bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Two-center comparison of 10 fully-automated commercial procalcitonin (PCT) immunoassays
Authors: Lippi Giuseppe , Salvagno Gian Luca , Gelati Matteo , Pucci Mairi , Lo Cascio Claudia , Demonte Davide , Faggian Diego , Plebani Mario
Published: September 2019

Background

This two-center study was designed to verify comparability of procalcitonin (PCT) values among 10 different commercial immunoassays.

Methods

A total number of 176 routine lithium-heparin plasma samples were divided in identical aliquots and simultaneously analyzed with 10 different PCT immunoassays, including Kryptor BRAHMS PCT sensitive, Abbott Architect BRAHMS PCT, Beckman Coulter Access PCT (on Access and DXI), BioMérieux Vidas BRAHMS PCT, Diasorin Liaison BRAHMS PCT, Fujirebio Lumipulse G BRAHMS PCT, Roche BRAHMS PCT (on Cobas E801), Diazyme PCT (on Roche Cobas C702) and SNIBE Maglumi PCT.

Results

Highly significant correlation was always found across multiple comparisons, with correlation coefficients comprised between 0.918 and 0.997 (all p < 0.001). Bland and Altman plots analysis revealed highly variable bias among immunoassays, ranging between ±0.2% and ±38.6%. Diazyme PCT on Roche Cobas C702 and SNIBE Maglumi PCT displayed the larger overestimation, whilst PCT values were underestimated by Cobas BRAHAMS PCT. The agreement was always >80% (all p < 0.001), but varied largely across multiple comparisons, ranging between 90%–99% at 0.1 μg/L, 81%–99% at 0.25 μg/L, 83%–100% at 0.5 μg/L, 94%–100% at 2.0 μg/L and 90%–99% at 10 μg/L, respectively. The larger disagreement was observed comparing Diazyme PCT and Maglumi PCT with the other methods.

Conclusions

Although we found acceptable correlation among 10 commercial PCT immunoassays, the limited agreement at clinical decision thresholds remains a major issue, especially at lower end of PCT concentration, thus potentially contributing to jeopardize the clinical value of this biomarker.
Development of an Assistance System for the Intuitive Assessment of Laboratory Findings in Oncology
Authors: Oeser Alexander , Gaebel Jan , Kuhnt Thomas
Published: September 2019

Due to the broad spectrum of individual functionalities, current hospital information systems in most cases do not offer quick information access or proper assistance in information assessment. This results in extensive use of raw value representations and the need to process and evaluate those cognitively through the physician. This can result in an error-prone and ineffective process, especially in complex and chronic treatment scenarios. With an example scenario of laboratory value assessment in head and neck oncology, we have evaluated the requirements for extensive support of case interpretation through the conduction of a Delphi study including five medical experts with different levels of expertise. Based on the results, we propose a solution with integrated HL7 FHIR compliant clinical decision-support functionality through a set of integrated rules from relevant clinical practice guidelines. Furthermore, we introduce the implementation of a dedicated application that allows for the definition of custom laboratory value evaluation rules to enable automated and patientindividual value interpretation.
Computer model of oxygenation in neonates
Authors: Rafl Jakub , Huttova Veronika , Möller Knut , Bachman Thomas E. , Tejkl Leos , Kudrna Petr , Rozanek Martin , Roubik Karel
Published: September 2019

Maintaining a prescribed peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) target during routine care of neonates is challenging and inspired fraction of oxygen (FiO2) titration practices differ among caregivers and centers. Algorithms for automatic feedback control of SpO2 are being developed and tested, that would adapt to the changing neonatal organism and better maintain the required SpO2 target range. While clinical data is necessary to validate differences in the titration strategies, a continuous physiological model of oxygenation in neonates would facilitate baseline testing of different approaches, manual or automated. The objective of our study was to enhance a mathematical model of oxygenation of the neonate and to compare the performance of the model with available clinical data. We have implemented the diffusion resistance into the model as well as a variable oxyhemoglobin dissociation relationship and the bias between arterial and peripheral oxygen saturation. Values of model parameters were scaled to fit preterm infant scenarios. The comparison of the clinical data and computer simulations suggest that the model can reliably simulate episodes of oxygen desaturation and describe the relation between ventilation, FiO2and SpO2. It appears that the model may be an effective tool to test manual and automatic FiO2titration strategies.
Performance of Different Atrial Conduction Velocity Estimation Algorithms Improves with Knowledge about the Depolarization Pattern
Authors: Nagel Claudia , Pilia Nicolas , Unger Laura , Dössel Olaf
Published: September 2019

