Skull Base Osteomyelitis with Extensive Bony Erosion Complicated by Venous Sinus Thrombosis

Introduced and invasive species make excellent natural experiments for investigating rapid evolution. Here, we describe the effects of genetic drift and rapid genetic adaptation in pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) that were accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes via a single introduction event 31-generations ago. Using whole-genome resequencing for 134 fish spanning five sample groups across the native and introduced range, we estimate that the progenitor population’s effective population size was 146,886 at the time of introduction, whereas the founding population’s effective population size was just 72—a 2040-fold decrease. As expected with a severe bottleneck, we show reductions in genome-wide measures of genetic diversity, specifically a 37.7% reduction in the number of SNPs and an 8.2% reduction in observed heterozygosity. Despite this decline in genetic diversity, we provide evidence for putative selection at 47 loci across multiple chromosomes in the introduced populations, including missense variants in genes associated with circadian rhythm, immunological response, and maturation, which match expected or known phenotypic changes in the Great Lakes. For one of these genes, we use a species-specific agent-based model to rule out genetic drift and conclude that a strong response to selection occurred in a period gene (per2) that plays a predominant role in determining an organism’s daily clock, matching large day length differences experienced by introduced salmon during important phenological periods. Together, these results inform how populations might evolve rapidly to new environments, even with a small pool of standing genetic variation.

A case report and clinical implications of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw resulting in sepsis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Carbon dots (CDs) are an emerging class of nanomaterials with intriguing photophysical properties. Recently, achieving room-temperature phosphores-cence (RTP) for CDs have attracted considerable attention for biomedical and information applications. However, the CDs based RTP materials generally require the use of polymeric and inorganic matrix to provide the rigid environments, which remains a great challenge to obtain matrix-free CDs with RTP. Herein, a novel supramolecular strategy based on strong interparticle interactions has been developed to attain this objective, by covalent decoration of ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy, a multiple hydrogen bonding unit) on the surface of CDs. Structural characterizations validated the core-shell structure of the as-prepared CDs (EDTA-CDs) and demonstrated the successful attachment of UPy via post-modification (UPy-CDs). The presence of UPy recognition units render the strong hydrogen bonding between UPy-CDs, which stabilizes the triplet state via rigidifying effect. As a result, UPy-CDs exhibit matrix-free efficient RTP (λem = 534 nm) with high brightness and long lifetime (33.6 ms) in the solid state. Owing to the dual-emission character, we further explored the application potential of UPy-CDs in information encryption and anti-counterfeiting. Overall, this work provides a new and facile strategy for achieving matrix-free phosphorescent CDs with elegant incorporation of supramolecular chemistry.

A proper allergy work-up, based on the gold standard drug provocation test (DPT), usually rules out suspected drug hypersensitivity in children. These tests are generally open, given their high efficiency compared to double-blind placebo-controlled DPTs. Although their negative predictive value is excellent, no studies have calculated their positive predictive value, highly dependent on the prevalence of the disease. Most studies have found a rate of less than 5% to 10% of true beta-lactam hypersensitivity in children. Given this low prevalence (pre-test probability), a few false positive results can significantly reduce the estimated positive predictive value. False positives may arise from the nocebo effect during the test, including nocebo by proxy, or from observer bias, which depends on professional expertise and organizational circumstances. Some studies have found a high rate of tolerance on a second DPT in children who failed the first, but these results may be affected by the interval between the two tests, of a year or more in most cases, reflecting a loss of hypersensitivity over time. Taking into account the low rate of positive DPTs, with commonly mild reactions, we suggest confirming non-severe positive DPTs with a second provocation performed soon after the first, especially in the case of beta-lactam antibiotics, in order to improve the diagnostic accuracy, de-label more patients, and achieve a better estimation of true drug hypersensitivity prevalence.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the cyclic and torsional fatigue resistance of a new nickel-titanium (Flat File 25.04) instrument on continuous and reciprocating motion. Methods: Sixty instruments of the ProDesign Logic2 25.03 and 25.05 (Easy Equipamentos Odontológicos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil), and MK Flat File 25.04 (n=20) (MK Life, Porto Alegre, Brazil) were used. For the cyclic fatigue test, an artificial stainless steel simulated canal with an angle of 60° and a radius of curvature of 5mm located 5mm from its tip was used. Torque and angle of rotation at failure of instruments on torsional fatigue test was based on the ISO 3630-1 protocol, in which the 3mm tip of each instrument was fixed and connected to an electric motor and a load cell. The fractured surface of each fragment was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s test with a significance level of 5%. Results: Flat File 25.04 had lower cyclic fatigue in both kinematics than the Logic instruments (P < .05). Reciprocating motion improved the cyclic fatigue of the tested instruments (P < .05). Flat File 25.04 had similar torque to Logic2 25.05 (P < .05), and both were superior to Logic2 25.03 (P < .05). The angular deflection values were different for the three tested instruments (P < .05), in the decreasing order: Logic2 25.03, 25.05, and Flat File 25.04. Conclusion: Flat File presented acceptable resistance to cyclic and torsional fatigue resistance. Reciprocating motion improved the cyclic fatigue resistance of the instruments and can be considered when using programmable motors.

