bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of the Drying Temperature on Color, Antioxidant Activity and In Vitro Digestibility of Green Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Flour
Authors: Gonzalez Manolo , Alvarez‐Ramirez Jose , Vernon‐Carter E. Jaime , Reyes Isabel , Alvarez‐Poblano Lurdes
Published: February 2020

Green peas (Pisum sativum, cv. Warindo) are dehydrated in a channel air flowing (15 m s−1) drier at 50, 60, and 70 °C. Dried peas are milled for obtaining flour, and some properties are assessed. Increasing drying temperatures produce a significant greenness reduction (quantified by chroma parameter a) and on the relative crystallinity (assessed by X‐ray diffraction analysis) from ≈23% at 50 °C to 19% at 70 °C. Contrarily, the in vitro digestibility of both starch and protein increased as drying temperature is higher. The rapidly digestible starch increases from 15.94% at 50 °C to 36.48% at 70 °C, the effect that is linked to the reduction of the relative crystallinity, while protein digestibility increases from 76.26% at 50 °C to 85.87% at 70 °C. The increase of protein digestibility is ascribed to denaturation effects as detected by reduced content of β‐sheet secondary structures detected by FTIR analysis. From the consumer point of view, a higher protein digestibility is deemed as desirable, but the opposite holds true regarding starch digestibility. Thus, this work provides insights about the effect of drying temperature on the digestibility of starch and protein of green pea flour.
Experimental and shear bearing capacity studies of the assembled composite wall with bolted connections
Authors: Huang Wei , Miao Xinwei , Hu Gaoxing , Fan Zhenhui , Zhang Jiarui , Ling Ke
Published: February 2020

To realize the dry connection of an assembled composite wall structure, a bolted connection based on the horizontal joint of an assembled composite wall is proposed. Five specimens were designed under monotonic loading. The failure modes, the seismic performance of the specimens, and the strains and slip of the connectors were studied. The plate thickness and the high‐strength bolts diameter are the key points of research. Moreover, the finite element model for experiment is also established, and the parameters are analyzed based on the numerical models. The results of the experiments and the simulations show that the bolted connection is feasible and the specimens have good deformation capacity. Increasing the plate thickness can improve the bearing capacity of the specimens. Finally, the formula for the shear bearing capacity of the specimen is obtained.
Reproductive morphophysiology of the male scorpion mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides Linnaeus, 1766) in captivity
Authors: Fernandes Araujo Chaves Lianne P. , Viana Diego C. , Chaves Elba P. , Miglino Maria A. , de Sousa Alana L.
Published: February 2020

Kinosternon scorpioides, popularly known as scorpion mud turtle (jurará in Brazil), is a fresh water species. There is little information about its reproduction and the present study aims to morphologically characterize the reproductive organs of male K.scorpioides bred in captivity in two seasons of the year. The reproductive tracts of adult animals under went macroscopic ultrastructural analysis of the lumen, as well as scanning electron and transmission microscopy. Macroscopically, the male genital organs consist of a pair of testicles, epididymis, the vas deferens and a penis. Testicles, epididymis and deferents ducts were characterized by reproductive activity during the rainy season and reproductive inactivity in the dry period. The morphometry regarding the tubular and luminal diameter and epithelial height of the testicles, epididymis and deferents ducts showed changes along the studied periods. The rainy season presented higher averages than the dry period. The penis did not show any changes during both periods. It was concluded that K. scorpioides exhibits reproductive seasonality.
Simulating future salinity dynamics in a coastal marshland under different climate scenarios
Authors: Eberhard Julius , van Schaik N. Loes M.B. , Schibalski Anett , Gräff Thomas
Published: February 2020

Salinization is a well‐known problem in agricultural areas worldwide. In the last 20–30 yr, rising salinity in the upper, unconfined aquifer has been observed in the Freepsumer Meer, a grassland near the German North Sea coast. For investigating long‐term development of salinity and water balance during 1961–2099, the one‐dimensional Soil–Water–Atmosphere–Plant (SWAP) model was set up and calibrated for a soil column in the area. The model setup involves a deep aquifer as the source of salt through upward seepage. In the vertical salt transport equation, dispersion and advection are included. Six different regional outputs of statistical downscaling methods were used as climate scenarios. These comprise different rates of increasing surface temperature and different trends in seasonal rainfall. The simulation results exhibit opposing salinity trends for topsoil and deeper layers. Although projections of some scenarios entail decreasing salinities near the surface, most of them project a rise in subsoil salinity, with the strongest trends of up to +0.9 mg cm−3 100 yr−1 at −65 cm. The results suggest that topsoil salinity trends in the study area are affected by the magnitude of winter rainfall trends, whereas high subsoil salinities correspond to low winter rainfall and high summer temperature. How these projected trends affect the vegetation and thereby future land use will depend on the future management of groundwater levels in the area.
Recovery of Uranium(VI) from Sulfate Leach Liquor using Modified Duolite
Authors: Yousef Lamia A.
Published: February 2020