Quantifying the atrial conduction velocity (CV) reveals important information for targeting critical arrhythmia sites that initiate and sustain abnormal electrical pathways, e.g. during atrial flutter. The knowledge about the local CV distribution on the atrial surface thus enhances clinical catheter ablation procedures by localizing pathological propagation paths to be eliminated during the intervention. Several algorithms have been proposed for estimating the CV. All of them are solely based on the local activation times calculated from electroanatomical mapping data. They deliver false values for the CV if applied to regions near scars or wave collisions. We propose an extension to all approaches by including a distinct preprocessing step. Thereby, we first identify scars and wave front collisions and provide this information for the CV estimation algorithm. In addition, we provide reliable CV values even in the presence of noise. We compared the performance of the Triangulation, the Polynomial Fit and the Radial Basis Functions approach with and without the inclusion of the aforementioned preprocessing step. The evaluation was based on different activation patterns simulated on a 2D synthetic triangular mesh with different levels of noise added. The results of this study demonstrate that the accuracy of the estimated CV does improve when knowledge about the depolarization pattern is included. Over all investigated test cases, the reduction of the mean velocity error quantified to at least 25 mm/s for the Radial Basis Functions, 14 mm/s for the Polynomial Fit and 14 mm/s for the Triangulation approach compared to their respective implementations without the preprocessing step. Given the present results, this novel approach can contribute to a more accurate and reliable CV estimation in a clinical setting and thus improve the success of radio-frequency ablation to treat cardiac arrhythmias.
3D Printed Anatomical Model of a Rat for Medical Imaging
Authors: Exner Miriam , Szwargulski Patryk , Knopp Tobias , Graeser Matthias , Ludewig Peter
Published: September 2019

For medical research, approximately 115 million animals are needed every year. Rodents are used to test possible applications and procedures for the diagnosis of anatomical and physiological diseases. However, working with living animals increases the complexity of an experiment. Accurate experimental planning is essential in order to fulfill the 3R rules (replace, reduce and refine). Especially in tracer-based imaging modalities, such as magnetic particle imaging (MPI), where only nanoparticles give a positive contrast, the anatomical structure of the rodent is not visible without co-registration with another imaging modality. This leads to problems in the experimental planning, as parameters, such as field of view, rodent position and tracer concentration, have to be determined without visual feedback. In this work, a 3D CAD rat model is presented, which can be used to improve the experiment planning and thus reduce the number of animals required. It was determined using an anatomy atlas and 3D printed with stereolithography. The resulting model contains the most important organs and vessels as hollow cavities. By filling these with appropriate tracer materials, the phantom can be used in different imaging modalities such as MPI, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). In a first MPI measurement, the phantom was filled with superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Finally, a successful visualization of all organs and vessels of the phantom was possible. This enables the planning of the experiment and the optimization of experimental parameters for a region of interest, where certain organs in a living animal are localized.
Mobile System for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Personalized Treatment of Neck Pain Under a Patient’s Everyday Life Circumstances
Authors: Tadayon Puian , Felderhoff Thomas , Staude Gerhard , Knopp Andreas
Published: September 2019

This work presents a new system concept for the prevention, diagnosis and interactive treatment of neck pain. It comprises two measurement units worn at the head and the torso, a smartphone/tablet and a medical assistance software. The system aims to provide mobile measurement of full neck movement including rotatory and translatory movements under a patients everyday life circumstances. Multiple features including biofeedback and therapy exercises are intended to be individually configurable according to the specific medical indications of the patient. In addition to the system concept the current implementation state comprising the two measurement units and a visualization app running on a tablet is presented.
Development and Validation of Bone Models using Structural Dynamic Measurement Methods
Authors: Neupetsch Constanze , Hensel Eric , Werner Michael , Meißner Sven , Troge Jan , Drossel Welf-Guntram , Rotsch Christian
Published: September 2019

Vibration measurement and signal analysis methods are common to evaluate the functionality and characteristics of technical components in different industrial and scientific areas. Modal analysis for example is a standard method to characterize the dynamic behavior of a structure and enables the development of validated bone models. The state of the art of analyzing bone structures does not include the modal damping, although it has a significant influence on the dynamic characteristics. Within the presented investigations, the modal analyses have been performed contactless with respect to excitation and response acquisition, which implies that there are no influences of shakers or sensor couplings. Therefore, an automatic impulse hammer and a 3D Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer were used for excitation and response detection. Various supports of the test specimens, surface pretreatments, excitation points and excitation impulses were examined to optimize the measurement setup and process. Experimental modal analysis data were analyzed by curve fitting methods to determine the modal parameters. To evaluate different structures and effects of damping, 3D printed artificial bones and animal in vitro bones were used to perform the measurements. To produce the cortical layer of the artificial bone models, volume models were generated based on medical image data and printed by polyamide-based selective laser sintering. The cancellous bone was represented by different foam fillings for the artificial bones. Thereby, the variation of the porosity was achieved by using different mixing ratios of polyurethane foam and hardener. Furthermore, the modal damping parameters were determined from the measurement of animal bones. The measurement time was optimized during the practical implementation of the parameter determination to minimize the influence of drying and decomposition processes on the measurement results.
Feasibility test of Dynamic Cooling for detection of small tumors in IR thermographic breast imaging
Authors: Sadeghi Maryam , Boese Axel , Maldonado Ivan , Friebe Michael , Sauerhering Joerg , Schlosser Simon , Wehberg Heinrich , Wehberg Konrad
Published: September 2019

