Short Communication Research Articles

"The Brain as a Whole" Concept: Facilitating Approaches to Brain Death Understanding (Short Communication)

James Bernat claimed that "the formulation of whole-brain death provides the most congruent map for our correct understanding of death". However, the author has recently proposed the categorization of another phrase: "brain as a whole (BAAW)". This is because patients with primary brainstem lesions who otherwise meet the clinical criteria for BD may still have EEG, CBF, evoked potentials, and hypothalamic-pituitary neurosecretion.Bernat and colleagues suggested "tightening the clinical tests for brain death or loosening the whole-brain criterion of death". They emphasize that the BAAW criterion is an intermediate standard between the whole-brain and brainstem views, tolerating the irreversible cessation of critical brain functions, whereas the BD/DNC determination does not require the cessation of all brain functions or the death of every neuron.In this paper, we have revised the concept of BAAW, which is intuitive and facilitates a conceptual and practical approach, but requires further refinement to specify precisely which brain functions must cease at brain death and which may continue.

Short range optical communication with GaN‐on‐Si microLED and microPD matrices

Abstract(In)GaN microLEDs have reached a high degree of maturity due to their development in the lighting industry. Their robustness and high efficiency make them ideal candidates for high‐brightness, high‐resolution micro‐displays. Beyond display applications, microLEDs are being explored for non‐display uses, including wireless Visible Light Communication (VLC) and parallel communication via multicore fiber. This study investigates short‐range chip‐to‐chip optical communication using InGaN/GaN microLEDs and micro Photodiodes (microPDs). Leveraging processes developed for micro‐displays, we address the challenges of integrating GaN microLEDs and microPDs on ASICs. We outline the main figures of merit, including expected energy efficiency, optical coupling to multicore fibers or waveguides, and the spectral efficiency of InGaN/GaN microPDs correlated with TCAD simulation and experimental transmission results. Our study highlights the potential of GaN microLEDs and microPDs for massively parallel, energy‐efficient data transmission, paving the way for innovative short‐range and energy‐efficient optical communication solutions.

Short Communication: Numerically simulated time to steady state is not a reliable measure of landscape response time

Abstract. Quantifying the timescales over which landscapes evolve is critical for understanding past and future environmental change. Computational landscape evolution models are one tool among many that have been used in this pursuit. We compare numerically modeled times to reach steady state for a landscape adjusting to an increase in rock uplift rate. We use three different numerical modeling libraries and explore the impact of time step, grid type, numerical method for solving the erosion equation, and metric for quantifying the time to steady state. We find that modeled time to steady state is impacted by all of these variables. Time to steady state varies inconsistently with time step length, both within a single model and among different models. In some cases, drainage rearrangement extends the time to reach steady state, but this is not consistent in all models or grid types. The two sets of experiments operating on Voronoi grids have the most consistent times to steady state when comparing across time step and metrics. On a raster grid, if we force the drainage network to remain stable, time to steady state varies much less with computational time step. In all cases we find that many measures of modeled time to steady state are longer than that predicted by an analytical equation for bedrock river response time. Our results show that the predicted time to steady state from a numerical model is, in many cases, more reflective of drainage rearrangement and numerical artifacts than the time for an uplift wave to propagate through a fixed drainage network.

Investigating the Impact of Long-Term Use on Mattress Firmness and Sleep Quality—Preliminary Results

Mattress comfort, often associated with firmness, is a complex construct influenced by factors such as material composition, construction, and personal preference. In this short communication paper, we indirectly investigated the effects of long-term mattress use on its hardness and sleep quality by observing the changes in the mattress. A mechanical durability test was performed on two structurally different mattress samples (with polyurethane core and pocket spring core) using a modified method based on the EN 1957 standard, aiming to understand the long-term effects of mattress characteristics on sleep quality. Preliminary results confirm that the mattress samples can maintain firmness and support during long-term use. The polyurethane foam mattress experienced initial compression but quickly stabilized, while the pocket spring mattress showed slight softening, maintaining overall firmness. For the polyurethane mattress, after the initial drop, the hardness value stabilized, varying between 7.53 and 9.03 N/mm, and at the end of the test, it stopped at 8.60 N/mm. The firmness rating stabilized at 4.3, showing minimal fluctuation between 4.0 and 4.6 throughout the process, while the total height loss was 3.79 mm. The hardness value of pocket spring mattresses generally decreased with increasing test cycles (it started at 5.86 N/mm and ended at 5.21 N/mm). The firmness remained relatively stable, varying between 7.3 and 7.1, and the total height loss was only 2.86 mm. The findings suggest that the firmness of a mattress can be changed with its use, highlighting the need for further research on a larger number of samples in the direction of the long-term implications of these changes on sleep comfort.

