Determination of dielectric properties of lead-contaminated soils: Potential application to soil remediation.

This research investigated the effectiveness of radio frequency (RF) heating as a treatment for lead-contaminated soil, assessing its impact through dielectric constant measurements. Using water-soluble lead (II) acetate trihydrate, the study analyzed the impact of RF heating on soil dielectric properties under various soil moisture conditions (high, medium, and low) and electric field strengths (112.5, 150, 225, and 450 kV/m). The results indicated that soil temperature increased with lead concentration, highlighting significant changes in soil thermodynamics. Under high-humidity conditions, temperature increases were more pronounced, suggesting that higher lead concentrations elevate soil temperatures. Moreover, RF heating consistently reduced the dielectric constant as lead concentration increased, which was especially evident at higher electric field strengths. The study found that the soil resistivity approached that of uncontaminated soil, particularly at 450 kV/m electric field strength, with the highest removal rate of 46.154%. This investigation provides valuable insights into the application of RF heating for soil quality improvement in lead-contaminated environments, demonstrating how dielectric properties can reflect those of uncontaminated soil.

ResNet diagnosis of rotor faults in oil transfer pumps.

To address rotor imbalance and misalignment in oil transfer pumps, an innovative diagnostic framework using Residual Network (ResNet) is proposed. The model incorporates advanced signal processing algorithms and strategic sensor placement to enhance diagnostic efficacy. A fault simulation test rig captured vibration signals from eight key measurement points on the pump. One-dimensional and multi-dimensional signal processing techniques generated comprehensive datasets for training and validating the model. Sensor placement optimization, focusing on the bearing seat's axial direction, inlet flange's vertical direction, and outlet flange's axial direction, increased rotor fault sensitivity. Time-frequency data processed via Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy, surpassing 98 %. This study highlights the importance of optimal signal processing and precise sensor placement in improving the accuracy of diagnosing rotor faults in oil transfer pumps, thus enhancing the operational reliability and efficiency of energy transportation systems.

Delving deeper into the mechanisms fundamental to HIV-associated immunopathology using single-cell sequencing techniques: A scoping review of current literature.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has evolved into an established global pandemic over the past four decades; however, despite massive research investment globally, the precise underlying mechanisms which are fundamental to HIV-related pathogenesis remain unclear. Single cell ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing methods are increasingly being used for the identification of specific cell-type transcriptional changes in HIV infection. In this scoping review, we have considered information extracted from fourteen published HIV-associated single-cell RNA sequencing-related studies, hoping to throw light on the underlying mechanisms of HIV infection and pathogenesis, and to explore potential candidate biomarkers for HIV disease progression and antiviral treatment. Generally, HIV positive individuals tend to manifest disturbances of frequency of multiple cellular types, and specifically exhibit diminished levels of CD4+ T-cells and enriched numbers of CD8+ T-cells. Cell-specific transcriptional changes tend to be linked to cell permissiveness, hyperacute or acute HIV infection, viremia, and cell productivity. The transcriptomes of CD4+ T-cell and CD8+ T-cell subpopulations are also observed to change in HIV-positive diabetic individuals, spontaneous HIV controllers, individuals with high levels of HIV viremia, and those in an acute phase of HIV infection. The transcriptional changes seen in B cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) of HIV-infected individuals demonstrate that the humoral immune response, antiviral response, and immune response regulation, respectively, are all altered following HIV infection. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) plays a crucial role in achieving immune reconstitution, in improving immunological disruption, and in mitigating immune system imbalances in HIV-infected individuals, while not fully restoring inherent cellular transcription to levels seen in HIV-negative individuals. The preceding observations not only illustrate compelling advances in the understanding of HIV-associated immunopathogenesis, but also identify specific cell-type transcriptional changes that may serve as potential biomarkers for HIV disease monitoring and therapeutic targeting.

Radio frequency identification technology; A method of analysis of falsified pharmaceutical products: Literature review.

