Our study investigated magnetic resonance imaging measurements for differentiating cerebellopontine angle (CPA) meningioma from vestibular schwannoma (VS).
This retrospective study compared 36 ...meningioma and 36 VS patients. The tumor volume (Vtumor) and peritumor edema index (EI) relationship was analyzed. T2-weighted three-dimensional gradient-echo image signal intensity (T23D) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) differentiation cutoff values were defined. Mann-Whitney U test, independent-samples t-test, receiver operating characteristic curve, and Spearman's correlation analyses were applied.
Meningioma had higher Vtumor (p=0.009) and EI (p=0.031) values than VS. Meningioma had significantly (p<0.001) lower values than VS for mean ADC (ADCmean: 0.841±0.083×10-3 vs.1.173±0.190×10-3 mm2/s), minimum ADC (ADCmin: 0.716±0.078×10-3 vs.1.045±0.178×10-3 mm2/s), tumor:white matter ADC ratio (rADC: 1.198±0.19 vs. 1.59±0.30), mean T23D (T23Dmean: 142.91±19.9 vs. 218.72±84.73), and tumor:adipose T23D ratio (rT23d: 0.19±0.06 vs. 0.30±0.28) Cutoff, sensitivity (Se), and specificity (Sp) values were ADCmin, 0.856×10-3 mm2/s (Se: 96.6%, Sp: 100%); ADCmean, 0.963×10-3 mm2/s (Se: 96.6%, Sp: 95.5%); rADC, 1.3189 (Se: 93.1%, Sp: 81.8%), T23Dmean (Se: 96.6%, Sp: 100%); rT23D, 0.1951 (Se: 89.7%, Sp: 100%), Vtumor, 14828.65 mm3 (Se: 75.0%, Sp: 66.7%), and EI, 1.1025 (Se: 47.2%, Sp: 100%).
ADCmin, ADCmean, rADC, T23Dmean, rT23D, Vtumor, and EI, effectively discriminated meningioma from VS.
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•P removal from simulated wastewater using lab-scale HSSF-CWs was examined.•Paspalum atratum was utilized as the emergent wetland plant for very first time.•WHC-based HSSF-CW planted ...with Paspalum atratum removed up to 89.9% of inflow P.•WHC sorption was the dominant P removal pathway in HSSF-CWs.•Utilizing WHC as a reactive filter media apparently extended lifespans of HSSF-CWs.
This work examined the phosphorus (P) removal from the synthetic pretreated swine wastewater using lab-scale horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands (HSSF-CWs). White hard clam (Meretrix lyrata) shells (WHC) and Paspalum atratum were utilized as substrate and plant, respectively. The focus was placed on treatment performance, removal mechanisms and lifespan of the HSSF-CWs. Results indicated that WHC-based HSSF-CW with P. atratum exhibited a high P removal (89.9%). The mean P efluent concentration and P removal rate were 1.34 ± 0.95 mg/L and 0.32 ± 0.03 g/m2/d, respectively. The mass balance study showed that media sorption was the dominant P removal pathway (77.5%), followed by microbial assimilation (14.5%), plant uptake (5.4%), and other processes (2.6%). It was estimated the WHC-based bed could work effectively for approximately 2.84 years. This WHC-based HSSF-CWs technology will therefore pave the way for recycling Ca-rich waste materials as media in HSSF-CWs to enhance P-rich wastewater purification.
The Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) is one of the most examined deltas in the world given its dynamics, complexity, and vulnerability. In the past decades, the VMD has changed rapidly, especially the ...land use in relation with the socioeconomic development. National policy has profoundly influenced these changes and the changes have significantly affected local livelihoods. However, these changes are not well reported systematically. In this study, we investigate land‐use changes based on institutional analyses across multiple scales, that is, from national, provincial, to local livelihood based on institutional and sustainability analysis. The results show a strong relationship between legal settings over the last 30 years on land use and livelihood transitions. In addition, the constraints of implementing national legal frameworks at provincial level in practice were identified including effects to local livelihoods. We offer some recommendations for sustainable livelihoods in the VMD, with a focus on increasing socioecological resilience.
