Successive Time Points Research Articles

"Out and about": relationships between children's independent mobility and mental health in a national longitudinal study

ABSTRACT Children's independent mobility (CIM) represents their freedom to travel in their neighborhood without adult supervision. Secular declines in CIM coincided with a major increase in mental health problems among children. We investigated relationships between two indicators of CIM and parent-perceived child distress in a national longitudinal study involving 2,291 Canadian parents of 7- to 12-year-olds at baseline (December 2020) with up to four follow-ups, every six months. We assessed mobility licenses (i.e. children's permission to do certain activities on their own) with 6 items, and home range (i.e. how far [in minutes] children can roam with friends and/or siblings) with a 4-point item. We used generalized estimating equations controlling for children's age and gender, household income, study wave, school attendance, and COVID-19 isolation in the week preceding the survey. At each successive time point, 51.8%, 44.0%, 43.2% and 42.4% of children experienced clinically elevated distress. Compared to children allowed to roam for 15 minutes (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.51-0.72) had lower odds of elevated distress. However, CIM licenses were not associated with distress. Our findings underscore the need to support extending children's home range.

ПРИНЦИП НАЛОЖЕНИЯ ДЕФОРМАЦИЙ В ТЕОРИИ ЖЕЛЕЗОБЕТОНА

The work substantiates the correctness of applying the principle of the overlay of deformations when deriving equations of the mechanical state of concrete that are significant in the theory of reinforced concrete in linear and nonlinear formulations. This principle consists in the summation at some point in time of partial deformations corresponding to partial increments of non-decreasing stress at successive previous points in time. Strains are represented by the sum of instantaneous strains and delayed creep strains at the moment of application. The superposition of partial creep strains is implemented according to the Boltzmann superposition principle known in the linear theory of creep - each partial increment of creep strain depends only on the magnitude and duration of the generating partial stress increment and does not depend on its other increments. When taking aging into account, postulated by this principle the mutual independence of partial increments of creep strain takes place relative to partial increments of the stress level. Representing the deformation as the sum of the initial elastic deformation and the creep deformation with a measure that takes into account the evolution of the elastic modulus leads to a different type of equation of state, which is perceived as incorrect in some publications. This perception of a different type of equation of state together with constructions, not related to the principle of the overlay of deformations, led these authors to declare that the principle of the overlay of deformations in the theory of creep is erroneous. In contrast to the traditional approach, a material (concrete, steel, wood, plastic) is considered as a combination of fractions (fibers, layers) with statistically distributed strengths. The concept of strength structure makes it possible to substantiate the principle of superimposing deformations in a nonlinear formulation. In this case, the structure of the nonlinear equation of state turns out to be identical to the structure of the linear equation. This circumstance is significant in applications, for example, when solving relaxation problems that are important for the long-term safety of building structures.

Serial Cervical Length Measurement for Determining the Risk of Preterm Labor: A Prospective Study

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether serial evaluations of cervical length (CL) have the potential to determine preterm labor in women with threatening preterm labor (TPL). Materials and Methods: This prospective study included pregnant women at 24 to 37 weeks of gestation referred to our institute because of TPL. Cervical length was measured at three successive time points using transvaginal sonography (upon admission, one-, and two-weeks post-admission). Data were analyzed using both parametric and non-parametric statistics. Results: The mean age of the 126 patients included was 25.60 ± 6.48 years, with age ranging from 14 to 42 years. The mean pregnancy age, at the time of the sonogram, was 33.54 ± 2.78 weeks. The initial CL had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.854. The CLs measured one and two weeks later had AUROCs of 0.868 and 0.870, respectively. Based on these data, the cut-off points of 28.5 and 27.5 mm were identified for the initial and subsequent two-week CL measurements, respectively, capable of predicting preterm delivery. If the CL measured at initial admission was >28.5 mm, the likelihood of timely delivery was 92.22%. However, if the CL measured at initial admission was <28.5 mm, the chance of premature preterm delivery increased by 2.3 times. Patients with a CL <27.5 mm in the second week were 18.75% more likely to have a preterm delivery. If the CL was >27.5 mm, the probability of timely delivery was 89.7%. Conclusion: In this cohort of women, serially measured CLs taken during transvaginal sonography demonstrated promise as a method for indicating the possible risk of preterm delivery. Thus, measured CL may be a useful diagnostic component for prenatal care, as well as for classifying the risk of preterm delivery. Nevertheless, further studies are required to confirm the effectiveness and safety of these sonographic measures in larger and more diverse patient cohorts.

