bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing and measuring financial sustainability model of the Spanish HIV HGM BioBank
Authors: Fernández Irene Consuegra , Merino Isabel García , Muñoz-Fernández María Ángeles
Published: January 2020

Background

The Spanish HIV HGM BioBank is of great relevance for basic and clinical investigation, and for those groups trying to establish large networks focused on investigation on specific clinical problems. The collection of different types of samples from HIV-infected individuals is the beginning of the chain of translational investigation, starting in 2004 a prospective national HIV BioBank that expanded in 2009 a local node (HGM: Hospital Gregorio Marañón) for diverse pathologies and clinical networks, not only in adults but also in paediatric patients, becoming the Spanish HIV HGM BioBank. Our main objective is to find a general criteria and analytical tools to widespread its economic management to assure their sustainability and the future exploitation of the extreme high valuable biomaterial they custody.

Methods

The Spanish HIV HGM BioBank was created with the aim of contributing to advance understanding of different pathologies through the transfer, management, register, processing, cryopreservation and cession of biological material from patients, always for research purposes and under conditions that guarantee its usefulness in current studies and future research that may appear as knowledge evolves. In this study, we have developed a policy for financial control and recovery costs of the Spanish HIV HGM BioBank.

Results

Actually, Spanish HIV HGM BioBank guards 413,747 vials of 46,594 samples from 16,210 donors with various prospective longitudinal study type of samples. Interestingly, more than 7907 of these samples are now used in 28 national and international investigation projects and clinical trials. One of the objectives of this study is to develop an economic plan that you get future projects, design of acceptance or rejection keys, have internal investment limits, minimum recovery needs in short/medium term, deviation detection system and a register of capital recovery by period and type of service for the Spanish HIV HGM BioBank.

Conclusion

Our model can help BioBanks that do not have a costs recovery model to design it, as well as to detect improves and functional revisions to those experienced in this field.
Scaling up breastfeeding policy and programs in Samoa: application of the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly initiative
Authors:   on behalf of BBF Samoa Committee, Soti-Ulberg Christina , Hromi-Fiedler Amber , Hawley Nicola L. , Naseri Take , Manuele-Magele Analosa , Ah-Ching John , Pérez-Escamilla Rafael
Published: January 2020

Background

Breastfeeding is a critical, evidence-based intervention that addresses malnutrition, improves early childhood development outcomes, and influences long-term maternal and infant health by reducing the non-communicable disease risk. Scaling up breastfeeding is an indisputably strong action countries can take to prevent suboptimal maternal and infant health outcomes. The Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) initiative assists countries with scaling up breastfeeding policy and programs. BBF has been successfully implemented within Latin America, Africa, Europe and South-East Asian regions. This study assessed its application in Samoa.

Methods

In 2018, BBF was implemented in Samoa by a 20 member committee of breastfeeding experts who participated in collecting and utilizing national level data to score the degree of friendliness of Samoa’s breastfeeding environment, identify gaps, and propose policy recommendations to address those gaps. This eight-month process resulted in a public event where priority recommendations were widely disseminated to decision makers and actions agreed upon.

Results

The total BBF Index score for Samoa was 1.6 out of 3.0, indicating a moderate breastfeeding friendly environment for scaling up policies and programs that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Gear total scores indicated that seven of the eight gears were moderately strong within Samoa, while the eighth gear, funding and resources, was weakest in strength. Six prioritized recommendations emerged: 1) development and implementation of a National Breastfeeding Policy and Strategic Action Plan; 2) strengthening monitoring and evaluation of all breastfeeding activities; 3) ratifying the International Labour Organization’s Maternity Protection Convention 2000 (No 183); 4) identifying high-level advocates to champion and serve as role models for breastfeeding; 5) creation of a national budget line for breastfeeding activities; and 6) hiring of a national breastfeeding coordinator and trainer. Decision makers demonstrated commitment by signing the breastfeeding policy for hospitals ahead of the BBF dissemination meeting and electing to move forward with establishing lactation rooms within government ministries.

Conclusion

Implementation of BBF in Samoa yielded important policy recommendations that will address current gaps in national level breastfeeding support. The BBF consultation process can be successfully applied to other countries within the Western Pacific region in order to strengthen their breastfeeding programs.
The sustainability of public health interventions in schools: a systematic review
Authors: Herlitz Lauren , MacIntyre Helen , Osborn Tom , Bonell Chris
Published: January 2020

Background

The sustainability of school-based health interventions after external funds and/or other resources end has been relatively unexplored in comparison to health care. If effective interventions discontinue, new practices cannot reach wider student populations and investment in implementation is wasted. This review asked: What evidence exists about the sustainability of school-based public health interventions? Do schools sustain public health interventions once start-up funds end? What are the barriers and facilitators affecting the sustainability of public health interventions in schools in high-income countries?

