The New Useful High-Resolution Computed Tomography Finding for Diagnosing Fibrotic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis: “Hexagonal Pattern”: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Background Centrilobular nodules, ground-glass opacity (GGO), mosaic attenuation, air trapping, and three-density pattern were reported as high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings characteristic of fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). However, it is often difficult to differentiate fibrotic HP from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In fibrotic HP, the HRCT sometimes shows tortoiseshell-like interlobular septal thickening that extends from the subpleural lesion to the inner layers. This finding is called “hexagonal pattern,” and this study is focused on the possibility that such finding is useful for differentiating fibrotic HP from IPF. Methods This study included patients with multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) diagnosis of fibrotic HP or IPF undergoing surgical lung biopsy between January 2015 and December 2017 in Kanagawa Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center. Two radiologists have evaluated the HRCT findings without clinical and pathological information. Results A total of 23 patients were diagnosed with fibrotic HP by MDD and 48 with IPF. Extensive GGO, centrilobular nodules, and hexagonal pattern were more frequent findings in fibrotic HP than in IPF. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the presence or absence of mosaic attenuation, air trapping, or three-density pattern. In the multivariate logistic regression, the presence of extensive GGO and hexagonal pattern was associated with increased odds ratio of fibrotic HP. The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of fibrotic HP in the presence of the hexagonal pattern were 69.6% and 87.5%, respectively. Conclusion Hexagonal pattern is a useful finding for differentiating fibrotic HP from IPF.

Pioneer settlement of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus (Esper, 1794) on plastic

Larval settlement is a critical step for sessile benthic species such as corals, whose ability to thrive on diverse natural and anthropogenic substrates may lead to a competitive advantage in the colonization of new environments with respect to a narrow tolerance for a specific kind of substratum. Plastic debris, widespread in marine waters, provides a large, motile, and solid substratum supporting a highly diverse biological community. Here we present the first observation of a floating plastic bottle colonized by the deep-sea coral Desmophyllum dianthus. The density pattern and co-occurring species composition suggest a pioneer behavior of this coral species, whose peculiar morphologic plasticity response when interacting with the plastic substrate (i.e., low density polyethylene) has not been observed before. The tolerance of D. dianthus for such plastic substrate may affect ecological processes in deep water environments, disrupting interspecific substrate competition in the benthic community.

Ethnographic Patterns Map for Traditional Heritage of Kadazan Dusun Community Using GIS Analysis

Ethnography is a study of languages, systems of technology, economic, social organisations, knowledge, arts, and religion. Ethnographic features are essential to be preserved for peace, a stable way of life and conserving resources and the environment. The study of ethnography in society is necessary to maintain the tradition's legacy so that future generations can practice their ancestral heritage. Recently, the needs of GIS in the ethnographic mapping field are increasing as it has its effectiveness in this field. This study was carried out to map the locations related to the ethnography of Kadazan Dusun community in Sabah, Malaysia, in spatial form using GIS application. The research data was then analysed using migration density flow map with XY To Line technique, and then density pattern was conducted using an overlay technique. The findings of this study are expected to provide exposure to the community, especially the Kadazan Dusun regarding the dissemination of ethnographic features and areas with a high ethnographic density among the Kadazan Dusun community in Tambunan. Hence it will be used as a guide to the relevant parties to perform activities of preserving the traditional heritage of the Kadazan Dusun community in Tambunan.