Transperineal Laser Ablation of the Prostate for Symptomatic Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Long-Term Follow-Up in 40 Patients

PurposeTo evaluate the durability, effectiveness, and safety of transperineal laser ablation (TPLA) of the prostate. Materials and MethodsPatients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) underwent TPLA with a 1,064-nm continuous-wave diode laser. International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL), postvoid residual (PVR), and prostate volume were evaluated at baseline and successive timepoints. ResultsForty prospectively enrolled patients had follow-up of ≥36 months; median duration of follow-up was 57 months (range, 36–76 months). Compared with baseline, the median reduction in IPSS at 12-month follow-up was 74% (interquartile range [IQR], 60%–81%) (P < .001). Median QoL score at 12 months was improved from 5 (IQR, 4–5) at baseline to 1 (IQR, 0–1) (P < .001). Median PVR at 12 months decreased from 108 mL (IQR, 38–178 mL) to 13.5 mL (IQR, 0–40.5 mL) (P < .001), a median reduction of 88% (IQR, 61%–100%). At 12 months, median prostate volume was significantly reduced from 66 mL (IQR, 48.5–86.5 mL) to 46 mL (IQR, 36–65 mL) (P < .001), a median reduction of 32% (IQR, 21%–45%). For all of these parameters, the benefit of TPLA persisted at last follow-up, and all changes were statistically significant compared with baseline. There were no intraprocedural adverse events; periprocedural adverse events consisted of 1 case of prostatitis and 1 case of urinary tract infection (both Society of Interventional Radiology [SIR] Grade I). ConclusionsTPLA for symptomatic BPH produced durable benefits across a range of clinical outcomes and was well tolerated in follow-up at median duration of 57 months.

Early antiretroviral therapy in SIV-infected rhesus macaques reveals a multiphasic, saturable dynamic accumulation of the rebound competent viral reservoir.

The rebound competent viral reservoir (RCVR)-virus that persists during antiretroviral treatment (ART) and can reignite systemic infection when treatment is stopped-is the primary barrier to eradicating HIV. We used time to initiation of ART during primary infection of rhesus macaques (RMs) after intravenous challenge with barcoded SIVmac239 as a means to elucidate the dynamics of RCVR establishment in groups of RMs by creating a multi-log range of pre-ART viral loads and then assessed viral time-to-rebound and reactivation rates resulting from the discontinuation of ART after one year. RMs started on ART on days 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 or 12 post-infection showed a nearly 10-fold difference in pre-ART viral measurements for successive ART-initiation timepoints. Only 1 of 8 RMs initiating ART on days 3 and 4 rebounded after ART interruption despite measurable pre-ART plasma viremia. Rebounding plasma from the 1 rebounding RM contained only a single barcode lineage detected at day 50 post-ART. All RMs starting ART on days 5 and 6 rebounded between 14- and 50-days post-ART with 1-2 rebounding variants each. RMs starting ART on days 7, 9, and 12 had similar time-to-measurable plasma rebound kinetics despite multiple log differences in pre-ART plasma viral load (pVL), with all RMs rebounding between 7- and 16-days post-ART with 3-28 rebounding lineages. Calculated reactivation rates per pre-ART pVL were highest for RMs starting ART on days 5, 6, and 7 after which the rate of accumulation of the RCVR markedly decreased for RMs treated on days 9 and 12, consistent with multiphasic establishment and near saturation of the RCVR within 2 weeks post infection. Taken together, these data highlight the heterogeneity of the RCVR between RMs, the stochastic establishment of the very early RCVR, and the saturability of the RCVR prior to peak viral infection.

