Revealing the hierarchical structure of microbial communities.

Measuring the dynamics of microbial communities results in high-dimensional measurements of taxa abundances over time and space, which is difficult to analyze due to complex changes in taxonomic compositions. This paper presents a new method to investigate and visualize the intrinsic hierarchical community structure implied by the measurements. The basic idea is to identify significant intersection sets, which can be seen as sub-communities making up the measured communities.

Computing all persistent subspaces of a reaction-diffusion system.

An algorithm is presented for computing a reaction-diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) system for all possible subspaces that can hold a persistent solution of the equation. For this, all possible sub-networks of the underlying reaction network that are distributed organizations (DOs) are identified. Recently it has been shown that a persistent subspace must be a DO.

Deposit formation from evaporating urea-water droplets on substrates of different wettability.

Hypothesis: During the evaporation of urea water solution (UWS), the wall temperature and surface properties influence the dynamics of deposit formation by affecting the internal mass transport. These effects are expected to be reflected in the resulting deposit morphology and allow different deposit regimes to be distinguished.

Experiments: The temperature of metallic substrates is varied for three different surface treatments to analyze the wetting, evaporation behavior and the crystallization process of single UWS droplets in situ using a high-speed camera.

Continuous Glucose Deviation Interval and Variability Analysis (CG-DIVA): A Novel Approach for the Statistical Accuracy Assessment of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems.

Background: The accuracy of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems is crucial for the management of glucose levels in individuals with diabetes mellitus. However, the discussion of CGM accuracy is challenged by an abundance of parameters and assessment methods. The aim of this article is to introduce the Continuous Glucose Deviation Interval and Variability Analysis (CG-DIVA), a new approach for a comprehensive characterization of CGM point accuracy which is based on the U.

A Statistical Approach for Assessing the Compliance of Integrated Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems with Food and Drug Administration Accuracy Requirements.

To assess the compliance of "integrated" continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements, the calculation of confidence intervals (CIs) on agreement rates (ARs), that is, the percentage of CGM measurements lying within a certain deviation of a comparator method, is stipulated.

Structure and Hierarchy of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dynamics Models Revealed by Reaction Network Analysis.

This work provides a mathematical technique for analyzing and comparing infection dynamics models with respect to their potential long-term behavior, resulting in a hierarchy integrating all models. We apply our technique to coupled ordinary and partial differential equation models of SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics operating on different scales, that is, within a single organism and between several hosts. The structure of a model is assessed by the theory of chemical organizations, not requiring quantitative kinetic information.

Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders in Adolescent Athletes.

Context: To summarize available literature to date and discuss the importance of Disordered Eating (DE) in adolescent athletes, with special attention to the female athlete triad. In this paper, the authors will review the literature regarding adolescent athletes who intentionally engage in abnormal eating behaviors and focus on adolescent athletes of all training levels who may be affected by both DE and eating disorders (ED).

Methods: In 2019, the authors completed a systematic literature search on PubMed using the search term variations of "Feeding and Eating Disorders" and "athletes" with "high school.

Insights into the interplay of wetting and transport in mesoporous silica films.

The understanding and design of wetting-transport and wetting-charge-transport interplay in nanometer-sized pores is a still not fully understood key step in improving nanopore transport-related applications. A control of mesopore wettability accompanied by pore filling and ionic mesopore accessibility analysis is expected to deliver major insights into this interplay of nanoscale pore wetting and transport. For a systematic understanding, we demonstrate a gradual adjustment of nanopore ionic accessibility by gradually tuning silica nanopore wettability using chemical vapor phase deposition of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl dimethylchlorosilane.

Structure and Hierarchy of Influenza Virus Models Revealed by Reaction Network Analysis.

Influenza A virus is recognized today as one of the most challenging viruses that threatens both human and animal health worldwide. Understanding the control mechanisms of influenza infection and dynamics is crucial and could result in effective future treatment strategies. Many kinetic models based on differential equations have been developed in recent decades to capture viral dynamics within a host.

Solid-Liquid Interface Thermal Resistance Affects the Evaporation Rate of Droplets from a Surface: A Study of Perfluorohexane on Chromium Using Molecular Dynamics and Continuum Theory.

We study the role of solid-liquid interface thermal resistance (Kapitza resistance) on the evaporation rate of droplets on a heated surface by using a multiscale combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and analytical continuum theory. We parametrize the nonbonded interaction potential between perfluorohexane (CF) and a face-centered-cubic solid surface to reproduce the experimental wetting behavior of CF on black chromium through the solid-liquid work of adhesion (quantity directly related to the wetting angle). The thermal conductances between CF and (100) and (111) solid substrates are evaluated by a nonequilibrium molecular dynamics approach for a liquid pressure lower than 2 MPa.

The Rectangle Target Plot: A New Approach to the Graphical Presentation of Accuracy of Systems for Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose.