Social Accountability at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine: A Focus on Admission Policy

Given the increasing health disparities across regions and populations, social accountability is not an option but an obligation for health professions schools, including medical schools. In this short communication, the authors report the case of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU SOM), which has been an exemplary medical school for social accountability, receiving the 2013 AMEE ASPIRE Award in social accountability and the 2018 Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Award for Institutional Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education. This paper focuses on the school’s admission policies in the discussion of its social accountability. It starts with the background of central and southern Illinois, where the school is located to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in the areas. It discusses the school’s holistic admission policies and two pipeline programs—namely, MEDPREP and McNeese Physician Preparatory Pipeline Program (P4)—that are strategically designed as a long-term physician workforce development plan to address health disparities in rural areas. As of January 30, 2024, 3,233 students have earned the MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree at SIU SOM. In total, 770 alumni (33%) are practicing in primary care. Among 901 graduates practicing in Illinois, 484 (54%) are practicing in SIU SOM service area counties (i.e., central and southern Illinois). Social accountability is the core value and organizational identity of SIU SOM and the guiding principle of the school’s innovation and excellence.

Short Communication: Mean-Stochastic-Dominance Portfolio Selection in Continuous Time

Short Communication: Mean-Stochastic-Dominance Portfolio Selection in Continuous Time

Short Communication: On the Separability of Vector-Valued Risk Measures

Short Communication: On the Separability of Vector-Valued Risk Measures

Somatic Variants of KRT1/KRT10 Identified by Next-generation Sequencing in Patients with Epidermal Nevi.

Abstract is missing (Short communication)

Plant-based scaffolds and osteogenesis: a systematic review

Objective: To enhance the understanding and usefulness of decellularised plant tissues as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, and to review the recent advances in plant-based scaffolds for bone regeneration. Method: The systematic review was conducted from February to June 2022, and comprised literature search on PubMed and Science Direct databases for articles published in the English language between 2013 and June, 2022. The search was conducted using key words ‘plant-based scaffolds and osteogenesis’ and ‘decellularised plant and scaffolds and bone tissue engineering’ and ‘plant root-based scaffold and bone formation’. Full-text articles and short communication covering both in vitro and in vivo studies focussing on plant-based scaffolds for osteogenesis were included. Additional references that satisfied the inclusion criteria were found on Google Scholar and included in the review. Quality evaluation of the studies included was done independently by two researchers, and the risk of bias was calculated and categorised as low, medium and high risk. Results: Of the 564 articles, 10(1.77 %) were included; 6(60%) purely in vitro studies, and 4(40%) studies having both in vitro and in vivo components. Decellularized plant tissue alone was used as three-dimensional scaffold materials in 5(50%) studies, but in 4(40%) studies, plant-based composite scaffolds were used. The risk of bias was medium in 7(70%) studies. Conclusions: Plant-based scaffolds promote osteogenesis, but more in vivo research on plant-based studies is needed to label it as suitable scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Key Words: Plant-based scaffolds, Osteogenesis, Decellularised Plant, bone tissue engineering, Plant root-based scaffold, Bone formation.

Short communication: A multispecies bacterial-based direct-fed microbial alleviates Salmonella invasion and supports in vitro epithelial integrity.

