Relative Ages Research Articles

Raman spectroscopy and SERS for determining the relative age of fossil resins

Abstract This paper presents Raman data from studies on 27 fossil resin samples sourced from different geographical locations and representing various relative ages. Ages ranging from the Late Triassic (T3) to the modern period (Q4) were investigated. The primary method for estimating the age of the resins involved determining the ratio ν(C = C)/σ(CH2), which was 1650–1600 cm−1 and 1450 cm−1 respectively, making it possible to differentiate between fossil resins from T3 and K1 and those from Q and Q4. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, combined with machine learning algorithms, was used to further clarify the differences between the consecutive K1 and K2 ages.

Estimates of (convective core) masses, radii, and relative ages for ∼14 000 Gaia-discovered gravity-mode pulsators monitored by TESS

Context. Gravito-inertial asteroseismology saw its birth from the 4-year-long light curves of rotating main-sequence stars assembled by the Kepler space telescope. High-precision measurements of internal rotation and mixing are available for about 600 stars of intermediate mass so far that are used to challenge the state-of-the-art stellar structure and evolution models. Aims. Our aim is to prepare for future large ensemble modelling of gravity-mode pulsators by relying on a new sample of such stars recently discovered from the third Data Release of the Gaia space mission and confirmed by space photometry from the TESS mission. This sample of potential asteroseismic targets is about 23 times larger than the Kepler sample. Methods. We use the effective temperature and luminosity inferred from Gaia to deduce evolutionary masses, convective core masses, radii, and ages for ∼14 000 gravity-mode pulsators classified as such from their nominal TESS light curves. We do so by constructing two dedicated grids of evolutionary models for rotating stars with input physics from the asteroseismic calibrations of Keplerγ Dor pulsators. These two grids consider the distribution of initial rotation velocities at the zero-age main sequence deduced from gravito-inertial asteroseismology, for two extreme values found for the metallicity of γ Dor stars deduced from spectroscopy ([M/H]=0.0 and −0.5). Results. We find the new gravity-mode pulsators to cover an extended observational instability region covering masses from about 1.3 M⊙ to about 9 M⊙. We provide their mass-luminosity and mass-radius relations, as well as convective core masses. Our results suggest that oscillations excited by the opacity mechanism occur uninterruptedly for the mass range above about 2 M⊙, where stars have a radiative envelope aside from thin convection zones in their excitation layers. Conclusions. Our evolutionary parameters for the sample of Gaia-discovered gravity-mode pulsators with confirmed modes by TESS offer a fruitful starting point for future TESS ensemble asteroseismology once a sufficient number of modes is identified in terms of the geometrical wave numbers and overtone for each of the pulsators.

Influence of relative humidity and aging on the optical properties of organic aerosols from burning African biomass fuels

Influence of relative humidity and aging on the optical properties of organic aerosols from burning African biomass fuels

Development of a novel prediction model for carriage of BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant in Japanese patients with breast cancer based on Japanese organization of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer registry data.

With the increasing demand for BRCA genetic testing, most existing prediction models were developed using data from individuals of European descent. This study aimed to identify clinicopathological factors of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) syndrome and develop the first Japanese-specific prediction model for BRCA pathogenic variant carriers in Japan. We utilized data from 3072 Japanese patients with breast cancer aggregated by the Japanese Organization of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer registry. Prediction models were developed using 70% of the overall dataset and validated using the remaining 30%. Factors associated with the BRCA pathogenic variant status were identified using logistic univariate analysis, and significant factors were further analyzed using logistic multivariate analysis to develop prediction models for BRCA1/2 (BRCA1 and/or BRCA2), BRCA1, and BRCA2 pathogenic variants. BRCA1 showed associations with aggressive clinicopathological factors such as triple-negative breast cancer and nuclear grade 3. Moreover, the prediction model showed a high area under the curve (AUC) of 0.879. By contrast, BRCA2 exhibited fewer characteristic associated factors, and the AUC of the model was 0.669. Common factors shared by BRCA1/2, BRCA1, and BRCA2 were the age at diagnosis of breast cancer and the youngest age of relatives with breast cancer. Consistent with previous research, early-onset breast cancer appeared to be strongly associated with HBOC. We successfully developed prediction models for BRCA1/2, BRCA1, and BRCA2 pathogenic variants. By accurately stratifying patients' risk and guiding targeted screening and preventative interventions, these models will contribute to improved management and outcomes of HBOC.

18F]FDG PET integrated with structural MRI for accurate brain age prediction.