Background: The measurement accuracy of systems for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is usually analyzed by a method comparison in which the analysis results are displayed using difference plots or similar graphs. However, such plots become difficult to comprehend as the number of data points displayed increases. This article introduces a new approach, the rectangle target plot (RTP), which aims to provide a simplified and comprehensible visualization of accuracy data.

Assessing System Accuracy of Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Using Rectangle Target Plots.

Background: Results from accuracy assessments of systems for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) are often visualized in difference or regression plots. These approaches become more difficult to read as the number of data points displayed increases, thus limiting their use. In the recently presented rectangle target plot (RTP) approach, data from each reagent system lot or product are displayed graphically as a single rectangle, thus allowing the plot to remain comprehensible even when displaying system accuracy data from multiple reagent system lots or products.

Effects of small particle numbers on long-term behaviour in discrete biochemical systems.

Motivation: The functioning of many biological processes depends on the appearance of only a small number of a single molecular species. Additionally, the observation of molecular crowding leads to the insight that even a high number of copies of species do not guarantee their interaction. How single particles contribute to stabilizing biological systems is not well understood yet.

TNF-α -308 genotypes are associated with TNF-α and TGF-β₁ mRNA expression in blood leucocytes of humans.

Aim: Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) influences the pathogenesis of lung-fibrosis and carcinogenesis in normal cells. Polymorphisms of this gene are suggested to be associated with susceptibility to lung-diseases. Additionally TNF-α is postulated to play a significant role in regulating.

TNF-α mRNA expression correlates with TGF-β mRNA expression in vivo.

TNF-α is postulated to play a significant role in regulating TGF-β(1) expression. In lung fibroblasts, for example, TNF-α is supposed to induce TGF-β(1) via AP-1 activation. TNF-α receptor, knock-out mice are resistant to induced fibrosis and over-expression of TNF-α causes increased TGF-β(1) production in mice.

Dynamics of the cavity and the surface film for impingements of single drops on liquid films of various thicknesses.

This paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of single drop impacts onto liquid films of finite thickness. The dynamics of the drop impingement on liquid surface films, the shape of the cavity, the surface film dynamics and the residual film thickness are investigated and analysed. The shape of the penetrating cavity within the surface film is observed experimentally using a high-speed video system.

Static and dynamic contact angles of evaporating liquids on heated surfaces.

We studied both static and dynamic values of the apparent contact angle for gravity-driven flow of a volatile liquid down a heated inclined plane. The apparent contact line is modeled as the transition region between the macroscopic film and ultra-thin adsorbed film dominated by disjoining pressure effects. Four commonly used disjoining pressure models are investigated.

Genetic alterations in the tyrosine kinase transcriptome of human cancer cell lines.

Protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) play a critical role in the manifestation of cancer cell properties, and respective signaling mechanisms have been studied extensively on immortalized tumor cells. To characterize and analyze commonly used cancer cell lines with regard to variations in the primary structure of all expressed PTKs, we conducted a cDNA-based sequence analysis of the entire tyrosine kinase transcriptome of 254 established tumor cell lines. The profiles of cell line intrinsic PTK transcript alterations and the evaluation of 155 identified polymorphisms and 234 somatic mutations are made available in a database designated "Tykiva" (tyrosine kinome variant).

Breakup and atomization of a stretching crown.

This study is devoted to experimental and theoretical investigation of splash produced by spray impact onto a smooth, rigid target under microgravity conditions. In particular, the formation of a film by the deposited liquid, the propagation and breakup of uprising sheets created by drop impacts, and the creation of secondary droplets have been observed. Three scenarios of splash have been identified during the experiments: (i) cusp formation and jetting due to the rim transverse instability, (ii) sheet destruction and the consequent rapid axisymmetric capillary breakup of a free rim, and (iii) the rim merging.

PTP-PEST phosphatase variations in human cancer.

Signal transduction via tyrosine phosphorylation, normally fine-tuned by the concerted action of both protein tyrosine kinases and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), is a key mechanism in tumorigenesis. PTP-PEST, a ubiquitously expressed cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase, is thought to play an important role in cell adhesion and motility, and may be involved in metastasis. A search for sequence variations within the gene PTPN12 (alias PTP-PEST) was performed in breast cancer cell lines, leading to the identification of three amino acid substitutions at positions 322, 573, and 709.

The SCGM1 System: subcutaneous continuous glucose monitoring based on microdialysis technique.

The SCGM1 System is designed to allow continuous glucose monitoring in the subcutaneous interstitial fluid for up to 120 h. The system is based on the microdialysis technique and is composed of three components: (1) a disposable Cassette, which contains the microdialysis catheter (with the necessary tubes), an electrochemical flow-through sensor for glucose measurement, and the fluid reservoirs for both the microdialysis perfusate and a reagent solution containing glucose oxidase; (2) the Sensor Unit, which houses the Cassette and is worn by the patient using a belt pack; and (3) the Data Manager, with an integrated blood glucose meter for the calibration of the glucose signal. The Data Manager also has the option of displaying the continuous glucose signal.