Ease Of Acquisition Research Articles

Hypoxic burden - definitions, pathophysiological concepts, methods of evaluation, and clinical relevance.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common chronic condition that affects over a billion people worldwide and is associated with adverse cardio- and cerebrovascular consequences. Currently, the go-to clinical measure that determines the presence and severity of OSA is the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The AHI captures the frequency of respiratory events due to changes in ventilation that are associated with either oxygen desaturations or arousal from sleep. The AHI is poorly correlated to adverse outcomes in OSA with poor prognostic ability. To overcome the limitations of AHI and perhaps driven by the ease of acquisition, several studies have suggested characterizing nocturnal hypoxia in OSA, termed as "hypoxic burden". The purpose of this review is to focus on the hypoxic burden in OSA, its various definitions, and its utility in moving OSA diagnosis beyond the AHI. Several measures and definitions of hypoxic burden have been proposed and studied that show promise in overcoming limitations of AHI and also have a greater prognostic ability than AHI. More recently, area-based measures that attempt to characterize the depth and duration of oxygen desaturations, i.e., nocturnal hypoxia in OSA, have been shown to better relate to incident cardiovascular disease than AHI. In this review, we delve into the evidence for these novel area-based metrics and also delve into the pathophysiological concepts underlying nocturnal hypoxia while cautioning the reader on interpretation of the recent findings relating hypoxic burden to adverse outcomes in OSA. In this review on hypoxic burden, we focus on the need that has driven the sudden influx of studies assessing hypoxic burden for various outcomes of OSA, its underlying pathophysiology, the various definitions, and clinical relevance. We hope that the reader can appreciate the nuances underlying hypoxic burden in OSA and suggest the need for a cohesive framework for moving beyond the AHI with hypoxic burden.

Revolutionizing Bone Regeneration with Grinder-Based Dentin Biomaterial: A Systematic Review.

Bone tissue regeneration is a critical aspect of dental surgery, given the common occurrence of bone resorption leading to alveolar bone defects. The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic review to provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence regarding the regenerative properties of dentin biomaterial. This systematic review was conducted through comprehensive searches in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, as well as an extensive exploration of the gray literature sources, including WorldCat, The New York Academy of Medicine Library, and Trip Database, following the established PRISMA protocol. Keywords such as tooth, dentin, grinder, and autograft guided the search, with a focus on a standardized procedure involving dentin grinders within laboratory, experimental, and clinical settings. Initially, a pool of 1942 articles was identified with 452 duplicates removed. An additional 1474 articles were excluded for not aligning with the predefined topics, and three more were excluded due to the unavailability of the full text. Ultimately, 13 articles met the strict inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The chemical composition of the dentin particles was similar to natural bone in terms of oxygen, carbon, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and magnesium content, as well as in terms of the Ca/P ratio. In addition, the dentin also contained amide I and amide II structures, as well as aliphatic and hydroxyl functional groups. The chemically treated dentin was free of microorganisms. The dentin had characteristic tubules that opened after chemical treatment. At the cellular level, dentin released bone morphogenetic protein 2, induced significant cell growth, and stimulated the reorganization of the fibroblast cytoskeleton. Most clinical studies have focused on alveolar bone regeneration. After the transplantation of demineralized dentin particles, studies have observed new bone formation, a reduction in residual bone, and an increase in connective tissue. Clinical reports consistently indicate uncomplicated healing and recovery post-transplantation. However, there is a notable gap in the evidence concerning complication rates, patient-reported outcomes, and the presence of pro-inflammatory factors. In conclusion, dentin biomaterial emerges as a versatile bone substitute, demonstrating high biocompatibility and ease of acquisition. The preservation of its internal structure containing organic matter and growth factors enhances its potential for effective bone regeneration. Particularly, in dental surgery, dentin-derived materials present a promising alternative to traditional autologous bone autografts, offering the potential to reduce patient morbidity and treatment costs.

