Branch Angle Research Articles

THU355 Tingling Over Cheek, An Atypical Presentation Of Invasive Fungal Sinusitis In An Ambulatory Patient With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract Disclosure: J. Udayasankar: None. R. Vaezeafshar: None. N. Patel: None. A 61 year old female with uncontrolled type 2 Diabetes, A1c over 11% for over 3 years was seen in Diabetes clinic for follow up after a 2 year hiatus. She happened to mention an isolated 1 inch area of tingling over Right (R) cheek. She was previously seen in ED and discharged home on Benadryl. She had also seen an acupuncturist, a dentist and family physician, latter 2 providers treated her with 2 different antibiotics without change in symptoms. She denied fever, headaches, visual acuity changes, diplopia or nasal discharge. Exam in clinic revealed hypoesthesia below eye and towards nasal dorsum, no changes in skin warmth or color noted, eye movements were intact and mild tenderness was elicited on pressure over R maxillary sinus. Atypical presentation of Invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS) was suspected clinically. Seen by ENT and CT and MRI of Sinuses and Orbits showed R maxillary sinusitis, mild enhancement and enlargement of the inferior rectus muscle and infraorbital nerve / foramen present with stranding within the extraconal fat of the R inferior orbit thought to be related to extension of inflammation. Endoscopic sinus surgery showed R maxillary sinusitis with necrotic mucosa along orbital floor and orbital floor dehiscence concerning for invasive infection. Frozen section showed necrotic, inflammatory tissue. Discharged home from ED. Surgical pathology showed necrotic tissue and fungal hyphae with acute angle branching on GMs and PAS stains. Presence of crystals and pigmentation raised possibility of Aspergillus Niger infection. She was readmitted to hospital for repeat surgery - R medial maxillectomy and R pterygopalatine fossa dissection - biopsy of R maxillary sinus walls, right periorbital area and pterygopalatine fossa showed presence of fungal organism. Mold PCR panel showed Aspergillus niger. She received therapy with IV Amphotericin B and was discharged home on Oral Voriconazole. She is doing well and her diabetes control improved on insulin therapy. Patients with uncontrolled Diabetes are immunocompromised and vulnerable to atypical infections that can be potentially lethal if not diagnosed and treated timely. Patient presented with isolated tingling over R cheek for months. Lack of symptom improvement despite two courses of antibiotics and A1c over 11% raised clinical suspicion of IFS . Interestingly frozen path did not reveal hyphae that led to her first discharge from hospital. Surgical pathology and PCR of biopsied material made the diagnosis of IFS - Aspergillus sinusitis and treatment with antifungal medication prevented orbital and cerebral complications of IFS and death. Therefore, awareness of this disease entity in ambulatory patients is important and could be life saving for patients. Presentation: Thursday, June 15, 2023

Can lung airway geometry be used to predict autism? A preliminary machine learning-based study.

The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of airway geometry as a biomarker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Chest computed tomography images of children with a documented diagnosis of ASD as well as healthy controls were identified retrospectively. Fifty-four scans were obtained for analysis, including 31 ASD cases and 23 controls. A feature selection and classification procedure using principal component analysis and support vector machine achieved a peak cross validation accuracy of nearly 89% using a feature set of eight airway branching angles. Sensitivity was 94%, but specificity was only 78%. The results suggest a measurable difference in airway branching angles between children with ASD and the control population.

Impact of Bifurcation Angle on Side Branch Occlusion in Provisional Bifurcation Stenting

Background: Bifurcation angle (BA) is the critical angle that has impact on side branch (SB) occlusion during coronary intervention due to plaque shift. There have been few research studies especially in Pakistan on the role of BA in plaque shift.
 Objective: To know the impact of bifurcation angle on the side branch occlusion during provisional stenting.
 Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Lahore on consecutively enrolled patients between July 2017 and June 2019. The subjects were split into two groups: high angle and low angle using the median BA. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify BA as an independent predictor of occlusion of SB.
 Results: Occurrence of side branch occlusion was found in 7.7% of the total of 600 bifurcation lesions. SB occlusion rate was found to be significantly higher in higher angle (HA) group compared to lower angle (LA) group i.e. (37/292, 12.7 %) and (9/308, 2.9 %) respectively, (P < 0.001). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated high angle to be an independent predictor for the occlusion of side branches (odds ratio [OR]: 1.026 per degree increment, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.016 – 1.045, P < 0.001).
 Conclusion: Higher branching angle was noted as the independent predictor of the occlusion of side branches following provisional stenting of main vessel.

