Patch Coverage Research Articles

Nature-based solutions to address anxiety disorders: A cross-sectional ecological study of green spatial patterns in Taiwan

Air pollution and heat increase the prevalence and risk of anxiety disorders, which are particularly severe under the increasing trends of climate change and urbanization. Well-designed green spaces have mediating effects on the threats posed by environmental deterioration and promote public health. However, previous research has overlooked these effects. This cross-sectional ecological study applied partial least squares structural equation modeling to data from Taiwanese cities and towns to infer the vital influences of and complex relationships among green spatial patterns (i.e., the dispersion, patch area, fragmentation, aggregation, and coverage ratio of green spaces), socioeconomic status (i.e., income and population aging), atmospheric environment (i.e., air pollution and high temperature), and anxiety disorders. The results reveal that minimizing the dispersion of green spaces and maximizing their patch area and coverage ratio are associated with reduced prevalence of anxiety disorders. Air pollution and high temperature mediate the influence of green spatial patterns on anxiety disorders. Population aging, air pollution, and high temperature are factors that increase the prevalence rate of anxiety disorders, whereas income level has a negative effect. This study identified the pathways and influences (i.e., indirect, direct, and total impacts) of green spatial pattern characteristics on anxiety disorders. These findings show that the adoption of effective greening policies may promote the development of healthy cities. Moreover, this study provides a useful methodology for clarifying complex pathways and identifying vital factors that can be applied to future research in health science and policy.

A CT-based deep learning for segmenting tumors and predicting microsatellite instability in patients with colorectal cancers: a multicenter cohort study.

To develop and validate deep learning (DL) models using preoperative contrast-enhanced CT images for tumor auto-segmentation and microsatellite instability(MSI) prediction incolorectal cancer (CRC). Patients with CRC who underwent surgery or biopsy between January 2018 and April 2023 were retrospectively enrolled. Mismatch repair protein expression was determined via immunohistochemistry or fluorescence multiplex polymerase chain reaction-capillary electrophoresis. Manually delineated tumor contours using arterial and venous phase CT images by three abdominal radiologists are served as ground truth. Tumor auto-segmentation used nnU-Net. MSI prediction employed ViT or convolutional neural networks models, trained and validated with arterial and venous phase images (image model) or combined clinical-pathological factors (combined model). The segmentation model was evaluated using patch coverage ratio, Dice coefficient, recall, precision, and F1-score. The predictive models' efficacy was assessed using areas under the curves and decision curve analysis. Overall, 2180 patients (median age: 61years ± 17 [SD]; 1285 males) were divided into training (n = 1159), validation (n = 289), and independent external test (n = 732) groups. High-level MSI status was present in 435 patients (20%). In the external test set, the segmentation model performed well in the arterial phase, with patch coverage ratio, Dice coefficient, recall, precision, and F1-score values of 0.87, 0.71, 0.72, 0.74, and 0.71, respectively. For MSI prediction, the combined models outperformed the clinical model (AUC = 0.83 and 0.82 vs 0.67, p < 0.001) and two image models (AUC = 0.75 and 0.77, p < 0.001). Decision curve analysis confirmed the higher net benefit of the combined model compared to the other models across probability thresholds ranging from 0.1 to 0.45. DL enhances tumor segmentation efficiency and, when integrated with contrast-enhanced CT and clinicopathological factors, exhibits good diagnostic performance in predicting MSI in CRC.

Direct measurement of self-diffusiophoretic force generated by active colloids of different patch coverage using optical tweezers

