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Chemical shift encoding-based water–fat MRI (CSE-MRI)-derived proton density fat fraction (PDFF) has been used for non-invasive assessment of regional body fat distributions. More recently, texture analysis (TA) has been proposed to reveal even more detailed information about the vertebral or muscular composition beyond PDFF. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between vertebral bone marrow and paraspinal muscle texture features derived from CSE-MRI-based PDFF maps in a cohort of healthy subjects. In this study, 44 healthy subjects (13 males, 55 ± 30 years; 31 females, 39 ± 17 years) underwent 3T MRI including a six-echo three-dimensional (3D) spoiled gradient echo sequence used for CSE-MRI at the lumbar spine and the paraspinal musculature. The erector spinae muscles (ES), the psoas muscles (PS), and the vertebral bodies L1-4 (LS) were manually segmented. Mean PDFF values and texture features were extracted for each compartment. Features were compared between males and females using logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI). All texture features of ES except for Sum Average were significantly (p < 0.05) different between men and women. The three global texture features (Variance, Skewness, Kurtosis) for PS as well as LS showed a significant difference between male and female subjects (p < 0.05). Mean PDFF measured in PS and ES was significantly higher in females, but no difference was found for the vertebral bone marrow’s PDFF. Partial correlation analysis between the texture features of the spine and the paraspinal muscles revealed a highly significant correlation for Variance(global) (r = 0.61 for ES, r = 0.62 for PS; p < 0.001 respectively). Texture analysis using PDFF maps based on CSE-MRI revealed differences between healthy male and female subjects. Global texture features in the lumbar vertebral bone marrow allowed for differentiation between men and women, when the overall PDFF was not significantly different, indicating that PDFF maps may contain detailed and subtle textural information beyond fat fraction. The observed significant correlation of Variance(global) suggests a metabolic interrelationship between vertebral bone marrow and the paraspinal muscles.

Objective: To assess energy demand during a judo match and the kinetics of recovery by measuring the metabolites of the oxypurine cascade, lipolytic activity, and glycolytic pathway. Methods: Venous blood samples were taken from 16 national judoists (mean (SEM) age 18.4 (1.6) years), before (T1) and three minutes (T2), one hour (T3), and 24 hours (T4) after a match. A seven day diet record was used to evaluate nutrient intake. Results: Nutrient analysis indicated that these athletes followed a low carbohydrate diet. Plasma lactate concentration had increased to 12.3 (1.8) mmol/l at the end of the match. An increase in the levels of extracellular markers of muscle adenine nucleotide catabolism, urea, and creatinine was observed at T2, while uric acid levels remained unchanged. High concentrations of urea persisted for 24 hours during the recovery period. Ammonia, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and creatinine returned to control levels within the 24 hour recovery period. Uric acid concentrations rose from T3 and had not returned to baseline 24 hours after the match. The levels of triglycerides, glycerol, and free fatty acids had increased significantly (p<0.05) after the match (T2) but returned to baseline values within 24 hours. Concentrations of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol were significantly increased after the match. Conclusions: These results show that a judo match induces both protein and lipid metabolism. Carbohydrate availability, training adaptation, and metabolic stress may explain the requirement for these types of metabolism.