Silicate mercapto Duolite composite (SMDC) and activated Duolite A 101 D (AD) were prepared, characterized, and tested for uranium removal from sulfate solution using batch experiment technique. The capability of newly adsorbents for sorption of uranium was estimated and optimized under different controlling variables, including the impact of uranium initial concentration, pH of the medium, equilibrium time, temperatures, dose and interfering ions. Testing of different adsorbents for adsorption isotherms revealed that the achieved experimental data were fitting well with the Langmuir isotherm model with 68.02 mg·g–1 and 208.33 mg·g–1 as theoretical capacity for AD and SMDC, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters have been resulted in negative values for ΔH and ΔS indicating an exothermic and decreased randomness behavior for uranium(VI) adsorption, while negative values of ΔG indicate spontaneous uranium adsorption. The kinetics studies showed that the adsorption process was controlled expressed by pseudo‐second order model. Finally, the optimized factors have been applied for uranium(VI) recovery from Gattar leach liquor producing a uranium concentrate (Na2U2O7) with uranium concentration of 70 % and purity of 93.33 %.
What Is Multilevel Modelling?
Authors: Leyland Alastair H. , Groenewegen Peter P.
Published: February 2020

In this chapter, we will introduce the basic methodological background to multilevel modelling in verbal form. The underlying graphs and algebra are not covered until Chap. 5. There are two principal reasons for the increasing popularity of multilevel analysis. Firstly, it is more efficient and uses more of the available information than the alternative approaches of distributing contextual information to all individual observations or of aggregating all individual observations to the contextual level. Secondly, multilevel analysis enables the testing of more interesting hypotheses, especially those referring specifically to variation in outcomes or concerning the interactions between characteristics of the context and of individuals. This chapter also covers the idea of what constitutes a level in multilevel research.
Conflict Analyses: A Methodology for Exploring Children’s Cultural Formation in Early Childhood Education
Authors: Grindheim Liv Torunn
Published: February 2020

Quality in early childhood education (ECE) cannot be limited to measuring how young children reach normal development milestones. To depict the multifactorial relations that work together to obtain better quality in ECE, there is a need for rich and detailed material for analysis that emphasises both the context and the ways individuals act. It is, however, a challenge to analyse this material in a systematic and transparent manner that also includes the investigative and imaginative elements of activities such as explorative play. The analyses presented draw on Vygotsky’s outline of play, wherein he emphasises the importance of play for children’s development of exploration and imagination. To meet these challenges, the chapter is structured around the question: How can we analyse explorative play? The aim is to present an analytical method that is coherent and transparent for how such an analysis can be done. The analyses focus on exploration as conflicts between the involved person’s values/motives versus the contextual conditions and demands. These conflicts can be analysed from four contextual perspectives: conflicts in the activity, conflicts from an institutional perspective, conflicts from a cultural perspective and conflicts from the perspective of nature. The method formulated for analysing small-scale empirical material exemplifies how an activity involves aspects relevant for the people involved, the institution, the culture and even an understanding of nature. Thus, the multifactorial conditions for children’s development are depicted, along with the necessity for methodologies to be constantly evolving.
Same-Sex Families Challenging Norms and the Law in France
Authors: Thibeaud Matthias
Published: February 2020

Legal context has become more inclusive for same-sex couples in French society over the recent decade. It was not until 2013 that the marriage law was amended to allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. However, the law still lacks collateral parenting rights: access to ART and surrogacy are still illegal in France for same sex couples, and they must turn to foreign countries to access these rights. Consequently, same-sex parenting is a bit of a “makeshift job”, i.e., a legal and social grey area. This chapter analyses how lesbian and gay individuals deal with the law to “make” family, based on a series of in-depth interviews. The retelling of the procreation process they adopt and the story of their daily life as parents provide revealing examples of the different way they negotiate the legal and social obstacles they face. With many roads leading to parenthood, one key aspect of same-sex parenting is the legal recognition of the status and obligations to parent(s), whatever their gender, sexual orientation or number. The different same-sex families configurations challenge the certainties about the “right way to be parent” supported by the law, questioning the dominant and legitimate definition of the “normal” family.
Corporate and Personal Income Tax
Authors: Kruschwitz Lutz , Löffler Andreas
Published: February 2020

In the last chapter of this book we would like to look into the question of how to evaluate a firm if taxes are raised both at the investor and at the company level. Attentive readers of Chaps. 10.1007/978-3-030-37081-7_2 and 10.1007/978-3-030-37081-7_3 might expect a discussion on different strategies of financing policy (Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-37081-7_2) and of dividend policy (Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-37081-7_3). But, we are not going to do this. We will also, however, not dwell on the innumerable variations of possible combinations in this context, rather we will restrict ourselves to a manageable example. At the end, we will only discuss how to proceed in the cases of further possible financing and dividend policies.
Bulgaria
Authors: Trifonova Tihomira , Lillova Kamellia
Published: February 2020

