bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ideational Bases of Land Reform in Brazil: 1910 to the Present
Authors: Ondetti Gabriel
Published: December 2020

This chapter explores the history of the “agrarian question,” or what to do about a deeply inequitable landowning system, in Brazil. It focuses on ideas and how they have interacted with actors, institutions and policy outcomes. It distinguishes between four periods. During the 1910s, pro-land reform ideas emerged but a conservative political context limited their influence. From the 1920s to the mid-1950s, such ideas diffused more widely, but there was little grassroots mobilisation for, or implementation of, reform. Between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s, conflict over land escalated and innovations arose in the ideational and institutional realms. Again, however, little land reform resulted. Finally, since the late 1980s, there have been major increases in mobilisation and reform. Nevertheless, the agrarian structure remains highly unequal.
Minoritarian Labour Welfare in India: The Case of the Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948
Authors: Ahuja Ravi
Published: December 2020

Through a case study of the Employees’ State Insurance Act of 1948, this chapter examines the historical evolution of a type of welfare schemes in India that made entitlements conditional on specific forms of employment. Global trends in social policy had influenced debates on a social insurance for Indian workers since the 1920s. Transformations of Indian industry, World War II, the post-war crisis and postcolonial economic planning then created conditions for legislation. Just when the international welfare discourse, Indian contributions included, converged on social welfare as a universal citizen right, the regulatory content of the health insurance scheme devised for India diverged from this normative consensus: “Employees’ State Insurance” remained strictly employment-based but also generated horizons of expectation that continue to inform labour struggles.
Broadening the Objectives of Future Potassium Recommendations
Authors: Volenec Jeffrey J. , Brouder Sylvie M. , Murrell T. Scott
Published: December 2020

Potassium (K) fertilizer recommendations for annual crops in the USA are generally founded in soil test results. The goal of this chapter is to highlight additional plant-related traits that may impact crop responses to K fertilization. This includes the role of tissue testing, the influence of luxury consumption, genetic improvement of K use efficiency, genotype × environment × management interactions on K uptake and yield, response to foliar K fertilization, intraplant K cycling, fungal associations and K uptake, the influence of K on crop quality, and the role of K in abiotic stress tolerance. Recognizing the potential role of these plant factors may help reconcile response inconsistencies based solely on soil test information, and improve future K recommendations. Finally, we hope to highlight knowledge gaps and opportunities for additional integrated soil–plant K research.
Considering Soil Potassium Pools with Dissimilar Plant Availability
Authors: Bell Michael J. , Ransom Michel D. , Thompson Michael L. , Hinsinger Philippe , Florence Angela M. , Moody Philip W. , Guppy Christopher N.
Published: December 2020

Soil potassium (K) has traditionally been portrayed as residing in four functional pools: solution K, exchangeable K, interlayer (sometimes referred to as “fixed” or “nonexchangeable”) K, and structural K in primary minerals. However, this four-pool model and associated terminology have created confusion in understanding the dynamics of K supply to plants and the fate of K returned to the soil in fertilizers, residues, or waste products. This chapter presents an alternative framework to depict soil K pools. The framework distinguishes between micas and feldspars as K-bearing primary minerals, based on the presence of K in interlayer positions or three-dimensional framework structures, respectively; identifies a pool of K in neoformed secondary minerals that can include fertilizer reaction products; and replaces the “exchangeable” K pool with a pool defined as “surface-adsorbed” K, identifying where the K is located and the mechanism by which it is held rather than identification based on particular soil testing procedures. In this chapter, we discuss these K pools and their behavior in relation to plant K acquisition and soil K dynamics.
Using Soil Tests to Evaluate Plant Availability of Potassium in Soils
Authors: Bell Michael J. , Thompson Michael L. , Moody Philip W.
Published: December 2020

The purpose of this chapter is to describe how bioavailable soil K is assessed or predicted by soil tests. Soil testing commonly refers to the collection of a sample of soil representative of a field or agronomic management unit and, by way of extraction using chemical reagents, determination of the quantity of a nutrient that can be related to plant uptake or yield. Normally only a small fraction of the total quantity of the nutrient present in the soil is extracted during the procedure, but if that amount can be correlated with actual crop uptake or overall crop productivity, then the soil test is deemed to have useful predictive power.

Soil tests are routinely used to guide applications of fertilizer to soil so that crop demand for nutrients can be met effectively and economically. Here, we summarize the procedures involved in collecting a representative soil sample for K analysis, outline how that sample should be prepared for laboratory analysis, highlight the principles and mode of action of routine soil tests, and explore some common issues that may confound the correlation between a soil K test result and plant K acquisition or crop yield. Soil testing methods are discussed in the context of their relationship to the different forms of soil K and the in-soil chemical processes that may change these forms into K that can be taken up by roots.
Evaluating Plant Potassium Status
Authors: Murrell T. Scott , Pitchay Dharma
Published: December 2020