Quality has been a concern of the World Health Organization since its inception and is defined as fitness for use. Since our ancestors began trading several millennia ago, Falsified Pharmaceutical Products has been a recurring problem and still threatens economic stability and public health. Its definition various from country to country and according to World Health Organization, 2017, it is 'a product that is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source'. The implementation of anti-falsified nanomaterial technologies is the prominent preventive measure to track and/or detect Falsified Pharmaceutical Products. Software and hardware companies had made encouraging progress towards implementing Radio Frequency Identification devices for ensuring the authenticity of pharmaceutical products. The purpose of the review was to critically appraise Radio Frequency Identification devices technology for the purpose of track and trace Falsified Pharmaceutical Products circulating in the market. Different search engines such as Google Scholar, Science Direct and PubMed were applied and mesh terms and keywords were searched. Different guides and related books were investigated in addition to the articles. Radio Frequency Identification devices technology is a compact electronic device that contains a small chip and reader with antenna that enables wireless transmission of identity of pharmaceutical products. The authenticated Radio Frequency Identification devices model is used for pharmaceutical products' authentication from origin of pharmaceutical industry to the pharmacy at any point along the chain of the distribution. Popular pharmaceutical products, such as OxyContin and Sildenafil Citrate, which are particular targets of falsification have mandated the use of Radio Frequency Identification devices technology.

Effects of low-frequency ultrasound combined with microbubbles on breast cancer xenografts in nude mice.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of low-frequency ultrasound (US) combined with microbubbles (MBs) on breast cancer xenografts and explain its underlying mechanisms. A total of 20 xenografted nude mice were randomly divided into four groups: a group treated with US plus MBs (the US + MBs group), a group treated with US alone (the US group), a group treated with MBs alone (the MBs group), and a control group. In different groups, mice were treated with different US and injection regimens on an alternate day, three times in total. Histological changes, apoptosis of cells, microvascular changes, and the apoptosis index (AI) and microvascular density (MVD) of the breast cancer xenograft were analyzed after the mice were sacrificed. Results indicated that the tumor volume in the US + MBs group was smaller than that in the other three groups (p < 0.001 for all). The rate of tumor growth inhibition in the US + MBs group was significantly higher than that in the US and MBs groups (p < 0.001 for both). There were no significant differences in histological changes among the four groups. However, the AI was higher in the US + MBs group than that in the other three groups while the MVD was lower (p < 0.001 for all). All in all, low-frequency US combined with MBs can effectively slow down the growth of breast cancer in nude mice. In summary, low-frequency US combined with MBs has a significant effect on breast cancer treatment. Cavitation, thermal effects, and mechanical effects all play a vital role in the inhibition of tumor growth.

Altered brain activity associated with premature ejaculation improved by electroacupuncture in rats.

Background: Premature ejaculation (PE) is linked with abnormal brain activity that is modifiable by electroacupuncture (EA). Aim: In this study we aimed to explore the central pathological mechanism underlying EA in treating PE. Methods: Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a PE group (n = 8) and a control group (n = 8) according to ejaculatory frequency during copulatory behavior. All rats underwent EA at the Zusanli acupoint (ST-36) for 4 weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging data were collected before and after EA. Outcomes: The behavioral parameters, plasma norepinephrine levels, fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were evaluated. Results: The PE group ejaculated more times with shorter latency compared with controls. After EA, the ejaculation frequency of the PE group decreased, and the ejaculation latency period increased, with no changes observed in the control group. Norepinephrine levels were higher in the PE group than in the controls and were positively correlated with ejaculation frequency and negatively correlated with ejaculation latency. The PE group showed lower fALFF in the right striatum and higher ReHo in the brainstem compared with controls. After EA, controls showed decreased fALFF in the right striatum, left olfactory bulb, and dorsal fornix and increased ReHo in the right interpeduncular nucleus, as well as decreased ReHo in the left striatum, prelimbic system, right basal forebrain region, septal region, and olfactory bulb, while the model group exhibited increased fALFF in the right hypothalamic region, decreased fALFF in the left globus pallidum and right basal forebrain region and increased ReHo in the right interpeduncular nucleus, as well as decreased ReHo in the left striatum, olfactory bulb, basal forebrain region, dentate gyrus, right dysgranular insular cortex, and striatum. Compared with the controls after EA, the model group showed increased ReHo of the right hypothalamic region and decreased ReHo of the right dysgranular insular cortex. Clinical Implications: These findings might enhance the understanding of PE and contribute to new, targeted therapies for PE. Strengths and Limitations: The therapeutic effects might be achieved by EA inhibiting the activity in brain regions involved in ejaculatory behavior. However, the curative effect of acupuncture might be underestimated due to some curative effects of sham acupuncture used in the control group. Conclusion: In conclusion, the ejaculatory frequency of rats may be reduced and ejaculation latency could be extended by EA at ST-36, which might be achieved by the effects of this treatment on brain activity.