In addition to their fundamental role in clearance, the kidneys release select molecules into the circulation, but whether any of these anabolic functions provides insight on kidney health is ...unknown. Using aptamer-based proteomics, we characterized arterial (A)-to-renal venous (V) gradients for >1,300 proteins in 22 individuals who underwent invasive sampling. Although most of the proteins that changed significantly decreased from A to V, consistent with renal clearance, several were found to increase, the most significant of which was testican-2. To assess the clinical implications of these physiologic findings, we examined proteomic data in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), an African-American cohort (n = 1,928), with replication in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a White cohort (n = 1,621). In both populations, testican-2 had a strong, positive correlation with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). In addition, higher baseline testican-2 levels were associated with a lower rate of eGFR decline in models adjusted for age, gender, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, body mass index, baseline eGFR, and albuminuria. Glomerular expression of testican-2 in human kidneys was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy, while single-cell RNA sequencing of human kidneys showed expression of the cognate gene, SPOCK2, exclusively in podocytes. In vitro, testican-2 increased glomerular endothelial tube formation and motility, raising the possibility that its secretion has a functional role within the glomerulus. Taken together, our findings identify testican-2 as a podocyte-derived biomarker of kidney health and prognosis.
This paper considers a cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output network (cfm-MIMO) with a massive number of access points (APs) distributed across an area to deliver information to multiple ...users. Based on only local channel state information, conjugate beamforming is used under both proper and improper Gaussian signalings. To accomplish the mission of cfm-MIMO in providing fair service to all users, the problem of power allocation to maximize the geometric mean (GM) of users' rates (GM-rate) is considered. A new scalable algorithm, which iterates linear-complex closed-form expressions and thus is practical regardless of the scale of the network, is developed for its solution. The problem of quality-of-service (QoS) aware network energy-efficiency is also addressed via maximizing the ratio of the GM-rate and the total power consumption, which is also addressed by iterating linear-complex closed-form expressions. Intensive simulations are provided to demonstrate the ability of the GM-rate based optimization to achieve multiple targets such as a uniform QoS, a good sum rate, and a fair power allocation to the APs.
In this study, the essential oils from lemon (Citrus aurantifolia) peels were extracted using hydrodistillation and microwave-assisted hydrodistillation and their volatile compositions were compared ...via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MHD) achieved the oil yield of 2.48% at microwave power of 470W and extraction time of 60 min. The yield obtained using conventional hydrodistillation (HD) was 2.2% at 90 min at 120 °C. GC-MS analysis revealed a total of 17 and 8 components existing in the oil samples produced by MHD and HD methods respectively. The main components shared by both samples were limonene, α-pinene, β-pinene, β-cymene, ocimene, and sabinene. Overall, these results suggest that MHD could produce lemon (Citrus aurantifolia) peels essential oil at a higher yield within a shortened period of time as compared to the traditional HD, thus it could be used as an alternative for HD to reduce costs of the extraction process.
This retrospective study evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for identifying acute appendicitis during pregnancy.
This retrospective study enrolled a total of 46 ...pregnant patients with clinically suspected acute appendicitis who underwent 1.5 T MRI and received a final pathological diagnosis. We evaluated the imaging characteristics associated with patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis, including the appendix diameter, the appendix wall thickness, intra-appendiceal fluid collection, and peri-appendiceal fat infiltration. A bright appendix on T1-weighted 3-dimensional imaging was identified as a negative sign for appendicitis.
Peri-appendiceal fat infiltration had the highest specificity of 97.1% for diagnosing acute appendicitis, whereas increasing appendiceal diameter had the highest sensitivity of 91.7%. The cut-off values for increasing appendiceal diameter and appendiceal wall thickness were 6.55 mm and 2.7 mm, respectively. Using these cut-off values, appendiceal diameter had a sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 91.7%, 91.2%, 78.4%, and 96.9%, respectively, whereas these values for appendiceal wall thickness were 75.0%, 91.2%, 75.0%, and 91.2%. The combination of increasing appendiceal diameter and appendiceal wall thickness resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.958 with Se, Sp, PPV, and NPV values of 75.0%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 91.9%, respectively.
