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PloS One 2022When animals are previously exposed to two different visual stimuli simultaneously, their learning performance at discriminating those stimuli delays: such a phenomenon...
When animals are previously exposed to two different visual stimuli simultaneously, their learning performance at discriminating those stimuli delays: such a phenomenon is known as "classifying-together" or "Bateson effect". However, the consistency of this phenomenon has not been wholly endorsed, especially considering the evidence collected in several vertebrates. The current study addressed whether a teleost fish, Xenotoca eiseni, was liable to the Bateson effect. Three experiments were designed, by handling the visual stimuli (i.e., a full red disk, an amputated red disk, a red cross) and the presence of an exposure phase, before performing a discriminative learning task (Exp. 1: full red disk vs. amputated red disk; Exp. 2: full red disk vs. red cross). In the exposure phase, three conditions per pairs of training stimuli were arranged: "congruence", where fish were exposed and trained to choose the same stimulus; "wide-incongruence", where fish were exposed to one stimulus and trained to choose the other one; "narrow-incongruence", where fish were exposed to both the stimuli and trained to choose one of them. In the absence of exposure (Exp. 3), the discrimination learning task was carried out to establish a baseline performance as regards the full red disk vs. amputated red disk, and the full red disk vs. red cross. Results showed that fish ran into retardation effects at learning when trained to choose a novel stimulus with respect to the one experienced during the exposure-phase (wide-incongruence condition), as well as after being simultaneously exposed to both stimuli (narrow-incongruence condition). Furthermore, there were no facilitation effects due to the congruence compared with the baseline: in such a case, familiar stimuli did not ease the performance at learning. The study provides the first evidence about the consistency of the classifying-together effect in a fish species, further highlighting the impact of visual similarities on discrimination processes.
Topics: Animals; Conditioning, Operant; Cyprinodontiformes; Discrimination Learning; Learning
PubMed: 36006895
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272773 -
Discrete & Computational Geometry 2024Let be a set of in the plane, so that every site has an . Let be the defined by , i.e., the graph with vertex set and an edge between two distinct sites if and...
Let be a set of in the plane, so that every site has an . Let be the defined by , i.e., the graph with vertex set and an edge between two distinct sites if and only if the disks with centers , and radii , intersect. Our goal is to design data structures that maintain the connectivity structure of as sites are inserted and/or deleted in . First, we consider , i.e., we fix , for all sites . For this case, we describe a data structure that has amortized update time and query time. Second, we look at disk graphs , i.e., for all , we have , for a parameter that is known in advance. Here, we not only investigate the fully dynamic case, but also the incremental and the decremental scenario, where only insertions or only deletions of sites are allowed. In the fully dynamic case, we achieve amortized expected update time and query time . This improves the currently best update time by a factor of . In the incremental case, we achieve logarithmic dependency on , with a data structure that has amortized query time and amortized expected update time, where denotes the inverse Ackermann function. For the decremental setting, we first develop an efficient decremental data structure: given two sets and of disks in the plane, we can delete disks from , and upon each deletion, we receive a list of all disks in that no longer intersect the union of . Using this data structure, we get decremental data structures with a query time of that supports deletions in overall expected time for disk graphs with bounded radius ratio and overall expected time for disk graphs with arbitrary radii, assuming that the deletion sequence is oblivious of the internal random choices of the data structures.
PubMed: 38192901
DOI: 10.1007/s00454-023-00621-x -
Life (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2022(1) Background: This study aimed to perform a literature review related to disk displacement (DD) in class II malocclusion or cervical vertebrae position alterations and... (Review)
Review
Temporomandibular Joint Disk Displacements in Class II Malocclusion and Cervical Spine Alterations: Systematic Review and Report of a Hypodivergent Case with MRI Bone and Soft Tissue Changes.
(1) Background: This study aimed to perform a literature review related to disk displacement (DD) in class II malocclusion or cervical vertebrae position alterations and to report a hypodivergent case with cervical pain and right anterolateral DD with reduction, left anterolateral DD with reduction, and left joint effusion. (2) Methods: A structured electronic search was conducted between March 2022 and April 2022, without time limits, following PRISMA guidelines, in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane; the terms "disc displacement", "disk displacement", "temporomandibular joint", "class II malocclusion" and "cervical vertebrae" are searched. (3) Results: the following thirteen publications are included in this review: two prospective studies and eleven cross-sectional studies; for evaluating disk position, eight included publications used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), whilst six studies used lateral cephalogram to determine craniofacial morphology and relationships between the cranial base, vertical skeletal pattern, maxilla and mandible. (4) Conclusions: although the literature still shows contradictory opinions, a relationship between temporomandibular disorders and cervical posture has been shown in the presented case as well as in the literature review.
