Satellite-Derived Protein Concentration of Phytoplankton in the Southwestern East/Japan Sea

The cellular macromolecular contents and energy value of phytoplankton as primary food source determine the growth of higher trophic levels, affecting the balance and sustainability of oceanic food webs. Especially, proteins are more directly linked with basic functions of phytoplankton biosynthesis and cell division and transferred through the food chains. In recent years, the East/Japan Sea (EJS) has been changed dramatically in environmental conditions, such as physical and chemical characteristics, as well as biological properties. Therefore, developing an algorithm to estimate the protein concentration of phytoplankton and monitor their spatiotemporal variations on a broad scale would be invaluable. To derive the protein concentration of phytoplankton in EJS, the new regional algorithm was developed by using multiple linear regression analyses based on field-measured data which were obtained from 2012 to 2018 in the southwestern EJS. The major factors for the protein concentration were identified as chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and sea surface nitrate (SSN) in the southwestern EJS. The coefficient of determination (r2) between field-measured and algorithm-derived protein concentrations was 0.55, which is rather low but reliable. The satellite-derived estimation generally follows the 1:1 line with the field-measured data, with Pearson’s correlation coefficient, which was 0.40 (p-value < 0.01, n = 135). No remarkable trend in the long-term annual protein concentration of phytoplankton was found in the study area during our observation period. However, some seasonal difference was observed in winter protein concentration between the 2003–2005 and 2017–2019 periods. The algorithm is developed for the regional East/Japan Sea (EJS) and could contribute to long-term monitoring for climate-associated ecosystem changes. For a better understanding of spatiotemporal variation in the protein concentration of phytoplankton in the EJS, this algorithm should be further improved with continuous field surveys.

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Phytoplankton Phenology in the Coastal Zone of Cyprus, Based on Remote Sensing and In Situ Observations

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs14010012 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 12

Author(s):

Monica Demetriou ◽

Dionysios E. Raitsos ◽

Antonia Kournopoulou ◽

Manolis Mandalakis ◽

Spyros Sfenthourakis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Time Series ◽

Phytoplankton Biomass ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Data Availability ◽

Ocean Colour ◽

Chl A ◽

In Situ Data

Alterations in phytoplankton biomass, community structure and timing of their growth (phenology), are directly implicated in the carbon cycle and energy transfer to higher trophic levels of the marine food web. Due to the lack of long-term in situ datasets, there is very little information on phytoplankton seasonal succession in Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean Sea). On the other hand, satellite-derived measurements of ocean colour can only provide long-term time series of chlorophyll (an index of phytoplankton biomass) up to the first optical depth (surface waters). The coupling of both means of observations is essential for understanding phytoplankton dynamics and their response to environmental change. Here, we use 23 years of remotely sensed, regionally tuned ocean-colour observations, along with a unique time series of in situ phytoplankton pigment composition data, collected in coastal waters of Cyprus during 2016. The satellite observations show an initiation of phytoplankton growth period in November, a peak in February and termination in April, with an overall mean duration of ~4 months. An in-depth exploration of in situ total Chl-a concentration and phytoplankton pigments revealed that pico- and nano-plankton cells dominated the phytoplankton community. The growth peak in February was dominated by nanophytoplankton and potentially larger diatoms (pigments of 19’ hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and fucoxanthin, respectively), in the 0–20 m layer. The highest total Chl-a concentration was recorded at a station off Akrotiri peninsula in the south, where strong coastal upwelling has been reported. Another station in the southern part, located next to a fish farm, showed a higher contribution of picophytoplankton during the most oligotrophic period (summer). Our results highlight the importance of using available in situ data coupled to ocean-colour remote sensing, for monitoring marine ecosystems in areas with limited in situ data availability.

