Feature similarity gradients detect alterations in the neonatal cortex associated with preterm birth.

The early life environment programmes cortical architecture and cognition across the life course. A measure of cortical organisation that integrates information from multimodal MRI and is unbound by arbitrary parcellations has proven elusive, which hampers efforts to uncover the perinatal origins of cortical health. Here, we use the Vogt-Bailey index to provide a fine-grained description of regional homogeneities and sharp variations in cortical microstructure based on feature gradients, and we investigate the impact of being born preterm on cortical development at term-equivalent age. Compared with term-born controls, preterm infants have a homogeneous microstructure in temporal and occipital lobes, and the medial parietal, cingulate, and frontal cortices, compared with term infants. These observations replicated across two independent datasets and were robust to differences that remain in the data after matching samples and alignment of processing and quality control strategies. We conclude that cortical microstructural architecture is altered in preterm infants in a spatially distributed rather than localised fashion.

Usage of mineralocorticoids and isotonic crystalloids in subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The usage rates of mineralocorticoids (fludrocortisone) to treat hyponatremia and isotonic crystalloids (saline and balanced crystalloids) to maintain intravascular volume in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients across the United States are unknown. METHODS: We surveyed National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) StrokeNet sites in 2023, which are mostly large, tertiary, academic centers, and analyzed subarachnoid hemorrhage encounters from 2010 to 2020 in the Premier Healthcare Database that is representative of all types of hospitals and captures about 20 % of all acute inpatient care in the United States. RESULTS: Although mineralocorticoids are used by 70 % of the NINDS StrokeNet sites, it is used in less than 20 % of the aSAH encounters in the Premier Database. Although saline is ubiquitously used, balanced crystalloids are increasingly used for fluid therapy in aSAH patients. Its use in the NINDS StrokeNet sites and the Premier Healthcare Database is 41 and 45 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of mineralocorticoids remains low, and balanced crystalloids are increasingly used as fluid therapy in aSAH patients. The effectiveness of mineralocorticoids and balanced crystalloids in improving outcomes for aSAH patients must be rigorously tested in randomized clinical trials.

Antimony nanobelt asymmetric membranes for sodium ion battery.

In this study, composite asymmetric membranes containing antimony (Sb) nanobelts are prepared via a straightforward phase inversion method in combination with post-pyrolysis treatment. Sb nanobelt asymmetric membranes demonstrate improved cyclability and specific capacity as the alloy anode of sodium ion battery compared to Sb nanobelt thin films without asymmetric porous structure. The unique structure can effectively accommodate the large volume expansion of Sb-based alloy anodes, prohibit the loss of fractured active materials, and aid in the formation of stable artificial solid electrolyte interphases as evidenced by an outstanding capacity retention of ∼98% in 130 cycles at 60 mA g-1. A specific capacity of ∼600 mAh g-1is obtained at 15 mA g-1(1/40C). When the current density is increased to 240 mA g-1, ∼80% capacity can be maintained (∼480 mAh g-1). The relations among phase inversion conditions, structures, compositions, and resultant electrochemical properties are revealed through comprehensive characterization.

Preterm birth alters the development of cortical microstructure and morphology at term-equivalent age.