This chapter focuses on older workers and extended working life in Bulgaria, considering of ageing biological, chronological, social and mental/cognitive aspects. Key factors involved in the discussion are financial security, pension arrangements and health, social and workplace characteristics. The demographic situation in Bulgaria has recently been defined in national debates as ‘one of greatest challenges facing the country in the 21st century’. The uses a gender perspective on employment, pension and healthpolicies, and reflects on the on-going debate on extended working life.
Germany
Authors: Romeu-Gordo Laura , Sarter E. K.
Published: February 2020

Over the last few decades, the German pension system has undergone important changes, from the introduction ofcarecreditsto account for care responsibilities to the extension of working lives. This chapter provides an overview of recent pension reforms in Germany. Following a Bismarckian tradition, the German pension system is reliant on contributions made over the course of individual working lives. To account for the strong interdependency between employment and pension entitlements, this chapter embeds the overview of pension reforms in the broader context of recent developments in the labour market and policies aiming to facilitate reconciliation between work and family life and those supporting the extension of working lives.
Italy
Authors: Addabbo Tindara
Published: February 2020

In 2011 the legal retirement age in Italy was raised from 65 years for men and 60 years for women to 67 years for both by the year 2019. This reform remains controversial. Extending the legal retirement age has caused an increase in employment rates for the 55–64 age group. However, unemployed workers in this age group face difficulties in finding a job and in re-entering the labour market. The demanding family responsibilities of Italian women and the persistence of the gender wage gap result in lower levels of retirement pensions. Moreover, increasing the retirement agewithout improving childcareservices and addressing work-life balance policies negatively affects the working careers of young women. Extended working lifepolicies should be matched with gender sensitive activation policies to ensure equal access to work and age managementpolicies to achieve better working conditions forolder workers.
Data Issues and Indicators
Authors: Addabbo Tindara , Gstrein Michaela , Siemieńska Renata
Published: February 2020

This chapter documents a variety of national and cross national quantitative data sets and indicators for people aged 50 and over, which also include gender-sensitive measures and/or indicators for health and socio-economic wellbeing. Special attention is given to longitudinal data sets with indicators on relevant lifecourse eventscovering childcare activities, workforce participation and employment history. We give illustrative examples of some indicators and data sets as they pertain to issues associated to the duration of working lives. The context for this exploration of data sets starts with the definition across European countries of extended working life, which relates to institutional factors, norms, attitudes and status of labour markets and their implications for wellbeing in later life, accounting for gender issues where possible.
Slovenia
Authors: Rener Tanja , Kralj Ana
Published: February 2020

Slovenia is among the fastest ageing European countries and one with the most accentuated gender pensiongap. Partly, we can explain this by the fact that women spent more time engaged in domestic and care work and consequently less time in employment. However, the working conditions of the employed in general are not favourable for extending working life, which is the principal reason why the vast majority of people who reach the conditions for retirement, opt to do so immediately in spite of pension system incentives to postpone retirement. As far as gender and healthperspectives of extending working life in Slovenia are concerned, the following research data should be considered: poor physical and mentalhealth has been linked to a low income, low levels of education, working class and gender.
United Kingdom
Authors: Airey Laura , Jandrić Jakov
Published: February 2020

In response to concerns about the rising cost of State Pensions and the prospect of skills shortages, successive United Kingdom (UK) governments have introduced a range of legislative changes designed to extend working life. Policy discourse emphasises individual responsibility for saving towards retirement, and in recent years there has been a shift away from collective pension provision. Changes to employment regulations and pension schemes have been portrayed both as an economic necessity and as offeringolder workers greater choice and control over work in later life. However, gendered patterns of paid employment and unpaid caring work over the lifecourse mean that women are systematically disadvantaged in terms of employment opportunities in later life and access to pension income in retirement. Extended working lifepolicies may also negatively impact uponolder workers in poor health, since the UK does not have a disabilitypension and individuals cannot claim their State Pension early.
Problems and Prospects for Current Policies to Extend Working Lives
Authors: Street Debra , Ní Léime Áine
Published: February 2020