Hypothesis: Synthetic micro/nanomotors are gaining extensive attention for various biomedical applications (especially in drug delivery) due to their ability to mimic the motion of biological micro/nanoscale swimmers. The feasibility of these applications relies on tight control of propulsion speed, direction, and type of motion (translation, circular, etc.) along with the exerted self-propulsive force. We propose to exploit the variation of both self-propulsion speed and force of active colloids with different patch coverages (with and without supporting layer) for engineering diffusiophoretic micro/nanomotors.Experiments: The microswimmers were designed at various patch coverages (10°, 30°, and 90°) with (Ti/Pt) and without (Pt) an adhesion layer for the catalytic patch through glancing angle metal deposition (GLAD) technique. Mean-square displacement (MSD) analysis was performed to obtain the self-propulsion parameters like speed and angular speed. Using optical tweezers (OT), the self-propulsive force was measured from the force power spectral density.Findings: The findings of our experiments suggest the non-requirement of any adhesion layer preceding the catalyst deposition since the Pt 10° colloidal batch had the maximal self-propulsion speed (4.61±0.3μm/s) and force (345±57fN) for 5% w/v H2O2 fuel concentration. Moreover, the self-propulsion speed and force decreased with increasing patch size, contrary to theoretical estimates. Also, the self-propulsive force obtained from MSD is 2 to 4 times lower in magnitude than the OT based force values. We believe that the self-propelling motion of the micromotors is possibly hindered due to interactions with the surface of the quartz cuvette during the optical microscopic analysis. Further, the MSD is limited to the self-propulsive motion in two dimensions. On the other hand, OT based force measurement involve trapping the particles in the bulk of the solution entirely avoiding the particle–substrate interactions. Hence, OT based force measurements are better than the propulsion velocity based stokes drag force estimates. We believe that this study can lay the foundation in designing efficient micro/nanomotors for translational biomedical applications.

Maximizing Patch Coverage for Testing of Highly-Configurable Software without Exploding Build Times

Maximizing Patch Coverage for Testing of Highly-Configurable Software without Exploding Build Times

Changes in secondary sexual characteristics of female red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and relationship to ovarian development: Implications for intensive breeding of seedlings

A rapid selection method of mature Procambarus clarkii females for use in intensive breeding of seedlings is proposed based on evaluation of secondary sexual characteristics and variation patterns in this study. Following regular sampling in ponds, the weight, cephalothorax length, annulus ventralis length, body width, white patch coverage (WC) on the uropod, and uropod content weight-to-weight (WW) ratio of female P. clarkii were found to change significantly during ovarian development. The random forest model identified white patches on the uropod as secondary sexual characteristics of female P. clarkii. In fact, the ovarian maturity status could be determined based on the variable pattern of these white patches (distribution shape, coverage, and density), particularly WC. White patches waxed and waned during ovarian development and oviposition. Specifically, white patches were absent from the uropod of female P. clarkii before the avitellogenic stage; visible on the uropod in the early vitellogenic stage (WC < 30%); WC 30–45% occurred in the midvitellogenic stage; WC > 45% occurred in the late vitellogenic stage; and white patches disappeared from the uropod of female P. clarkii in the post-vitellogenic and resorptive stage. The accuracy of identifying mature female P. clarkii (late vitellogenic stage) based on the white patch pattern was 86.36%. Hence, the observation of white patch changes on the uropod might represent an effective method for rapidly identifying mature female P. clarkii with the potential to improve artificial intensive breeding.

Numerical simulation of landscape ecological river flow structure based on vegetation patch distribution and fragmentation.

The self-organizing biological characteristics of vegetation and human activities lead to the disruption of the continuous spatial attributes of natural watersheds, which are significant factors affecting river wetland ecosystems. To clarify the landscape ecological flow characteristics of vegetation patch distribution and fragmentation, this study used the three-dimensional Reynolds stress turbulence model in ANSYS Fluent software. The model considered three vegetation patch coverages under two different submersion states and four fragmentation types of vegetation patches under the same coverage conditions within specific vegetation areas. The flow characteristics of longitudinally discontinuous rigid vegetation patches, occupying half of the width of the river channel, were numerically simulated. The model's applicability was verified by indoor open-channel flume experiments. The results indicated that: (1) The streamwise velocity in vegetated areas is significantly lower than in non-vegetated areas, and the difference in flow capacity between vegetated and non-vegetated areas increases with patch coverage and fragmentation degree. (2) In the non-submerged state, the maximum Reynolds stress in the vegetated area is located at the bottom of the vegetation and is negatively correlated with patch coverage but positively correlated with fragmentation degree. In the submerged state, the maximum Reynolds stress is located near the top of the canopy and is positively correlated with both patch coverage and fragmentation degree. (3) The longitudinal turbulent kinetic energy in the vegetated area is significantly higher than in the non-vegetated area. In the non-submerged state, the turbulent kinetic energy in the vegetated area is negatively correlated with patch coverage but positively correlated with fragmentation degree. In the submerged state, the turbulent kinetic energy of the longitudinal distribution in the free layer of the vegetated area is positively correlated with patch coverage, negatively correlated with fragmentation degree, and is only reflected in the upstream vegetation area.