All five MRI signs examined in this study had significant diagnostic value for detecting acute appendicitis during pregnancy, with p-values <0.01. The combined use of increasing appendiceal diameter and appendiceal wall thickness displayed the excellent ability to diagnose acute appendicitis in pregnant women.
Many natural forests in Southeast Asia are degraded following decades of logging. Restoration of these forests is delayed by ongoing logging and tropical cyclones, but the implications for recovery ...are largely uncertain. We analysed meteorological, satellite and forest inventory plot data to assess the effect of Typhoon Doksuri, a major tropical cyclone, on the forest landscapes of central Vietnam consisting of natural forests and plantations. We estimated the return period for a cyclone of this intensity to be 40 years. Plantations were almost twice as likely to suffer cyclone damage compared to natural forests. Logged natural forests (9-12 years after cessation of government-licensed logging) were surveyed before and after the storm with 2 years between measurements and remained a small biomass carbon sink (0.1 ± 0.3 Mg C ha
yr
) over this period. The cyclone reduced the carbon sink of recovering natural forests by an average of 0.85 Mg C ha
yr
, less than the carbon loss due to ongoing unlicensed logging. Restoration of forest landscapes in Southeast Asia requires a reduction in unlicensed logging and prevention of further conversion of degraded natural forests to plantations, particularly in landscapes prone to tropical cyclones where natural forests provide a resilient carbon sink. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'.
Natural forests in Vietnam have experienced rapid declines in the last 70 years, as a result of degradation from logging and conversion of natural forests to timber and rubber plantations. ...Degradation of natural forests leads to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, impacting the livelihoods of surrounding communities. Efforts to address ongoing loss of natural forests, through mechanisms such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), require an understanding of the links between forest degradation and the livelihoods of local communities, which have rarely been studied in Vietnam. We combined information from livelihood surveys, remote sensing and forest inventories around a protected natural forest area in North Central Vietnam. For forest-adjacent communities, we found natural forests contributed an average of 28% of total household income with plantation forests contributing an additional 15%. Although officially prohibited, logging contributed more than half of the total income derived from natural forests. Analysis of Landsat images over the period 1990 to 2014 combined with forest inventory data, demonstrates selective logging was leading to ongoing degradation of natural forests resulting in loss of 3.3 ± 0.8 Mg biomass ha−1 yr−1 across the protected area. This is equivalent to 1.5% yr−1 of total forest biomass, with rates as high as 3% yr−1 in degraded and easily accessible parts of the protected area. We estimate that preventing illegal logging would incur local opportunity costs of USD $4.10 ± 0.90 per Mg CO2, similar to previous estimates for tropical forest protected areas and substantially less than the opportunity costs in timber or agricultural concessions. Our analysis suggests activities to reduce forest degradation in protected areas are likely to be financially viable through Vietnam's REDD+ program.
The mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) essential oil is well-known for bactericidal, antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Thus, an effective extraction method is required to obtain high oil yield ...with an abundant content of bioactive compounds. In the present study, the chemical profiles of essential oils extracted from the peels of Mandarin) via hydrodistillation (HD), microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) and microwave extraction (ME) were reported in this study. Extraction techniques were carried out at their optimal conditions and the results were compared with each other. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to perform compositional determination. A total of 5 components was determined, accounting for almost 100% of total oil content. The extraction efficiencies were 3.6%, 6.8%, and 5.5% respectively obtained from HD, MAHD and ME. The results showed that MAHD seemed to result in higher yield and essential oil with identical chemical composition and quality in comparison with those of other methods, suggesting that MAHD was a potential alternative method to HD to reduce the time and cost of the extraction process.
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