Digital Image Research Articles

Classification of Corn Diseases and Pests Using Fuzzy Naïve Bayes Method

Corn is an essential dietary source for humans and animals. In addition to being a food source, corn has numerous benefits as a manufacturing commodity. The quality of grain crops must be considered to minimise the likelihood of disease and pest infestations. Therefore, the diseases and pests that attack corn plants must be classified so that farmers can control them during the growth period of corn plants. The fuzzy naive Bayes method is a statistical machine learning method that can be used to classify the diseases and pests of corn crops based on colour space-transformed digital images. This study aims to classify corn plant diseases and pests using the fuzzy naive Bayes method. Digital images of corn plant diseases and pests were transformed into a red, green and blue colour space model. The following seven classes of corn plant diseases and pests were classified: leaf rust disease, downy mildew disease, leaf blight disease, Locusta pest, Heliotis armigera pest, Spodoptera frugiperdita pest and non-pathogenic pest. With this method, the classification model achieves an accuracy of 87.83%, a macro precision of 34.91%, a macro recall of 35.90% and a macro f-score of 33.82%.

Effect of the Effective Metal Surface Area of Two Different Flow Diverter Stents on the Stagnation Region Formation Inside the Aneurysm Sac

Abstract Objective Flow diversion (FD) is a relatively new technique for treating large, wide-necked, or fusiform aneurysms. Although FD is a more preferred option than coiling or clipping techniques in neurosurgery and neuroradiology clinics, the blood flow mechanism inside the aneurysm sac is not fully understood after the treatment. Besides, effective metal surface area (EMSA), a property of an FD related to porosity, shows variation at the patient's aneurysm neck by providing more or less blood flow inside an aneurysm sac than planned, causing nonstagnant or stagnant fluid region formation in the sac, respectively. Thus, the change in FD's EMSA can significantly affect the treatment's effectiveness, making even operation unsuccessful when variation in FD's EMSA at the aneurysm neck is overlooked. Materials and Methods In this study, a large aneurysm of a 52-year-old female patient was numerically investigated by virtually placing two commercially available FDs with different EMSA values one by one into the aneurysm-carrying artery. Results While FD stents at the aneurysm site substantially reduced the blood flow into the aneurysm, an FD with a 15.6% EMSA caused blood to flow in the aneurysm sac to have six times more kinetic energy than that of FD with a 29.5% EMSA. Conclusion Although FD's EMSA value demonstrated nearly up to 20% reduction at the patient's aneurysm neck based on a product catalog value, numerical model results revealed that the stagnated region's formation inside the aneurysm sac could be determined within a 9% difference based on digital subtraction angiography reformat image.

AnVILWorkflow: A runnable workflow package for Cloud-implemented bioinformatics analysis pipelines

Advancements in sequencing technologies and the development of new data collection methods produce large volumes of biological data. The Genomic Data Science Analysis, Visualization, and Informatics Lab-space (AnVIL) provides a cloud-based platform for democratizing access to large-scale genomics data and analysis tools. However, utilizing the full capabilities of AnVIL can be challenging for researchers without extensive bioinformatics expertise, especially for executing complex workflows. We present the AnVILWorkflow R package, which enables the convenient execution of bioinformatics workflows hosted on AnVIL directly from an R environment. AnVILWorkflow simplifies the setup of the cloud computing environment, input data formatting, workflow submission, and retrieval of results through intuitive functions. We demonstrate the utility of AnVILWorkflow for three use cases: bulk RNA-seq analysis with Salmon, metagenomics analysis with bioBakery, and digital pathology image processing with PathML. The key features of AnVILWorkflow include user-friendly browsing of available data and workflows, seamless integration of R and non-R tools within a reproducible analysis pipeline, and accessibility to scalable computing resources without direct management overhead. AnVILWorkflow lowers the barrier to utilizing AnVIL’s resources, especially for exploratory analyses or bulk processing with established workflows. This empowers a broader community of researchers to leverage the latest genomics tools and datasets using familiar R syntax. This package is distributed through the Bioconductor project (https://bioconductor.org/packages/AnVILWorkflow), and the source code is available through GitHub (https://github.com/shbrief/AnVILWorkflow).