Frequency of Functional Constipation in Lebanese Children: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Parental Reporting.

Aim: To determine the frequency and possible associated dietary and environmental factors of functional constipation (FC) among children in Lebanon followed at a single pediatric health system. Method: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in all pediatrics clinics at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC). Children aged 2-7 years presenting for a well-child visit were recruited. Data relating to the child's bowel habits and other history items were obtained from parental questionnaires. Results: The mean age of the 172 recruited participants was 4.94 years with 56.4% being males. FC was present in 32.6% of the participants. Although there was no difference in the frequency of FC based on age and gender, the peak frequency of FC was at 5 years. The daily frequency of withholding stools was 64.3%, and 46.6% of the children with FC always experienced straining while stooling for the past 2 months. Decreased physical activity and diet were not significantly associated with FC. Conclusion: The present study shows that 32.6% of children aged 2-7 years in Lebanon suffer from constipation while only 51.7% of the recruited children's physicians inquire about the child's bowel movement during the well check visit. These numbers highlight the need to raise more awareness among pediatricians on the need to screen for constipation during clinic visits as a standard of care practice.

A frequency selection network for medical image segmentation.

Existing medical image segmentation methods may only consider feature extraction and information processing in spatial domain, or lack the design of interaction between frequency information and spatial information, or ignore the semantic gaps between shallow and deep features, and lead to inaccurate segmentation results. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel frequency selection segmentation network (FSSN), which achieves more accurate lesion segmentation by fusing local spatial features and global frequency information, better design of feature interactions, and suppressing low correlation frequency components for mitigating semantic gaps. Firstly, we propose a global-local feature aggregation module (GLAM) to simultaneously capture multi-scale local features in the spatial domain and exploits global frequency information in the frequency domain, and achieves complementary fusion of local details features and global frequency information. Secondly, we propose a feature filter module (FFM) to mitigate semantic gaps when we conduct cross-level features fusion, and makes FSSN discriminatively determine which frequency information should be preserved for accurate lesion segmentation. Finally, in order to make better use of local information, especially the boundary of lesion region, we employ deformable convolution (DC) to extract pertinent features in the local range, and makes our FSSN can focus on relevant image contents better. Extensive experiments on two public benchmark datasets show that compared with representative medical image segmentation methods, our FSSN can obtain more accurate lesion segmentation results in terms of both objective evaluation indicators and subjective visual effects with fewer parameters and lower computational complexity.

Guests' Aesthetic experience with lifestyle hotels: An application of LDA topic modelling analysis.

The purpose of this study is to systematically explore lifestyle hotel guests' aesthetic experiences. This study adopts word frequency analysis, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling analysis and manual coding to systematically analyse 11,239 online reviews posted by guests from 131 lifestyle hotels in eight cities in China. A framework is developed to organize the identified themes and illustrate lifestyle hotel guests' aesthetic experiences. The framework revealed that lifestyle hotels embrace the concept of "bleisure" travel-blending business and leisure by offering high-end lodging, flexible tourism destination elements, and event services that cater to the needs of today's independent guests. The findings suggest that lifestyle hotel guests stress multiple functions of a hotel, especially the spiritual. Guided by the aesthetic experience at lifestyle hotels, hotel managers can cater to the full spectrum of hotel guests' aesthetic experience when implementing marketing strategies.