Selective and Efficient Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia from Nitrate with Copper‐Based Catalysts

AbstractThe high stability and persistence of nitrates in water poses a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. To effectively reduce the nitrate content in wastewater, the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (e‐NO3RR) is widely recognized as an ideal treatment method due to its high reliability and efficiency. The selection of catalyst material plays a decisive role in e‐NO3RR performance. Copper‐based catalysts, with their ease of acquisition, high activity, and selectivity for NH3, have emerged as the most promising candidates for e‐NO3RR applications. In this paper, the mechanism of e‐NO3RR is first introduced. Then the relationship between structural properties and catalytic performance of copper‐based catalysts is analyzed in detail from four aspects: nanomaterials, oxides, monoatomic, and bimetallic materials. Strategies for constructing efficient catalysts are discussed, including surface modulation, defect engineering, heteroatom doping, and coordination effects. Finally, the challenges and prospects of copper‐based catalysts with high e‐NO3RR performance in practical applications are outlined.

Integrating IoMT and AI for Proactive Healthcare: Predictive Models and Emotion Detection in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, present considerable challenges in their early detection, monitoring, and management. The paper presents NeuroPredict, a healthcare platform that integrates a series of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to address these challenges and proactively improve the lives of patients with or at risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Sensor data and data obtained through standardized and non-standardized forms are used to construct detailed models of monitored patients’ lifestyles and mental and physical health status. The platform offers personalized healthcare management by integrating AI-driven predictive models that detect early symptoms and track disease progression. The paper focuses on the NeuroPredict platform and the integrated emotion detection algorithm based on voice features. The rationale for integrating emotion detection is based on two fundamental observations: (a) there is a strong correlation between physical and mental health, and (b) frequent negative mental states affect quality of life and signal potential future health declines, necessitating timely interventions. Voice was selected as the primary signal for mood detection due to its ease of acquisition without requiring complex or dedicated hardware. Additionally, voice features have proven valuable in further mental health assessments, including the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Exploring the predictive ability of the CA–Markov model for urban functional area in Nanjing old city

With advancements in sustainable urban development, research on urban functional areas has garnered significant attention. In recent years, Point-of-Interest, with their large volume of information and ease of acquisition, have been widely applied in research on urban functional domains. However, scholars currently focus on the identification of urban functional areas, usually relying on data from a single period, whereas research on the prediction of functional areas has not yet been well validated. Therefore, in this study, we propose a new method based on several years of POI data to predict urban functional areas. Taking Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, as an example, we first identified the functional area distribution of the old city of Nanjing over several years using POI data and then designed multiple sets of experiments to explore the CA–Markov model’s ability to predict functional areas from various aspects, including model overall accuracy, robustness, and comparison analysis between predictions and actual situations. The results show that (1) for mixed or single functional areas, the model’s predictions over several years tend to be stable, and the accuracy of the predictions over many years indicates the robustness of the model in predicting urban functional areas. (2) For mixed functional areas in cities, model predictions largely rely on the distribution of the base years used for prediction, leading to inaccurate results; thus, it is still not applicable for simulating and predicting mixed functional areas. (3) For single functional areas in cities or primary functions within an area, the model’s predicted degree of change was close to the actual degree of change, making the results referable.

Automated software-derived supine baseline impedance is highly correlated with manual nocturnal baseline impedance for the diagnosis of GERD.

Mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) can improve diagnostic accuracy for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but must be manually calculated and is not routinely reported. We aimed to determine how automated software-derived mean supine baseline impedance (MSBI), a potential novel GERD metric, is related to MNBI. Consecutively obtained pH-impedance studies were assessed. Manually extracted MNBI was compared to MSBI using paired t-test and Spearman's correlations. The correlation between MNBI and MSBI was very high (ρ = 0.966, p < 0.01). The ease of acquisition and correlation with MNBI warrant the routine clinical use and reporting of MSBI with pH-impedance studies.