Global and Local Shear Behavior of the Frozen Soil–Concrete Interface: Effects of Temperature, Water Content, Normal Stress, and Shear Rate

The interface between soil and concrete in cold climates has a significant effect on the structural integrity of embedded structures, including piles, liners, and others. In this study, a novel temperature control system was employed to conduct direct shear tests on this interface. The test conditions included normal stress (25 to 100 kPa), temperature (ranging from 20 to −6 °C), water content (from 10 to 19%), and shear rates (0.1 to 1.2 mm/min). Simultaneously, the deformation process of the interface was continuously photographed using a modified visual shear box, and the non-uniform deformation mechanism of the interface was analyzed by combining digital image correlation (DIC) technology with the photographic data. The findings revealed that the shear stress–shear displacement curves did not exhibit a discernible peak strength at elevated temperatures, indicating deformation behavior characterized by strain hardening. In the frozen state, however, the deformation softened, and the interfacial ice bonding strength exhibited a positive correlation with decreasing temperature. When the initial water content was 16% and the normal stress was 100 kPa, the peak shear strength increased significantly from 99.9 kPa to 182.9 kPa as the test temperature dropped from 20 °C to −6 °C. Both shear rate and temperature were found to have a marked effect on the peak shear strength, with interface cohesion being the principal factor contributing to this phenomenon. At a shear rate of 0.1 mm/min, the curve showed hardening characteristics, but at other shear rates, the curves exhibited strain-softening behavior, with the softening becoming more pronounced as shear rates increased and temperatures decreased. Due to the refreezing of interfacial ice, the residual shear strength increased in proportion to the reduction in shear rate. On a mesoscopic level, it was evident that the displacement of soil particles near the interface exhibited more pronounced changes. At lower shear rates, the phenomenon of interfacial refreezing became apparent, as evidenced by the periodic changes in interfacial granular displacement at the interface.

Enhancement of pin‐bearing behavior of pultruded FRP profiles by multi‐directional fiber architecture design

AbstractThe low resistance of bolted joints in pultruded unidirectional (UD) fiber‐reinforced polymer (FRP) profiles limits the load grade of truss bridges due to shear damage along UD fibers. To address this issue, this study proposes multi‐directional (MD) fiber architecture in FRP profiles to improve the ultimate bearing strength of bolted joints. The digital image correlation shows that the addition of off‐axis fibers in MD FRP profiles prevents shear failure in the UD FRP profile. As a result, the ultimate bearing strengths of MD FRP profiles are enhanced attributed to “off‐axis fiber tie action”. Micro‐computed tomography shows that fiber damage in MD FRP profiles emerged from outer plies, including fiber breakage in 90° and ±45° fibers and fiber kinking in 0° and ±45° fibers. The off‐axis fibers break due to tension when resisting the bearing load in MD FRP profiles. The fiber kinking indicated strength contribution from 0° to ±45° fibers. The fiber breakage and fiber kinking in each ply are dominant in bearing failure instead of delamination, which increases the bearing strength of the pultruded MD FRP profiles. These findings facilitate controlling damage evolution in the pultruded MD FRP profiles and designing high‐resistance bolted joints.Highlights Multi‐directional fibers improved bearing strengths of FRP profiles by 28.5%–33%. Off‐axis fibers bent under pin‐bearing, forming a tie action until breakage. Fiber breakage and kinking in each ply contributed to the bearing failure. Strain localization and redistribution were observed using DIC.