Association of Dynamics of Anellovirus Loads With Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Patients With Brain Injury During the Intensive Care Unit Stay.

Critical illness induces immune disorders associated with an increased risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Torque teno virus (TTV), from the Anelloviridae family, is proposed as a biomarker to measure the level of immunosuppression. Our objective was to describe the kinetics of TTV DNA loads and their association with critical illness-related complications. We performed a longitudinal study in 115 patients with brain injury from a prospective cohort, collected endotracheal and blood samples at 3 successive time points after admission in the intensive care unit (ICU) (T1, 0-4 days post ICU admission; T2, 5-10; T3, 11-18), and measured viral DNA loads using the TTV R-GENE kit (BioMérieux) and a pan-Anelloviridae in-house quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. TTV DNA was detected in the blood of 69%, 71%, and 64% of patients with brain injury at T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Time-associated variations of TTV and anellovirus DNA loads were observed. Using a linear mixed-effects model, we found that HAP and ARDS were associated with lower blood anellovirus DNA loads. Our results show that HAP or ARDS in patients who are critically ill is associated with changes in anellovirus DNA loads and should be evaluated further as a biomarker of immune disorders leading to these complications.

Variations in strength-speed-power performance across the season: do true changes occur in elite rugby players?

This study aimed to determine, through the use of a highly sensitive statistical tool, whether real changes in performance were present; and compare the rates of meaningful variations in strength, speed, and power parameters at different time-points during the competitive season in national team rugby players. Thirty-two players were assessed 5 times across the season using the following tests: squat jump and countermovement jump tests; 30-m sprint velocity; and one-repetition maximum (1RM) in the half-squat and bench-press exercises. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to test for differences between successive time-points. Individual coefficients of variation values were used to set target scores for post-measurements and examine whether changes in performance parameters were greater than the natural test variance, thus providing an indication of whether "true changes" occurred. No significant changes were detected in the vertical jump height, 1RM measures, and sprint velocity and momentum throughout the 11-month period (P > 0.05). True changes occurred much more frequently for strength-power measures than for sprint velocity and momentum. Elite rugby union players did not exhibit significant variations in neuromuscular performance across the competitive period, when a group-based analysis was conducted. However, at the individual level, "true changes" in strength-power-(but not in speed-) related qualities were consistently observed over the competitive season.

REPRESENTATION LEARNING OF PROTEOME DYNAMICS TO CHARACTERIZE ORGANISMIC COMMUNICATION AND INTRINSIC HEALTH

Abstract Co-regulation and interactions among organ systems are crucial to maintain health. Therefore, understanding patterns of such organismic communication using proteome dynamics could be an innovative and effective strategy for quantifying intrinsic human health. In this preliminary study, we conducted a case-control study involving six participants with severe genetic mitochondrial disease and six age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. We measured and recorded the salivary proteome of each participant (n=2922 proteins) at 0-, 30-, and 45-minutes post-awakening as well as bedtime (pm), over two days, representing a natural physiological challenge known to involve systems-wide physiological recalibrations. We then analyzed the changes in protein levels across successive time points using a high-dimensional two-sample testing approach (Cai, Liu, and Xia 2013). The protein co-regulation pattern (captured by the covariance matrix of their changes in expression) was significantly different between the healthy and mitochondrial disease participants (p=0.01), thereby linking proteome dynamics with health status. We then implemented Weighted Correlation Network Analysis to identify representative features showing a significant correlation with the subject’s health status between pairs of successive time points (0-30, 30-45, 45-pm). The correlation between the extracted feature and the self-rated health was as high as 0.39 (p-value=0.03) for the 30-45 time period. This finding reveals an association between health status and salivary protein co-regulation patterns, and suggests a promising representation learning strategy to quantify the manifestation of health into accessible proteome dynamics.