In this paper, we study a time-fractional initial-boundary value problem of Kirchhoff type involving memory term for non-homogeneous materials ( P α ). As a consequence of energy argument, we derive L ∞ ( 0 , T ; H 0 1 ( Ω ) ) bound as well as L 2 ( 0 , T ; H 2 ( Ω ) ) bound on the solution of the problem ( P α ) by defining two new discrete Laplacian operators. Using these a priori bounds, existence and uniqueness of the weak solution to the considered problem is established. Further, we study semi discrete formulation of the problem ( P α ) by discretizing the space domain using a conforming FEM and keeping the time variable continuous. The semi discrete error analysis is carried out by modifying the standard Ritz-Volterra projection operator in such a way that it reduces the complexities arising from the Kichhoff type nonlinearity. Finally, we develop a new linearized L1 Galerkin FEM to obtain numerical solution of the problem ( P α ) with a convergence rate of O ( h + k 2 − α ) , where α (0 1) is the fractional derivative exponent, h and k are the discretization parameters in the space and time directions respectively. This convergence rate is improved to second order in the time direction by proposing a novel linearized L2-1 σ Galerkin FEM. We conduct a numerical experiment to validate our theoretical claims.

Reliable estimates of population size and demographic rates are central to assessing the status of threatened species. However, obtaining individual-based demographic rates requires long-term data, which is often costly and difficult to collect. Photographic data offer an inexpensive, non-invasive method for individual-based monitoring of species with unique markings, and could therefore increase available demographic data for many species. However, selecting suitable images and identifying individuals from photographic catalogues is prohibitively time-consuming. Automated identification software can significantly speed up this process. Nevertheless, automated methods for selecting suitable images are lacking, as are studies comparing the performance of the most prominent identification software packages. In this study, we develop a framework that automatically selects images suitable for individual identification, and compare the performance of three commonly used identification software packages; Hotspotter, I3S-Pattern, and WildID. As a case study, we consider the African wild dog Lycaon pictus, a species whose conservation is limited by a lack of cost-effective large-scale monitoring. To evaluate intra-specific variation in the performance of software packages, we compare identification accuracy between two populations (in Kenya and Zimbabwe) that have markedly different coat colouration patterns. The process of selecting suitable images was automated using Convolutional Neural Nets that crop individuals from images, filter out unsuitable images, separate left and right flanks, and remove image backgrounds. Hotspotter had the highest image-matching accuracy for both populations. However, the accuracy was significantly lower for the Kenyan population (62%), compared to the Zimbabwean population (88%). Our automated image pre-processing has immediate application for expanding monitoring based on image-matching. However, the difference in accuracy between populations highlights that population-specific detection rates are likely and may influence certainty in derived statistics. For species such as the African wild dog, where monitoring is both challenging and expensive, automated individual recognition could greatly expand and expedite conservation efforts.