Methods

Seven bibliographic databases and 15 websites were searched. References and citations of included studies were searched, and experts and authors were contacted to identify relevant studies. We included reports published from 1996 onwards. References were screened on title/abstract, and those included were screened on full report. We conducted data extraction and appraisal using an existing tool. Extracted data were qualitatively synthesised for common themes, using May’s General Theory of Implementation (2013) as a conceptual framework.

Results

Of the 9677 unique references identified through database searching and other search strategies, 24 studies of 18 interventions were included in the review. No interventions were sustained in their entirety; all had some components that were sustained by some schools or staff, bar one that was completely discontinued. No discernible relationship was found between evidence of effectiveness and sustainability. Key facilitators included commitment/support from senior leaders, staff observing a positive impact on students’ engagement and wellbeing, and staff confidence in delivering health promotion and belief in its value. Important contextual barriers emerged: the norm of prioritising educational outcomes under time and resource constraints, insufficient funding/resources, staff turnover and a lack of ongoing training. Adaptation of the intervention to existing routines and changing contexts appeared to be part of the sustainability process.

Conclusions

Existing evidence suggests that sustainability depends upon schools developing and retaining senior leaders and staff that are knowledgeable, skilled and motivated to continue delivering health promotion through ever-changing circumstances. Evidence of effectiveness did not appear to be an influential factor. However, methodologically stronger primary research, informed by theory, is needed.

Trial registration

The review was registered on PROSPERO: CRD42017076320, Sep. 2017.
Mid-term results after proximal humeral fractures following angular stable plate fixation in elderly patients—which scores can be evaluated by a telephone-based assessment?
Authors: Ziegler Patrick , Stierand Kim , Bahrs Christian , Ahrend Marc-Daniel
Published: January 2020

Background

The aim was to evaluate postsurgical outcome in elderly patients (> 70 years) after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of proximal humeral fractures and compare the test-retest agreement of scores which are frequently used to assess the outcome of upper extremity disorders.

Methods

Ninety patients (78.1 ± 5.2 years) with a minimum follow-up of 2 years (3.7 ± 0.9 years) following angular stable plate fixation of a proximal humeral fracture (2-part: 34, 3-part: 41, 4-part: 12) were enrolled. Two telephone-based interviews assessed Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score (DASH), Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS), and Constant Score adjusted for interview assessment (CS) by two independent interviewers. Correlations, Bland-Altman analyses, Cross tabulation, and weighted Kappa measure of agreement (k) were calculated to assess differences and the test-retest agreement between the categories of each score.

Results

In the first and second interview, we could state fair outcomes: CS 91 (range 40–100) and 65.5 (23–86), DASH 12.5 (0–64.2) and 18.3 (0–66.7), and OSS 58 (33–60) and 55 (25–60) points.

The test-retest correlations were r = 0.67, r = 0.77, and r = 0.71 for CS, DASH, and OSS. Bland-Altman analyses showed absolute mean individual score differences of − 22.3, 4.9, and − 3.0 for CS, DASH, and OSS. Limits of agreement represented possible differences of 21.6%, 15.5%, and 9.0% of CS, DASH, and OSS. The category agreements were medium to high: CS 55.9% (k = 0.08), DASH 87.2% (k = 0.62), and OSS 99.3% (k = 0.74).

Conclusion

Patients showed good subjective outcomes. The test-retest agreement of the interview-adjusted CS was low, but telephone-based assessment of OSS and DASH present as an alternative to collect outcomes in elderly patients.

Trial registration

(250/2011BO2).
Availability, accessibility and delivery to patients of the 28 orphan medicines approved by the European Medicine Agency for hereditary metabolic diseases in the MetabERN network
Authors:   the MetabERN collaboration group, Heard Jean-Michel , Vrinten Charlotte , Schlander Michael , Bellettato Cinzia Maria , van Lingen Corine , Scarpa Maurizio
Published: January 2020

Background

The European Medicine Agency granted marketing approval to 164 orphan medicinal products for rare diseases, among which 28 products intended for the treatment of hereditary metabolic diseases. Taking advantage of its privileged connection with 69 healthcare centres of excellence in this field, MetabERN, the European Reference Network for hereditary metabolic diseases, performed a survey asking health care providers from 18 European countries whether these products are available on the market, reimbursed and therefore accessible for prescription, and actually delivered in their centre.

Results

Responses received from 52 centres (75%) concerned the design of treatment plans, the access to marketed products, and the barriers to delivery. Treatment options are always discussed with patients, who are often involved in their treatment plan. Most products (26/28) are available in most countries (15/18). Among the 15 broadly accessible products (88.5% of the centres), 9 are delivered to most patients (mean 70.1%), and the others to only few (16.5%). Among the 10 less accessible products (40.2% of the centres), 6 are delivered to many patients (66.7%), and 4 are rarely used (6.3%). Information was missing for 3 products. Delay between prescription and delivery is on average one month. Beside the lack of availability or accessibility, the most frequent reasons for not prescribing a treatment are patients’ clinical status, characteristic, and personal choice.