This chapter condenses several of the key take-away points from earlier chapters on empirical, theoretical, and policy issues elucidated in Part One and provides readers with additional context to consider in their understanding of gender and health issues in the country-specific chapters upcoming in Part Two. First, we detail the central problematics associated with ageing populations and the policy initiatives taken so far to extend working lives. Next, we argue that for effective policymaking that would enable extended working lives, it is important to consider the interests of all of the actors affected and to pay attention to different problems that are highlighted by thinking through different levels of analysis—macro, meso, and micro. Further, we challenge the dominant rhetorical frame that policy initiatives undertaken recently have been about extending working lives, arguing instead that most countries’ initiatives have been about delaying retirement. This has been embodied by policies very different from those that would be needed to ensure thatolder workers can remain employed longer in dignified, appropriate, and adequately compensated jobs. Both gender differences and variations in healthstatus differentially empower older workers to continue in employment. Finally, we conclude that research and policymaking that improves understanding and the potential for extended working lives is essential, and that it must be sensitive to variations among differently advantaged sub-groups of older people.
Albania
Authors: Xhumari Merita Vaso
Published: February 2020

This chapter analyses the most important policies influencing the gender and healthimplications of the extension of working life in Albania post 2000. Parametric reforms of social insurance will gradually increase and equalise retirement ages for men and women to 67 years by 2056, and extend the insurance period to 40 years by 2032. During the period 1993–2016, the average real retirement age has increased from 53.2 to 63.2 years old. People have the right to receive the pension and continue working and paying contributions, but if they postpone receiving pensions after retirement age, the pension amount increases by 0.5% each month; in the case of early retirement, the pension amount reduces by 0.6% each month. New types of private sector employment—part-time, self-employment, family businesses, remote working—have opened opportunities to extend working life beyond retirement age. However, high levels of unemployment, informal work, lack of adequate skills, and insufficient publicservices create difficulties, especially for women, to extend working life. To fully address the complexity of extending working lives, an integrated approach should involve all relevant policy areas including education, health, employment and social protection, as well as engaging stakeholders, public authorities, businesses and civil society.
Australia
Authors: Brooke Elizabeth
Published: February 2020

Although Australian women’s labour force participation has increased sharply since the turn of the century, there is a dichotomy between their participation at the pre pension threshold of 65 and after. Women’s gendersegregation in low waged occupations is institutionalised through the neoliberal policy of individual enterprise agreements, reinforcing gender wage gaps. In combination, the gendered healtheffectsofcaregiving, disrupted careers and the experience of precarity shorten working lives, limiting wages and retirementincomes, ultimately impacting on women’s economic status and class. Some gender responsive initiatives through the courts have been instituted supporting flexibility requests to employers applied to workers over 50 and employment entitlements by workers employed as casuals. Yet the lack of proactive ‘joined up’ gender and age policies across multidimensional domains enables the contradiction between public policies of women’s extending working lives and reality to persist.
Austria
Authors: Haas Barbara , Gstrein Michaela , Bildsteiner Roland
Published: February 2020

This chapter deals with the labour market situation of older (50+) workers and pension policies in Austria, a country where gender differences are strongly pronounced over the entire lifecourse. The target of recent policies is not primarily to tackle the negative effects of the system for women, but to decrease pension costs by discouraging early retirement and inducing employers to keep and/or employolder workers. However, this will have some gendered effects since recent policy changes will increase women’s lower legal retirement age stepwise (60) to match that of men (65) in 2033. Although caring time already partly contributes to pension payments, this does not substantially decrease the large gender pensiongap.
Pathophysiology of Pulmonary Circulation in Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Hashimoto Megumi , Kaneko Masahiro , Nishida Naohisa , Serizawa Hina , Kawata Kohei , Sekiya Rika , Senzaki Hideaki
Published: February 2020

There are several types of abnormalities in the integrated physiology of pulmonary circulation in congenital heart disease. The main pathology of Eisenmenger syndrome involves a change in pulmonary resistance and is the most commonly observed pathophysiology in pulmonary hypertension. Other diseases also present with the main pathophysiological characteristic of reduced pulmonary compliance, such as tetralogy of Fallot and multiple peripheral pulmonary stenosis. In addition, the cavo-pulmonary connection has the unique feature of both pulmonary circulation and regulation. According to the differences in the pathophysiological features of pulmonary circulation, therapeutic approaches may considerably differ between diseases and conditions. Physiology-based clinical insights with regard to pulmonary circulation in congenital heart disease will be discussed in this chapter.
Development of Novel Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension by Clinical Application of Basic Research
Authors: Satoh Kimio , Shimokawa Hiroaki
Published: February 2020

Pulmonary hypertension is a lethal disease in which inflammation and oxidative stress are deeply involved in the disease state. We have recently screened novel pathogenic molecules and have performed drug discovery targeting those molecules. To confirm its clinical significance, we used patient-derived blood samples to evaluate the potential as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis. Finally, we conducted a high-throughput screening and found inhibitors for the pathogenic proteins. In this chapter, we would like to introduce the recent progress on the basic and clinical research focusing on the screening of pathogenic proteins in pulmonary hypertension.
The Ductus Arteriosus, a Vascular Outsider, in Relation to the Pulmonary Circulation
Authors: Gittenberger-de Groot Adriana C. , Roest Arno A. W. , Bökenkamp Regina , Jongbloed Monique R. M. , Bartelings Margot M. , DeRuiter Marco C. , Poelmann Robert E.
Published: February 2020