Hybrid Deep Learning Based Model for Removing Grid-Line Artifacts from Radiographical Images

The digital imaging technique known as Computed Radiography (CR) has transformed the medical imaging industry by providing a number of advantages. It eliminates the need for traditional film-based methods, making it more efficient and convenient. A common issue faced with CR images is the presence of grid artifacts and other pattern artifacts, which can have a significant impact on the quality of the images when viewed on a computer screen, especially if a clinic-grade display is not accessible. This paper presents a novel framework for removing grid line artifacts from X-ray images, which is a critical challenge in medical imaging. The framework proposes a hybrid Deep Grid model that combines a Gaussian band-stop filter with ADAM optimization to produce high-quality, grid-line free X-ray images that are suitable for further analysis and diagnosis. Deep learning (DL) models for instance the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), DenseNet, VGG-Net, and Fast R-CNN were utilized to classify images, and the grid-by-grid removal of grid lines in the image was performed. The proposed framework achieved a high accuracy rate of 98% in eliminating grid line artifacts from X-ray images, demonstrating its possibility for a big improvement the accuracy and reliability of diagnostics for medical based on X-ray images

Load transfer behavior of 3D printed concrete formwork for ribbed slabs under eccentric axial loads

3D printed concrete (3DPC) has primarily been used for non-structural applications, with limited exploration into its potential for structural load-bearing applications. This is mainly due to the layered structure of 3DPC and the lack of compatibility of conventional reinforcement strategies to be integrated within the 3D concrete printing process. The post-tensioning of 3DPC structures presents an effective solution to improve the load-carrying capacity and cracking behavior of 3DPC. However, understanding the load transfer behavior and failure modes of 3DPC structures under a particular post-tensioning configuration are crucial to determine the permissible post-tensioning load for a structure without premature failure and to understand the distribution of stresses within the concrete structure under post-tensioning loads. The current study aims to investigate the load transfer behavior and failure mode of a 30 mm thick 3DPC formwork designed for one-way ribbed slabs when subjected to end-anchorage post-tensioning. For this purpose, a series of mechanical characterization and load transfer experiments were conducted on ribbed 3DPC formwork. The mechanical characterization investigations involved examining the compressive and flexural strength, as well as the elastic modulus of 3DPC, under various loading orientations relative to the print path. In the load transfer experiments, the end anchorage post-tensioning system was simulated by applying the axial load to the specimen via end plates bonded to the specimen. The variable parameters of the load transfer experiments were the boundary conditions, the eccentricity of the axial load from the neutral axis, and the topology of the ribbed 3DPC formwork. A digital image correlation system was used to study the axial and transverse strain evolution during the load transfer experiments. The experimental results showed that, regardless of the eccentricity of the applied load, the ribbed 3DPC formwork specimens exhibited higher axial load capacity when the load was applied near the bottom flange rather than the top flange. This was because of the reduced effective cross-sectional area for compression when the load was positioned near the top flanges, a consequence of the selected formwork topology, where top flanges were discontinuous to allow for pouring of the cast concrete within the formwork.

Naturalization and evaluation of synthetic random stripes pattern for digital image correlation

Abstract The morphology of speckle patterns commonly used in the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) community can be categorized into artificially generated free shapes and computer-synthesized circular dots. Due to the non-repeatability of manually sprayed patterns, researchers tend to favour code-controlled dot patterns, which exist in two forms: “white dots on a black background” and “black dots on a white background”. However, from the perspective of biological evolution, these two dot patterns can be hybridized “in silico” using the Turing model to create an intermediate form—the “striped-like” pattern. This hybridization significantly improves species identification and environmental adaptability. Although there have been reports on producing stripe patterns based on the kernel-based Turing model, there is no specific speckle pattern generation specification or comprehensive evaluation research for DIC applications. This paper naturalizes a novel striped speckle pattern and a corresponding generation approach. The pattern quality was assessed and compared with circular dots and hand-sprayed speckles. The stripes pattern outperformed the other two forms regarding Mean Intensity Gradient (MIG), q-factor, systematic bias, and random error. Sub-pixel displacement simulation and actual translation test results demonstrate that the proposed striped pattern offers higher precision and robustness in displacement and static strain measurements. Therefore, this striped pattern provides a preferred alternative for DIC technicians.

