Ambiguity in Solving Imaging Inverse Problems with Deep-Learning-Based Operators.

In recent years, large convolutional neural networks have been widely used as tools for image deblurring, because of their ability in restoring images very precisely. It is well known that image deblurring is mathematically modeled as an ill-posed inverse problem and its solution is difficult to approximate when noise affects the data. Really, one limitation of neural networks for deblurring is their sensitivity to noise and other perturbations, which can lead to instability and produce poor reconstructions.

Breast shells for pain and nipple injury prevention: A non-randomized clinical trial.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of breast shells in preventing pain and nipple injury during breastfeeding.

Method: A non-randomized clinical trial was carried out with blinding to the evaluators of the study results. The study included women with ≥35 weeks of singleton pregnancy, no nipple changes, and a desire to breastfeed.

Biochemical and biophysical properties of a recombinant serine peptidase from Purpureocillium lilacinum.

The industrial uses of peptidases have already been consolidated; however, their range of applications is increasing. Thus, the biochemical characterization of new peptidases could increase the range of their biotechnological applications. In silico analysis identified a gene encoding a putative serine peptidase from Purpureocillium lilacinum (Pl_SerPep), annotated as a cuticle-degrading enzyme.

RISING: A new framework for model-based few-view CT image reconstruction with deep learning.

Medical image reconstruction from low-dose tomographic data is an active research field, recently revolutionized by the advent of deep learning. In fact, deep learning typically yields superior results than classical optimization approaches, but unstable results have been reported both numerically and theoretically in the literature. This paper proposes RISING, a new framework for sparse-view tomographic image reconstruction combining an early-stopped Rapid Iterative Solver with a subsequent Iteration Network-based Gaining step.

Predictive Factors of Listeners' Attitudes Related to Dysphonic Voices in Native Brazilian Portuguese.

Objectives: To verify whether there are differences in the judgments of listeners' attitudes as a function of the presence, severity, and type of vocal deviation, and to identify the predictive factors of listeners' attitudes toward dysphonic voices in Brazilian Portuguese speakers.

Methods: A sample of CAPE-V sentences was used from 44 subjects of both genders. The samples presented different severities of vocal deviation (general grade - GG) (healthy, mild, moderate, and severe) and different degrees of roughness (GR), breathiness (GB), and strain (GS), characterized by a perceptual-auditory judgment performed by speech therapists.

Caregiver Burden Is Associated With the Physical Function of Individuals on Long-Term Oxygen Therapy.

Background: The influence of physical function of individuals on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) on caregiver burden is underexplored. This study investigated the association of caregiver burden with physical function of individuals on LTOT and the association between caregiver's burden and quality of life.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study.

Morphological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of the head capsule of the cockroach (Insecta/Blattodea).

Background: Cockroaches are usually typical omnivorous detritivores and their cephalic morphology is considered to be ancestral in various aspects. Thus, several studies addressed the morphology and function of the blattodean head, and the cockroach usually serves as a model for standard mouthparts in text books. However, so far only two of the three major lineages of Blattodea have been studied and no detailed information for the head of any Corydioidea was available.

A Green Prospective for Learned Post-Processing in Sparse-View Tomographic Reconstruction.

Deep Learning is developing interesting tools that are of great interest for inverse imaging applications. In this work, we consider a medical imaging reconstruction task from subsampled measurements, which is an active research field where Convolutional Neural Networks have already revealed their great potential. However, the commonly used architectures are very deep and, hence, prone to overfitting and unfeasible for clinical usages.

Unlocking the structural features for the xylobiohydrolase activity of an unusual GH11 member identified in a compost-derived consortium.

The heteropolysaccharide xylan is a valuable source of sustainable chemicals and materials from renewable biomass sources. A complete hydrolysis of this major hemicellulose component requires a diverse set of enzymes including endo-β-1,4-xylanases, β-xylosidases, acetylxylan esterases, α-l-arabinofuranosidases, and α-glucuronidases. Notably, the most studied xylanases from glycoside hydrolase family 11 (GH11) have exclusively been endo-β-1,4- and β-1,3-xylanases.

Dating Applications, Sexual Behaviors, and Attitudes of College Students in Brazil's Legal Amazon.

Although dating applications (apps) have become popular among young adults, there is a dearth of information regarding the sexual health implications among Brazilian college students. This study examined risky sexual behavior and attitudes of dating app users, based on their sex in Brazil's Legal Amazon. Three hundred and fifty-nine students reported their sociodemographic data, dating app use, and sexual behaviors and attitudes through self-administered questionnaires.

Does the Combination of Glottal and Supraglottic Acoustic Measures Improve Discrimination Between Women With and Without Voice Disorders?

