Are the Follicular Fluid Characteristics of Recovered Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Different From Those of Vaccinated Women Approaching in vitro Fertilization?

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate if SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection induce observable metabolic effects in follicular fluid of women who are following in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. The possible impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on fertility and IVF outcome is considered. We have selected for this study: six women vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 infection, five recovered COVID-19 patients, and we used nine healthy women as the control group. At the time of oocytes retrieval from participants in the study, follicular fluids were collected and metabolomic analysis was performed by 1H NMR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate analysis to interpret the spectral data. The search for antibody positivity in the follicular fluid aspirates was also carried out, together with the western blotting analysis of some inflammatory proteins, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and the free radical scavenger superoxide dismutase 2. Higher levels of Ala and Pro together with lower levels of lipids and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were found in follicular fluids (FFs) of vaccinated women while lower levels of many metabolites were detected in FFs of recovered COVID patients. Expression level of TNF-α was significantly lower both in recovered COVID-19 patients and vaccinated women in comparison to healthy controls

Variabilidade temporal da posição dos bancos arenosos da praia do Cassino (RS): uma análise através de imagens de vídeo

Beaches are dynamic systems where natural elements like winds, water waves and sand interact resulting in complex hydrodynamical and sedimentary processes. Among the many morphological features presented at those environment, the sandbars are one of the most common features. In this context the main objective of the present study was to discuss the Cassino beach (RS) sandbars behavior at different temporal scales using for such purpose a two years time series of their position. To achieve the main goal, this paper used remote sense techniques such as video imaging. Analysis of the time series showed that Cassino beach presents a multiple bar system composed mainly by three bars. In addition, the emergence of a new bar by the split of the second (intermediate) one in two was observed, in an unprecedented manner in the scientific literature. During this period of time, before the total disappearance of the most offshore sandbar, the system was characterized as a four sandbars system. The analysis also indicated the presence of different temporal components such as seasonal, sub-seasonal, monthly and weekly components, in which the last has the greatest representation of the total variance as well as a significant correlation with significant wave height variability.As praias constituem sistemas dinâmicos onde ondas, marés, correntes e ventos interagem com sedimentos resultando em complexos processos hidro e morfodinâmicos,  sendo os bancos arenosos uma das feições mais comuns nesses ambientes. O principal objetivo do presente trabalho foi analisar a variabilidade temporal da posição dos bancos da praia do Cassino (RS) com base em observações de alta resolução espaço-temporal utilizando técnicas de vídeo imageamento. A base de dados utilizada compreende o período entre abril de 2005 até abril de 2007. Os resultados indicam que a praia do Cassino é formada por um sistema de múltiplos bancos, com ocorrência mais comum de três bancos. Em especial foi registrado um evento de surgimento de um banco a partir da divisão do banco intermediário, acompanhado da gradual migração do banco externo costa afora até seu desaparecimento. Durante este processo a praia apresentou quatro bancos. As séries de dados indicaram diferentes componentes temporais, entre elas a subsazonal, a sazonal, a mensal e a semanal, sendo que esta última demonstrou maior representatividade na variabilidade total dos dados, apresentando ainda correlação significativa com a variabilidade diária da altura das ondas

Tidal and sub-tidal sea level variability at the northern shelf of the Brazilian Northeast Region

ABSTRACT A characterization of the sea level variability at tidal and sub-tidal frequencies at the northern shore of the Brazilian Northeast shelf for the period 2009-2011 is presented. The sea level data used was obtained from the Permanent Geodetic Tide Network from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for the Fortaleza gauge station. Local wind data was also used to assess its effects on the low-frequency sea level variability. The variability of the sea level was investigated by classical harmonic analysis and by morphology assessment over the tidal signal. The low frequencies were obtained by low-pass filtering. The tidal range oscillated with the highest value of 3.3 m during the equinox and the lowest value of 0.7 m during the solstice. Differences between the spring and neap tides were as high as 1 m. A total of 59 tidal constituents were obtained from harmonic analysis, and the regional tide was classified as semi-diurnal pure with a form number of 0.11. An assessment of the monthly variability of the main tidal constituents (M2, S2, N2, O1, and K1) indicated that the main semi-diurnal solar S2 presented the highest variability, ranging from 0.21 to 0.41 m; it was the main element altering the form number through the years. The low frequency sea-level variability is negligible, although there is a persistent signal with an energy peak in the 10-15 day period, and it cannot be explained by the effects of local winds

Key lifestyles and health outcomes across 16 prevalent chronic diseases: A network analysis of an international observational study.

