COVID-19 Attitudes and Quality of Life in Older Adults in Puerto Rico: The Mediating Role of Psychological Sense of Community.

Quality of life (QOL) for older adults in Puerto Rico was significantly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet there has been little attention to this topic. This study examines the association between COVID-19-related attitudes and QOL and the mediating role of the psychological sense of community (PSOC) in this context. Data are from a COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey with a nonprobability sample of 213 Puerto Rican adults aged 60+ in 2021.

Neighborhood and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Living in Rural and Urban Regions in South Korea.

Neighborhoods have a significant impact on depressive symptoms in older adults. In response to the increasing depression of older adults in Korea, this study aims to identify the relationship between perceived and objective neighborhood characteristics in depressive symptoms and find differences between rural and urban areas. We used a National survey collected in 2020 of 10,097 Korean older adults aged 65 and older.

Adaptive Models for Multi-Covariate Imaging of Sub-Resolution Targets (MIST).

Multi-covariate imaging of sub-resolution targets (MIST) is a statistical, model-based image formation technique that smooths speckles and reduces clutter. MIST decomposes the measured covariance of the element signals into modeled contributions from mainlobe, sidelobes, and noise. MIST covariance models are derived from the well-known autocorrelation relationship between transmit apodization and backscatter covariance.

Intrinsic Tradeoffs in Multi-Covariate Imaging of Sub-Resolution Targets.

Multi-covariate Imaging of Sub-resolution Targets (MIST) is an estimation-based method of imaging the statistics of diffuse scattering targets. MIST estimates the contributions of a set of covariance models to the echo data covariance matrix. Models are defined based on a spatial decomposition of the theoretical transmit intensity distribution into ON-axis and OFF-axis contributions, delineated by a user-specified spatial cutoff.

Synthetic Aperture Focusing for Multi-Covariate Imaging of Sub-Resolution Targets.

Coherence-based imaging methods suffer from reduced image quality outside the depth of field for focused ultrasound transmissions. Synthetic aperture methods can extend the depth of field by coherently compounding time-delayed echo data from multiple transmit events. Recently, our group has presented the Multi-covariate Imaging of Sub-resolution Targets (MIST), an estimation-based method to image the statistical properties of diffuse targets.

Speckle coherence of piecewise-stationary stochastic targets.

The van Cittert-Zernike (VCZ) theorem describes the propagation of spatial covariance from an incoherent source distribution, such as backscatter from stochastic targets in pulse-echo imaging. These stochastic targets are typically assumed statistically stationary and spatially incoherent with uniform scattering strength. In this work, the VCZ theorem is applied to a piecewise-stationary scattering model.

Multi-covariate Imaging of Sub-resolution Targets.

Conventional B-mode ultrasound imaging assumes that targets consist of collections of point scatterers. Diffraction, however, presents a fundamental limit on a scanner's ability to resolve individual scatterers in most clinical imaging environments. Well-known optics and ultrasound literature has characterized these diffuse scattering targets as spatially incoherent and statistically stationary.

Short-lag Spatial Coherence Imaging in 1.5-D and 1.75-D Arrays: Elevation Performance and Array Design Considerations.

Short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) imaging has demonstrated improved performance over conventional B-Mode ultrasound imaging. Previous work has evaluated the performance of SLSC using 2-D matrix arrays in simulation and in vivo studies across various levels of subaperture beamforming, demonstrating improved contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and speckle signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) over 1-D arrays. This work explores the application of SLSC imaging in 1.

Versatile Low-Cost Volumetric 3-D Ultrasound Platform for Existing Clinical 2-D Systems.

Ultrasound imaging has indications across many areas of medicine, but the need for training and the variability in skill and acquired image quality among 2-D ultrasound users have limited its wider adoption and utilization. Low-cost volumetric ultrasound with a known frame of reference has the potential to lower these operator-dependent barriers and enhance the clinical utility of ultrasound imaging. In this paper, we improve upon our previous research-scanner-based prototype to implement a versatile volumetric imaging platform for existing clinical 2-D ultrasound systems.

Low-cost Volumetric Ultrasound by Augmentation of 2D Systems: Design and Prototype.

Conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool in the hands of an experienced user, yet 2D ultrasound remains clinically underutilized and inherently incomplete, with output being very operator dependent. Volumetric ultrasound systems can more fully capture a three-dimensional (3D) region of interest, but current 3D systems require specialized transducers, are prohibitively expensive for many clinical departments, and do not register image orientation with respect to the patient; these systems are designed to provide improved workflow rather than operator independence. This work investigates whether it is possible to add volumetric 3D imaging capability to existing 2D ultrasound systems at minimal cost, providing a practical means of reducing operator dependence in ultrasound.

Phosphorus removal in a surface-flow constructed wetland treating agricultural runoff.

Agricultural runoff is a leading source of phosphorus (P) pollution to lakes and streams. The objective of this study was to evaluate P removal dynamics in a constructed treatment wetland (CTW) treating agricultural irrigation return flows. The CTW included a sedimentation basin (SB) followed by two surface-flow wetlands in parallel.

Chronic intrauterine pulmonary hypertension increases main pulmonary artery stiffness and adventitial remodeling in fetal sheep.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a clinical syndrome that is characterized by high pulmonary vascular resistance due to changes in lung vascular growth, structure, and tone. PPHN has been primarily considered as a disease of the small pulmonary arteries (PA), but proximal vascular stiffness has been shown to be an important predictor of morbidity and mortality in other diseases associated with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The objective of this study is to characterize main PA (MPA) stiffness in experimental PPHN and to determine the relationship of altered biomechanics of the MPA with changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) content and orientation of collagen and elastin fibers.