Conclusions

Data collected from health care providers in the MetabERN network indicate that two-third of the orphan medicines approved by EMA for the treatment of hereditary metabolic diseases are accessible to treating patients, although often less than one-half of the patients with the relevant conditions actually received the approved product to treat their disease. Thus, in spite of the remarkable achievement of many products, patients concerned by EMA-approved orphan medicinal products have persistent unmet needs, which deserve consideration. The enormous investments made by the companies to develop products, and the high financial burden for the Member States to purchase these products emphasize the importance of a scrupulous appreciation of treatment value involving all stakeholders at early stage of development, before marketing authorization, and during follow up.
Opportunities and challenges for delivering non-communicable disease management and services in fragile and post-conflict settings: perceptions of policy-makers and health providers in Sierra Leone
Authors: Witter Sophie , Zou Guanyang , Diaconu Karin , Senesi Reynold G. B. , Idriss Ayesha , Walley John , Wurie Haja Ramatulai
Published: January 2020

Background

The growing burden of non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries presents substantive challenges for health systems. This is also the case in fragile, post-conflict and post-Ebola Sierra Leone, where NCDs represent an increasingly significant disease burden (around 30% of adult men and women have raised blood pressure). To date, documentation of health system challenges and opportunities for NCD prevention and control is limited in such settings. This paper aims to identify opportunities and challenges in provision of NCD prevention and care and highlight lessons for Sierra Leone and other fragile states in the battle against the growing NCD epidemic.

Methods

This paper focuses on the case of Sierra Leone and uses a combination of participatory group model building at national and district level, in rural and urban districts, interviews with 28 key informants and review of secondary data and documents. Data is analysed using the WHO’s health system assessment guide for NCDs.

Results

We highlight multiple challenges typical to those encountered in other fragile settings to the delivery of preventive and curative NCD services. There is limited government and donor commitment to financing and implementation of the national NCD policy and strategy, limited and poorly distributed health workforce and pharmaceuticals, high financial barriers for users, and lack of access to quality-assured medicines with consequent high recourse to private and informal care seeking. We identify how to strengthen the system within existing (low) resources, including through improved clinical guides and tools, more effective engagement with communities, and regulatory and fiscal measures.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that NCD prevention and control is of low but increasing priority in Sierra Leone; challenges to addressing this burden relate to huge numbers with NCDs (especially hypertension) requiring care, overall resource constraints and wider systemic issues, including poorly supported primary care services and access barriers. In addition to securing and strengthening political will and commitment and directing more resources and attention towards this area, there is a need for in-depth exploratory and implementation research to shape and test NCD interventions in fragile and post-conflict settings.
Lipid droplets in granulosa cells are correlated with reduced pregnancy rates
Authors: Raviv Shira , Hantisteanu Shay , Sharon Shilhav Meisel , Atzmon Yuval , Michaeli Mediea , Shalom-Paz Einat
Published: January 2020

Background

Lipids are an important source for energy production during oocyte maturation. The accumulation of intracellular lipids binds to proteins to form lipid droplets. This may lead to cellular lipotoxicity. The impact of lipotoxicity on cumulus and granulosa cells has been reported. This pilot study evaluated their correlation to oocyte and embryo quality.

Design

Prospective case-control study.

Setting: Referral IVF unit.

Patients: Women younger than age 40, undergoing IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Interventions: 15 women with BMI > 30 (high BMI) and 26 women with BMI < 25 (low BMI) were enrolled. IVF outcomes were compared between groups based on BMI. Lipid content in cumulus and granulosa cells was evaluated using quantitative and descriptive methods. Lipid profile, hormonal profile and C-reactive protein were evaluated in blood and follicular fluid samples. Demographic and treatment data, as well as pregnancy rates were collected from electronic medical records.

Results

Higher levels of LDL and CRP, slower cell division rate and lower embryo quality were found in the group with high BMI. There was no difference in pregnancy rates between groups. In light of these findings, treatment outcomes were reanalyzed according to patients who became pregnant and those who did not. We found that patients who conceived had significantly lower fat content in the granulosa cells, reflected by mean fluorescence intensity recorded by flow cytometry analysis (23,404 vs. 9370, P = 0.03).

