Vertical Artifacts in Lung Ultrasonography: Some Common Clinician Questions and the Related Engineer Answers

Introduction: Vertical artifacts, including B lines, are frequently seen in a variety of lung diseases. Their sonomorphology varies in length, width, shape, and internal reverberations. The reason for this diversity is still unknown and is the cause of discussion between clinicians and ultrasound physics engineers. Aim: The aim of this work is to sum up the most common clinician observations and provide an explanation to each of them derived from ultrasound physics. Materials and Methods: Based on clinical and engineering experiences as well as data collected from relevant literature, the sonomorphology of vertical artifacts was analyzed. Thirteen questions and answers were prepared on the common sonomorphology of vertical artifacts, current nomenclature, and clinical observations. Conclusions: From a clinical standpoint, the analysis of vertical artifacts is very important and requires that further clinical studies be conducted in cooperation with engineers who specialize in physics.

Two new species of Metacyclops Kiefer, 1927 (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) from Thailand and an up-to-date key to the species recorded in Asia

Metacyclops sakaeratensis sp. nov. and M. brancelji sp. nov. are described as being present in the mountainous areas of Northeastern and Southern Thailand, respectively. Two new species resemble M. woni in both sexes, but they are easily distinguished from their Cambodian relative by having: 1) transverse suture on the dorsal surface of the genital double-somite, 2) serrated hyaline frill on the posterior margin of third pedigerous somite, 3) different length / width ratio of caudal ramus, and 4) a row of spinule on caudal surface of intercoxal sclerite of the third swimming legs. The significant differences between M. sakaeratensis sp. nov. and M. brancelji sp. nov. are present in both sexes, including the body size, integumental ornamentation of the body surface, length / width ratio of caudal ramus, armature of the fifth swimming leg, and the male sixth swimming leg. In addition, an up-to-date key to the female of all fifteen species of Metacyclops recorded in Asia is provided.

Measurements and Analysis of the Physical Properties of Cereal Seeds Depending on Their Moisture Content to Improve the Accuracy of DEM Simulation

This article presents the results of research on the influence of moisture on changes in the physical properties, i.e., the length, width, thickness, and weight, of dressed and untreated cereal seeds in order to improve the simulation process based on the discrete element method (DEM). The research was conducted on the seeds of three winter cereals, i.e., triticale, rye, and barley. The seeds with an initial moisture content of about 7% were moistened to five levels, ranging from 9.5% to 17.5%, at an increment of 2%. The statistical analysis showed that moisture significantly influenced the physical properties of the seeds, i.e., their length, width, thickness, and weight. As the moisture content of the seeds increased, there were greater differences in their weight. The average increase in the thousand kernel weight resulting from the increase in their moisture content ranged from 4 to 6 mg. The change in the seed moisture content from 9.5% to 17.5% significantly increased the volume of rye seeds from 3.10% to 14.99%, the volume of triticale seeds from 1.00% to 13.40%, and the volume of barley seeds from 1.00% to 15.33%. These data can be used as a parameter to improve the DEM simulation process.

Research on Cavitation Characteristics of Two-Throat Nozzle Submerged Jet

Ship fouling not only increases ship resistance and fuel consumption but is equally a type of biological invasion, which causes severe ecological damage. Submerged cavitation jet cleaning is an environmentally friendly, high-efficiency, and energy-saving cleaning method. The nozzle structure has an essential influence on the cleaning effect. Thus, a two-throat nozzle was designed for application in submerged cavitation jet cleaning. To investigate the cavitation characteristics of the two-throat nozzle, a high-speed photographic visualization experiment and an erosion experiment concerning the submerged cavitation jet were carried out in this study. The frame-difference method (FDM) was used to analyze the dynamic changes in the cavitation cloud in a single period. The dynamic changes in the cavitation cloud and the characteristics of the submerged cavitation jet were investigated under different inlet pressures. The sample mass loss and the macroscopic and microscopic changes in surface morphology were used to evaluate the cavitation intensity of the two-throat nozzle submerged jet. The experimental results demonstrate that the two-throat nozzle has a good cavitation effect, and the cavitation cloud of the submerged jet has obvious periodicity. With the increase in inlet pressure, the length, width, and area of the cavitation cloud continue to increase, and the shedding frequency of the cavitation cloud continues to decrease. The intensity of cavitation erosion is related to target distance and impact time. There is an appropriate target distance by which to achieve the optimal cavitation effect. The collapse of cavitation bubbles near the sample surface is related to the erosion distribution on the sample surface. Moreover, the magnitude of the absolute values of the root-mean-square surface roughness and surface skewness increase with cavitation intensity. The results in this paper are helpful for a better understanding of the cavitation characteristics of the two-throat nozzle submerged jet.