DYT1 dystonia is a form of generalized dystonia associated with abnormalities in striatal dopamine release in mouse models and likely in humans. In the present study, we examined the possibility that ultrastructural changes in the morphology of nigrostriatal dopamine terminals could contribute to this neurochemical imbalance using a Serial-Block Face/Scanning Electron Microscope (SBF/SEM) and three-dimensional reconstruction approach to analyze striatal tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) terminals and their synapses in a DYT1(ΔE) Knockin (DYT1-KI) mouse model of DYT1 dystonia. Furthermore, to study possible changes in vesicle packaging capacity of dopamine, we used transmission electron microscopy to assess possible changes in the size of synaptic vesicles in striatal dopamine terminals between wild type (WT) and the DYT1-KI mice. Quantitative analysis of 80 fully reconstructed TH-IR terminals in the WT and DYT1-KI mice indicate: 1) No significant difference in the volume of TH-IR terminals between WT and DYT1-KI mice, 2) No major change in the proportion of axo-spinous vs axo-dendritic synapses formed by TH-IR terminals between the two groups, 3) No significant change in the post-synaptic density (PSD) area of axo-dendritic synapses, while the PSDs of axo-spinous synapses were significantly smaller in DYT1-KI mice, 4) No significant difference in the mean volume of mitochondria between WT mice and 5) No significant difference in the surface area of synaptic vesicles between the two groups. Altogether, these findings suggest that abnormal morphometric changes of nigrostriatal dopamine terminals and their post-synaptic targets are unlikely to be a major source of reduced striatal dopamine release in DYT1 dystonia.

Pelvic dimensions and hypotheses on duration of active second stage of labourTilde Broach OstborgStavanger University HospitalTM EggeboTrondheium University HospitalWe would like to thank Jan Novák and Petr Sedlak for their interest and comments to our manuscript. We found that increasing BMI was associated with shorter estimated median duration of the active second stage of labour.1We could not find any obvious causal mechanism for our findings; but suggested some possible explanations. The shorter active second stage may be related to increased abdominal pressure with increasing BMI, or perhaps increased strength when pushing.2, 3 Increased infiltration of fat in the muscular pelvic floor may decrease its strength and resistance.4 The presence of fat in the birth canal of obese women may delay the urge to bear down, thereby postponing active pushing until the head is lower in the maternal pelvis.Novak et al. measured the bi-ilac and bi-cristal diameters of the greater pelvis and found a broader pelvis in individuals with a history of obesity from adolescence.5 We supposed that there would be an association between the size of the greater pelvis and the size of the birth canal. We agree to the limitations commented by Novák and Sedlak. However, our proposed causal mechanisms are merely hypotheses, and cannot be accepted nor rejected based on current knowledge.1. Ostborg TB, Sande RK, Kessler J, Tappert C, von Brandis P, Eggebo TM. Put your weight behind it-Effect of body mass index on the active second stage of labour: A retrospective cohort study. BJOG. 2022;129:2166-2174.2. Lambert DM, Marceau S, Forse RA. Intra-abdominal pressure in the morbidly obese. Obes Surg. 2005;15:1225-1232.3. Tomlinson DJ, Erskine RM, Morse CI, Winwood K, Onambele-Pearson G. The impact of obesity on skeletal muscle strength and structure through adolescence to old age. Biogerontology. 2016;17:467-483.4. Pomian A, Lisik W, Kosieradzki M, Barcz E. Obesity and Pelvic Floor Disorders: A Review of the Literature. Med Sci Monit. 2016;22:1880-1886.5. Novak JM, Bruzek J, Zamrazilova H, Vankova M, Hill M, Sedlak P. The relationship between adolescent obesity and pelvis dimensions in adulthood: a retrospective longitudinal study. PeerJ. 2020;8:e8951.