Several methods exist for evaluating plant nutritional status. Looking for visual deficiency symptoms is perhaps the simplest approach, but once symptoms appear, crop performance has already been compromised. Several other techniques have been developed. All of them require correlation studies to provide plant performance interpretations. Reflectance is a remote sensing technique that detects changes in light energy reflected by plant tissue. It has proven successful in detecting nutrient deficiencies but does not yet have the ability to discriminate among more than one deficiency. Chemical assays of leaf tissue, known as tissue tests, require destructive sampling but are the standard against which other assessments are compared. Sufficiency ranges provide concentrations of each nutrient that are considered adequate for crop growth and development. They consider nutrients in isolation. Other approaches have been developed to consider how the concentration of one nutrient in tissue impacts the concentrations of other nutrients. These approaches strive to develop guidelines for maintaining nutrient balance within the plant. All approaches require large data sets for interpretation.
Complexity Science as a Frame for Understanding the Management and Delivery of High Quality and Safer Care
Authors: Braithwaite Jeffrey , Ellis Louise A. , Churruca Kate , Long Janet C. , Hibbert Peter , Clay-Williams Robyn
Published: December 2020

Over the past two decades, prominent researchers such as Greenhalgh [1], Plsek [2], Leykum [3], Lanham [4], Petticrew [5] and Hawe [6, 7] and their colleagues and teams have promoted using complexity theory to describe and analyse the various dimensions of healthcare organisation [8–12]. Internationally, in parallel, governments have recognised the need to ‘think differently’ about healthcare policy and service delivery, but without much traction on how that might be done and what it might mean. Nevertheless, it has now become more common—but by no means universal—to apply a complexity lens to understanding healthcare services and to improving them. This involves greater appreciation of elaborate, intricate, multi-faceted care networks, healthcare ecosystems, layered parts in composite settings, contextual differences across care settings, clinical cultures, multi-agent environments, and the convoluted, challenging, wicked problems [13] these systems throw up. However, with some relatively limited exceptions, the quality and safety fields’ interest in complexity has, to date, been largely superficial, both theoretically and empirically [1].
Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic: Roles and Responsibilities for Preparedness
Authors: Tanzini Michela , Romano Elisa , Bonaventura Aldo , Vecchié Alessandra , La Regina Micaela
Published: December 2020

The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, was identified in China in December 2019. The responsible agent, SARS-COV2, was first isolated in China on January 9, 2020.
Safer Care: Shaping the Future
Authors: Donaldson Liam
Published: December 2020

Fundamental characteristics of healthcare, including approaches to priority-setting, culture, traditions of professional practice, leadership styles, and accountability mechanisms mean that many deep-seated causes of unsafe care have proved intractable to transformation. The wisdom and experience of patients and families that have suffered harm is enormous and should be better harnessed. The World Health Organization has led a diverse range of global action on patient safety over two decades. This has been highly successful in promoting interest, understanding, and commitment as well as driving specific programmes of action throughout the world. The organisation has also played a powerful convening role in bringing experts, organisations, and countries together to discuss and plan initiatives. This focus must be maintained in the face of slow and inconsistent improvement.
Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care and Patient Safety from the Perspective of Medical Residents
Authors: Carayon Pascale , Kleinschmidt Peter , Hose Bat-Zion , Salwei Megan
Published: December 2020

It is critical to understand, analyze and improve the work system of medical residents in order to support the care processes in which they are involved, as well as their educational processes. The discipline of human factors (or ergonomics) (HFE) provides systems concepts and methods to improve the multi-faceted work system of medical residents and, therefore, care processes and educational processes, and outcomes for both patients and residents. In this chapter, we apply the SEIPS (Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety) model to the work system of residents, and use it to explain how the outcomes of patient safety and medical resident well-being are related. Various challenges need to be addressed in order to improve residents’ work system. In particular, it is critical to adopt a systems approach that can optimize multiple outcomes for a range of stakeholders. In line with the participatory ergonomics approach, we contend that residents have a critical role to play in improving their work system; we describe various ways that this can be accomplished.
Patient Safety in the World
Authors: Dhingra-Kumar Neelam , Brusaferro Silvio , Arnoldo Luca
Published: December 2020

Patient safety is a fundamental principle of health care. However, many medical practices and risks associated with health care are emerging as major challenges for patient safety globally and contribute significantly to the burden of harm due to unsafe care. Available evidence suggests hospitalizations in low- and middle-income countries lead annually to 134 million adverse events, contributing to 2.6 million deaths. About 134 million adverse events worldwide give rise to 2.6 million deaths every year. Estimates indicate that in high-income countries, about 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving hospital care. This problem affects both high-income countries and low- and middle countries even if priorities and issues may differ. The most important adverse events concern medication procedures, healthcare-associated infections, surgical procedures, injection safety, blood transfusions, venous thromboembolism, sepsis, and diagnostic and radiation errors. Since 1999 when the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published its report “To err is human,” some progress has been made but patient harm is still a daily problem in healthcare. As a matter of fact, new threats are emerging due to population aging, along with new treatments and technologies which must be dealt with in addition to still-unresolved, long-standing problems. In this context, it is very important to adopt an international common strategy that creates networks, shares knowledge, programs, tools, good practices and develop and track indicators focusing on the specific priorities of each country and region.
Introduction: Design as a Discipline of Alternation
Authors: Müller Francis
Published: December 2020

