Search Results (1,081)

Colic is a leading cause of mortality in horses, particularly when associated with systemic inflammation and organ dysfunction. In human medicine, these complications are associated with sepsis, defined as organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated, life-threatening host response to infection. However, no consensus sepsis score exists for adult horses. This retrospective study aimed to develop a diagnostic sepsis score for adult horses. Medical records from 295 horses admitted for colic to the Oniris equine emergency department (Nantes, France) between July 2011 and November 2021 were analyzed. Horses were classified as having sepsis or colic based on their final diagnosis. Clinical and laboratory parameters were assessed, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses yielded a predictive score. The optimal threshold was determined by maximizing sensitivity and specificity. Sepsis was diagnosed in 89 horses (30.2%). Six parameters—temperature, heart rate, leukocyte count, red blood cells, creatine kinase, and lactate—were included in the model. The score showed 79% accuracy, with 59% sensitivity and 88% specificity. At a threshold of 3, sensitivity was 52.7%, specificity was 91.6%, and the Youden index was 0.44. This study proposes a rapid, practical sepsis diagnostic score for adult horses with acute gastrointestinal disease, serving as a highly specific tool for confirming sepsis. Full article

Articular cartilage is a highly specialized connective tissue essential for joint function, providing load-bearing capacity, shock absorption, and near-frictionless motion. Due to its avascular nature, articular cartilage has a limited intrinsic healing capacity, and focal injuries often progress to degenerative joint diseases such as osteoarthritis, leading to chronic pain and functional impairment. This review examines current and emerging scientific, clinical, and technological strategies for articular cartilage repair and regeneration, with particular emphasis on their translational relevance. This narrative review integrates data from peer-reviewed literature, clinical trial registries, and patent databases. Preclinical and clinical approaches are discussed, including orthobiologics, cell-based therapies, advanced biomaterials, and three-dimensional tissue-engineered scaffolds. Bibliometric and keyword network analyses are used to identify dominant research themes, technological trends, and emerging innovations. The findings reveal a clear paradigm shift from conventional surgical interventions, often associated with fibrocartilage formation and suboptimal biomechanical performance, to multifactorial regenerative strategies combining cells, bioactive signals, and biomimetic scaffolds designed to recapitulate the native extracellular matrix. This convergence of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and biomaterials science is reflected in growing clinical translation efforts and intellectual property activity. Overall, although articular cartilage repair remains a significant clinical challenge, integrated regenerative approaches show great potential for achieving durable and functional cartilage regeneration. Full article

Monitoring the biophysical parameters of agricultural surfaces is a key issue for food security in the context of climate change. Since 2016, agricultural surfaces can be monitored from space at high spatial resolution (~10/30 m) in the microwave and optical domains owing to radiometer and SAR sensors onboard Sentinel-1, -2 and Landsat-8 satellites. This paper draws on multi-temporal acquisitions over a six-year period to analyze satellite time series for the main winter and summer crops (corn, sunflower, soybean, sorghum, rapeseed, wheat) grown in southwestern France and more widely cultivated around the world. From January 2016 to December 2021, satellite signals extracted at the field spatial scale offer a unique opportunity to monitor agricultural surfaces with a high temporal resolution (every 1 or 2 days) never achieved before thanks to the combination of multi-sensor and multi-orbit data. Analyses on the impact of the topography and satellites’ viewing angles showed that the NDVI values derived from Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 are very close (r > 0.92) and can be merged to construct multi-annual time series. Angular sensitivity is much more pronounced for radar images; while it demonstrates a weaker cross-polarization and polarization ratio, it is greater for co-polarization. Optical and radar time series are modulated in time and amplitude depending on yearly climatic conditions and agricultural practices. The combined use of the ascending and descending orbits of the two Sentinel-1 satellites makes it possible to detect specific periods (harvest, flowering) for certain crops (wheat and sunflower). The long-term approach has enabled the modeling of satellite time series using double logistic functions with good performance (r > 0.92 on average), allowing the identification of interannual variations of crop development driven by climatic conditions and agricultural practices. Full article

