bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Welcome back to Junkspace! Performing infinity while confined in lockdown
Authors: Rodger Johnny
Published: February 2021

For months we have been locked out of Junkspace. So, who’s complaining? Confined to domestic spaces, #stayhome has given many of us a forced opportunity to rethink the type of spaces that are not only functional and useful, but that make us feel comfortable. Our own residential arena may have felt restrictive and even – for some – oppressive at times, but who would say that they truly missed their daily passage through the endlessly stale air of check-in desks, departure gates, and duty frees at the airport; the epic journeys through low ceiling corridors and passageways of railway terminals and subway stations; and the blinding hallucinatory proliferation of brands and franchises in malls…?
Emergent labial stops in English
Authors: WOJTYŚ ANNA
Published: February 2021

The lexicon of English contains a number of words which developed emergent stops, mostly p, b, t, d. Some of these words have functioned as variants of forms without such stops (cf. OE endleofan ~ enlefan or gandra ~ ganra) but in most cases they prevail in Present-day English, as exemplified by OE nimol > ModE nimble, OE æmtig > ModE empty.

The present study examines the process of labial stop epenthesis from the perspective of diachrony and diatopy. I searched for the words containing emergent labial stops in the texts collected in historical English corpora to identify their uses with and without parasitic consonants. This made it possible to establish a precise chronology of the process, which was at work from Old to Modern English, and the context in which such stops appeared.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND LONGEVITY RISK: THE CASE OF RISKY BEQUEST INCOME
Authors: Cottle Hunt Erin N. , Caliendo Frank N.
Published: February 2021

This paper quantifies the welfare gains from Social Security when individuals face uninsurable longevity risk. While past researchers have studied this basic question, we do so from a unique perspective. In contrast to traditional macroeconomic models that abstract from specific linkages between parents and children, in our model, children are born to specific parents whose longevity is uncertain. And because parental asset holdings evolve over the life of the parent, children face uninsurable bequest income risk in addition to their own longevity risk. We find that Social Security improves ex ante expected utility by 3.4% of lifetime consumption (for the second generation). Because our baseline analysis assumes full information and optimal hedging of longevity risk, we treat these welfare gains as a conservative estimate, and we show that the gains are significantly larger when individuals fail to hedge their longevity risk.
Higher Healthy Lifestyle Score is associated with lower presence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in middle-aged and older Chinese adults: a community-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Deng Yun-yang , Zhong Qing-wei , Zhong Hai-li , Xiong Feng , Ke Yue-bin , Chen Yu-ming
Published: February 2021

Objective:

Previous studies have reported inverse associations between certain healthy lifestyle factors and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but limited evidence showed the synergistic effect of those lifestyles. This study examined the relationship of a combination of lifestyles, expressed as Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS), with NAFLD.

Design:

A community-based cross-sectional study. Questionnaires and body assessments were used to collect data on the six-item HLS (ranging from 0 to 6, where higher scores indicate better health). The HLS consists of non-smoking (no active or passive smoking), normal BMI (18·5–23·9 kg/m2), physical activity (moderate or vigorous physical activity ≥ 150 min/week), healthy diet pattern, good sleep (no insomnia or <6 months) and no anxiety (Self-rating Anxiety Scale < 50), one point each. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography.

Setting:

Guangzhou, China.

Participants:

Two thousand nine hundred and eighty-one participants aged 40–75 years.

Results:

The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 50·8 %. After adjusting for potential covariates, HLS was associated with lower presence of NAFLD. The OR of NAFLD for subjects with higher HLS (3, 4, 5–6 v. 0–1 points) were 0·68 (95 % CI 0·51, 0·91), 0·58 (95 % CI 0·43, 0·78) and 0·35 (95 % CI 0·25, 0·51), respectively (P-values < 0·05). Among the six items, BMI and physical activity were the strongest contributors. Sensitivity analyses showed that the association was more significant after weighting the HLS. The beneficial association remained after excluding any one of the six components or replacing BMI with waist circumference.

Conclusions:

Higher HLS was associated with lower presence of NAFLD, suggesting that a healthy lifestyle pattern might be beneficial to liver health.
A Discussion of Ismail K. White and Chryl N. Laird’s Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior
Authors: Owens Michael Leo
Published: February 2021

Charge: As Ismail K. White and Chryl N. Laird note, collectively more than 80% of African Americans self-identify as Democrats according to surveys, and no Republican presidential candidate has won more than 13% of the Black vote since 1968. This is true despite the fact that at the individual level many African Americans are increasingly politically moderate and even conservative. Against this backdrop, what explains the enduring nature of African American support for the Democratic Party? In Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior, White and Laird answer this question by developing the concept of “racialized social constraint,” a unifying behavioral norm meant to empower African Americans as a group and developed through a shared history of struggle against oppression and for freedom and equality. White and Laird consider the historical development of this norm, how it is enforced, and its efficacy both in creating party loyalty and as a path to Black political power in the United States. On the cusp of perhaps the most consequential presidential election in American history, one for which African American turnout was crucial, we asked a range of leading political scientists to assess the relative strengths, weaknesses, and ramifications of this argument.
Comment on “Characteristic Time Scales of Decadal to Centennial Changes in Global Surface Temperatures Over the Past 150 Years” by J. L. Le Mouël, F. Lopes, and V. Courtillot
Authors: Cuypers Y. , Codron F. , Crepon M.
Published: February 2021