Brain aging is a complex and heterogeneous process characterized by both structural and functional decline. This study aimed to establish a novel deep learning (DL) method for predicting brain age by utilizing structural and metabolic imaging data. The dataset comprised participants from both the Universal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center (UMIDC) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The former recruited 395 normal control (NC) subjects, while the latter included 438 NC subjects, 51 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, and 56 Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects. We developed a novel dual-pathway, 3D simple fully convolutional network (Dual-SFCNeXt) to estimate brain age using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) images of NC subjects as input. Several prevailing DL models were trained and tested using either MRI or PET data for comparison. Model accuracies were evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE) and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Brain age gap (BAG), deviations of brain age from chronologic age, was correlated with cognitive assessments in MCI and AD subjects. Both PET- and MRI-based models achieved high prediction accuracy. The leading model was the SFCNeXt (the single-pathway version) for PET (MAE = 2.92, r = 0.96) and MRI (MAE = 3.23, r = 0.95) on all samples. By integrating both PET and MRI images, the Dual-SFCNeXt demonstrated significantly improved accuracy (MAE = 2.37, r = 0.97) compared to all single-modality models. Significantly higher BAG was observed in both the AD (P < 0.0001) and MCI (P < 0.0001) groups compared to the NC group. BAG correlated significantly with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (r=-0.390 for AD, r=-0.436 for MCI) and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scores (r = 0.333 for AD, r = 0.372 for MCI). The integration of [18F]FDG PET with structural MRI enhances the accuracy of brain age prediction, potentially introducing a new avenue for related multimodal brain age prediction studies.

Evaluating possible glacial modification in the Martian tropics near Gale crater using a new U-shaped valley metric

Growing evidence supports the case for glacial processes within the equatorial regions of Mars. However, few examples of modeling or numerical analysis exist to support this hypothesis. Here we apply an automated method on valleys near Gale crater to extract morphometric data and analyze formative processes responsible for their current expression. The V-index utilized is a new robust method that is an alternative to traditional valley parabolic curve fits. This approach more easily characterizes irregular valley cross sections and thus aids in distinguishing between glacial and nonglacial forms. We applied this method along with standard power law and quadratic curve fits on valley cross sections along a 2300 km extent of the Martian tropics near Gale crater. Both V-index and power law b fit values suggest that the majority of the valleys are U-shaped and possibly created through glacial erosive processes. Further, V-index and power law b values plotted against elevation show a positive trend with higher V-index (glaciated) values associated with higher elevation. This suggests that an equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) may have existed at the time of valley formation. The timing of the formation of these U-shaped valleys is poorly defined. However, our initial crater statistics conducted within the study area suggest a young ∼1.05 (±0.25) Ga relative ages of the valley floors. Equatorial glaciers that produced these and other related glacial forms may be as old as the Hesperian to Amazonian transition (∼3 Ga) but more intriguingly may be associated with Amazonian equatorward migration of the Martian cryosphere during more recent periods of high obliquity oscillations.

Coronary Artery Disease, Family History, and Screening Perspectives: An Up-to-Date Review.

Family history for CAD (coronary artery disease) is an established cardiovascular (CV) risk factor and it is progressively acquiring importance in patients' CV risk stratification. Numerous studies have demonstrated that individuals with a first-degree relative affected by CAD have a significantly higher risk of developing the condition themselves; in particular, when CAD occurs at an early age in relatives. Indeed, recently published CCS (chronic coronary syndrome) ESC (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines include family history (FH) as a risk factor to consider when calculating pre-test risk for CAD. ESC guidelines on preventive cardiology (2021) only suggested CV risk assessment in the presence of a positive FH for CV disease, not considering it in the actual risk scores. Evidence suggests that positive anamnesis for relatives affected by CAD correlates with ACS (acute coronary syndrome) and CAD, with slight differences in relative risk as far as the degree of kinship is concerned. Genetic factors contribute to this correlation by influencing key processes that affect heart health, such as cholesterol metabolism, blood pressure regulation, and inflammatory responses. New technologies in the genetics field are increasing the availability of genome sequencing, and new polymorphism panels are being tested as predictive for CAD, objectifying familiarity. Advances in imaging techniques allow the assessment of coronary atherosclerosis and its composition, and these are acquiring strength in evidence and recommendations in ESC guidelines as a way to define coronary disease in low and low-to-intermediate risk patients and to guide medical therapy and interventional procedures. Use of these emerging tools to guide screening is likely to be extended, beyond high CV risk patients, to individuals with FH for early CAD and/or specific genetic profiles, as recent evidence in the literature is suggesting.