INTRODUCTION: The dynamic nature and complexity of the cellular events that take place during the last trimester of pregnancy make the developing cortex particularly vulnerable to perturbations. Abrupt interruption to normal gestation can lead to significant deviations to many of these processes, resulting in atypical trajectory of cortical maturation in preterm birth survivors. METHODS: We sought to first map typical cortical micro- and macrostructure development using invivo MRI in a large sample of healthy term-born infants scanned after birth (n = 259). Then we offer a comprehensive characterization of the cortical consequences of preterm birth in 76 preterm infants scanned at term-equivalent age (37-44 weeks postmenstrual age). We describe the group-average atypicality, the heterogeneity across individual preterm infants, and relate individual deviations from normative development to age at birth and neurodevelopment at 18 months. RESULTS: In the term-born neonatal brain, we observed heterogeneous and regionally specific associations between age at scan and measures of cortical morphology and microstructure, including rapid surface expansion, greater cortical thickness, lower cortical anisotropy and higher neurite orientation dispersion. By term-equivalent age, preterm infants had on average increased cortical tissue water content and reduced neurite density index in the posterior parts of the cortex, and greater cortical thickness anteriorly compared to term-born infants. While individual preterm infants were more likely to show extreme deviations (over 3.1 standard deviations) from normative cortical maturation compared to term-born infants, these extreme deviations were highly variable and showed very little spatial overlap between individuals. Measures of regional cortical development were associated with age at birth, but not with neurodevelopment at 18 months. CONCLUSION: We showed that preterm birth alters cortical micro- and macrostructural maturation near the time of full-term birth. Deviations from normative development were highly variable between individual preterm infants.

Histopathology after lidocaine/prilocaine cream administration for vulvar biopsy.

BACKGROUND: Case series have described disruptive histopathologic changes following lidocaine/prilocaine cream anesthetic for biopsies. METHODS: A study of histopathologic changes was performed following a randomized trial comparing topical lidocaine/prilocaine cream to 1% lidocaine injection anesthesia for vulvar biopsy. Histopathology was reviewed by two independent dermatopathologists blinded to the type of anesthetic. Specimens were scored on six histopathologic criteria described in the literature. Individual scores for each histopathologic feature and the total score across features were compared between the two groups using marginal models with generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: Of 37 specimens reviewed, 19 were randomized to lidocaine/prilocaine cream and 18 to 1% lidocaine. Subjects exposed to lidocaine/prilocaine had the following odds of histopathologic changes, relative to lidocaine-exposed subjects: acantholysis (odds ratio 2.48; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.51, 12.06), clefting (2.42; 0.64, 9.14), pallor/necrosis (1.13; 0.28, 4.50), spongiosis (0.71; 0.18, 2.85), and papillary dermal edema (1.17; 0.41, 3.29). Total scores were not significantly different between treatment arms (risk ratio 0.98; 0.71, 1.35). CONCLUSION: This histopathologic analysis of a randomized trial between lidocaine/prilocaine cream and injected lidocaine as anesthesia for vulvar biopsy shows the absence of significant disruptive histopathologic features secondary to the type of anesthetic. Additional studies in different clinical contexts are warranted.

Quantum signatures for screening metavalent solids.

The objective of this paper is to describe a new data-driven framework for computational screening and discovery of a class of materials termed "metavalent" solids. "Metavalent" solids possess characteristics that are nominally associated with metallic and covalent bonding (in terms of conductivity and coordination numbers) but are distinctly different from both because they show anomalously large response properties and a unique bond-breaking mechanism that is not observed in either covalent or metallic solids. The paper introduces the use of Hirshfeld surface analysis to provide quantum level descriptors that can be used for rapid screening of crystallographic data to identify potentially new "metavalent" solids with novel and emergent properties.

Low-pressure multipass Raman spectrometer.

Nonintrusive, quantitative measurements of thermodynamic properties of flows associated with propulsion systems are pivotal to advance their design and optimization. Laser-based diagnostics are ideal to provide quantitative results without influencing the flow; however, the environments in which such flows exist are often not conducive for such techniques. Namely, they often lack the optical accessibility required to facilitate the delivery of incident laser radiation and the subsequent collection of induced signals. A particularly challenging, yet crucial, task is to measure thermodynamic properties of plumes issuing from thrusters operating within a vacuum chamber. Large chambers used to simulate the vacuum of space generally lack optical ports that can facilitate complex laser-based measurements. Additionally, the near-vacuum environments within such chambers coupled with the ability of thrusters to efficiently expand the gas flowing through their nozzles lead to plumes with prohibitively low number densities (pressures below 1 Torr). Thus, there is a need to develop a diagnostic system that can offer high throughput without the use of free-space optical ports. Moreover, facilities where propulsion systems are tested typically lack vibrationally isolated space for diagnostic equipment and accurate climate control. As a result, such a high-throughput system must also be compact, versatile, and robust. To this end, the present work describes a fiber-coupled, multipass cell, spontaneous Raman scattering spectroscopy system. This system is intended to provide accurate temperature measurements within low-pressure environments via H2 rotational Raman thermometry. Proof-of-principle measurements are successfully performed at pressures as low as 67 Pa (500 mTorr). Techniques to maintain the signal-to-noise ratio at lower pressures, and the trade-offs associated with them, are discussed and evaluated. Finally, the ability of this system to facilitate additional quantitative measurements is also discussed.