Thermographic imaging is a known technology to detect temperature differences. For medical applications, the patterns of heat distribution are used for diagnosis. It is already tested to visualize blood supply, inflammatory processes, and superficial or more extensive tumors, e.g. in the breast tissue. This method was promoted for breast screening purposes and as a substitute for mammography for mid aged women, but the results were not convincing for younger women, where tissue density is higher, tumor growth is often connected to local temperature increase and radiation-based mammography is not an option. Infrared (IR) thermography can support tumor screening. The screening should allow the early detection of small lesions even in the depth. Therefor we evaluated the feasibility of dynamic cooling in combination with IR imaging in a phantom study. A temperature-controllable gel phantom including a heating plate, a depth-adjustable heat source mimicking a tumor, and three sensors for temperature monitoring was built up. A raspberry pi device serves as a control unit to create a stable temperature balance comparable to a human breast. For the experiments, the tumor was placed in various depth. After cooling, the thermal recovery phase of the phantom was imaged using an IR camera and a webcam. A pixel-wise analysis of the IR data detects a higher gradient of temperature change in the tumor region. The experiments demonstrated the feasibility of tumor detection based on dynamic cooling and IR imaging.
Predicting Surgical Phases using CNN-NARX Neural Network
Authors: Jalal Nour Aldeen , Alshirbaji Tamer Abdulbaki , Möller Knut
Published: September 2019

Online recognition of surgical phases is essential to develop systems able to effectively conceive the workflow and provide relevant information to surgical staff during surgical procedures. These systems, known as context-aware system (CAS), are designed to assist surgeons, improve scheduling efficiency of operating rooms (ORs) and surgical team and promote a comprehensive perception and awareness of the OR. State-of-the-art studies for recognizing surgical phases have made use of data from different sources such as videos or binary usage signals from surgical tools. In this work, we propose a deep learning pipeline, namely a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a nonlinear autoregressive network with exogenous inputs (NARX), designed to predict surgical phases from laparoscopic videos. A convolutional neural network (CNN) is used to perform the tool classification task by automatically learning visual features from laparoscopic videos. The output of the CNN, which represents binary usage signals of surgical tools, is provided to a NARX neural network that performs a multistep-ahead predictions of surgical phases. Surgical phase prediction performance of the proposed pipeline was evaluated on a dataset of 80 cholecystectomy videos (Cholec80 dataset). Results show that the NARX model provides a good modelling of the temporal dependencies between surgical phases. However, more input signals are needed to improve the recognition accuracy.
Biocompatibility of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications
Authors: Matschegewski Claudia , Kowalski Anja , Müller Knut , Teller Henrik , Grabow Niels , Großmann Swen , Schmitz Klaus-Peter , Siewert Stefan
Published: September 2019

Magnetic nanoparticles are highly promising for the usage in various biomedical applications including magnetic particle imaging (MPI), cancer hyperthermia treatment or as drug carriers. The present study aims at assessing in vitro biocompatibility of two commercially available magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle formulations: dextran-based magnetic nanoparticle synomag-D and bionized nanoferrite BNF-starch. Biological performance of both nanoparticle formulations were studied in human endothelial cells by analyzing cell viability and nanoparticle internalization in order to judge their suitability as theranostics.
A Multistep Legendre Pseudo-Spectral Method for Nonlinear Volterra Integral Equations
Authors: Xiao-Yong Zhang , Jun-Lin Li
Published: September 2019

In this paper, we extend the single-step pseudo-spectral method for nonlinear Volterra integral equations of the second kind to the multistep pseudo-spectral method. We also analyze the convergence of the hp-version of the multistep pseudo-spectral method under the L
2-norm, and the result shows that the scheme enjoys high order accuracy and can be implemented in a stable and efficient manner. In addition, it is very suitable for long time calculations and large step size situations. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical expectations.
Proton internal pressure distribution suggests a simple proton structure
Authors: Vayenas Constantinos G. , Grigoriou Dimitrios , Martino Eftychia
Published: September 2019

Understanding the origin of quark confinement in hadrons remains one of the most challenging problems in modern physics. Recently, the pressure distribution inside the proton was measured via deeply virtual Compton scattering. Surprisingly, strong repulsive pressure up to 1035 pascals, the highest so far measured in our universe, was obtained near the center of the proton up to 0.6 fm, combined with strong binding energy at larger distances. We show here that this profile can be derived semiquantitatively without any adjustable parameters using the rotating lepton model of composite particles (RLM), i.e. a proton structure comprising a ring of three gravitationally attracting rotating ultrarelativistic quarks. The RLM synthesizes Newton’s gravitational law, Einstein’s special relativity, and the de Broglie’s wavelength expression, thereby conforming with quantum mechanics, and also yields a simple analytical formula for the proton radius and for the maximum measured pressure which are in excellent agreement with the experimental values.
Confinement effect of different arrangements of transverse reinforcement on axially loaded concrete columns: An experimental study
Authors: Domenico Dario De , Falliano Devid , Ricciardi Giuseppe
Published: September 2019