Design is never creating out of nothing—it always has specific cultural points of reference. Design alters and adapts, whereby the discipline always takes what exists as a reference point, which also makes it heretical. Design requires and generates knowledge, because designers always need to engage with specific lifeworlds. Through methods such as ethnography, this knowledge can be made explicit, which makes the discipline of design capable of connecting with other academic disciplines. Ethnography in the context of design differs from ethnography in the social sciences: it is quicker and embedded in the iterative processes that designing involves.
Methods and Aspects of Field Research
Authors: Müller Francis
Published: December 2020

This chapter lays out the history of ethnography, which began with travel narratives in antiquity and came to be used as a method in anthropology and urban sociology in the early twentieth century. Discussed, among other things, are the researcher’s role in the field and ethical considerations, as well as methods such as observation, interviews, digital, visual, and participatory ethnography, and the question of the documentation of design ethnography research. These are dealt with here within the specific context of design ethnography, which is usually significantly shorter in duration than the typical ethnographies in anthropology and cultural sociology and may seek not only to investigate a situation but also potentially to alter it.
Development and Evaluation of Collaborative Embedded Systems using Simulation
Authors: Cioroaica Emilia , Albers Karsten , Boehm Wolfgang , Pudlitz Florian , Granrath Christian , Rosen Roland , Wehrstedt Jan Christoph
Published: December 2020

Embedded systems are increasingly equipped with open interfaces that enable communication and collaboration with other embedded systems, thus forming collaborative embedded systems (CESs). This new class of embedded systems, capable of collaborating with each other, is planned at design time and forms collaborative system groups (CSGs) at runtime. When they are part of a collaboration, systems can negotiate tactical goals, with the aim of achieving higher level strategic goals that cannot be achieved otherwise. The design and operation of CESs face specific challenges, such as operation in an open context that dynamically changes in ways that cannot be predicted at design time, collaborations with systems that dynamically change their behavior during runtime, and much more. In this new perspective, simulation techniques are crucially important to support testing and evaluation in unknown environments. In this chapter, we present a set of challenges that the design, testing, and operation of CESs face, and we provide an overview of simulation methods that address those specific challenges.
Compositional Verification using Model Checking and Theorem Proving
Authors: Marmsoler Diego
Published: December 2020

Collaborative embedded systems form groups in which individual systems collaborate to achieve an overall goal. To this end, new systems may join a group and participating systems can leave the group. Classical techniques for the formal modeling and analysis of distributed systems, however, are mainly based on a static notion of systems and thus are often not well suited for the modeling and analysis of collaborative embedded systems. In this chapter, we propose an alternative approach that allows for the verification of dynamically evolving systems and we demonstrate it in terms of a running example: a simple version of an adaptable and flexible factory.
Artifact-Based Analysis for the Development of Collaborative Embedded Systems
Authors: Hillemacher Steffen , Jäckel Nicolas , Kugler Christopher , Orth Philipp , Schmalzing David , Wachtmeister Louis
Published: December 2020

One of the major challenges of heterogeneous tool environments is the management of different artifacts and their relationships. Artifacts can be interdependent in many ways, but dependencies are not always obvious. Furthermore, different artifact types are highly heterogeneous, which makes tracing and analyzing their dependencies complicated. As development projects are subject to constant change, references to other artifacts can become outdated. Artifact modeling tackles these challenges by making the artifacts and relationships explicit and providing a means of automated analysis. We present a methodology for artifact-based analysis that enables analysis of heterogeneous tool environments for architectural properties, inconsistencies, and optimizations.
Engineering of Collaborative Embedded Systems
Authors: Böhm Birthe , Böhm Wolfgang , Daun Marian , Hayward Alexander , Kranz Sieglinde , Regnat Nikolaus , Schröck Sebastian , Stierand Ingo , Vogelsang Andreas , Vollmar Jan , Voss Sebastian , Weyer Thorsten , Wortmann Andreas
Published: December 2020

Embedded systems are being increasingly used in changing environments where they no longer fulfill their associated stakeholder goals on their own, but rather in interaction with other embedded systems. This transition to networked, collaborative embedded systems is creating new application opportunities that impose numerous challenges for developers of these systems. In this introductory chapter of the book, we present the complexity of these systems and the challenges associated with them in a coherent manner. We illustrate the challenges using two use cases, “Vehicle Platooning” and “Adaptable and Flexible Factory.” Finally, we reference the challenges of developing collaborative embedded systems to the individual chapters of this book, which describe various methods of mastering the complexity in more detail.
Surface growth scheme for bulk reconstruction and tensor network
Authors: Lin Yi-Yu , Sun Jia-Rui , Sun Yuan
Published: December 2020

Abstract

We propose a surface growth approach to reconstruct the bulk spacetime geometry, motivated by Huygens’ principle of wave propagation. We show that our formalism can be explicitly realized with the help of the surface/state correspondence and the one-shot entanglement distillation (OSED) method. We first construct a tensor network corresponding to a special surface growth picture with spherical symmetry and fractal feature using the OSED method and show that the resulting tensor network can be identified with the MERA-like tensor network, which gives a proof that the MERA-like tensor network is indeed a discretized version of the time slice of AdS spacetime, rather than just an analogy. Furthermore, we generalize the original OSED method to describe more general surface growth picture by using of the surface/state correspondence and the generalized RT formula, which leads to a more profound interpretation for the surface growth process and provides a concrete and intuitive way for the idea of entanglement wedge reconstruction.
„Mixed-methods“-Studie zu Barrieren in der ambulanten Psychotherapie von Gehörlosen
Authors: Schröder Luise , Vereenooghe Leen
Published: December 2020

Hintergrund

Trotz einer erhöhten Prävalenz von komorbiden Beeinträchtigungen und psychischen Erkrankungen gibt es für Gehörlose Barrieren in der psychotherapeutischen Behandlung.