This study assesses the effectiveness of social media advertising campaigns in the supermarket sector by combining managerial insights with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to support informed, sustainable decision-making. Considering the ever-increasing complexity of digital communication and the growing need for sustainable marketing resources, supermarkets require effective methods to evaluate social media platforms beyond isolated metrics. The study employs the Visual PROMETHEE program, an MCDA that incorporates qualitative insights from 27 supermarket managers in Northern Greece, along with the PROMETHEE II multi-criteria decision analysis method. At the outset, managers evaluated the importance of thirty-four social media performance factors with a five-point scale. Seven core evaluation criteria are identified by aggregating importance ratings and qualitative analysis: return on investment, revenue contribution, lead generation, engagement, cost efficiency, feedback, electronic word of mouth (eWoM), and reach. The use of these criteria later led to the evaluation of seven major social media platforms. A transparent ranking of platforms is presented, based on the results. The ranking highlights significant performance differences across financial, engagement, and reputational dimensions. The findings demonstrate the importance of integrating managerial guidance with multi-criteria analysis to inform long-lasting and evidence-based marketing decisions in retail. Full article

Background: Raynaud’s phenomenon of the tongue is a rare manifestation that may be associated with systemic diseases. The clinical manifestations, etiologies and management of this condition are poorly described. Methods: We report 10 cases of lingual Raynaud’s phenomenon (LRP) and 26 cases from a structured literature review. Results: In 38.8% of cases, the LRP occurred in the context of a previously diagnosed systemic sclerosis; 16.6% followed radiotherapy for head and neck cancer; and 27.8% of patients presented with an idiopathic-like form. The manifestations classically included a syncopal phase (91.7%) associated with hypoesthesia (88.9%) and possible dysarthria (52.8%). Atypical presentations with a primary cyanotic phase were also observed, particularly in the context of vasculitis, notably cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (four patients). Active smoking was a significant triggering factor in idiopathic forms (60%). Across all patients—both primary and secondary forms—the most common triggering factor was cold exposure (75%). Vasodilator use showed good efficacy and should be considered for all highly symptomatic patients. Conclusions: In summary, LRP is more frequently associated with systemic sclerosis, manifesting as blanching of the tongue associated with hypoesthesia and dysarthria in more than half of cases. Vasodilators may reduce symptoms. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings. Full article

This study analyses the potential of a change detection method—the near-real-time cumulative sum change point detection method (CuSum-NRT)—applied to Sentinel-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to monitor crops and identify field work based on a monthly number of changes. The temporal evolution of the number of changes occurring on Sentinel-1 backscatter at both VV and VH polarisations averaged at field scale was analysed over five years (2017–2021) and compared with NDVI derived from the Sentinel-2 multispectral instrument (MSI) sensor over more than 1000 fields in the southwest of France. The monthly number of changes detected did not show a significant difference between months with soil work and months with no soil work, so further analysis on the dates of changes should be conducted. The number of changes based on VV was found to poorly correlate with the VV backscatter (R_global = 0.25), and that based on VH was found to moderately correlate with the VH backscatter (R_global = 0.61): CuSum provides additional information compared to backscatter alone. The results also showed that the number of changes detected using CuSum-NRT is correlated to NDVI, mostly positively for the VH polarisation (R_max = 0.73, p-value < 0.05) and negatively for the VV polarisation (R_min = −0.69, p-value < 0.005). Furthermore, the analysis of crop groups (cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, fodder, vegetables, others) displayed statistically significant differences in terms of the annual number of changes occurring on both VH and VV polarisations, which has potential applications in crop classification. Full article

Multipath degradation of GNSS measurements is the main source of error in urban areas. Robust mitigation of this error source is still a challenge for standalone low-cost GNSS receivers. The complexity associated with the development of Multipath degradation models requires the use of advanced methods such as Deep Learning. However, Deep Learning based mitigation methods tend to be hard to deploy due to a general lack of trust in their prediction due to their “black-box” behavior. This work tackles the notion of interpretability and generalization of multipath degradation models obtained using Auto-Encoders. We demonstrate the ability of Auto-Encoders to generate interpretable representations and to generalize to unseen situations. Full article