Concrete behaves as a brittle material due to its low inherent tensile strength, but it can also exhibit a markedly ductile behavior when coupled with transverse reinforcement like steel stirrups. The role of stirrups is to enhance confinement effect, to restrain the lateral expansion of concrete, thus modifying the concrete stress-strain constitutive law and enabling higher compression strains and higher ductility. This paper focuses on the confinement effect induced by different arrangements of transverse reinforcement on axially loaded concrete columns. An experimental campaign has been carried out, comprising 18 concrete columns with two different mechanical strengths and reinforced with three different layouts of stirrups, namely typical closed square hoops, closed stirrups with additional cross ties, and a novel type of stirrups involving rectangular hoops with additional restraint plates, the latter offering an enhanced diffused confinement action and limiting extensive spalling of the cover concrete. Formation and propagation of longitudinal micro-cracks are reduced with the novel type of diffused stirrups and a moderate-to-high increase of ductility is observed. However, the beneficial effects induced by diffused stirrups are more pronounced in medium-strength concrete and almost negligible in low-strength concrete that collapses due to a brittle cracking failure without involving the confinement action of the transverse reinforcement.
Lie symmetry analysis and conservation law for the equation arising from higher order Broer-Kaup equation
Authors: Wang Hengtai , Chen Huiwen , Ouyang Zigen , Li Fubin
Published: September 2019

In this paper, Lie symmetry analysis is performed for the equation derived from $(2+1)$-dimensional higher order Broer-Kaup equation. Meanwhile, the optimal system and similarity reductions based on the Lie group method are obtained. Furthermore, the conservation law is studied via the Ibragimov’s method.
Positive solutions of the discrete Dirichlet problem involving the mean curvature operator
Authors: Ling Jiaoxiu , Zhou Zhan
Published: September 2019

In this paper, by using critical point theory, we obtain some sufficient conditions on the existence of infinitely many positive solutions of the discrete Dirichlet problem involving the mean curvature operator. We show that the suitable oscillating behavior of the nonlinear term near at the origin and at infinity will lead to the existence of a sequence of pairwise distinct nontrivial positive solutions. We also give two examples to illustrate our main results.
The factors affecting early death in newly diagnosed APL patients
Authors: Ciftciler Rafiye , Haznedaroglu Ibrahim Celalettin , Aksu Salih , Ozcebe Osman , Sayınalp Nilgun , Malkan Umit Yavuz , Buyukasık Yahya
Published: September 2019

Background and aim

In the past, acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was considered as one of the most rapidly lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The objective of this study was to assess clinical parameters affecting early death (ED) in patients with APL.

Materials and methods

Forty-three patients with APL who were diagnosed at Hacettepe University Hospital between the years of 2005 and 2018 were evaluated.

Results

In univariate analyses, presentation with hemorrhage, DIC or infection at diagnosis, ECOG performance score, blast percentage on bone marrow, Sanz score, leukocyte, thrombocyte, fibrinogen and LDH levels were found to be statistically significantly different between patients with ER and patients without ED. In multivariate analysis, presentation with hemorrhage, DIC or infection at diagnosis, ECOG performance score, blast percentage on bone marrow, Sanz score, leukocyte, thrombocyte, fibrinogen, and LDH levels were found to be independent factors that are related with higher rate of ED in 30 days after treatment.

Conclusion

Induction chemotherapy should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis of APL. Improving ED rates may become the greatest challenge for the future treatment of the diseases.
Beta Frequency Oscillations in the Subthalamic Nucleus Are Not Sufficient for the Development of Symptoms of Parkinsonian Bradykinesia/Akinesia in Rats
Authors: Swan Christina Behrend , Schulte Derek J. , Brocker David T. , Grill Warren M.
Published: September 2019

Substantial correlative evidence links the synchronized, oscillatory patterns of neural activity that emerge in Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the beta (β) frequency range (13–30 Hz) with bradykinesia in PD. However, conflicting evidence exists, and whether these changes in neural activity are causal of motor symptoms in PD remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that the synchronized β oscillations that emerge in PD are causal of symptoms of bradykinesia/akinesia. We designed patterns of stimulation that mimicked the temporal characteristics of single unit β bursting activity seen in PD animals and humans. We applied these β-patterned stimulation patterns along with continuous low-frequency and high-frequency controls to the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of intact and 6-OHDA-lesioned female Long–Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats. β-Patterned paradigms were superior to low-frequency controls at induction of β power in downstream substantia nigra reticulata (SNr) neurons and in ipsilateral motor cortex. However, we did not detect deleterious effects on motor performance across a wide battery of validated behavioral tasks. Our results suggest that β frequency oscillations (BFOs) may not be sufficient for the generation of bradykinesia/akinesia in PD.
In VitroModeling of the Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia Using Patient-Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells with Copy Number Variations ofPCDH15 andRELN
Authors: Ishii Takaya , Ishikawa Mitsuru , Fujimori Koki , Maeda Takuji , Kushima Itaru , Arioka Yuko , Mori Daisuke , Nakatake Yuhki , Yamagata Bun , Nio Shintaro , Kato Takahiro A. , Yang Nan , Wernig Marius , Kanba Shigenobu , Mimura Masaru , Ozaki Norio , Okano Hideyuki
Published: September 2019