BACKGROUND: Central and bridge nodes can drive significant overall improvements within their respective networks. We aimed to identify them in 16 prevalent chronic diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to guide effective intervention strategies and appropriate resource allocation for most significant holistic lifestyle and health improvements. METHODS: We surveyed 16 512 adults from July 2020 to August 2021 in 30 territories. Participants self-reported their medical histories and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on 18 lifestyle factors and 13 health outcomes. For each disease subgroup, we generated lifestyle, health outcome, and bridge networks. Variables with the highest centrality indices in each were identified central or bridge. We validated these networks using nonparametric and case-dropping subset bootstrapping and confirmed central and bridge variables' significantly higher indices through a centrality difference test. FINDINGS: Among the 48 networks, 44 were validated (all correlation-stability coefficients >0.25). Six central lifestyle factors were identified: less consumption of snacks (for the chronic disease: anxiety), less sugary drinks (cancer, gastric ulcer, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes), less smoking tobacco (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequency of exercise (depression and fatty liver disease), duration of exercise (irritable bowel syndrome), and overall amount of exercise (autoimmune disease, diabetes, eczema, heart attack, and high cholesterol). Two central health outcomes emerged: less emotional distress (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema, fatty liver disease, gastric ulcer, heart attack, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes) and quality of life (anxiety, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome). Four bridge lifestyles were identified: consumption of fruits and vegetables (diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and insomnia), less duration of sitting (eczema, fatty liver disease, and heart attack), frequency of exercise (autoimmune disease, depression, and heart attack), and overall amount of exercise (anxiety, gastric ulcer, and insomnia). The centrality difference test showed the central and bridge variables had significantly higher centrality indices than others in their networks (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: To effectively manage chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, enhanced interventions and optimised resource allocation toward central lifestyle factors, health outcomes, and bridge lifestyles are paramount. The key variables shared across chronic diseases emphasise the importance of coordinated intervention strategies

NTIRE 2024 Quality Assessment of AI-Generated Content Challenge

This paper reports on the NTIRE 2024 Quality Assessment of AI-Generated Content Challenge, which will be held in conjunction with the New Trends in Image Restoration and Enhancement Workshop (NTIRE) at CVPR 2024. This challenge is to address a major challenge in the field of image and video processing, namely, Image Quality Assessment (IQA) and Video Quality Assessment (VQA) for AI-Generated Content (AIGC). The challenge is divided into the image track and the video track. The image track uses the AIGIQA-20K, which contains 20,000 AI-Generated Images (AIGIs) generated by 15 popular generative models. The image track has a total of 318 registered participants. A total of 1,646 submissions are received in the development phase, and 221 submissions are received in the test phase. Finally, 16 participating teams submitted their models and fact sheets. The video track uses the T2VQA-DB, which contains 10,000 AI-Generated Videos (AIGVs) generated by 9 popular Text-to-Video (T2V) models. A total of 196 participants have registered in the video track. A total of 991 submissions are received in the development phase, and 185 submissions are received in the test phase. Finally, 12 participating teams submitted their models and fact sheets. Some methods have achieved better results than baseline methods, and the winning methods in both tracks have demonstrated superior prediction performance on AIGC

Workshops of the Sixth International Brain–Computer Interface Meeting: brain–computer interfaces past, present, and future

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) (also referred to as brain–machine interfaces; BMI) are, by definition, an interface between the human brain and a technological application. Brain activity for interpretation by the BCI can be acquired with either invasive or non-invasive methods. The key point is that the signals that are interpreted come directly from the brain, bypassing sensorimotor output channels that may or may not have impaired function. This paper provides a concise glimpse of the breadth of BCI research and development topics covered by the workshops of the 6th International Brain–Computer Interface Meeting

Baseline characteristics of atopic eczema patients enrolled in seven European registries united in the TREatment of ATopic eczema (TREAT) registry taskforce

\ua9 2025 The Author(s). Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. Background: The TREAT Registry Taskforce is a collaborative effort of international registries aiming to provide real-world data on the long-term efficacy, cost-effectiveness and safety of systemic treatments and phototherapy for atopic eczema (AE). Objectives: This study seeks to present a comprehensive overview of the demographics, prior systemic treatments, clinical characteristics and disease severity and burden at baseline among patients enrolled in seven TREAT registries. Moreover, the aim is to gain insight into the differences between the registries and to explore the current prescribing practices of various therapies for patients with AE across Europe. Methods: Data from June 2016 to 31 October 2022, were collected from seven observational cohorts: A-STAR (UK/Ireland), AtopyReg (Italy), Biobadatop (Spain), SCRATCH (Denmark), SwedAD (Sweden), TREATgermany (Germany) and TREAT NL/BE (Netherlands/Belgium). Results: The analysis included 5337 patients, with a mean age of 39.1 years (6.3% paediatric, 54.4% male). Of these, 84.1% had previously received systemic treatments, primarily systemic corticosteroids (58.8%) and ciclosporin (39.0%), while 30.1% had undergone phototherapy. At enrolment, dupilumab was the most prescribed treatment (75.0%), followed by ciclosporin (7.8%) and Janus Kinase inhibitors (5.9%); only 1.7% started phototherapy. Baseline assessments showed that most patients had moderate (41.9%) to severe (30.1%) AE, with an average Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score of 17.6. The Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) score averaged 17.2, indicating severe disease impact. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score averaged 13.4, and the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) for itch was 6.4. Conclusions: This pooled analysis from the TREAT Registry Taskforce highlights the variability and similarities in data collection across national registries, providing significant insights into the baseline characteristics of the patient population. It establishes a robust foundation for future analyses of key effectiveness and safety outcomes