The Role of Spatial Aortic Arch Architecture in Type B Aortic Dissection.

The incidence of type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is increasing worldwide; however, the underlying pathomechanisms are not conclusively understood. This study explores the geometric architecture of the aortic arch and supra-aortic branches in TBAD patients as opposed to non-TBAD patients. Patient characteristics were retrieved from archived medical records. Computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scans of patients with TBAD and carotid stenosis (CS) from two high-volume centers were analyzed. Various aortic arch parameters and take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches of TBAD patients were measured following centerline normalization in comparison CS patients. A compression index (C-index) was calculated from the para-sagittal, and a torsion index (T-index) was calculated from the para-coronal take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches to analyze aortic arch tortuosity. A total of 199 CAT scans were analyzed, namely, 85 in the TBAD group and 114 in the CS group. The average age was 61.5 ± 13.1 years among the TBAD patients and 71 ± 9.3 years among the CS patients. We found a significantly higher proportion of type III aortic arch configurations in TBAD patients compared with CS patients. Further, the aortic arch angle was steeper in the TBAD group. In the para-sagittal plane, the left subclavian artery (LSA) take-off angle was less steep in TBAD patients. In the para-coronal plane, the left carotid artery (LCA) had a less steep take-off angle, while the LSA had a more obtuse take-off angle in the TBAD group when compared with the CS group. In addition, the inter-vessel distance was increased in TBAD patients. Finally, the T-index was increased, suggesting a significant torsion resulting from the deviating take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches supplying the left half of the body as opposed to the innominate artery (IA) in TBAD patients. Our results suggest several aortic arch-specific geometric configurations in patients suffering from TBAD that significantly differ from those in CS patients. Further functional studies are needed to verify the pathogenetic relevance of our results and their disease-specific causality. Although our data are not mechanistically explorative, they may serve as a basis for identifying future patients with aortic arch morphology at higher risk for TBAD development and who may benefit from more stringent adjustment of risk factors as a primary prevention concept.

September 2023 Medical Image of the Month: Aspergillus Presenting as a Pulmonary Nodule in an Immunocompetent Patient

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. A 32-year-old nonsmoking woman presented with complaints of recurrent hemoptysis for 5 months and dyspnea on exertion for 1 month. She denied any history of fever, cough, or COVID infection. She has hypothyroidism controlled on thyroxine 25mcg. During the evaluation, she was found to have an enhancing solitary pulmonary nodule (11 x 10 x 9mm) in the anterior segment of the left upper lobe (Figure 1). The patient was given a course of oral antibiotics (amoxicillin /clavulanic acid) and supportive treatment for hemoptysis. Sputum for Ziehl–Neelsen stain and cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) was negative. CT- guided biopsy of the nodule was performed. Histopathology showed fungal organisms which were thin, septate with acute angle branching and focal necrotic areas, morphologically consistent with Aspergillus (Figure 2). Serum-specific IgG against aspergillus antigen was normal. The patient was started on oral itraconazole 200mg BID. Follow-up after 1 month showed both …

TIPS: A three-dimensional phenotypic measurement system for individual maize tassel based on TreeQSM

Maize tassel is a crucial pollen producing organ that plays an important role in maize production. It is challenging to investigate the morphological and structural traits of maize tassels for breeding programs, since traditional manual measurements of organ-scale phenotypic traits are labor-intensive and prone to human errors. It is, therefore, urgent to design and develop new phenotyping systems for maize tassels to improve throughput and measurement accuracy. This study first introduced the TreeQSM in crop phenotyping at organ scale and developed TIPS (TreeQSM based Image Phenotyping System for maize tassels). The system mainly consists of three digital cameras for acquiring multi-view images of individual maize tassel. These cameras were vertically arranged with different angles of view. The acquired images were used to reconstruct the 3D point cloud data of individual maize tassel, which were fed into the TreeQSM to extract four tassel phenotypic parameters including trunk length, branch number, branch length, and branch angle. The performance analyses of the developed system were conducted on 52 tassel samples from 37 maize materials with different canopy geometric structures. The experimental results showed that the TIPS could achieve accurate tassel parameters estimation with the R2 of 0.964, 0.973, 0.935, and 0.857, and the RMSE of 1.72, 1.28, 19.94, and 2.73 for the trunk length, branch number, total branch length, and first node branch angle, respectively. This study also investigated the advantages of the data acquisition with the TIPS and the effects of different shooting angles, number of images, lighting conditions and tassel types on the four tassel parameters estimation accuracy. The comparison results indicated that the four influencing factors reduced the estimation accuracy to varying degree. Compared with the other three parameters, the estimation accuracy of branch angles less than 20 were largely affected. The higher the degree of compactness, the worse the estimation accuracy. Compared with shooting angles, the reduction of the number of images in a certain range had less impact on the quality of 3D point cloud reconstruction. The influence of low light was obviously greater than that of strong light. This study provides a valuable guide to the collection and quantitative analysis of high-throughput phenotype information of maize tassels in breeding program.