Bipolar disorder (BP) and schizophrenia (SCZ) are major psychiatric disorders, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the complicated pathologies of these disorders remain unclear. It is difficult to establish adequatein vitromodels for pathological analysis because of the heterogeneity of these disorders. In the present study, to recapitulate the pathologies of these disordersin vitro, we establishedin vitromodels by differentiating mature neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from BP and SCZ patient with contributive copy number variations, as follows: two BP patients withPCDH15deletion and one SCZ patient withRELNdeletion. Glutamatergic neurons and GABAergic neurons were induced from hiPSCs under optimized conditions. Both types of induced neurons from both hiPSCs exhibited similar phenotypes of MAP2 (microtubule-associated protein 2)-positive dendrite shortening and decreasing synapse numbers. Additionally, we analyzed isogenicPCDH15- orRELN-deleted cells. The dendrite and synapse phenotypes of isogenic neurons were partially similar to those of patient-derived neurons. These results suggest that the observed phenotypes are general phenotypes of psychiatric disorders, and ourin vitromodels using hiPSC-based technology may be suitable for analysis of the pathologies of psychiatric disorders.
Efectos de la comunicación del banco central sobre los títulos públicos: evidencia empírica para Colombia
Authors: Anzoátegui Zapata Juan Camilo , Galvis Ciro Juan Camilo
Published: September 2019

Este artículo examina los efectos de la comunicación del banco central sobre los títulos de deuda pública para una economía emergente. Se toma como estudio de caso la economía colombiana con datos referentes al periodo de 2008 a 2016 y se analizan los comunicados de prensa, las minutas y los reportes de inflación. Los hallazgos indican que la comunicación tiene efectos importantes sobre el nivel de los retornos de los títulos de deuda pública al día siguiente de los anuncios del banco central, y el efecto es mayor para las minutas de política monetaria.
Exchange rate pass-through into consumer healthcare prices in Colombia
Authors: Prada Sergio I. , Alonso Julio C. , Fernández Julián
Published: September 2019

The exchange rate pass-through into the consumer price index on healthcare goods and services was measured by estimating a FAVAR model for Colombia. Results provide evidence of an incomplete and heterogeneous effect. There is no indication of transmission to the services or insurance indexes, but there is a significant effect on the medicines and devices indexes that have implications for out-of-pocket expenditure. Therefore, this indicates that the Colombian healthcare system effectively protects consumers from exchange rate volatility, but may need to design policies to protect consumers from price rises in medicines and goods that are not covered by the national benefits package.
A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF OBSTETRICAL OUTCOME IN ART AND SPONTANEOUS PREGNANCIES.
Authors: Manisha Shrivastava*, Bhanwar Singh Meena
Published: September 2019

Background: Infertility tends to be one of the emerging health concern withtoday’s world .It is a common condition affecting approx 8-9% ofreproductive age group. Infertility diagnosis is divided into etiologies ofovulatory dysfunction, tubal endometriosis, and uterine, unexplained andmale factors. Certain type of infertility such as severe male factors andcomplete tubal obstruction will require ART.Objective:To study obstetrical outcome in pregnancy conceived with assistedreproductive techniques .Materials and Methods: A Retrospective study was done and data wascollected of patients, who have conceived through assisted reproductivetechniques admitted and delivered at tertiary care hospital from January2017 to June 2017.Results: They were anaemia 25(24.27%) and 17(16.19%) in ART andspontaneous conception respectively (p- value<0.147), hypothyroid40(38.83%) and 14(13.33%) in ART and spontaneous conception respectively(p- value<0.0001, highly significant), chronic hypertension 27(26.21%) and4(3.81%) in ART and spontaneous conception respectively (p- value<0.0001,highly significant), DM Type-2 10(9.71%) and 0(0.00%) in ART andspontaneous conception respectively (p- value<0.280, not significant). Studyalso showed that various obstetrical complications common in ART group.They were preterm birth, PIH, Polyhydramnios, Placenta previa, APH,Oligohydromnios, PPROM, GDM, Multiple pregnancies.Conclusion: There was a significant association between obstetricalcomplications with age. Maternal pre-existing disease like anaemia, chronichypertension, hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus should be treated beforeconception, to improve maternal and perinatal outcome.Keywords: Assisted reproductive technology, SpontaneousConception,Pregnancy.
Effects of a prevention intervention concerning screens, and video games in middle-school students: Influences on beliefs and use
Authors: Bonnaire Céline , Serehen Zéphyr , Phan Olivier
Published: September 2019

Background and aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a prevention intervention on French adolescents’ Internet and video games use and on their beliefs concerning gaming and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), in order to adjust prevention programs further.