Choosing the Optimal Tissue Expander Size: A Single Center Randomized Clinical Trial on Chinese Microtia Patients’ Normal Ears Using 3D Scanning

The tissue expansion technique is the most suitable procedure for Chinese patients with microtia. However, it is difficult to determine whether the expanded flap is sufficient, and there are no clear or objective guidelines for determining the volume of the expander for different sizes of auricles. One hundred patients with unilateral microtia who visited our department in 2021 were randomly selected for auricular data collection using 3D scanning. The auricle length, width, projection, perimeter, and surface area were measured. Eight different volumes of expanders underwent CT and the surface areas of these expanders were measured. The surface areas of the auricles and expanders were compared and the correlation between them was explored. The average auricle parameters were calculated. The scatter plot showed a linear relationship between auricle length and auricle surface area (R2 = 0.9913), which demonstrated that the auricle area was approximately equal to the auricle length multiplied by 76.921. Additionally, the surface area of the expanders was measured and made into a table for selection against the surface area of the auricles. Using our equation, the auricle surface could be estimated by simply measuring the non-defective auricle length; therefore, the suitable volume of the expander could be determined.

Aerosol Atmospheric Rivers: Climatology, Event Characteristics, and Detection Algorithm Sensitivities

Leveraging the concept of atmospheric rivers (ARs), a detection technique based on a widely utilized global algorithm to detect ARs (Guan et al., 2018; Guan and Waliser, 2015, 2019) was recently developed to detect aerosol atmospheric rivers (AARs) using the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 reanalysis (Chakraborty et al., 2021a). The current study further characterizes and quantifies various details of AARs that were not provided in that study, such as AARs’ seasonality, event characteristics, vertical profiles of aerosol mass mixing ratio and wind speed, and the fraction of total annual aerosol transport conducted by AARs. Analysis is also performed to quantify the sensitivity of AAR detection to the criteria and thresholds used by the algorithm. AARs occur more frequently over, and typically extend from, regions with higher aerosol emission. For a number of planetary-scale pathways that exhibit large climatological aerosol transport, AARs contribute 40–80 % to the total annual transport. DU AARs are more frequent in boreal spring, SS AARs are often more frequent during the boreal winter (summer) in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere, CA AARs are more frequent during dry seasons and often originate from the global rainforests and industrial areas, and SU AARs are present in the Northern Hemisphere during all seasons. For most aerosol types, the mass mixing ratio within AARs is highest near the surface and decreases monotonically with altitude. However, DU and CA AARs over or near the African continent exhibit peaks in their aerosol mixing ratio profiles around 700 hPa. AAR event characteristics are mostly independent of species with mean length, width, and length/width ratio around 4000 km, 600 km, and 8, respectively.

Transcriptomic analysis of the maize inbred line Chang7-2 and a large-grain mutant tc19

Backgrounds Grain size is a key factor in crop yield that gradually develops after pollination. However, few studies have reported gene expression patterns in maize grain development using large-grain mutants. To investigate the developmental mechanisms of grain size, we analyzed a large-grain mutant, named tc19, at the morphological and transcriptome level at five stages corresponding to days after pollination (DAP). Results After maturation, the grain length, width, and thickness in tc19 were greater than that in Chang7-2 (control) and increased by 3.57, 8.80, and 3.88%, respectively. Further analysis showed that grain width and 100-kernel weight in tc19 was lower than in Chang7-2 at 14 and 21 DAP, but greater than that in Chang7-2 at 28 DAP, indicating that 21 to 28 DAP was the critical stage for kernel width and weight development. For all five stages, the concentrations of auxin and brassinosteroids were significantly higher in tc19 than in Chang7-2. Gibberellin was higher at 7, 14, and 21 DAP, and cytokinin was higher at 21 and 35 DAP, in tc19 than in Chang7-2. Through transcriptome analysis at 14, 21, and 28 DAP, we identified 2987, 2647 and 3209 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between tc19 and Chang7-2. By using KEGG analysis, 556, 500 and 633 DEGs at 14, 21 and 28 DAP were pathway annotated, respectively, 77 of them are related to plant hormone signal transduction pathway. ARF3, AO2, DWF4 and XTH are higher expressed in tc19 than that in Chang7-2. Conclusions We found some DEGs in maize grain development by using Chang7-2 and a large-grain mutant tc19. These DEGs have potential application value in improving maize performance.