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Isolated Liner Revision for Total Knee Arthroplasty Instability: A Road That Should Remain Less Taken

The Journal of Knee Surgery ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1721091 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jason D. Tegethoff ◽

Rafael Walker-Santiago ◽

William M. Ralston ◽

James A. Keeney

Keyword(s):

Total Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Femoral Component ◽

Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty ◽

P Value ◽

Surgical Morbidity ◽

Exact Test ◽

Total Knee ◽

Component Revision

AbstractIsolated polyethylene liner exchange (IPLE) is infrequently selected as a treatment approach for patients with primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) prosthetic joint instability. Potential advantages of less immediate surgical morbidity, faster recovery, and lower procedural cost need to be measured against reoperation and re-revision risk. Few published studies have directly compared IPLE with combined tibial and femoral component revision to treat patients with primary TKA instability. After obtaining institutional review board (IRB) approval, we performed a retrospective comparison of 20 patients treated with IPLE and 126 patients treated with tibial and femoral component revisions at a single institution between 2011 and 2018. Patient demographic characteristics, medical comorbidities, time to initial revision TKA, and reoperation (90 days, <2 years, and >2 years) were assessed using paired Student's t-test or Fisher's exact test with a p-value <0.01 used to determine significance. Patients undergoing IPLE were more likely to undergo reoperation (60.0 vs. 17.5%, p = 0.001), component revision surgery (45.0 vs. 8.7%, p = 0.002), and component revision within 2 years (30.0 vs. 1.6%, p < 0.0001). Differences in 90-day reoperation (p = 0.14) and revision >2 years (p = 0.19) were not significant. Reoperation for instability (30.0 vs. 4.0%, p < 0.001) and infection (20.0 vs. 1.6%, p < 0.01) were both higher in the IPLE group. IPLE does not provide consistent benefits for patients undergoing TKA revision for instability. Considerations for lower immediate postoperative morbidity and cost need to be carefully measured against long-term consequences of reoperation, delayed component revision, and increased long-term costs of multiple surgical procedures. This is a level III, case–control study.

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Consistent Long-Term Monthly Coastal Wetland Vegetation Monitoring Using a Virtual Satellite Constellation

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13030438 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 438

Author(s):

Subrina Tahsin ◽

Stephen C. Medeiros ◽

Arvind Singh

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Index ◽

Coastal Wetland ◽

Thermal Emission ◽

Mean Squared Error ◽

Wetland Vegetation ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Vegetation Monitoring ◽

Time Space

Long-term monthly coastal wetland vegetation monitoring is the key to quantifying the effects of natural and anthropogenic events, such as severe storms, as well as assessing restoration efforts. Remote sensing data products such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), alongside emerging data analysis techniques, have enabled broader investigations into their dynamics at monthly to decadal time scales. However, NDVI data suffer from cloud contamination making periods within the time series sparse and often unusable during meteorologically active seasons. This paper proposes a virtual constellation for NDVI consisting of the red and near-infrared bands of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, Sentinel-2A Multi-Spectral Instrument, and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. The virtual constellation uses time-space-spectrum relationships from 2014 to 2018 and a random forest to produce synthetic NDVI imagery rectified to Landsat 8 format. Over the sample coverage area near Apalachicola, Florida, USA, the synthetic NDVI showed good visual coherence with observed Landsat 8 NDVI. Comparisons between the synthetic and observed NDVI showed Root Mean Squared Error and Coefficient of Determination (R2) values of 0.0020 sr−1 and 0.88, respectively. The results suggest that the virtual constellation was able to mitigate NDVI data loss due to clouds and may have the potential to do the same for other data. The ability to participate in a virtual constellation for a useful end product such as NDVI adds value to existing satellite missions and provides economic justification for future projects.