Based on Singular Spectral Analysis (SSA) analysis of global earth surface temperature and solar activity (sunspots), Le Mouël et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EA000671) suggest that the variability in Earth surface temperature observed since 1850 is natural and controlled by the Sun. We cannot agree with their conclusions for several reasons: the lack of compelling results from the Fourier spectra and SSA estimates which are provided without confidence intervals, the small radiative forcing associated with the sunspot variability, and finally the simple evidence that the slowly varying components of the temperature and sunspots time show opposite trends in the last 30 years.
Carbon Capture Can’t Solve the Climate Problem Without Individual Actions
Authors: Learn Joshua
Published: February 2021

Individual choices like the adoption of electric vehicles are going to factor heavily in meeting the climate objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Placental mobilization of free fatty acids contributes to altered materno-fetal transfer in obesity
Authors: Hirschmugl Birgit , Perazzolo Simone , Sengers Bram G. , Lewis Rohan M. , Gruber Michael , Desoye Gernot , Wadsack Christian
Published: February 2021

Background

Metabolic changes in obese pregnant women, such as changes of plasma lipids beyond physiological levels, may subsequently affect fetal development in utero. These metabolic derangements may remain in the offspring and continue throughout life. The placenta mediates bidirectional exchange of nutrients between mother and fetus. The impact of prepregnancy obesity on placental transfer of lipids is still unknown.

Objective

We aimed to examine materno-to-fetal free fatty acid (FFA) transfer by a combined experimental and modeling approach. Flux of13C-labeled FFA was evaluated by ex vivo perfusion of human placentae as a function of prepregnancy obesity. Mathematical modeling complemented ex vivo results by providing FFA kinetic parameters.

Results

Obesity was strongly associated with elevated materno-to-fetal transfer of applied13C-FFA. Clearance of polyunsaturated13C-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was most prominently affected. The use of the mathematical model revealed a lower tissue storage capacity for DHA in obese compared with lean placentae.

Conclusion

Besides direct materno-to-fetal FFA transfer, placental mobilization accounts for the fetal FA supply. Together, with metabolic changes in the mother and an elevated materno-fetal FFA transfer shown in obesity, these changes suggest that they may be transmitted to the fetus, with yet unknown consequences.
Constitutive GLI1 expression in chondrosarcoma is regulated by major vault protein via mTOR/S6K1 signaling cascade
Authors: Wang Wei , Yan Taiqiang , Guo Wei , Niu Jianfang , Zhao Zhiqing , Sun Kunkun , Zhang Hongliang , Yu Yiyang , Ren Tingting
Published: February 2021

Hedgehog signaling plays a pivotal role in embryonic pattern formation and diverse aspects of the postnatal biological process. Perturbation of the hedgehog pathway and overexpression of GLI1, a downstream transcription factor in the hedgehog pathway, are highly relevant to several malignancies including chondrosarcoma (CS). We previously found that knocking down expression of GLI1 attenuates the disrupted Indian hedgehog (IHH) signal pathway and suppresses cell survival in human CS cells. However, the underlying mechanisms regulating the expression of GLI1 are still unknown. Here, we demonstrated the implication of GLI1 in SMO-independent pathways in CS cells. A GLI1 binding protein, major vault protein (MVP), was identified using the affinity purification method. MVP promoted the nuclear transport and stabilization of GLI1 by compromising the binding affinity of GLI1 with suppressor of fused homolog (SUFU) and increased GLI1 expression via mTOR/S6K1 signaling cascade. Functionally, knockdown of MVP suppressed cell growth and induced apoptosis. Simultaneous inhibition of MVP and GLI1 strongly inhibits the growth of CS in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, IHC results showed that MVP, GLI1, and P-p70S6K1 were highly expressed and positively correlated with each other in 71 human CS tissues. Overall, our findings revealed a novel regulating mechanism for HH-independent GLI1 expression and provide a rationale for combination therapy in patients with advanced CS.
Long-term HbA1c variability and the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy in subjects with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Kim Han Ul , Park Sung Pyo , Kim Yong-Kyu
Published: February 2021

This study aimed to investigate whether long-term HbA1c variability is associated with the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in subjects with type 2 diabetes. We retrospectively reviewed 434 type 2 diabetes subjects without DR who underwent regular DR screening. We reviewed fundus findings, collected HbA1c levels, and calculated the coefficient of variation (CV) and average real variability (ARV) of each subject’s HbA1c level. DR was developed in 55 subjects and progressed to moderate nonproliferative DR or worse DR in 23 subjects. On Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, HbA1c ARV, but not HbA1c CV, was significantly associated with DR development. However, the association between HbA1c variability and the DR progression rate to moderate nonproliferative DR or worse DR was not significant. The inter-visit HbA1c difference value on consecutive examination predicted DR development well and more careful screening for DR is needed for those with an absolute value change of 2.05%, an absolute increase of 1.75%, and an absolute decrease of 1.45% in HbA1c levels on consecutive examination. These results indicate that long-term glucose variability measured by HbA1c ARV might be an independent risk factor for DR development in addition to the mean HbA1c level in early diabetic subjects.
Ensemble model for estimating continental-scale patterns of human movement: a case study of Australia
Authors: McCulloch Karen , Golding Nick , McVernon Jodie , Goodwin Sarah , Tomko Martin
Published: February 2021