Quantitative anatomy of the infraspinatus muscle in the human fetus.

The study presents one of the six scapulohumeral muscles, which occupies most of the osteofibrous infraspinatus compartment. Along with the supraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis muscles, the infraspinatus muscle contributes to the rotator cuff. It protects the posterior aspect of the articular capsule of the shoulder joint, adducts and externally rotates the arm. The aim of the study was to perform the quantitative analysis of the infraspinatus muscle in human fetuses and to elaborate growth dynamics for its morphometric parameters. Using anatomical dissection, digital image analysis (NIS Elements AR3.0) and statistics (Student's t-test, regression analysis), the vertical, transverse and oblique diameters, muscle circumference and projection surface area of the infraspinatus muscle were measured in 36human fetuses of both sexes (17♂, 19♀) aged 18-30weeks. The infraspinatus muscle revealed neither sex nor laterality differences. All examined morphometric parameters of the infraspinatus muscle increased commensurately in accordance with the following linear functions: y=-4.024 + 0.903×Age ± 0.621 (R²=0.96) for transverse diameter, y=-3.089 + 1.321×Age ± 0.897 (R²=0.97) for vertical diameter, y=-1.161 + 0.632×Age ± 0.444 (R²=0.97) for oblique diameter, y=-13.575 + 3.851×Age ± 1.938 (R²=0.98) for muscle circumference and y=-293.512 + 23.228×Age ±19.650 (R²=0.95) for projection surface area.

Caustic and marginal ray curves obtained from images generated by means of a star test using digital image processing

Caustic and marginal ray curves obtained from images generated by means of a star test using digital image processing

Uncovering the Fracturing Mechanism of Granite Under Compressive–Shear Loads for Sustainable Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Exploitation

Shear-dominated hazards, such as induced earthquakes, pose an escalating threat to the sustainability and safety of the geothermal exploitation. Variations in fault orientations and compression–shear stress ratios exert a profound influence on the failure processes underlying these disasters. To better understand these effects on the shear failure mechanisms of hot dry rocks, mode-II fracturing tests on granites were conducted at varying loading angles (specifically, 55°, 60°, 65°, and 70°). These tests were accompanied by a comprehensive analysis of the mechanical properties, energy dissipation behavior, acoustic emission (AE) responses, and digital image correlation (DIC)-extracted displacement fields. The tensile–shear properties of stress-induced microcracks were discerned via AE characteristic parameter analysis and DIC displacement decomposition, and the mode-II fracture energy release rate was quantitatively characterized. The results reveal that with increasing compression–shear loading angles, the mechanical properties of granites are weakened, and the elastic strain energy at peak stress gradually decreases, while the slip-related dissipated energy increases. Throughout the fracturing process, the AE count progressively climbs and reaches a peak near catastrophic failure, with an upsurge in low-frequency and high-amplitude AE events. Microcrack distribution concentrates aggregation along the shear plane, reflecting the emergent displacement discontinuities evident in DIC contours. Both the AE characteristic parameter analysis and DIC displacement decomposition demonstrate that shear-sliding constitutes the paramount mechanism, and the fraction of shear-oriented microcracks and the ratio of tangential versus normal displacement escalate with increases in shear stress. This analysis is supported by the heightened propensity for transgranular microcracking events observed through scanning electron microscopy. As the shear-to-compression stress increases, the energy concentration along the shear band intensifies, with the gradient of the fitting line between cumulative AE energy and slip displacement steepening, indicative of a heightened mode-II energy release rate. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the mode-II fracture mechanism of rocks, thereby providing a foundational basis for early warnings of shear-dominant geomechanical disasters, and improving the safety and sustainability of subsurface rock engineering.

