Clinical prediction models serve as valuable instruments for assessing the risk of crucial outcomes and facilitating decision-making in clinical settings. Constructing these models requires nuanced analytical decisions and expertise informed by the current statistical literature. Access and thorough understanding of such literature may be limited for neurocritical care physicians, which may hinder the interpretation of existing predictive models. The present emphasis is on narrowing this knowledge gap by providing neurocritical care specialists with methodological guidance for interpreting predictive models in neurocritical care. Presented are the statistical learning principles integral to constructing a model predicting hospital mortality (nonsurvival during hospitalization) in patients with moderate and severe blunt traumatic brain injury using components of the IMPACT-Core model. Discussion encompasses critical elements such as model flexibility, hyperparameter selection, data imbalance, cross-validation, model assessment (discrimination and calibration), prediction instability, and probability thresholds. The intricate interplay among these components, the data set, and the clincal context of neurocritical care is elaborated. Leveraging this comprehensive exploration of statistical learning can enhance comprehension of articles encompassing model generation, tailored clinical care, and, ultimately, better interpretation and clinical applicability of predictive models.

Phenotypic analysis has significant potential for aiding breeding efforts. However, there is a notable lack of studies utilizing phenotypic analysis in the field of edible fungi. Pleurotus geesteranus is a lucrative edible fungus with significant market demand and substantial industrial output, and early-stage phenotypic analysis of Pleurotus geesteranus is imperative during its breeding process. This study utilizes image recognition technology to investigate the phenotypic features of the mycelium of P. geesteranus. We aim to establish the relations between these phenotypic characteristics and mycelial quality. Four groups of mycelia, namely, the non-degraded and degraded mycelium and the 5th and 14th subcultures, are used as image sources. Two categories of phenotypic metrics, outline and texture, are quantitatively calculated and analyzed. In the outline features of the mycelium, five indexes, namely, mycelial perimeter, radius, area, growth rate, and change speed, are proposed to demonstrate mycelial growth. In the texture features of the mycelium, five indexes, namely, mycelial coverage, roundness, groove depth, density, and density change, are studied to analyze the phenotypic characteristics of the mycelium. Moreover, we also compared the cellulase and laccase activities of the mycelium and found that cellulase level was consistent with the phenotypic indices of the mycelium, which further verified the accuracy of digital image processing technology in analyzing the phenotypic characteristics of the mycelium. The results indicate that there are significant differences in these 10 phenotypic characteristic indices ( P < 0.001 ), elucidating a close relationship between phenotypic characteristics and mycelial quality. This conclusion facilitates rapid and accurate strain selection in the early breeding stage of P. geesteranus.

Sutureless anastomotic devices present several advantages over traditional suture anastomosis, including expanded global access to microvascular surgery, shorter operation and ischemic times, and reduced costs. However, their adaptation for arterial use remains a challenge. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sutureless anastomotic approaches that are either FDA-approved or under investigation. These approaches include extraluminal couplers, intraluminal devices, and methods assisted by lasers or vacuums, with a particular emphasis on tissue adhesives. We analyze these devices for artery compatibility, material composition, potential for intimal damage, risks of thrombosis and restenosis, and complications arising from their deployment and maintenance. Additionally, we discuss the challenges faced in the development and clinical application of sutureless anastomotic techniques. Ideally, a sutureless anastomotic device or technique should eliminate the need for vessel eversion, mitigate thrombosis through either biodegradation or the release of antithrombotic drugs, and be easily deployable for broad use. The transformative potential of sutureless anastomotic approaches in microvascular surgery highlights the necessity for ongoing innovation to expand their applications and maximize their benefits.

The possibility of quick and cheap recognition of a fish species from a single dermal scale would be interesting in a wide range of contexts. The methods of geometric morphometry appear to be quite promising, although wide studies comparing different approaches are lacking. We aimed to apply two methods of geometric morphometry, landmark-based and outline-based, on a dataset of scales from five different teleost species: Danio rerio, Dicentrarchus labrax, Mullus surmuletus, Sardina pilchardus, and Sparus aurata. For the landmark-based method the R library \"geomorph\" was used. Some issues about landmark selection and positioning were addressed and, for the first time on fish scales, an approach with both landmarks and semilandmarks was set up. For the outline-based method the R library \"Momocs\" was used. Despite the relatively low number of scales analyzed (from 11 to 81 for each species), both methods achieved quite good clustering of all the species. In particular, the landmark-based method used here gave generally higher R2 values in testing species clustering than the outline-based method, but it failed to distinguish between a few couples of species; on the other hand, the outline-based method seemed to catch the differences among all the couples except one. Larger datasets have the potential to achieve better results with outline-based geometric morphometry. This latter method, being free from the problem of recognizing and positioning landmarks, is also the most suitable for being automatized in future applications.

The biting midge Culicoides circumscriptus Kieffer, 1918 is a European widespread vector of avian malaria throughout the continent and is a possible vector of Akabane virus and Bluetongue virus. This species populates a wide range of environments in contrasting ecological settings often exposed to strong seasonal fluctuations. The main goals of this study were to investigate C. circumscriptus phenotypic variation at three departments in France (Corsica Island, Moselle and Var) and to determine if its phenotypes vary with the environment. Culicoides circumscriptus wing phenotypes were analyzed using a geometric morphometric approach based on anatomical landmarks and outlines of the wing. Dendogram trees based on landmarks and the outlines-2 set (cell m4) showed similar topologies and separated populations of C. circumscriptus. In contrast, another set of outlines-1 (covering the r-m cross vein, M, radiale and arculus) presented a different hierarchical clustering tree. The phenotypic variation observed in C. circumscriptus indicated that these populations are exposed to environmental and ecological pressures. Our results suggest the presence of phenotypic plasticity in this species.