Understanding human movement patterns at local, national and international scales is critical in a range of fields, including transportation, logistics and epidemiology. Data on human movement is increasingly available, and when combined with statistical models, enables predictions of movement patterns across broad regions. Movement characteristics, however, strongly depend on the scale and type of movement captured for a given study. The models that have so far been proposed for human movement are best suited to specific spatial scales and types of movement. Selecting both the scale of data collection, and the appropriate model for the data remains a key challenge in predicting human movements. We used two different data sources on human movement in Australia, at different spatial scales, to train a range of statistical movement models and evaluate their ability to predict movement patterns for each data type and scale. Whilst the five commonly-used movement models we evaluated varied markedly between datasets in their predictive ability, we show that an ensemble modelling approach that combines the predictions of these models consistently outperformed all individual models against hold-out data.
Eosinopenia and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count ratio as prognostic factors in exacerbation of COPD
Authors: Karauda Tomasz , Kornicki Kamil , Jarri Amer , Antczak Adam , Miłkowska-Dymanowska Joanna , Piotrowski Wojciech J. , Majewski Sebastian , Górski Paweł , Białas Adam Jerzy
Published: February 2021

Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (AECOPDs) are one of the most important clinical aspects of the disease, and when requiring hospital admission, they significantly contribute to mortality among COPD patients. Our aim was to assess the role of eosinopenia and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count (NLR) as markers of in-hospital mortality and length of hospitalization (LoH) among patients with ECOPD requiring hospitalization. We included 275 patients. Eosinopenia was associated with in-hospital deaths only when coexisted with lymphocytopenia, with the specificity of 84.4% (95% CI 79.6–88.6%) and the sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 35.9–100%). Also, survivors presented longer LoH (P < 0.0001). NLR ≥ 13.2 predicted in-hospital death with the sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 35.9–100%) and specificity of 92.6% (95% CI 88.8–95.4%), however, comparison of LoH among survivors did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.05). Additionally, when we assessed the presence of coexistence of eosinopenia and lymphocytopenia first, and then apply NLR, sensitivity and specificity in prediction of in-hospital death was 100% (95% CI 35.9–100) and 93.7% (95% CI 90.1–96.3), respectively. Moreover, among survivors, the occurrence of such pattern was associated with significantly longer LoH: 11 (7–14) vs 7 (5–10) days (P = 0.01). The best profile of sensitivity and specificity in the prediction of in-hospital mortality in ECOPD can be obtained by combined analysis of coexistence of eosinopenia and lymphocytopenia with elevated NLR. The occurrence of a such pattern is also associated with significantly longer LoH among survivors.
Copper-catalyzed regioselective [3+2] annulation of malonate-tethered acyl oximes with isatins
Authors: Duan Jindian , Mao Yiyang , Xian Anmei , Rong Binsen , Xu Gaochen , Li Zhenjiang , Zhao Lili , Zhu Ning , Guo Kai
Published: February 2021

A copper-catalyzed regioselective [3+2] annulation of malonate-tethered acyl oximes with isatins was developed, affording valuable 2,3-dihydrooxazole-spirooxindoles in moderate to good yields with excellent diastereoselectivity.
Controlled orientation and sustained rotation of biological samples in a sono-optical microfluidic device
Authors: Kvåle Løvmo Mia , Pressl Benedikt , Thalhammer Gregor , Ritsch-Marte Monika
Published: February 2021

Optical and 3D acoustic trapping are combined in a microfluidic ‘sono-optical’ device to control the orientation or to induce sustained rotation of sub-millimeter-sized biological samples, such as micro-organisms, pollen grains or cell-clusters.
Concurrent atom transfer radical polymerization and nitroxide radical coupling relay polymerization
Authors: Wang Yu , Sahu Sushant P. , Clay Alec J. , Gildersleeve Amanda J.
Published: February 2021

Relay polymerization by conjugate radical trapping and re-initiation resulting in polymers with inserted alkoxyamine linkages.
The recent progress on metal–organic frameworks for phototherapy
Authors: Zheng Qiyao , Liu Xiangmei , Zheng Yufeng , Yeung Kelvin W. K. , Cui Zhenduo , Liang Yanqin , Li Zhaoyang , Zhu Shengli , Wang Xianbao , Wu Shuilin
Published: February 2021

Some infectious or malignant diseases such as cancers are seriously threatening the health of human beings all over the world.
Space–frequency‐mode multi‐dimensional hybrid modulation for vortex wave MIMO‐OFDM systems
Authors: Li Chuanqing , Liu Yi , Sun Fugang , Ma Teng , Wan Weidong , Liu Yi
Published: February 2021

By exploiting a dimension called orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes, a new modulation scheme referred to as multi‐dimensional space–frequency‐mode hybrid modulation (SFMHM) is proposed in this paper, which aims to further improve the MIMO‐OFDM system's spectrum efficiency and meet the demand of the future wireless communication networks. The key idea of SFMHM is to map a block of information bits to two information‐carrying units: (1) symbols chosen from a constellation diagram, (2) the indices of a subset chosen from all combinations of antennas, OAM modes, and subcarriers. A mapping method with low complexity for SFMHM is presented in this paper, which can reduce the computational complexity of the transmitter significantly. Simulation results show that, in LOS channels, SFMHM systems can achieve better performance compared with traditional MIMO‐OFDM systems.
A survey on security issues in cognitive radio based cooperative sensing
Authors: Shrivastava Shivanshu , Rajesh A. , Bora P. K. , Chen Bin , Dai Mingjun , Lin Xiaohui , Wang Hui
Published: February 2021