Strain distribution and failure modes of steel lattice tower gusset plates as a function of their geometry

Steel gusset plates (SGP) are structural elements that connect and transfer loads among various members, such as beams, columns, and trusses, in steel structures like buildings, bridges, and lattice towers. Their geometry significantly affects structural performance, requiring a thorough analysis of strain distribution and failure modes to ensure the integrity and safety of structural systems. However, the design and evaluation of lattice tower gusset plates (LTGP) in particular, present challenges due to complex geometries and the lack of universally accepted design methods. This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study of the strain distribution and failure modes of LTGP across different geometries. Experimental tests were conducted using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) on specimens with different configurations, each featuring a single row of bolts. The force–displacement curves and strain distributions were analyzed to determine the influence of gusset plate width, end-distance, and the number of bolts on their behavior. The study compares the experimental data with the prescriptions of design standards. Additionally, it presents numerical modeling of LTGP connections using finite element analysis in ANSYS®, with validation against experimental results confirming model accuracy. The research program is further complemented by a parametric study examining the effects of end-distance, plate width, and bolt spacing on the ultimate strength of LTGP.

PSO-based Quaternion Fourier Transform steganography: Enhancing imperceptibility and robustness through multi-dimensional frequency embedding

This paper presents a novel steganography technique using the Quaternion Fourier Transform (QFT) in the 4D frequency domain to enhance imperceptibility and robustness in digital image embedding. Steganography, the art of hiding information within media, faces challenges in balancing security, imperceptibility, and robustness. To address this, we leverage the multi-dimensional properties of quaternions, enabling the embedding of secret data in both grayscale and color images. For grayscale images, two quaternion dimensions are utilized for intensity and secret data, while for color images, all four dimensions are employed with one reserved for metadata. The research question centers on how to maximize spatial dispersion and color similarity while maintaining high imperceptibility and robustness against attacks. Experimental results show that the proposed method improves visual imperceptibility by more than 4 % and exhibits a 13 % increase in robustness against common steganalysis attacks compared to the best state-of-the-art existing technique. These advancements highlight the potential of this method for applications in secure communication, digital watermarking, and copyright protection. By combining the quaternion mathematical framework with a novel optimization strategy, this approach significantly improves upon traditional steganography methods.

Investigations of strength and quality of clinched joints using digital image correlation

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of processing conditions on joint strength and the effectiveness of digital image correlation (DIC) in detecting failure points in clinched joints. Mechanical tests, including single-lap shear and pull-out tests, were conducted using DIC to evaluate joint quality in various clinched configurations. The results showed frequent failures at the neck rejoin in clinched joints between mild steel and aluminum sheets, particularly when thinner sheets were positioned on the punch side and softer materials on the die side. DIC effectively identified defects and failure locations, offering insights into material combinations, sheet positioning, and failure modes. Although DIC was useful in detecting defects in both elastic and destructive regions, its ability to distinguish specific defect types from strain contour maps was limited. The study highlights the need for further research to extend DIC’s application to other mechanical joining systems and advocates for its proactive use in refining designs and manufacturing processes.

Design of pattern image generation technique based on self-attentive residual conditional generative adversarial network

Image generation techniques have made remarkable progress in the digital image processing and computer vision. However, traditional generation models cannot meet the complexity and diversity requirements of patterned images. In view of this, the study aims to enhance the quality of generated pattern images, which uses improved residual block, and introduces a self-attention mechanism to compute the weight parameters of the input features to enhance the accuracy. Comparing with three image generation models, the research model shows lower Frechette initial distance, which is better than the other three methods, and the average Frechette initial distance values in the four scenes are 175.23, 176.41, 174.41, and 165.23. Generated mouths and eyes: the average values of Frechette initial distances reach 98.23 and 97.24, respectively. For emotion classification, the Frechette initial distance averages for sad, excited, and calm emotions were 82.34, 75.63, and 70.21, respectively. The model was trained up to 2500 iterations, and the loss value was reduced to 0.54, with an accuracy of 98.23%, confirming its effectiveness and high performance. The self attention residual network enhances the model's ability to capture image details, effectively improving the quality and accuracy of image generation, and providing a new technological path for radiation imaging data processing and analysis in radiation science.

