bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Timing of surgery in traumatic brachial plexus injury: a systematic review
Authors: Martin Enrico , Senders Joeky T. , DiRisio Aislyn C. , Smith Timothy R. , Broekman Marike L. D.
Published: June 2018

OBJECTIVE

Ideal timeframes for operating on traumatic stretch and blunt brachial plexus injuries remain a topic of debate. Whereas on the one hand spontaneous recovery might occur, on the other hand, long delays are believed to result in poorer functional outcomes. The goal of this review is to assess the optimal timeframe for surgical intervention for traumatic brachial plexus injuries.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed in January 2017 in PubMed and Embase databases according to the PRISMA guidelines. Search terms related to “brachial plexus injury” and “timing” were used. Obstetric plexus palsies were excluded. Qualitative synthesis was performed on all studies. Timing of operation and motor outcome were collected from individual patient data. Patients were categorized into 5 delay groups (0–3, 3–6, 6–9, 9–12, and > 12 months). Median delays were calculated for Medical Research Council (MRC) muscle grade ≥ 3 and ≥ 4 recoveries.

RESULTS

Forty-three studies were included after full-text screening. Most articles showed significantly better motor outcome with delays to surgery less than 6 months, with some studies specifying even shorter delays. Pain and quality of life scores were also significantly better with shorter delays. Nerve reconstructions performed after long time intervals, even more than 12 months, can still be useful. All papers reporting individual-level patient data described a combined total of 569 patients; 65.5% of all patients underwent operations within 6 months and 27.4% within 3 months. The highest percentage of ≥ MRC grade 3 (89.7%) was observed in the group operated on within 3 months. These percentages decreased with longer delays, with only 35.7% ≥ MRC grade 3 with delays > 12 months. A median delay of 4 months (IQR 3–6 months) was observed for a recovery of ≥ MRC grade 3, compared with a median delay of 7 months (IQR 5–11 months) for ≤ MRC grade 3 recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this systematic review show that in stretch and blunt injury of the brachial plexus, the optimal time to surgery is shorter than 6 months. In general, a 3-month delay appears to be appropriate because while recovery is better in those operated on earlier, this must be considered given the potential for spontaneous recovery.
Brain metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a review of the literature in the genomic era
Authors: Barrett Thomas F. , Gill Corey M. , Miles Brett A. , Iloreta Alfred M. C. , Bakst Richard L. , Fowkes Mary , Brastianos Priscilla K. , Bederson Joshua B. , Shrivastava Raj K.
Published: June 2018

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) affects nearly 500,000 individuals globally each year. With the rise of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the general population, clinicians are seeing a concomitant rise in HPV-related HNSCC. Notably, a hallmark of HPV-related HNSCC is a predilection for unique biological and clinical features, which portend a tendency for hematogenous metastasis to distant locations, such as the brain. Despite the classic belief that HNSCC is restricted to local spread via passive lymphatic drainage, brain metastases (BMs) are a rare complication that occurs in less than 1% of all HNSCC cases. Time between initial diagnosis of HNSCC and BM development can vary considerably. Some patients experience more than a decade of disease-free survival, whereas others present with definitive neurological symptoms that precede primary tumor detection. The authors systematically review the current literature on HNSCC BMs and discuss the current understanding of the effect of HPV status on the risk of developing BMs in the modern genomic era.
Antidepressant use in patients with meningioma: is there an association with tumor recurrence?
Authors: Kohli Karan M. , Loewenstern Joshua , Kessler Remi A. , Pain Margaret , Palmese Christina A. , Bederson Joshua , Shrivastava Raj K.
Published: June 2018

OBJECTIVE

With increasing general use of antidepressants (ADs), multiple studies have noted a small protective effect of ADs for patients with glioma, but their impact on meningioma has not been established. This study aims to evaluate the role of ADs in the context of additional clinical factors in relation to long-term risk of meningioma recurrence.

METHODS

One hundred five patients with an intracranial meningioma presenting from 2011–2014 with at least 3 years of follow-up (median 4.2 years) after resection were reviewed. AD use along with demographics, tumor characteristics, and outcomes were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association of AD use with tumor recurrence, including other clinical measures significantly associated with recurrence as covariates.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients (27.4%) were taking ADs (27 selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, 2 norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors) prior to tumor recurrence. Their tumors largely affected the frontal (31.0%) or parietal lobe (17.2%) and were located in convexity, parasagittal, or falcine (CPF) areas more frequently than skull base areas relative to the tumors of non-AD users (p = 0.035). AD use was found to be an independent predictor of recurrence, in addition to subtotal resection and WHO grade II/III classification (p values < 0.05). The median time from AD prescription to tumor recurrence was 36.6 months (interquartile range [IQR] = 20.9–62.9 months) and median length of AD use was 41.4 months (IQR = 24.7–62.8 months).