Simple Siamese Model with Long Short-Term Memory for User Authentication with Field-Programmable Gate Arrays

Recent studies have focused on user authentication methods that use biometric signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and photo-plethysmography (PPG). These authentication technologies have advantages such as ease of acquisition, strong security, and the capability for non-aware authentication. This study addresses user authentication using electromyogram (EMG) signals, which are particularly easy to acquire, can be fabricated in a wearable form such as a wristwatch, and are readily expandable with technologies such as human–machine interface. However, despite their potential, they often exhibit lower accuracy (approximately 90%) than traditional methods such as fingerprint recognition. Accuracy can be improved using complex algorithms and multiple biometric authentication technologies; however, complex algorithms use substantial hardware resources, making their application to wearable devices difficult. In this study, a simple Siamese model with long short-term memory (LSTM) (SSiamese-LSTM) is proposed to achieve a high accuracy of over 99% with limited resources suitable for wearable devices. The hardware implementation was accomplished using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In terms of accuracy, EMG measurement results from Chosun University were used, and data from 100 individuals were employed for verification. The proposed digital logic will be integrated with an EMG sensor in the form of a watch that can be used for user authentication.

Study on liver tissue derived-extracellular vesicles regulating the osteogenic differentiation ability of mesenchymal stem cells and promoting the healing of jaw bone defects

Objective: To explore the biological process of liver tissue-derived extracellular vesicle (LT-EV) in promoting osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and healing of jaw defects to provide a feasible treatment method for the clinical treatment of jaw bone defects. Methods: Enzymatic hydrolysis and differential centrifugation were used to extract LT-EV, scanning electron microscopy, Western blotting, and nanoparticle tracking analyzers were used to identify and characterize LT-EV, and further to explore the biological functions of LT-EV through proteomics and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Flow cytometry was used to detect LT-EV plasma concentration and to calculate the plasma half-life of LT-EV. Small animal in vivo imaging system was used to detect the biological distribution of LT-EV 24 hours after injection. Six C57BL/6 mice were divided into control group and LT-EV group (3 mice in each group) by simple random sampling method. All mice underwent jaw bone defect surgery and tail vein injection every 7 days (the control group was injected with phosphoric buffer saline, LT-EV group was injected with LT-EV), micro-CT was used to evaluate the degree of mouse jaw bone healing 28 days after surgery, HE staining was used to analyze the multi-organ biosafety of LT-EV, and immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the jaw bone expression of osteogenic marker proteins in the defect area. Human jaw bone mesenchymal stem cells (hJBMSC) induced by osteogenic differentiation were treated with LT-EV (obtained from orthognathic surgery patients provided by the Department of Traumatology and Orthognathic Surgery of School of Stomatology of The Fourth Military Medical University resected normal jaw bone fragments), and the difference in osteogenic differentiation ability between the hJBMSC group and the control group (phosphate buffer saline treatment) was compared, and the in vitro bone differentiation promoting effect of LT-EV was verified through alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Results: The yield of LT-EV was high, and proteomics and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed that LT-EV contained a series of proteins that regulated cell biological functions. LT-EV injected into the tail vein could reach the mouse jaw bone defect area and promote the regeneration and repair of the jaw bone defect [the bone volume fractions of the LT-EV group and the control group were (36.06±4.20)% and (18.58±5.61)%, respectively; t=4.32, P=0.013], and had good biosafety. LT-EV could promote osteogenic differentiation of hJBMSC in vitro. Compared to the control group, ALP staining and osteogenic gene expression levels were significantly enhanced after osteogenic differentiation of hJBMSC (P<0.05). Conclusions: LT-EV exhibits a high yield, ease of acquisition, high biological safety, and excellent bone-promoting effects. It holds promise as a novel cell-free therapy strategy for regenerating craniofacial bone defects.

Advances in systemic immune inflammatory indices in non-small cell lung cancer: A review.

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers globally, with non-small cell lung cancers constituting the majority. These cancers have a high incidence and mortality rate. In recent years, a growing body of research has demonstrated the intricate link between inflammation and cancer, highlighting that inflammation and cancer are inextricably linked and that inflammation plays a pivotal role in cancer development, progression, and prognosis of cancer. The Systemic Immunoinflammatory Index (SII), comprising neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts, is a more comprehensive indicator of the host's systemic inflammation and immune status than a single inflammatory index. It is widely used in clinical practice due to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity, noninvasiveness, and ease of acquisition. This paper reviews the impact of SII on the development, progression, and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells combined with collagen I gel as a regenerative therapeutic strategy for degenerated disc after discectomy in rats