Aim: To analyze the accuracy of traditional acoustic measurements (F0, perturbation, and noise) and formant measurements in discriminating between women with and without voice disorders, and with different laryngeal disorders.

Study Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and retrospective.

Method: Two hundred and sixty women participated.

Biochemical characterization and low-resolution SAXS shape of a novel GH11 exo-1,4-β-xylanase identified in a microbial consortium.

Biotechnologies that aim to produce renewable fuels, chemicals, and bioproducts from residual ligno(hemi)cellulosic biomass mostly rely on enzymatic depolymerization of plant cell walls (PCW). This process requires an arsenal of diverse enzymes, including xylanases, which synergistically act on the hemicellulose, reducing the long and complex xylan chains to oligomers and simple sugars. Thus, xylanases play a crucial role in PCW depolymerization.

Predator-induced collapse of niche structure and species coexistence.

Biological invasions are both a pressing environmental challenge and an opportunity to investigate fundamental ecological processes, such as the role of top predators in regulating biodiversity and food-web structure. In whole-ecosystem manipulations of small Caribbean islands on which brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) were the native top predator, we experimentally staged invasions by competitors (green anoles, Anolis smaragdinus) and/or new top predators (curly-tailed lizards, Leiocephalus carinatus). We show that curly-tailed lizards destabilized the coexistence of competing prey species, contrary to the classic idea of keystone predation.

An integrative phylogenomic approach illuminates the evolutionary history of cockroaches and termites (Blattodea).

Phylogenetic relationships among subgroups of cockroaches and termites are still matters of debate. Their divergence times and major phenotypic transitions during evolution are also not yet settled. We addressed these points by combining the first nuclear phylogenomic study of termites and cockroaches with a thorough approach to divergence time analysis, identification of endosymbionts, and reconstruction of ancestral morphological traits and behaviour.

New Cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattodea) from French Guiana and a Revised Checklist for the Region.

Although French Guiana is one of the greatest hotspots of cockroach biodiversity on Earth, there are still undocumented species. From both newly collected and museum specimens, we provide species descriptions for Buboblatta vlasaki sp. nov.

Accuracy of traditional and formant acoustic measurements in the evaluation of vocal quality.

Purpose: Investigate the accuracy of isolated and combined acoustic measurements in the discrimination of voice deviation intensity (GD) and predominant voice quality (PVQ) in patients with dysphonia.

Methods: A total of 302 female patients with voice complaints participated in the study. The sustained /ɛ/ vowel was used to extract the following acoustic measures: mean and standard deviation (SD) of fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer, glottal to noise excitation (GNE) ratio and the mean of the first three formants (F1, F2, and F3).

Topological support and data quality can only be assessed through multiple tests in reviewing Blattodea phylogeny.

Assessing support for molecular phylogenies is difficult because the data is heterogeneous in quality and overwhelming in quantity. Traditionally, node support values (bootstrap frequency, Bayesian posterior probability) are used to assess confidence in tree topologies. Other analyses to assess the quality of phylogenetic data (e.

Mental and physical effects of energy drinks consumption in an Italian young people group: a pilot study.

Introduction: The primary consumers of energy drinks were athletes, to combat fatigue, but in reality, thanks to their fast expansion and economic growth, young adults and teenagers represent the new target market. Consumption of energy drinks by both recreational and competitive athletes has increased dramatically in recent years, though they are often unaware of what is being ingested, believing to improve their physical and psychological performance. The literature shows contradictions about the capacity of energy drinks to enhance psychophysical results.

The pectinases from Sphenophorus levis: Potential for biotechnological applications.

Pectinases represent about one fifth of the enzyme worldwide market due their wide range of biotechnological applications. Current commercial pectinases are exclusively obtained from microbial sources, but here we report a pectin methylesterase (Sl-PME) and an endo-polygalacturonase (Sl-EPG) bioprospected from the sugarcane weevil, Sphenophorus levis, which revealed good potential for industrial applications. Sl-PME and Sl-EPG were overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, purified and enzymatically characterized.

Biochemical and biophysical characterization of novel GH10 xylanase prospected from a sugar cane bagasse compost-derived microbial consortia.

Environmental issues are promoting the development of innovative technologies for the production of renewable energy and "green products" from plant biomass residues. These technologies rely on the conversion of the plant cell wall (PCW) polysaccharides into simple sugars, which involve synergistic activities of different PCW degrading enzymes, including xylanases; these are widely applied in food and feed sectors, paper and textile industries, among others. We cloned, expressed and biochemically characterized a novel xylanase (Xyn10) from the GH10 identified in a metatranscriptome of compost-derived microbial consortia and determined its low-resolution SAXS molecular envelope in solution.