Managing bacterial infections is of great importance in livestock production, particularly those caused by Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium or Dublin, which can impact both animal health and performance, as well as human food safety. Direct-fed microbials (DFM) can support gastrointestinal function and alleviate the potential negative effects of bacterial infections. In the present study, the capacity of a multispecies bacterial-based DFM containing Ligilactobacillus (formerly Lactobacillus) animalis 506, Propionibacterium freudenreichii 507, Bacillus licheniformis 809, and B. subtilis 597 to reduce S. Typhimurium ATCC14028 invasion was investigated using a co-incubation model with the HT29-MTX-E12 cell line (Exp. 1). Next, a possible antagonistic effect of the DFM against S. Dublin ATCC 41286 was evaluated using an in vitro agar well diffusion method following a co-incubation of 48h (Exp. 2). At last, a series of experiments were performed to evaluate how different doses (6.25 × 106, 2.50 × 107, or 1.00 × 108 CFU/well) of the DFM would support the integrity of intestinal epithelial cells challenged or not with S. Typhimurium ATCC14028 or hydrogen peroxide under a transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) assay with Caco-2 cells (Exp. 3 and 4). In Exp. 1, BDP significantly (P < 0.001) reduced by 90.8% the invasion of S. Typhimurium into HT29-MTX-E12 cells, whereas viability of the potentially harmful bacteria was reduced by 21.0% (P < 0.0001). In Exp. 2, the antagonistic properties of BDP towards S. Dublin were confirmed by the detection of a clear inhibition zone (size = 8.6mm). Lastly, without challenge, the lowest dose of the DFM (6.25 × 106 CFU) provided the greatest support on the cells (treatment × hour; P < 0.0001). However, when the cells were challenged with S. Typhimurium, all doses alleviated the loss of integrity caused by the pathogen (treatment × hour; P < 0.0001). In cells challenged with hydrogen peroxide, the greater dose (1.00 × 108 CFU) supported the cells for a longer period of time (treatment × hour; P < 0.0001). These in vitro findings set the stage for exploring the potential benefits of using a novel DFM as a promising tool and strategy to mitigate Salmonella enterica infections in ruminants and improve animal health, food safety, and public health. Further in vivo confirmation needs to be developed to validate these preliminary in vitro results.

Short communication: Do veterinary diagnoses coming from electronic recording system of veterinary treatments have the potential to be used for breeding in small populations? The case of the dual-purpose Alpine Grey cattle breed

In cattle breeding, emphasis has historically been placed on productive traits, so-called primary traits, while health and fitness traits have been overlooked due to their low heritability and partly negative genetic correlations with productivity. In addition, the recording of phenotypes caused problems due to a lack of high-quality information and / or high costs of recording. This oversight has additionally led to increased incidences of fertility issues and health problems in cattle populations, resulting in economic losses and consumer concerns regarding animal welfare and food safety. This study investigates the potential use of veterinary diagnoses, collected via the Italian electronic recording system of veterinary treatments, for breeding decisions in the local dual-purpose Alpine Grey cattle breed for which the consideration of functional traits in breeding has also become imperative over the last years. The dataset comprised 97 821 records spanning from 2021 to 2023, representing 8 273 individuals and 18 110 lactations of the Alpine Grey breed. Each record documented the administration of treatments for mammary, respiratory, and urogenital pathologies. After data editing and model development, heritability estimates were obtained for each pathology using univariate linear animal models and gibbs sampling algorithms. Results indicate that mammary pathologies affected the highest number of cows (11%), followed by respiratory (4%) and urogenital (5%) pathologies. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.01 to 0.04 across all traits, confirming generally low heritability values. Respiratory pathologies exhibited the highest heritability (0.04; sd 0.04), followed by mammary (0.03; sd 0.01) and urogenital (0.01; sd 0.01) pathologies. This study, although preliminary, provides valuable insights into the health status of local dual-purpose Alpine Grey cattle and highlights the potential of considering veterinary diagnoses for improving animal health and welfare in dairy cattle breeding. However, the low heritability of these traits, which is consistent with literature data, clearly shows the current limitations of using them for breeding. Further, the diagnostic key of the Italian electronic recording system of veterinary treatments should be specified for the use of health data for breeding purposes, as it is formulated in too general manner in its current form. Nevertheless, their significance for animal welfare and economic sustainability underlines the need for their consideration in dairy cattle breeding. Therefore, further research with larger sample sizes and consideration of additional indicators, such as somatic cell counts, is recommended to enhance the accuracy of genetic evaluations and improve breeding strategies for sustainable cattle production.

Management Mechanisms of Rehabilitation Hospitals in Bulgaria. Short Communication

In a market economy and financial crisis, the head of any medical institution has to make adequate decisions regarding the cost-effective functioning of the hospital. Along with reducing costs, the main task is to maintain a high level of medical care. In this paper, the economic efficiency of medical activities in three specialized hospitals for rehabilitation (previously called sanatoriums) in the cities of Hisar, Varna and Bankia in Bulgaria was studied. The competitiveness of the presented rehabilitation institutions lies in their ability to design, produce and offer rehabilitation services that are more attractive to patients in terms of price and quality characteristics and more fully meet their needs compared to the rehabilitation services of competitors. Based on the analysis, it was found that in rehabilitation hospitals, through long-term obligations, the purchase of short-term assets necessary for the implementation of activities is financed, and operating income is invested in long-term assets. This fact determines the increase in liabilities to the company by further minimizing free cash flows, which involve financing current activities, but are invested in non-current assets. At the same time, rehabilitation hospitals — budgetary organizations strictly comply with capital expenditures, which must be specified in the appropriate paragraph, with an approved budget according to the appropriate indicator, which proves strict compliance with budgetary discipline and control over the flow of funds.