Cognitive radio based cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) is severely affected when some secondary users maliciously attack it. Two attacks regarded as key adversaries to the success of CSS are spectrum sensing data falsification (SSDF) and primary user emulation attack (PUEA). Defending SSDF and PUEAs has received significant attention in research in the past decade globally. This paper performs a state‐of‐the‐art comprehensive survey of the researches on defending SSDF and PUEAs. First, the preliminaries like Hypothesis testing for detecting the primary user and different models of CSS are discussed briefly. Then a categorization of the defence mechanisms for defending both the attacks has been proposed as active and passive. Active mechanisms are suitable for an immediate defence in a limited time span, while passive mechanisms are suitable for flexible CSS systems that are ready to detect the attacks over a period of time and suppress them permanently by bringing changes in their underlying operations. An in‐depth tutorial on both the defence mechanisms is provided from the perspectives of the secondary users throughput and the interference to the primary user. Finally, a detailed survey on the open research problems in this area and some possible solutions has been performed.
A three‐stage stochastic planning model for enhancing the resilience of distribution systems with microgrid formation strategy
Authors: Ghasemi Mostafa , Kazemi Ahad , Mazza Andrea , Bompard Ettore
Published: February 2021

In recent years, severe outages caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes have highlighted the importance of boosting the resilience level of distribution systems. However, due to the uncertain characteristics of natural disasters and loads, there exists a research gap in the selection of optimal planning strategies coupled with provisional microgrid (MG) formation. For this purpose, this study proposes a novel three‐stage stochastic planning model considering the planning step and emergency response step. In the first stage, the decisions on line hardening and Distributed Generation (DG) placement are made with the aim of maximising the distribution system resilience. Then, in the second stage, the line outage uncertainty is imposed via the given scenarios to form the provisional MGs based on a master‐slave control technique. In addition, the non‐anticipativity constraints are presented to guarantee that the MG formation decision is based on the line damage uncertainty. Last, with the realisation of the load demand, the cost of load shedding in each provisional MG is minimised based on a demand‐side management program. The proposed method can consider the step‐by‐step uncertainty realisation that is near to the reality in MG formation strategy. Two standard distribution systems are utilised to validate the correctness and effectiveness of the presented model.
Improved algorithm for multiple sclerosis diagnosis in MRI using convolutional neural network
Authors: Soltani Azam , Nasri Saeed
Published: February 2021

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) disease lesions in the brain. Diagnosis of MS disease from MRI images is an important and vital thing in today's world. This disease can cause many problems for people who have this disease and reduce the life expectancy in them. So, a strong approach is needed to overcome the challenges in this field. In this study, a method is presented based on convolutional neural networks to detect MS disease lesions from MRI. Four layers of convolution, two layers of pooling, three layers of ReLU are applied, and instead of a fully connected layer, a convolutional layer with a filter size of 1 × 1 has been used to reduce network parameters. Also, for network training, stochastic gradient descent with momentum has been used such that itgreatly improves the speed of learning. Convolutional neural network has a strong potential for MS disease diagnosis and provides good results without the need for lesions segmentation. Also, it has a low sensitivity to the challenges of blurring and different contrasts, and it shows a good performance. The proposed method in this study shows 99.66% accuracy, 99.98% sensitivity and 99.33% specificity.
Attention‐based video object segmentation algorithm
Authors: Cao Ying , Sun Lijuan , Han Chong , Guo Jian
Published: February 2021

To improve the segmentation performance on videos with large object motion or deformation, a novel scheme is proposed which has two branches. In one branch, the attention mechanism is first utilized to highlight objects‐related features. Then, to well consider the temporal coherence of videos, Conv3D is integrated to capture short‐term temporal features, and the designed attention residual convolutional long–short‐term memory is adopted to capture the long–short‐term temporal information of objects under the interference of redundant video frames. Meanwhile, considering the negative effect of background motion, in another branch, the optical flow‐based prediction model is introduced to predict objects regions in subsequent video frames with the annotated initial frame. At last, based on the fused results of two branches, the global thresholds and noising area clean method are employed to obtain segmented objects. The experiments on DAVIS2016 and CDnet2014 exhibit the competitive performance of the proposed scheme.
A centralised training algorithm with D3QN for scalable regular unmanned ground vehicle formation maintenance
Authors: Yuan Hao , Ni Jun , Hu Jibin
Published: February 2021

The unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) has been widely used to accomplish various missions in civilian or military environments. Formation of the UGVs group is an important technique to support the broad applications of multi‐functional UGVs. This study proposes a scalable regular UGV formation maintenance (SRUFM) algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL), which aims to use a unified DRL framework to improve the lateral control and longitudinal control performance of UGV in different situations of the formation. Based on the tailored design of state, action space, related inter‐vehicle information, and the dueling double deep Q‐network (D3QN), SRUFM outperforms nature deep Q‐network and double deep Q‐network in the exploration efficiency and the convergence speed in same CARLA training environments with fixed size formation. Furthermore, when the formation's scale is extended with similar initialisation conditions, the SRUFM can still get a nearly 90% success rate to execute all experiment formation maintenance missions after 4000 episodes of training. Each UGV in the formation can keep distance within the upper and lower error threshold of 0.15 m. The simulation experiments show that the proposed centralised training frame with D3QN is suitable to solve scalable regular UGV formation maintenance missions.
L’empreinte optique en orthodontie
Authors: Duminil Gérard
Published: February 2021

Après une courte rétrospective sur l’empreinte optique, cet article aborde les critères matériels et logiciels qui président au choix d’une caméra d’empreinte. Le protocole d’empreinte générique et spécifique à la pratique orthodontique est ensuite exposé.