Information sharing in neonatal intensive care: Parental perceptions and preferences.

AIM: Information sharing is a key component of family-centred care, which has traditionally occurred through patient information leaflets. Although patients' access to health information is rapidly changing with internet and mobile technologies, there are few data on parents' perception and preferences for information sharing. Our aim was to evaluate parents' perception of information sharing in neonatal care, to determine parents' preferred medium for health information and to identify priority content for inclusion in a smartphone application. METHODS: Parents at Kidz First Neonatal Care (KFNC) were eligible to take part in our survey, which comprised five sections: (i) demographics, (ii) information in neonatal care, (iii) printed information in neonatal care, (iv) parental views about development of a neonatal smartphone application and (v) general feedback. Parental satisfaction with information sharing in KFNC was assessed with a modified version of the Empowerment of Parents in the Intensive Care-neonatology questionnaire. Descriptive and summary statistics were calculated, and free text data were analysed by content analysis. RESULTS: Forty-one surveys were received, with 62% completed by mothers. Parents were supportive of electronic information, with 88% highly scoring the question 'I would download and use a free neonatal care app'. However, parental views on the need to continue printed material if a neonatal care smartphone application was provided were mixed. Of those parents who provided free-text recommendations, priority content included information about neonatal conditions, preparing for discharge and available supports. CONCLUSION: Parents had positive perceptions of information sharing in neonatal care and were strongly supportive of the introduction of a neonatal phone application.

Intermittent Hypoxemia in Infants Born Late Preterm: A Prospective Cohort Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if late preterm infants are at increased risk of intermittent hypoxemic events compared with term infants. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, cohort, observational study of late preterm infants (340/7-366/7 weeks gestational age) and term infants (390/7-416/7 weeks gestational age). Overnight pulse oximetry recordings were performed on days 2-3 after birth, at term equivalent age, and at 45 weeks postmenstrual age. The primary outcome was the frequency of intermittent hypoxemic events per hour (desaturation ≥10% below the preceding baseline SpO2) on the oximetry recording on days 2-3 after birth. Data were analyzed by the Student t test and general linear mixed model. RESULTS: Eighty-five infants were enrolled (late preterm n = 43; term infants n = 42). On days 2-3 after birth, late preterm infants had more intermittent hypoxemic events than term infants (events per hour, mean ± standard error of the mean, 2.5 ± 1.2 vs 1.0 ± 1.2; P < .0001). On mixed model analysis, late preterm infants had a higher frequency of intermittent hypoxemic events at term equivalent age, which decreased to a similar frequency as in term infants by 45 weeks postmenstrual age (events per hour; term equivalent age, late preterm: least squares mean, 3.7 [95% CI, 2.7-5.1] vs term: least squares mean, 1.7 [95% CI, 1.2-2.3]; 45 weeks postmenstrual age, late preterm: least squares mean, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1-2.1] vs term: least squares mean, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.4-2.6]; P < .0005). CONCLUSIONS: Late preterm infants are at greater risk of intermittent hypoxemia than term infants soon after birth. We speculate that preventing intermittent hypoxemia in late preterm infants may improve neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Alloy-Free Band Gap Tuning across the Visible Spectrum.