Design of a compact quad-port wideband printed MIMO antenna for vehicular communication environment

ABSTRACT A wideband quad-port Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna with efficient isolation characteristics for 5 G New Radio (5 G-NR) applications is presented. The proposed antenna works in the span of 3–6 GHz frequency covering the n77/n78/n79 bands also covering the 5 G-V2X band (3300–5000 MHz), LTE-46 band (5150–5925 MHz) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz band. The single element of the MIMO antenna structure is modelled by an elliptical structure stacked on a rectangular patch along with the feedline on the conducting plane. The ground plane is modelled as a rhombic design providing a Defected Ground Structure (DGS) to provide the resonance at the desired frequency band. Later, the antenna is evolved as a four-element MIMO system by arranging the antenna elements orthogonal to each other with a distance of separation between the adjacent antenna elements considered to be 10 mm. The all-inclusive dimension of the proposed antenna is 65 × 65 mm2. The simulated MIMO structure is fabricated and measured for antenna parameters and MIMO parameters such as isolation characteristics and MIMO diversity performances. The simulated values are obtained at acceptable limits with the measured values for the proposed wideband frequency range of operation. The compact, wideband antenna is found to be suitable for various 5 G-NR applications, especially Wi-Fi-assisted Vehicular Communication in the sub-6 GHz frequency range.

THE RISE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN 2023: A GLOBAL AND INDIAN HEALTHCARE PERSPECTIVE"- A SHORT COMMUNICATION

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has reached alarming levels globally, and India is at the forefront of this crisis. In 2023, Indian hospitals are witnessing an increase in multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. This short communication highlights key examples of AMR from Indian hospitals, exploring common resistant bacterial strains, underlying causes, and strategies for mitigation. Data from tertiary care hospitals, national reports, and the Indian Network for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (INSAR) are reviewed to understand the depth of the issue and potential solutions.

Self-management in young and middle-aged patients with hypertension: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

BackgroundThere has been a sharp increase in the prevalence of hypertension in young and middle-aged people at high risk of the disease. Despite the fact that good self-management can be effective in controlling blood pressure, patients do not perform well in this area, resulting in poor blood pressure control. It is therefore particularly important to gain a thorough understanding of patients’ attitudes to self-management and the factors that influence them. The aim of this study was to synthesise the qualitative research on attitudes, motivations and challenges of self-management in young and middle-aged hypertensive patients, to analyse the synthesised results using the COM-B model and to propose appropriate improvement actions.MethodsFrom the time of construction until May 2023, the system searched PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, Embase, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsyCINFO and CNKI databases. The analyses were carried out using a thematic synthesis approach to summarise the key findings. The findings were then mapped and analysed using the COM-B model.ResultsA total of 11 studies were included, involving 250 patients between the ages of 18 and 64. Four themes with ten sub-themes were identified: Poor disease recognition (low disease perception, fuzzy disease knowledge); Barriers to doctor-patient interactions (short communication time, unmet knowledge needs, incomplete guidance for disease management); Living in a hostile environment (heavy workload, lack of companionship, ignorance of families); Expectations for a healthy body (responsibility of family roles, witness the cruelty of illness). Analysis of the composite results based on the COM-B model showed that low disease perceptions, barriers to doctor-patient interactions and life circumstances with enemies on all sides were the main challenges faced by young and middle-aged hypertensive patients, whereas the expectation of a healthy body was a motivation to promote self-management of blood pressure in patients.ConclusionsThis study shows that family responsibilities are a particular motivator for self-management in young and middle-aged hypertensive patients. In response to the problems they face, we believe that meeting patients’ knowledge needs, improving healthcare professionals’ communication skills and valuing the role of community hospitals are effective ways to promote patient self-management. In the future, telemedicine, mobile healthcare and intelligent monitoring devices will provide a solution to reduce the burden on medical resources.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42018100810.

