bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Normal values of angle and distance between the superior mesenteric artery and aorta in Iraqi population: A single centre study
Authors: Hadi Sawsan Salah , Kareem Tara Farooq , Kamal Areege Mustafa
Published: December 2021

Introduction

The diagnosis of the superior mesenteric syndrome depends on measuring the distance and angle between the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and aorta on CT scan in the presence of duodenal compression. Studies examining the normal range of these measurements are scarce and none of them was conducted on the Iraqi population. The aim of this study was to assess the values of aorto‐SMA angle (AMA) and aorto‐SMA distance (AMD) in asymptomatic patients to define the normal range in the Iraqi population and to compare it with the normal published range and different demographical values and body mass index (BMI).

Methods

A total of 333 patients referred to arterial phase CT examinations for reasons unrelated to gastrointestinal tract were recruited. On axial and reformatted sagittal–oblique images, the angle and the distance between SMA and aorta were measured at the location where the duodenum crosses.

Results

Both AMA and AMD had a wider range 10–147° and 4–44 mm, respectively, compared to the literature reported range. There was a significant reduction in AMA and AMD values in underweight participants (AMA, P < 0.001; and AMD, P = 0.014) and in female patients (AMA and AMD, P < 0.0001) and those who were younger than 20 (AMA, P = 0.014; and AMD, P = 0.001). A moderate correlation (r = 0.507, P < 0.0001) was found between AMA and AMD values. The correlation of BMI with AMD values was moderate (r = 0.46), and with AMA was weak (r = 0.23) (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Very low values of AMA and AMD can occur in normal asymptomatic patients without compressing the duodenum, which warrants further follow‐up studies. Evaluating normal values of AMA and AMD in the Iraqi population can help in providing a reference for CT‐based diagnosis of SMA syndrome.
Intra‐articular pressure characteristics of the knee joint: An exploratory study
Authors: Lee Jae H. , Kim Keewon , Chung Sun G.
Published: December 2021

Inflammation‐predominant osteoarthritis is an important clinical type of osteoarthritis, with synovitis suggested as its distinct pathophysiology. We investigated whether the synovium's mechanical properties in knees differed by osteoarthritis and other clinical parameters through retrospectively analyzing intra‐articular pressure–volume characteristics. We analyzed 60 knees that were administered intra‐articular corticosteroids while undergoing pressure monitoring. McMurray's test, pain complaints at end‐range knee flexion, Kellgren–Lawrence classification from standing anteroposterior radiographs, and suprapatellar effusion from ultrasound constituted clinical parameters. Pressure–volume profiles—phasic changes in pressure by volume infusion, the volume of Phase 1—the potential volume of the synovial space, the pressure at 45 ml infusion—intra‐articular pressure at a standardized volume, and the slope of Phase 2—synovial stiffness were compared with clinical parameters. All graphs were biphasic. Knees with suprapatellar effusion or radiologically definite osteoarthritis (Kellgren–Lawrence grade ≥2), had a lower Phase 1 volume. Knees with definite radiographic osteoarthritis also showed higher pressures at 45 ml and Phase 2 slopes (171.11 ± 94.35 mmHg and 5.08 ± 3.07 mmHg/ml, respectively) than those without (101.88 ± 58.12 mmHg and 2.84 ± 1.27 mmHg/ml, respectively). The Phase 2 slope was higher for knees with positive provocative tests than in those with negative provocative tests, although not statistically significant. The synovium stretched earlier in knees with effusion or radiologically definite osteoarthritis. Intra‐articular pressure and synovial stiffness were significantly higher in patients with radiologically definite osteoarthritis. The synovium's mechanical characteristics are altered by osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Intra‐articular pressure characteristics could be utilized for synovial evaluation clinically.
A non‐parametric approach for jointly combining evidence on progression free and overall survival time in network meta‐analysis
Authors: Daly Caitlin H. , Maconachie Ross , Ades A. E. , Welton Nicky J.
Published: December 2021