Automatic measurement of short-term variability of repolarization to indicate ventricular arrhythmias in a porcine model of cardiac ischaemia.

An automated method for determination of short-term variability (STV) of repolarization on intracardiac electrograms (STV-ARIauto) has previously been developed for arrhythmic risk monitoring by cardiac implantable devices, and has proved effective in predicting ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and guiding preventive high-rate pacing (HRP) in a canine model. Current study aimed to assess (i) STV-ARIauto in relation to VA occurrence and secondarily (ii-a) to confirm the predictive capacity of STV from the QT interval and (ii-b) explore the effect of HRP on arrhythmic outcomes in a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Myocardial infarction was induced in 15 pigs. In 7/15 pigs, STV-QT was assessed at baseline, occlusion, 1 min before VA, and just before VA. Eight of the 15 pigs were additionally monitored with an electrogram catheter in the right ventricle, underwent echocardiography at baseline and reperfusion, and were randomized to paced or control group. Paced group received atrial pacing at 20 beats per min faster than sinus rhythm 1 min after occlusion. Short-term variability increased prior to VA in both STV modalities. The percentage change in STV from baseline to successive timepoints correlated well between STV-QT and STV-ARIauto. High-rate pacing did not improve arrhythmic outcomes and was accompanied by a stronger decrease in ejection fraction. STV-ARIauto values increase before VA onset, alike STV-QT in a porcine model of MI, indicating imminent arrhythmias. This highlights the potential of automatic monitoring of arrhythmic risk by cardiac devices through STV-ARIauto and subsequently initiates preventive strategies. Continuous HRP during onset of acute MI did not improve arrhythmic outcomes.

4 Extending the 5P Clinical Decision Rule Predicting Concussion Recovery Using an Evidence-Based Assessment Model

Objective:Construction of predictive algorithms of concussion symptom recovery at 4 and 12 weeks post-injury using an evidence-based assessment (EBA) model to guide clinical decision-making, extending the 2016 5P decision rule.Participants and Methods:Children and adolescents, ages 8-18 (n=1,551; mean age=12.78; 62% male), followed over 12 weeks in the prospective multicenter cohort study (Predicting Persistent Post-Concussive Problems in Pediatrics, 5P; Zemek et al., 2016). The age-specific PostConcussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI) (8-12, 17 items; 1318 years, 20 items) was completed at six timepoints from the ED and at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12-weeks post-injury. Logistic regression analysis was applied to the set of key variables including the PCSI Total Retrospective-Adjusted PostInjury Difference (RAPID) scores, patient demographics and pre-injury history, and injury characteristics to predict participant recovery status (Recovered, Not Recovered) at the 4- and 12-week endpoints. The resulting recovery-predictive equations identified the significant sets of variables with symptom scores at four successive post-injury timepoints (ED, 1, 2, 4 weeks). Logistic Regression Threshold values were established at the 90th CI against which individual patient data was applied to determine recovery status. Participants with sub-threshold sums were deemed recovered at the target endpoint (4- or 12-weeks post-injury).Results:A total of 19 predictive equations were generated for the two age groups across the recovery timeline. Four sets of equations were developed to predict symptom recovery status at 4-weeks post-injury for the two age groups (8-12 AUC=0.679-0.884; 13-18 AUC=0.752-0.909). Prediction of symptom recovery status at 12-weeks post-injury yielded six equations for the 8-12 age group (AUC=0.723-0.825), and five equations for the 13-18 age group (AUC=0.724-0.887). Total PCSI RAPID score was identified as a significant variable in each of these 19 equations. Participant sex was identified as significant in 18 of the 19 constructed equations. Other variables that were identified as significant at varying timepoints included age, pre-injury history of learning disability and migraines, and an early post-injury sign in the ED (answering questions more slowly than usual). Examples of the equations include: Week 1 predicting symptom recovery status at 4-weeks: 8-12 yr group-(Sex*.802)+(week 1 Total RAPID Score*.142)+(Age2* .053)+(-3.851) with AUC=0.808; 13-18 yr group-(Sex*.980)+(Week 1 Total RAPID Score*.071)+(-3.261) with AUC=0.861.Conclusions:Clinicians’ management of the concussion recovery of children and adolescents can benefit from EBA guidance. The 5P dataset (Zemek et al., 2016) provides an important window into “typical” and “atypical” recovery trajectories, establishing an initial predictive decision rule for a 4-week recovery endpoint, at the ED timepoint only, reporting AUC=0.69. The current study extends the prediction modeling using successive post-injury timepoints reflecting a typical management timeline. Symptom reports from both 1- and 2-weeks post injury with patient demographics/ history predicted symptom recovery status at 4- and 12-weeks post-injury, significantly improve predictive accuracy over the ED timepoint alone. These predictive equations, when applied to the individual patient, can serve to assist the clinician’s understanding of the patients’ recovery trajectory, i.e., on track for a typical or atypical recovery, further informing the intervention strategy.