BackgroundAnnulus fibrosis (AF) defects have been identified as the primary cause of disc herniation relapse and subsequent disc degeneration following discectomy. Stem cell-based tissue engineering offers a promising approach for structural repair. Menstrual blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MenSCs), a type of adult stem cell, have gained attention as an appealing source for clinical applications due to their potential for structure regeneration, with ease of acquisition and regardless of ethical issues.MethodsThe differential potential of MenSCs cocultured with AF cells was examined by the expression of collagen I, SCX, and CD146 using immunofluorescence. Western blot and ELISA were used to examine the expression of TGF-β and IGF-I in coculture system. An AF defect animal model was established in tail disc of Sprague-Dawley rats (males, 8 weeks old). An injectable gel containing MenSCs (about 1*106/ml) was fabricated and transplanted into the AF defects immediately after the animal model establishment, to evaluate its repairment properties. Disc degeneration was assessed via magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histological staining. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to assess the expression of aggrecan, MMP13, TGF-β and IGF-I in discs with different treatments. Apoptosis in the discs was evaluated using TUNEL, caspase3, and caspase 8 immunofluorescence staining.ResultsCoculturing MenSCs with AF cells demonstrated ability to express collagen I and biomarkers of AF cells. Moreover, the coculture system presented upregulation of the growth factors TGF-β and IGF-I. After 12 weeks, discs treated with MenSCs gel exhibited significantly lower Pffirrmann scores (2.29 ± 0.18), compared to discs treated with MenSCs (3.43 ± 0.37, p < 0.05) or gel (3.71 ± 0.29, p < 0.01) alone. There is significant higher MR index in disc treated with MenSCs gel than that treated with MenSCs (0.51 ± 0.05 vs. 0.24 ± 0.04, p < 0.01) or gel (0.51 ± 0.05 vs. 0.26 ± 0.06, p < 0.01) alone. Additionally, MenSCs gel demonstrated preservation of the structure of degenerated discs, as indicated by histological scoring (5.43 ± 0.43 vs. 9.71 ± 1.04 in MenSCs group and 10.86 ± 0.63 in gel group, both p < 0.01), increased aggrecan expression, and decreased MMP13 expression in vivo. Furthermore, the percentage of TUNEL and caspase 3-positive cells in the disc treated with MenSCs Gel was significantly lower than those treated with gel alone and MenSCs alone. The expression of TGF-β and IGF-I was higher in discs treated with MenSCs gel or MenSCs alone than in those treated with gel alone.ConclusionMenSCs embedded in collagen I gel has the potential to preserve the disc structure and prevent disc degeneration after discectomy, which was probably attributed to the paracrine of growth factors of MenSCs.

Prevalence of the use of integrative and complementary practices and chronic diseases: 2019 National Health Survey

The study sought to investigate the association between having a chronic disease or condition and the prevalence of having recourse to Integrative and Complementary Practices (ICP) among the Brazilian adult population. Chronic diseases are a serious public health issue and there are limitations of Western medicine to offer effective answers. Thus, the demand for ICP has increased as they constitute a humanized treatment option, with low cost and ease of acquisition. A cross-sectional population-based study was carried out using data from the 2019 National Health Survey. The prevalence of ICP use was estimated by categories of the other variables (presence or absence of chronic conditions) and prevalence ratios (PR) were adjusted for sociodemographic variables. The prevalence of the use of a given ICP, in the last 12 months, by the adult Brazilian population (18 years of age and over) was 5.5% (95%CI: 5.2%-5.8%), and adults with a chronic condition had a higher prevalence of use (PR: 2.11; 95%CI: 1.89-2.36), even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Stroke, asthma, arthritis, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, depression and other mental illnesses, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and heart disease such as hypertension were associated with a higher prevalence of ICP use.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Primed Tonsil-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Atopic Dermatitis via B Cell Regulation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) ameliorate T-and B cell-mediated immune responses. In particular, tonsil-MSCs (T-MSCs) are attractive candidates for practical and clinical applications because of their ease of acquisition and relatively low immunogenicity compared with other MSC sources. The use of MSCs as a therapeutic tool in atopic dermatitis (AD) has been investigated, but that of T-MSCs remains to be explored. Therefore, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of primed T-MSCs in AD pathogenesis. In our animal study, primed T-MSCs showed greater immunological suppressive effects than naïve T-MSCs. Additionally, in vitro, the proliferation of B cells was downregulated by the addition of primed T-MSCs compared with naïve T-MSCs. The activation of B cells to differentiate into antibody-secreting cells and produce IgE was also reduced when primed T-MSCs were added. Moreover, under CD40-knockdown conditions, we found that CD40 in primed T-MSCs played a critical role as a regulator of B cell activation and was mediated by the non-canonical NF-κB pathway. Therefore, our findings suggest a promising role for primed T-MSCs in the treatment of AD by regulating B cell-mediated inflammatory responses, which are dependent on CD40 expression on primed T-MSCs mediated through the non-canonical NF-κB pathway.