The muscular ductus arteriosus (DA) has many unique characteristics setting it apart from the adjoining elastic arteries. Preparation for neonatal closure takes place in utero with the development of intimal thickening. Ductus-specific gene and protein expression patterns were demonstrated during this process. We postulated that the closing process, with increased expression of progerin, might reflect aspects of premature ageing. Persistent patency of the DA, can be congenitally or immaturity based. During embryonic development the sixth pharyngeal arch arteries are the last to develop. In avian embryos this arch is divided into a proximal (part of the future pulmonary artery) and a distal part (on the left side the origin of the DA). The consequence is that the pulmonary arteries have a double vascular contribution being a proximal sixth arch artery component and a distal true pulmonary artery segment. We have conclusive evidence that this is not encountered in the human embryo. Both sixth arch arteries and the right and left pulmonary arteries connect separately and at distinct locations to the pulmonary trunk side of the aortic sac. The insertion of the wall of the DA between the proximal and distal part of the left pulmonary artery, referred to as pulmonary coarctation, constitutes a congenital malformation and not a remnant of what is encountered during normal development. This configuration is found almost exclusively in combination with pulmonary atresia leading to neonatal interruption of the proximal left pulmonary artery with consequences for surgical or intervention repair.
Molecular, Genetic, and Pharmacological Modulation of the Ductus Arteriosus: KATP Channels as Novel Drug Targets
Authors: Shelton Elaine L. , Denton Jerod S.
Published: February 2020

Maintaining fetal patency and facilitating neonatal closure of the ductus arteriosus are complex processes that involve nuanced developmental programing and a precise balance of perinatal vasodilators and constrictors. Work over the past 40 years has identified “master regulators” of ductus tone, namely oxygen, prostaglandins, and nitric oxide signaling. Yet, prolonged neonatal patency of the ductus remains a significant clinical problem with limited therapeutic options. Understanding the molecular and genetic underpinnings of normal ductus function and PDA pathophysiology will facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies to regulate ductus tone.
Fabrication of Implantable Human Arterial Graft by Periodic Hydrostatic Pressure
Authors: Saito Junichi , Yokoyama Utako , Takayama Toshio , Ito Hiroaki , Tadokoro Tomomi , Sugo Yoshinobu , Kurasawa Kentaro , Ogawa Miyuki , Miyagi Etsuko , Taniguchi Hideki , Kaneko Makoto , Ishikawa Yoshihiro
Published: February 2020

Structural heart disease is the most common congenital anomaly, affecting almost 1% of live births [1]. Approximately 25% of newborns with congenital heart disease (CHD) require surgical or trans-catheter intervention in the first year of life [2]. Artificial materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene are used for the surgical repair of CHD, but these materials lack growth potential and lead to stenosis according to patient’s growth. Therefore, biological tissue-engineered blood vessels are desired for pediatric patients. Recently, we fabricated implantable “scaffold-free” grafts consisting of rat vascular smooth muscle cells by periodic hydrostatic pressure (PHP) [3]. Here we aimed to fabricate implantable human grafts and examine the molecular response to PHP.
A Neurotrophic Factor Receptor GFRA2, a Specific Surface Antigen for Cardiac Progenitor Cells, Regulates the Process of Myocardial Compaction
Authors: Ishida Hidekazu , Miyagawa Shigeru , Ozono Keiichi , Suzuki Ken , Sawa Yoshiki , Yashiro Kenta
Published: February 2020

A surface marker specific for cardiac progenitors (CPs) allows the robust isolation of CPs, effectively circumventing the necessity of genetic modification. Recently, we have reported that glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor receptor alpha 2 (Gfra2), which is anchored to the plasma membrane via Glycosylphosphatidylinositol, specifically marks CPs of both the first and second heart fields within the early mouse embryo [1], identified by single-cell expression profiling on mouse embryonic CPs (Fig. 56.1) [2, 3].
Superfield component decompositions and the scan for prepotential supermultiplets in 10D superspaces
Authors: James Gates S. , Hu Yangrui , Mak S.-N. Hazel
Published: February 2020

Abstract

The first complete and explicit SO(1,9) Lorentz descriptions of all component fields contained in the $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 1, $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2A, and $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 2B unconstrained scalar 10D superfields are presented. These are made possible by a discovery of the dependence of the superfield component expansion on the branching rules of irreducible representations in one ordinary Lie algebra into one of its Lie subalgebras. Adinkra graphs for ten dimensional superspaces are defined for the first time, whose nodes depict spin bundle representations of SO(1,9). A consequential deliverable of this advance is it provides the first explicit, in terms of component fields, examples of all the off-shell 10D Nordström SG theories relevant to string theory, without off-shell central charges that are reducible but with finite numbers of fields. An analogue of Breitenlohner’s approach is implemented to scan for superfields that contain graviton(s) and gravitino(s), which are the candidates for the superconformal prepotential superfields of 10D off-shell supergravity theories and Yang-Mills theories.
Local SU(2) × U(1) quark flavor symmetry in the RS bulk
Authors: Wojcik G. N. , Rizzo T. G.
Published: February 2020