We present evidence, from theory and experiment, that ZnSnN_{2} and MgSnN_{2} can be used to match the band gap of InGaN without alloying-by exploiting cation disorder in a controlled fashion. We base this on the determination of S, the long-range order parameter of the cation sublattice, for a series of epitaxial thin films of ZnSnN_{2} and MgSnN_{2} using three different techniques: x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and in situ electron diffraction. We observe a linear relationship between S^{2} and the optical band gap of both ZnSnN_{2} (1.12-1.98 eV) and MgSnN_{2} (1.87-3.43 eV). The results clearly demonstrate the correlation between controlled heterovalent cation ordering and the optical band gap, which applies to a broad group of emerging ternary heterovalent compounds and has implications for similar trends in other material properties besides the band gap.

Insights on the Synthesis, Crystal and Electronic Structures, and Optical and Thermoelectric Properties of Sr1- xSb xHfSe3 Orthorhombic Perovskite.

Single-phase polycrystalline powders of Sr1- xSb xHfSe3 ( x = 0, 0.005, 0.01), a new member of the chalcogenide perovskites, were synthesized using a combination of high temperature solid-state reaction and mechanical alloying approaches. Structural analysis using single-crystal as well as powder X-ray diffraction revealed that the synthesized materials are isostructural with SrZrSe3, crystallizing in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (#62) with lattice parameters a = 8.901(2) Å; b = 3.943(1) Å; c = 14.480(3) Å; and Z = 4 for the x = 0 composition. Thermal conductivity data of SrHfSe3 revealed low values ranging from 0.9 to 1.3 W m-1 K-1 from 300 to 700 K, which is further lowered to 0.77 W m-1 K-1 by doping with 1 mol % Sb for Sr. Electronic property measurements indicate that the compound is quite insulating with an electrical conductivity of 2.9 S/cm at 873 K, which was improved to 6.7 S/cm by 0.5 mol % Sb doping. Thermopower data revealed that SrHfSe3 is a p-type semiconductor with thermopower values reaching a maximum of 287 µV/K at 873 K for the 1.0 mol % Sb sample. The optical band gap of Sr1- xSb xHfSe3 samples, as determined by density functional theory calculations and the diffuse reflectance method, is ∼1.00 eV and increases with Sb concentration to 1.15 eV. Careful analysis of the partial densities of states (PDOS) indicates that the band gap in SrHfSe3 is essentially determined by the Se-4p and Hf-5d orbitals with little to no contribution from Sr atoms. Typically, band edges of p- and d-character are a good indication of potentially strong absorption coefficient due to the high density of states of the localized p and d orbitals. This points to potential application of SrHfSe3 as absorbing layer in photovoltaic devices.

Positive Inotropic Effect of Prostaglandin F2α in Rat Ventricular Trabeculae.

Prostaglandins are ubiquitous signaling molecules in the body that produce autocrine/paracrine effects on target cells in response to mechanical or chemical signals. In the heart, long-term exposure to prostaglandin (PG) F2α has been linked to the development of hypertrophy; however, there is no consensus on the acute effect of PGF2α. Our aim was to determine the response to exogenous PGF2α in isolated trabeculae from rat hearts. PGF2α (1 µM) increased both the Ca transients and the isometric stress in trabeculae, reaching steady state after 10-15 minutes, without altering the time course of Ca transient decay. The precursor of PGF2α, arachidonic acid, also stimulated a similar response. The positive inotropic effect of PGF2α was mediated through a protein kinase C signaling pathway that involved activation of the sarcolemmal Na/H exchanger. We also found that the slow force response to stretch was attenuated in the presence of PGF2α and by addition of indomethacin, a blocker of prostaglandin synthesis. In conclusion, PGF2α was positively inotropic when acutely applied to trabeculae and contributed to the increased Ca transients during the slow force response to stretch. Together, these data suggest that PGF2α is important in maintaining homeostasis during volume loading in healthy hearts.