Child Care Feeding Programs Associated With Food Security and Health for Young Children From Families With Low Incomes.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is the primary national program that enables child-care settings to provide healthy meals for children. Associations between Child and Adult Care Food Program participation and child health and development and health care utilization are understudied. To assess associations between children's health, development, health care utilization and food security by meal source (child-care-provided vs parent-provided) among children from low-income families with a child care subsidy attending child-care in settings likely eligible to participate in Child and Adult Care Food Programs. The study used repeat cross-sectional surveys (new sample at successive time points) conducted year-round. Primary caregivers of 3,084 young children accessing emergency departments or primary care in Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Little Rock, AR; Minneapolis, MN; and Philadelphia, PA, were interviewed between 2010 and 2020. The sample was limited to children aged 13 to 48 months, receiving a child care subsidy and attending child-care centers or family child-care homes ≥20 hours per week. Outcomes included household and child food security; child health, growth, and developmental risk; and admission to the hospital on the day of the emergency department visit. Meal source and participant characteristics were analyzed using χ2 tests; associations of outcomes with parent-provided meals were analyzed with adjusted logistic regression. The majority of children had child-care-provided meals (87.2% child-care-provided vs 12.8% parent-provided). Compared with children with parent-provided meals, children with child-care-provided meals had lower adjusted odds of living in a food-insecure household (adjusted odds ratio 0.70, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.88), being in fair or poor health (adjusted odds ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.81), or hospital admission from the emergency department (adjusted odds ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.83), with no differences in growth or developmental risk. Compared with meals provided from home, child-care-provided meals likely supported by the Child and Adult Care Food Program are related to food security, early childhood health, and reduced hospital admissions from an emergency department among low-income families with young children.

The Use of Hemispheric Directional Reflectance Method to Verify the Usefulness of Filters Protecting the Skin Against Infrared Radiation.

Infrared radiation (IR) has a wide spectrum of both positive and harmful effects on the human body. Negative properties, manifested by increasing the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), affect the skin ageing acceleration. Other adverse effect of infrared exposure is related to its ability to significantly penetrate deep into the skin, between its layers, up to blood vessels and other tissues and warm them up. Due to its harmful effects, protecting the skin against infrared radiation becomes an important issue. The aim of the research was verifying the usefulness of filters available on the market with protection against infrared radiation declared by the manufacturers, by examining their impact on the directional reflectance of the human skin. A group of 27 people was gathered, to obtain the results. Four products were applied on the participant's forearm skin, and then measurements of the directional reflectance of the skin were made at successive time points, using the 410-Solar reflectometer. The collected data was analyzed, and showed changes in reflectance under the influence of the applied protective products. The products used in the study showed a statistically significant effect on the directional reflectance of the human skin in near infrared radiation range and little effectiveness for higher wavelengths. The results indicate that the selected products show radiation protection against IR radiation only after several dozen minutes of application, which may suggest that they must penetrate deeper skin layers to be effective. Hemispheric directional reflectance turned out to be an effective method allows to assess the effectiveness of protective properties of cosmetics.