A new example of polyphase basin formation in western Anatolia: Plio-Quaternary Tavşanlı Graben, Kütahya

ABSTRACT The southwestern part of Turkey is called the ‘western Anatolia Extensional Province‘. Today, there is an approximately N-S-oriented extension in this area. The seismically active region is characterized by E-W and N-S-trending grabens. The tectonism and evolution of Tavşanlı Graben, one of these grabens, during the Plio-Quaternary period are the main subjects of this study. The Tavşanlı Graben, about which there is no information in the literature, has been defined for the first time in this study, and the geometrical and kinematic properties, relative ages, and interrelationships of some Neogene-aged faults, especially Quaternary-aged faults, have been presented in the manuscript. The data obtained indicate strike-slip faulting in the late Pliocene in the region. These E-W striking faults and the basin they formed are the first in western Anatolia with these features. In the Quaternary, E-W-oriented normal faults were formed in the region. The asymmetric topography of the graben area is consistent with the other E-W-oriented grabens in western Anatolia. Late Cretaceous basement rocks and Miocene-aged units are observed at the margins of the graben, which are fragmented by faults. The fill of the graben is Quaternary-aged fan deposits and alluvium. In this study, it was determined that the Tavşanlı Basin, which started to form with a transtensional mechanism at the end of the Pliocene, was transformed into the Tavşanlı Graben in the Pleistocene. The basin formation, which started with directional faulting in the late Pliocene, evolved into a graben in the Quaternary, and reached its present form by completing its development in two phases, supports the views that adopt the multi-stage deformation of western Anatolia in the late Cenozoic. In addition to contributing to the literature on this subject, the article will also serve as a basis for future paleoseismological studies.

The role of mental health in the relationship between nursing care satisfaction with nurse-patient relational care in Chinese emergency department nursing.

The relationship between a nurse and a patient is a key part of nursing that can impact how happy the patient is with the care they receive. It appears that the nurse's mental health can also affect this connection. However, there is little research on this topic. So, the aim of the present study was to determine the correlation of nurse's mental health with nurse-patient relational care and nursing care satisfaction. A total of 532 nurses and 532 patients from 13 Level-III hospitals of Hubei province (China) completed a China Mental Health Survey, general information questionnaire, the Nursing Care Satisfaction Scale, and Relational Care Scale. Age, nurse working years, and night shift last month were correlated with mental health score (r = -0.142, r = -0.150, r = 0.164, p < 0.05). Nurse's mental health was correlated with relational care score and nursing care satisfaction score (r = -0.177, r = -0.325, p < 0.05). Also, relational care score, patients age and gender were correlated with nursing care satisfaction score (r = 0.584 and r = 0.143, x2 = 11.636, p < 0.05). Descriptive information of nurses had a direct impact on nurses' mental health (direct effect = 0.612, 0.419-0.713). Nurses' mental health had a direct effect on relational care score (direct effect = 0.493, 0.298-0.428) and an indirect effect on nursing care satisfaction score (indirect effect = 0.051, 0.032-0.074). Relational care score and patient's descriptive information had also a direct effect on nursing care satisfaction score (direct effect = 0.232, 0.057-0.172 and 0.057, 0.347-0.493). This study showed that the better the mental health of nurses, the more patients feel satisfied with nursing services.

Older persons making a life closure: experiences of loneliness in an academic nursing home – a phenomenological qualitative interview study

ABSTRACT Background Loneliness is a public health concern and more than half of the residents in nursing homes experience lonliness. Risk factors are age and loss of close relatives. Purpose This study aimed to describe experiences of loneliness among older people living in an academic nursing home. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten older people and data analysed with systematic text condensation inspired by a phenomenological approach. Results Three themes were identified: “Relatives and health care professionals matter”; “Acceptance and meaningful existence alleviate loneliness”; and “Challenges affecting the experience of loneliness”. The older persons described themselves as lonely, but their experience of loneliness differed. They managed loneliness by adapting to it or getting used to it; some also chose to be alone. To add meaningfulness to their daily life, talking about memories and their past were appriciated. Personality traits and variations in functional ability were identified as barriers to social interactions. Conclusions Health care professionals can reduce negative experiences of loneliness by listening to nursing home residents, creating a meaningful daily life with individualized activities, and by encouraging contacts with close relatives. This can be a way of maintaining older persons’ dignity and coping with the longing for what has been.