CONCLUSIONS

AD use was an independent predictor of meningioma recurrence. This association may be due to mood or affective changes caused by tumor location in CPF regions that may be a sign of early recurrence. The finding calls attention to AD use in the management of patients with meningioma, and warrants further exploration of an underlying relationship.
The role of indocyanine green videoangiography with FLOW 800 analysis for the surgical management of central nervous system tumors: an update
Authors: Acerbi Francesco , Vetrano Ignazio G. , Sattin Tommaso , de Laurentis Camilla , Bosio Lorenzo , Rossini Zefferino , Broggi Morgan , Schiariti Marco , Ferroli Paolo
Published: June 2018

OBJECTIVE

Indocyanine green videoangiography (ICG-VA) is an intraoperative technique used to highlight vessels in neurovascular surgery. Its application in the study of the vascular pathophysiology in CNS tumors and its role in their surgical management are still rather limited. A recent innovation of ICG-VA (i.e., the FLOW 800 algorithm integrated in the surgical microscope) allows a semiquantitative evaluation of cerebral blood flow. The aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time the systematic application of ICG-VA and FLOW 800 analysis during surgical removal of CNS tumors.

METHODS

Between May 2011 and December 2017, all cases in which ICG-VA and FLOW 800 analysis were used at least one time before, during, or after the tumor resection, and in which surgical videos were available, were retrospectively reviewed. Results of the histological analysis were analyzed together with the intraoperative ICG-VA with FLOW 800 in order to investigate the tumor-related videoangiographic features.

RESULTS

Seventy-one patients who underwent surgery for cerebral and spinal tumors were intraoperatively analyzed using ICG-VA with FLOW 800, either before or after tumor resection, for a total of 93 videoangiographic studies. The histological diagnosis was meningioma in 25 cases, glioma in 14, metastasis in 7, pineal region tumor in 5, hemangioblastoma in 4, chordoma in 3, and other histological types in 13 cases. The authors identified 4 possible applications of ICG-VA and FLOW 800 in CNS tumor surgery: extradural surveys allowed exploration of sinus patency and the course of veins before dural opening; preresection surveys helped in identifying pathological vascularization (arteriovenous fistulas and neo-angiogenesis) and regional venous outflow, and in performing temporary venous clipping tests, when necessary; postresection surveys were conducted to evaluate arterial and venous patency and parenchymal perfusion after tumor removal; and a premyelotomy survey was conducted in intramedullary tumors to highlight the posterior median sulcus.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors found ICG-VA with FLOW 800 to be a useful method to monitor blood flow in the exposed vessels and parenchyma during microsurgical removal of CNS tumors in selected cases. In particular, a preresection survey provides useful information about pathophysiological changes of brain vasculature related to the tumor and aids in the individuation of helpful landmarks for the surgical approach, and the postresection survey helps to prevent potential complications associated with the resection (such as local hypoperfusion or venous infarction).
Deterministic Meeting of Sniffing Agents in the Plane
Authors: Elouasbi Samir , Pelc Andrzej
Published: June 2018

Two mobile agents, starting at arbitrary, possibly different times from arbitrary locations in the plane, have to meet. Agents are modeled as discs of diameter 1, and meeting occurs when these discs touch. Agents have different labels which are positive integers. Each agent knows its own label, but not the label of the other agent. Agents are equipped with compasses and have synchronized clocks. They make a series of moves. Each move specifies the direction and the duration of moving. This includes a null move which consists in staying inert for some time, or forever. In a non-null move agents travel at the same constant speed, normalized to 1.

We assume that agents have sensors enabling them to estimate the distance from the other agent (defined as the distance between centers of discs), but not the direction towards it. We consider two models of estimation. In both models an agent reads its sensor at the moment of its appearance in the plane and then at the end of each move. This reading (together with the previous ones) determines the decision concerning the next move. In both models the reading of the sensor tells the agent if the other agent is already present. Moreover, in the monotone model, each agent can find out, for any two readings in moments t1 and t2, whether the distance from the other agent at time t1 was smaller, equal or larger than at time t2. In the weaker binary model, each agent can find out, at any reading, whether it is at distance less than ρ or at distance at least ρ from the other agent, for some real ρ > 1 unknown to them. Such distance estimation mechanism can be implemented, e.g., using chemical sensors. Each agent emits some chemical substance (scent), and the sensor of the other agent detects it, i.e., sniffs. The intensity of the scent decreases with the distance. In the monotone model it is assumed that the sensor is ideally accurate and can measure any change of intensity. In the binary model it is only assumed that the sensor can detect the scent below some distance (without being able to measure intensity) above which the scent is too weak to be detected.