A Construction Method of Dynamic Protein Interaction Networks by Using Relevant Features of Gene Expression Data.

Essential proteins play an important role in various life activities and are considered to be a vital part of the organism. Gene expression data are an important dataset to construct dynamic protein-protein interaction networks (DPIN). The existing methods for the construction of DPINs generally utilize all features (or the features in a cycle) of the gene expression data. However, the features observed from successive time points tend to be highly correlated, and thus there are some redundant and irrelevant features in the gene expression data, which will influence the quality of the constructed network and the predictive performance of essential proteins. To address this problem, we propose a construction method of DPINs by using selected relevant features rather than continuous and periodic features. We adopt an improved unsupervised feature selection method based on Laplacian algorithm to remove irrelevant and redundant features from gene expression data, then integrate the chosen relevant features into the static protein-protein interaction network (SPIN) to construct a more concise and effective DPIN (FS-DPIN). To evaluate the effectiveness of the FS-DPIN, we apply 15 network-based centrality methods on the FS-DPIN and compare the results with those on the SPIN and the existing DPINs. Then the predictive performance of the 15 centrality methods is validated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, F-measure, accuracy, Jackknife and AUPRC. The experimental results show that the FS-DPIN is superior to the existing DPINs in the identification accuracy of essential proteins.

Kinetics of naturally induced binding and neutralising anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels and potencies among SARS-CoV-2 infected Kenyans with diverse grades of COVID-19 severity: an observational study

Background: Given the low levels of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine coverage in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA), despite high levels of natural severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposures, strategies for extending the breadth and longevity of naturally acquired immunity are warranted. Designing such strategies will require a good understanding of natural immunity. Methods: We measured whole-spike immunoglobulin G (IgG) and spike-receptor binding domain (RBD) total immunoglobulins (Igs) on 585 plasma samples collected longitudinally over five successive time points within six months of COVID-19 diagnosis in 309 COVID-19 patients. We measured antibody-neutralising potency against the wild-type (Wuhan) SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus in a subset of 51 patients over three successive time points. Binding and neutralising antibody levels and potencies were then tested for correlations with COVID-19 severities. Results: Rates of seroconversion increased from day 0 (day of PCR testing) to day 180 (six months) (63.6% to 100 %) and (69.3 % to 97%) for anti-spike-IgG and anti-spike-RBD binding Igs, respectively. Levels of these binding antibodies peaked at day 28 (p&lt;0.0001) and were subsequently maintained for six months without significant decay (p&gt;0.99). Similarly, antibody-neutralising potencies peaked at day 28 (p&lt;0.0001) but declined by three-fold, six months after COVID-19 diagnosis (p&lt;0.0001). Binding antibody levels were highly correlated with neutralising antibody potencies at all the time points analysed (r&gt;0.6, p&lt;0.0001). Levels and potencies of binding and neutralising antibodies increased with disease severity. Conclusions: Most COVID-19 patients generated SARS-CoV-2 specific binding antibodies that remained stable in the first six months of infection. However, the respective neutralising antibodies decayed three-fold by month-six of COVID-19 diagnosis suggesting that they are short-lived, consistent with what has been observed elsewhere in the world. Thus, regular vaccination boosters are required to sustain the high levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 naturally acquired neutralising antibody potencies in our population.