Methods

The study comprised a prevention intervention group (PIG) and a control group assessed at three times – baseline, post-test, and 4-month follow-up. At baseline, a total of 434 junior high adolescents from five secondary schools were assessed (Mage = 13.2 years; SD = 0.5). The main outcome measures were adolescents’ gaming and Internet use (amount of time spent during the week and the weekend), the number of adolescents with IGD, and beliefs about gaming and IGD.

Results

The results showed significant effects of the prevention intervention on Internet and gaming use (at T2, time spent was significantly lower in the PIG), an important increase of IGD prevalence between baseline and follow-up in the control group, and decreased rates of IGD among adolescents in the PIG between post-intervention and follow-up. Between baseline and follow-up, the control group showed a more significant increase of minutes per day during the week and the weekend on Internet versus during the week on video games. The impact of the prevention intervention on adolescents’ beliefs varied according to gender. Girls had a better understanding generally of the potential dangers of and reasons for IGD.

Discussion

Implications for future research and prevention approaches are discussed in this study.
Staphylococcus által kiváltott, immunglobulin-E-alapú anafilaxiás reakciók Crohn-betegségben. Egy tünetegyüttes első leírása
Authors: Zöld Éva , Barta Zsolt , Török Miklós , Soltész Pál , Szegedi Andrea , Sipka Sándor
Published: September 2019

Abstract:

Immunglobulin E (IgE)-based, irregularly recurring, severe anaphylactic reactions occurred in a 50-year-old European white male patient suffering also from Crohn’s disease. On the base of immunologic laboratory tests concerning the mechanism of the phenomenon, the idea arose whether molecules derived for certain microbial derivatives could enter the blood circulation via the damaged bowel walls in the patient with Crohn’s disease and they might act as allergens. The microbial analysis diagnosed atypical Staphylococcus in the stool. The serum level of IgE was very high. The concomitant use of targeted antibiotics and anti-allergy and immunosuppressive agents resulted in a complete remission during a couple of months. Not only Crohn’s disease has improved, but also the total serum IgE level has decreased significantly, and the unpredictable anaphylactic attacks have been completely eliminated. In Crohn’s disease, the anaphylactic complications induced by atypical microbial allergens (e.g., derivatives of Staphylococcus) can be effectively treated after the recognition of this pathological mechanism. This is the first description of such a pathologic state. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(38): 1514–1518.
Epehólyag-agenesia. Epekövességet utánzó ritka rendellenesség egy felnőtt nőben
Authors: Molnar Călin , Sárközi Tibor , Kwizera Cedric , Botoncea Marian , Zeno Opriș , Petrișor Marius , Grigorescu Bianca Liana
Published: September 2019

Abstract:

Gallbladder agenesis is a rare congenital malformation due to an embryological defect of the biliary system. In most cases it is asymptomatic, but it can also mimic biliary colic. We report the case of a 72-year-old Caucasian woman with a medical history of cardiovascular disease and hypercholesterolemia, under cholesterol-lowering and hypotensive treatment, who presented symptoms suggesting biliary colic. She underwent laparoscopic surgery that confirmed the final diagnosis. We present our approach in this rare case as well as a brief review of medical literature. The surgeon should decide intraoperatively whether to continue and search for a possible ectopic gallbladder or investigate further with imaging studies. Gallbladder agenesis is a rare condition that the surgeon must be aware of. In the cases of inconclusive or indirect signs of cholelithiasis, the best approach is complementary imaging investigations such as magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in order to avoid surgery. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(38): 1510–1513.
PENYULUHAN HUKUM EKONOMI SYARIAH TERHADAP WARGA DESA CIBIRU WETAN KECAMATAN CILEUNYI KABUPATEN BANDUNG
Authors: Setiawan Iwan , Sururie Ramdani Wahyu
Published: September 2019

Sharia economics has two legal basis of sharia economic systems, namely the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet, the laws taken from the two basic foundations in concept and principle are fixed (cannot change anytime and anywhere). The Purpose of sharia economic law counseling towards residents of Cibiru Wetan Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency are: a) Providing knowledge and insight to extension participants, the residents of Cibiru Wetan Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency related to sharia economic law material and b) Providing knowledge and insight and the skills of the counseling participants about the advantages of sharia economic law.To solve the problems that have been identified and formulated above, the counseling can run as an alternative problem solving is as follows: counseling is done with individual and classical approaches. The classical approach is carried out when giving a theory about sharia economic law and an individual approach is carried out during training. The results of community service, sharia economic law counseling in the community of Cibiru Wetan Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency; 1) The extension of Islamic economic law in the community of Cibiru Wetan Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency has benefited the community. This is evident from the enthusiasm of the community in question and answer and motivated to develop their business creativity. So that this activity needs to be carried out continuously and 2) The forms of activities carried out are intensive counseling with the following stages: Lecture on introducing the importance of sharia economic law; Lecture on sharia economic law theories; Lecture on the development of sharia economic law; Demonstration of the steps to develop and develop sharia economic law; Simulation training on the application of sharia economic law; and evaluation of results
Angiographic dynamics of coronary flow state after percutaneous coronary intervention in carriers of polymorphic RS1800470 variants of the TGF-β1 gene
Authors: Brusentsov D. A. , Nikulina S. Yu. , Shesternya P. A.
Published: September 2019