We show the impact of the two ways of sensing on the cost of meeting, defined as the total distance travelled by both agents until the meeting. For the monotone model we show an algorithm achieving meeting at cost O( D), where D is the initial distance between the agents. This complexity is optimal. For the binary model we show that, if agents start at distance smaller than ρ (i.e., when they sense each other initially) then meeting can be guaranteed at cost O( ρ log λ), where λ is the larger label, and that this cost cannot be improved in general. Finally we observe that, if agents start at distance αρ, for some constant α > 1 in the binary model, then sniffing does not help, i.e., the worst-case optimal meeting cost is of the same order of magnitude as without any sniffing ability.
The Added Value of Diffusion-Weighted MRI-Derived Structural Connectome in Evaluating Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Multi-Cohort Validation
Authors: Wang Qi , Guo Lei , Thompson Paul M. , Jack Clifford R. , Dodge Hiroko , Zhan Liang , Zhou Jiayu ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center
Published: June 2018

T1-weighted MRI has been extensively used to extract imaging biomarkers and build classification models for differentiating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients from healthy controls, but only recently have brain connectome networks derived from diffusion-weighted MRI been used to model AD progression and various stages of disease such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI, as a possible prodromal stage of AD, has gained intense interest recently, since it may be used to assess risk factors for AD. Little work has been done to combine information from both white matter and gray matter, and it is unknown how much classification power the diffusion-weighted MRI-derived structural connectome could provide beyond information available from T1-weighted MRI. In this paper, we focused on investigating whether diffusion-weighted MRI-derived structural connectome can improve differentiating healthy controls subjects from those with MCI. Specifically, we proposed a novel feature-ranking method to build classification models using the most highly ranked feature variables to classify MCI with healthy controls. We verified our method on two independent cohorts including the second stage of Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI2) database and the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) database. Our results indicated that 1) diffusion-weighted MRI-derived structural connectome can complement T1-weighted MRI in the classification task; 2) the feature-rank method is effective because of the identified consistent T1-weighted MRI and network feature variables on ADNI2 and NACC. Furthermore, by comparing the top-ranked feature variables from ADNI2, NACC, and combined dataset, we concluded that cross-validation using independent cohorts is necessary and highly recommended.
Effects of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse on overhead pipeline
Authors: Zhang Ju-Qiu , Liang Zhi-Shan
Published: June 2018

High-altitude electromagnetic pulse may cause damage to electronic equipments through coupling pipeline system. In order to study the effects of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse on overhead pipeline, the electromagnetic field-to-overhead pipeline coupling equations are derived from Maxwell’s equations. The coupling equations are solved in frequency domain by applying the Green’s functions, and the time-domain waveforms of induced currents and voltages are obtained by using inverse Fourier transform. The currents and voltages at both ends and in the middle of pipeline are calculated by MATLAB software. It is shown that the peak values of the currents along the pipeline don’t vary much. The voltages at the ends of the pipeline are larger and the voltage polarity at one end is opposite to another, while the voltages in the middle of the pipeline are smaller. The effects of system characteristics on induced voltages are presented, such as the length of the pipeline, the height of the pipeline, the radius of outer surface of the pipeline and the conductivity of the ground. The results of these studies are applicable to electromagnetic pulse protection.
Location verification algorithm of wearable sensors for wireless body area networks
Authors: Wang Hua , Wen Yingyou , Zhao Dazhe
Published: June 2018

BACKGROUND:

Knowledge of the location of sensor devices is crucial for many medical applications of wireless body area networks, as wearable sensors are designed to monitor vital signs of a patient while the wearer still has the freedom of movement. However, clinicians or patients can misplace the wearable sensors, thereby causing a mismatch between their physical locations and their correct target positions. An error of more than a few centimeters raises the risk of mistreating patients.

OBJECTIVE:

The present study aims to develop a scheme to calculate and detect the position of wearable sensors without beacon nodes.

METHODS:

A new scheme was proposed to verify the location of wearable sensors mounted on the patient’s body by inferring differences in atmospheric air pressure and received signal strength indication measurements from wearable sensors. Extensive two-sample [Formula: see text] tests were performed to validate the proposed scheme.

RESULTS:

The proposed scheme could easily recognize a 30-cm horizontal body range and a 65-cm vertical body range to correctly perform sensor localization and limb identification.

CONCLUSIONS:

All experiments indicate that the scheme is suitable for identifying wearable sensor positions in an indoor environment.
Capacity Planning of Electric Car Charging Station Based on Discrete Time Observations and MAP(2)/G/c Queue
Authors: Farkas Csaba , Telek Miklós
Published: June 2018

The modeling of electric car charging stations is essential for determining the required number of chargers in order to ensure the required service quality. In this paper we propose a new estimation method for the stochastic modeling of electric car charging stations, based on Markov arrival process (MAP).The input of the proposed model is empirical data for the arrival and service process of electric cars, given as histograms: the number of arriving cars during a fixed time slot (5 minutes in our case) and the histogram of service times (in 5 minutes granularity). The fact that observations on the continuous time process of car charging are available in discrete time steps poses a modeling challenge, which was not considered before. We propose a procedure to fit the observed data with a continuous time MAP of order 2 such that three moments and a correlation parameter of the discrete time observations are matched with three moments and the correlation parameter of the continuous time MAP for the given time interval. We implemented the fitting procedure in MATLAB and verified the obtained model of car charging station against simulation. As the MAP model of the arrival processes is reasonably close to the observations, the obtained MAP/G/c queue allows a more accurate dimensioning of car charging station than the previously applied ones.
Pediatric Patients Receiving Specialized Palliative Home Care According to German Law: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study
Authors: Nolte-Buchholtz Silke , Zernikow Boris , Wager Julia
Published: June 2018