Objective: To investigate programming effects of maternal testosterone on offspring birth anthropometrics. Design: Population-based prospective cohort study. Setting: University Hospital. Population: 1,486 mother-child dyads from Odense Child Cohort. Methods: Maternal blood samples were collected at gestational week 27-30 and free testosterone (FT) levels were calculated using the Vermeulen equation from total testosterone (TT) analyzed by mass spectrometry and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). Associations between FT or TT levels and birth anthropometrics were analyzed with multiple linear regression models according to offspring sex with adjustment for maternal age, parity, smoking and educational level. Analyses were repeated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as exposure for offspring birth anthropometrics. Main outcome measures: Offspring birth weight (BW), birth length, abdominal- and head circumferences. Results: Maternal mean (SD) age was 30.2 (4.5) years and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was 23.5 (5.3) kg/m2. In boys (n=787), higher FT was associated with lower BW (adjusted doubling constant=-65.53, p=0.010), shorter birth length (adjusted doubling constant=-0.43, p<0.001), and lower abdominal circumference (adjusted doubling constant=-0.39, p<0.001); Higher TT was associated with lower abdominal circumference (adjusted doubling constant=-0.25, p=0.028). In girls, no associations were found between maternal FT or TT and offspring anthropometrics. Conclusions: Higher maternal free testosterone exposure was linked to reduced birth weight, length and abdominal circumference in boys, whereas girls were not susceptible to maternal testosterone exposure.

A document by Kobe Haenen. Click on the document to view its contents.

During thyroid surgery fast and reliable intra-operative pathological feedback has the potential to avoid a two-stage procedure and significantly reduce health care costs in patients undergoing a diagnostic hemithyroidectomy (HT). We explored higher harmonic generation (HHG) microscopy, which combines second harmonic generation (SHG), third harmonic generation (THG), and multiphoton excited autofluorescence (MPEF) for this purpose. With a compact, portable HHG microscope, images of freshly excised healthy tissue, benign nodules (follicular adenoma) and malignant tissue (papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma and spindle cell carcinoma) were recorded. The images were generated on unprocessed tissue within minutes and show relevant morphological thyroid structures in good accordance with the histology images. The thyroid follicle architecture, cells, cell nuclei (THG), collagen organization (SHG) and the distribution of thyroglobulin and/or thyroid hormones T3 or T4 (MPEF) could be visualized. We conclude that SHG/THG/MPEF imaging is a promising tool for clinical intraoperative assessment of thyroid tissue.

The effect of the simultaneous presence of fluorine (0.15-1.2 mg L -1), bicarbonates (83.6-596 mg L -1), and synthesized goethite (0.3 mg L -1) at typical concentrations often found in natural groundwater samples was evaluated on the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) at pH 6.9 under simulated sunlight irradiation (300 W m -2) and H 2O 2 concentrations of 10 mg L -1. 2,4-D removal was strongly enhanced by the presence of fluoride. F - could modify the surface of iron (hydr)oxide leading to the formation of surficial Fe-F bonds benefiting the formation of free •OH radicals, producing upward band bending, reducing the electron-hole recombination, and enhancing the electron transfer to H 2O 2. On the other hand, bicarbonate may react with •OH radicals generating CO 3 -• species which could be able to participate in pollutant oxidation as well while solar light-induced H 2O 2 photolysis also played an important role in removing 2,4-D. These findings suggest that “natural” tuning of iron (hydr)oxides by fluoride could take place in natural groundwater generating “natural” photocatalysts with a high activity which could participate, by adding H 2O 2, in the enhancing of sunlight photoinduced natural abiotic processes to pollutants abatement.

Fractionation of proteoforms is currently the most challenging topic in the field of protein purification. The need for considering the existence of proteoforms into experimental approaches is not only important in Life Science research in general but especially in the manufacturing of therapeutic proteins (TPs) like recombinant therapeutic antibodies (mAbs). Some of the proteoforms of TPs have significantly decreased actions or even cause side effects. The identification and removal of proteoforms differing from the main species, having the desired action, is challenging because the difference in the composition of atoms often is very small and their concentration in comparison to the main proteoform can be small. In this study we demonstrate that sample displacement batch chromatography (SDBC) is an easy to handle, economic and efficient method for fractionating proteoforms. As a model sample a commercial ovalbumin fraction was used, containing many ovalbumin proteoforms. The most promising parameters for the SDBC were determined by a screening approach and applied for a 10-segment fractionation of the ovalbumin with cation exchange chromatography resin. Mass spectrometry of intact proteoforms was used for characterizing the SDBC fractionation process. By SDBC a significant separation of different proteoforms was obtained.