Aim. To study the relationship between the angiographic dynamics of the state of the coronary bed in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) due to myocardial infarction (MI) and the carriage of polymorphic rs1800470 variants of the transforming growth factor beta-1 gene (TGF-β1).

Material and methods. The study included 89 men with MI of the Caucasian race aged 32 to 65 years (52 [45,0-58,0]). Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from venous blood by phenol-chloroform technique. The rs1800470 polymorphism of the TGF-β1 gene was tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (TaqMan probes, AB 7900HT). Assessment of the severity of coronary lesions was carried out initially according to the standard coronary angiography (CAG) protocol with the calculation of the Gensini score. CAG was also conducted in the dynamics after 5-103 months (42,3±29,5 months) of the study beginning.

Results. In male carriers of the rs1800470 A allele of the TGF-β1 gene, the mean values of the Gensini score statistically significantly increased (47,5±34,1 (CAG-1) and 64,5±35,5 (CAG-2), p <0,001) in comparison with carriers of the homozygous GG rs1800470 variant of the TGF-β1 gene (43,5±21,1 (CAG-1) and 46,2±23,2 (CAG2), p=0,066). In patients who had rs1800470 A allele of the TGF-β1 gene, a 20%decrease in the Gensini score was observed after 7 months (p=0,013), and 30% — after 5 months (p=0,003) of the initial CAG. The development of late stent restenoses in carriers of the rs1800470 A allele and the homozygous risk genotype AA of the TGF-β1 gene was noted at an earlier date — 8 (p=0,047) and 12 months (p=0,002), respectively.

Conclusion. Currently, the conduct of CAG in dynamics in patients undergoing PCI is recommended as clinically indicated. The exception is the group of patients who underwent endoprosthesis replacement of the left coronary artery or have uncorrected stenosis of a different location from 3 to 12 months after PCI. The presented data show a possible predictor role of rG1800470 polymorphism of the TGF-β1 gene in relation to the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and the development of late stent restenoses.
A field investigation into the mechanisms of pile ageing in sand
Authors: Gavin Kenneth , Igoe David
Published: September 2019

The design of axially loaded piles has been an area of focus for the offshore industry in recent years. A number of studies report substantial increases in the shaft capacity of piles driven in sand, known as pile ageing. The offshore industry has been slow to implement ageing into practice because of uncertainty over the mechanisms controlling ageing and variability on the impact of ageing. This paper presents the results of tests using an instrumented pile with two separate installations considered, one where the pile was load tested 4 days after installation and the second where the load test was performed after an ageing period of 116 days. Data from the installation, ageing period, load testing and pile extraction provide further insights into the mechanisms governing the effect of time on the axial capacity of piles in sand.
Post-punching mechanisms of slab–column joints under upward and downward punching actions
Authors: Diao Mengzhu , Li Yi , Guan Hong , Lu Xinzheng , Xue Huizhong , Hao Zongda
Published: September 2019

Progressive collapse of reinforced concrete flat plate systems can be significantly influenced by the post-punching performance of their slab–column joints under large deformations. This work presents a series of static collapse tests on four flat slab–column joint specimens with slab in-plane restraint. The effects of different punching directions (upward and downward) and embedded beams on the post-punching performance of the joints were studied. The test results reveal that the post-punching load-bearing and deformation capacities are mainly governed by the longitudinal through-column reinforcement in the slab. The peak bearing capacities and failure modes of specimens without embedded beams were significantly influenced by different punching directions. Conversely, the post-punching mechanisms of specimens with embedded beams were identical regardless of their opposite punching shear actions. In addition, the inclusion of the embedded beams increased the resistance capacity of the specimens under both flexural and suspension mechanisms and enhanced the deformation capacity under the suspension mechanism. Furthermore, a finite-element numerical model was developed and verified against the test results. Based on the numerical study, the contributions of the concrete and reinforcement in resisting the collapse of the slab–column joints were evaluated.
The Protection of Conscientious Objection against Euthanasia in Health Care
Authors: Knoetze Adriaan , De Freitas Shaun
Published: September 2019