In Germany, every child with a life-limiting condition suffering from symptoms that cannot sufficiently be controlled is eligible by law for specialized pediatric palliative home care (SPPHC). It is the aim of this study to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of children referred to SPPHC and to compare patients with cancer and non-cancer conditions. The prospective multicenter study includes data on 75 children (median age 7.7 years, 50.7% male). The majority had non-cancer conditions (72%). The most common symptoms were cognitive impairment, somatic pain, impairment in communication or swallowing difficulties. Swallowing difficulties, seizures, and spasticity occurred significantly more often in non-cancer patients (p < 0.01). Cancer patients received antiemetics significantly more often (permanent and on demand) than non-cancer patients (p < 0.01). Significantly more non-cancer patients had some type of feeding tube (57.3%) or received oxygen (33.3%) (p < 0.01). Central venous catheters had been fitted in 20% of the patients, mostly in cancer patients (p < 0.001). Tracheostomy tubes (9.3%) or ventilation (14.7%) were only used in non-cancer patients. In conclusion, patients referred to SPPHC are a diverse cohort with complex conditions including a large range of neurologically originating symptoms. The care of pediatric palliative care patients with cancer is different to the care of non-cancer patients.
Real-Time Temperature Estimation of Three-Core Medium-Voltage Cable Joint Based on Support Vector Regression
Authors: Ruan Jiangjun , Zhan Qinghua , Tang Liezheng , Tang Ke
Published: June 2018

The joint is the weakest link in three-core medium-voltage power cable systems and the temperature is an essential indicator to its insulation condition. Therefore, a model to estimate the temperature inside the three-core cable joint was built based on support vector regression (SVR) with two fixed cable surface temperatures as inputs. The samples for model training were obtained from 3-D transient thermal analyses through finite element method (FEM) under different single-step currents. A temperature-rise test of 15 kV three-core cable joint was carried out and the estimated temperature based on SVR agrees well with the measured result with a maximum error of about 4 °C. Besides, the proposed model could accurately estimate the joint temperature even though the thermal conductivity of armor wrap used in thermal analysis for model training differs from its real value. The accuracies and calculation speed of the proposed model were compared with those of FEM, showing a better generality of our model. A temperature-rise test under unbalanced three-phase currents was performed and the temperature estimation errors are within 6 °C, indicating the applicability of the method. The effect of contact resistance was briefly discussed in the end. This approach helps improve cable operation and maintenance.
Mechanical Property Measurements and Fracture Propagation Analysis of Longmaxi Shale by Micro-CT Uniaxial Compression
Authors: Zhou Minyue , Zhang Yifei , Zhou Runqing , Hao Jin , Yang Jijin
Published: June 2018

The mechanical properties and fracture propagation of Longmaxi shale loading under uniaxial compression were measured using eight cylindrical shale specimens (4 mm in diameter and 8 mm in height), with the bedding plane oriented at 0° and 90° to the axial loading direction, respectively, by micro computed tomography (micro-CT). Based on the reconstructed three-dimensional (3-D) CT images of cracks, different stages of the crack growth process in the 0° and 90° orientation specimen were revealed. The initial crack generally occurred at relatively smaller loading force in the 0° bedding direction specimen, mainly in the form of tensile splitting along weak bedding planes. Shear sliding fractures were dominant in the specimens oriented at 90°, with a small number of parallel cracks occurring on the bedding plane. The average thickness and volume of cracks in the 90° specimen is higher than those for the specimen oriented at 0°. The geometrical characterization of fractures segmented from CT scan binary images shows that a specific surface area correlates with tortuosity at the different load stages of each specimen. The 3-D box-counting dimension (BCD) calculations can accurately reflect crack evolution law in the shale. The results indicate that the cracks have a more complex pattern and rough surface at an orientation of 90°, due to crossed secondary cracks and shear failure.
An Experimental Investigation on the NO and CO Emission Characteristics of a Swirl Convergent-Divergent Nozzle at Elevated Pressure
Authors: Xi Zhongya , Fu Zhongguang , Hu Xiaotian , Sabir Syed Waqas , Jiang Yibo
Published: June 2018

