Previous studies have shown that pharmaceutical agents such as lipoic acid have the ability to soften the lens, presenting a promising avenue for treating presbyopia. One obstacle encountered in the preclinical stage of such agents is the need for precise measurements of lens elasticity in experimental models. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 25-hydroxycholesterol, lipoic acid, and obeticholic acid on the viscoelastic properties of mouse lenses using a custom-built elastometer system. Data were acquired on lenses from C57BL/6J female mice from two age groups: young (age: 8-10 weeks) and old (age: 32-43 weeks). OD lenses were used as the control and OS lenses were treated. Control lenses were immersed in Dulbecco\'s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) and treatment lenses were immersed in a compound solution containing 25-hydroxycholesterol (5 young and 5 old), lipoic acid at 2.35 mM (5 young and 5 old), lipoic acid at 0.66 mM (5 old), or obeticholic acid (5 old) at 37ºC for 18 hours. After treatment, the mouse lenses were placed in a DMEM-filled chamber within a custom-built elastometer system that recorded the load and lens shape as the lens was compressed by 600 μm at a speed of 50 μm/s. The load was continuously recorded during compression and during stress-relaxation. The compression phase was fit with a linear function to quantify lens stiffness. The stress-relaxation phase was fit with a 3-term exponential relaxation model providing relaxation time constants (t1, t2, t3), and equilibrium load. The lens stiffness, time constants and equilibrium load were compared for the control and treated groups. Results revealed an increase in stiffness with age for the control group (young: 1.16 ± 0.11 g/mm, old: 1.29 ± 0.14 g/mm) and relaxation time constants decreased with age (young: t1 = 221.9 ± 29.0 s, t2 = 24.7 ± 3.8 s, t3 = 3.12 ± 0.87 s, old: t1 = 183.0 ± 22.0 s, t2 = 20.6 ± 2.6 s and t3 = 2.24 ± 0.43 s). Among the compounds tested, only 25-hydroxycholesterol produced statistically significant changes in the lens stiffness, relaxation time constants, and equilibrium load. In conclusion, older mouse lenses are stiffer and less viscous than young mouse lenses. Notably, no significant change in lens stiffness was observed following treatment with lipoic acid, contrary to previous findings.

UNASSIGNED: The ulnar\'s nerve compression at the Guyon\'s canal is not a frequent entity add to it that vascular lesions are rarely involved as a causative agent of this syndrome.
METHODS: We report a case of a young male patient admitted in our department for a Guyon\'s canal syndrome due to an aneurysm of the ulnar artery and underwent a surgical decompression. Post-operative course was uneventful and the patient was satisfied with the result.
UNASSIGNED: Many etiologies are involved in the Guyon\'s canal syndrome and these etiologies can be arranged into groups. Previous treatment attempts, the duration and severity of the symptoms and the underlying etiology dictate the treatment options. Adjacent vascular enlargement is not a usual cause of Guyon\'s canal compression and a few case reports were reported in the literature. Surgical treatment by opening and releasing the roof of Guyon\'s canal and removing the aneurysm helped to achieve good outcome in most reports.
CONCLUSIONS: Guyon\'s canal syndrome is less frequent than both cubital tunnel syndrome or carpal tunnel syndrome and many causative agents have been described. Vascular lesions are not the usual cause of compressing the ulnar nerve at the wrist and through this case we spotlighted this entity as another possible etiology requiring an adequate treatment for a better outcome.

High shear wet granulation (HSWG) is widely used in tablet manufacturing mainly because of its advantages in improving flowability, powder handling, process run time, size distribution, and preventing segregation. In line process analytical technology measurements are essential in capturing detailed particle dynamics and presenting real-time data to uncover the complexity of the HSWG process and ultimately for process control. This study presents an opportunity to predict the properties of the granules and tablets through torque measurement of the granulation bowl and the force exerted on a novel force probe within the powder bed. Inline force measurements are found to be more sensitive than torque measurements to the granulation process. The characteristic force profiles present the overall fingerprint of the high shear wet granulation, in which the evolution of the granule formation can improve our understanding of the granulation process. This provides rich information relating to the properties of the granules, identification of the even distribution of the binder liquid, and potential granulation end point. Data were obtained from an experimental high shear mixer across a range of key process parameters using a face-centred surface response design of experiment (DoE). A closed-form analytical model was developed from the DOE matrix using the discovery of evolutionary equations. The model is able to provide a strong predictive indication of the expected tablet tensile strength based only on the data in-line. The use of a closed form mathematical equation carries notable advantages over other AI methodologies such as artificial neural networks, notably improved interpretability/interrogability, and minimal inference costs, thus allowing the model to be used for real-time decision making and process control. The capability of accurately predicting, in real time, the required compaction force required to achieve the desired tablet tensile strength from upstream data carries the potential to ensure compression machine settings rapidly reach and are maintained at optimal values, thus maximising efficiency and minimising waste.

