MICCAI-CDMRI 2023 QuantConn Challenge Findings on Achieving Robust Quantitative Connectivity through Harmonized Preprocessing of Diffusion MRI.

White matter alterations are increasingly implicated in neurological diseases and their progression. International-scale studies use diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) to qualitatively identify changes in white matter microstructure and connectivity. Yet, quantitative analysis of DW-MRI data is hindered by inconsistencies stemming from varying acquisition protocols.

Isolating Al Surface Sites in Amorphous Silica-Alumina by Homogeneous Deposition of Al on SiO Nanoparticles.

Well-defined amorphous silica-alumina (ASA) with a relatively low Al loading were synthesized by homogeneous deposition-precipitation of Al on SiO nanoparticles to understand the nature and formation of Brønsted acid sites (BAS). The amount of Al grafted relative to the silanol density was varied by variation of the size of SiO nanoparticles, reflected by their surface areas between 90 and 380 m·g. Two sets of ASA were synthesized, one aiming at a SiOH/Al ratio of 3, corresponding to the maximum amount of BAS represented by Al perturbation of SiOH groups, and the second one aimed at studying the impact of Al dispersion by using a constant Al loading (Si/Al ≈ 103).

Relationship Between Heart Rate and Perceived Stress in Intensive Care Unit Residents: Exploratory Analysis Using Fitbit Data.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) residents are exposed to high stress levels due to the intense nature of their work, which can impact their mental health and job performance. Heart rate measured through wearable devices has the potential to provide insights into residents' self-reported stress and aid in developing targeted interventions.

Objective: This exploratory study aims to analyze continuous heart rate data and self-reported stress levels and stressors in ICU residents to examine correlations between physiological responses, stress levels, and daily stressors reported.

From natural to synthetic hydrogels: how much biochemical complexity is required for mechanotransduction?

The biochemical complexity of a material determines the biological response of cells triggered by a cell-material interaction. The degree in which this complexity influences basic cell-material interactions such as cell adhesion, spreading, and mechanotransduction is not entirely clear. To this end, we compared three different hydrogel systems, ranging from completely natural to synthetic, in their ability to induce mechanotransduction in kidney epithelial cells (HK-2).

Role of the Coreactant on the Dual-Source Behavior of Lithium Hexamethyldisilazide for ALD Li-Containing Films.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Li-containing thin films is deemed as highly relevant for the development of next-generation Li-ion batteries. Lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS), as Li-containing precursor, is preferred over the widely used lithium -butoxide because of its lower melting point of 70 °C. However, the presence of silyl groups in the LiHMDS chemical structure can result in the undesired incorporation of Si in the film.

Estimation of the Number of Active Sweat Glands Through Discrete Sweat Sensing.

Sweat is a biomarker-rich fluid with potential for continuous patient monitoring via wearable devices. However, biomarker concentrations vary with the sweat rate per gland, posing a challenge for sweat sensing. To address this, we propose an algorithm to compute both the number of active sweat glands and their individual sweat rates.

Description Generation Using Variational Auto-Encoders for Precursor microRNA.

Micro RNAs (miRNA) are a type of non-coding RNA involved in gene regulation and can be associated with diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. As such, identifying the entire genome of miRNA can be of great relevance. Since experimental methods for novel precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA) detection are complex and expensive, computational detection using Machine Learning (ML) could be useful.

GraphPPL.jl: A Probabilistic Programming Language for Graphical Models.

This paper presents GraphPPL.jl, a novel probabilistic programming language designed for graphical models. GraphPPL.

Critical Design Considerations for Longer-Term Wear and Comfort of On-Body Medical Devices.

The commercialization of a growing number of wearable devices has been enabled within recent years due to the availability of miniaturized sensor modalities, the development of new materials, and the scalability of flexible electronics. With the increase in resource shortages within healthcare, there is a demand to translate wearable devices from the commercial consumer stand-point to the medical field. Clinical-grade signal quality, wearability, and comfort all need to be tailored to a wearable design.

Simple Fluctuations in Simple Glass Formers.

Critical single-particle fluctuations associated with particle displacements are inherent to simple glass-forming liquids in the limit of large dimensions and leave a pseudocritical trace across all finite dimensions. This characteristic could serve as a crucial test for distinguishing between theories of glass formation. We here examine these critical fluctuations, as captured by the well-established non-Gaussian parameter, within both mode-coupling theory (MCT) and dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT) across dimensions for hard sphere fluids and for the minimally structured Mari-Kurchan model.

Modeling early phenotypes of Parkinson's disease by age-induced midbrain-striatum assembloids.