The behavior of the pollutants NO and CO at elevated combustor pressure are of special importance due to the continuing trend toward developing engines operating at higher pressure ratios to yield higher thermal efficiency. An experiment was performed to examine the NO and CO emissions for a swirl convergent-divergent nozzle at elevated pressure. The NO and CO correlations were obtained. Meanwhile, the flame length, exhaust gas oxygen concentration, exit temperature and global flame residence time were also determined to analyze the NO and CO emission characteristics. The results showed that, with the increase in combustor pressure P, flame length decreased proportionally to P−0.49; exit O2 volume fraction increased and exit temperature was reduced. The global flame residence time decreased proportionally to P−0.43. As pressure increased, The NO and Emission Index of NO (EINO) levels decreased proportionally to P−0.53 and P−0.6 respectively, which is mainly attributed to the influence of global flame residence time; the NO and EINO increased almost proportionally with the increase in global flame residence time. The EINO scaling EINO (ρue/d) was proportional to Fr0.42, which indicated that compared with pure fuel, the fuel diluted with primary air can cause a decrease in the exponent of the Fr power function. At higher pressure, the CO and Emission Index of CO (EICO) decreased proportionally to P−0.35 and P−0.4, respectively, due to the increased unburned methane and high pressure which accelerated chemical reaction kinetics to promote the conversion of CO to CO2.
A Review of Particulate Number (PN) Emissions from Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) Engines and Their Control Techniques
Authors: Raza Mohsin , Chen Longfei , Leach Felix , Ding Shiting
Published: June 2018

Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines, particularly Particle Number (PN) emissions, have been studied intensively in both academia and industry because of the adverse effects of ultrafine PM emissions on human health and other environmental concerns. GDI engines are known to emit a higher number of PN emissions (on an engine-out basis) than Port Fuel Injection (PFI) engines, due to the reduced mixture homogeneity in GDI engines. Euro 6 emission standards have been introduced in Europe (and similarly in China) to limit PN emissions from GDI engines. This article summarises the current state of research in GDI PN emissions (engine-out) including a discussion of PN formation, and the characteristics of PN emissions from GDI engines. The effect of key GDI engine operating parameters is analysed, including air-fuel ratio, ignition and injection timing, injection pressure, and EGR; in addition the effect of fuel composition on particulate emissions is explored, including the effect of oxygenate components such as ethanol.
Trial to Encourage Adoption and Maintenance of a Mediterranean Diet (TEAM-MED): Protocol for a Randomised Feasibility Trial of a Peer Support Intervention for Dietary Behaviour Change in Adults at High Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Authors: McEvoy Claire T. , Moore Sarah E. , Appleton Katherine M. , Cupples Margaret E. , Erwin Christina M. , Hunter Steven J. , Kee Frank , McCance David , Patterson Christopher C. , Young Ian S. , McKinley Michelle C. , Woodside Jayne V.
Published: June 2018

Adoption of a Mediterranean diet (MD) reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, interventions to achieve dietary behaviour change are typically resource intensive. Peer support offers a potentially low-cost approach to encourage dietary change. The primary objective of this randomised controlled trial is to explore the feasibility of peer support versus a previously tested dietetic-led intervention to encourage MD behaviour change, and to test recruitment strategies, retention and attrition in order to inform the design of a definitive trial. A total of 75 overweight adults at high CVD risk who do not follow a MD (Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS ≤ 3)) will be randomly assigned to either: a minimal intervention (written materials), a proven intervention (dietetic support, written materials and key MD foods), or a peer support intervention (group-based community programme delivered by lay peers) for 12 months. The primary end-point is change in MDS from baseline to 6 months (adoption of MD). Secondary end-points include: change in MDS from 6 to 12 months (maintenance of MD), effects on nutritional biomarkers and CVD risk factors, fidelity of implementation, acceptability and feasibility of the peer support intervention. This study will generate important data regarding the feasibility of peer support for ease of adoption of MD in an ‘at risk’ Northern European population. Data will be used to direct a larger scale trial, where the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of peer support will be tested.
Identifying Local and Centralized Mental Health Services—The Development of a New Categorizing Variable
Authors: Ala-Nikkola Taina , Pirkola Sami , Kaila Minna , Joffe Grigori , Kontio Raija , Oranta Olli , Sadeniemi Minna , Wahlbeck Kristian , Saarni Samuli
Published: June 2018

The challenges of mental health and substance abuse services (MHS) require shifting of the balance of resources from institutional care to community care. In order to track progress, an instrument that can describe these attributes of MHS is needed. We created a coding variable in the European Service Mapping Schedule-Revised (ESMS-R) mapping tool using a modified Delphi panel that classified MHS into centralized, local services with gatekeeping and local services without gatekeeping. For feasibility and validity, we tested the variable on a dataset comprising MHS in Southern Finland, covering a population of 2.3 million people. There were differences in the characteristics of services between our study regions. In our data, 41% were classified as centralized, 37% as local without gatekeeping and 22% as local services with gatekeeping. The proportion of resources allocated to local services varied from 20% to 43%. Reclassifying ESMS-R is an easy way to compare the important local vs. centralized balance of MHS systems globally, where such data exists. Further international studies comparing systems and validating this approach are needed.
A Comparison of Mental Health Care Systems in Northern and Southern Europe: A Service Mapping Study
Authors: Sadeniemi Minna , Almeda Nerea , Salinas-Pérez Jose A. , Gutiérrez-Colosía Mencía R. , García-Alonso Carlos , Ala-Nikkola Taina , Joffe Grigori , Pirkola Sami , Wahlbeck Kristian , Cid Jordi , Salvador-Carulla Luis
Published: June 2018