COPDVD: Automated classification of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on a new collected and evaluated voice dataset.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a severe condition affecting millions worldwide, leading to numerous annual deaths. The absence of significant symptoms in its early stages promotes high underdiagnosis rates for the affected people. Besides pulmonary function failure, another harmful problem of COPD is the systemic effects, e.g., heart failure or voice distortion. However, the systemic effects of COPD might provide valuable information for early detection. In other words, symptoms caused by systemic effects could be helpful to detect the condition in its early stages. OBJECTIVE: The proposed study aims to explore whether the voice features extracted from the vowel "a" utterance carry any information that can be predictive of COPD by employing Machine Learning (ML) on a newly collected voice dataset. METHODS: Forty-eight participants were recruited from the pool of research clinic visitors at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Sweden between January 2022 and May 2023. A dataset consisting of 1246 recordings from 48 participants was gathered. The collection of voice recordings containing the vowel "a" utterance commenced following an information and consent meeting with each participant using the VoiceDiagnostic application. The collected voice data was subjected to silence segment removal, feature extraction of baseline acoustic features, and Mel Frequency Cepstrum Coefficients (MFCC). Sociodemographic data was also collected from the participants. Three ML models were investigated for the binary classification of COPD and healthy controls: Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and CatBoost (CB). A nested k-fold cross-validation approach was employed. Additionally, the hyperparameters were optimized using grid-search on each ML model. For best performance assessment, accuracy, F1-score, precision, and recall metrics were computed. Afterward, we further examined the best classifier by utilizing the Area Under the Curve (AUC), Average Precision (AP), and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) feature-importance measures. RESULTS: The classifiers RF, SVM, and CB achieved a maximum accuracy of 77 %, 69 %, and 78 % on the test set and 93 %, 78 % and 97 % on the validation set, respectively. The CB classifier outperformed RF and SVM. After further investigation of the best-performing classifier, CB demonstrated the highest performance, producing an AUC of 82 % and AP of 76 %. In addition to age and gender, the mean values of baseline acoustic and MFCC features demonstrate high importance and deterministic characteristics for classification performance in both test and validation sets, though in varied order. CONCLUSION: This study concludes that the utterance of vowel "a" recordings contain information that can be captured by the CatBoost classifier with high accuracy for the classification of COPD. Additionally, baseline acoustic and MFCC features, in conjunction with age and gender information, can be employed for classification purposes and benefit healthcare for decision support in COPD diagnosis. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05897944.

Integrative intrinsic brain activity and molecular analyses of the interaction between first-episode depression and age.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have underscored the presence of abnormal intrinsic neural activity (INA) in individuals with depression. However, recognizing that the age stage may influence the pathophysiology of depression, our study sought to delve into the interplay of depression and age on INA and molecular architecture. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-eight first-episode depression patients and 120 healthy controls (HC) were recruited and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The participants were stratified into four groups based on age. Utilizing amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analyses, we employed an ANCOVA to compare INA patterns in four groups. Additionally, we conducted correlation analyses between ALFF and neurotransmitter maps to elucidate molecular underpinnings of INA abnormalities. RESULTS: In comparison to adolescents with early-onset depression and adult HC, adult-onset depression exhibited increased ALFF in the right paracentral lobule. Conversely, early-onset depression, when contrasted with adolescent HC, displayed reduced ALFF in the right paracentral lobule. The interactive brain regions affected by ALFF alterations were associated with serotonergic, GABAergic, and opioid neurotransmitter systems. LIMITATIONS: The present study was limited to its cross-sectional design. CONCLUSIONS: This study illuminates an antagonistic effect of depression and age on brain activity in paracentral lobule and provides molecular underpinnings of the corresponding INA abnormalities related to key neurotransmitter systems. These insights may prove valuable in the development of neuromarkers for clinical intervention and treatment of depression.

