Classification of Aggregates Using Multispectral Two-Dimensional Angular Light Scattering Simulations.

Airborne particulate matter plays an important role in climate change and health impacts, and is generally irregularly shaped and/or forms agglomerates. These particles may be characterized through their light scattering signals. Two-dimensional angular scattering from such particles produce a speckle pattern that is influenced by their morphology (shape and material composition). In what follows, we revisit morphological descriptors obtained from computationally generated light scattering patterns from aggregates of spherical particles. These descriptors are used as inputs to a multivariate statistical algorithm and then classified via supervised machine learning algorithms. The classification results show improved accuracy over previous efforts and demonstrate the utility of the proposed morphological descriptors.

The Liverpool Heart And bRain Project (L-HARP): Protocol for an Observational Cohort Study of Cardiovascular Risk and Outcomes Following Stroke.

Further research is needed to refine risk prediction models for adverse cardiovascular outcomes following stroke in contemporary clinical practice, such as incident atrial fibrillation (AF), recurrent stroke, and cognitive impairment and dementia. The aims of this study are to prospectively investigate cardiovascular outcomes and risk factors for incident cardiovascular disease in a post-stroke cohort, and to externally validate, refine and expand current risk prediction models for cardiovascular and cardiovascular-related outcomes. The study sample size was based on the development of post-stroke risk prediction models for AF and was calculated as 1222 participants. The study design is a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. Participants will be adult patients admitted for ischaemic stroke confirmed by stroke physician or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) confirmed by MRI. Routinely collected data will be used in addition to the completion of simple validated questionnaires by the participants. Follow-up will be undertaken 12-months from the date of admission to hospital, in addition to linkage to routinely collected follow-up hospitalisation and mortality data. The primary outcomes are cardiovascular outcomes (including incident AF, stroke, TIA and myocardial infarction) at 12-month follow-up, all-cause mortality and mortality from cardiovascular causes, and incident cognitive impairment and dementia. Secondary outcomes include changes in function, depression, anxiety, fatigue and quality of life. The study has received approval from the Health Research Authority Research Ethics Committee (21/WA/0209), and is registered on https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ (Identifier NCT05132465). Recruitment for the study began in October 2021 with completion of recruitment at all participating centres anticipated by October 2022.

Social immunity in honeybees-Density dependence, diet, and body mass trade-offs.

Group living is favorable to pathogen spread due to the increased risk of disease transmission among individuals. Similar to individual immune defenses, social immunity, that is antiparasite defenses mounted for the benefit of individuals other than the actor, is predicted to be altered in social groups. The eusocial honey bee (Apis mellifera) secretes glucose oxidase (GOX), an antiseptic enzyme, throughout its colony, thereby providing immune protection to other individuals in the hive. We conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the effects of group density on social immunity, specifically GOX activity, body mass and feeding behavior in caged honey bees. Individual honeybees caged in a low group density displayed increased GOX activity relative to those kept at a high group density. In addition, we provided evidence for a trade-off between GOX activity and body mass: Individuals caged in the low group density had a lower body mass, despite consuming more food overall. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that group density affects a social immune response in a eusocial insect. Moreover, we showed that the previously reported trade-off between immunity and body mass extends to social immunity. GOX production appears to be costly for individuals, and potentially the colony, given that low body mass is correlated with small foraging ranges in bees. At high group densities, individuals can invest less in social immunity than at low densities, while presumably gaining shared protection from infection. Thus, there is evidence that trade-offs at the individual level (GOX vs. body mass) can affect colony-level fitness.