Geometric analysis and local buckling behavior of wire arc additively manufactured ER110S cruciform section stub columns

The recent prominence and potential of wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) in the civil engineering industry have gained significant attention due to its ability to produce complex geometric shapes in a cost-effective and flexible manner. This paper presents the geometric analysis and local buckling behavior of WAAM ER110S cruciform section stub columns. A total of eight specimens with a broad range of width-to-thickness ratios were manufactured. 3D laser-scanning was conducted to capture the geometric characteristics of all the WAAM ER110S cruciform section stub column specimens. Material testing with coupons cut from various orientations of WAAM ER110S plates was performed and this is followed by the stub column testing where digital image correlation (DIC) was employed to monitor the full-field deformations of the specimens. The obtained test data were then employed to assess the applicability of current design rules specified in European, American and Australian standards to WAAM ER110S cruciform section stub columns. The assessment results revealed that (i) the current Class 3 slenderness limits (i.e. slender/non-slender slenderness limits) can be safely used for the classification of outstand plate elements of cruciform sections in compression and (ii) all the three specifications can lead to safe though marginally scattered failure load predictions of WAAM ER110S cruciform section stub columns.

Early crack resistance and life cycle assessment of seawater-mixed sintered sludge cement paste

Due to the accelerating effect of chloride and sulfate on the hydration of clinker, seawater-mixed cement (SC) paste is more prone to brittle cracking. Herein, this research systematically investigates the early crack resistance of seawater-mixed sintered sludge cement (SSSC) paste based on splitting tensile test and restrained squared eccentric ring test. The microstructure characteristics characterized by mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy are combined to reveal the enhancement mechanism of sintered sludge ash (SSA) on SC paste, and a life cycle assessment is conducted around its carbon footprint. The results indicate that the SSA incorporation causes a continuous increase of 24.4 % in the splitting tensile strength of SSSC paste. Meanwhile, the digital image correlation technology accurately captures the strain and displacement fields composed of crack propagation, which tends to be symmetrically distributed and reduces the crack width by 30 %. During the inhomogeneous restrained shrinkage process, as the SSA increases, the crack deviation of the SSSC paste first magnifies and then reduces, the crack width decreases, and the cracking time extends. The pozzolanic activity of SSA is more active in SC paste, which significantly promotes the secondary accumulation of C-S-H and the increase of gel pore volume. This effectively reduces the risk of brittle cracking caused by uneven distribution of paste stiffness due to hydration acceleration during seawater mixing. In addition, replacing 50 % cement with SSA only results in a total of 4.1 % carbon emissions in SSSC paste and a 47.8 % reduction in global warming potential from sludge transportation to activation treatment, demonstrating significant environmental advantages.

Three-dimensional finite element analysis of stress distribution on different complex macro designs in commercially available implants: An in-vitro study

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the effects of different commercially available complex implant macro designs on stress distributions using Finite element analysis. The experiment is done under varying simulated bone conditions to provide reference for clinical application. Materials and methodsThe study employed the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method to compare four commercially available complex implant macro designs on a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model of a maxillary bone segment. The three-dimensional geometrical model of the implants was reconstructed from computed tomography (CT)-slices in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format and contact condition between the implant and the bone was considered as ‘Bonded’, implying perfect osseointegration. All materials used in the models were assumed to be isotropic, homogeneous, and linearly elastic. The Finite element simulations employed load of 400 N under both axial and non-axial conditions Stresses were analysed under different bone conditions. ResultsAverage values of von Mises stresses were used for comparing stress levels between implant designs. There was a definite increase in the equivalent stress values from higher density(D1)to lower density (D4) bone conditions for all implants. The percentage of increase ranged from 23.63 to 49.39 on axial loading and 20.39 to 57.19 when subjected to non-axial loading. The equivalent stress values resulted from non-axial loading were 1.78–2.94 times higher than that of axial loading for all implants under all bone densities. Among the complex designs Equinox Myriad Plus implant exhibited the least stress under axial loading (12.749–19.046 MPa) and (37.462–49.217 MPa) for non-axial loading. The stress on the crestal module was higher (1.49–2.99 times) than the overall stress on the implant regardless of the loading direction or bone conditions. ConclusionsData from the present study shows Equinox Myriad Plus implant generating the least equivalent stress and this can be taken as indicator in the biomechanical performance of the design.