Mental health services (MHS) have gone through vast changes during the last decades, shifting from hospital to community-based care. Developing the optimal balance and use of resources requires standard comparisons of mental health care systems across countries. This study aimed to compare the structure, personnel resource allocation, and the productivity of the MHS in two benchmark health districts in a Nordic welfare state and a southern European, family-centered country. The study is part of the REFINEMENT (Research on Financing Systems’ Effect on the Quality of Mental Health Care) project. The study areas were the Helsinki and Uusimaa region in Finland and the Girona region in Spain. The MHS were mapped by using the DESDE-LTC (Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories for Long Term Care) tool. There were 6.7 times more personnel resources in the MHS in Helsinki and Uusimaa than in Girona. The resource allocation was more residential-service-oriented in Helsinki and Uusimaa. The difference in mental health personnel resources is not explained by the respective differences in the need for MHS among the population. It is important to make a standard comparison of the MHS for supporting policymaking and to ensure equal access to care across European countries.
Addendum: Geier, D.A.; et al. A Cross-Sectional Study of the Association between Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Exposure in Boys and the Risk of Adverse Effects as Measured by Receipt of Special Education Services. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 123
Authors: Geier David , Kern Janet , Homme Kristin , Geier Mark
Published: June 2018

The authors would like to update the “Conflicts of Interest” section of their previous paper [1] as follows:[...]
Study on Epoxy Resin Toughened by Epoxidized Hydroxy-Terminated Polybutadiene
Authors: Ge Zhen , Zhang Wenguo , Huang Chao , Luo Yunjun
Published: June 2018

Epoxy resin (EP) was toughened by epoxidized hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (EHTPB), with the corresponding modified epoxy resin being prepared. In this paper, the microstructure of EHTPB-modified epoxy resin was characterized, while the influence of different contents of EHTPB on curing kinetics, mechanical properties, morphology, thermal properties, dynamic thermomechanical (DMA) properties and crosslink density of the modified epoxy resin were also discussed. The results showed that the EHTPB-modified epoxy resin was successfully prepared and cured completely. The activation energy (Ea) of the modified epoxy resin decreased after the addition of EHTPB. With an increase in the EHTPB content, the tensile strength (σm) of the modified epoxy resin decreased and the breaking elongation (εb) increased gradually. The initial decomposition temperature (T5%) and glass transition temperature (Tg) of the modified epoxy resin decreased with an increase in the EHTPB content. The modified epoxy resin had a rough fractured surface and the interface was blurred, presenting a ductile fracture.
On the Possibility of Miniature Diamond-Based Magnetometers Using Waveguide Geometries
Authors: Bougas Lykourgos , Wilzewski Alexander , Dumeige Yannick , Antypas Dionysios , Wu Teng , Wickenbrock Arne , Bourgeois Emilie , Nesladek Milos , Clevenson Hannah , Braje Danielle , Englund Dirk , Budker Dmitry
Published: June 2018

We propose the use of a diamond waveguide structure to enhance the sensitivity of magnetometers relying on the detection of the spin state of nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond by infrared optical absorption. An optical waveguide structure allows for enhanced optical path-lengths avoiding the use of optical cavities and complicated setups. The presented design for diamond-based magnetometers enables miniaturization while maintaining high sensitivity and forms the basis for magnetic field sensors applicable in biomedical, industrial and space-related applications.
Associations of Dairy Intake with Arterial Stiffness in Brazilian Adults: The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)
Authors: Ribeiro Amanda Gomes , Mill José Geraldo , Cade Nágela Valadão , Velasquez-Melendez Gustavo , Matos Sheila Maria Alvim , Molina Maria del Carmen Bisi
Published: June 2018

Recent studies have suggested the possible effect of dairy product intake on cardiovascular risk markers, including arterial stiffness. Our aim was to investigate whether dairy food intake is associated with arterial stiffness, which we assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and pulse pressure (PP) in a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data (2008–2010; n = 12,892) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Dairy consumption was evaluated with a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) by computing servings per day for total and subgroups of dairy products. Dairy consumption was described in four categories (≤1 serving/day to >4 servings/day). Covariance analysis (ANCOVA) was used to compare cfPWV across increasing intake of dairy food, adjusting for confounding factors, including non-dairy food groups. The intake of total dairy was inversely associated with cfPWV and PP (−0.13 m/s and −1.3 mmHg, from the lowest and to the highest category of dairy intake). Low-fat dairy, fermented dairy and cheese showed an inverse relationship with cfPWV and PP. These findings suggest a beneficial effect of dairy consumption to reduce arterial stiffness. However, further evidence from longitudinal studies or long-term intervention is needed to support reduction of cfPWV and PP mediating the beneficial effects of dairy products on cardiovascular health.
Changes of Colonic Bacterial Composition in Parkinson’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Gerhardt Sara , Mohajeri M. Hasan
Published: June 2018