Abstract

We propose a model of quark flavor based on an additional SU(2) × U(1) local symmetry in a warped extra dimensional bulk. In contrast to other works, we break the additional gauge symmetry in the bulk via two complex scalars which acquire bulk vevs, rather than relying on brane-localized symmetry breaking. A gauge-covariant Kaluza-Klein decomposition of a theory with a bulk spontaneously broken gauge symmetry is performed, and exact expressions for the bulk profiles of all physical particles in such systems are given. The SM quark masses and mixings are then recreated using gauge-covariant bulk quark mass terms and Yukawa-like couplings to the new bulk scalars. A numerical sampling of points in the model parameter space that recreate the quark masses and mixings is performed at a KK scale of MKK = 5 TeV. We then compute the ∆F = 2 4-quark operators arising from our new flavor gauge bosons and scalars, and those arising from Kaluza-Klein modes of SM gauge bosons. By decoupling one of our bulk scalar fields to all quark fields except the right-handed up-like sector, we find that it is possible to greatly suppress tree-level contributions to the highly constrained Kaon mixing parameters. Instead, the dominant constraints on the model emerge from neutral Bd and D meson mixing. These constraints are explored with our numerical sampling of the model parameter space, and the specific contribution of the new flavor gauge bosons and scalars is discussed. We find that for a significant range of realistic flavor gauge couplings, the new gauge bosons compete with the normally dominant gluon flavor-changing currents, but flavor-changing operators emerging from the bulk scalar fields are highly suppressed. Finally, we briefly comment on flavor constraints that are independent of the flavor gauge sector arising from the $$ Z{\overline{b}}_L{b}_L $$
Z

b
¯

L

b
L

coupling and rare top decays.
Stapler-assisted stoma prolapse repair with real-time fluorescent angiography using indocyanine green
Authors: Ambe Peter C. , Kankam Joseph , Zarras Konstantinos
Published: February 2020

Stoma prolapse is an increase in the size of the stoma secondary to intussusception of the proximal bowel segment. Transverse loop colostomy is most commonly involved. Although ostomy function is rarely impaired, large prolapses may cause patients distress and impair stoma dressing. Strangulation and ischemia of the prolapsed segment have been reported as complications. Herein, we report a stapler-associated repair of a prolapsed transverse loop colostomy with real-time perfusion studies using indocyanine green.
Acetabular defect classification and management
Authors: Ghanem Mohamed , Zajonz Dirk , Heyde Christoph-Eckhard , Roth Andreas
Published: February 2020

Background

The purpose of this study was to provide a practicable and contemporary classification system that is reliable and pragmatic with respect to perioperative evaluation, planning, scientific comparison and analysis.

Material and methods

This was a retrospective study of 160 patients who underwent acetabular revision surgery after THR due to loosening of the acetabular cup. The assessment of the acetabular defect was based on intraoperative description of the bony configuration of the acetabulum as well as on standardized preoperative planning images (pelvic overview and axial view of the hip joint). Preoperative computed tomography (CT) was carried out in individual cases.

Results

Acetabular bone defects were classified into 4 types based on whether or not a 3-point fixation of the acetabular cup within the boundaries of the acetabular cavity was possible. Minor segmental defects or cup loosening without bone loss can be treated with standard hemispherical acetabular components. Bone loss can be filled with bone grafts and/or treated by the appropriate acetabular component in order to ensure stable anchorage. When conventional revision cups are no longer suitable a custom made partial pelvic replacement can be used.

Conclusion

The proposed classification mainly relies on intraoperative findings which were confirmed by preoperative imaging in 154 cases out of 160 (96.25%); however, meticulous preoperative planning based on X‑ray radiographs must be carried out. In addition, a CT scan must be performed whenever type III or type IV defects are anticipated. Compared to the existing classification systems, we can state that our classification system is practicable and pragmatic and simplifies the assessment of bone defects.
Slightly better pain relief but more frequently motor blockade with combined nerve block analgesia compared to continuous intraarticular analgesia after total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Lützner Jörg , Gehring Richard , Beyer Franziska
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Pain management after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is still under debate. Continuous peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) can provide long pain relief but impair muscle function. Continuous intraarticular analgesia could result in longer pain relief than local infiltration analgesia without negative effects on muscle function. This study investigated the efficacy of pain control between PNB’s and continuous intraarticular analgesia after TKA.