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The association of artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiogram-derived age (physiologic age) with atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in the community

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.2905 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

J Medina-Inojosa ◽

A Ladejobi ◽

Z Attia ◽

M Shelly-Cohen ◽

B Gersh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Bypass Graft ◽

P Value ◽

Funding Source ◽

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Age Gap ◽

Predicted Risk ◽

Age And Sex

Abstract Background We have demonstrated that artificial intelligence interpretation of ECGs (AI-ECG) can estimate an individual's physiologic age and that the gap between AI-ECG and chronologic age (Age-Gap) is associated with increased mortality. We hypothesized that Age-Gap would predict long-term atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and that Age-Gap would refine the ACC/AHA Pooled Cohort Equations' (PCE) predictive abilities. Methods Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) we evaluated a community-based cohort of consecutive patients seeking primary care between 1998–2000 and followed through March 2016. Inclusion criteria were age 40–79 and complete data to calculate PCE. We excluded those with known ASCVD, AF, HF or an event within 30 days of baseline.A neural network, trained, validated, and tested in an independent cohort of ∼ 500,000 independent patients, using 10-second digital samples of raw, 12 lead ECGs. PCE was categorized as low<5%, intermediate 5–9.9%, high 10–19.9%, and very high≥20%. The primary endpoint was ASCVD and included fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke; the secondary endpoint also included coronary revascularization [Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)], TIA and Cardiovascular mortality. Events were validated in duplicate. Follow-up was truncated at 10 years for PCE analysis. The association between Age-Gap with ASCVD and expanded ASCVD was assessed with cox proportional hazard models that adjusted for chronological age, sex and risk factors. Models were stratified by PCE risk categories to evaluate the effect of PCE predicted risk. Results We included 24,793 patients (54% women, 95% Caucasian) with mean follow up of 12.6±5.1 years. 2,366 (9.5%) developed ASCVD events and 3,401 (13.7%) the expanded ASCVD. Mean chronologic age was 53.6±11.6 years and the AI-ECG age was 54.5±10.9 years, R2=0.7865, p<0.0001. The mean Age-Gap was 0.87±7.38 years. After adjusting for age and sex, those considered older by ECG, compared to their chronologic age had a higher risk for ASCVD when compared to those with <−2 SD age gap (considered younger by ECG). (Figure 1A), with similar results when using the expanded definition of ASCVD (data not shown). Furthermore, Age-Gap enhanced predicted capabilities of the PCE among those with low 10-year predicted risk (<5%): Age and sex adjusted HR 4.73, 95% CI 1.42–15.74, p-value=0.01 and among those with high predicted risk (>20%) age and sex adjusted HR 6.90, 95% CI 1.98–24.08, p-value=0.0006, when comparing those older to younger by ECG respectively (Figure 1B). Conclusion The difference between physiologic AI-ECG age and chronologic age is associated with long-term ASCVD, and enhances current risk calculators (PCE) ability to identify high and low risk individuals. This may help identify individuals who should or should not be treated with newer, expensive risk-reducing therapies. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Mayo Clinic

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A Conceptual Model of Long-Term Weight Loss Maintenance: The Importance of Cognitive, Empirical and Computational Approaches

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020635 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 635

Author(s):

Darren Haywood ◽

Blake J. Lawrence ◽

Frank D. Baughman ◽

Barbara A. Mullan

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Weight Loss Maintenance ◽

Computational Approaches ◽

Healthy Habits ◽

Health Related ◽

The One ◽

Major Factors ◽

Positive Social Support ◽

Weight Loss Interventions

Living with obesity is related to numerous negative health outcomes, including various cancers, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Although much is known about the factors associated with obesity, and a range of weight loss interventions have been established, changing health-related behaviours to positively affect obesity outcomes has proven difficult. In this paper, we first draw together major factors that have emerged within the literature on weight loss to describe a new conceptual framework of long-term weight loss maintenance. Key to this framework is the suggestion that increased positive social support influences a reduction in psychosocial stress, and that this has the effect of promoting better executive functioning which in turn facilitates the development of healthy habits and the breaking of unhealthy habits, leading to improved ongoing maintenance of weight loss. We then outline how the use of computational approaches are an essential next step, to more rigorously test conceptual frameworks, such as the one we propose, and the benefits that a mixture of conceptual, empirical and computational approaches offer to the field of health psychology.