Body and testicular biometry of Crioulo stallions

ABSTRACT: Brazilian Association of Crioulo Horse Breeders (ABCCC) establishes minimal and maximal body biometrics evaluation; although, nothing is mentioned about testicular measurements. Body and testicular growth are associated and related to age. We described data regarding body and testicular biometry of Crioulo stallions, with a comparative study between young and adult categories. Evaluation was performed in 56 stallions, Crioulo breed, split in: youngsters (3 and 4 years-old, n=16) and adults (above 5 years-old, n=40). Body biometry included weight, height, cannon bone and chest circumference, body score condition and neck fat accumulation. Testicular biometry included height, length, width, volume, combined volume and daily sperm output (DSO). Statistical analyses included descriptive statistic, Pearson correlation, comparison between means by Kruskal Wallis, being P < 0.05 considered significant. There was no significant difference between the parameters of body and testicular biometrics between categories young and adult. In relation to height, the average was very close to the lower limit established, while chest and cannon bone circumference were above the minimum recommended by ABCCC. Cannon bone circumference presented a positive correlation with height. Most of stallions presented excessive body fat, with a body score condition above 8 (scale 1-9). Neck fat accumulation presented a positive correlation with body score condition. Testicular height, length, width and volume presented a positive correlation between the ipsi and contralateral testicle, total testicular volume and DSO. In conclusion, no difference in the body and testicular biometric evaluation was observed between young and adult Crioulo stallions. Testicular and body growth are associated and also related to age, so our finding suggested that after 3-4 years-old most of Crioulo stallions have already reached maximum growth.

Morphometric and gross anatomy studies of gonads in day-old Arabic chick (Gallus turcicus) lead to gonadal asymmetry

The differentiation of avian gonads occurred since the embryonic stage, resulted in asymmetric morphology. This study aimed to analyse the morphometric and gross anatomy of gonads in Day old Arabic chick. This study utilized 116 Day old Arabic chick. After necropsy, they were divided into 61 male and 55 female. The variables studies were length, width, volume, location, colour, and shape of the gonads. Data analysis used descriptive analysis and independent T test. The results showed a significant difference (P<0.01) between the right and left ovary lengths 1.67±0.08 mm and 3.69±0.05, respectively. A significant difference (P<0.01) between the width ovaries 0.64±0.03 mm (right ovary) and 1.18±0.03 mm (left ovary), respectively. It was found a significant difference (P<0.05) between the length of right and left testis 2.47±0.08 mm and 3.29±0.07mm, and between volume of testis 1.46±0.12 mm3 (right testis) and 2.03±0.13 mm3 (left testis). However, the right and left testes width was not significant (P>0.01). The testes colour was creamy white, sometimes pink, and grey to black, the colour of ovaries was creamy yellow and pink. Morphometric and gonadal morphology of Day old Arabic chick showed gonadal asymmetry, and the left side is larger than the right side.

Structural Study of Faihaa Oil Field in Basra South of Iraq

This study used structural contour maps to carry out the geometrical analysis for Faihaa structure in Basra southern Iraq. The study used row data of well logs and structural maps while Softwares were Didger 4, Stereonet v.11 and Petrel 2017 Faihaa Oil Field is located at an eastern part of the Mesopotamian Zone within the Zubair Subzone, characterized by subsurface geological structures covered by Quaternary sediments. These structures are oriented in the NW-SE direction in the eastern part of the band and the N-S direction in the southern region, and some in the direction NE-SW. The Faihaa Oil Field shows that is an Anticline structure. The average dip value of an axial surface is 89.7° while the plunge of hinge line between 4–4.2 in North-West direction referred to that Faihaa Structure is upright and gentle fold. Based on the Thickness ratio and axial angle, the Faihaa Structure is thickened Fold. The eastern limb of the fold is longer than the western limb, so Faihaa Oil Field is an asymmetrical structure. The difference in dimensions (5<Length / Width < 2) confirmed the brachy fold of the Faihaa structure.