Les avantages de cette méthode sont détaillés à tous les niveaux de la pratique orthodontique : simplification administrative dans la constitution des dossiers, aides au diagnostic et à la motivation des patients, conception et fabrication des appareillages, archivage et suivi des cas. Par la mise en pratique de cette technologie, Il en ressort un ensemble de bénéfices sur le plan du confort d’utilisation, sur la gestion thérapeutique, le gain de temps, et la rentabilité de l’investissement.
L’utilisation de fichiers 3D pour la création d’un clone virtuel
Authors: Petitpas Laurent , Van Meer Frédérick
Published: February 2021

Si bon nombre de praticiens sont équipés de scanners optiques intrabuccaux pour réaliser leurs empreintes numériques 3D, plus rares sont ceux qui utilisent les fichiers 3D issus de l’Imagerie volumétrique par CBCT (Cone Beam Computed Tomography) et encore moins sont ceux qui utilisent des scans 3D de visage de leur patient.

Toutes ces images 3D dont la visualisation de l’image en couleur est attirante permettent déjà une analyse immédiate intéressante du patient. Mais peut-on aller plus loin ? Est-ce que ces fichiers 3D issus des différentes technologies sont interfaçables, connectables ?

Les fichiers 3D générés par les différents systèmes technologiques d’acquisition correspondent chacun à une partie virtualisée du patient, malgré des formats de fichiers quelque fois différents, il est possible de les regrouper afin d’obtenir un patient virtuel complet : le « Jumeau virtuel ».

Plusieurs logiciels de modélisation graphique 3D permettent d’importer, convertir et utiliser les fichiers des différents types d’acquisition 3D.

Évidemment, l’utilisation de ces logiciels nécessitent un certain apprentissage initial mais finalement les procédures numériques sont simples. De la sorte, l’objectif de cet article est de vous sensibiliser avec ces techniques d’utilisation de l’imagerie 3D numérique.
Gallengangs- und Gallenblasenkarzinome: auf dem Weg zur personalisierten Therapie
Authors: Sinn Marianne , Wege Henning , Stein Alexander
Published: February 2021

Überbegriff maligne biliäre Tumoren Unter dem Begriff maligne biliäre Tumoren (engl. biliary tract cancer) werden weiterhin Karzinome der intra- und extrahepatischen Gallengänge und der Gallenblase zusammengefasst, deren auch molekularpathologische Unterschiede immer besser verstanden werden. Als klinisch relevante Veränderungen wurden neben einer Mikrosatelliteninstabilität bisher IDH-1- und BRAF-Mutationen, FGFR-Alterationen sowie eine HER2-Überexpression identifiziert. Eine Vorstellung der betroffenen Patienten in einem molekularen Tumorboard ist zu empfehlen, um potenzielle zielgerichtete Therapieoptionen sowie ggf. eine Studienteilnahme zu evaluieren.

Aktuelle Therapiestandards Patienten nach einer kurativ intendierten Resektion sollte eine adjuvante Chemotherapie mit Capecitabin über 6 Monate angeboten werden. Die Kombination aus Gemcitabin und Cisplatin bleibt etablierter Standard in der palliativen Erstlinientherapie. Patienten in einem guten Allgemeinzustand kann aufgrund der positiven Ergebnisse der randomisierten ABC-06-Studie eine Zweitlinientherapie empfohlen werden.

Personalisierte Therapie Mehr als 50 % aller Patienten mit malignen biliären Tumoren weisen therapierbare genetische Alterationen auf. Erste prospektive Daten belegen den Nutzen einer zielgerichteten Therapie bei diesen Patienten. Deswegen sollte möglichst allen Patienten, die eine palliative Systemtherapie benötigen, frühzeitig ein molekulares Profiling angeboten werden.
Fortgeschrittenes Magenkarzinom
Authors: Krome Susanne
Published: February 2021

Patienten mit inoperablen Magenkarzinomen und Kombinationschemotherapie überleben selten länger als 1 Jahr. Gleichzeitig sind belastende Nebenwirkungen häufig. In der KEYNOTE-062-Studie verlängerte der Checkpoint-Inhibitor Pembrolizumab das Überleben zwar nicht, führte aber zu vergleichbaren Ergebnissen und war deutlich weniger belastend.
Die periartikuläre Demineralisation bei rheumatoider Arthritis
Authors: Pfeil Alexander , Oelzner Peter , Hoffmann Tobias , Renz Diane M. , Wolf Gunter , Böttcher Joachim
Published: February 2021