Methods

A prospective randomized study on 140 patients undergoing TKA was performed. Patients received either a combination of continuous femoral nerve block, continuous sciatic nerve block and single-shot obturator nerve block (group R) or a local infiltration analgesia and a continuous intraarticular catheter with ropivacaine (group L). Primary outcome was pain measured on a numerical rating scale. Knee function, patient-reported outcome (PRO) and adverse events were assessed until 1 year after surgery.

Results

Pain at rest was lower in group R on the day of surgery (mean NRS 3.0 vs. 4.2) and the morning of postoperative day 1 (mean NRS 3.4 vs. 4.4). Motor blockade longer than postoperative day 3 occurred more often in group R compared to group L (15.3% vs. 1.5%). Pain levels, PRO and satisfaction 3-month and 1-year after surgery were similar.

Conclusion

Continuous PNB’s were slightly more effective in the first 24 h after surgery but were associated more often with motor blockade which should be avoided. It must be balanced if the small amount of better pain relief immediately after surgery justifies the risks associated with motor blockade following PNB’s.

Level of evidence

I.
Vaginal recurrence of endometrial cancer: MRI characteristics and correlation with patient outcome after salvage radiation therapy
Authors: Steiner Aida , Alban Gabriela , Cheng Teresa , Kapur Tina , Bay Camden , McLaughlin Pierre-Yves , King Martin , Tempany Clare , Lee Larissa J.
Published: February 2020

Purpose

To evaluate MRI characteristics in vaginal recurrence of endometrial cancer (EC) including tumor volume shrinkage during salvage radiotherapy, and to identify imaging features associated with survival.

Methods

Patients with vaginal recurrence of EC treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) followed by brachytherapy (BT), and with available pelvic MRI at two time points: baseline and/or before BT were retrospectively identified from 2004 to 2017. MRI features including recurrence location and tissue characteristics on T2- and T1-weighted images were evaluated at baseline only. Tumor volumes were measured both at baseline and pre-BT. Survival rates and associations were evaluated by Cox regression and Fisher’s exact test, respectively.

Results

Sixty-two patients with 36 baseline and 50 pre-BT pelvic MRIs were included (24/62 with both MRIs). Vaginal recurrence of EC was most commonly located in the vaginal apex (27/36, 75%). Tumors with a post-contrast enhancing peripheral rim or low T2 signal rim at baseline showed longer recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.9, P < 0.05 adjusted for histology; HR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.8, P < 0.05, respectively). The median tumor shrinkage at pre-BT was 69% (range 1–99%). Neither absolute tumor volumes nor volume regression at pre-BT were associated with RFS. Lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) at hysterectomy and adjuvant RT were associated with recurrence involving the distal vagina (both P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Vaginal recurrences with rim enhancement at baseline MRI predicted improved RFS, while tumor volume shrinkage at pre-BT did not. Distal vaginal recurrence was more common in patients with LVSI and adjuvant RT at EC diagnosis.
Analyzing drivers of speciation in the Southern Ocean using the sea spider species complex Colossendeis megalonyx as a test case
Authors: Dömel Jana S. , Dietz Lars , Macher Till-Hendrik , Rozenberg Andrey , Mayer Christoph , Spaak Johanna M. , Melzer Roland R. , Leese Florian
Published: February 2020

Colossendeis megalonyx Hoek, 1881 has the broadest distribution of all sea spiders in the Southern Ocean. Previous studies have detected several evolutionarily young lineages within this taxon and interpreted them as a result of allopatric speciation in a few shelf refuges during glacial maxima. However, alternative scenarios such as ecological speciation in sympatry have rarely been considered or tested. Here, we generated the most extensive genomic and morphometric data set on the C. megalonyx species complex to (i) comprehensively describe species diversity, (ii) explore intraspecific connectivity between populations located around Antarctica, and (iii) systematically test for positive selection indicative of adaptive speciation. We successfully applied a target hybrid enrichment approach and recovered all 1607 genes targeted. Phylogenomic analysis was consistent with previous findings and, moreover, increased the resolution of branching within lineages. We found specimens of phylogenetically well-separated lineages occurring in sympatry to be genetically distinct from each other and gene flow between geographically separated populations of the same lineages to be restricted. Evidence for positive selection was found for four genes associated with structural and neuronal functions. Hence, there is an indication for positive selection in the C. megalonyx species complex, yet its specific contribution to the speciation process remains to be explored further. Finally, morphometric analyses revealed multiple significant differences between lineages, but a clear separation proved difficult. Our study highlights the relevance of positive selection as a potential driver for speciation in the Southern Ocean.
Response of neovascular central serous chorioretinopathy to an extended upload of anti-VEGF agents
Authors: Schworm Benedikt , Luft Nikolaus , Keidel Leonie F. , Hagenau Felix , Kern Christoph , Herold Tina , Kortuem Karsten U. , Priglinger Siegfried G. , Siedlecki Jakob
Published: February 2020

Purpose

To determine the anatomical and functional outcomes of an extended 6-month intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) upload in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR).