Parkinson’s Disease Classification Framework Using Vocal Dynamics in Connected Speech

Parkinson’s disease (PD) classification through speech has been an advancing field of research because of its ease of acquisition and processing. The minimal infrastructure requirements of the system have also made it suitable for telemonitoring applications. Researchers have studied the effects of PD on speech from various perspectives using different speech tasks. Typical speech deficits due to PD include voice monotony (e.g., monopitch), breathy or rough quality, and articulatory errors. In connected speech, these symptoms are more emphatic, which is also the basis for speech assessment in popular rating scales used for PD, like the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn and Yahr (HY). The current study introduces an innovative framework that integrates pitch-synchronous segmentation and an optimized set of features to investigate and analyze continuous speech from both PD patients and healthy controls (HC). Comparison of the proposed framework against existing methods has shown its superiority in classification performance and mitigation of overfitting in machine learning models. A set of optimal classifiers with unbiased decision-making was identified after comparing several machine learning models. The outcomes yielded by the classifiers demonstrate that the framework effectively learns the intrinsic characteristics of PD from connected speech, which can potentially offer valuable assistance in clinical diagnosis.

1종화학물질과 산업독성물질의 화학테러 이용 가능성 분석

In this study, we analyzed chemical substances that could be used in chemical terrorism for the purpose of mass destruction, social disruption and assassination, and suggested ways to effectively manage these chemicals. The analysis focused on toxic industrial substance which are suggested by accident preparation substances from regulations and literature, and schedule 1 chemicals which actually used in chemical terrorism recently. The analysis was conducted based on ease of acquisition, transportation, and dispersal, which can vary depending on the physical, chemical properties and toxicity of the substances. The review concluded that the schedule 1 chemical is more likely to be utilized for chemical terrorism compared to industrial toxic substances. Unlike industrial toxic substance, schedule 1 chemical can be obtained through synthesis or smuggling from abroad. They possess high toxicity enough to achieve object with small quantities, so that it has advantages of secretly transportation and dispersal to that target location or individuals. This analysis is supported by recent chemical terrorism cases. To prevent terrorists from acquiring the schedule 1 chemicals identified as potential candidates for chemical terrorism, effective management and supervision of various chemicals that can be used for the synthesis of schedule 1 chemical is crucial. In this regard, it is essential to thoroughly monitor and analyze the chemicals purchased by consumers to determine their potential for synthesizing these category of chemicals. To achieve this, we propose the establishment and utilization of an artificial intelligence-based system.

Cell-Cell and Cell-Matrix Interactions at the Presumptive Stem Cell Niche of the Chick Corneal Limbus.

(1) Background: Owing to its ready availability and ease of acquisition, developing chick corneal tissue has long been used for research purposes. Here, we seek to ascertain the three-dimensional microanatomy and spatiotemporal interrelationships of the cells (epithelial and stromal), extracellular matrix, and vasculature at the corneo-scleral limbus as the site of the corneal stem cell niche of the chicken eye. (2) Methods: The limbus of developing (i.e., embryonic days (E) 16 and 18, just prior to hatch) and mature chicken eyes was imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the volume electron microscopy technique, serial-block face SEM (SBF-SEM), the latter technique allowing us to generate three-dimensional reconstructions from data sets of up to 1000 serial images; (3) Results: Data revealed that miniature limbal undulations of the embryonic basement membrane, akin to Palisades of Vogt (PoV), matured into distinct invaginations of epithelial cells that extended proximally into a vascularized limbal stroma. Basal limbal epithelial cells, moreover, occasionally exhibited a high nuclear:cytoplasmic ratio, which is a characteristic feature of stem cells. SBF-SEM identified direct cell-cell associations between corneal epithelial and stromal cells at the base of structures akin to limbal crypts (LCs), with cord-like projections of extracellular matrix extending from the basal epithelial lamina into the subjacent stroma, where they made direct contact with stomal cells in the immature limbus. (4) Conclusion: Similarities with human tissue suggest that the corneal limbus of the mature chicken eye is likely the site of a corneal stem cell niche. The ability to study embryonic corneas pre-hatch, where we see characteristic niche-like features emerge, thus provides an opportunity to chart the development of the limbal stem cell niche of the cornea.