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Expression Profile of New Marker Genes Involved in Differentiation of Canine Adipose-Derived Stem Cells into Osteoblasts

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22136663 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 6663

Author(s):

Maurycy Jankowski ◽

Mariusz Kaczmarek ◽

Grzegorz Wąsiatycz ◽

Claudia Dompe ◽

Paul Mozdziak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

In Vitro Culture ◽

Osteogenic Differentiation ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Marker Genes ◽

P Value ◽

Illumina Platform

Next-generation sequencing (RNAseq) analysis of gene expression changes during the long-term in vitro culture and osteogenic differentiation of ASCs remains to be important, as the analysis provides important clues toward employing stem cells as a therapeutic intervention. In this study, the cells were isolated from adipose tissue obtained during routine surgical procedures and subjected to 14-day in vitro culture and differentiation. The mRNA transcript levels were evaluated using the Illumina platform, resulting in the detection of 19,856 gene transcripts. The most differentially expressed genes (fold change >|2|, adjusted p value < 0.05), between day 1, day 14 and differentiated cell cultures were extracted and subjected to bioinformatical analysis based on the R programming language. The results of this study provide molecular insight into the processes that occur during long-term in vitro culture and osteogenic differentiation of ASCs, allowing the re-evaluation of the roles of some genes in MSC progression towards a range of lineages. The results improve the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms associated with long-term in vitro culture and differentiation of ASCs, as well as providing a point of reference for potential in vivo and clinical studies regarding these cells’ application in regenerative medicine.

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Development and Verification of the Available Number of Water Intake Days in Ungauged Local Water Source Using the SWAT Model and Flow Recession Curves

Water ◽

10.3390/w13111511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 1511

Author(s):

Jung-Ryel Choi ◽

Il-Moon Chung ◽

Se-Jin Jeung ◽

Kyung-Su Choo ◽

Cheong-Hyeon Oh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Water Intake ◽

Water Resource Management ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Swat Model ◽

High Water ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Regional Government

Climate change significantly affects water supply availability due to changes in the magnitude and seasonality of runoff and severe drought events. In the case of Korea, despite high water supply ratio, more populations have continued to suffer from restricted regional water supplies. Though Korea enacted the Long-Term Comprehensive Water Resources Plan, a field survey revealed that the regional government organizations limitedly utilized their drought-related data. These limitations present a need for a system that provides a more intuitive drought review, enabling a more prompt response. Thus, this study presents a rating curve for the available number of water intake days per flow, and reviews and calibrates the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model mediators, and found that the coefficient of determination, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent bias (PBIAS) from 2007 to 2011 were at 0.92, 0.84, and 7.2%, respectively, which were “very good” levels. The flow recession curve was proposed after calculating the daily long-term flow and extracted the flow recession trends during days without precipitation. In addition, the SWAT model’s flow data enables the quantitative evaluations of the number of available water intake days without precipitation because of the high hit rate when comparing the available number of water intake days with the limited water supply period near the study watershed. Thus, this study can improve drought response and water resource management plans.

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Does Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding Have a Long-Term Effect on Nasal and Upper Airway Dimensions?

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/1055665620980234 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 105566562098023

Author(s):

Ashwina S. Banari ◽

Sanjeev Datana ◽

Shiv Shankar Agarwal ◽

Sujit Kumar Bhandari

Keyword(s):