In recent years evidence has emerged that neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are strongly associated with the microbiome composition in the gut. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most intensively studied neurodegenerative disease in this context. In this review, we performed a systematic evaluation of the published literature comparing changes in colonic microbiome in PD to the ones observed in other NDs including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To enhance the comparability of different studies, only human case-control studies were included. Several studies showed an increase of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Verrucomicrobiaceae and Akkermansia in PD. A decrease of Faecalibacterium spp., Coprococcus spp., Blautia spp., Prevotella spp. and Prevotellaceae was observed in PD. On a low taxonomic resolution, like the phylum level, the changes are not disease-specific and are inconsistent. However, on a higher taxonomic resolution like genus or species level, a minor overlap was observed between PD and MSA, both alpha synucleinopathies. We show that standardization of sample collection and analysis is necessary for ensuring the reproducibility and comparability of data. We also provide evidence that assessing the microbiota composition at high taxonomic resolution reveals changes in relative abundance that may be specific to or characteristic of one disease or disease group, and might evolve discriminative power. The interactions between bacterial species and strains and the co-abundances must be investigated before assumptions about the effects of specific bacteria on the host can be made with certainty.
Toward Smart Footwear to Track Frailty Phenotypes—Using Propulsion Performance to Determine Frailty
Authors: Rahemi Hadi , Nguyen Hung , Lee Hyoki , Najafi Bijan
Published: June 2018

Frailty assessment is dependent on the availability of trained personnel and it is currently limited to clinic and supervised setting. The growing aging population has made it necessary to find phenotypes of frailty that can be measured in an unsupervised setting for translational application in continuous, remote, and in-place monitoring during daily living activity, such as walking. We analyzed gait performance of 161 older adults using a shin-worn inertial sensor to investigate the feasibility of developing a foot-worn sensor to assess frailty. Sensor-derived gait parameters were extracted and modeled to distinguish different frailty stages, including non-frail, pre-frail, and frail, as determined by Fried Criteria. An artificial neural network model was implemented to evaluate the accuracy of an algorithm using a proposed set of gait parameters in predicting frailty stages. Changes in discriminating power was compared between sensor data extracted from the left and right shin sensor. The aim was to investigate the feasibility of developing a foot-worn sensor to assess frailty. The results yielded a highly accurate model in predicting frailty stages, irrespective of sensor location. The independent predictors of frailty stages were propulsion duration and acceleration, heel-off and toe-off speed, mid stance and mid swing speed, and speed norm. The proposed model enables discriminating different frailty stages with area under curve ranging between 83.2–95.8%. Furthermore, results from the neural network suggest the potential of developing a single-shin worn sensor that would be ideal for unsupervised application and footwear integration for continuous monitoring during walking.
Predictive Diagnosis of Agricultural Periurban Areas Based on Territorial Indicators: Comparative Landscape Trends of the So-Called “Orchard of Europe”
Authors: García-Ayllón Salvador
Published: June 2018

The Mediterranean southeastern area of Spain has traditionally been known as the “Orchard of Europe”. This configuration, which is based fundamentally on traditional agriculture in periurban areas, has evolved in recent decades as a consequence of the sophistication of the agrifood processes transforming its landscape. In addition, tourism, the growth of cities, and the impact of the real estate bubble between 1995 and 2007 have configured important alterations which have generated heterogeneous phenomena in these periurban areas. The present article studies this process by analyzing the evolution of the territory and diagnosing its transformation at a large scale. The evolution of three very representative periurban and similar in size environments of this so-called Europe’s orchard will be compared by using different GIS tools: the El Ejido area, the Campo de Cartagena—Mar Menor area and the Huerta de Murcia area. Through the implementation of different territorial indicators, the current issues will be established from an objective and quantifiable perspective. Moreover, possible future scenarios for 2030 will be raised according to the current transformation trends. This approach will lead us to consider the concept of life cycle in the transformation process of a territory.
Similarity Measures for T-Spherical Fuzzy Sets with Applications in Pattern Recognition
Authors: Ullah Kifayat , Mahmood Tahir , Jan Naeem
Published: June 2018

In this manuscript, two generalizations of fuzzy sets, intuitionistic fuzzy sets and picture fuzzy sets, known as spherical fuzzy sets and T-spherical fuzzy sets, are discussed and a numerical and geometrical comparison among them is established. A T-spherical fuzzy set can model phenomena like voting using four characteristic functions denoting the degree of vote in favor, abstinence, vote in opposition, and refusal with an infinite domain, whereas an intuitionistic fuzzy set can model only phenomena of yes or no types. First, in this manuscript, some similarity measures in the frameworks of intuitionistic fuzzy sets and picture fuzzy sets are discussed. With the help of some numerical results, it is discussed that existing similarity measures have some limitations and could not be applied to problems where information is provided in T-spherical fuzzy environment. Therefore, some new similarity measures in the framework of spherical fuzzy sets and T-spherical fuzzy sets are proposed including cosine similarity measures, grey similarity measures, and set theoretic similarity measures. With the help of some results, it was proved that the proposed similarity measures are a generalization of existing similarity measures. The newly-defined similarity measures were subjected to a well-known problem of building material recognition and the results are discussed. A comparative study of new and existing similarity measures was established and some advantages of the proposed work are discussed.
Exponential Aggregation Operator of Interval Neutrosophic Numbers and Its Application in Typhoon Disaster Evaluation
Authors: Tan Ruipu , Zhang Wende , Chen Shengqun
Published: June 2018