Conclusions

BMI has no effect on lipid content in cumulus and granulosa cells, and does not affect likelihood of pregnancy. However, women who achieved pregnancy, regardless of their BMI, had lower lipid levels in their granulosa cells. This finding is important and further study is needed to evaluate lipid content in granulosa cells as a potential predictor of IVF treatment success.
Pharmacological conditioning in the treatment of recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial study protocol
Authors: Manaï Meriem , van Middendorp Henriët , Veldhuijzen Dieuwke S. , van der Pol Joy A. , Huizinga Tom W. J. , Evers Andrea W. M.
Published: January 2020

Background

In pharmacological conditioning associations are formed between the effects of medication and contextual factors related to the medication. Pharmacological conditioning with placebo medication can result in comparable treatment effects and reduced side effects compared to regular treatment in various clinical populations, and may be applied to achieve enhanced drug effects. In the current study protocol, pharmacological conditioning is applied to achieve enhanced treatment effects in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The results from this study broaden the knowledge on the potential of pharmacological conditioning and provide a potential innovative treatment option to optimize long-term pharmacological treatment effectiveness for patients with inflammatory conditions, such as recent-onset RA.

Methods

A multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial is conducted in patients with recent-onset RA. Participants start on standardized pharmacological treatment for 16 weeks, which consists of methotrexate (MTX) 15 mg/week and a tapered schedule of prednisone 60 mg or 30 mg. After 4 months, participants in clinical remission (based on the rheumatologist’s opinion and a targeted score below 1.6 on a 44-joint disease activity score (DAS44)) are randomized to 1 of 2 groups: (1) the control group (C), which continues with a standardized treatment schedule of MTX 15 mg/week or (2) the pharmacological conditioning group (PC), which receives an MTX treatment schedule in alternating high and low dosages. In the case of persistent clinical remission after 8 months, treatment is tapered and discontinued linearly in the C group and variably in the PC group. Both groups receive the same cumulative amount of MTX during each period. Logistic regression analysis is used to compare the proportion of participants with drug-free clinical remission after 12 months between the C group and the PC group. Secondary outcome measures include clinical functioning, laboratory assessments, and self-reported measures after each 4-month period up to 18 months after study start.

Discussion

The results from this study broaden the knowledge on the potential of pharmacological conditioning and provide a potential innovative treatment option to optimize long-term pharmacological treatment effectiveness in patients with inflammatory conditions, such as recent-onset RA.

Trial registration

Netherlands Trial Register,NL5652. Registered on 3 March 2016.
The effectiveness of negative-pressure wound therapy for wound healing after stoma reversal: a randomised control study (SR-PICO study)
Authors: Kim Sohyun , Kang Sung Il
Published: January 2020

Background

Although the wound-healing period for purse-string closure (PSC) after stoma reversal is longer than that required for the primary closure method, the rate of wound infection is reduced. The application of negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) can reduce the healing period for many types of wounds. Herein, we describe a planned trial to test the hypothesis that NPWT can reduce the healing period for PSC after stoma reversal.

Methods/design

Patients undergoing stoma reversal will be recruited and allocated into intervention and control groups, with 1:1 randomisation. Patients in the control group will receive standard postsurgical wound care; patients in the intervention group will receive NPWT using the PICO™ system. The target sample size will be 38 patients, as this will provide 80% power at the 5% level of significance to detect a 7-day reduction in the wound-healing period in the intervention group compared to that in the control group. The primary endpoint will be the duration to wound healing, defined as the time to nearly complete epithelisation of the wound, without any discharge or surgical site infection (SSI). Secondary endpoints will be the SSI rate, length of postoperative hospital stay, number of wound dressings and visits to the hospital for wound dressing after discharge, total cost of wound dressings, and patient and observer scar assessment scale scores.

Discussion

The results of this planned randomised controlled study will clarify the role of NPWT in patients undergoing stoma reversal and strengthen the rationale for choosing a dressing technique.

Trial registration

Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS), KCT0004063. Registered on 6 June 2019.
Total utilization of lignin and carbohydrates in Eucalyptus grandis: an integrated biorefinery strategy towards phenolics, levulinic acid, and furfural
Authors: Chen Xue , Zhang Kaili , Xiao Ling-Ping , Sun Run-Cang , Song Guoyong
Published: January 2020

Background

Lignocellulosic biomass, which is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, represents the most abundant renewable carbon source with significant potential for the production of sustainable chemicals and fuels. Current biorefineries focus on cellulose and hemicellulose valorization, whereas lignin is treated as a waste product and is burned to supply energy to the biorefineries. The depolymerization of lignin into well-defined mono-aromatic chemicals suitable for downstream processing is recognized increasingly as an important starting point for lignin valorization. In this study, conversion of all three components of Eucalyptus grandis into the corresponding monomeric chemicals was investigated using solid and acidic catalyst in sequence.

