The Patterns of Morphological Change During Intracerebral Hemorrhage Expansion: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study

Objectives: Hemorrhage expansion (HE) is a common and serious condition in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In contrast to the volume changes, little is known about the morphological changes that occur during HE. We developed a novel method to explore the patterns of morphological change and investigate the clinical significance of this change in ICH patients.Methods: The morphological changes in the hematomas of ICH patients with available paired non-contrast CT data were described in quantitative terms, including the diameters of each hematoma in three dimensions, the longitudinal axis type, the surface regularity (SR) index, the length and direction changes of the diameters, and the distance and direction of movement of the center of the hematoma. The patterns were explored by descriptive analysis and difference analysis in subgroups. We also established a prognostic nomogram model for poor outcomes in ICH patients using both morphological changes and clinical parameters.Results: A total of 1,094 eligible patients from four medical centers met the inclusion criteria. In 266 (24.3%) cases, the hematomas enlarged; the median absolute increase in volume was 14.0 [interquartile range (IQR), 17.9] mL. The initial hematomas tended to have a more irregular shape, reflected by a larger surface regularity index, than the developed hematomas. In subtentorial and deep supratentorial hematomas, the center moved in the direction of gravity. The distance of center movement and the length changes of the diameters were small, with median values of less than 4 mm. The most common longitudinal axis type was anterior–posterior (64.7%), and the axis type did not change between initial and repeat imaging in most patients (95.2%). A prognostic nomogram model including lateral expansion, a parameter of morphological change, showed good performance in predicting poor clinical outcomes in ICH patients.Conclusions: The present study provides a morphological perspective on HE using a novel automatic approach. We identified certain patterns of morphological change in HE, and we believe that some morphological change parameters could help physicians predict the prognosis of ICH patients.

Primordial mimicry induces morphological change in Escherichia coli

The morphology of primitive cells has been the subject of extensive research. A spherical form was commonly presumed in prebiotic studies but lacked experimental evidence in living cells. Whether and how the shape of living cells changed are unclear. Here we exposed the rod-shaped bacterium Escherichia coli to a resource utilization regime mimicking a primordial environment. Oleate was given as an easy-to-use model prebiotic nutrient, as fatty acid vesicles were likely present on the prebiotic Earth and might have been used as an energy resource. Six evolutionary lineages were generated under glucose-free but oleic acid vesicle (OAV)-rich conditions. Intriguingly, fitness increase was commonly associated with the morphological change from rod to sphere and the decreases in both the size and the area-to-volume ratio of the cell. The changed cell shape was conserved in either OAVs or glucose, regardless of the trade-offs in carbon utilization and protein abundance. Highly differentiated mutations present in the genome revealed two distinct strategies of adaption to OAV-rich conditions, i.e., either directly targeting the cell wall or not. The change in cell morphology of Escherichia coli for adapting to fatty acid availability supports the assumption of the primitive spherical form.

Exploring the 4D scales of eco-geomorphic interactions along a river corridor using repeat UAV Laser Scanning (UAV-LS), multispectral imagery, and a functional traits framework

Vegetation plays a critical role in the modulation of fluvial process and morphological evolution. However, adequately capturing the spatial variability and complexity of vegetation characteristics remains a challenge. Currently, most of the research seeking to address these issues takes place at either the individual plant scale or via larger scale bulk classifications, with the former seeking to characterise vegetation-flow interactions and the latter identifying spatial variation in vegetation types. Herein, we devise a method which extracts functional vegetation traits using UAV laser scanning and multispectral imagery, and upscale these to reach scale guild classifications. Simultaneous monitoring of morphological change is undertaken to identify eco-geomorphic links between different guilds and the geomorphic response of the system in the context of long-term decadal changes. Identification of four guilds from quantitative structural modelling based on analysis of terrestrial and UAV based laser scanning and two further guilds from image analysis was achieved. These were upscaled to reach-scale guild classifications with an overall accuracy of 80 % and links to magnitudes of geomorphic activity explored. We show that different vegetation guilds have a role in influencing morphological change through the stabilisation of banks, but that limits on this influence are evident in the prior long-term analysis. This research reveals that remote sensing offers a solution to the difficulty of scaling traits-based approaches for eco-geomorphic research, and that these methods may be applied to larger areas using airborne laser scanning and satellite imagery datasets.