This study examines the optimal design of low-carbon policies for governments, firms, and consumers within a unified analytical framework. We develop a three-stage game-theoretic duopoly model with differentiated products, green R&D, and knowledge spillovers to analyze the effects and implications of low-carbon policies in a polluting industry. The analysis encompasses both Cournot and Bertrand competition under commitment and non-commitment regimes, as well as non-cooperative and cooperative R&D structures. Specifically, we (i) quantify the impacts of low-carbon policies on R&D, emissions, profits, and welfare across alternative competition modes, policy-timing regimes, and R&D organizations; (ii) examine the roles of key policy parameters across all scenarios; and (iii) provide an integrated and intuitive interpretation of the underlying economic mechanisms. Full article

Background/Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment landscape of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet 70% of patients experience disease progression, underscoring the critical need for predictive biomarkers. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression remains the most adopted biomarker for ICIs. With the emergence of machine learning, the development of radiomics algorithms based on CT scan images has demonstrated potential as a novel addition to the biomarker landscape in oncology. In this study, we aimed to develop a non-invasive surrogate of PD-L1 expression (rad-PDL1) derived from computed tomography (CT) scan imaging and compare its predictive value to pathological assessments. Furthermore, we evaluated its generalizability across advanced and limited-stage NSCLC. Methods: Radiomics features extracted from pretreatment CT were analyzed using a self-training pipeline that incorporated the feature tokenizer Transformer model to classify tumors as high vs. low PD-L1 expression. We included 482 advanced NSCLC patients treated with ICIs across three medical centers who were divided into training and hold-out validation sets. The algorithm was then further validated in an independent cohort of 51 patients with limited NSCLC treated with neoadjuvant ICI and chemotherapy. Results: Our pipeline demonstrated strong predictive performance in primary and independent validation (AUC = 0.75 and 0.68, accuracy = 0.73 and 0.69, respectively), highlighting its generalizability and adaptability to various disease stages. Kaplan–Meier curves revealed a longer progression-free survival for patients in the high rad-PDL1. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the feasibility of a CT-based radiomic surrogate of PD-L1 expression, showing partial generalization to an independent neoadjuvant cohort, while highlighting the need for larger prospective multi-site validation before clinical implementation. Full article

Bertrand curve pairs share the same principal normals, creating a geometric symmetry useful in design and modeling. The geometry of a surface can be characterized and studied through three types of characteristic curves: geodesics, curvature lines, and asymptotic curves. We introduce a method to construct corresponding surface family pairs from a Bertrand curve pair, ensuring that both curves serve as the same type of characteristic curve on each surface family, thereby extending curve symmetry to surface symmetry. We build surface pairs by linearly combining the Frenet frame of a Bertrand curve, with coefficients acting as shape functions. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions that these functions must satisfy to guarantee that the Bertrand curves become the same characteristic type on both surface families. This provides flexible control over surface geometry and curve type. We further derive conditions for developable surface pairs, proving that no developable pair can contain a twisted Bertrand curve as a curvature line or asymptotic curve. To illustrate this, we construct surface pairs from a circular helix, and the resulting surfaces exhibit an aesthetically pleasing symmetry, demonstrating the flexibility and interactivity of our framework. Full article

Mathematics, as Bertrand Russell noted, possesses both truth and beauty. In this work, we revisit the classical Fibonacci recurrence thanks to a minimal Petri net. Starting from a minimal layered construction that mirrors the second-order additive rule $F_n=F_{n-1}+F_{n-2}$, we show that the marking dynamics of the associated net generate a combinatorial triangle whose parity structure reveals a self-similar, Sierpiński-like pattern. To the best of our knowledge, this oblique fractal geometry has never been formally documented. We provide a formal definition of the underlying Petri net, analyse its computational properties, and explore the emergence of higher-order harmonics when token markings are considered modulo primes. The study highlights how a classical recurrence gives rise to previously unnoticed geometric regularities at the intersection of mathematics and art. Beyond its mathematical interest, the construction illustrates how minimal Petri net dynamics can be used as formal specification patterns for distributed, event-driven systems. Full article