Ziel der Studie

Diese Arbeit untersucht, wie ambulant arbeitende Therapeut*innen mit Anfragen von Gehörlosen umgehen, und welche Rahmenbedingungen für eine gelingende Behandlung benötigt werden.

Material und Methoden

Nichtärztliche niedergelassene Psychotherapeut*innen eines Stadtkreises wurden zur Teilnahme an Studie 1 eingeladen. Es beantworteten 71 von 209 angeschriebenen Psychotherapeut*innen einen Fragebogen, mit dem quantitative und qualitative Daten zum Umgang mit Therapieanfragen und zu den Rahmenbedingungen für die Behandlung erhoben wurden. In Studie 2 nahmen 8 dieser Teilnehmer*innen an einem leitfadengestützten Interview teil, in dem die Befunde aus Studie 1 zu den Voraussetzungen für eine gelingende Behandlung Gehörloser vertieft wurden.

Ergebnisse

Viele Therapeut*innen berichteten von fehlenden Erfahrungen mit Gehörlosen (n = 60; p = 84,5 %) und fehlenden Therapieanfragen von Gehörlosen (n = 69; p = 97,2 %). Zukünftige Anfragen von Gehörlosen würden 64,8 % der Therapeut*innen (n = 46) ablehnen. Diese Entscheidung hängt mit der bisherigen Erfahrung mit Gehörlosen zusammen, χ2 (1) = 6,378; p = 0,012. In Studie 2 wurden Barrieren bei der Kontaktaufnahme, der Diagnostik und der Behandlung aufgrund von Kommunikationsschwierigkeiten identifiziert.

Schlussfolgerung

Therapieanfragen von Gehörlosen werden aufgrund mangelnder Therapiekenntnisse und erwarteter Kommunikationsschwierigkeiten abgelehnt. Mithilfe einer gelingenden Kommunikation, von Fortbildungsmöglichkeiten und der Aufnahme des Themenbereichs Gehörlosigkeit ins Direktstudium Psychotherapie können diese Barrieren verringert werden.
A multifactorial model of pathology for age of onset heterogeneity in familial Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Sepulveda-Falla Diego , Chavez-Gutierrez Lucia , Portelius Erik , Vélez Jorge I. , Dujardin Simon , Barrera-Ocampo Alvaro , Dinkel Felix , Hagel Christian , Puig Berta , Mastronardi Claudio , Lopera Francisco , Hyman Bradley T. , Blennow Kaj , Arcos-Burgos Mauricio , de Strooper Bart , Glatzel Markus
Published: December 2020

Presenilin-1 (PSEN1) mutations cause familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) characterized by early age of onset (AoO). Examination of a large kindred harboring the PSEN1-E280A mutation reveals a range of AoO spanning 30 years. The pathophysiological drivers and clinical impact of AoO variation in this population are unknown. We examined brains of 23 patients focusing on generation and deposition of beta-amyloid (Aβ) and Tau pathology profile. In 14 patients distributed at the extremes of AoO, we performed whole-exome capture to identify genotype–phenotype correlations. We also studied kinome activity, proteasome activity, and protein polyubiquitination in brain tissue, associating it with Tau phosphorylation profiles. PSEN1-E280A patients showed a bimodal distribution for AoO. Besides AoO, there were no clinical differences between analyzed groups. Despite the effect of mutant PSEN1 on production of Aβ, there were no relevant differences between groups in generation and deposition of Aβ. However, differences were found in hyperphosphorylated Tau (pTau) pathology, where early onset patients showed severe pathology with diffuse aggregation pattern associated with increased activation of stress kinases. In contrast, late-onset patients showed lesser pTau pathology and a distinctive kinase activity. Furthermore, we identified new protective genetic variants affecting ubiquitin–proteasome function in early onset patients, resulting in higher ubiquitin-dependent degradation of differentially phosphorylated Tau. In PSEN1-E280A carriers, altered γ-secretase activity and resulting Aβ accumulation are prerequisites for early AoO. However, Tau hyperphosphorylation pattern, and its degradation by the proteasome, drastically influences disease onset in individuals with otherwise similar Aβ pathology, hinting toward a multifactorial model of disease for FAD. In sporadic AD (SAD), a wide range of heterogeneity, also influenced by Tau pathology, has been identified. Thus, Tau-induced heterogeneity is a common feature in both AD variants, suggesting that a multi-target therapeutic approach should be used to treat AD.
Methadone-mediated sensitization of glioblastoma cells is drug and cell line dependent
Authors: Haas Bodo , Ciftcioglu Janine , Jermar Sanja , Weickhardt Sandra , Eckstein Niels , Kaina Bernd
Published: December 2020

Purpose

d,l-methadone (MET), an analgesic drug used for pain treatment and opiate addiction, has achieved attention from oncologists and social media as possible chemoensitizing agent in cancer therapy, notably brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM). MET has been reported to enhance doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in GBM cells via activation of the µ-opioid receptor (MOR). Here, we extended this work and quantified the toxic effect of MET in comparison to other opioids alone and in combination with doxorubicin and the clinically more relevant alkylating drug temozolomide (TMZ), using a set of GBM cell lines and primary GBM cells.