Further Results on Relative Aging Orders and Comparison of Record Statistics

Further Results on Relative Aging Orders and Comparison of Record Statistics

Anti-Inflammatory Role of the Klotho Protein and Relevance to Aging.

The α-Klotho protein (hereafter Klotho) is an obligate coreceptor for fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). It is produced in the kidneys, brain and other sites. Klotho insufficiency causes hyperphosphatemia and other anomalies. Importantly, it is associated with chronic pathologies (often age-related) that have an inflammatory component. This includes atherosclerosis, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Its mode of action in these diseases is not well understood, but it inhibits or regulates multiple major pathways. Klotho has a membrane form and a soluble form (s-Klotho). Cytosolic Klotho is postulated but not well characterized. s-Klotho has endocrine properties that are incompletely elucidated. It binds to the FGF receptor 1c (FGFR1c) that is widely expressed (including endothelial cells). It also attaches to soluble FGF23, and FGF23/Klotho binds to FGFRs. Thus, s-Klotho might be a roaming FGF23 coreceptor, but it has other functions. Notably, Klotho (cell-bound or soluble) counteracts inflammation and appears to mitigate related aging (inflammaging). It inhibits NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome. This inflammasome requires priming by NF-κB and produces active IL-1β, membrane pores and cell death (pyroptosis). In accord, Klotho countered inflammation and cell injury induced by toxins, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). s-Klotho also blocks the TGF-β receptor and Wnt ligands, which lessens fibrotic disease. Low Klotho is associated with loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia), as occurs in aging and chronic diseases. s-Klotho counters the inhibitory effects of myostatin and TGF-β on muscle, reduces inflammation, and improves muscle repair following injury. The inhibition of TGF-β and other factors may also be protective in diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This review examines Klotho functions especially as related to inflammation and potential applications.

Dyke swarms of Onenhste and adjacent coronae in Parga Chasmata, SE of Atla Regio, Venus: Detailed mapping, swarm interactions and geological history

Parga Chasmata is a 10,000 km long rift system on Venus with abundant coronae (enigmatic circular tectonomagmatic features). In order to further investigate the rift-corona relationship, detailed 1:500,000 geological mapping was focused on Onenhste Corona and the surrounding region (16°-24° S, 145°-131° W). More than 46,000 extensional lineaments were mapped and grouped into 50 sets, comprising 17 radiating, 28 circumferential and 5 linear sets (interpreted to overlie mafic dyke swarms). Radiating and circumferential swarms are linked with Onenhste Corona (OC), Momu Coronae (MC), Ulgen-ekhe Coronae (UEC), Rzhanitsa Corona (RzC, centred just outside the study area) and 5 Unnamed Coronae (UC1–5), as well as Malibran Patera (MP) and Fedchenko Patera (FP). Linear swarms are provisionally linked with magmatic centres outside the study area. Crosscutting relationships between the graben sets (dyke swarms) were used to identify the relative ages of magmatic centres. We applied an additional approach to recognize coeval centres, the swinging or deflection of radiating and circumferential dyke swarms to reveal the stress interaction between different coeval centres. The relative ages (oldest to youngest) of the magmatic centres are UC2 > RzC > MC ≥ OC = UC1 = UEC ≥ MP > UC5, and FP > UC3. These new detailed data provide significant information on coronae timing, evolution and relation to rift zones that will serve as a basis for future quantitative studies of lithospheric and mantle evolution and the combined cause and effect of rifting and mantle diapiric upwelling.Several centres, RzC, UC2, MC, UC3 and FP, ordered from NW to SE, are aligned along a trend parallel to Parga Chasmata but offset about 900 km to the south from the main zone of rifting. It is inferred that this alignment is related to a zone of weakness associated with the rift extension. Along this trend the centres do not show an age progression.Coronae MC, OC, UC1 and UEC are aligned along the NNE trending P13 Linea, orthogonal to the main Parga Chasmata rift. The main centre, Onenhste, is coeval with UC1, which in turn is coeval with UEC. Additional age relationships indicate that the late stage of OC was active at the same time as MP, MC and the UC2–9 centre of UC2. Linea P13 is older than Chondi Chasma. This study, and continuing, detailed geological mapping and analysis are increasing our understanding of the relationships between the formation of the main WNW trending Parga Chasmata rift zone, the orthogonal trends of rifting and the numerous magmatic centres (mainly coronae) distributed along both trends.

Leaf age structures phyllosphere microbial communities in the field and greenhouse.