Application of up-sampling and resolution scaling to Fresnel reconstruction of digital holograms.

Fresnel transform implementation methods using numerical preprocessing techniques are investigated in this paper. First, it is shown that up-sampling dramatically reduces the minimum reconstruction distance requirements and allows maximal signal recovery by eliminating aliasing artifacts which typically occur at distances much less than the Rayleigh range of the object. Second, zero-padding is employed to arbitrarily scale numerical resolution for the purpose of resolution matching multiple holograms, where each hologram is recorded using dissimilar geometric or illumination parameters. Such preprocessing yields numerical resolution scaling at any distance. Both techniques are extensively illustrated using experimental results.

Digital tomographic compressive holographic reconstruction of three-dimensional objects in transmissive and reflective geometries.

In this work compressive holography (CH) with multiple projection tomography is applied to solve the inverse ill-posed problem of reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) objects with high axial accuracy. To visualize the 3D shape, we propose digital tomographic CH, where projections from more than one direction, as in tomographic imaging, can be employed, so that a 3D shape with improved axial resolution can be reconstructed. Also, we propose possible schemes for shadow elimination when the same object is illuminated at multiple angles using a single illuminating beam and using a single CCD. Finally, we adapt CH designed for a Gabor-type setup to a reflective geometry and apply the technique to reflective objects.

The Multiscale Surface Vision Transformer.

Surface meshes are a favoured domain for representing structural and functional information on the human cortex, but their complex topology and geometry pose significant challenges for deep learning analysis. While Transformers have excelled as domain-agnostic architectures for sequence-to-sequence learning, notably for structures where the translation of the convolution operation is non-trivial, the quadratic cost of the self-attention operation remains an obstacle for many dense prediction tasks. Inspired by some of the latest advances in hierarchical modelling with vision transformers, we introduce the Multiscale Surface Vision Transformer (MS-SiT) as a backbone architecture for surface deep learning. The self-attention mechanism is applied within local-mesh-windows to allow for high-resolution sampling of the underlying data, while a shifted-window strategy improves the sharing of information between windows. Neighbouring patches are successively merged, allowing the MS-SiT to learn hierarchical representations suitable for any prediction task. Results demonstrate that the MS-SiT outperforms existing surface deep learning methods for neonatal phenotyping prediction tasks using the Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) dataset. Furthermore, building the MS-SiT backbone into a U-shaped architecture for surface segmentation demonstrates competitive results on cortical parcellation using the UK Biobank (UKB) and manually-annotated MindBoggle datasets. Code and trained models are publicly available at https://github.com/metrics-lab/surface-vision-transformers.

Usage of Mineralocorticoids and Isotonic Crystalloids in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients in the United States.

Background: The usage rates of mineralocorticoids (fludrocortisone) to treat hyponatremia and isotonic crystalloids (saline and balanced crystalloids) to maintain intravascular volume in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients across the United States are unknown. Methods: We surveyed National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) StrokeNet sites, which are mostly large, tertiary, academic centers, and analyzed subarachnoid hemorrhage encounters in the Premier Healthcare Database that is representative of all types of hospitals and captures about 20% of all acute inpatient care in the United States. Results: Although mineralocorticoids are used by 70% of the NINDS StrokeNet sites in aSAH patients, it is used in less than 25% of the aSAH encounters in the Premier Database. Although saline is ubiquitously used, balanced crystalloids are increasingly used for fluid therapy in aSAH patients. Its use in the NINDS StrokeNet sites and the Premier Healthcare Database is 41% and 45%, respectively. Conclusions: The use of mineralocorticoids remains low, and balanced crystalloids are increasingly used as fluid therapy in aSAH patients. The effectiveness of mineralocorticoids and balanced crystalloids in improving outcomes for aSAH patients must be rigorously tested in randomized clinical trials.