Dam periodic storage drives the spatial pattern of vegetation towards banded evolution

Emerging and fragile ecosystems such as reservoir riparian zones are of increasing concern with the increasing number of damming projects worldwide. Current knowledge of riparian vegetation in reservoirs focuses on the individual and community level, with little understanding of spatial patterns and ecological processes at the landscape level. Here, we demonstrate the evolution process, evolution direction, and evolution mechanism of vegetation spatial patterns under persistent and periodic inundation disturbances in the reservoir riparian zone, through coupled analyses of landscape evolution and ecological processes, using continuous years of drone observation data in the riparian zones of two major reservoirs, Xiaowan and Nuozhadu of the Lancang River. We found that vegetation landscape evolution is driven by seed dispersal, environmental factors fluctuations, species tolerance differences, and competition for resource availability, showing a clear trend towards banded evolution. Ecological niche processes such as periodic wet-dry environmental filtering and interspecific competition dominated the formation of vegetation banding patches, and neutral processes of random seed dispersal dominated the areas where banding patches were formed. The water requirements of plants during the exposing period lead to a greater influence of environmental factors that are closely related to water, such as net rainfall, sunshine hours, groundwater storage, and soil moisture. Water redistribution between vegetated and bare ground patches is key to their formation and stability in the upper part of the riparian zone, where drought stress is severe, while in the lower part, vegetation is mainly affected by inundation stress during flooding periods. Therefore, riparian vegetation restoration is critical to maintain a certain area of bare ground patches for drought areas in the exposing period, in contrast to the emphasis on vegetation patch coverage. And it is possible to carry out spatial planning based on the development trend of the belt distribution, taking into account the flood and drought tolerance of the species as well as the fluctuating rhythms of the main factors, such as the rainfall, which is worth exploring further.

Analyzing the recovery mechanisms of patchy degradation and its response to mowing and plateau pika disturbances in alpine meadow

The alpine meadow is susceptible to degradation triggered by overgrazing and rodent outbreaks, leading to uneven patches of degradation. In this regard, we conducted a study that involved the implementation of nine combined treatments utilizing a two-factor randomized block design. The treatments were established based on three levels of plateau pika densities and three levels of simulated grazing intensity (mowing), and were replicated three times, resulting in 27 test plots. Hyperspectral images were used to map healthy meadow (HM), long-term vegetated patch (LVP), and short-term vegetated patch (SVP) and characterize their spectral properties. Four vegetation indices, including modified red edge simple ratio (MRESR), photochemical reflectance index (PRI), anthocyanin reflectance index (ARI), and plant senescence reflectance index (PSRI), were used to measure the recovery rate of various patches. In order to measure the resilience of various patches, the ratio of the LVP to degraded patch coverage (RLDC) and ratio of the SVP to degraded patch coverage (RSDC) were calculated from nadir-viewing drone images of the test plots. The research findings indicate that moderate mowing negatively affects the vegetative recovery rate of grass in healthy meadow. A moderate density of plateau pika facilitates plant growth in various types of patches. The joint action of plateau pika and mowing amplifies the negative effects of both factors while neutralizing their positive effects. SVP plants improve community resilience by shortening their life cycle and sprouting in cracks of soil crust. SVPs exhibit high resilience and can withstand local severe interference by plateau pika and grazing activities. LVPs require a stable environment for healthy meadow and cannot adapt to the disturbance of plateau pika at any density. Under the joint interferences of plateau pika and mowing, the SVPs could not be replaced by the LVPs. Therefore, the restoration and management of patchily degraded meadow must consider enhancing the resilience of plant patches and maintaining the long-term and stable survival of the restored grassland.