Ultrasound‐derived fat fraction (UDFF) is designed to assess the hepatic fat content quantitatively. A multicenter study that verifies the diagnostic performance of UDFF for detecting hepatic steatosis has not yet been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of UDFF for diagnosing and grading hepatic steatosis. Participants referred for assessment of hepatic steatosis were prospectively recruited from eight hospitals. All participants underwent UDFF and magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI‐PDFF) examinations. MRI‐PDFF was used as the reference for diagnosing hepatic steatosis. From January 2023 to July 2023, a total of 300 participants were included. The median body mass index was 25.4 kg/m2 (interquartile range: 22.7–28.1). UDFF values were positively correlated with MRI‐PDFF (R = 0.80, p < 0.001). Using MRI‐PDFF ≥ 5%, ≥ 15%, and ≥ 25% as the reference standard for detecting mild, moderate, and severe hepatic steatosis, the best cutoff values of UDFF were 7.6% (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves [AUC] = 0.90), 15.9% (AUC = 0.90), and 22.3% (AUC = 0.91), respectively. Thus, UDFF has excellent diagnostic performance in detecting and grading hepatic steatosis. In this prospective multicenter study, UDFF values were positively correlated with MRI‐PDFF (R = 0.80). Taking MRI‐PDFF ≥ 5%, ≥ 15%, and ≥ 25% as the reference for diagnosing mild, moderate, and severe hepatic steatosis, the cutoff values of UDFF were 7.6%, 15.9%, and 22.3% in the training set (AUC = 0.90–0.91), respectively. UDFF achieved comparable AUCs in the validation set.

Background Quantifiable biomarkers may be useful for a better risk and frailty assessment of patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Hypothesis To determine if adiponectin serum concentration predicts all‐cause mortality in patients undergoing TAVI. Methods 77 consecutive patients, undergoing TAVI, were analyzed. The CT axial slices at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra were used to measure the psoas muscle area, and its low‐density muscle fraction (LDM (%)). To assess the operative risk, the STS (Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality) score, Log. Euroscore, and Euroscore II were determined. A clinical frailty assessment was performed. ELISA kits were used to measure adiponectin serum levels. We searched for a correlation between serum adiponectin concentration and all‐cause mortality after TAVI. Results The mean age was 80.8 ± 7.4 years. All‐cause mortality occurred in 22 patients. The mean follow‐up was 1779 days (range: 1572–1825 days). Compared with patients with the lowest adiponectin level, patients in the third tertile had a hazards ratio of all‐cause mortality after TAVI of 4.155 (95% CI: 1.364–12.655) (p = .004). In the multivariable model, including STS score, vascular access of TAVI procedure, LDM (%), and adiponectin serum concentration, serum adiponectin level, and LDM(%) were independent predictors of all‐cause mortality after TAVI (p = .178, .303, .042, and .017, respectively). Adiponectin level was a predictor of all‐cause mortality in females and males (p = .012 and 0.024, respectively). Conclusion Adiponectin serum level is an independent and incremental predictor of all‐cause mortality in patients undergoing TAVI.

We investigated the associations of low handgrip strength (HGS, i.e., a marker of muscular fitness) with liver fat content (LFC) and serum liver enzymes in a population‐based setting. We used data from 2700 participants (51.7% women), aged 21–90 years, from two independent cohorts of the population‐based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP‐START‐2 and SHIP‐TREND‐0). Cross‐sectional, multivariable adjusted regression models were performed to examine the associations of HGS with LFC, measured by magnetic resonance imaging and serum liver enzymes. We found significant inverse associations of HGS with both LFC and serum liver enzymes. Specifically, a 10‐kg lower HGS was associated with a 0.59% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24–0.94; p = 0.001) higher LFC, a 0.051 µkatal/L (95% CI: 0.005–0.097; p = 0.031) higher gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT) concentration and a 0.010 µkatal/L (95% CI: 0.001–0.020; p = 0.023) higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentration. The adjusted odds‐ratio for prevalent hepatic steatosis (defined by a MRI‐PDFF ≥5.1%) per 10‐kg lower HGS was 1.21 (95% CI: 1.04–1.40; p = 0.014). When considering only obese individuals, those with low HGS had a 1.58% (95% CI: 0.18–2.98; p = 0.027) higher mean LFC and higher chance of prevalent hepatic steatosis (adjusted OR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.15–2.62; p = 0.009) compared to individuals with high HGS. We found similar associations in individuals with overweight, but not in those with normal weight. Lower HGS was strongly associated with both higher LFC and higher serum GGT and AST concentrations. Future studies might clarify whether these findings reflect adverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle or aging on the liver. Highlights We used magnetic resonance imaging, the most accurate and sensitive noninvasive diagnostic tool for determination of hepatic steatosis Lower handgrip strength was strongly associated with both higher liver fat content and higher serum GGT and AST concentrations Especially overweight and obese individuals with low handgrip strength had a significant higher risk of prevalent hepatic steatosis Aging‐related decrease of muscular fitness and its associations with liver parameters.