Objectives: To determine the incidence of delayed methotrexate elimination (DME) and acute kidney injury (AKI) and their associations with clinical outcomes in patients receiving high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) for cancer treatment. Methods: The HDMTX European Registry collected medical records data from 12 institutions in 5 European countries to investigate the clinical practice patterns of healthcare providers utilizing HDMTX for cancer treatment. Cancer types included were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), osteosarcoma, and other CNS cancers. Primary endpoints were the incidence of DME and AKI; secondary endpoints were clinical outcomes, including hospital length of stay (LOS), delay in the subsequent course of treatment, methotrexate dose reduction, and omission of next course of treatment. Associations between the primary and secondary endpoints were analyzed with Chi-square and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results: Among the 2501 total HDMTX courses analyzed, DME occurred in 302 courses (12.1%), and AKI in 384 courses (15.4%). DME incidence was highest in courses for PCNSL (18.2%) and NHL (17.2%); AKI incidence was highest in ALL courses (21.0%). Incidence of DME and AKI varied by age and methotrexate infusion duration among the different cancer types. Occurrence of DME was associated with longer delays prior to the next course of treatment, longer hospital LOS, and more frequent methotrexate dose reductions and dose omissions. Conclusions: While HDMTX is a very effective and safe treatment, administration of efficacious doses of methotrexate can lead to AKI and DME, and no single or combination of patient or treatment factors was found to reliably predict their occurrence. Thus, diligent monitoring of methotrexate levels is imperative for early detection and prompt management of nephrotoxicity in all settings where HDMTX treatment is administered. Full article

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) persists as the foremost cause of global morbidity and mortality. Central to its pathogenesis, atherosclerosis emerges as a chronic inflammatory disorder fueled by the intricate interplay between dysregulated lipid metabolism and immune cell activation. Recent insights reveal that inflammatory cues within atherosclerotic plaques or ischemic tissues orchestrate metabolic reprogramming in immune cells, thereby modulating disease trajectories. While cholesterol-lowering agents such as statins and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors have long been recognized for their lipid-modulating properties, accumulating evidence now underscores their pleiotropic anti-inflammatory effects mediated through immune cell modulation. For instance, recent clinical observations reveal that PCSK9 inhibitors not only substantially reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides but also appear to reduce advanced glycoprotein signals, emerging composite biomarkers of systemic inflammation. This highlights a novel and more nuanced dimension of inflammation modulation by PCSK9 inhibitors, although current evidence remains limited and requires further confirmation. Moreover, this dual immune-metabolic influence reshapes our understanding of therapeutic mechanisms and calls for a reassessment of treatment paradigms in ASCVD management. Here, we present a synthesis of current findings that emphasize how both established and novel therapies transcend lipid-lowering to exert profound immunomodulatory actions, offering promising avenues to attenuate cardiovascular disease progression through integrated metabolic and inflammatory control. Full article

This research constitutes a novel experimental approach to valorizing an industrial by-product: the ‘brick’. Studies put emphasis on the importance of detailed structural characterization of brickminerals and their chemical evolution upon heating, contributing rationally to the design and development of new glass–ceramic forms that would be suitable for efficiently encapsulating radio-nuclides. The brick used is a complex material composed of metakaolinite, illite, sand and impurities such as rutile and iron oxides/hydroxides. Raw brick was first activated with a range of sodium hydroxide concentrations, and, second, cured at different temperatures from 90 °C to 1200 °C. Alkali-brick frameworks gradually decomposed during the firing, and turned into crystalline ceramic phases (analcime and leucite) embedded inside an amorphous silica-rich phase. After each heating stage, the cured-brick sample was exhaustively characterized by using a variety of advanced analytical techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, ESEM/EDS microscopy and ²⁹Si-²⁷Al-MAS-NMR spectroscopy. Ultra-high magnetic field NMR (28.2 T) was used to distinguish and quantify Al(IV), Al(V) and Al(VI) configurations, and to better follow distinctive changes in ²⁷Al environments of brickminerals under thermal effects. Glass-ceramized brick exhibited high specific density (~2.6 g·cm⁻³), high compactness and good corrosion resistance under static, mild and aggressive conditions, attesting to its high solidification and chemical durability. Full article