Alpine meadow patches unevenly regulate runoff and sediment yield generation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Meadow patches are caused by the fragmentation and disappearance of mattic epipedons, and can serve as evidence of degradation. This is a gradual decline in meadow patch coverage, which can result in soil and surface water loss due to increased bare soil surface. However, little is known about how the loss of mattic epipedons alters soil erosion processes in alpine regions. This study sheds light on this topic by conducting simulated rainfall experiments with different rainfall intensities to assess runoff and sediment generation. We selected representative degraded alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China. The observed temporal variations of runoff and soil loss rates were explained by the presence of two stages of meadow patch coverage decline: an increasing and a relatively stable stage. Compared to 30% and 60% meadow patch coverage, 90% meadow patch coverage displayed an extended increasing stage with delayed entrance into the stable stage during the rainfall period. The runoff coefficients were significantly higher in 90% and 30% meadow patch coverage than in 60%. The sediment concentrations were significantly lower in 90% and 60% meadow patch coverage than in 30%. It is worth stressing that 90% meadow patch coverage could prompt more rainfall flowing as runoff and reduce sediment under different rainfall intensities. The complex mosaic-pattern formed by meadow and bald patches changed the hydrological response of the soil, decreasing runoff coefficient in 60% meadow patch coverage. The destruction, reduction or even disappearance of some mattic epipedons led to a higher sediment concentration in 30% meadow patch coverage. The meadow patch coverage exerted a greater influence on sediment yield than on runoff volume, although it was generally affected by rainfall intensity. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining runoff and reducing sediment through the presence of mattic epipedons. Mattic epipedons appear as an effective soil erosion control feature, and this study offers a theoretical guidance for planning adaptive management strategies for degraded alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Analysis of the phase transition of patch colloidal particles and the molecular dynamics simulation

Anisotropic particle system means that the interaction between particles in the system depends not only on their spatial coordinates, but also on the orientation of each particle due to the influence of many factors such as structure, shape, electronic properties and environment. The introduction of orientation coordinates makes the phase space describing this kind of system have higher degrees of freedom and more complex symmetry. Therefore, the study of its general properties has more basic significance in physics. Patch colloidal particles, which have become one of the research hotspots in the field of soft matter physics in recent years, are a typical mesoscopic physical system with anisotropic interaction. In this paper, the two-dimensional patch colloidal particle system is studied as follows: (1) the phase structure of the system is preliminarily studied and analysed. It is found that the phase behaviour of the system at high temperature is similar to that of isotropic Lennard - Jones system is similar. Under low temperature, the system with low patch coverage has strip structure in the condensed phase and complex self-assembly structure in the gas phase; (2) It is found that the long-term diffusion belongs to isotropic normal diffusion, while the short-term diffusion is anisotropic ballistic diffusion, and the particle motion direction is always perpendicular to the patch orientation; (3) The melting behavior of the system is studied. It is found that the melting is a two-step phase transition, which is the same as that of the two-dimensional isotropic colloidal system;

Orientation-dependent electrostatic interaction between inverse patchy colloids

ABSTRACT An inverse patchy colloid (IPC) refers to a particle having patches that are mutually repulsive while the bare particle–patch interactions are attractive. We model a system of charged IPCs with a single patch using Debye-Hückel theory. We derive the full analytical expression for the effective interaction energy for a pair of IPCs as a function of inter-particle separation and particle orientations. The model is applicable for various patch coverage, ionic strengths and dielectric permittivity of the medium. Approximate solutions are derived under high screening limit and the results are compared with the full solution. The model can be used in molecular simulations such as Monte Carlo simulations to accurately describe the interaction between a pair of IPCs for a given experimental conditions.