Variation in soil organic C (%OC) concentration has been associated with the concentration of reactive Fe- and Al-oxyhydroxide phases and exchangeable Ca, with the relative importance of these two stabilizing components shifting as soil pH moves from acid to alkaline. However, it is currently unknown if this pattern is similar or different with regard to measures of soil C persistence. We sampled soils from 3 horizons (uppermost A, uppermost B, C or lowest B horizons) across a pH gradient of 11 grass-dominated and 13 deciduous/mixed forest-dominated NEON sites to examine similarities and differences in the drivers of C concentration and persistence. Variation in C concentrations in all soils could be linked to abundances of Fe, Al and Ca, but were not significantly linked to variation in soil C persistence. Though pH was related to variation in Δ¹⁴OC, higher persistence was associated with more alkaline pH values. In forested soils, depth explained 75% of the variation in Δ¹⁴OC (p < 0.0001), with no significant additional correlations with extractable metal phases. In grasslands, soil organic C persistence was not associated with exchangeable Ca concentrations, but instead was explained by depth and inorganic C concentrations (R² = 0.76, p < 0.0001), implying stabilization of organic C through association with carbonate precipitation. In grasslands, measures of substrate quality suggested greater persistence is also associated with a more advanced degree of decomposition. Results suggest that explanatory variables associated with C concentrations differ from those associated with persistence, and that reactive Fe- and Al-oxyhydroxide phases may not be present in high enough concentrations in most soils to offer any significant protective capacity. These results have significant implications for our understanding of how to model the soil C cycle and may suggest previously unrecognized stabilization mechanisms associated with carbonates and forms of extractable Si.

Crop residues are potential biofuel feedstocks, but residue removal may reduce soil carbon (C). The inclusion of a cover crop in a corn bioenergy system could provide additional biomass, mitigating the negative effects of residue removal by adding to stable soil C pools. In a no‐till continuous corn bioenergy system in the northern US Corn Belt, we used 13CO2 pulse labeling to trace plant C from a winter rye (Secale cereale) cover crop into different soil C pools for 2 years following rye cover crop termination. Corn stover left as residue (30% of total stover) contributed 66, corn roots 57, rye shoots 61, rye roots 50, and rye rhizodeposits 25 g C m−2 to soil. Five months following cover crop termination, belowground cover crop inputs were three times more likely to remain in soil C pools than were aboveground inputs, and much of the root‐derived C was in mineral‐associated soil fractions. After 2 years, both above‐ and belowground inputs had declined substantially, indicating that the majority of both root and shoot inputs are eventually mineralized. Our results underscore the importance of cover crop roots vs. shoots and the importance of cover crop rhizodeposition (33% of total belowground cover crop C inputs) as a source of soil C. However, the eventual loss of most cover crop C from these soils indicates that cover crops will likely need to be included every year in rotations to accumulate soil C.

While cover crop residue (CR) incorporation offsets soil organic C (SOC) losses caused by plastic-film mulching (PFM), the microbial modulators and mechanisms of SOC accumulation remain poorly understood. Using functional gene microarray, soil enzyme activities, and soil density fractionation approaches, we investigated the mechanism, by incorporating CR (13.0 and 9 Mg ha−1 on a dry weight basis) under PFM in organic maize cropping systems, spanning 2 consecutive years. Compared to no-mulching, PFM without CR amendment significantly decreased SOC stock by 23%, corresponding to an increase in CO2 efflux by 74%, a decrease in light fraction C (LFOC) and heavy fraction C (HFOC) by 13 and 11%, respectively, and an increase in relative abundances of labile as well as recalcitrant C-degrading genes and related soil enzyme activities. However, PFM with CR amendment reduced the SOC stock loss to 11%, corresponding to 36% increase in CO2 efflux, 22% decrease in LFOC but 12% increase in HFOC, and an increase in relative abundances of labile C-degrading genes and related soil enzyme activities but a decrease in relative abundances of recalcitrant C-degrading genes and related soil enzyme activities. Our results, based on microbial functional genes, suggest that reduced degradation of recalcitrant C was responsible for increased mineral-associated C and thus SOC accumulation under PFM in organically cultivated maize.