Parkinson's disease, an aging-associated neurodegenerative disorder, is characterised by nigrostriatal pathway dysfunction caused by the gradual loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta of the midbrain. Human in vitro models are enabling the study of the dopaminergic neurons' loss, but not the dysregulation within the dopaminergic network in the nigrostriatal pathway. Additionally, these models do not incorporate aging characteristics which potentially contribute to the development of Parkinson's disease.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MR imaging for predicting tumor growth of sporadic vestibular schwannomas: a prospective study.

Background: Advanced MR imaging, such as diffusion-weighted (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging, may provide valuable non-invasive information on intrinsic tumor biology. This study aims to evaluate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and DCE-MRI-derived microvascular parameter values (Ktrans, ve, and vp) as potential imaging predictors for future sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS) growth.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, patients with newly diagnosed unilateral sporadic VS and an initial wait-and-scan strategy were enrolled between January 2021 and January 2023.

A skewed-Gaussian model for pulse decomposition analysis of photoplethysmography signals.

Pulse decomposition analysis (PDA) has been proposed to extract reliable information from photoplethysmography (PPG) morphology by decomposing the signal in its physiological sub-waves. The Gaussian model has been widely used in the literature, even though it often underperforms because it is limited to symmetric morphologies. More advanced asymmetric models, such as the Gamma model, have been proposed to achieve improved accuracy.

Mechanically strong yet metabolizable supramolecular plastics by desalting upon phase separation.

Plastics that can metabolize in oceans are highly sought for a sustainable future. In this work, we report the noncovalent synthesis of unprecedented plastics that are mechanically strong yet metabolizable under biologically relevant conditions owing to their dissociative nature with electrolytes. Salt-bridging sodium hexametaphosphate with di- or tritopic guanidinium sulfate in water forms a cross-linked supramolecular network, which is stable unless electrolytes are resupplied.

Ce Promotion of InO for Electrochemical Reduction of CO to Formate.

InO is a promising electrocatalyst for CO electroreduction (COER) to formate. InO nanoparticles doped with Pd, Ni, Co, Zr, and Ce promoters using flame-spray pyrolysis were characterized and evaluated in a gas diffusion electrode for the COER. Doping results in slight shifts of the In binding energy as probed by XPS, which correlates with a change of the Faradaic efficiency to formate (FE) in the order Ce-doped InO > Zr-doped InO > InO > Pd-doped InO > Ni-doped InO > Co-doped InO.

Synthetic, multi-dynamic hydrogels by uniting stress-stiffening and supramolecular polymers.

Nature uses discrete molecular building blocks to form polymers that assemble into multicomponent, multi-dynamic networks, inside (cytoskeleton) and outside (extracellular matrix) the cell. Both the intra-fibrous molecular dynamics and interactions between fibers dictate (non)linear mechanics, such as stress stiffening and relaxation, and ultimately biological function. Current synthetic systems capture only one dynamic process.

Comparison of integral equation theories of the liquid state.

The Ornstein-Zernike equation is a powerful tool in liquid state theory for predicting structural and thermodynamic properties of fluids. Combined with a suitable closure, it has been shown to reproduce, e.g.

Accelerated production of human epithelial organoids in a miniaturized spinning bioreactor.

Conventional static culture of organoids necessitates weekly manual passaging and results in nonhomogeneous exposure of organoids to nutrients, oxygen, and toxic metabolites. Here, we developed a miniaturized spinning bioreactor, RPMotion, specifically optimized for accelerated and cost-effective culture of epithelial organoids under homogeneous conditions. We established tissue-specific RPMotion settings and standard operating protocols for the expansion of human epithelial organoids derived from the liver, intestine, and pancreas.

Evolving dementia care: An explorative study on the lived experience of older adults living with dementia in nursing homes using observational and biometric sensor data.

Introduction: This study explores the lived experiences of older adults with dementia in Dutch nursing homes, focusing on daily activities and emotional responses. With a growing number of older adults with dementia, gaining a deeper understanding of their lived experience is imperative.

Methods: Using a mixed-method narrative approach involving observations, informal interviews, and physiological monitoring through wearable sensors, the study engaged eight participants in psychogeriatric wards across two Dutch nursing homes.

Two-dimensional fetal speckle tracking; a learning curve study for offline strain analysis.

Objectives: Two-dimensional speckle tracking (2D-STE) strain analysis holds promise for assessing fetal cardiac function. Understand the learning curve before introducing 2D-STE into obstetrics is crucial. This study examined the learning curve for offline analysis of fetal left (LV) and right ventricular (RV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) using 2D-STE.