Regulation of alpine meadow patch coverage on runoff and sediment under natural rainfall on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Soil and water conservation is the most important among ecological functions of alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Quantitative assessment of the effects of meadow patch coverage (MPC) on the runoff and sediment processes in alpine meadow is urgent for predicting the water conservation function of this special alpine ecosystem. Here, a field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different meadow patch coverage through runoff and sediment processes in a typical alpine meadow on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that runoff in 30% and 60% MPC plots were 39.4% and 37.9% less than in 90% MPC plot, respectively. The sediment yield in 60% and 90% MPC plots were 77.9% and 82.1% less than in 30% MPC plot, respectively. The sediment concentration in 30% MPC in heavy rainfall scenario is 4.34 times and 6.51 times higher than that in light rainfall scenario and moderate rainfall scenario, respectively. Our results indicated that MPC presented a greater impact on sediment yield than runoff volume, although runoff was greatly affected by rainfall. The higher MPC followed the greater runoff coefficient and the lower sediment concentration. The influences of MPC on runoff and sediment yield in light rainfall scenario and moderate rainfall scenario were weaker than those in heavy rainfall scenario. It is necessary to maintain surface runoff while controlling soil loss for realizing the sustainability of alpine meadow ecosystems. Therefore, these findings may conducive to offer a theoretical guidance to achieve the combined goal of soil erosion regulation during alpine meadow degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Determination of the yield, mass and structure of silver patches on colloidal silica using multiwavelength analytical ultracentrifugation

Anisotropic nanoparticles offer considerable promise for applications but also present significant challenges in terms of their characterization. Recent developments in the electroless deposition of silver patches directly onto colloidal silica particles have opened up a simple and scalable synthesis method for patchy particles with tunable optical properties. Due to the reliance on patch nucleation and growth, however, the resulting coatings are distributed in coverage and thickness and some core particles remain uncoated. To support process optimization, new methods are required to rapidly determine patch yield, thickness and coverage. Here we present a novel approach based on multiwavelength analytical ultracentrifugation (MWL-AUC) which permits simultaneous hydrodynamic and spectroscopic characterization. The patchy particle colloids are produced in a continuous flow mixing process that makes use of a KM-type micromixer. By varying the process flow rate or metal precursor concentration we show how the silver to silica mass ratio distribution derived from the AUC-measured sedimentation coefficient distribution can be influenced. Moreover, through reasoned assumptions we arrive at an estimation of the patch yield that is close to that determined by arduous analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Finally, combining MWL-AUC, electrodynamic simulations and SEM image analysis we establish a procedure to estimate the patch thickness and coverage.

Optimization of position, size and thickness of viscoelastic damping patch for vibration reduction of a cylindrical shell structure

This paper focuses on dynamic modeling of cylindrical shell with partial rectangular viscoelastic damping patch (VDP) coverage and multi-objective optimization method for damping treatment. A dynamic analysis model of composite shell is established by using semi-analytical method, which includes the position, size and thickness of the VDP (the position and size of VDP are described by axial and circumferential coordinates) and can be used as the basic model for damping optimization. The reciprocal of weighted sum of the modal loss factors of composite shell and the mass of VDP are taken as the optimization objectives, 5 parameter values including two axial coordinates, two circumferential coordinates and thickness of VDP are chosen as design variables, and thus a more general multi-objective damping optimization model is established. The multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is used and the optimization calculation procedure is described. A cylindrical shell with ZN-1 VDP is chosen to display the proposed method. After verifying the rationality of the semi-analytical model by experiments, the multi-objective damping optimization is carried out, and the relationship between the optimal values of two objective functions and the relationship between the optimal values of objective functions and the design variables is analyzed.

Stabilizing ordered structures with single patch inverse patchy colloids in two dimensions

Oppositely charged bipolar colloids or colloids decorated with complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) on their surfaces are special kinds of patchy particles where only patch and non-patch parts are attractive. These are classified as inverse patchy colloids (IPCs). In this work, equilibrium self-assembly of IPC in two-dimensions is reported using Monte Carlo simulations. Square (SCs) and triangular crystals (TCs) are found to be stable at 0.5 patch coverage. Upon decreasing the patch coverage to 0.33, the regular SC is destabilized; instead rhombic and TCs are found to be stable. At low patch coverages such as 0.22 and 0.12, only TC is stabilized at high density. Particles of all the patch coverages show kinetically stable cluster phases of different shapes and sizes at low densities, and the average cluster size depends on the patch coverage and particle density. State-diagrams showing all the stable phases for each patch coverage are presented. Ordered phases are characterized by bond order parameters ψ 4, ψ 6 and radial distribution function. The effect of polydispersity in patch coverage on the polarization of the stable structures are also studied. The study demonstrates that IPCs can stabilize various ordered two-dimensional structures by tuning the size of the patch, density and interaction strengths.