Randomised controlled trials of cancer treatments typically report progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) outcomes. Existing methods to synthesise evidence on PFS and OS either rely on the proportional hazards assumption or make parametric assumptions which may not capture the diverse survival curve shapes across studies and treatments. Furthermore, PFS and OS are not independent; OS is the sum of PFS and post‐progression survival (PPS). Our aim was to develop a non‐parametric approach for jointly synthesising evidence from published Kaplan–Meier survival curves of PFS and OS without assuming proportional hazards. Restricted mean survival times (RMST) are estimated by the area under the survival curves (AUCs) up to a restricted follow‐up time. The correlation between AUCs due to the constraint that OS > PFS is estimated using bootstrap re‐sampling. Network meta‐analysis models are given for RMST for PFS and PPS and ensure that OS = PFS + PPS. Both additive and multiplicative network meta‐analysis models are presented to obtain relative treatment effects as either differences or ratios of RMST. The methods are illustrated with a network meta‐analysis of treatments for stage IIIA‐N2 non‐small cell lung cancer. The approach has implications for health economic models of cancer treatments, which require estimates of the mean time spent in the PFS and PPS health‐states. The methods can be applied to a single time‐to‐event outcome, and so have wide applicability in any field where time‐to‐event outcomes are reported, the proportional hazards assumption is in doubt, and survival curve shapes differ across studies and interventions.
A strategy for the enrichment and characterization of disulfide bond‐contained proteins from Chinese cobra (Naja atra) venom
Authors: Wei Yuanqing , Liu Ting , Zheng Binru , Song Yilin , Wang Shengsong , Zheng Mojuan , Xu Yanling , Chi Yumei , Zhao Ming , Duan Jin‐ao , Han Shuying , Liu Rui
Published: December 2021

A new strategy combined gold‐coated magnetic nanocomposites assisted enrichment with mass spectrometry was developed for the characterization of disulfide bond‐contained proteins from Chinese cobra (Naja atra) venom. In this work, core‐shell nanocomposites were synthesized by the seed‐mediated growth method and used for the enrichment of snake venom proteins containing disulfide bonds. A total of 3545 tryptic digested peptides derived from 96 venom proteins in Naja atra venom were identified. The venom proteins comprised 14 toxin families including three‐finger toxins, phospholipase A2, snake venom metalloproteinase, cobra venom factor, and so forth. Extra 16 venom proteins were detected exclusively in the nanocomposites set, among which 11 venom proteins were from the three‐finger toxins family. In the present study, the proposed simple and efficient protocol replaced the tedious and laborious technologies commonly used for pre‐separating crude snake venom, suggesting widely implementation in low‐abundance or trace disulfide bond‐contained proteins or peptides characterization.
Gas chromatography of essential oil: State‐of‐the‐art, recent advances, and perspectives
Authors: Cagliero Cecilia , Bicchi Carlo , Marengo Arianna , Rubiolo Patrizia , Sgorbini Barbara
Published: December 2021

This review is an overview of the recent advances of gas chromatography in essential oil analysis; in particular, it focuses on both the new stationary phases and the advanced analytical methods and instrumentations. A paragraph is dedicated to ionic liquids as gas chromatography stationary phases, showing that, thanks to their peculiar selectivity, they can offer a complementary contribution to conventional stationary phases for the analysis of complex essential oils and the separation of critical pairs of components. Strategies to speed‐up the analysis time, thus answering to the ever increasing request for routine essential oils quality control, are also discussed. Last but not least, a paragraph is dedicated to recent developments in column miniaturization in particular that based on microelectromechanical‐system technology in a perspective of developing micro‐gas chromatographic systems to optimize the energy consumption as well as the instrumentation dimensions. A number of applications in the essential oil field is also included.
Molecularly imprinted monoliths: Recent advances in the selective recognition of biomacromolecules related biomarkers
Authors: Song Qingmei , Wang Bingwu , Lv Yongqin
Published: December 2021

Biomarkers are significant indicators to assist the early diagnosis of diseases and assess the therapeutic response. However, due to the low abundance of biomarkers in complex biological fluids, it is highly desirable to explore efficient techniques to attain their selective recognition and capture before the detection. Molecularly imprinted monoliths integrate the high selectivity of imprinted polymers and the rapid convective mass transport of monoliths, and as a result, are promising candidates to achieve the specific enrichment of biomarkers from complex samples. This review summarizes the various imprinting approaches for the preparation of molecularly imprinted monoliths. The state‐of‐art advances as an effective platform for applications in the selective capture of biomacromolecules related biomarkers were also outlined.
Phenylboronic acid‐functionalized cross‐linked chitosan magnetic adsorbents for the magnetic solid‐phase extraction of benzoylurea pesticides
Authors: Cui Xiaoyan , Wang Yujiao , Yan Yumei , Meng Zilin , Lu Runhua , Gao Haixiang , Pan Canping , Wei Xinlin , Zhou Wenfeng
Published: December 2021