PubMed: 35743939
DOI: 10.3390/life12060908 -
Journal of Infection in Developing... Nov 2022The broth microdilution (BMD) method recommended for the detection of colistin resistance is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and difficult to apply in routine...
INTRODUCTION
The broth microdilution (BMD) method recommended for the detection of colistin resistance is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and difficult to apply in routine laboratories. Thus, various methods, such as disk elution, commercial microdilution, and rapid polymyxin-NP tests have been developed for the detection of colistin resistance. In this study, a total of 102 multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria isolated from blood cultures were evaluated by four different methods for the detection of colistin resistance, and compared with the reference method.
METHODOLOGY
For the detection of the compatibility of these methods with the reference method, categorical and essential agreements, very major, major, and minor error rates were determined. Colistin-tigecycline and colistin-meropenem combinations were investigated in colistin-resistant isolates.
RESULTS
Of the isolates, 15 (15%) [K. pneumoniae (n = 12), A. baumannii (n = 2), E. coli (n = 1)] were resistant to colistin with reference BMD method. MIC50 and MIC90 values of all isolates were ≤ 0.25 μg/mL and 16 μg/mL, respectively. The categorical agreement rates were 100% for commercial microdilution, disk elution, and RPNP test. The essential agreement rates of commercial microdilution, disk elution, and broth macrodilution were 78.4%, 86.3%, and 100%, respectively. Although there were no major errors in these methods, the macrodilution (12%) and commercial microdilution (20.6%) methods showed the most minor errors. Colistin-meropenem combination showed a 100% synergistic effect, but the colistin-tigecycline combination showed an 80% synergistic effect and 20% indifference effect.
CONCLUSIONS
Disk elution and RPNP tests are suitable for routine use because they are the most efficient, easiest, low-cost, and good performance tests in detecting colistin resistance.
Topics: Colistin; Blood Culture; Tigecycline; Meropenem; Escherichia coli; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Klebsiella pneumoniae
PubMed: 36449647
DOI: 10.3855/jidc.16480 -
Current Microbiology May 2024Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) by disk diffusion provides an accurate image of bacterial growth, enabling the detection of culture purity, heterogeneous...
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) by disk diffusion provides an accurate image of bacterial growth, enabling the detection of culture purity, heterogeneous growth, and antibiotic interactions. However, this manual method is time-consuming and visual interpretation is prone to errors. To overcome these disadvantages, the Radian® In-Line Carousel (Copan, Brescia, Italy) was launched, which is a WASPLab® module dedicated to full automation of (pre)-analytical steps as well as interpretation of disk diffusion AST. However, until now, no evaluation of Radian® against manual disk diffusion has been performed. We assessed the categorical agreement (CA) between standardized disk diffusion (reference method) and Radian® using EUCAST 2021 breakpoints. We tested 135 non-duplicate strains, selected from the National EUCAST challenge panel, clinical strains, and external quality controls. The strains included Enterobacterales (n = 63), Enterococcus faecalis (n = 3), Enterococcus faecium (n = 10), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 16), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 19), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n = 4), and Streptococcus spp. (n = 20). Furthermore, we explored antibiotic disk thermolability in the WASP Radian® carousel by testing 10 ATCC® strains up to 7 days. The observed CA was 95.3%, 96.3%, 93.8%, 97.3% and 98.0% for Enterobacterales, Enterococcus spp., P. aeruginosa, Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp., respectively, resulting in an acceptable overall CA for all groups. (Very) major error rates were ≤ 5% for all antibiotics. Antibiotic disk thermostability was confirmed up to 4 days in the WASP Radian® In-Line Carousel. The Radian® In-Line Carousel provides a fully automated solution for accurate disk diffusion AST, reducing workload and improving standardization and traceability. In addition, our study demonstrated the thermostability of antibiotic disks up to 4 days in the WASP Radian® In-Line Carousel.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; Bacteria; Humans; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Automation, Laboratory
PubMed: 38816509
DOI: 10.1007/s00284-024-03710-z -
Indian Journal of Ophthalmology Dec 2022The current study was aimed at assessment of optic disk by disk damage likelihood scale (DDLS) staging using slit-lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
PURPOSE
The current study was aimed at assessment of optic disk by disk damage likelihood scale (DDLS) staging using slit-lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.