Self-Secondaries Formed by Cold Spot Craters on the Moon

Self-secondaries are a population of background secondaries, and they have been observed on top of impact melt and ballistically emplaced ejecta deposits on various planetary bodies. Self-secondaries are formed by impacts of sub-vertically launched ejecta, but the launch mechanism is not confirmed. The potential threat of self-secondaries to the theoretical and applicable reliability of crater chronology has been noted, but not constrained. Hitherto discovered self-secondaries were located around complex impact craters, but their potential existence around simple craters has not been discovered. Here we report the first discovery of self-secondaries around lunar cold spot craters, which are an extremely young population of simple craters formed within the past ~1 million years on the Moon. Self-secondaries are widespread on layers of cascading flow-like ejecta deposits around cold spot craters. The spatial density of self-secondaries dwarfs that of potential primary craters. The spatial distribution of self-secondaries is highly heterogeneous across the ejecta deposits. With respect to the impactor trajectory that formed cold spot craters, self-secondaries formed at the downrange of the ejecta deposits have the largest spatial density, while those at the uprange have the smallest density. This density pattern holds for all cold spot craters that were formed by non-vertical impacts, but self-secondaries do not exhibit other systematic density variations at different radial distances or at other azimuths with respect to the impactor trajectory. Among known mechanics of ejecting materials to the exterior of impact craters, impact spallation is the most likely scenario to account for the required large ejection velocities and angles to form self-secondaries. The production population of self-secondaries is estimated based on the highly diverse crater size-frequency distributions across the ejecta deposits of cold spot craters. For a better understanding of the impact history on the Moon, a systematic investigation for the effect of self-secondaries on lunar crater chronology is required.

Changing Patterns of Population Density in the Jammu and Kashmir

The population growth and distribution has attracted increasing attention from geographers and planners in India from two or three decades to make the special approach in them to solve the human problems, which is a great task to handle. Here an attempt has been made on demographic dimensions of human resources to examine spatial and temporal variations in population growth and density during the last four decades (1981-2011). Density of population in the state is 124 persons per km2 (Census 2011). The study indicates that Srinagar and Jammu districts recorded high density of population of 2860 and 674 persons per km2 respectively, mainly on account of being the state’s administrative capitals which have made them the hub of socio-economic activities. The lowest population density is found in the Ladakh division with only 3 persons per km2 in Leh district. The population distribution and density pattern indicates an overwhelming influence of geo-physical disposition across the different regions of the Jammu and Kashmir state.

Singular Mean-Field States: A Brief Review of Recent Results

This article provides a focused review of recent findings which demonstrate, in some cases quite counter-intuitively, the existence of bound states with a singularity of the density pattern at the center; the states are physically meaningful because their total norm converges. One model of this type is based on the 2D Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE), which combines the attractive potential ∼ r − 2 and the quartic self-repulsive nonlinearity, induced by the Lee–Huang–Yang effect (quantum fluctuations around the mean-field state). The GPE demonstrates suppression of the 2D quantum collapse, driven by the attractive potential, and emergence of a stable ground state (GS), whose density features an integrable singularity ∼ r − 4 / 3 at r → 0 . Modes with embedded angular momentum exist too, but they are unstable. A counter-intuitive peculiarity of the model is that the GS exists even if the sign of the potential is reversed from attraction to repulsion, provided that its strength is small enough. This peculiarity finds a relevant explanation. The other model outlined in the review includes 1D, 2D, and 3D GPEs, with the septimal (seventh-order), quintic, and cubic self-repulsive terms, respectively. These equations give rise to stable singular solitons, which represent the GS for each dimension D, with the density singularity ∼ r − 2 / ( 4 − D ) . Such states may be considered the results of screening a “bare” delta-functional attractive potential by the respective nonlinearities.