The structure of the leaf microbiome can alter host fitness and change in response to abiotic and biotic factors, like seasonality, climate, and leaf age. However, relatively few studies consider the influence of host age on microbial communities at a time scale of a few days, a short time scale relevant to microbes. To understand how host age modulates changes in the fungal and bacterial leaf microbiome on a short time scale, we ran independent field and greenhouse-based studies and characterized phyllosphere communities using next-generation sequencing approaches. Our field study characterized changes in the fungal and bacterial phyllosphere by examining leaves of different relative ages across individuals, whereas the greenhouse study examined changes in the fungal microbiome by absolute leaf age across individuals. Together, these results indicate that fungal communities are susceptible to change as a leaf ages as evidenced by shifts in the diversity of fungal taxa both in the field and the greenhouse. Similarly, there were increases in the diversity of fungal taxa by leaf age in the greenhouse. In bacterial communities in the field, we observed changes in the diversity, composition, and relative abundance of common taxa. These findings build upon previous literature characterizing host-associated communities at longer time scales and provide a foundation for targeted work examining how specific microbial taxa might interact with each other, such as fine-scale interactions between pathogenic and non-pathogenic species.

Space-weathered rims on lunar ilmenite as an indicator for relative exposure ages of regolith

Solar wind irradiation, as a crucial space weathering mechanism, alters the microscopic characteristics and reflectance spectrum of the lunar regolith, and its cumulative effect is strongly related to the exposure time. Ilmenite is highly resistant to solar wind irradiation. Here, we combined transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and electron energy loss spectroscopy to systematically illustrate the diverse space-weathered rims on the shoveled and drilled Chang’e-5 ilmenites resulting from varying degrees of solar wind irradiation, revealing that solar wind plays a key role in the early-stage alteration of exposed lunar soil. In addition, the space weathering microstructure observations are consistent with the model-predicted exposure history at the Chang’e-5 landing site and prove that the Chang’e-5 deep-layered drilled (~65 cm) and surface samples (<3 cm) have been exposed for a longer time than that of the intermediate-layered drilled samples. We conclude that the ilmenite rims have the potential to be an effective indicator for comparing the relative exposure ages of regolith on airless bodies.

Implicit Social Attunement and Alcohol Use: The Effect of Peer Feedback on Willingness to Drink in Social Settings

AbstractSocial context plays an important role in alcohol consumption. While most studies focus on explicit social drinking norms, this study aimed to (1) develop an implicit social attunement (ISA) task to experimentally assess how willingness to drink alcohol is affected by social alcohol drinking (SAD), social non-alcohol drinking (SNAD), and social non-drinking (SND) settings and peer feedback on willingness to drink in these settings, and (2) assess how ISA is associated with explicit social attunement, age, alcohol use and related problems. Participants (N = 506) aged 16–60 years completed the ISA task and questionnaires assessing alcohol use and alcohol use–related problems, age, and explicit social attunement online. Willingness to drink was highest in the SAD setting (SAD: M(SD) = 5.70 (2.68); SNAD: M(SD) = 4.03 (2.20); SND: M(SD) = 2.02 (1.30)) and—regardless of social setting—lower peer willingness to drink induced higher ISA than higher peer willingness to drink (SAD: t(325) = − 2.929, p = .035; SNAD: t(325) = − 2.888 p = .036; SND: t(325) = − 6.764, p &lt; .001). Higher ISA to higher peer willingness in the SAD (r = .15, p = .001) and SNAD (r = .11, p = .011) settings was associated with higher alcohol use and related problems, while higher ISA to lower peer willingness in the SND setting was associated with lower alcohol use and related problems (r = − .18, p = .002) and recent alcohol use (standard drinks: r = − .14, p = .011; binge drinking days: r = − .16, p = .005). Explicit social attunement, but not ISA, mediated the association between lower age and higher alcohol use and related problems (b = − .013, p = .009). Results indicate that peer feedback can be a protective or risk factor for alcohol use, depending on the social setting. Future studies are needed to elucidate differences between implicit and explicit social attunement behaviors in their associations with age and alcohol use and related problems.

Validation of clinically related aging models based on enamel wear.