In 2015 the South African judiciary was confronted with the issue of the so-called "right to die", when Robin Stransham-Ford applied to the High Court of South Africa (the North Gauteng Division) for an order to have his life terminated. Although the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside the order (on procedural grounds), the High Court's judgment paved the way towards renewed attention regarding the possible legalisation of euthanasia. A pertinent question arising from this is whether a medical practitioner may be compelled to participate in the administering of euthanasia. Bearing this in mind, this article argues for the protection of the rights of medical practitioners who conscientiously object to participating in the administering of euthanasia, especially where such an objection is based on religious beliefs. From this arises the necessity to investigate the rights applicable both to the medical practitioner and the patient (which focusses on the right to freedom of religion and personal autonomy), the weighing up against one another of the different meanings ascribed to such rights, as well as the postulation of a substantively competitive rationale against the background of the importance and sacredness of human life. This also overlaps with the importance of the endeavour towards higher levels of religious freedoms and consequently of plurality in democratic societies. Applying the proportionality test in the analysis whether a medical practitioner's rights may be reasonably and justifiably limited against the background of administering euthanasia also strengthens the argument for the protection of the medical practitioner's right to object conscientiously to the administering of euthanasia. This, together with the vacuum there is in substantive human rights jurisprudence related to this topic, suggests the importance of this article both for the South African context and beyond.
Granger causality of the local Hadley cell and large-scale cloud cover over South Africa
Authors: Mahlobo Dawn D. , Ndarana Thando , Grab Stefan W. , Engelbrecht Francois
Published: September 2019

This study demonstrates that Hadley cell dynamics could be used as a proxy to determine cloud cover and thus solar energy potential over South Africa. Granger causality was used to investigate causal interactions between the Hadley cell and cloud cover for the period 1980–2015, and such links were established. Areas of strong causality are found over the northwestern parts of South Africa. Moreover, weak causality from cloud cover to the Hadley cell does exist, with vertical velocity being the main variable responsible for this causality, which hence indirectly links cloud cover to Hadley cell causality.
Significance:

Hadley cell dynamics may be used to identify regions of cloudlessness over South Africa.
Hadley cell dynamics may further be used as a proxy for cloud cover towards understanding the solar energy potential in South Africa within the context of climate variability and change.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF ONCOLOGY AND RADIOLOGY Moscow, September 23–27 2019
Authors: Editorial Article
Published: September 2019

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Colonial Policy of German Empire in China and Oceania in the Last Third of XIX – Beginning of XX Century
Authors: Papenko Nataliia
Published: September 2019

The relevance of the topic is determined by the historical significance of the problems that are raised in it.

In the article the author discovers the methods and forms of Germany’s colonial policy in the last third part of the 19th – in the beginning of the 20th centuries in China and Oceania. The German Empire was the last from the world’s leading states that entered the path of colonial seizures. The author emphasizes that German politicians generally were satisfied with the development of the country after 1871. For a long time, the range of interests of an imperial chancellor O. von Bismarck (1871 – 1890), as a politician, was limited to the territory of Europe and those countries that were bound by it. Colonies were only interesting for him as an instrument for putting a pressure on the leading countries of the world to solve their European problems.

Trying to avoid conflicts with the leading European powers, especially with the Great Britain, O. von Bismarck had been deliberately refraining from colonial expansion until the mid-80’s of the 19th century. In addition, indifference to colonialism at that time was being expressed by some representatives of the party elite and business. However, in the last third part of the 19th century, the country gets full freedom of action in colonial politics, and therefore it begins to occupy territories in various parts of the world, including Africa, Asia and Oceania.

The interference of the Second Reich in the division of China was one of the reasons for the massive Yihetuan Movement, and in the future, the deployment of a large-scale conflict – the Russian-Japanese war of 1904 – 1905. All this certainly became a part of the complex of reasons for the First World War. Therefore studying of the reasons for and effects of the colonial policy of Germany in the last third part of the 19th – early 20th centuries is quite important and of considerable scientific interest.

In addition, the author notes that most of the politicians in the business circles of Germany considered the colonization of China and Oceania as an important stage not only for economic development of the country, but also for the growth of international authority in the world.
Laws on normative legal acts of the cis countries — indicators of informatization and digitalization processes in the legislation system
Authors: Lipen S. V.
Published: September 2019

The Russian Federation has not adopted any law regulating normative legal acts, whereas in a number of CIS countries such laws have been in force for almost two decades, and the legal regulation of relations in question is being constantly improved. This experience may well be taken into account in domestic research, including the studies aimed at providing scientific support of the law-making activity. The last quarter of the 20th century is characterized by digitalization and informatization of the legal system; laws on normative legal acts of the CIS countries can serve as quite good indicators of these processes. They demonstrate modern trends in the development of legislation with due regard to the information capabilities of the Internet, information and reference systems. Computer technologies are actively used to represent legislation in electronic form (register, data bank, including Internet resource), to promulgate and bring into legal force normative legal acts, to provide access to the current legislation (including publication of adopted normative legal acts in unofficial information and reference systems, on websites of state bodies, non-governmental organizations) in activities aimed at systematizing legislation. Comparative legal characteristics of the legislation of the CIS countries may well be in demand during the development and discussion of the draft Russian Law on normative legal acts.