Biologic patch coverage for definitive management of giant gastroschisis defects

Abstract Gastroschisis defects are managed with a variety of strategies including primary closure, staged silo reduction with delayed repair, and sutureless closure techniques. In cases of giant gastroschisis defects where primary closure is not feasible, biologic patch coverage has been traditionally considered as a temporary means of closing the abdomen. In this case report we describe two cases of giant gastroschisis defects that were not amenable to primary closure and required temporary coverage with biologic patches. From these cases, we report that biologic patch coverage can serve as definitive management of giant gastroschisis defects without the need for additional surgical management.

Evaluation of growth, sex (male proportion; sexual dimorphism), and color segregation in four cross combinations of different strains of XX female and YY male Nile Tilapia

AbstractFour cross combinations of different YY male and female Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus strains were evaluated for growth, sex, and color segregation. Red color parental strains included blotched phenotypes. The Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) was the only dark (wild‐type) color parental strain. Fish of the same age and cross were stocked in three replicate tanks for four crosses in one recirculating system for 167 days. Data recorded included feed consumed, body weight, total length, color, sex, and fillet weight. YY males crossed with GIFT females (Cross 2) exhibited superior growth that was significantly different (p &lt; .05) to other three crosses. Male proportions were 79–100%. Only YY males crossed with the LSA female strain (Cross 4) yielded 100% males, but, Cross 4's productivity was inferior to that of Cross 2. Body weight advantage of males over females was 28.7–84.2%. Color segregation indicated that red color trait in Nile Tilapia is autosomal dominant, and black patch coverage was variable. This study showed that different parental strain combinations clearly impact productivity traits, and that YY male technology combined with crossbreeding provide the opportunity for genetic improvement and development of commercially beneficial superior traits in Nile Tilapia.

T96. RESULTS OF THE HUMMINGBIRD STUDY A MULTICENTRE, PRAGMATIC TRIAL OF A DIGITAL MEDICINE SYSTEM

BackgroundThis was a multicentre, 8-week, single-arm, open-label, pragmatic trial to explore the acceptance and performance of using the Digital Medicine System (DMS) with health care professionals (HCPs) and adult subjects with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder (SAD), or first episode psychosis (FEP) on an oral atypical antipsychotic (aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone).MethodsSubjects received an initial introduction to the DMS, and had HCP visits at screening/baseline, Week 4, Week 8/early termination (ET), and as directed by the HCP for the duration of the subject’s participation in the trial. Safety and tolerability data was collected and evaluated on an ongoing basis, as assessed by the frequency and severity of serious adverse events (SAEs), and device-related non-serious adverse events (AEs). Subjects were monitored on the DMS technology by the HCPs through review of the HCP dashboard data at a minimum of every 2 weeks and to make changes to the current treatment plan and therapy at their discretion. The study initiated in May 2018 and concluded in September 2019. NCT03568500ResultsFifty-five (55) subjects were screened, and forty-three (43) subjects were treated and included in the sample analysis. Subjects enrolled were on average 34.4 years old. There were twenty-eight (28) male and fifteen (15) female subjects in the study. The most common reasons for discontinuation was subject withdrawal of consent (5 subjects, 11.6%), loss to follow-up (4 subjects, 9.3%), and adverse events (4 subjects, 9.3%). The primary endpoint was the proportion of days with good patch coverage during the trial, calculated by the number of days with good patch coverage divided by the total number of trial days for each subject. Over the duration of the study, subjects had 63.4 % (SD = 26.6%) of days with good patch coverage during the trial time. No notable differences were observed across the disease types, with schizophrenic subject 64.3% (SD=20.2%), FEP subject 62.5% (SD = 27.5%), and SAD subject 63.0% (SD = 37.7%). The secondary endpoint was subject adherence, defined as the proportion of detected ingestible events markers (IEM) over the expected during the trial days with good patch coverage. Overall, subjects had a mean of 86.6% (SD = 14.5%) IEMs detected during the good patch coverage days. The proportion of IEM detected by disease type were: FEP 91.0% (SD = 7.4%), schizophrenic 88.9% (SD = 8.1%), and SAD 72.3% (SD=25.7%). There were nine (9) subjects (20.9%) who had eleven (11) AEs during the study, all were non-serious. Out of all the AEs, nine (9) subjects had nine (9) treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE) that were all reported as medical device site irritation, and four (4) subjects discontinued the study due to AEs.DiscussionIn conclusion, during the 8-week treatment with the DMS, subjects reported good patch coverage 63.4% of the time on average for this pragmatic study. Using the DMS, subjects’ medication adherence reached 86.6% on average when subjects were having good patch coverage. The acceptance and performance of DMS is considered safe and there were no SAEs associated with its use.FundingThis study was supported by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.