Results

Lignin was depolymerized into well-defined monomeric phenols in the first step using a Pd/C catalyst. The maximum phenolic monomers yield of 49.8 wt% was achieved at 240 °C for 4 h under 30 atm H2. In the monomers, 4-propanol guaiacol (12.9 wt%) and 4-propanol syringol (31.9 wt%) were identified as the two major phenolic products with 90% selectivity. High retention of cellulose and hemicellulose pulp was also obtained, which was treated with FeCl3 catalyst to attain 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinic acid and furfural simultaneously. The optimal reaction condition for the co-conversion of hemicellulose and cellulose was established as 190 °C and 100 min, from which furfural and levulinic acid were obtained in 55.9% and 73.6% yields, respectively. Ultimately, 54% of Eucalyptus sawdust can be converted into well-defined chemicals under such an integrated biorefinery method.

Conclusions

A two-step process (reductive catalytic fractionation followed by FeCl3 catalysis) allows the fractionation of all the three biopolymers (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) in Eucalyptus biomass, which provides a promising strategy to make high-value chemicals from sustainable biomass.
Rapid direct identification of positive paediatric blood cultures by MALDI-TOF MS technology and its clinical impact in the paediatric hospital setting
Authors: Samaranayake Waniganeththi Arachchige Manori Piy , Dempsey Suzanne , Howard-Jones Annaleise R. , Outhred Alexander Conrad , Kesson Alison Margaret
Published: January 2020

Objective

Rapid diagnostic tools are imperative for timely clinical decision making, particularly in bacteraemic patients. This study evaluated the performance of a fast, inexpensive novel in house method for processing positive blood cultures for immediate identification of microorganisms by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (Vitek MS bioMérieux). We prospectively analyzed the clinical impact of such method on the management of pediatric patients.

Result

In total, 360 positive blood cultures were included. Among 318 mono-microbial cultures, in-house method achieved correct identification in 270 (85%) cultures to the species level, whilst 43 (13.5%) gave no identification, and 7 (2.2%) gave discordant identifications. Identification of Gram-negative organisms was accurate to both species and genus level in 99% of isolates, and for Gram positives accuracy was 84% to genus and 81% to species level overall, with accuracy of 100% for Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus to the species level. Assessment of the potential impact of direct identification in sixty sequential cases revealed a clear clinical benefit in 35.5% of cases. Benefits included timely antibiotic rationalization, change of medical intervention, and early confirmation of contamination. This study demonstrates a highly accurate in-house method with considerable potential clinical benefits for paediatric care.
The effect of amyloid deposition on longitudinal resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively normal older adults
Authors: Lin Chemin , Ly Maria , Karim Helmet T. , Wei Wenjing , Snitz Beth E. , Klunk William E. , Aizenstein Howard J.
Published: January 2020

Background

Pathological processes contributing to Alzheimer’s disease begin decades prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. There is significant variation in cognitive changes in the presence of pathology, functional connectivity may be a marker of compensation to amyloid; however, this is not well understood.

Methods

We recruited 64 cognitively normal older adults who underwent neuropsychological testing and biannual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), amyloid imaging with Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET, and glucose metabolism (FDG)-PET imaging for up to 6 years. Resting-state MRI was used to estimate connectivity of seven canonical neural networks using template-based rotation. Using voxel-wise paired t-tests, we identified neural networks that displayed significant changes in connectivity across time. We investigated associations among amyloid and longitudinal changes in connectivity and cognitive function by domains.

Results

Left middle frontal gyrus connectivity within the memory encoding network increased over time, but the rate of change was lower with greater amyloid. This was no longer significant in an analysis where we limited the sample to only those with two time points. We found limited decline in cognitive domains overall. Greater functional connectivity was associated with better attention/processing speed and executive function (independent of time) in those with lower amyloid but was associated with worse function with greater amyloid.

Conclusions

Increased functional connectivity serves to preserve cognitive function in normal aging and may fail in the presence of pathology consistent with compensatory models.
Cache-enabled physical-layer secure game against smart uAV-assisted attacks in b5G NOMA networks
Authors: Li Chao , Gao Zihe , Xia Junjuan , Deng Dan , Fan Liseng
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates cache-enabled physical-layer secure communication in a no-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) network with two users, where an intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is equipped with attack module which can perform as multiple attack modes. We present a power allocation strategy to enhance the transmission security. To this end, we propose an algorithm which can adaptively control the power allocation factor for the source station in NOMA network based on reinforcement learning. The interaction between the source station and UAV is regarded as a dynamic game. In the process of the game, the source station adjusts the power allocation factor appropriately according to the current work mode of the attack module on UAV. To maximize the benefit value, the source station keeps exploring the changing radio environment until the Nash equilibrium (NE) is reached. Moreover, the proof of the NE is given to verify the strategy we proposed is optimal. Simulation results prove the effectiveness of the strategy.
Superconvergence of the function value for pentahedral finite elements for an elliptic equation with varying coefficients
Authors: Liu Jinghong , Zhu Qiding
Published: January 2020