Methods

MOR expression in GBM cells was investigated by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. Resistance to drugs alone and in combination with anticancer drugs was assessed by MTT assays. Concentration effect curves were fitted by nonlinear regression analysis and IC50 values were calculated. Apoptosis and necrosis rates were determined by annexin V/propidium iodide (PI)-flow cytometry.

Results

MET alone was cytotoxic in all GBM cell lines and primary GBM cells at high micromolar concentrations (IC50 ~ 60–130 µM), observed both in the metabolic MTT assay and by quantifying apoptosis and necrosis, while morphine and oxycodone were not cytotoxic in this concentration range. Naloxone was not able to block MET-induced cytotoxicity, indicating that cell death-inducing effects of MET are not MOR-dependent. We recorded doxorubicin and TMZ concentration- response curves in combination with fixed MET concentrations. MET enhanced doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in only one cell line, and in primary cells it was observed only in a particular MET concentration range. In all assays, MET was not effective in sensitizing cells to TMZ. In two cell lines, MET even decreased the cell's sensitivity to TMZ.

Conclusion

MET was found to be cytotoxic in GBM cells in vitro only at high, clinically not relevant concentrations, where it was effective in inducing apoptosis and necrosis. Sensitizing effects were only observed in combination with doxorubicin, but not with TMZ, and are dependent on cell line and the applied drug concentration. Therefore, our findings do not support the use of MET in the treatment of GBM in combination with TMZ, as no sensitizing effect of MET was observed.
A different technique in gasless, laparoendoscopic, single-site myomectomy
Authors: Jin Guixiu , Zhao Xiumin , Zhu Danyang
Published: December 2020

Background

The aim of this study was to introduce a novel technique for gasless, laparoendoscopic, single-site (GLESS) myomectomy and to evaluate its feasibility and safety.

Methods

A retrospective observational study was performed at a hospital from Sep 2017 to Nov 2018. 15 patients with symptomatic subserosal or intramural myomas underwent GLESS myomectomy.

Results

The mean age and body mass index were 41.73 ± 8.58 years and 22.72 ± 2.27 kg/m2, respectively. 5 patients had a history of abdominal surgery, including four caesarean deliveries and one myomectomy. The mean operative duration, blood loss volume, time to specimen removal, time of bowel activity and postoperative hospitalization duration were 156.47 ± 62.19 min, 57.33 ± 72.35 ml, 29.87 ± 13.6 min, 27.67 ± 10.06 h, and 3.4 ± 0.74 days, respectively. The operation was successful in all patients, there were no surgical or wound complications in any patient, and the histopathological result was leiomyoma in all 15 patients.

Conclusion

The procedure is feasible and safe in selected patients with symptomatic myomas.
Effect of frenotomy on breastfeeding and reflux: results from the BRIEF prospective longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Slagter Kirsten W. , Raghoebar Gerry M. , Hamming Inge , Meijer Jiska , Vissink Arjan
Published: December 2020

Objectives

To assess the Efficacy of Frenotomy with regard to Breastfeeding and Reflux Improvement (BRIEF) in infants with breastfeeding problems.

Materials and methods

A cohort of 175 consecutive breastfeeding women with breastfeeding and reflux problems related to a tongue-tie or lip-tie fulfilling the inclusion criteria was longitudinally followed for 6 months. The effect of frenotomy on these problems was studied by a standardized oral assessment and completing the validated Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Short Form (BSES-SF), nipple pain score (Visual Analogue Scale, VAS), and Infant Gastroesophageal Reflux Questionnaire Revised (I-GERQ-R) questionnaires pre-frenotomy and at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months’ post frenotomy.

Results

All 175 women completed the 1-month follow-up and 146 women the 6 months’ follow-up. Frenotomy resulted in a significant improvement of BSES-SF, nipple pain score, and I-GERQ-R after 1 week, which improvement maintained to be significant after 1 month for BSES-SF and I-GERQ-R, and after 6 months for I-GERQ-R. The improvements were irrespective of the type lip-tie or tongue-tie underlying the breast feeding and reflux problems. No post-operative complications were observed. About 60.7% of infants still was breastfed 6 months after treatment.

Conclusions

Frenotomy is a safe procedure with no post-operative complications and resulting in significant improvement of breastfeeding self-efficacy, nipple pain, and gastro-oesophageal reflux problems.

Clinical relevance

Frenotomy of a tongue-tie and or lip-tie can lead to improvement of breastfeeding and reflux problems irrespective of the type of tongue-tie or lip-tie and should be considered by clinicians as a proper tool to resolve these problems if non-interventional support did not help.