Background and aims Water and nutrient management influences the allocation and stabilisation of newly assimilated carbon (C) in paddy soils. This study aimed to determine the belowground allocation of C assimilated by rice and the subsequent C stabilisation in soil aggregates and as mineral-organic associates depending on combined alternate wetting and drying (AWD) versus continuous flooding (CF) and P fertilisation. Methods We continuously labelled rice plants in 13 CO 2 atmosphere under AWD versus CF water management, and at two P fertilisation levels (0 or 80 mg P kg −1 soil). The 13 C allocation to soil and its incorporation into the wet-sieved aggregate size classes and density fractions of the rhizosphere and bulk soils were analysed 6, 14, and 22 days after the labelling was started (D6, D14, and D22, respectively). Results Under both water regimes and P fertilisation levels, the proportion of photoassimilates was the highest in the silt- and clay-size aggregate classes and in the mineral-associated fraction. On D6 and D14, P fertilization resulted in smaller 13 C incorporation into soil, independent of water management. In the rhizosphere soil, at D22, P fertilisation increased 13 C incorporation over no P amendment in macroaggregates (>250 μm) by 32% (AWD) and 42% (CF), in microaggregates (250–53 μm) by 97% (CF), and in the silt + clay size class (<53 μm) by 83% (CF). Further, P fertilisation led to larger 13 C incorporation into the rhizosphere soil light fraction (75% at AWD and 90% at CF) and dense fraction (38% and 45%, respectively), and into the bulk soil macroaggregates (71% and 78%, respectively). Conclusions Phosphorus fertilisation increased the contents of recent photoassimilates in soil aggregate classes with longer residence time as well as of the particulate organic matter with the continuation of plant growth. This positive response of the stabilisation of recent plant photosynthates in soil to P fertilisation can increase the potential of paddy soil for C sequestration. This potential is not limited by the introduction of alternate wetting and drying water-saving technique.

Prediction of elastic behaviour of polymer-based nanocomposite using finite element method (FEM) has attracted the attention of many researchers in the past few years. In this study, ANSYS 19.2 software was used to predict the elastic modulus of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at different weight fractions. Three-dimensional (3-D) representative volume element (RVE) was created by FEM using ANSYS software to estimate the elastic modulus of HDPE based nanocomposite reinforced with SWCNTs nanoparticles at 0.2 wt%, 0.4 wt%, 0.6 wt%, 0.8 wt%, and 1 wt% weight fractions. To present the FEM model for predicting the elastic modulus of HDPE/SWCNT nanocomposite, the results from atomic modelling were extracted and used for properties of matrix and fibre interface. The interfacial region was used in the model to separate the conditions of load transfer between the HDPE matrix and SWCNT fibre. Two density fractions of HDPE/SWCNTs nanocomposite were also used in terms of two different densities for both HDPE and SWCNT to investigate their effect on the elastic modulus. The modelling results showed that the increase of weight fraction of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) results with the increase of relative elastic modulus of the nanocomposite. The results also showed that the elastic modulus of low-density fraction HDPE/SWCNTs nanocomposite improves more compared to one of the high-density fractions at the same SWCNTs weight fraction. Rule of the mixture was also used to predict the elastic behaviour of HDPE/SWCNT nanocomposite and the results were compared to those of the FEM model for validation.