolant flow blockage in case of transients in a nuclear reactor. We report the experimental findings in the present paper. Experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of ballooning in fast reactors, where Fe-based alloys are used as clad material. Real-time X-ray imaging captured the evolution of ballooning and rupture, which occurred within a short duration. It was seen that there was material instability until the point of onset of ballooning and thereafter the plastic instability was observed. Microstructural investigations carried out on various regions of the failed specimen showed that there is significant grain coarsening and a drastic drop in the hardness values in the ballooned region when compared to the unaffected region. Fractography tests of the ballooned specimen confirmed the presence of fine dimples at the ballooned region, which is a signature of ductile failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since they are by nature ephemeral and shapeless, clouds would seem to have little purpose in an early modern map. Yet they appear regularly, for a host of uses: to distinguish between the realm of divinity and that of the aerial viewer; to add visual punctuation to otherwise stable geographical features, and to give linear rhythm and drama to the compositions. Drawing primarily from examples from the sixteenth century through the era of Ruskin and the Victorian cloud painters, this essay looks at clouds and early modern cartography to grasp how what Damisch described in art (the oxymoronic permanence denoted by the painted rendering of an ever-shifting cloud) operates at a similar number of disjunctive levels in maps. While much has been written about the dramatic presentation of clouds in the skies of Dutch landscape painting, little has yet been said about the imaginary yet transformative viewing position presented from the other side of the clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]