In this article, for an elliptic equation with varying coefficients, we first derive an interpolation fundamental estimate for the $\mathcal{P}_{2}(x,y)\otimes \mathcal{P}_{2}(z)$P2(x,y)⊗P2(z) pentahedral finite element over uniform partitions of the domain. Then combined with the estimate for the $W^{2,1}$W2,1-seminorm of the discrete Green function, superconvergence of the function value between the finite element approximation and the corresponding interpolant to the true solution is given.
Dynamics analysis of a delayed virus model with two different transmission methods and treatments
Authors: Zhang Tongqian , Wang Junling , Li Yuqing , Jiang Zhichao , Han Xiaofeng
Published: January 2020

In this paper, a delayed virus model with two different transmission methods and treatments is investigated. This model is a time-delayed version of the model in (Zhang et al. in Comput. Math. Methods Med. 2015:758362, 2015). We show that the virus-free equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number is smaller than one, and by regarding the time delay as a bifurcation parameter, the existence of local Hopf bifurcation is investigated. The results show that time delay can change the stability of the endemic equilibrium. Finally, we give some numerical simulations to illustrate the theoretical findings.
The role of environmental influences in the complex relationship between borderline personality disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: review of recent findings
Authors: Calvo Natalia , Lara Benjamin , Serrat Laia , Pérez-Rodríguez Violeta , Andión Òscar , Ramos-Quiroga Josep A. , Ferrer Marc
Published: January 2020

Background

In recent years, the existence of possible developmental pathways from childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to adult Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been suggested. The existence of common genetic factors has been described but there is little evidence on the role of environmental factors in the possible transition from one disorder to another throughout life. The main goal of this work is to review the literature about the existing evidence on childhood traumas as factors that mediate the risk of developing BPD in children with ADHD.

Methods

A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Science Direct and PsychInfo databases. Criteria included studies of BPD and ADHD relationships and childhood traumas as environmental influences from epidemiological or clinical samples.

Results

The review only identified 4 studies that matched the search criteria. All studies retrospectively analyzed childhood traumas, and adult patients with BPD, with or without comorbid ADHD, were the most frequently mentioned. The analyzed evidence reinforces the relationship between the number of childhood traumas and higher clinical severity. Three of these analyzed studies describe an increased the risk of children with ADHD who report emotional and sexual traumatic experiences to develop BPD in adulthood.

Conclusions

The experience of traumatic childhood events, especially those of an emotional type, may have a mediating effect of an increased risk of developing adult BPD in childhood ADHD patients. However, to consider them as risk factors, more studies, and especially longitudinal studies, are necessary to clarify the probable transactional process between the two disorders. Evidence from these studies may be helpful to develop early intervention programs to reduce the functional impairment associated with the two disorders.
Utility of diffusion weighted imaging with the quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient in diagnosing residual or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after transarterial chemoembolization: a meta-analysis
Authors: Liu Zhao , Fan Jin-Ming , He Chen , Li Zhi-Fan , Xu Yong-Sheng , Li Zhao , Liu Hai-Feng , Lei Jun-Qiang
Published: January 2020

Background

Accurate and early diagnosis of residual tumors or intrahepatic recurrences after TACE is critically needed for determining the success of treatments and for guiding subsequent therapeutic planning. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) with the quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in diagnosing residual or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Materials and methods

A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and the Cochrane Library database, from inception to July 2019, was conducted to select original studies on diagnosing residual or recurrent HCCs after TACE using DWI sequence with its ADC value. Two researchers independently chose study, extracted data, conducted meta-analysis, and evaluated methodological quality according to Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool.

Results

Twelve studies comprising 624 patients and 712 tumors were finally included. The pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC value of DWI in diagnosing residual or recurrent HCCs after TACE were 85% (95%CI: 74–92%), 83% (95%CI: 75–88%) and 0.90 (95%CI: 0.87–0.92), respectively. Residual or recurrent HCCs have significantly lower ADC value than necrotic tumors (MD = -0.48, 95%CI: − 0.69~ − 0.27, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that DWI performed better in diagnosing residual or recurrent HCCs after TACE, and ADC value may serve as alternatives for further evaluation of residual or recurrent leisions in HCC patients after TACE.
The Dystrophinopathies
Authors: Thangarajh Mathula
Published: January 2020

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The dystrophinopathies are among the most common neuromuscular conditions, and they include Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies. This article reviews the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, genetic cause, management, and new and emerging therapies for this condition.

RECENT FINDINGS

New studies have highlighted how oral corticosteroids have changed the natural history of the disease, prolonging ambulation in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and reducing the risk of developing scoliosis and subsequent surgical correction, improving cardiac health, and increasing long-term survival. Additionally, recent publications have provided insights into how newer and emerging treatment options are becoming more common for this condition. With gene therapy being approved in the United States for the severe form, the dystrophinopathies represent model diseases to understand the personalization of genetic treatment.