Methods

A retrospective database analysis was performed applying the following inclusion criteria: (1) diagnosis of CSCR, (2) diagnosis of secondary CNV, and (3) treatment of at least six consecutive injections of anti-VEGF. Outcome measures included the change of central retinal subfield thickness, remodeling of the pigment epithelium detachments, and change in visual function.

Results

Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients were included. Mean patient age was 65 ± 8.3 years, and 35% of the patients (n = 8) were female. Mean disease duration before diagnosis of CNV was 48 ± 25.3 months. Mean central retinal thickness decreased from 346 ± 61 to 257 ± 57 μm (p < 0.01) after the sixth injection while mean visual acuity improved from 0.65 ± 0.35 to 0.49 ± 0.29 (logMAR; p < 0.01). Of note, an extended upload of six as opposed to three injections yielded an additional mean central retinal thickness reduction (280 ± 46 μm vs. 257 ± 57 μm, p = 0.038). Significant CNV remodeling was observed as a decrease in pigment epithelium detachment (PED) vertical (p = 0.021) and horizontal diameter (p = 0.024) as well as PED height (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

An extended anti-VEGF upload of six consecutive injections seems to be effective in inducing CNV remodeling and fluid resorption in CNV complicating chronic CSCR.
A distributed API for coordinating AbC programs
Authors: Abd Alrahman Yehia , Garbi Giulio
Published: February 2020

Collective adaptive systems exhibit a particular notion of interaction where environmental conditions largely influence interactions. Previously, we proposed a calculus, namedAbC, to model and reason about CAS. The calculus proved to be effective by naturally modelling essential CAS features. However, the question on the tradeoff between its expressiveness and its efficiency, when implemented to program CAS applications, is to be answered. In this article, we propose an efficient and distributed coordination infrastructure forAbC. We prove its correctness, and we evaluate its performance. The main novelty of our approach is thatAbCcomponents are infrastructure agnostic. Thus the code of a component does not specify how messages are routed in the infrastructure but rather what properties a target component must satisfy. We also developed a Go API, named$$\mathcal {G}{} \textit{o}\mathcal {A}{} \textit{t}$$GoAt, and an Eclipse plugin to program in a high-level syntax which can be automatically used to generate matching Go code. We showcase our development through a non-trivial case study.
DICE-RD: an implementation of rate-related damages in the DICE model
Authors: Michaelis Peter , Wirths Heiko
Published: February 2020

A growing body of literature from the natural and the social sciences indicates that the rate of temperature increase is another key driver of total climate damages, next to the absolute increase in temperature compared to the pre-industrial level. Nonetheless, the damage functions employed in integrated assessment models that aim at studying the economics of climate change usually are based solely on the absolute temperature increase. Hence, these models neglect additional damages that will occur if the rate of temperature increase exceeds a certain threshold that overstrains the adaptive capacities of ecological and social systems. In the present paper, we implement such rate-related damages in the well-known integrated assessment model DICE-2016R. Using the resulting model variant DICE-RD, we show for several scenarios that an insufficient climate policy that ignores rate-related damages can lead to substantial economic losses.
Experience beyond the learning curve of transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) and its effect on the incidence of anastomotic leak
Authors: Caycedo-Marulanda A. , Verschoor C. P.
Published: February 2020

Background

The most important advancement in the surgical management of rectal cancer has been the introduction of total mesorectal excision (TME). Technical limitations to approaching mid and distal lesions remain. The recently described transanal TME makes it possible to minimize some of the difficulties by improving access. Anastomotic leak is a persistent concern after colorectal surgery no matter what technique is used. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of experience on the incidence of anastomotic leak after transanal TME. Secondary endpoints were local recurrence and margin status.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted over a period of 3 years at a tertiary care center in Northern Ontario with high volume of rectal cancer patients. The initial 100 consecutive patients with rectal neoplasia who had transanal TME surgery were included. All cases were performed by a single team. The main outcome assessed was the incidence of anastomotic leak beyond a pre-determined learning curve, as previously established in the literature. For statistical analysis, associations between patient characteristics and outcomes were estimated using ordinary least squares and logistic regression.

Results

Six cases of anastomotic leak occurred over the course of the study, the last of which occurred in the 37th patient. Relative to a baseline anastomotic leak rate of 7.8%, cumulative sum (CUSUM) analysis indicated that a 50% improvement in risk occurred at trial 50 of 85 patients that had an anastomosis performed. Two patients developed local recurrence during the study period. No correlation between learning curve and oncologic outcomes was identified.

Conclusions

Proficiency is likely to have a positive effect on the 30-day occurrence of anastomotic leak. Larger studies are required to explore the impact of experience on local recurrence.