Animated Videos Based on Food Processing for Guidance of Brazilian Adults: Validation Study.

Ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) contribute almost one-fifth of the calories consumed by the Brazilian population. This consumption has been favored by aspects such as the ease of acquisition and low cost of this food group. Initiatives focused on supporting and promoting healthy eating practices have been implemented. Among them, the availability of educational resources is an important strategy to maximize the effectiveness of these actions in the field of food and nutrition education (FNE). This study aims to describe the development and validation process of animated videos based on the NOVA food classification for FNE actions aimed at Brazilian adults. This methodological study was developed in the following 4 phases: planning, preproduction, production, and postproduction. In the planning phase, a literature review was con-ducted on the topic and to define the content to be covered. The design of the material was based on the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In the preproduction phase, video scripts were developed and evaluated by 7 content specialists. In the production phase, videos were developed based on the assessed scripts and then assessed by 3 multimedia production specialists. In the postproduction phase, the videos were evaluated by 15 representatives of the target audience. All results obtained in the evaluation phases were analyzed using the content validity index (CVI). We developed 3 animated videos covering the following themes: food processing levels, food categories according to processing levels, and UPFs and their impact on health. In the evaluation by the content specialists, the scripts of videos 1, 2, and 3 obtained CVIs at the scale level and average method equal to 0.96, 0.98, and 0.98, respectively. When the animated videos were evaluated by multimedia production specialists and representatives of the target audience, these indexes were equal to 1.0. These results attest to the videos' adequacy and quality in communicating the addressed content. The animated videos developed and validated in this study proved to be adequate for their purpose. Thus, it is expected that they will be an important instrument for FNE actions aimed at an adult audience and for disseminating the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population.

Isolation, culture, and delivery considerations for the use of mesenchymal stem cells in potential therapies for acute liver failure.

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a high-mortality syndrome for which liver transplantation is considered the only effective treatment option. A shortage of donor organs, high costs and surgical complications associated with immune rejection constrain the therapeutic effects of liver transplantation. Recently, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy was recognized as an alternative strategy for liver transplantation. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have been used in clinical trials of several liver diseases due to their ease of acquisition, strong proliferation ability, multipotent differentiation, homing to the lesion site, low immunogenicity and anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects. In this review, we comprehensively summarized the harvest and culture expansion strategies for BMSCs, the development of animal models of ALF of different aetiologies, the critical mechanisms of BMSC therapy for ALF and the challenge of clinical application.