Time-dependent analysis of the impact on early cytomegalovirus reactivation of HLA mismatch and acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from related donors in acquired aplastic anemia.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation is an important issue in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The incidence of early CMV reactivation is notably high in HLA-mismatched HCT. However, the interactions between HLA mismatch and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD), a time-dependent event, make it methodologically challenging to evaluate the independent impact on CMV reactivation of the two variables. We retrospectively analyzed 355 patients with acquired aplastic anemia who received related donor transplants using a unified antithymocyte globulin-based platform. Patients were divided into group 1 (6/6 HLA match), group 2 (1-2/6 HLA allelic mismatch), and group 3 (3/6 HLA allelic mismatch). The impact of covariates was analyzed through two models: (1) time-dependent Cox and (2) dynamic landmarking analysis. The time-dependent Cox model showed that the HLA mismatch of 3/6 alleles (hazard ratio (HR) =1.852, P = .004) and aGvHD (HR = 1.009, P = .019) were independent risk factors for CMV reactivation. With the dynamic landmarking analysis, a higher HLA disparity correlated to increased early CMV reactivation (HR = 1.606, P = .001) at all time points. Developing aGvHD following HCT was generally associated with a higher incidence of CMV reactivation (HR = 1.623, P = .013), though its impact decreased with successive later landmark time points. In conclusion, our data suggest that the higher HLA disparity and aGvHD increases susceptibility to early CMV reactivation. In particular, the dynamic landmarking analysis demonstrated the time-varying effect of aGvHD on CMV reactivation, and HLA mismatch showed a profound impact over time following HCT.

Sampling Complexity of Open Quantum Systems

Open quantum systems are ubiquitous in the physical sciences, with widespread applications in the areas of chemistry, condensed-matter physics, material science, optics, and many more. Not surprisingly, there is significant interest in their efficient simulation. However, direct classical simulation quickly becomes intractable with coupling to an environment with an effective dimension that grows exponentially. This raises the question: Can quantum computers help model these complex dynamics? A first step in answering this question requires an understanding of the computational complexity of this task. Here, we map the temporal complexity of a process to the spatial complexity of a many-body state using a computational model known as the process-tensor framework. With this, we are able to explore the simulation complexity of an open quantum system as a dynamic sampling problem: a system coupled to an environment can be probed at successive points in time—accessing multitime correlations. The complexity of multitime sampling, which is an important and interesting problem in its own right, contains the complexity of master equations and stochastic maps as a special case. Our results show how the complexity of the underlying quantum stochastic process corresponds to the complexity of the associated family of master equations for the dynamics. We present both analytical and numerical examples where the multitime sampling of an open quantum system is as complex as sampling from a many-body state that is classically hard. This also implies that the corresponding family of master equations is classically hard. Our results pave the way for studying open quantum systems from a complexity-theoretic perspective, highlighting the role quantum computers will play in our understanding of quantum dynamics.6 MoreReceived 13 October 2022Revised 12 February 2023Accepted 14 March 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.4.020310Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasComplex systemsComputational complexityOpen quantum systemsQuantum correlations in quantum informationQuantum Information

Recognition of Synthesized Intermetallic Interlayers at the Interface in Ti@Al "Core — Shell" Nanoparticles Based on Computer Molecular-Dynamic Simulation

The paper presents the results of applying a new method, previously developed by the authors, based on precalculated sets of 3D distributions of a matter density. The method is designed to recognize the spatial 3D distributions of the synthesized intermetallic compounds in the volume of a nanoparticle. A set of 3D distributions of a matter density in the volume of a cubic Ti@Al core — shell nanoparticle corresponds to a set of successive time points. It is calculated based on the results of the computer molecular dynamics simulation of self-propagating high temperature synthesis in the nanoparticle. Computational experiments are performed using the LAMMPS software package. Based on the obtained results, thermal and microstructural analyses are performed, confirming the multistage mechanism for the formation of intermetallic phases during the SHS reaction in the Ti-Al reaction medium. The sets of 3D distributions of the matter density and 3D distributions of synthesized intermetallic compounds in the volume of a nanoparticle corresponding to the sequence of time points are calculated. The paper shows the advantage of the method for recognizing 3D distributions of synthesized intermetallic compounds, proposed by the authors, over the methods of similar analysis built into the OVITO software package.