Ultrasound Spectral Combined With Clinical Pathological Parameters in Prediction of Axillary Lymph Node Metastatic in Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the clinical value of the nomogram based on ultrasound spectral combined with clinical pathological parameter in predicting axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer. METHODS: We prospectively gathered clinicopathologic and ultrasonic data from 240 patients confirmed breast cancer. The risk factors of axillary lymph node metastasis were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and the prediction model was established. The model calibration, predictive ability, and diagnostic efficiency in the training set and the testing set were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve and calibration curve analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis was related with tumor size, Ki-67, axillary ultrasound, ultrasound spectral quantitative parameter, internal echo, and calcification (P < .05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the Ki-67, axillary ultrasound, quantitative parameter (the mean of the mid-band fit in tumor and posterior tumor) were independent risk factors of axillary lymph node metastasis (P < .05). The models developed using Ki-67, axillary ultrasound, and quantitative parameters for predicting axillary lymph node metastasis demonstrated an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.83. Additionally, the prediction model exhibited outstanding predictability for axillary lymph node metastasis, as evidenced by a Harrell C-index of 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.73-0.93). CONCLUSION: Axillary ultrasound combined with Ki-67 and ultrasound spectral parameters has the potential to predict axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer, which is superior to axillary ultrasound alone.

Pseudodominance in RFC1-Spectrum Disorder.

Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) and disease spectrum is an autosomal recessive disorder associated with biallelic repeat expansion (RE) in the RFC1 gene. A high carrier frequency in the healthy population determines the possibility of having affected members in two consecutive generations. We describe pseudodominance in two families affected with RFC1 disorder (10 affected, 5 oligo/asymptomatic individuals). In Family A, after the 75-year-old index case was diagnosed with CANVAS, the 73-year-old wife decided to undergo screening for carrier testing. Although she did not report any symptoms, she resulted positive for the biallelic AAGGG RE thus leading to a diagnosis in the asymptomatic offspring as well and revealing a pseudodominant pattern of inheritance. In Family B pseudodominance was suspected after the identification of the RFC1 RE in the proband affected by sensitive neuropathy because of a positive family history for undetermined polyneuropathy in the mother. The post-mortem identification of the RFC1 RE in a sample specimen from the deceased mother, who had been under our care, allowed the solution of a "cold case". Our report suggests that pseudodominance is a confounding phenomenon to consider in RFC1-spectrum disorder and genetic counselling is instrumental in families with affected individuals.

Consumption of tobacco products and associated factors among outpatient visitors of two healthcare facilities in Northern Cyprus: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable mortality and morbidity. Although Cyprus is considered a developed country, the tobacco prevalence and related issues have not been explored sufficiently in the general population of North Cyprus. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the rate of tobacco product consumption and related factors among the visitors of a community health center and a university hospital in Northern Cyprus. METHODS: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study The data were collected using a questionnaire developed in compliance with WHO guidelines. The data were analyzed using IBM-SPSS18.0 with p < 0.05 evaluated as significant. RESULTS: Out of a total of 635 individuals approached, 615 provided responses. The participation rate was 96%. The frequency of male smokers was 47.2%, while the frequency of female smokers was 34.0%, with a total smoking rate of 40.7%, much higher than world averages. The survey identified friendship influence as the primary reason for starting tobacco use, accounting for 42%, followed by being stressed at 34.6%. Male gender, being single, having no children, Turkish nationality were predictors of smoking, while financial status was not. The participants indicated a high frequency regarding exposure to passive smoke (51.1%). More than half of the respondents thought tobacco control in Northern Cyprus is not satisfactory. CONCLUSION: More research needs to be done to determine the exact overall prevalence of tobacco consumption in the population, which was found high in this study. Moreover, implementation of comprehensive tobacco control strategies is essential to control the prevalent tobacco dependence.

Concussion acutely disrupts auditory processing in division I football student-athletes.