Sand-Carrying Law and Influencing Factors in Complex Fractures of Nano-Clean Fracturing Fluid

Nano-clean fracturing fluids have broad application potential in coalbed methane reservoir fracturing owing to their high stability, good temperature resistance, low filtration loss, and strong frictional resistance reduction. However, the sand-carrying regularity of nano-clean fracturing fluids in coalbed methane reservoirs is unclear, especially for complex fractures with variable directions. This study established a sand transport model that considers proppant collision, wall friction blocking, fracture fluid filtration loss, and the fracture branching angle to study the sand-carrying law of nano-clean fracturing fluids and its influencing factors in complex fractures. The degrees of influence on equilibrium height and placement rate from high to low were the proppant particle size, proppant density, fracturing fluid properties, sand ratio, and pumping discharge volume, and the correlation degrees obtained by grey correlation analysis are 0.862, 0.861, 0.855, 0.854, and 0.832, respectively. As the complexity of the fractures deepens and the resistance increases, the flow rate of the fracturing fluid is reduced, making it difficult for the proppant to enter the branching joints. The sand-carrying performance of a nano-clean fracturing fluid is better than that of a common clear-water fracturing fluid. The fluid-structure coupling model of a nano-clean fracturing fluid can accurately characterize the sand-carrying law of nano-clean fracturing fluids, providing a research basis for optimizing high efficiency sand-carrying fracturing fluid parameters in coalbed methane reservoir fracturing construction.

The Correlation of Machine-Picked Cotton Defoliant in Different Gossypium hirsutum Varieties

Cotton mechanized harvesting is the development direction of cotton production. The rapid development of mechanized cotton harvesting in Xinjiang has significantly increased the efficiency of cotton harvesting and reduced the harvesting cost. However, in the rapid development of mechanized cotton harvesting, there are also the problems of net yield, recovery rate and poor harvesting quality, which lead to the poor quality competitiveness of mechanized cotton harvesting. In order to solve the problem of mechanized cotton loss, the key is to reduce the problem of cotton miscellaneous, and breed cotton varieties suitable for mechanized harvesting. The purpose of this study was to clarify the key trait correlation of defoliation through the establishment and association analysis of foliation and deciduous phenotype indicators in cotton. In this study, the phenotypic indexes of defoliation and deciduous traits were established through the comprehensive analysis of the defoliation rate of 273 cotton germplasm resources and other 11 related phenotypic traits in the field, in order to provide guidance for the breeding and production of cotton varieties collected by breeders. In addition to peeling rate, an analysis of the association between 11 agronomic parameters and peeling rate and hanging rate revealed that the number of effective branches, chlorophyll SPAD value, fruit branch angle, and hanging rate have substantial correlation in 3 years. Hence The hanging rate, fruit branch angle, effective branch number, and chlorophyll SPAD value can be used as the evaluation indicators of varieties for peeling ability trait index.