In forensic contexts, sternal anatomical varieties represent useful tools for the identification of an individual, either by comparison of ante-mortem and post-mortem data, or by potential comparison of data from biologically related individuals. Sternal body variation is also used to detect the biological affinity of individuals in bioarchaeology. However, no study has been made available to date on the degree to which the overall shape of the sternal body reflects the degree of biological relatedness. We, therefore, analyzed the sternal body shape of 10 individuals with known genealogical data, members of one family over three generations including inbred individuals (19th-20th centuries, Bohemia, Czech Republic), and a control sample of 12 biologically unrelated individuals. First, closely biologically related individuals were compared with unrelated individuals based on 10 variables expressing the morphological characteristics of the sternum, and then all individuals were compared based on Fourier analysis depending on their degree of relationship. The results showed that there is a greater degree of shape similarity in biologically related individuals than in unrelated individuals, and variability decreases with an increasing degree of relatedness. Inbred individuals showed the lowest sternum-shape distances and degree of variability, while unrelated individuals, showed the highest distances and variability. Moreover, in some cases, the documented relationships were also supported by a similar morphology of the ossified and fused xiphoid process. Thus, sternal shape analysis expands the possibilities for individual identification and the detection of the biological affinity of individuals for both the forensic sciences and bioarchaeology.

There are many ways of machining gears; the world\'s manufacturers of machine tools have patented many methods that allow for the production of gears in an accurate and efficient way. In general, the patented methods require the use of kinematically complex and expensive CNC machine tools. These tools, moreover, the production of the technology itself, including the machining code, require the use of dedicated software. Therefore, it seems justified to strive for the application of kinematically simple and relatively cheap machines in the machining processes so as to increase the universality and availability of new machining methods. This paper presents a method of machining a spur gear with straight teeth with an involute profile using a basic CNC lathe DMG MORI CLX350V4 equipped with driven tools. On the basis of the presented mathematical model, an algorithm was developed to generate a code that controls the machining of cylindrical gears with an involute profile of straight teeth, with the possibility of modifying the transition profile and the tooth root. The machining was experimental, and the gear was made of aluminium AlSi1MgMn using a solid carbide cylindrical cutter. In conclusion, the presented method was found to be very competitive with commercial methods and is able to provide very high quality gears. The accuracy of the machined profile form deviation in the entire processing did not exceed an average value of 10 μm; while assessing the tooth line, the basis average error was 5 μm. Finally, the gear was assessed as manufactured in accuracy class 6. This machining method guarantees very competitive machining cycle times, and thanks to the use of an uncomplicated CNC lathe and universal tools, it provides great flexibility, at the same time giving the possibility of machining gears with arbitrary profiles.

How to use language properly and acquire the capacity for language use has become the focus of linguists and philosophers for centuries. Therefore, pragmatic competence underlying language use arouses enormous interests of language acquisition practitioners. This study reveals the core properties of various models or theories of pragmatic competence, such as the communicative componential models, the form-function mapping proposal of the functionalist, the tripartite cognitive model, and the current integrated model of pragmatic competence. The common core includes (but not limited to) integration of thought and communication, one uniform pragmatic mechanism, dynamic form-function mapping, and complementarity between grammatical and pragmatic competences. With the findings as a departure, a brief outline for further investigation of pragmatic competence is proposed finally, including pathological and neurobiological examination of pragmatic competence.

Every time a paper is submitted to the journal, we realize the effort and amount of work it takes for performing the study, writing, formatting, and submitting the paper for peer review. However, how many of these papers are suitable for publication? Medical writing considerations, including an understandable text that does not confuse reading, formality, and ethics in writing, should be kept in mind when preparing and writing a paper to be submitted for publication to a journal. This editorial note offers useful advice for the authors submitting their papers to a journal on what to keep in mind before submission, how to prepare a quality submission, how to win the editor for their paper to avoid rejection, and how to make it to the review process and maybe to get published. It is our belief that these tips and advice on medical writing apply to any author and any journal.

Classic methods of machining cylindrical gears, such as hobbing or circumferential chiseling, require the use of expensive special machine tools and dedicated tools, which makes production unprofitable, especially in small and medium series. Today, special attention is paid to the technology of making gears using universal CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools with standard cheap tools. On the basis of the presented mathematical model, a software was developed to generate a code that controls a machine tool for machining cylindrical gears with straight and modified tooth line using the multipass method. Made of steel 16MnCr5, gear wheels with a straight tooth line and with a longitudinally modified convex-convex tooth line were machined on a five-axis CNC milling machine DMG MORI CMX50U, using solid carbide milling cutters (cylindrical and ball end) for processing. The manufactured gears were inspected on a ZEISS coordinate measuring machine, using the software Gear Pro Involute. The conformity of the outline, the tooth line, and the gear pitch were assessed. The side surfaces of the teeth after machining according to the planned strategy were also assessed; the tests were carried out using the optical microscope Alicona Infinite Focus G5 and the contact profilographometer Taylor Hobson, Talysurf 120. The presented method is able to provide a very good quality of machined gears in relation to competing methods. The great advantage of this method is the use of a tool that is not geometrically related to the shape of the machined gear profile, which allows the production of cylindrical gears with a tooth and profile line other than the standard.