Hereditary neuropathy with liability pressure palsies (HNPP) is usually caused by compression and is an episodic, painless, recurrent hereditary neuropathy with focal motor and sensory involvement. It begins in adolescence and young adulthood. The most commonly affected nerves in HNPP are the ulnar, peroneal, radial, and median nerves. In this article, we present a 31-year-old female patient with a previously undescribed case of HNPP, which presented with wrist drop due to the trapping of the radial nerve in the spiral groove after the crow position in yoga.

As the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in radiology grows, the increase in demand for greater bandwidth and computational resources can lead to greater infrastructural costs for healthcare providers and AI vendors. To that end, we developed ISLE, an intelligent streaming framework to address inefficiencies in current imaging infrastructures. Our framework draws inspiration from video-on-demand platforms to intelligently stream medical images to AI vendors at an optimal resolution for inference from a single high-resolution copy using progressive encoding. We hypothesize that ISLE can dramatically reduce the bandwidth and computational requirements for AI inference, while increasing throughput (i.e., the number of scans processed by the AI system per second). We evaluate our framework by streaming chest X-rays for classification and abdomen CT scans for liver and spleen segmentation and comparing them with the original versions of each dataset. For classification, our results show that ISLE reduced data transmission and decoding time by at least 92% and 88%, respectively, while increasing throughput by more than 3.72 × . For both segmentation tasks, ISLE reduced data transmission and decoding time by at least 82% and 88%, respectively, while increasing throughput by more than 2.9 × . In all three tasks, the ISLE streamed data had no impact on the AI system\'s diagnostic performance (all P > 0.05). Therefore, our results indicate that our framework can address inefficiencies in current imaging infrastructures by improving data and computational efficiency of AI deployments in the clinical environment without impacting clinical decision-making using AI systems.

The mechanical properties of textile materials play a crucial role in determining their comfort, functionality, performance, safety, and aesthetics. Understanding and optimizing these properties is essential to meet consumer demands. Key aspects of mechanical properties, such as surface roughness, abrasion resistance, and compression, have a significant impact on the touch and durability of the material, as demonstrated by various research studies. This study focuses on analyzing the mechanical properties of materials produced of different polymer yarns and their changes under combined aging factors. The findings emphasize the significance of textile abrasion resistance and surface roughness measurement, particularly for aged materials. Although the use of recycled polyester yarn is sustainable and offers advantages such as higher tensile strength, the results have shown that the use of conventional polyester yarn is more advantageous overall as it has higher abrasion resistance, a smoother surface texture, and better elasticity retention after aging. The insights presented are vital for designing high-performance sportswear, which is crucial in today\'s competitive environment.

Background: Spinal cord compression is a formidable complication of advanced cancer, and clinicians of copious specialities often have to encounter significant complex challenges in terms of diagnosis, management, and prognosis. Metastatic lesions from cancer are a common cause of spinal cord compression, affecting a substantial portion of oncology patients, and only in the US has the percentage risen to 10%. Acute metastasis-correlated spinal cord compression poses a considerable clinical challenge, necessitating timely diagnosis and intervention to prevent neurological deficits. Clinical presentation is often non-specific, emphasizing the importance of thorough evaluation and appropriate differential diagnosis. Diagnostic workup involves various imaging modalities and laboratory studies to confirm the diagnosis and assess the extent of compression. Treatment strategies focus on pain management and preserving spinal cord function without significantly increasing patient life expectancy, while multidisciplinary approaches are often required for optimal outcomes. Prognosis depends on several factors, highlighting the importance of early intervention. We provide an up-to-date overview of acute spinal cord compression in metastases, accentuating the importance of comprehensive management strategies. Objectives: This paper extensively explores the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies, treatment modalities, and prognosis associated with spinal cord metastases. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Conclusions: We aim to help healthcare professionals make informed clinical decisions when treating patients with spinal cord metastases by synthesizing current evidence and clinical insights.