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis, assessment, and management of sports-related concussion require a multi-modal approach. Yet, currently, an objective assessment of auditory processing is not included. The auditory system is uniquely complex, relying on exquisite temporal precision to integrate signals across many synapses, connected by long axons. Given this complexity and precision, together with the fact that axons are highly susceptible to damage from mechanical force, we hypothesize that auditory processing is susceptible to concussive injury. METHODS: We measured the frequency-following response (FFR), a scalp-recorded evoked potential that assesses processing of complex sound features, including pitch and phonetic identity. FFRs were obtained on male Division I Collegiate football players prior to contact practice to determine a pre-season baseline of auditory processing abilities, and again after sustaining a sports-related concussion. We predicted that concussion would decrease pitch and phonetic processing relative to the student-athlete's preseason baseline. RESULTS: We found that pitch and phonetic encoding was smaller post-concussion. Student-athletes who sustained a second concussion showed similar declines after each injury. CONCLUSIONS: Auditory processing should be included in the multimodal assessment of sports-related concussion. Future studies that extend this work to other sports, other injuries (e.g. blast exposure), and to female athletes are needed.

Impact of Electric Field Magnitude in the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on Changes in Intrinsic Functional Connectivity Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: A Randomized Crossover Study.

This study investigated whether the electric field magnitude (E-field) delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) changes resting-state brain activity and the L-DLPFC resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC), given the variability in tDCS response and lack of understanding of how rsFC changes. Twenty-one healthy participants received either 2 mA anodal or sham tDCS targeting the L-DLPFC for 10 min. Brain imaging was conducted before and after stimulation. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), reflecting resting brain activity, and the L-DLPFC rsFC were analyzed to investigate the main effect of tDCS, main effect of time, and interaction effects. The E-field was estimated by modeling tDCS-induced individual electric fields and correlated with fALFF and L-DLPFC rsFC. Anodal tDCS increased fALFF in the left rostral middle frontal area and decreased fALFF in the midline frontal area (FWE p < 0.050), whereas sham induced no changes. Overall rsFC decreased after sham (positive and negative connectivity, p = 0.001 and 0.020, respectively), with modest and nonsignificant changes after anodal tDCS (p = 0.063 and 0.069, respectively). No significant differences in local rsFC were observed among the conditions. Correlations were observed between the E-field and rsFC changes in the L-DLPFC (r = 0.385, p = 0.115), left inferior parietal area (r = 0.495, p = 0.037), and right lateral visual area (r = 0.683, p = 0.002). Single-session tDCS induced resting brain activity changes and may help maintain overall rsFC. The E-field in the L-DLPFC is associated with rsFC changes in both proximal and distally connected brain regions to the L-DLPFC.

Estimating the viscoelastic anisotropy of human skin through high-frequency ultrasound elastography.

BACKGROUND: The skin is the largest organ of the human body and serves distinct functions in protecting the body. The viscoelastic properties of the skin play a key role in supporting the skin-healing process, also it may be changed due to some skin diseases. PROPOSE: In this study, high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) elastography based on a Lamb wave model was used to noninvasively assess the viscoelastic anisotropy of human skin. METHOD: Elastic waves were generated through an external vibrator, and the wave propagation velocity was measured through 40 MHz ultrafast HFUS imaging. Through the use of a thin-layer gelatin phantom, HFUS elastography was verified to produce highly accurate estimates of elasticity and viscosity. In a human study involving five volunteers, viscoelastic anisotropy was assessed by rotating an ultrasound transducer 360°. RESULTS: An oval-shaped pattern in the elasticity of human forearm skin was identified, indicating the high elastic anisotropy of skin; the average elastic moduli were 24.90 ± 6.63 and 13.64 ± 2.67 kPa along and across the collagen fiber orientation, respectively. The average viscosity of all the recruited volunteers was 3.23 ± 0.93 Pa·s. CONCLUSIONS: Although the examined skin exhibited elastic anisotropy, no evident viscosity anisotropy was observed.