Exploring the hemodynamic behavior of residual aneurysms after coiling and clipping: A computational flow dynamic analysis

Background: Residual intracranial aneurysms post-clipping or coiling pose a poorly established risk of rupture. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) offers insights into hemodynamic changes following such interventions. This study aims to assess hemodynamic parameters in residual aneurysms pre- and post-treatment with surgical clips or coils using CFD. Methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients between January 2015 and January 2024 was conducted. Digital subtraction angiography images were reconstructed using 3D modeling techniques, and hemodynamic parameters were analyzed with ANSYS® software. Results: Six aneurysms were analyzed: Five unruptured and one ruptured. The aneurysms were located at the basilar apex (2), middle cerebral artery bifurcation (2), and origin of the posterior communicating artery (2). Post-treatment, there was a significant reduction in both aneurysm area (median reduction of 33.73%) and volume (median reduction of 25.3%). Five of the six cases demonstrated fewer low wall shear stress (WSS) areas, which could indicate a reduction in regions prone to thrombus formation and diminished risk of rupture. In the unruptured aneurysms, there was a median increase of 137.6% in average WSS. Notably, the only case with increased low WSS area also had the highest increase in average WSS. One basilar artery aneurysm showed increased WSS across all parameters, suggesting a higher rupture risk. Conclusion: The increase in average and high WSS area, along with a decrease in low WSS area, reflects a complex balance between factors of stability and rupture risk. However, a simultaneous increase in all WSS parameters may represent the highest rupture risk due to increased mechanical stress on the aneurysm wall, necessitating closer monitoring.

A novel frameshift deletion variant of ARSL associated with X-linked recessive chondrodysplasia punctata 1: a case report and literature review of prenatal, confirmed cases

BackgroundX-linked recessive chondrodysplasia punctata 1 (CDPX1) is a rare congenital skeletal dysplasia characterized by stippled epiphyses, nasal hypoplasia, and brachytelephalangy. ARSL (formerly known as ARSE), a member of the sulfatase gene family located on Xp22.3, has been identified as the causative gene for CDPX1. The high clinical and genetic heterogeneity of CDPX1 presents a challenge to prenatal diagnosis.Case presentationA G1P0 woman in her 30s with an unremarkable prenatal course presented in the second trimester. Maternal diseases, tobacco, alcohol, and drug history during pregnancy were denied. Obstetrical ultrasound examination revealed a flattened nose and a flattened midface with echogenic alterations of lumbar spinous process in the fetus. Amniocentesis was performed for genetic testing. A normal karyotype and a negative result of CNV-seq were obtained. However, Whole exome sequencing (WES) in trios revealed a hemizygous ARSL variant [NM_000047.3:c.1108del p.(Trp370Glyfs*35)] in the fetus, which was maternally inherited as confirmed by Sanger sequencing. This variant was absent from the genomAD and HGMD databases. According to the ACMG guidelines, this variant was interpreted as likely pathogenic (PVS1 + PM2_Supporting). The couple decided to terminate the pregnancy. After induction of labour, a severe nasal hypoplasia was noted; and brachytelephalangy was not remarkable. Postmortem digital X-ray imaging revealed symmetrical stippled epiphyses of the vertebrae in all spine regions and enlargement of spinous process of L1-L4 vertebrae.ConclusionA novel frameshift deletion variant of ARSL and the associated fetal phenotype have been identified. This study provides useful information for prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling of CDPX1.