Upper Airway ◽

P Value ◽

Airway Patency ◽

The Mean ◽

Group 2 ◽

Acoustic Pharyngometry ◽

Nasoalveolar Molding ◽

Area And Volume ◽

Group 1

Objectives: To compare nasal and upper airway dimensions in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) who underwent nasoalveolar molding (NAM) with those without NAM during infancy using acoustic pharyngometry and rhinometry. Materials and Methods: Eccovision acoustic pharyngometry and rhinometry (Sleep Group Solutions) was used for assessment of mean area and volume of nasal and upper airway in patients with complete unilateral CLP (age range 16-21 years) treated with NAM (group 1, n = 19) versus without NAM (group 2, n = 22). Results: The mean nasal cross-sectional areas and volume were higher in group 1 compared to group 2 on both cleft ( P value <.001) and noncleft side ( P value >.05). The mean area and volume of upper airway were also significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2 ( P value <.05). Conclusions: Nasoalveolar molding being one of the first interventions in chronology of treatment of patients with CLP, its long-term outcome on nasal and upper airway patency needs to be ascertained. The results of the present study show that the patients with CLP who have undergone NAM during infancy have better improvement in nasal and upper airway patency compared with those who had not undergone NAM procedure. The basic advantages of being noninvasive, nonionizing and providing dynamic assessment of nasal and upper airway patency make acoustic pharyngometry and rhinometry a diagnostic tool of choice to be used in patients with CLP.

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Correlation of Body Mass Index with Oncologic Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Large Population-Based Study

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13143592 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 3592

Author(s):

Chong-Chi Chiu ◽

Chung-Han Ho ◽

Chao-Ming Hung ◽

Chien-Ming Chao ◽

Chih-Cheng Lai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Body Mass Index ◽

Body Weight ◽

Body Mass ◽

Survival Rates ◽

Normal Weight ◽

P Value ◽

Administrative Claims ◽

The Impact

It has been acknowledged that excess body weight increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC); however, there is little evidence on the impact of body mass index (BMI) on CRC patients’ long-term oncologic results in Asian populations. We studied the influence of BMI on overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and CRC-specific survival rates in CRC patients from the administrative claims datasets of Taiwan using the Kaplan–Meier survival curves and the log-rank test to estimate the statistical differences among BMI groups. Underweight patients (<18.50 kg/m2) presented higher mortality (56.40%) and recurrence (5.34%) rates. Besides this, they had worse OS (aHR:1.61; 95% CI: 1.53–1.70; p-value: < 0.0001) and CRC-specific survival (aHR:1.52; 95% CI: 1.43–1.62; p-value: < 0.0001) rates compared with those of normal weight patients (18.50–24.99 kg/m2). On the contrary, CRC patients belonging to the overweight (25.00–29.99 kg/m2), class I obesity (30.00–34.99 kg/m2), and class II obesity (≥35.00 kg/m2) categories had better OS, DFS, and CRC-specific survival rates in the analysis than the patients in the normal weight category. Overweight patients consistently had the lowest mortality rate after a CRC diagnosis. The associations with being underweight may reflect a reverse causation. CRC patients should maintain a long-term healthy body weight.

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Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype Suppression Mediated by Small-Sized Mesenchymal Stem Cells Delays Cellular Senescence through TLR2 and TLR5 Signaling

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10010063 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

Ji Hye Kwon ◽

Miyeon Kim ◽

Soyoun Um ◽

Hyang Ju Lee ◽

Yun Kyung Bae ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽

Cellular Senescence ◽

Small Cells ◽

Critical Determinant ◽

Senescent Phenotype ◽

Toll Like Receptor 2 ◽

Secretory Phenotype ◽

Major Factors

In order to provide a sufficient number of cells for clinical use, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) must be cultured for long-term expansion, which inevitably triggers cellular senescence. Although the small size of MSCs is known as a critical determinant of their fate, the main regulators of stem cell senescence and the underlying signaling have not been addressed. Umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (UCB-MSCs) were obtained using size-isolation methods and then cultured with control or small cells to investigate the major factors that modulate MSC senescence. Cytokine array data suggested that the secretion of interukin-8 (IL-8) or growth-regulated oncogene-alpha (GROa) by senescent cells was markedly inhibited during incubation of small cells along with suppression of cognate receptor (C-X-C motif chemokine receptor2, CXCR2) via blockade of the autocrine/paracrine positive loop. Moreover, signaling via toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR5, both pattern recognition receptors, drove cellular senescence of MSCs, but was inhibited in small cells. The activation of TLRs (2 and 5) through ligand treatment induced a senescent phenotype in small cells. Collectively, our data suggest that small cell from UCB-MSCs exhibit delayed cellular senescence by inhibiting the process of TLR signaling-mediated senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) activation.

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