ICAM-Reg: Interpretable Classification and Regression With Feature Attribution for Mapping Neurological Phenotypes in Individual Scans.

An important goal of medical imaging is to be able to precisely detect patterns of disease specific to individual scans; however, this is challenged in brain imaging by the degree of heterogeneity of shape and appearance. Traditional methods, based on image registration, historically fail to detect variable features of disease, as they utilise population-based analyses, suited primarily to studying group-average effects. In this paper we therefore take advantage of recent developments in generative deep learning to develop a method for simultaneous classification, or regression, and feature attribution (FA). Specifically, we explore the use of a VAE-GAN (variational autoencoder - general adversarial network) for translation called ICAM, to explicitly disentangle class relevant features, from background confounds, for improved interpretability and regression of neurological phenotypes. We validate our method on the tasks of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) cognitive test score prediction for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) cohort, as well as brain age prediction, for both neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration, using the developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP) and UK Biobank datasets. We show that the generated FA maps can be used to explain outlier predictions and demonstrate that the inclusion of a regression module improves the disentanglement of the latent space. Our code is freely available on GitHub https://github.com/CherBass/ICAM.

Telomere length and brain imaging phenotypes in UK Biobank.

Telomeres form protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, and their attrition is a marker of biological aging. Short telomeres are associated with an increased risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders including dementia. The mechanism underlying this risk is unclear, and may involve brain structure and function. However, the relationship between telomere length and neuroimaging markers is poorly characterized. Here we show that leucocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with multi-modal MRI phenotypes in 31,661 UK Biobank participants. Longer LTL is associated with: i) larger global and subcortical grey matter volumes including the hippocampus, ii) lower T1-weighted grey-white tissue contrast in sensory cortices, iii) white-matter microstructure measures in corpus callosum and association fibres, iv) lower volume of white matter hyperintensities, and v) lower basal ganglia iron. Longer LTL was protective against certain related clinical manifestations, namely all-cause dementia (HR 0.93, 95% CI: 0.91-0.96), but not stroke or Parkinson's disease. LTL is associated with multiple MRI endophenotypes of neurodegenerative disease, suggesting a pathway by which longer LTL may confer protective against dementia.

A bipolar taxonomy of adult human brain sulcal morphology related to timing of fetal sulcation and trans-sulcal gene expression gradients.

We developed a computational pipeline (now provided as a resource) for measuring morphological similarity between cortical surface sulci to construct a sulcal phenotype network (SPN) from each magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in an adult cohort (N=34,725; 45-82 years). Networks estimated from pairwise similarities of 40 sulci on 5 morphological metrics comprised two clusters of sulci, represented also by the bipolar distribution of sulci on a linear-to-complex dimension. Linear sulci were more heritable and typically located in unimodal cortex; complex sulci were less heritable and typically located in heteromodal cortex. Aligning these results with an independent fetal brain MRI cohort (N=228; 21-36 gestational weeks), we found that linear sulci formed earlier, and the earliest and latest-forming sulci had the least between-adult variation. Using high-resolution maps of cortical gene expression, we found that linear sulcation is mechanistically underpinned by trans-sulcal gene expression gradients enriched for developmental processes.

Structural and functional asymmetry of the neonatal cerebral cortex.

Features of brain asymmetry have been implicated in a broad range of cognitive processes; however, their origins are still poorly understood. Here we investigated cortical asymmetries in 442 healthy term-born neonates using structural and functional magnetic resonance images from the Developing Human Connectome Project. Our results demonstrate that the neonatal cortex is markedly asymmetric in both structure and function. Cortical asymmetries observed in the term cohort were contextualized in two ways: by comparing them against cortical asymmetries observed in 103 preterm neonates scanned at term-equivalent age, and by comparing structural asymmetries against those observed in 1,110 healthy young adults from the Human Connectome Project. While associations with preterm birth and biological sex were minimal, significant differences exist between birth and adulthood.