International trial register

ISRCTN64428423
Do bleaching gels affect the stability of the masking and caries-arresting effects of caries infiltration—in vitro
Authors: Jansen Ellen Elisabeth , Meyer-Lueckel Hendrik , Esteves-Oliveira Marcella , Wierichs Richard Johannes
Published: December 2020

Objectives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different bleaching gels on the masking and caries-arresting effects of infiltrated and non-infiltrated stained artificial enamel caries lesions.

Materials and methods

Bovine enamel specimens (n = 240) with each two sound areas (SI and SC) and each two lesions (DI and DC) were infiltrated (DI and SI), stained (1:1 red wine-coffee mixture,70 days), and randomly distributed in six groups to be bleached with the following materials: 6%HP (HP-6), 16%CP (CP-16), 35%HP (HP-35), 40%HP (HP-40), and no bleaching (NBl,NBl-NBr). Subsequently, specimens were pH-cycled (28 days, 6 × 60 min demineralization/day) and all groups except NBl-NBr were brushed with toothpaste slurry (1.100 ppm, 2×/day, 10 s). Differences in colorimetric values (ΔL, ΔE) and integrated mineral loss (ΔΔZ) between baseline, infiltration, staining, bleaching, and pH cycling were calculated using photographic and transversal microradiographic images.

Results

At baseline, significant visible color differences between DI and SC were observed (ΔEbaseline = 12.2; p < 0.001; ANCOVA). After infiltration, these differences decreased significantly (ΔEinfiltration = 3.8; p < 0.001). Staining decreased and bleaching increased ΔL values significantly (p ≤ 0.001). No significant difference in ΔΔE was observed between before staining and after bleaching (ΔEbleaching = 4.3; p = 0.308) and between the bleaching agents (p = 1.000; ANCOVA). pH-cycling did not affect colorimetric values (ΔEpH-cycling = 4.0; p = 1.000). For DI, no significant change in ΔZ during in vitro period was observed (p ≥ 0.063; paired t test).

Conclusions

Under the conditions chosen, the tested materials could satisfactorily bleach infiltrated and non-infiltrated stained enamel. Furthermore, bleaching did not affect the caries-arresting effect of the infiltration.

Clinical relevance

The present study indicates that bleaching is a viable way to satisfactorily recover the appearance of discolored sound enamel and infiltrated lesions.
Glucocorticoids, state-dependent reproductive investment and success in the face of danger in a long-lived bird
Authors: Noreikienė Kristina , Jaatinen Kim , Steele Benjamin B. , Öst Markus
Published: December 2020

Glucocorticoid hormones may mediate trade-offs between current and future reproduction. However, understanding their role is complicated by predation risk, which simultaneously affects the value of the current reproductive investment and elevates glucocorticoid levels. Here, we shed light on these issues in long-lived female Eiders (Somateria mollissima) by investigating how current reproductive investment (clutch size) and hatching success relate to faecal glucocorticoid metabolite [fGCM] level and residual reproductive value (minimum years of breeding experience, body condition, relative telomere length) under spatially variable predation risk. Our results showed a positive relationship between colony-specific predation risk and mean colony-specific fGCM levels. Clutch size and female fGCM were negatively correlated only under high nest predation and in females in good body condition, previously shown to have a longer life expectancy. We also found that younger females with longer telomeres had smaller clutches. The drop in hatching success with increasing fGCM levels was least pronounced under high nest predation risk, suggesting that elevated fGCM levels may allow females to ensure some reproductive success under such conditions. Hatching success was positively associated with female body condition, with relative telomere length, particularly in younger females, and with female minimum age, particularly under low predation risk, showing the utility of these metrics as indicators of individual quality. In line with a trade-off between current and future reproduction, our results show that high potential for future breeding prospects and increased predation risk shift the balance toward investment in future reproduction, with glucocorticoids playing a role in the resolution of this trade-off.
Teachers’ perceptions of autonomy in the tensions between a subject focus and a cross-curricular school profile: A case study of a Finnish upper secondary school
Authors: Elo Janne , Nygren-Landgärds Christina
Published: December 2020

Recent research has indicated global trends of decreasing teacher autonomy and increasing teacher accountability. Standardised national tests have been identified as one of many factors constraining teacher autonomy. Another trend influencing teachers’ scope of action is the profiling and branding of schools that compete for students. This qualitative case study concerns the general upper secondary level in Finland, the only level of education in the country with a high-stakes final examination—the matriculation exam. The upper secondary level is generally regarded as Finland’s most subject-focused level of education. In contrast to this subject-focused tradition, the case school for this research has developed a cross-curricular profile emphasising creativity, boundary crossing and an outward orientated approach. The study explores the teachers’ perceptions of how their autonomy is constrained in this context characterised by tensions between the cross-curricular school profile on one hand, and the subject-focused tradition and student evaluations on the other. Although one might expect these tensions to constrain teacher autonomy, the results show that the teachers, in fact, experience the cross-curricular school profile as increasing their individual autonomy. The study demonstrates that upper secondary teachers can experience extensive autonomy despite global trends of increasing teacher accountability and diminishing teacher autonomy.
Peptide Isolation via Spray Drying: Particle Formation, Process Design and Implementation for the Production of Spray Dried Glucagon
Authors: Doerr Frederik J. S. , Burns Lee J. , Lee Becky , Hinds Jeremy , Davis-Harrison Rebecca L. , Frank Scott A. , Florence Alastair J.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Spray drying plays an important role in the pharmaceutical industry for product development of sensitive bio-pharmaceutical formulations. Process design, implementation and optimisation require in-depth knowledge of process-product interactions. Here, an integrated approach for the rapid, early-stage spray drying process development of trehalose and glucagon on lab-scale is presented.