Die rheumatoide Arthritis (RA) geht aufgrund der chronischen Entzündung im Bereich der kleinen Finger- und Vorfußgelenke mit einer periartikulären Demineralisation in Nähe der Gelenkflächen einher. Eine Quantifizierung der periartikulären Demineralisation ist zuverlässig durch die Digitale Radiogrammetrie und die hochauflösende periphere quantitative Computertomografie möglich. Die chronische Entzündungs- und Krankheitsaktivität der RA ist eng mit einer periartikulären Demineralisation verbunden. Deshalb ist eine Beurteilung des Schweregrades als auch der Krankheitsaktivität der RA über die periartikuläre Demineralisation realisierbar und es können über die Bestimmung der periartikulären Demineralisation Therapieeffekte einer Basistherapie evaluiert werden.
Adjuvante Therapie beim nodalpositiven Brustkrebs
Authors: Arnheim Katharina
Published: February 2021

Gemäß Interimsanalyse der Studie RxPONDER kann bei postmenopausalen Frauen mit frühem Hormonrezeptor- (HR) positivem Brustkrebs und positivem Nodalstatus unabhängig von ihrem Oncotype DX Recurrence Score (RS) auf eine adjuvante Chemotherapie verzichtet werden. Prämenopausale Frauen dagegen profitieren von der Chemotherapie mit einer Verbesserung des invasiven krankheitsfreien (iDFS) und Gesamtüberlebens (OS).
Hirnmetastasen
Authors: Kretzschmar Alexander
Published: February 2021

Die stereotaktische Radiochirurgie bietet im Vergleich zur Ganzhirnbestrahlung signifikante Vorteile hinsichtlich der Erhaltung der kognitiven Funktion bei vergleichbarer Überlebensrate bei Patienten mit bis 15 Hirnmetastasen. Dies ergab eine aktuelle randomisierte Vergleichsstudie, die auf der virtuellen ASTRO-Jahrestagung (American Society for Radiation Oncology) Ende 2020 vorgestellt wurde. Damit ist aber die Diskussion zur Abgrenzung der beiden Therapieoptionen noch nicht beendet.
Malignes Melanom
Authors: Schmale Ine
Published: February 2021

In einer multizentrischen Studie wurde untersucht, ob mithilfe eines FDG-PET-CT-Scans die Entscheidung zum Beenden der Therapie mit Checkpoint-Inhibitoren möglicherweise verbessert werden kann.
Survey of Rejection Prophylaxis Following Suture Removal in Penetrating Keratoplasty in Germany
Authors: Heinzelmann Sonja , Böhringer Daniel , Maier Philip Christian , Seitz Berthold , Cursiefen Claus , Maier Anna-Karina B. , Dietrich-Ntoukas Tina , Geerling Gerd , Viestenz Arne , Pfeiffer Norbert , Reinhard Thomas
Published: February 2021

Background Penetrating keratoplasty (PK) gets more and more reserved to cases of increasing complexity. In such cases, ocular comorbidities may limit graft survival following PK. A major cause for graft failure is endothelial graft rejection. Suture removal is a known risk factor for graft rejection. Nevertheless, there is no evidence-based regimen for rejection prophylaxis following suture removal. Therefore, a survey of rejection prophylaxis was conducted at 7 German keratoplasty centres.

Objective The aim of the study was documentation of the variability of medicinal aftercare following suture removal in Germany.

Methods Seven German keratoplasty centres with the highest numbers for PK were selected. The centres were sent a survey consisting of half-open questions. The centres performed a mean of 140 PK in 2018. The return rate was 100%. The findings were tabulated.

Results All centres perform a double-running cross-stitch suture for standard PK, as well as a treatment for rejection prophylaxis with topical steroids after suture removal. There are differences in intensity (1 – 5 times daily) and tapering (2 – 20 weeks) of the topical steroids following suture removal. Two centres additionally use systemic steroids for a few days.

Discussion Rejection prophylaxis following PK is currently poorly standardised and not evidence-based. All included centres perform medical aftercare following suture removal. It is assumed that different treatment strategies show different cost-benefit ratios. In the face of the diversity, a systematic analysis is required to develop an optimised regimen for all patients.
Motion Reduction for C-Arm Computed Tomography of the Pulmonary Arteries: Image Quality of a Motion Correction Algorithm in Patients with Chronic Thromboembolic Hypertension During Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty
Authors: Maschke Sabine , Werncke Thomas , Becker Lena Sophie , Renne Julius , Dewald Cornelia Lieselotte Angelika , Olsson Karen M. , Hoeper Marius M. , Wacker Frank K. , Meyer Bernhard C. , Hinrichs Jan B.
Published: February 2021

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and image quality of a motion correction algorithm for supra-selective C-arm computed tomography (CACT) of the pulmonary arteries in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) undergoing balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA).

Materials & Methods CACT raw data acquired during 30 consecutive BPAs were used for image reconstruction using either standard (CACTorg) or a motion correction algorithm (CACTmc), using 400 iterations. Two readers independently evaluated 188 segmental and 564 sub-segmental contrast-enhanced pulmonary arteries in each reconstruction. The following categories were assessed: Sharpness of the vessel, motion artifacts, delineation of bronchial structures, vessel geometry, and visibility of treatable lesions. The mentioned criteria were rated from grade 1 to grade 3: grade 1: excellent quality; grade 2: good quality; grade 3: poor/seriously impaired quality. Inter-observer agreement was calculated using Cohen’s Kappa. Due to an excellent agreement, the ratings of both readers were merged. Differences in the assessed image quality criteria were evaluated using pairwise Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Results Inter-observer agreement was excellent for all evaluated image quality criteria (κ > 0.81). For all assessed image quality criteria, the ratings on CACTorg were good but improved significantly for CACTmc to excellent for the whole vascular tree (p < 0.01). When considering segmental and sub-segmental levels individually, all image quality criteria improved significantly for CACTmc on both levels (p < 0.01). While ratings of CACTmc were constant for both levels (segmental and sub-segmental) for all criteria, the ratings of CACTorg were slightly impaired for the sub-segmental arteries.