Improvement in the standardization of care and the use of oral corticosteroids have increased the life expectancy of patients with dystrophinopathy and changed the natural history of the disease. This article presents a summary of clinical features, diagnostic testing, and new and emerging treatment strategies for the dystrophinopathies.
Single cell sequencing of radial glia progeny reveals the diversity of newborn neurons in the adult zebrafish brain
Authors: Lange Christian , Rost Fabian , Machate Anja , Reinhardt Susanne , Lesche Matthias , Weber Anke , Kuscha Veronika , Dahl Andreas , Rulands Steffen , Brand Michael
Published: January 2020

Zebrafish display widespread and pronounced adult neurogenesis, which is fundamental for their regeneration capability after central nervous system injury. However, the cellular identity and the biological properties of adult newborn neurons are elusive for most brain areas. Here, we have used short-term lineage tracing of radial glia progeny to prospectively isolate newborn neurons from the her4.1+ radial glia lineage in the homeostatic adult forebrain. Transcriptome analysis of radial glia, newborn neurons and mature neurons using single cell sequencing identified distinct transcriptional profiles, including novel markers for each population. Specifically, we detected two separate newborn neuron types, which showed diversity of cell fate commitment and location. Further analyses showed that these cell types are homologous to neurogenic cells in the mammalian brain, identified neurogenic commitment in proliferating radial glia and indicated that glutamatergic projection neurons are generated in the adult zebrafish telencephalon. Thus, we prospectively isolated adult newborn neurons from the adult zebrafish forebrain, identified markers for newborn and mature neurons in the adult brain, and revealed intrinsic heterogeneity among adult newborn neurons and their homology with mammalian adult neurogenic cell types.
A planning study of focal dose escalations to multiparametric MRI-defined dominant intraprostatic lesions in prostate proton radiation therapy
Authors: Wang Tonghe , Zhou Jun , Tian Sibo , Wang Yinan , Patel Pretesh , Jani Ashesh B. , Langen Katja M. , Curran Walter J. , Liu Tian , Yang Xiaofeng
Published: January 2020

Objectives:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the dosimetric effect and clinical impact of delivering a focal radiotherapy boost dose to multiparametric MRI (mp-MRI)-defined dominant intraprostatic lesions (DILs) in prostate cancer using proton therapy.

Methods:

We retrospectively investigated 36 patients with pre-treatment mp-MRI and CT images who were treated using pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton radiation therapy to the whole prostate. DILs were contoured on co-registered mp-MRIs. Simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) plans using intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) were created based on conventional whole-prostate-irradiation for each patient and optimized with additional DIL coverage goals and urethral constraints. DIL dose coverage and organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing were compared between conventional and SIB plans. Tumor control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were estimated to evaluate the clinical impact of the SIB plans.

Results:

Optimized SIB plans significantly escalated the dose to DILs while meeting OAR constraints. SIB plans were able to achieve 125, 150 and 175% of prescription dose coverage in 74, 54 and 17% of 36 patients, respectively. This was modeled to result in an increase in DIL TCP by 7.3–13.3% depending on α/β and DIL risk level.

Conclusion:

The proposed mp-MRI-guided DIL boost using proton radiation therapy is feasible without violating OAR constraints and demonstrates a potential clinical benefit by improving DIL TCP. This retrospective study suggested the use of IMPT-based DIL SIB may represent a strategy to improve tumor control.

Advances in knowledge:

This study investigated the planning of mp-MRI-guided DIL boost in prostate proton radiation therapy and estimated its clinical impact with respect to TCP and NTCP.
Beyond Related Experience: Upstream vs. Downstream Experience in Innovation Contest Platforms with Interdependent Problem Domains
Authors: Menon Nirup , Mishra Anant , Ye Shun
Published: January 2020

Problem definition: Innovation contest platforms are often organized around specific fields and host contests that span a variety of interdependent problem domains. Whereas contestants may benefit from related experience in contests whose problem domains share an interdependency with the focal problem domain, it is unclear whether the benefits of related experience arise symmetrically from upstream experience (i.e., experience in problem domains that provide input information to the focal problem domain) and downstream experience (i.e., experience in problem domains that use output information from the focal problem domain) or differ among them. Academic/practical relevance: Given that innovation contest platforms serve to effectively match contest problem requirements with contestants’ skills, it is important to understand how a contestant’s prior experience on a platform contributes to her problem-solving performance. Our research provides a more granular examination of the benefits of related experience than what has been examined in prior studies on individual learning or innovation contests. Methodology: We collected detailed archival data from TopCoder, a leading innovation contest platform that hosts contests across multiple interdependent software development problem domains, from its launch in 2001 to September 2013. Our data set comprises detailed participation histories of 821 contestants in 3,274 contests across eight interdependent problem domains involving 8,985 observations. Results: Whereas a contestant’s related experience on the innovation contest platform is more positively associated with her focal contest performance compared with unrelated experience, the benefits of related experience arise only from downstream experience. That is, there are no significant performance benefits of upstream experience. Furthermore, the performance benefits of downstream experience are greater when the contest duration is shorter, highlighting its role in enabling more efficient search and problem solving in innovation contest platforms with interdependent problem domains. Managerial implications: Contrary to the notion of “hyperspecialization,” our findings suggest that contestants can reap benefits from diversifying their experience into downstream problem domains on innovation contest platforms. Furthermore, innovation contest platforms could facilitate such targeted diversification of contestant experience by developing more granular metrics of contestant experience across problem domains. Our findings also have implications for resource allocation and job rotation decisions in software development projects within firms.
Ignorance Is Almost Bliss: Near-Optimal Stochastic Matching with Few Queries
Authors: Blum Avrim , Dickerson John P. , Haghtalab Nika , Procaccia Ariel D. , Sandholm Tuomas , Sharma Ankit
Published: January 2020