Methods

Single droplet drying experiments were used to investigate the particle formation process. Process implementation was supported using in-line process analytical technology within a data acquisition framework recording temperature, humidity, pressure and feed rate. During process implementation, off-line product characterisation provided additional information on key product properties related to residual moisture, solid state structure, particle size/morphology and peptide fibrillation/degradation.

Results

A psychrometric process model allowed the identification of feasible operating conditions for spray drying trehalose, achieving high yields of up to 84.67%, and significantly reduced levels of residual moisture and particle agglomeration compared to product obtained during non-optimal drying. The process was further translated to produce powders of glucagon and glucagon-trehalose formulations with yields of >83.24%. Extensive peptide aggregation or degradation was not observed.

Conclusions

The presented data-driven process development concept can be applied to address future isolation problems on lab-scale and facilitate a systematic implementation of spray drying for the manufacturing of sensitive bio-pharmaceutical formulations.
Improving Covariance Matrices Derived from Tiny Training Datasets for the Classification of Event-Related Potentials with Linear Discriminant Analysis
Authors: Sosulski Jan , Kemmer Jan-Philipp , Tangermann Michael
Published: December 2020

Electroencephalogram data used in the domain of brain–computer interfaces typically has subpar signal-to-noise ratio and data acquisition is expensive. An effective and commonly used classifier to discriminate event-related potentials is the linear discriminant analysis which, however, requires an estimate of the feature distribution. While this information is provided by the feature covariance matrix its large number of free parameters calls for regularization approaches like Ledoit–Wolf shrinkage. Assuming that the noise of event-related potential recordings is not time-locked, we propose to decouple the time component from the covariance matrix of event-related potential data in order to further improve the estimates of the covariance matrix for linear discriminant analysis. We compare three regularized variants thereof and a feature representation based on Riemannian geometry against our proposed novel linear discriminant analysis with time-decoupled covariance estimates. Extensive evaluations on 14 electroencephalogram datasets reveal, that the novel approach increases the classification performance by up to four percentage points for small training datasets, and gracefully converges to the performance of standard shrinkage-regularized LDA for large training datasets. Given these results, practitioners in this field should consider using our proposed time-decoupled covariance estimation when they apply linear discriminant analysis to classify event-related potentials, especially when few training data points are available.
Reflexionen von Multiplikatorinnen und Multiplikatoren zum Gestaltungsprinzip der Teilnehmendenorientierung – Fachspezifische Professionalisierung beim Design von Fortbildungen
Authors: Scherer Petra , Nührenbörger Marcus , Ratte Leonie
Published: December 2020

In diesem Beitrag werden erste Ergebnisse einer qualitativen Studie vorgestellt, die Reflexionen von Multiplikatorinnen und Multiplikatoren zur allgemeinen Konzeption und zur konkreten Durchführung eines Fortbildungskurses mit dem Thema „Inklusiver Mathematikunterricht“ für fachfremde, aber im inklusiven Mathematikunterricht der Grundschule tätige Sonderpädagoginnen und Sonderpädagogen untersucht. Dazu hospitierten vier Multiplikatorinnen einerseits bei einem existierenden Kurs, andererseits reflektierten sie diesen mit Blick auf eine zukünftig eigenständige Durchführung des Kurses. Im Beitrag werden die Reflexionen der Multiplikatorinnen zum Gestaltungsprinzip der Teilnehmendenorientierung näher analysiert. Die Ergebnisse der Analysen von schriftlichen Beobachtungsprotokollen und moderierten Reflexionsgesprächen weisen auf normative und prospektive Reflexionen von Multiplikatorinnen und Multiplikatoren hin.
Damage tolerance of fractured rails on continuous welded rail track for high-speed railways
Authors: Gao Yuan , Wang Ping , Wang Kai , Xu Jingmang , Dong Zhiguo
Published: December 2020