Conclusion Motion correction for supra-selective contrast-enhanced CACT of the pulmonary arteries is feasible and improves the overall image quality.

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Citation Format
Rapid Reviews in Zeiten von COVID-19 – Erfahrungen im Zuge des Kompetenznetzes Public Health zu COVID-19 und Vorschlag eines standardisierten Vorgehens
Authors: Seidler Andreas , Nußbaumer-Streit Barbara , Apfelbacher Christian , Zeeb Hajo ,   für die Querschnitts-AG Rapid Reviews des Kompetenznetzes Public Health zu COVID-19
Published: February 2021

Ziel Im Zuge der COVID-19-Pandemie benötigen viele gesundheitsrelevante Fragestellungen rasche Antworten. Im Kompetenznetz Public Health zu COVID-19, das im März 2020 von Vertreter:innen mehrerer wissenschaftlicher Fachgesellschaften gegründet wurde, werden vielfach Rapid Reviews erstellt, um rasch evidenzbasierte, für politische Entscheidungsträger:innen nutzbare Antworten zu generieren. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, die praktischen Erfahrungen bei der Durchführung von Rapid Reviews im Rahmen des Kompetenznetzes Public Health zu reflektieren. Auf dieser Grundlage sollen Methoden zur qualitativ hochwertigen und praktikablen Durchführung von Rapid Reviews entwickelt werden, die insbesondere auch zur raschen Evidenzgenerierung auf der Grundlage von Beobachtungsstudien anwendbar sind.

Methodik Unter Nutzung des von Tricco et al. [1] vorgeschlagenen 8-schrittigen Vorgehens werden die aktuellen Herausforderungen beschrieben, die sich im Kompetenznetz Public Health zu COVID-19 bei der Durchführung von Rapid Reviews zu Public Health-bezogenen Fragen der COVID-19-Pandemie ergeben haben. Die 8 Schritte lauten: 1. Formulierung der Fragestellung, 2. Literatursuche, 3. Titel-Abstract- und Volltextsichtung, 4. Datenextraktion, 5. Risk of Bias-Bewertung, 6. Evidenzsynthese, 7. Dissemination, 8. Aktualisierung. Zudem werden Lösungsvorschläge im Expert:innenkonsens der Mitglieder (n=42 zum 28.01.2021) der Querschnitts-AG Rapid Reviews des Kompetenznetzes Public Health zu COVID-19 entwickelt.

Ergebnisse Vorgelegt und zur Diskussion gestellt wird ein standardisiertes Vorgehen, das sich eng an das Vorgehen der Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group anlehnt und den besonderen Anforderungen von ätiologisch orientierten, häufig auch ökologischen Beobachtungsstudien zu COVID-19 Rechnung trägt.

Schlussfolgerungen Das vorgeschlagene Vorgehen bei der Durchführung von Rapid Reviews kann – ggf. über Fragestellungen zu COVID-19 hinaus – eine wichtige Grundlage einer evidenzbasierten Politikberatung bilden. Zur kurzfristigen Realisierung von methodisch hochwertigen Rapid Reviews zu neuen Fragestellungen sollten flexible und kurzfristig aktivierbare Förderkonzepte bereitgestellt werden. Wissenschaftliche Kooperationen bei der Durchführung von Rapid Reviews sollten ausgebaut werden, dabei sollten verstärkt methodisch hochwertige Ansätze wie bspw. prospektive Metaanalysen Anwendung finden.
Association of Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatments with Imprinting Disorders
Authors: Kopca T. , Tulay Pinar
Published: February 2021

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a broad field in infertility that encompasses different types of treatments. These revolutionary treatment methods aimed to aid infertile or subfertile couples. Treatment was expanded exponentially, as 1 to 3% of the births worldwide takes place with ART procedures. However, treatment is not flawless. Gametes and embryos are exposed to different chemicals and stress through treatment, which leads to disturbance in proper embryo development and results in prenatal and congenital anomalies. When compared with in-vivo development of gametes and preimplantation embryos in mice, in-vitro conditions during ART treatments have been suggested to disturb the gene expression levels, especially imprinted genes. Therefore, ART has been suggested to be associated with increased incidences of different imprinting disorders such as Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome, Angelman syndrome, and Silver–Russell syndrome, as proved by different case reports and studies. This literature review aims to explain the association of imprinting disorders with this revolutionary treatment procedure.
Rhinoplasty Dissection Planes (Subcutaneous, Sub-SMAS, Supra-perichondral, and Sub-perichondral) and Soft Tissues Management
Authors: Neves José Carlos , Zholtikov Vitaly , Cakir Baris , Coşkun Erhan , Arancibia-Tagle Diego
Published: February 2021