Ecological specialization, rather than the island effect, explains morphological diversification in an ancient radiation of geckos

Island colonists are often assumed to experience higher levels of phenotypic diversification than continental taxa. However, empirical evidence has uncovered exceptions to this ‘island effect’. Here, we tested this pattern using the geckos of the genus Pristurus from continental Arabia and Africa and the Socotra Archipelago. Using a recently published phylogeny and an extensive morphological dataset, we explore the differences in phenotypic evolution between Socotran and continental taxa. Moreover, we reconstructed ancestral habitat occupancy to examine if ecological specialization is correlated with morphological change, comparing phenotypic disparity and trait evolution between habitats. We found a heterogeneous outcome of island colonization. Namely, only one of the three colonization events resulted in a body size increase. However, in general, Socotran species do not present higher levels or rates of morphological diversification than continental groups. Instead, habitat specialization explains better the body size and shape evolution in Pristurus . Particularly, the colonization of ground habitats appears as the main driver of morphological change, producing the highest disparity and evolutionary rates. Additionally, arboreal species show very similar body size and head proportions. These results reveal a determinant role of ecological mechanisms in morphological evolution and corroborate the complexity of ecomorphological dynamics in continent–island systems.

Token frequency as a determinant of morphological change

This paper demonstrates that morphological change tends to involve the replacement of low frequency forms in inflectional paradigms by innovative forms based on high frequency forms, using Greek data involving the diachronic reorganisation of verbal inflection classes. A computational procedure is outlined for generating a possibility space of morphological changes which can be represented as analogical proportions, on the basis of synchronic paradigms in ancient Greek. I then show how supplementing analogical proportions with token frequency information can help to predict whether a hypothetical change actually took place in the language’s subsequent development. Because of the crucial role of inflected surface forms serving as analogical bases in this model, I argue that the results support theories in which inflected forms can be stored whole in the lexicon.

The C-shaped root canal systems in mandibular second molars in an Emirati population

Our study aimed to describe the root and canal morphology of mandibular second molars in Emirati population and to study the prevalence and types of morphological change in C-shaped canal configuration along the root length in an effort to describe C-shaped molars as a unit. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of Emirati patients were analyzed in multiple plans and root and canal configuration of mandibular second molars were evaluated. Moreover, specific types of morphological change in C-shaped canal configuration along root length were studied and reconstructed using 3D reconstruction software. A total of 508 mandibular second molars were evaluated. Among the non-C-shaped mandibular second molars, two separate roots were the most prevalent root morphology (78.3%). The mesial root's most common root canal configuration was Vertucci Type II (46.5%), and in the distal root, Vertucci Type I (90.5%). The prevalence of C-shaped mandibular second molars was 17.9% and was significantly prevalent (P < 0.001) in females. Specific types of morphological change in C-shaped molars along the root length were observed and described for the first time, in which the most common types of morphological change were C1-C2-C3d (18%), C1-C3c-C3d (15.4%), C4-C3c-C3d (7.7%), and C3c-C3c-C3d (7.7%). This study showed wide variations in the root and canal morphology in mandibular second molars in Emirati population with a relatively high prevalence of C-shaped canal configuration (17.9%). Moreover, specific types of morphological change in C-shaped configuration were detected and described for the first time in this population.

Deep learning for the prediction of early on-treatment response in metastatic colorectal cancer from serial medical imaging

In current clinical practice, tumor response assessment is usually based on tumor size change on serial computerized tomography (CT) scan images. However, evaluation of tumor response to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is limited because morphological change in tumor may occur earlier than tumor size change. Here we present an analysis utilizing a deep learning (DL) network to characterize tumor morphological change for response assessment in mCRC patients. We retrospectively analyzed 1,028 mCRC patients who were prospectively included in the VELOUR trial (NCT00561470). We found that DL network was able to predict early on-treatment response in mCRC and showed better performance than its size-based counterpart with C-Index: 0.649 (95% CI: 0.619,0.679) vs. 0.627 (95% CI: 0.567,0.638), p = 0.009, z-test. The integration of DL network with size-based methodology could further improve the prediction performance to C-Index: 0.694 (95% CI: 0.661,0.720), which was superior to size/DL-based-only models (all p < 0.001, z-test). Our study suggests that DL network could provide a noninvasive mean for quantitative and comprehensive characterization of tumor morphological change, which may potentially benefit personalized early on-treatment decision making.

Parametric Kinetics

<p>This thesis examines how parametric modelling can be used in the design process to aid in the development of a kinetic architectural skin. A parametric scripting process has been used to control morphological change in architectural models. This has enabled the description of responsive kinetic form, and has facilitated a process of iterative design development. At the conceptual stage, weather data has been used to generate responsive form, enabling exploration into a range of potential designs. At the developmental stage, static and dynamic iterative modelling has been used to inform the development of a final skin system. The process of iterative modelling has introduced a high level of feedback to the design process, allowing for a thoroughly developed architectural system that performs well against established design criteria. This thesis proposes that parametric modelling is a credible tool for the development of dynamic architectural systems.</p>