In recent years, typhoon disasters have occurred frequently and the economic losses caused by them have received increasing attention. This study focuses on the evaluation of typhoon disasters based on the interval neutrosophic set theory. An interval neutrosophic set (INS) is a subclass of a neutrosophic set (NS). However, the existing exponential operations and their aggregation methods are primarily for the intuitionistic fuzzy set. So, this paper mainly focus on the research of the exponential operational laws of interval neutrosophic numbers (INNs) in which the bases are positive real numbers and the exponents are interval neutrosophic numbers. Several properties based on the exponential operational law are discussed in detail. Then, the interval neutrosophic weighted exponential aggregation (INWEA) operator is used to aggregate assessment information to obtain the comprehensive risk assessment. Finally, a multiple attribute decision making (MADM) approach based on the INWEA operator is introduced and applied to the evaluation of typhoon disasters in Fujian Province, China. Results show that the proposed new approach is feasible and effective in practical applications.
Botulinum Toxin for Central Neuropathic Pain
Authors: Park Jihye , Chung Myung Eun
Published: June 2018

Botulinum toxin (BTX) is widely used to treat muscle spasticity by acting on motor neurons. Recently, studies of the effects of BTX on sensory nerves have been reported and several studies have been conducted to evaluate its effects on peripheral and central neuropathic pain. Central neuropathic pain includes spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain, post-stroke shoulder pain, multiple sclerosis-related pain, and complex regional pain syndrome. This article reviews the mechanism of central neuropathic pain and assesses the effect of BTX on central neuropathic pain.
Dynamic Portrait of the Retrograde 1:1 Mean Motion Resonance
Authors: Huang Yukun , Li Miao , Li Junfeng , Gong Shengping
Published: June 2018

Asteroids in mean motion resonances with giant planets are common in the solar system, but it was not until recently that several asteroids in retrograde mean motion resonances with Jupiter and Saturn were discovered. A retrograde co-orbital asteroid of Jupiter, 2015 BZ509 is confirmed to be in a long-term stable retrograde 1:1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter, which gives rise to our interests in its unique resonant dynamics. In this paper, we investigate the phase-space structure of the retrograde 1:1 resonance in detail within the framework of the circular restricted three-body problem. We construct a simple integrable approximation for the planar retrograde resonance using canonical contact transformation and numerically employ the averaging procedure in closed form. The phase portrait of the retrograde 1:1 resonance is depicted with the level curves of the averaged Hamiltonian. We thoroughly analyze all possible librations in the co-orbital region and uncover a new apocentric libration for the retrograde 1:1 resonance inside the planet’s orbit. We also observe the significant jumps in orbital elements for outer and inner apocentric librations, which are caused by close encounters with the perturber.
Spitzer Opens New Path to Break Classic Degeneracy for Jupiter-mass Microlensing Planet OGLE-2017-BLG-1140Lb
Authors: Novati S. Calchi , Skowron J. , Jung Y. K. , Beichman C. , Bryden G. , Carey S. , Gaudi B. S. , Henderson C. B. , Shvartzvald Y. , Yee J. C. , Zhu W. ,   (Spitzer Team), Udalski A. , Szymański M. K. , Mróz P. , Poleski R. , Soszyński I. , Kozłowski S. , Pietrukowicz P. , Ulaczyk K. , Pawlak M. , Rybicki K. , Iwanek P. ,   (OGLE Collaboration), Albrow M. D. , Chung S.-J. , Gould A. , Han C. , Hwang K.-H. , Ryu Y.-H. , Shin I.-G. , Zang W. , Cha S.-M. , Kim D.-J. , Kim H.-W. , Kim S.-L. , Lee C.-U. , Lee D.-J. , Lee Y. , Park B.-G. , Pogge R. W. ,   (KMTNet Collaboration)
Published: June 2018

We analyze the combined Spitzer and ground-based data for OGLE-2017-BLG-1140 and show that the event was generated by a Jupiter-class

planet orbiting a mid-late M dwarf

that lies

in the foreground of the microlensed Galactic-bar source star. The planet–host projected separation is

, i.e., well beyond the snow line. By measuring the source proper motion

from ongoing long-term OGLE imaging and combining this with the lens-source relative proper motion

derived from the microlensing solution, we show that the lens proper motion

is consistent with the lens lying in the Galactic disk, although a bulge lens is not ruled out. We show that while the Spitzer and ground-based data are comparably well fitted by planetary (i.e., binary-lens (2L1S)) and binary-source (1L2S) models, the combination of Spitzer and ground-based data decisively favors the planetary model. This is a new channel to resolve the 2L1S/1L2S degeneracy, which can be difficult to break in some cases.