METHODS
This was a cross-sectional observational study of 106 POAG patients, which was conducted from April 2017 to April 2018. All patients underwent slit-lamp fundoscopy with a +78 D lens and high-definition (HD)-OCT, and the vertical cup disk ratios (VCDRs) were recorded. Disk size and neuroretinal rim assessment were done, and the disk was then staged using the recent version, which stages the optic nerve head (ONH) from 1 to 10 as read from the DDLS nomogram table. DDLS scores >5 indicate glaucomatous damage. Pearson coefficient was used to correlate the DDLS staging by slit-lamp biomicroscopy with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), disk size, and VCDR and VCDR, mean deviation, and DDLS staging by HD-OCT.
RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 59.54 ± 6.61 years. The male: female ratio was 2:1. The mean IOP was 16.04 ± 1.97 mmHg, and BCVA was 0.72 ± 0.13 LogMAR units. The mean VCDR on 78 D slit-lamp biomicroscopy was 0.76 ± 0.09 (standard deviation [SD]) (range 0.1-0.77), whereas on HD-OCT, the mean VCDR was 0.81 ± 0.09 (SD) (range 0.07-0.81). The mean deviation on visual field testing in decibels was -14.43 ± 3.31 (SD). The correlation coefficient between DDLS staging by slit-lamp biomicroscopy and DDLS staging by HD-OCT parameters was r = 0.96.
CONCLUSION
There is a positive correlation between the DDLS system of optic disk evaluation on slit-lamp biomicroscopy and most of the HD-OCT evaluation parameters.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Aged; Optic Disk; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Glaucoma, Open-Angle; Slit Lamp Microscopy
PubMed: 36453304
DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1113_22 -
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual... Jan 2022The purpose of this study was to evaluate optic disk perfusion and neural retinal structure in patients with subacute Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and LHON...
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate optic disk perfusion and neural retinal structure in patients with subacute Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and LHON carriers, as compared with healthy controls.
METHODS
This study included 8 patients with LHON in the subacute stage, 10 asymptomatic carriers of a LHON-associated mitochondrial DNA mutation, and 40 controls. All subjects underwent measurement of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness using optical coherence tomography and optic disk microvascular perfusion (Mean Tissue [MT]) using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG). Patients were re-examined after a median interval of 3 months from the baseline visit.
RESULTS
LHON carriers had higher values of RNFL thickness, GCIPL thickness, and disk area than controls (P < 0.05), whereas MT was not different between the two groups (P = 0.936). Median MT and RNFL thickness were 32% and 15% higher in the early subacute stage of the disease than in controls (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001). MT declined below the values of controls during the late subacute stage (P = 0.024), whereas RNFL thickness declined later during the dynamic stage (P < 0.001). GCIPL thickness was lower in patients with LHON than in controls independently of the stage of the disease (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
The high blood flow at the optic disk during the early subacute stage may be the consequence of vasodilation due to nitric oxide release as compensation to mitochondrial impairment. Optic disk perfusion as measured by LSFG is a promising biomarker for LHON diagnosis and monitoring as well as an objective outcome measure for assessing response to therapies.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; DNA; DNA Mutational Analysis; DNA, Mitochondrial; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation; Nerve Fibers; Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber; Optic Disk; Regional Blood Flow; Retinal Ganglion Cells; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Young Adult
PubMed: 35098304
DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.1.43 -
Frontiers in Medicine 2022To evaluate the clinical characteristics of myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV) according to peripapillary atrophy (PPA) and optic disk tilt and to explore...
PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical characteristics of myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV) according to peripapillary atrophy (PPA) and optic disk tilt and to explore whether those myopic disk deformations are associated with the prognosis of mCNV.
METHODS
Patients with subfoveal mCNV who received intravitreal bevacizumab injection and followed for ≥3 years were included. PPA was quantified as area of the ß-zone PPA/disk area ratio (PDR) and optic disk tilt as the tilt ratio (the longest/shortest disk diameter). We compared the clinical characteristics in terms of PDR and tilt ratio and identified the poor prognostic factors using Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard model.