Broken gap is an extremely dangerous state in the service of high-speed rails, and the violent wheel–rail impact forces will be intensified when a vehicle passes the gap at high speeds, which may cause a secondary fracture to rail and threaten the running safety of the vehicle. To recognize the damage tolerance of rail fracture length, the implicit–explicit sequential approach is adopted to simulate the wheel–rail high-frequency impact, which considers the factors such as the coupling effect between frictional contact and structural vibration, nonlinear material and real geometric profile. The results demonstrate that the plastic deformation and stress are distributed in crescent shape during the impact at the back rail end, increasing with the rail fracture length. The axle box acceleration in the frequency domain displays two characteristic modes with frequencies around 1,637 and 404 Hz. The limit of the rail fracture length is 60 mm for high-speed railway at a speed of 250 km/h.
The new generation PFAS C6O4 does not produce adverse effects on thyroid cells in vitro
Authors: Coperchini F. , Croce L. , Pignatti P. , Ricci G. , Gangemi D. , Magri F. , Imbriani M. , Rotondi M. , Chiovato L.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl-substances (PFASs) are synthetic compounds that raised concern due to their potential adverse effects on human health. Long-chain PFAS were banned by government rules in many states, and thus, new emerging PFAS were recently introduced as substitutes. Among these, Perfluoro{acetic acid, 2-[(5-methoxy-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)oxy]}, ammonium salt (C6O4) was recently introduced to produce a range of food contact articles and literature data about this compound are scanty. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects of exposure to C6O4, compared with PFOA and PFOS on thyroid cells.

Methods

FRTL5 rat-thyroid cell lines and normal human thyroid cells (NHT) were incubated with increasing concentrations of C6O4 for 24, 48, 72, and 144 h to assess cell viability by WST-1. Cell viability was confirmed by AnnexinV/PI staining. Long-chain PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) were used at same concentrations as positive controls. The proliferation of cells exposed to C6O4, PFOA, and PFOS was measured by staining with crystal violet and evaluation of optical density after incubation with SDS. Changes in ROS production by FRTL5 and NHT after exposure to C6O4 at short (10, 20, and 30 min) and long-time points (24 h) were evaluated by cytofluorimetry.

Results

C6O4 exposure did not modify FRTL5 and NHT cell viability at any concentration and/or time points with no induction of necrosis/apoptosis. At difference, PFOS exposure reduced cell viability of FRTL5 while and NHT, while PFOA only in FRTL5. FRTL5 and NHT cell proliferation was reduced by incubation with by PFOA and PFOS, but not with C6O4. ROS production by NHT and FRTL5 cells was not modified after C6O4 exposure, at any time/concentration tested.

Conclusions

The present in vitro study constitutes the first evaluation of the potential adverse effects of the new emerging PFAS C6O4 in cultured rat and human thyroid cells, suggesting its safety for thyroid cells in vitro.
Bending-Dominated Auxetic Materials for Wearable Protective Devices Against Impact
Authors: Faraci D. , Driemeier L. , Comi C.
Published: December 2020

Auxetic metamaterials have high energy absorption capacity and indentation resistance, due to their significant densification mechanism during compression. This study investigates the performance of structured materials in layered thin plates, with potential applications in wearable protective devices for sport activities. Two different 3D lattices, conventional and re-entrant honeycomb, are studied in detail and their dynamic behaviour is compared with that of a 2D auxetic lattice. Initially, the equivalent elastic properties of the proposed geometries are investigated at varying equivalent densities. Then a new lightweight solution of a sandwich structure with an auxetic metamaterial core is proposed for possible application to facial protective masks. Numerical impact analyses of the problem show the potential benefit of the present proposal with respect to traditional mask geometries.
Random Assignment with a Smile: How to Love “TheRandomiser”
Authors: Linton Benedict , Ariel Barak
Published: December 2020

Objectives

This note describes a free online portal (www.therandomiser.co.uk) that allows researchers to design randomised controlled trials and then delegate the random assignment process to pracademics delivering the experiment.

Methods

Observation of the use of this tool in repeated randomised trials in police agencies.

Findings

Researchers are able to design RCTs using the online portal, which offers many ways to customise the experimental design. Results are downloadable in excel or plain text format. Researchers can grant access to treatment providers, enabling them to log in securely, enter identifiers for cases, and assign different treatments to each case. Email notifications of assignment can be sent to designated list of recipients who can track the allocation of treatments. This tool delivers this functionality at zero cost and at the time of writing is being used by 78 researchers, who have set up 70 experiments that have processed 5778 randomisations.

Conclusions

TheRandomiser has been used in multiple experiments with feedback suggesting it is a powerful and user-friendly tool. The ability to deliver trickle-flow randomisation with high degrees of researcher control are attractive, as is the ability to edit an unlimited number of qualification questions prior to randomisation.
Achieving selectivity in porphyrin bromination through a DoE-driven optimization under continuous flow conditions
Authors: Zardi Paolo , Maggini Michele , Carofiglio Tommaso
Published: December 2020

The post-functionalization of porphyrins through the bromination in β position of the pyrrolic rings is a relevant transformation because the resulting bromoderivatives are useful synthons to covalently link a variety of chemical architectures to a porphyrin ring. However, single bromination of porphyrins is a challenging reaction for the abundancy of reactive β-pyrrolic positions in the aromatic macrocycle. We herein report a synthetic procedure for the efficient preparation of 2-bromo-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (1) under continuous flow conditions. The use of flow technology allows to reach an accurate control over critical reaction parameters such as temperature and reaction time. Furthermore, by performing the optimization process through a statistical DoE (Design of Experiment) approach, these parameters could be properly adjusted with a limited number of experiments. This process led us to a better understanding of the relevant factors that govern porphyrins monobromination and to obtain compound 1 with an unprecedent 80% yield.