Aims: Therapeutic non-compliance remains the main difficulty for people with psychotic disorders, standing around 50% in people with schizophrenia. Lack of treatment adherence, either partial or total, to medication has economic and clinical consequences. E-health technologies may be a promising therapeutic tool to improve adherence, with the subsequent reduction in clinical and economic burden. Incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has improved the information patients receive and the relationship between health professionals and patients. Our aims were to know the preferences on how technologies in mental health treatment should be for use in clinical practice, and to learn about the opinion and preferences on the use of technologies in mental health treatment from the perspectives of patients with FEP, their relatives, and mental health professionals. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out by experts in psychosis and technologies. 41 patients with a diagnosis of first-episode psychosis (FEP), 18 relatives and 49 mental health professionals were included in the study. Results: An app directed to people with psychosis would be well received by users if it contains psychoeducational material, offers reminders for scheduled visits and treatment and allows online consultations. Conclusions: Co-creating an app with users, their families and mental health professionals allows incorporating their preferences to increase its use, improve outpatient care and creating an app that is viable in clinical practice.

Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation usually occur together, at the same time and place. However, while there is consensus that habitat loss is the preeminent threat to biodiversity, the effects of fragmentation are contentious. Some argue that habitat fragmentation is not bad for biodiversity, and even that it is good. Generally, the studies that find no harm or positive outcomes of fragmentation invariably assume that it is independent of habitat loss. However, dissociating the effects of habitat fragmentation from habitat loss is questionable because of the two are essentially coupled. Accordingly, we evaluated how forest area and fragmentation (via edge effects) influenced dung beetles per se, and through their effects on the abundance of mammals, using structural equation modeling (SEM). Dung beetles are very sensitive to forest habitat loss and fragmentation, and to changes in the abundance of mammals on which they depend for dung. Our study area was in the Tana River, Kenya, where forest fragments are depauperate of mammals except for two endemic species of monkeys. We mapped 12 forests, counted the resident monkeys, and sampled 113,959 beetles from 288 plots. Most of the 87 species of beetles were small, affirming the endemic monkeys as the main source of dung. After implementing a fully latent Structural Regression SEM, the optimal model explained a significant 26% of the variance in abundance, and 89% of diversity. The main drivers of beetle abundance were positive, direct, effects of forest area and number of monkeys, and negative edge effects. The main drivers of diversity were the direct effects of the beetle abundance, indirect effects of forest area and abundance of mammals, and indirect negative edge effects. Thus forest area, fragmentation (via edge effects) and the number of monkeys jointly influenced the abundance and diversity of the beetles directly and indirectly.

Economic model predictive control (EMPC) has received increasing attention in the wind energy community due to its ability to trade off economic objectives with ease. However, for wind turbine applications, inherent nonlinearities, such as from aerodynamics, pose difficulties in attaining a convex optimal control problem (OCP), by which real-time deployment is not only possible but also a globally optimal solution is guaranteed. A variable transformation can be utilized to obtain a convex OCP, where nominal variables, such as rotational speed, pitch angle, and torque, are exchanged with an alternative set in terms of power and energy. The ensuing convex EMPC (CEMPC) possesses linear dynamics, convex constraints, and concave economic objectives and has been successfully employed to address power control and tower fatigue alleviation. This work focuses on extending the blade loads mitigation aspect of the CEMPC framework by exploiting its individual pitch control (IPC) capabilities, resulting in a novel CEMPC-IPC technique. This extension is made possible by reformulating static blade and rotor moments in terms of individual blade aerodynamic powers and rotational kinetic energy of the drivetrain. The effectiveness of the proposed method is showcased in a mid-fidelity wind turbine simulation environment in various wind cases, in which comparisons with a basic CEMPC without load mitigation capability and a baseline IPC are made. Results indicate that CEMPC-IPC can achieve better reduction in rotating blade loads, as well as similar performance in the mitigation of shaft and yaw bearing loads, with the added advantage of convenient economic objectives trade-off tuning.