Texture analysis combined with machine learning in radiographs of the knee joint: potential to identify tibial plateau occult fractures.

Background: Missed or delayed diagnosis of occult fractures of tibial plateau may cause adverse effects on patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of texture analysis (TA) of knee joint radiographs combined with machine learning (ML) in identifying patients at risk of tibial plateau occult fractures.

Methods: A total of 169 patients with negative fracture on knee X-ray films from 2018 to 2022 who were diagnosed with occult tibial plateau fractures or no fractures by subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination were retrospectively enrolled.

Snowmelt and early to mid-growing season water availability augment tree growth during rapid warming in southern Asian boreal forests.

Boreal forests are facing profound changes in their growth environment, including warming-induced water deficits, extended growing seasons, accelerated snowmelt, and permafrost thaw. The influence of warming on trees varies regionally, but in most boreal forests studied to date, tree growth has been found to be negatively affected by increasing temperatures. Here, we used a network of Pinus sylvestris tree-ring collections spanning a wide climate gradient the southern end of the boreal forest in Asia to assess their response to climate change for the period 1958-2014.