RESULTS
Among 80 eyes of 80 patients, 29 (36.30%) eyes developed macular atrophy during 80.71 ± 34.76 months. PDR and tilt ratio are strongly correlated with each other ( = 0.004). Higher PDR showed significant correlations with longer axial length ( = 0.013), worse baseline and final VA ( = 0.007 and = 0.047), and thinner subfoveal choroidal thickness ( = 0.039), while higher tilt ratio showed significant correlations only with longer axial length ( = 0.036). High PDR was also an independent risk factor for both macular atrophy (OR = 2.257, < 0.001) and poor visual outcome (HR = 1.174, = 0.007), while high disk tilt ratio was not.
CONCLUSION
Subfoveal mCNV with higher ß-zone PPA area/disk area ratio had worse functional and structural outcomes.
PubMed: 35979214
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.947632 -
Materials (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2022Titanium dioxide (TiO), by its tribological behavior, is known as a solid lubricant. TiO as a solid lubricant, together with tungsten disulfide (WS) and molybdenum...
Titanium dioxide (TiO), by its tribological behavior, is known as a solid lubricant. TiO as a solid lubricant, together with tungsten disulfide (WS) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS) decreases friction and excessive wear. By compacting TiO powder, pellets are formed. Studies and research on the solid lubricant coatings were conducted with success on a tribometer with the possibility of making two simultaneous contacts, pellet/disk, and slider pad/disk. On the disk of a tribometer, we studied the lubrication characteristics of the TiO powder particles as the third body by intentionally transferring. Results show that the TiO pellet behaved like an effective oil-free lubricant by self-repairing and self-replenishing. In experiments, a TiO pellet is intentionally sheared against the surface of the disk, while the slider pad slips loaded on the lubricated surface until the deposited powder film is exhausted. A theoretical model control volume fractional coverage (CVFC) was used to estimate both the wear rate for the lubricated pellet/disk sliding contact and the friction coefficient at the pad/disk separation surface. According to materials properties, disk velocity, pellet and slider pad load, the pellet wear rate, and slider pad friction coefficient, using the CVFC model, can establish the pellet wear rate, and slider pad friction coefficient. The fractional coverage represents a parameter of the CVFC model that varies with time, and it is useful for estimating the film amount from the third body that covers the disk asperities. Model results well enough describe the tribological behavior of the sliding contacts in experiments, both qualitatively and quantitatively. In addition, the theoretical results obtained by modeling and the experimental those obtained in the process of friction, are compared.
PubMed: 36295214
DOI: 10.3390/ma15207145 -
NMR in Biomedicine Aug 2022Monitoring the tissue sodium content (TSC) in the intervertebral disk geometry noninvasively by MRI is a sensitive measure to estimate changes in the proteoglycan...
Monitoring the tissue sodium content (TSC) in the intervertebral disk geometry noninvasively by MRI is a sensitive measure to estimate changes in the proteoglycan content of the intervertebral disk, which is a biomarker of degenerative disk disease (DDD) and of lumbar back pain (LBP). However, application of quantitative sodium concentration measurements in Na-MRI is highly challenging due to the lower in vivo concentrations and smaller gyromagnetic ratio, ultimately yielding much smaller signal relative to H-MRI. Moreover, imaging the intervertebral disk geometry imposes higher demands, mainly because the necessary RF volume coils produce highly inhomogeneous transmit field patterns. For an accurate absolute quantification of TSC in the intervertebral disks, the field variations have to be mitigated. In this study, we report for the first time quantitative sodium concentration in the intervertebral disks at clinical field strengths (3 T) by deploying Na-MRI in healthy human subjects. The sodium maps were calculated by using the double-angle method and a double-tuned ( H/ Na) transceive chest coil, and the individual effects of the variation in the field patterns in tissue sodium quantification were calculated. Phantom measurements were conducted to evaluate the quality of the Na-weighted images and mapping. Depending on the disk position, the sodium concentration was calculated as 161.6 mmol/L-347 mmol/L, and the mean sodium concentration of the intervertebral disks varies between 254.6 ± 54 mmol/L and 290.1 ± 39 mmol/L. A smoothing effect of the correction on the sodium concentration maps was observed, such that the standard deviation of the mean sodium concentration was significantly reduced with mitigation. The results of this work provide an improved integration of quantitative Na-MRI into clinical studies in intervertebral disks such as degenerative disk disease and establish alternative scoring schemes to existing morphological scoring such as the Pfirrmann score.
Topics: Humans; Intervertebral Disc; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Phantoms, Imaging; Radio Waves; Sodium
PubMed: 35307881
DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4733