Genetic Parameter Estimates for the Growth and Morphological Traits of Castanopsis hystrix Families and the Genotype × Environment Interaction Effects

Castanopsis hystrix, a timber resource from Southeast Asia, is characterized by rapid growth and high yield, but plantation quality and efficiency improvements are required. Twenty-year-old C. hystrix experimental forests in Yulin, Liuzhou, and Pingxiang in Guangxi Province, China, comprising 21 open-pollinated half-sib families, were used in this study. Genetic variations in the growth (tree height, diameter at breast height (DBH), and volume (V)) and morphological (height to live crown base (HCB), crown width (CW), and branch angle) traits were assessed, and the genetic parameters were estimated to clarify the genotype × environment interaction effects. The average values for the tree height, DBH, V, HCB, CW, and branch angle were 16.33 m, 17.25 cm, 0.21 m3, 6.68 m, 2.15 m, and 45.45°, respectively. The most important sources of variance for the tree height, DBH, V, and HCB were the block and family, whereas the location, family, and family × location had significant impacts on the tree height, DBH, V, and HCB (p < 0.01). The family heritability for each trait was 0.35, 0.38, 0.62, and 0.19, respectively. Excellent families with strong adaptability and genetic stability were identified using BLUP–GGE biplots for single and multiple traits. The results provide a theoretical basis for the efficient cultivation of C. hystrix in South China.

Sensitivity of hostile hemodynamics to aneurysm geometry via unsupervised shape interpolation

Background and ObjectiveVessel geometry and hemodynamics are intrinsically linked, whereby geometry determines hemodynamics, and hemodynamics influence vascular remodeling. Both have been used for testing clinical outcomes, but geometry/morphology generally has less uncertainty than hemodynamics derived from medical image-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD). To provide clinical utility, CFD-based hemodynamic parameters must be robust to modeling errors and/or uncertainties, but must also provide useful information not more-easily extracted from shape alone. The objective of this study was to methodically assess the response of hemodynamic parameters to gradual changes in shape created using an unsupervised 3D shape interpolation method. MethodsWe trained the neural network NeuroMorph on 3 patient-derived intracranial aneurysm surfaces (labelled A, B, C), and then generated 3 distinct morph sequences (A→B, B→C, C→A) each containing 10 interpolated surfaces. From high-fidelity CFD simulation of these, we calculated a variety of common reduced hemodynamic parameters, including many previously associated with aneurysm rupture, and analyzed their responses to changes in shape, and their correlations. ResultsThe interpolated surfaces demonstrate complex, gradual changes in branch angles, vessel diameters, and aneurysm morphology. CFD simulation showed gradual changes in aneurysm jetting characteristics and wall-shear stress (WSS) patterns, but demonstrated a range of responses from the reduced hemodynamic parameters. Spatially and temporally averaged parameters including time-averaged WSS, time-averaged velocity, and low-shear area (LSA) showed low variation across all morph sequences, while parameters of flow complexity such as oscillatory shear, spectral broadening, and spectral bandedness indices showed high variation between slightly-altered neighboring surfaces. Correlation analysis revealed a great deal of mutual information with easier-to-measure shape-based parameters. ConclusionsIn the absence of large clinical datasets, unsupervised shape interpolation provides an ideal laboratory for exploring the delicate balance between robustness and sensitivity of nominal hemodynamic predictors of aneurysm rupture. Parameters like time-averaged WSS and LSA that are highly “robust” may, as a result, be effectively redundant to morphological predictors, whereas more sensitive parameters may be too uncertain for practical clinical use. Understanding these sensitivities may help identify parameters that are capable of providing added value to rupture risk assessment.

Integrating the Rate of Moisture Loss into Needle Retention Testing to Improve the Selection of Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) for Use as Christmas Trees

A study was conducted to identify balsam fir (Abies balsamea) for use in Christmas tree breeding programs in Northeastern North America. A total of sixty-four phenotypically good trees were identified from a provincial clonal seed orchard in New Brunswick, a multi-aged natural seed production area in Nova Scotia, and an operational plantation in Quebec, Canada. Trees were selected for good growth and form, numbers, and vigour of internodal branches, acceptable crown taper, needle colour, age class, branch angle, needle configuration, and freedom from insects and diseases or deformities, all traits deemed desirable in a Christmas tree. Three branches from each tree were collected at two harvest dates each year, one early and one late during the normal harvesting season in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Qualitative assessments of colour and branch pliability were performed weekly in conjunction with needle loss rub tests. A quantitative assessment of moisture loss was conducted weekly by measuring branch weights. The combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments was used to identify 7 of the 64 trees for which one or more tested branches consistently remained green and pliable, retained the majority of their needles, and lost moisture at a significantly reduced rate in all six testing periods. Grafts of the seven ‘Select’ trees are currently being integrated into seed orchards in the three participating provinces. These second-generation seed orchards are part of breeding programs designed to develop Christmas trees that will perform well under warm fall conditions, an outcome of climate change. The results from this study combined with the progeny testing of the ‘Select’ trees will be used to test for the heritability of needle retention, a key trait for the next generation of Christmas trees in the Northeast.