In this study, a 4‐formylphenylboronic acid‐modified cross‐linked chitosan magnetic nanoparticle (FPBA@CCHS@Fe3O4) was fabricated. The synthesized material was utilized as the magnetic solid‐phase extraction adsorbent for the enrichment of six benzoylurea pesticides. In addition to B‐N coordination, FPBA@CCHS@Fe3O4 interacts with benzoylureas through hydrogen bonds and π‐π stacking interaction on account of rich active groups (amino and hydroxyl) and aromatic rings in structure. Compared to traditional extraction methods, less adsorbent (20 mg) and reduced extraction time (3 min) were achieved. The adsorbent also exhibited good reusability (no less than 10 times). Coupled with a high‐performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector, satisfactory recoveries (89.1–103.9%) and an acceptable limit of detection (0.2–0.7 μg/L) were obtained. Under optimized conditions, the established method was successfully applied to the tea infusion samples from six major tea categories with acceptable recoveries ranging from 76.8 to 110%, indicating its application potential for the quantitative detection of pesticides in complex matrices.
A Transient Initiator for Polypeptoids Postpolymerization α‐Functionalization via Activation of a Thioester Group
Authors: Borova Solomiia , Schlutt Christine , Nickel Joachim , Luxenhofer Robert
Published: December 2021

Here, a postpolymerization modification method for an α‐terminal functionalized poly‐(N‐methyl‐glycine), also known as polysarcosine, is introduced. 4‐(Methylthio)phenyl piperidine‐4‐carboxylate as an initiator for the ring‐opening polymerization of N‐methyl‐glycine‐N‐carboxyanhydride followed by oxidation of the thioester group to yield an α‐terminal reactive 4‐(methylsulfonyl)phenyl piperidine‐4‐carboxylate polymer is utilized. This represents an activated carboxylic acid terminus, allowing straightforward modification with nucleophiles under mild reaction conditions and provides the possibility to introduce a wide variety of nucleophiles as exemplified using small molecules, fluorescent dyes, and model proteins. The new initiator yielded polymers with well‐defined molar mass, low dispersity, and high end‐group fidelity, as observed by gel permeation chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectroscopy. The introduced method can be of great interest for bioconjugation, but requires optimization, especially for protein conjugation.
Infantile‐onset CMT2D/dSMA‐V in a Chinese family with parental germline mosaicism for a novel mutation in the GARS1 gene
Authors: Huang Yufeng , Bi Bo , Zhao Peiwei , Yu Ting , Luo Sukun , Tan Li , Liu Zhisheng , Liu Jie , He Xuelian
Published: December 2021

Background and Aims

Both Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease type 2D (CMT2D) and distal spinal muscular atrophy type V (dSMA‐V) are GARS1 disease phenotypes involving axonal peripheral neuropathy. Patients often develop clinical symptoms in their teens. Herein, we reported a Chinese family with infantile‐onset CMT2D/dSMA‐V.

Methods

Clinical evaluation and laboratory examination were performed in our proband, the older sister from this family, and trio exome sequencing (ES) was conducted on the proband and her parents, followed by Sanger sequencing.

Results

A novel GARS1 mutation (c.997G>C, p.E333Q; NM_002047) was identified in this patient and her younger sister but not in her parents; thus, it is presumed that this mutation is inherited from a germline mosaic parent. The younger sister began to exhibit weakness of her hands and feet at the age of 1 year old.

Conclusion

This is the first report of infantile CMT2D/dSMA‐V in China. Our study increases the number of infantile‐onset cases, as well as reported pathogenic variants in the GARS1 gene, and highlights the important role of exome sequencing in the clinical diagnosis of disease and enabling subsequent prenatal diagnosis. Our study reminds us to consider the possibility of parent germline mosaicism in the subsequent prenatal genetic diagnosis when identifying a de novo variant.
Technical note: The effect of image annotation with minimal manual interaction for semiautomatic prostate segmentation in CT images using fully convolutional neural networks
Authors: Shahedi Maysam , Dormer James D. , Halicek Martin , Fei Baowei
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The goal is to study the performance improvement of a deep learning algorithm in three‐dimensional (3D) image segmentation through incorporating minimal user interaction into a fully convolutional neural network (CNN).