Deep multi-task learning for nephropathy diagnosis on immunofluorescence images

Background and ObjectiveAs an advanced technique, immunofluorescence (IF) is one of the most widely-used medical image for nephropathy diagnosis, due to its ease of acquisition with low cost. In practice, the clinically collected IF images are commonly corrupted by blurs at different degrees, mainly because of the inaccurate focus at the acquisition stage. Although deep neural network (DNN) methods achieve the great success in nephropathy diagnosis, their performance dramatically drops over the blurred IF images. This significantly limits the potential of leveraging the advanced DNN techniques in real-world nephropathy diagnosis scenarios. MethodsThis paper first establishes two IF databases with synthetic blurs (IFVB) and real-world blurs (Real-IF) for nephropathy diagnosis, respectively, including 1,659 patients and 6,521 IF images with various degrees of blurs. According to the analysis on these two databases, we propose a deep hierarchical multi-task learning based nephropathy diagnosis (DeepMT-ND) method to bridge the gap between the low-level vision and high-level medical tasks. Specifically, DeepMT-ND simultaneously handles the main task of automatic nephropathy diagnosis, as well as the auxiliary tasks of image quality assessment (IQA) and de-blurring. ResultsExtensive experiments show the superiority of our DeepMT-ND in terms of diagnosis accuracy and generalization ability. For instance, our method performs better than nephrologists with at least 15.4% and 6.5% accuracy improvements in IFVB and Real-IF, respectively. Meanwhile, our method also achieves comparable performance in two auxiliary tasks of IQA and de-blurring on blurred IF images. ConclusionsIn this paper, we propose a new DeepMT-ND method for nephropathy diagnosis on blurred IF images. The proposed hierarchical multi-task learning framework provides the new scope to narrow the gap between the low-level vision and high-level medical tasks, and will contribute to nephropathy diagnosis in clinical scenarios. The diagnosis accuracy and generalization ability of DeepMT-ND are experimentally verified to be effective over both synthetic and real-world databases.

Spreading of Localized Information across an Entire 3D Electrical Resistivity Volume via Constrained EMI Inversion Based on a Realistic Prior Distribution

Frequency-domain electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods are commonly used to map vast areas quickly and with minimum logistical efforts. Unfortunately, they are often characterized by a very limited number of frequencies and severe ill-posedness. On the other hand, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) approaches are usually considered more reliable; for example, they do not require specific calibration procedures and can be easily inverted in 2D/3D. However, ERT surveys are, by far, more demanding and time consuming, allowing for the deployment of a few acquisition lines per day. Ideally, the optimal would be to have the advantages of both approaches: ease of acquisition while keeping robustness and reliability. The present work raises from the necessity to cope with this issue and from the importance of enforcing realistic constraints to the data inversion without being limited to (over)simplistic spatial constraints (for example, characterizing the smooth and/or sharp regularization). Accordingly, the present research demonstrates, by means of synthetic and field data, how the EMI inversion—based on realistic prior models—can be further enhanced by incorporating additional pre-existing pieces of information. While the proposed scheme is quite general, in the specific examples discussed here, these additional pieces of information are, respectively, a reference model along a line across the survey area, and an ERT section. The field EMI results were verified against extensive ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements and boreholes.

Evaluation of commercially available point-of-care ultrasound for automated optic nerve sheath measurement

BackgroundMeasurement of the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) via ultrasonography has been proposed as a non-invasive metric of intracranial pressure that may be employed during in-field patient triage. However, first responders are not typically trained to conduct sonographic exams and/or do not have access to an expensive ultrasound device. Therefore, for successful deployment of ONSD measurement in-field, we believe that first responders must have access to low-cost, portable ultrasound and be assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can automatically interpret the optic nerve sheath ultrasound scan.We examine the suitability of five commercially available, low-cost, portable ultrasound devices that can be combined with future artificial intelligence algorithms to reduce the training required for and cost of in-field optic nerve sheath diameter measurement. This paper is focused on the quality of the images generated by these low-cost probes. We report results of a clinician preference survey and compare with a lab analysis of three quantitative image quality metrics across devices. We also examine the suitability of the devices in a hypothetical far-forward deployment using operators unskilled in ultrasound, with the assumption of a future onboard AI video interpreter.ResultsWe find statistically significant differences in clinician ranking of the devices in the following categories: “Image Quality”, “Ease of Acquisition”, “Software”, and “Overall ONSD”. We show differences in signal-to-noise ratio, generalized contrast-to-noise ratio, point-spread function across the devices. These differences in image quality result in a statistically significant difference in manual ONSD measurement. Finally, we show that sufficiently wide transducers can capture the optic nerve sheath during blind (no visible B-mode) scans performed by operators unskilled in sonography.ConclusionsUltrasound of the optic nerve sheath has the potential to be a convenient, non-invasive, point-of-injury or triage measure for elevated intracranial pressure in cases of traumatic brain injury. When transducer width is sufficient, briefly trained operators may obtain video sequences of the optic nerve sheath without guidance. This data suggest that unskilled operators are able to achieve the images needed for AI interpretation. However, we also show that image quality differences between ultrasound probes may influence manual ONSD measurements.