Physiological and erosive wear reported in clinical studies were reviewed, and in vitro aging models were developed to simulate and compare the effect of aging on human teeth with the review data obtained from clinical studies. A review of clinical studies and randomized clinical trials that quantify enamel wear was performed in the PubMed database. The first in vitro analysis evaluated the effect of mechanical chewing simulation only. Enamel specimens were aged in the chewing simulator (up to 1.2 million cycles) with two occlusal loads (30 and 50 N). In the second in vitro analysis, specimens were aged in two aging models. The first model (MT) simulated mechanical and thermal oral challenges: MT1- 240,000 chewing and 10,000 thermal cycles, MT2- 480,000 chewing and 20,000 thermal cycles, MT3- 1.2 million chewing and 50,000 thermal cycles. The second model (MTA) simulated mechanical, thermal, and acidic oral challenges as follows: MTA1- 240,000 chewing, 10,000 thermal and 3-h acidic cycles; MTA2: 480,000 chewing, 20,000 thermal and 6-h acidic cycles, MTA3- 1.2 million chewing, 50,000 thermal and 15-h acidic cycles. The review included 13 clinical studies evaluating tooth wear (eight physiological and five erosive). The results estimated the annual average physiological wear as 38.4µm (9.37-51). In comparison, the MT1 showed wear of 60 (24) µm. Also, the average annual erosive wear in the literature was 179.5µm (70-265) compared to MTA1-induced wear of 209 (14) µm. There was wide variation in tooth wear reported in clinical studies, suggesting a critical need for more accurate studies, possibly based on scanning technologies. Despite this, the data reported using the novel aging models are within a range to be considered consistent with and to simulate tooth wear measured in vivo.

Artificial intelligence and dental age estimation: development and validation of an automated stage allocation technique on all mandibular tooth types in panoramic radiographs.

Age estimation in forensic odontology is mainly based on the development of permanent teeth. To register the developmental status of an examined tooth, staging techniques were developed. However, due to inappropriate calibration, uncertainties during stage allocation, and lack of experience, non-uniformity in stage allocation exists between expert observers. As a consequence, related age estimation results are inconsistent. An automated staging technique applicable to all tooth types can overcome this drawback.This study aimed to establish an integrated automated technique to stage the development of all mandibular tooth types and to compare their staging performances.Calibrated observers staged FDI teeth 31, 33, 34, 37 and 38 according to a ten-stage modified Demirjian staging technique. According to a standardised bounding box around each examined tooth, the retrospectively collected panoramic radiographs were cropped using Photoshop CC 2021® software (Adobe®, version 23.0). A gold standard set of 1639 radiographs were selected (n31 = 259, n33 = 282, n34 = 308, n37 = 390, n38 = 400) and input into a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained for optimal staging accuracy. The performance evaluation of the network was conducted in a five-fold cross-validation scheme. In each fold, the entire dataset was split into a training and a test set in a non-overlapping fashion between the folds (i.e., 80% and 20% of the dataset, respectively). Staging performances were calculated per tooth type and overall (accuracy, mean absolute difference, linearly weighted Cohen's Kappa and intra-class correlation coefficient). Overall, these metrics equalled 0.53, 0.71, 0.71, and 0.89, respectively. All staging performance indices were best for 37 and worst for 31. The highest number of misclassified stages were associated to adjacent stages. Most misclassifications were observed in all available stages of 31.Our findings suggest that the developmental status of mandibular molars can be taken into account in an automated approach for age estimation, while taking incisors into account may hinder age estimation.

Stochastic comparisons of record values based on their relative aging

Stochastic comparisons of record values based on their relative aging

К вопросу о прошлом как основе регламентации настоящего и эталоне будущего: «мобилизация Средневековья» в современном российском общественном сознании

The article is a homage to the outstanding philosopher and political analyst V.P. Makarenko, timed to coincide with his two anniversaries – the “questionnaire” (eightieth birthday) and the creative one – the half-century anniversary of the hero of the day’s research in the field of “Weberian studies”. Nominated by V.P. Makarenko’s interpretation of the sociological concept of Max Weber as a “special case of pseudo-historicism” – a form of conscious (“ideological”) traditionalism that arises in a situation of total collapse of social foundations, the author proposes to use as an analytical framework for understanding such a modern (including Russian) phenomenon, as “retrotopia”, which most clearly appears in the form of “medievalism” – a utilitarian reception of the ideological heritage of the Middle Ages in relation to the needs of current politics, ideology and culture. From the author’s point of view, medievalism, in the Russian version of which Byzantine images and motifs clearly predominate, is by no means an invention of our time: in fact, it is a secondary form of reception of the ideological heritage of the Middle Ages, characteristic of the 19th century. Thus, modern Russian medievalism in a broader sense represents one of the manifestations of the basic cultural metaplot of the “lost paradise” – nostalgia for the century traditionally considered the “golden age of Russian culture” and the pinnacle of imperial power.