Stemflow temporal dynamics differ significantly between standing live and dead branches of two xerophytic shrub species

Shrub mortality due to self-thinning and climate change is a natural consequence of the long residence times of standing dead branches in unmanaged shrub plantations. Stemflow (SF) represents a key point source of input water and nutrients into the soil in shrub ecosystems. However, little information is available about how shrub mortality affects SF variables. In this study, we measured the SF volume (SFV), funneling ratio (FR), SF intensity, time lag to rain, and rainfall characteristics for live and standing dead branches of two major shrub species comprising Caragana korshinskii and Salix psammophila during the rainy season in 2022 on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The results demonstrated that the SF variables and temporal dynamic processes differed between standing live and dead branches of the two shrubs. For C. korshinskii, the mean SFV and FR were 1.9 and 1.8 times higher for live branches than dead branches, respectively, whereas for S. psammophila, the mean SFV and FR were 1.3 and 1.6 times higher for dead branches than live branches. These contradictory results can be explained by differences in the canopy structures of the species, such as the surface area that contributes to the generation of SF in the upper canopy, branch angles, and the degree of branch bark decomposition and decay. In addition, the SF variables were significantly temporally dependent on the rainfall characteristics. SFV, SFI, and SFD were positively and linearly correlated with the rainfall amount, intensity, and duration at the inter-event scale (P < 0.001). The influence of rainfall intensity on SF time lag to rain were not significant at the intra-event scale (P > 0.05). Considering the enrichment ratio due to canopy dry deposition and bark decomposition, the periodic flattening of dead S. psammophila branches to restore their growth is less significant than allowing them to die and renew naturally. These findings may serve as a reference for developing management practices for shrub species in areas with soil water and nutrient deficiencies.

EFFECT OF DNA METHYLATION ON GRAVISENSITIVITY OF MOSSES

Gravity is a constant environmental factor in plant growth and development. Real or simulated microgravity causes stress responses in plants, in which DNA methylation is involved. We investigated the effect of the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-aza) on the perception and transduction of the gravity signal into gravitropism and on the peroxidase isoenzyme spectra in Physcomitrium patens (Hedw.) Mitt. protonemata under conditions of altered gravity, as well as on Polytrichum arcticum Sw. ex. Brid. phenotype branching and variability of gravitropic angles of lateral branches. The influence of DNA methylation on the perception and realization of the gravity signal was determined. DNA demethylation in the 5-aza presence decreased the gravisensitivity of stolons — less at the stage of perception and more during gravity signal transduction. An analysis of gravitropism under the inhibiton of DNA methylation showed the signal preservation in cell memory regardless of the stage of gravistimulation. However, cell memory about a signal was shorter at the perception stage and longer at the transduction stage, that affects a rate of the gravitropic growth recovery. The different effect of DNA methylation on gravi-induction is considered as an epigenetically regulated process that modifies morphological differences in mosses’ tropismunder under real microgravity in space flight and simulated microgravity on earth. Resistance to microgravity depends on intensity of cell wall metabolism. Peroxidase activity plays an important role in the biogenesis and mechanical stability of the cell wall. It was shown that the changes in the expression of peroxidase genes and enzyme isoforms in the P. patens protonemata may be a result of DNA demethylation. Epigenetic polymorphism of peroxidase under microgravity is regarded as a probable factor of individual resistance of plant organisms.

Three-dimensional branch segmentation and phenotype extraction of maize tassel based on deep learning