We study the stochastic matching problem with the goal of finding a maximum matching in a graph whose edges are unknown but can be accessed via queries. This is a special case of stochastic k-cycle packing, in which the problem is to find a maximum packing of cycles, each of which exists with some probability. We provide polynomial-time adaptive and nonadaptive algorithms that provably yield a near-optimal solution, using a number of edge queries that is linear in the number of vertices. We are especially interested in kidney exchange, with which pairs of patients with end-stage renal failure and their willing but incompatible donors participate in a mechanism that performs compatibility tests between patients and donors and swaps the donors of some patients so that a large number of patients receive compatible kidneys. Because of the significant cost of performing compatibility tests, currently, kidney exchange programs perform at most one compatibility test per patient. Our theoretical results applied to kidney exchange show that, by increasing the number of compatibility tests performed per patient from one to a larger constant, we effectively get the full benefit of exhaustive testing at a fraction of the cost. We show, on both generated and real data from the UNOS nationwide kidney exchange, that even a small number of nonadaptive edge queries per vertex results in large gains in expected successful matches.
FATORES DETERMINANTES E INSTRUMENTOS DE DISSUASÃO DA LITIGÂNCIA FRÍVOLA
Authors: Da Costa Silva Jorge Luis
Published: January 2020

O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar a litigância frívola como fenômeno processual que gera inviabilização parcial do acesso à justiça àqueles que realmente têm pretensões sérias. De início, parte-se das premissas conceituais e metodológicas da análise econômica do direito para apresentar noções introdutórias da litigância frívola. Em seguida, analisa-se a instabilidade da jurisprudência e o uso abusivo do benefício da gratuidade de justiça como fatores que estimulam a litigância frívola. Por fim, examina-se alguns instrumentos criados pelo Código de Processo Civil para inibir esse comportamento frívolo.
Tunable optical bistability in multi-mode optomechanical systems
Authors: Wang Zhen , Jiang Cheng , He Yong , Wang Chang-Ying , Li Heng-Mei
Published: January 2020

Optical bistability has been studied theoretically in a multi-mode optomechanical system with two mechanical oscillators independently coupled to two coupled cavities. It is found that the multi-mode optomechanical system allows one to control the optical bistability in a much more flexible way. Specifically, the bistable behavior of the mean intracavity photon number in one cavity can be tuned by the strength and frequency of the pump laser beam driving another cavity. Meanwhile, it is also found that the coupling between the two cavities and the coupling between mechanical oscillators and cavities can effectively affect the optical bistability behavior in a sensitive manner. Moreover, the mechanical steady-state position exhibits clear bistability in the situation of relatively lower phonon number, and it exhibits more controllability as well. This investigation on optical bistability in multi-mode optomechanical systems will have promising applications in optical quantum computing and quantum information processing.
Theoretical analysis and optimization of highly efficient multilayer-coated blazed gratings with high fix-focus constant for the tender X-ray region
Authors: Huang Qiushi , Kozhevnikov Igor V. , Sokolov Andrey , Zhuang Yeqi , Li Tongzhou , Feng Jiangtao , Siewert Frank , Viefhaus Jens , Zhang Zhong , Wang Zhanshan
Published: January 2020

The problem of X-ray diffraction from multilayer-coated blazed diffraction gratings is analyzed. Invalidity of the conventional condition of maximal diffraction efficiency observed in previous experiments is explained theoretically. This is attributed to two factors: contribution of anti-blaze facets to diffraction efficiency and effect of strongly asymmetric diffraction. We demonstrate that a proper choice of the multilayer d-spacing allows to design grating with the diffraction efficiency close to the maximal possible one throughout the tender X-ray range (E∼1-5 keV). An optimization procedure is suggested for the first time to choose the optimal grating parameters and the operation diffraction order to obtain a high fix-focus constant and high diffraction efficiency simultaneously in a wide spectral range.