Short communication: White balance for self‐luminous highlights in images

Short communication: White balance for self‐luminous highlights in images

Damage detection by means of broadband local wavenumber estimation in plate-like structures

This short communication evinces the ability of the CFAT methodology [Q. Leclère, JSV, 2015] to detect and characterize thickness-loss defects on homogeneous flat panels. A contactless measurement of the velocity field of an aluminium plate is performed by scanning laser vibrometry, from which the equivalent rigidity (apparent bending stiffness) is locally estimated within a wide frequency band in the ultrasonic domain. The method allows imaging thickness-reduction defects on the hidden face of an aluminium plate up to several hundreds of kilohertz. The first part details the experimental protocol, followed by a second enhancing the identification of the wavenumbers of symmetric S_0 and antisymmetric A_0 modes. The comparison with theoretical Lamb waves dispersion curves reveals the precision of the method. Finally, the methodology validates the possibility to precisely estimate the local material thickness and as a consequence the location, size and depth of a reference defect in the shape of a flat bottom hole (assuming homogeneous material properties of the plate).

Stimulus duration encoding occurs early in the moth olfactory pathway

Pheromones convey rich ethological information and guide insects’ search behavior. Insects navigating in turbulent environments are tasked with the challenge of coding the temporal structure of an odor plume, obliging recognition of the onset and offset of whiffs of odor. The coding mechanisms that shape odor offset recognition remain elusive. We designed a device to deliver sharp pheromone pulses and simultaneously measured the response dynamics from pheromone-tuned olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in male moths and Drosophila. We show that concentration-invariant stimulus duration encoding is implemented in moth ORNs by spike frequency adaptation at two time scales. A linear-nonlinear model fully captures the underlying neural computations and offers an insight into their biophysical mechanisms. Drosophila use pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) only for very short distance communication and are not faced with the need to encode the statistics of the cVA plume. Their cVA-sensitive ORNs are indeed unable to encode odor-off events. Expression of moth pheromone receptors in Drosophila cVA-sensitive ORNs indicates that stimulus-offset coding is receptor independent. In moth ORNs, stimulus-offset coding breaks down for short ( < 200 ms) whiffs. This physiological constraint matches the behavioral latency of switching from the upwind surge to crosswind cast flight upon losing contact with the pheromone.

Non-coherent short-packet communications: Novel z-domain user multiplexing

In the evolution of fifth generation (5G) and beyond wireless communication systems, non-coherent (NC) short packet communication (SPC) is crucial for achieving ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Frame design, latency, and reliability are some of the challenges associated with short-packet communication. Recently, to address these challenges, a novel modulation scheme known as modulation on conjugate-reciprocal zeros (MOCZ) has been proposed. MOCZ modulates information on conjugate reciprocal zeros in the z-domain, thereby eliminating the need for channel estimation and providing a robust solution for NC communication. However, in multi-user MOCZ (MU-MOCZ) scheme, adding guard intervals to each short packet to mitigate channel impact remains an issue, as it increases the transmission time and consequently reduces efficiency. To address the aforementioned problem, this paper introduces a novel frame design approach called z-domain user multiplexing MOCZ (ZDUM-MOCZ or ZDM-MOCZ). Unlike traditional time division multiplexing (TDM), which serves users consecutively in the time domain, this method multiplexes users in the z-domain. In this approach, each user is allocated a specific set of zeros in the z-domain, which collectively form a unique sequence in the time domain. The findings illustrate the potential for reduced latency in downlink transmission, highlighting the benefits of this novel methodology over conventional MU-MOCZ method. The proposed ZDUM-MOCZ scheme not only addresses the existing issues in the frame design of the MU-MOCZ scheme but also facilitates more efficient and reliable short packet communication in 5G and beyond wireless systems.

Short communication: Evaluation of spore-former presence in caseinate, cheese and whey powders

This study examined spore-former presence in imported caseinate and the cheese in which it is used as an additive, as well as commercial powders produced from cheese whey (whey protein concentrate-80 (WPC-80) and permeate powder). A single batch of imported caseinate, and the cheese it was utilized in, was collected 11 times over a 16-month period. In addition, samples of commercially produced whey powder were collected over a period of 23 months. Spore-formers were detected using enrichment with reinforced clostridium medium (RCM) in anaerobic conditions and microbiota was analyzed by amplicon sequencing. Gas production was observed in all caseinate samples, with 23 isolates from six known spore-former species identified via matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). No gas was detected in any of the enriched tubes of the cheese or whey powder samples. We also applied culture-independent analysis to assess microbial diversity and detect spore-formers not identified with the culture-dependent method. Altogether, the results of this study will contribute to the knowledge of spore-former presence and transfer between different dairy products, facilitating targeted actions to reduce quality problems.