BackgroundThe morphological structure phenotype of maize tassel plays an important role in plant growth, reproduction, and yield formation. It is an important step in the distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) testing to obtain maize tassel phenotype traits. Plant organ segmentation can be achieved with high-precision and automated acquisition of maize tassel phenotype traits because of the advances in the point cloud deep learning method. However, this method requires a large number of data sets and is not robust to automatic segmentation of highly adherent organ components; thus, it should be combined with point cloud processing technology.ResultsAn innovative method of incomplete annotation of point cloud data was proposed for easy development of the dataset of maize tassels,and an automatic maize tassel phenotype analysis system: MaizeTasselSeg was developed. The tip feature of point cloud is trained and learned based on PointNet + + network, and the tip point cloud of tassel branch was automatically segmented. Complete branch segmentation was realized based on the shortest path algorithm. The Intersection over Union (IoU), precision, and recall of the segmentation results were 96.29, 96.36, and 93.01, respectively. Six phenotypic traits related to morphological structure (branch count, branch length, branch angle, branch curvature, tassel volume, and dispersion) were automatically extracted from the segmentation point cloud. The squared correlation coefficients (R2) for branch length, branch angle, and branch count were 0.9897, 0.9317, and 0.9587, respectively. The root mean squared error (RMSE) for branch length, branch angle, and branch count were 0.529 cm, 4.516, and 0.875, respectively.ConclusionThe proposed method provides an efficient scheme for high-throughput organ segmentation of maize tassels and can be used for the automatic extraction of phenotypic traits of maize tassel. In addition, the incomplete annotation approach provides a new idea for morphology-based plant segmentation.

Network feature-based phenotyping of leaf venation robustly reconstructs the latent space.

Despite substantial variation in leaf vein architectures among angiosperms, a typical hierarchical network pattern is shared within clades. Functional demands (e.g., hydraulic conductivity, transpiration efficiency, and tolerance to damage and blockage) constrain the network structure of leaf venation, generating a biased distribution in the morphospace. Although network structures and their diversity are crucial for understanding angiosperm venation, previous studies have relied on simple morphological measurements (e.g., length, diameter, branching angles, and areole area) and their derived statistics to quantify phenotypes. To better understand the morphological diversities and constraints on leaf vein networks, we developed a simple, high-throughput phenotyping workflow for the quantification of vein networks and identified leaf venation-specific morphospace patterns. The proposed method involves four processes: leaf image acquisition using a feasible system, leaf vein segmentation based on a deep neural network model, network extraction as an undirected graph, and network feature calculation. To demonstrate the proposed method, we applied it to images of non-chemically treated leaves of five species for classification based on network features alone, with an accuracy of 90.6%. By dimensionality reduction, a one-dimensional morphospace, along which venation shows variation in loopiness, was identified for both untreated and cleared leaf images. Because the one-dimensional distribution patterns align with the Pareto front that optimizes transport efficiency, construction cost, and robustness to damage, as predicted by the earlier theoretical study, our findings suggested that venation patterns are determined by a functional trade-off. The proposed network feature-based method is a useful morphological descriptor, providing a quantitative representation of the topological aspects of venation and enabling inverse mapping to leaf vein structures. Accordingly, our approach is promising for analyses of the functional and structural properties of veins.

Primary-dendrite-pattern regulation by secondary branch during the directional solidification of the single crystal superalloy

The dendrite array by directional solidification determines the mechanical properties of the single crystal superalloy. Achieving precise and effective control over the directional dendrite array has been challenging due to a lack of understanding the underlying mechanism. The study found that secondary branches with specific orientations play a significant role in determining the arrangement pattern of primary dendrites on the transverse section. These secondary branches induce either a unidirectional or bidirectional aligned pattern in the primary dendrite array. The proportion of aligned dendrites increases with the solidification distance, but decreases with the withdrawal velocity. The competitive growth coefficient of secondary branch was proposed based on the effectiveness components of thermal gradient. This coefficient is determined by the convexity of the liquid-solid interface, the angle between the primary arm and the vertical direction, and the orientations angle of secondary branch. The presence of a large competitive coefficient at the liquid-solid interface edge near the crucible gives secondary branches an advantage in growth. This leads to the development of tertiary arms which further grow into the main trunks, aligning parallel to the primary dendrites and forming the aligned pattern. Additionally, based on the competitive coefficient, the formation criterion and distribution law of dendritic pattern transitions were summarized. This provides effective guidance not only for controlling dendrite arrangement but also for estimating the single crystal orientation through visual inspection by back-calculating the formation criterion.

Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection of In-Ga-Sn alloy in a horizontal concentric annulus with tree-shaped internal fins

The use of low melting point liquid metals for convective cooling has seen a recent increase in interest in the literature. Few studies have explored the use of such metals in concentric annuli with fins to enhance heat transfer. In this study, numerical simulations are conducted using COMSOL Multiphysics® to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) natural convection heat transfer inside a concentric annulus with tree-shaped fins. The fluid in the enclosure is eutectic In20.5Ga67Sn12.5. The tree-shaped fins feature three geometric parameters: (i) length of branches a, (ii) fin spacing angle θ, and (iii) branch angle α. Constant temperature boundary conditions are used. The average Nu at the outer walls is used to gauge the heat transfer. Transient simulations are performed to observe stability of the flow profile over time due to the low Pr of the In-Ga-Sn. Steady-state simulations are performed to sweep the fin parameters. A uniform magnetic field is added to investigate the effects on the heat transfer. This is the first study to use the tree-shaped fins in the annulus with liquid metal and in the presence of an external magnetic field. The fins are generated using Constructal theory, in that each pair of branches (or construction) is sequentially built from the previous pair of branches. The optimum case with the tree-shaped fins and no magnetic field is found to increase Nu by 789.7%. With the magnetic field, the “intermediate” tree-shaped fins produced the highest Nu (8.66) of the fin geometries explored at Ha = 20.

Partially drained uplift behaviour of plant roots in dilative soils

A large volume of research reporting the pull-out behaviour of root systems is available, but no study has considered the effects of soil drainage. This work implemented a modified three-dimensional embedded beam element model in a finite element platform that solved model equations by using a fully hydromechanically coupled algorithm. The model was validated against published centrifuge pull-out tests on root analogues, and the validated model was then applied to study parametrically the influence of the ratio of uplift rate to soil hydraulic conductivity on pull-out behaviour. The results demonstrated that the model can well capture the prepeak behaviour of the root systems up to the peak pull-out resistance. The generation of negative pore–water pressure ( p e x) owing to soil dilation upon root–soil interfacial shearing was the major reason for increased pull-out resistances under partially drained conditions. Compared with other root systems, root systems with smaller branch angles and deeper branch depths mobilised considerably more significant plastic deviatoric strains in the soil in their vicinity, generating more negative p e x. Hyperbolic dimensionless backbone curves were derived to explain the transitional pull-out behaviours of root systems of different geometries under drainage conditions that ranged from fully drained to undrained.

Odontogenic Keratocyst in an Edentulous Patient: Report of an Unusual Case

The purpose of this study was to report a rare case of an odontogenic keratocyst occurring in the edentulous jaw area. A 64-year-old man presented with a painful swelling of the right posterior mandibular vestibule that prevented him from wearing a complete lower denture. Upon intraoral clinical examination, the patient was totally edentulous and had two removable complete dentures. He had a fistula in the vestibular mucosa of edentulous site 48 that was painful upon palpation. Radiological examination revealed an unilocular radiolucent lesion with a continuous peripheral sclerotic border, centered on both the mandibular angle and right branch. Differential diagnosis mainly included a residual cyst and an odontogenic cystic tumor. The biopsy and the excisional material allowed a diagnosis of an odontogenic keratocyst to be made, the cyst being lined by a uniform parakeratinized squamous epithelium, corrugated in places, showing intercellular edema in places, with a well differentiated basal cell layer ranging from cuboidal to columnar in shape, a relatively thin, inflammation-free fibrous wall, and a cyst lumen that contained varying amounts of desquamated keratin. In this case, the surgical risk was represented by paresthesia of both the inferior alveolar and the lingual nerves. The lesion was enucleated without any complications, and the follow-up after 1 year did not reveal any nerve functional damage. Our case underlines the importance for the clinicians to consider a keratocyst in the differential diagnosis of cyst-like lesions presenting in an edentulous area.

Interaction Between Tectonics and Climate Encoded in the Planform Geometry of Stream Networks on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractStream networks are highly abundant across Earth's surface, reflecting the tectonic and climatic history under which they have developed. Recent studies suggest that branching angles are strongly correlated with climatic aridity. However, the impact of tectonic forcing, especially in tectonically active regions, remains ambiguous. Here we analyze branching angles between headwater channels of the major river networks on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, a region with complex tectonics, variable climate, and diverse landscapes. We find that spatial variations in tectonic uplift (as reflected in channel gradients) shape the branching geometry of stream networks on the steep eastern margin, while in the flat interior of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, branching angles are mainly controlled by climatic aridity. This leads to the conclusion that, in the steep margin of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, climatic impacts on branching angles are overprinted by stronger tectonic controls.