Contextual anomaly detection for multivariate time series data

With the advancement of sensing technologies, sensor data collected over time have become more useful for detecting anomalies in underlying processes and systems. Sensor data are often affected by contextual variables, such as equipment settings, and can have different patterns, even in normal states depending on the contextual variables. Motivated by this problem, we propose a contextual anomaly detection method for multivariate time series data. We first build a prediction model using training data consisting of only normal observations, and then perform anomaly detection based on the prediction errors for future observations. The prediction model is based on a long short-term memory (LSTM) network that can flexibly model complex relationships between variables as well as temporal correlations between successive time points using the high expressive power of deep recurrent neural networks. In particular, to incorporate the contextual information while ensuring that it does not propagate over time but affects the response data only at specific target time points, we extend the standard LSTM by adding a layer for the contextual variables separately for each time step. The performance of the proposed method was verified with several open-source datasets and a real dataset from a global tire company.

Clinical and histological evaluation of the effect of magnesium oxide administration on relapse after orthodontic teeth movement (Rabbit Model Study).

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and histological administration of magnesium oxide (MgO) supplementation on orthodontic relapse and bone remodeling. Twenty male albino rabbits were classified into four groups (five animals for each as two control (positive and negative), plus two experimental (low dose 40 mg/kg) and (high dose 80 mg/kg)/b.w. daily). An orthodontic force was applied (40 gm) to the lower incisors using modified orthodontic appliance adapted on the lower central incisors. During the period of retention, MgO was given orally. Relapse was estimated after appliance removal. A digital Calliper was used to compete the space between incisors' mesial tips of rabbits at six successive time points (0, 3, 7, 10, 15, and 21 days). Histologically, osteoblast, osteoclast, and osteocyte account were assessed. Data analyses were performed by SPSS using ANOVA and Tukay HSD (P ≤ 0.05) for statistically significant differences between groups. The high dose group had a lower relapse rate than the low dose and control groups. Histologically, the high dose group had more osteoblasts and osteocytes than low dose and control groups. While osteoclasts were significantly lower than the control group in low and high dose groups. MgO supplementation during an orthodontic retention phase, particularly at a level of high dose, clinically decreased orthodontic relapse in a rabbit model. Histologically, MgO has a significant effect on alveolar bone after the orthodontic retention period.

The impact of early-life antibiotics and probiotics on gut microbial ecology and infant health outcomes: a Pregnancy and Birth Cohort in Northwest China (PBCC) study protocol

BackgroundUnreasonable use of antibiotics and probiotics can alter the gut ecology, leading to antibiotic resistance and suboptimal health outcomes during early life. Our study aims are to clarify the association among antibiotic and probiotic exposure in early life, the microecology of the gut microbiota, and the development of antibiotic resistance; to investigate the long-term impact of antibiotics and probiotics on the health outcomes of infants and young children; and to provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of antibiotics and probiotics from a life course perspective.MethodsThe study is a prospective, longitudinal birth cohort study conducted in Shaanxi Province, China from 2018 to 2024. A total of 3,000 eligible mother–child pairs will be enrolled from rural, suburban, and urban areas. The recruitment of the participants begins at pregnancy, and the newborns will be followed up for 2 years at successive timepoints: within 3 days after birth, 42 days after birth, and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age. Sociodemographic data, environmental exposures, dietary patterns, psychological conditions, and medical and drug histories are collected. Cognitive and behavioural development among infants and young children and questionnaires on antibiotic knowledge and behaviour among caregivers will be collected at 12 and 24 months of age. The faecal samples are collected and analysed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for antibiotic resistance genes.DiscussionThe findings will inform antibiotic and probiotic use for pregnant women and infants and contribute to establishing rational use strategies of antibiotics and probiotics for paediatricians, health practitioners, and drug administration policy-makers.Trial registrationThe study was registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) platform, http://www.chictr.org.cn (Record ID: ChiCTR2100047531, June 20, 2021).