Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: The Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele is common in the population, but acts as the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite the strength of the association, there is notable heterogeneity in the population including a strong modifying effect of genetic ancestry, with the APOE-ε4 allele showing a stronger association among individuals of European ancestry (EUR) compared to individuals of African ancestry (AFR). Given this heterogeneity, we sought to identify genetic modifiers of APOE-ε4 related to cognitive decline leveraging APOE-ε4 stratified and interaction genome-wide association analyses (GWAS).

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: "SuperAgers" are older adults (ages 80+) whose cognitive performance resembles that of adults in their 50s to mid-60s. Factors underlying their exemplary aging are underexplored in large, racially diverse cohorts. Using eight cohorts, we investigated the frequency of APOE genotypes in SuperAgers compared to middle-aged and older adults.

Automating radiological measurements of the hip in children with cerebral palsy.

Aims: The aims of this study were to develop an automatic system capable of calculating four radiological measurements used in the diagnosis and monitoring of cerebral palsy (CP)-related hip disease, and to demonstrate that these measurements are sufficiently accurate to be used in clinical practice.

Methods: We developed a machine-learning system to automatically measure Reimer's migration percentage (RMP), acetabular index (ACI), head shaft angle (HSA), and neck shaft angle (NSA). The system automatically locates points around the femoral head and acetabulum on pelvic radiographs, and uses these to calculate measurements.

Microstructural mapping of neural pathways in Alzheimer's disease using macrostructure-informed normative tractometry.

Introduction: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is sensitive to the microstructural properties of brain tissues and shows great promise in detecting the effects of degenerative diseases. However, many approaches analyze single measures averaged over regions of interest without considering the underlying fiber geometry.

Methods: We propose a novel macrostructure-informed normative tractometry (MINT) framework to investigate how white matter (WM) microstructure and macrostructure are jointly altered in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.