Rhinoplasty as an operation is akin to a game of chess, where every maneuver will influence the eventual outcome. Undoubtedly, more than one approach to the nasal soft tissues envelop can produce beautiful and safe results as will be described in the paper namely, the subcutaneous, sub-superficial musculoaponeurotic system, supra- and sub-perichondral planes. For different justifiable reasons surgeons have their preferences, regarding dissection planes on the tip, middle and upper thirds, and regarding the manipulation of the soft tissue layers and nasal ligaments. The concept of the nasal layers and the presence of relevant ligamentous structures and how to restore them in an anatomical fashion, will help to understand the logic behind various approaches.
Evaluation of Childhood COVID-19 Cases: A Retrospective Analysis
Authors: Akoğlu Handan A. , Bulut Muhammet , Alemdar Dilek K. , Aslan Serdar , Çelikkalkan Kıvanç , Tursun Serkan , Tekin Emine , Baba Hatice , Takır Selçuk
Published: February 2021

Objective This study aims to evaluate the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical features of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases aged between 0 and 18 years.

Methods The demographic characteristics of the patients, admission symptoms, contact and travel histories, clinical onset duration, symptoms, treatments, laboratory findings, radiological images, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negation times were evaluated in a retrospective manner. Thirty-eight children (19 boys and 19 girls) were included in the study.

Results The mean age of the patients was 10.36 ± 5.59 years. The average admission times of the patients after the onset of the symptoms was determined as 1.84 ± 2.02 days. Thirteen (34.2%) patients were observed as asymptomatic. The most common identified symptoms were fever, cough, and fatigue (55.2, 34.2, and 13.2%, respectively). Febrile convulsions, myalgia, dizziness, and diarrhea were the least common symptoms. Also, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3) levels were low and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) values were higher in the moderate group than the mild group and the relationships were statistically significant (p = 0.044and 0.027). Ferritin levels of the patients with ground glass opacity (GGO) were found statistically and significantly higher than the patients without GGO (p = 0,031). There was more than one lobe and segment involvement in five patients, the average number of affected lobes and segments was 3.8 and 8.8, respectively. High-resolution computed tomography of the 24 patients showed that; GGO in five (20.8%), consolidation + GGO (mixed) in three (12.5%), consolidation (alone) in one, subpleural linear opacities in three (12.5%), and pavement stone opacities in one (4.2%) patient. COVID-19, which is seen less frequently in children, may pose a risk in infants and young children.

Conclusion Especially high ferritin levels may present with lung involvement and low vitamin D levels may worsen the aggravation of the lung involvement. There is a great need for further research on this subject.
Diagnostic Value of Plasma Soluble Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1 in Children with Urinary Tract Infections
Authors: Tursun Serkan , Alpcan Ayşegül , Özsoy Metin , Badem Nermin Dindar , Kandur Yaşar , Acar Banu Çelikel
Published: February 2021

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of soluble triggering receptor on myeloid cells-1 as a novel marker for diagnosis of childhood urinary tract infections (UTI).

Methods This study enrolled 30 pediatric patients diagnosed with acute febrile UTIs; 30 healthy children were included as the control group. The blood samples from the patients and healthy controls were collected for a soluble triggering receptor on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) test.

Results The study group was composed of 9 males and 21 females, and the mean age of the study population was 6.6 ± 3.2 (range = 1–14) years. sTREM-1 levels were significantly higher in UTI patients than in the controls (592 ± 323 vs. 490 ± 299 pg/mL, p = 0.04). The receiver operating curve analysis revealed a cut-off value of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 of 514 ng/mL (area under the curve = 0.562). When the cut-off value was taken 514 pg/mL, soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 had a sensitivity of 57% and a specificity of 50% for the diagnosis of UTI.

Conclusion The present study revealed that plasma sTREM-1 level may be elevated in UTI and may therefore serve as a useful predictive tool for the diagnosis of UTI.
Hyaluronic Acid Fillers for Midface Augmentation: A Systematic Review
Authors: Trinh Lily N. , Gupta Amar
Published: February 2021

Injectable fillers represent one of the most requested minimally invasive treatments to rejuvenate the aging face, and its popularity is steadily rising. A vast majority of filler treatments are with hyaluronic acid (HA). The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate patient outcomes, safety profile, and administration techniques of various HA fillers for malar augmentation. A systematic review of the published literature was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and included PubMed, Embase, and Science Direct databases. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms used were “cheek” OR “midface” OR “malar” and “filler” OR “hyaluronic acid” OR “Juvederm” OR “Restylane” OR “Perlane” OR “Belotero.” The initial search identified 699 articles; 256 duplicates were removed. Additional 12 studies were identified from reference lists. A total of 455 were screened by title and abstract and 387 studies were eliminated based on criteria. Also, 68 articles underwent full-text review, and 18 articles were included in the final review and involved seven different HA formulations. Men and women from many age groups were highly satisfied with their results following HA treatment for midface augmentation up to 24 months. The most common adverse events included bruising, swelling, and tenderness, and typically lasted no more than 2 weeks. Upper cheek filler injections near the zygoma should be placed in the submuscular plane while lower cheek injections should be placed in the subcutaneous tissue. HA is an attractive choice for midface augmentation due to its high patient satisfaction, long-lasting effects, and low side-effect profile. Due to the variability in technique, level of expertise, and subjective measurements across studies, one optimal regimen could not be concluded. However, midface augmentation treatment should be personalized to each patient. Additional clinical trials are required to more conclusively determine the most appropriate approach for this procedure.