Quantification of glutathione and its associated spontaneous neuronal activity in major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BACKGROUND: Glutathione (GSH) is a crucial antioxidant in the human brain. Although proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) using the MEscher-GArwood Point RESolved Spectroscopy (MEGA-PRESS) sequence is highly recommended, limited literature has measured cortical GSH using this method in major psychiatric disorders. METHODS: By combining MRS using the MEGA-PRESS and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we quantified brain GSH and glutamate in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and precuneus and explore relationships between the GSH levels and intrinsic neuronal activity as well as clinical symptoms among the three groups of healthy controls (HCs, N=30), major depressive disorder (MDD, N=28), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD, N=28). RESULTS: GSH concentrations were lower in both the mPFC and precuneus in both the MDD and OCD groups compared to HCs. In HCs, positive correlations were noted between the GSH and glutamate levels, and between GSH and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in both regions. However, while these correlations were absent in both patient groups, they showed a weak positive correlation between glutamate and fALFF values. Moreover, GSH levels negatively correlated with depressive and compulsive symptoms in MDD and OCD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that reduced GSH levels and an imbalance between GSH and glutamate could increase oxidative stress and alter neurotransmitter signaling, leading to disruptions in GSH-related neurochemical-neuronal coupling and psychopathologies across MDD and OCD. Understanding these mechanisms could provide valuable insights into the underlying processes of these disorders, potentially becoming a springboard for future directions and advancing our knowledge of their neurobiological foundations.

EXPRESS: Word length and frequency effects in natural Chinese reading: Evidence for character representations in lexical identification.

Word length and frequency are two of the "big three" factors that affect eye movements in natural reading (Clifton et al., 2016). Whilst these factors have been extensively investigated, all previous studies manipulating word length have been confounded with changes in visual complexity (longer words have more letters and are more visually complex). We controlled stroke complexity across one-character (short) and two-character (long) high- and low-frequency Chinese words (to avoid complexity confounds) and recorded readers' eye movements during sentence reading. Both word length and frequency yielded strong main effects for fixation time measures. For saccadic targeting and skipping probability, word length effects, but not word frequency effects, occurred. Critically, the interaction was not significant regardless of stroke complexity, indicating that word length and frequency independently influence lexical identification and saccade target selection during Chinese reading. The results provide evidence for character level representations during Chinese word recognition in natural reading.

On the application of hybrid deep 3D convolutional neural network algorithms for predicting the micromechanics of brain white matter.

BACKGROUND: Material characterization of brain white matter (BWM) is difficult due to the anisotropy inherent to the three-dimensional microstructure and the various interactions between heterogeneous brain-tissue (axon, myelin, and glia). Developing full scale finite element models that accurately represent the relationship between the micro and macroscale BWM is however extremely challenging and computationally expensive. The anisotropic properties of the microstructure of BWM computed by building unit cells under frequency domain viscoelasticity comprises of 36 individual constants each, for the loss and storage moduli. Furthermore, the architecture of each unit cell is arbitrary in an infinite dataset. METHODS: In this study, we extend our previous work on developing representative volume elements (RVE) of the microstructure of the BWM in the frequency domain to develop 3D deep learning algorithms that can predict the anisotropic composite properties. The deep 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithms utilizes a voxelization method to obtain geometry information from 3D RVEs. The architecture information encoded in the voxelized location is employed as input data while cross-referencing the RVEs' material properties (output data). We further develop methods by incorporating parallel pathways, Residual Neural Networks and inception modulus that improve the efficiency of deep learning algorithms. RESULTS: This paper presents different CNN algorithms in predicting the anisotropic composite properties of BWM. A quantitative analysis of the individual algorithms is presented with the view of identifying optimal strategies to interpret the combined measurements of brain MRE and DTI. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed Multiscale 3D ResNet (M3DR) algorithm demonstrates high learning ability and performance over baseline CNN algorithms in predicting BWM tissue properties. The hybrid M3DR framework also overcomes the significant limitations encountered in modeling brain tissue using finite elements alone including those such as high computational cost, mesh and simulation failure. The proposed framework also provides an efficient and streamlined platform for implementing complex boundary conditions, modeling intrinsic material properties and imparting interfacial architecture information.