Advancements in Neural Networks have led to larger models, challenging implementation on embedded devices with memory, battery, and computational constraints. Consequently, network compression has flourished, offering solutions to reduce operations and parameters. However, many methods rely on heuristics, often requiring re-training for accuracy. Model reduction techniques extend beyond Neural Networks, relevant in Verification and Performance Evaluation fields. This paper bridges widely-used reduction strategies with formal concepts like lumpability, designed for analyzing Markov Chains. We propose a pruning approach based on lumpability, preserving exact behavioral outcomes without data dependence or fine-tuning. Relaxing strict quotienting method definitions enables a formal understanding of common reduction techniques.

BACKGROUND: Vocal biomarkers, derived from acoustic analysis of vocal characteristics, offer noninvasive avenues for medical screening, diagnostics, and monitoring. Previous research demonstrated the feasibility of predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus through acoustic analysis of smartphone-recorded speech. Building upon this work, this study explores the impact of audio data compression on acoustic vocal biomarker development, which is critical for broader applicability in health care.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to analyze how common audio compression algorithms (MP3, M4A, and WMA) applied by 3 different conversion tools at 2 bitrates affect features crucial for vocal biomarker detection.
METHODS: The impact of audio data compression on acoustic vocal biomarker development was investigated using uncompressed voice samples converted into MP3, M4A, and WMA formats at 2 bitrates (320 and 128 kbps) with MediaHuman (MH) Audio Converter, WonderShare (WS) UniConverter, and Fast Forward Moving Picture Experts Group (FFmpeg). The data set comprised recordings from 505 participants, totaling 17,298 audio files, collected using a smartphone. Participants recorded a fixed English sentence up to 6 times daily for up to 14 days. Feature extraction, including pitch, jitter, intensity, and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs), was conducted using Python and Parselmouth. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS: In this study, 36,970 audio files were initially recorded from 505 participants, with 17,298 recordings meeting the fixed sentence criteria after screening. Differences between the audio conversion software, MH, WS, and FFmpeg, were notable, impacting compression outcomes such as constant or variable bitrates. Analysis encompassed diverse data compression formats and a wide array of voice features and MFCCs. Wilcoxon signed rank tests yielded P values, with those below the Bonferroni-corrected significance level indicating significant alterations due to compression. The results indicated feature-specific impacts of compression across formats and bitrates. MH-converted files exhibited greater resilience compared to WS-converted files. Bitrate also influenced feature stability, with 38 cases affected uniquely by a single bitrate. Notably, voice features showed greater stability than MFCCs across conversion methods.
CONCLUSIONS: Compression effects were found to be feature specific, with MH and FFmpeg showing greater resilience. Some features were consistently affected, emphasizing the importance of understanding feature resilience for diagnostic applications. Considering the implementation of vocal biomarkers in health care, finding features that remain consistent through compression for data storage or transmission purposes is valuable. Focused on specific features and formats, future research could broaden the scope to include diverse features, real-time compression algorithms, and various recording methods. This study enhances our understanding of audio compression\'s influence on voice features and MFCCs, providing insights for developing applications across fields. The research underscores the significance of feature stability in working with compressed audio data, laying a foundation for informed voice data use in evolving technological landscapes.

UNASSIGNED: In this study, we aim to describe the radiological characteristics of degenerative cervical kyphosis (DCK) with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and discuss the relationship between DCK and the pathogenesis of spinal cord dysfunction.
UNASSIGNED: In total, 90 patients with CSM hospitalized in our center from September 2017 to August 2022 were retrospectively examined in this study; they were then divided into the kyphosis group and the nonkyphosis group. The patients\' demographics, clinical features, and radiological data were obtained, including gender, age, duration of illness, cervical Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, cervical lordosis (CL), height of intervertebral space, degree of wedging vertebral body, degree of osteophyte formation, degree of disc herniation, degree of spinal cord compression, and anteroposterior diameter of the spinal cord. In the kyphosis group, kyphotic segments, apex of kyphosis, and segmental kyphosis angle were recorded. Radiological characteristics between the two groups were also compared. Correlation analysis was performed for different spinal cord compression types.
UNASSIGNED: As per our findings, the patients in the kyphosis group showed more remarkable wedging of the vertebral body, more severe anterior compression of the spinal cord, and a higher degree of disc herniation, while the posterior compression of the spinal cord was relatively mild when compared with the nonkyphosis group. CL was related to the type of spinal cord compression, as cervical kyphosis is an independent risk factor for anterior spinal cord compression.
UNASSIGNED: DCK might play a vital role in the pathogenesis of spinal cord dysfunction. In patients with DCK, it was determined that the anterior column is less supported, and more severe anterior spinal cord compression is present. The anterior approach is supposed to be preferred for CSM patients with DCK.