EXPANSÃO URBANA E DEGRADAÇÃO DE NASCENTES: IDENTIFICANDO PADRÕES ESPAÇO-TEMPORAIS DE UM PROCESSO CRÔNICO EM CUIABÁ, MT

Com o crescente aumento da população urbana na zona tropical do globo, há uma preocupação cada vez maior com a conservação dos recursos naturais nesses espaços. Neste trabalho, analisamos os processos de degradação das nascentes na Área do Perímetro Urbano de Cuiabá (APUC) e a evolução do estado de conservação de nascentes na APUC entre 2008 e 2016. Quarenta e seis porcento das 56 nascentes consideradas preservadas em 2008, encontravam-se descaracterizadas no final do período. A APUC apresentou alto crescimento populacional de 1.197% entre 1960 a 2018, associado à expansão da área urbana de 5.538% no mesmo período. Historicamente a expansão ocorreu desordenadamente dos pontos mais baixos em direção às nascentes das principais bacias da cidade. A APUC tem complexo padrão de densidade de urbanização, alternando zonas de alta e baixa densidade desordenadamente. Esse padrão espaço-temporal mostrou-se correlacionado à espacialização da degradação das nascentes, pois estas desapareceram em áreas antigas, com alta taxa de urbanização, ao mesmo tempo em que encontramos nascentes conservadas em zonas de mais baixa densidade urbana. Estas, porém, estão ameaçadas por estarem circundadas por zonas de alta ocupação. Nascentes degradadas localizam-se em zona de 4.000 m de raio, delimitada no quadrante NW da APUC, enquanto as conservadas distribuem-se em todo espaço urbano, sendo mais frequentes próximo da zona periurbana. Métodos e conceitos desenvolvidos ao longo dessa investigação serão empregados para identificação de novas nascentes na APUC e na área periurbana.Palavras-chave: análise espacial; densidade kernel; nascentes urbanas; cidades tropicais; aterramento de nascentes. URBAN EXPANSION AND DEGRADATION OF HEADWATERS: IDENTIFYING SPATIAL-TIME PATTERNS OF A CHRONIC PROCESS IN CUIABÁ, MT ABSTRACT: As the urban population constantly increases in the tropical zone of the globe, there is a growing concern about the conservation of the natural resources existent in these cities. We analyzed the evolution of the conservation status of the headsprings inside the Perimeter of Cuiabá Urban Area (PCUA) between 2008 and 2016. Forty and six percent out of 56 headsprings that were preserved in 2008, were found completely degraded at the end of the period. The PCUA has been experimenting strong population growth rate of 1,197% from 1960 to 2018, which was accompanied by an urban expansion of 5,538% in the same period. This historical process occurred from the lowest part of the city toward upstream of the main watersheds that drain the city. The PCUA has a complex urban density pattern in which high and low-density zones alternate randomly. This spatial-temporal pattern is correlated with headwater degradation, as they no longer exist in the oldest and denser parts of the city. However, the preserved fall inside the low-density urban zones. Nevertheless, these headwaters remain threatened as they surrounded by highly occupied zones. The degraded headwaters are delimited by a 4,000 m diameter circle in NW quadrant of the city whereas the conserved are dispersed all over the urban area, preferentially closest to the urban/peri-urban border. This investigation has been contributing to methods and concepts for identifying new headsprings both in the PCUA and its peri-urban area.Keywords: spatial analysis; kernel density; urban headwaters; tropical cities; headwater burying.

Methylation Density Pattern of KEAP1 Gene in Lung Cancer Cell Lines Detected by Quantitative Methylation Specific PCR and Pyrosequencing

Background. The KEAP1/NRF2 pathway is the key regulator of antioxidants and cellular stress responses, and is implicated in neoplastic progression and resistance of tumors to treatment. KEAP1 silencing by promoter methylation is widely reported in solid tumors as part of the complex regulation of the KEAP1/NRF2 axis, but its prognostic role remains to be addressed in lung cancer. Methods. We performed a detailed methylation density map of 13 CpGs located into the KEAP1 promoter region by analyzing a set of 25 cell lines from different histologies of lung cancer. The methylation status was assessed using quantitative methylation specific PCR (QMSP) and pyrosequencing, and the performance of the two assays was compared. Results. Hypermethylation at the promoter region of the KEAP1 was detected in one third of cell lines and its effect on the modulation KEAP1 mRNA levels was also confirmed by in vitro 5-Azacytidine treatment on lung carcinoid, small lung cancer and adenocarcinoma cell lines. QMSP and pyrosequencing showed a high rate of concordant results, even if pyrosequencing revealed two different promoter CpGs sub-islands (P1a and P1b) with a different methylation density pattern. Conclusions. Our results confirm the effect of methylation on KEAP1 transcription control across multiple histologies of lung cancer and suggest pyrosequencing as the best approach to investigate the pattern of CpGs methylation in the promoter region of KEAP1. The validation of this approach on lung cancer patient cohorts is mandatory to clarify the prognostic value of the epigenetic deregulation of KEAP1 in lung tumors.