Improved Coverage of Mouse Myelomeningocele With a Mussel Inspired Reverse Thermal Gel

BackgroundMyelomeningocele (MMC) is an open neural tube defect of the spinal column. Our laboratory previously introduced a reverse thermal gel (RTG) as the first in situ forming patch for in utero MMC application. To overcome the challenges of anchoring the RTG in the wet amniotic environment to improve MMC coverage, we modified the RTG to mimic the underwater adhesive properties of mussels. We have separated this study into three separate hypotheses-based components:1Based on mussel inspired chemistry, modification of the RTG with dopamine will increase the underwater adhesive properties to improve RTG anchoring ability in a wet environment. Methods: The dopamine-modified RTG (DRTG) was synthesized using carbonyldiimidazole chemistry and characterized with proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Rheology and underwater adhesive tests measured mechanical properties. Results: DRTG synthesis was confirmed with proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Rheology demonstrated increased elasticity. Underwater adhesion testing revealed DRTG has similar wet adhesive strength to Tisseel fibrin sealant.2The DRTG will support in vitro skin cell growth and will be safe for injection in a mouse animal model. Methods: Biocompatibility testing included 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, DRTG-fibroblast and keratinocyte cultures, and subcutaneous injections to quantify macrophages stained with immunohistochemistry. Results: 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and DRTG cell cultures revealed no cytotoxicity and demonstrated the growth of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Subcutaneous injections cause a macrophage response that decreases after 4 wk.3In utero injection of novel DRTG into a mouse MMC model will be effective with improved patch coverage of the MMC defect. Methods: MMC coverage by DRTG was assessed using in utero mouse injections in the Grainy head-like 3 (Grhl3) mouse model. Results: In utero Grhl3 mouse injections demonstrate statistically significant (P = 0.012) improved MMC coverage of DRTG compared with previous RTG coverage with no significant macrophage response. ConclusionsThe DRTG demonstrates increased elasticity, cellular scaffolding properties, and improved MMC coverage in the Grhl3 mouse model. Future studies will be translated to the preclinical ovine model to evaluate this novel gel.

Effects of shrub patch pattern on runoff and sediment yield

Understanding the changes of runoff, sediment transport, and hydrodynamic parameters of slopes under the influence of landscape patch coverage and connectivity is of great significance for revealing the hydrodynamic mechanism and hydrological connectivity of slope soil erosion process. In this study, the changes of runoff, sediment transport and hydrodynamic parameters of downhill surface in different coverage levels (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 90%) and different connectivity modes (vertical path, horizonal path, S-shaped path, random patches) of shrublands were analyzed by field artificial simulated rainfall test. The results showed that, with the increases of shrub cove-rage, runoff yield and sediment yield decreased exponentially. When the coverage increased to more than 60%, the capacity of shrubs to reduce runoff and sediment became stable. With the increases of shrub coverage, flow velocity, flow depth, Reynolds number, Froude number, stream power, and flow shear resistance significantly decreased, while Manning's roughness coefficient and Darcy-Weisbach resistance coefficient increased significantly. When shrub coverage increased to more than 60%, there was no significant difference in the eigenvalues of hydraulic parameters. The runoff rate under the four connectivity modes followed the order of vertical path > S-shaped path > horizonal path > random patches. The sediment rate was the largest in the vertical path, followed by the S-shaped path, and the horizonal path was not significantly different from the random patches. The path with poor connectivity (horizonal path, random patches) exhibited stronger resistance of hydraulic transmission and poor hydraulic sedimentation capacity than the well-connected path (vertical path, S-shaped path). Our results could provide important theoretical basis for soil erosion control on the Loess Plateau and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.