Methods

A U‐Net CNN was trained and tested for 3D prostate segmentation in computed tomography (CT) images. To improve the segmentation accuracy, the CNN's input images were annotated with a set of border landmarks to supervise the network for segmenting the prostate. The network was trained and tested again with annotated images after 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 landmark points were used.

Results

Compared to fully automatic segmentation, the Dice similarity coefficient increased up to 9% when 5–30 sparse landmark points were involved, with the segmentation accuracy improving as more border landmarks were used.

Conclusions

When a limited number of sparse border landmarks are used on the input image, the CNN performance approaches the interexpert observer difference observed in manual segmentation.
T2 quantification in brain using 3D fast spin‐echo imaging with long echo trains
Authors: Snyder Jeff , McPhee Kelly C. , Wilman Alan H.
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Three‐dimensional fast spin‐echo (FSE) sequences commonly use very long echo trains (>64 echoes) and severely reduced refocusing angles. They are increasingly used in brain exams due to high, isotropic resolution and reasonable scan time when using long trains and short interecho spacing. In this study, T2 quantification in 3D FSE is investigated to achieve increased resolution when comparing with established 2D (proton‐density dual‐echo and multi‐echo spin‐echo) methods.

Methods

The FSE sequence design was explored to use long echo trains while minimizing T2 fitting error and maintaining typical proton density and T2‐weighted contrasts. Constant and variable flip angle trains were investigated using extended phase graph and Bloch equation simulations. Optimized parameters were analyzed in phantom experiments and validated in vivo in comparison to 2D methods for eight regions of interest in brain, including deep gray‐matter structures and white‐matter tracts.

Results

Phantom and healthy in vivo brain T2 measurements showed that optimized variable echo‐train 3D FSE performs similarly to previous 2D methods, while achieving three‐fold‐higher slice resolution, evident visually in the 3D T2 maps. Optimization resulted in better T2 fitting and compared well with standard multi‐echo spin echo (within the 8‐ms confidence limits defined based on Bland‐Altman analysis).

Conclusion

T2 mapping using 3D FSE with long echo trains and variable refocusing angles provides T2 accuracy in agreement with 2D methods with additional high‐resolution benefits, allowing isotropic views while avoiding incidental magnetization transfer effects. Consequently, optimized 3D sequences should be considered when choosing T2 mapping methods for high anatomic detail.
Diagnostic and predictive analysis of production and injection‐induced fault activation
Authors: Zhao Xiaoxi , Jha Birendra
Published: December 2021

Mitigating the hazard of fault reactivation during CO injection and oil production is important for ensuring environmental sustainability of geologic carbon sequestration and hydrocarbon recovery. Currently, we do not know how the Coulomb Failure Stress (CFS), which is a commonly used metric to assess the potential of inducing slip on a fault, evolves differently for gas injection and oil production scenarios. Using high‐resolution simulations of CO injection‐induced and oil production‐induced fault slip and theories of Coulomb failure and poroelasticity, we address this gap in knowledge. We analyze the fault tractions, slip, and reservoir pressure to understand how a fault is destabilized in successive steps, how hypocenter locations are selected, and how these processes differ between injection and production. We extract and summarize the characteristic features of induced fault activation in terms of the dependence of CFS and the Fault Stress Ratio (FSR) on the dimensionless reservoir pressure perturbation caused by injection or production. We apply the framework to the Farnsworth oilfield in Texas, which is undergoing CO injection and oil production, to disambiguate observations related to fault stability. Finally, we discuss how our framework can inform models that aim to forecast fluid flow‐induced slip and mitigate the induced seismicity hazard in oilfields and gas storage sites.
Use of a motion‐based digital therapeutic in women with fecal incontinence: A pilot study
Authors: Weinstein Milena M. , Pulliam Samantha J. , Keyser Laura , Richter Holly E.
Published: December 2021

Aims

There is limited data addressing the value of vaginal biofeedback (VBF) on fecal incontinence (FI) symptoms. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate whether use of a motion‐based VBF device and app was effective for at‐home treatment of women with FI. We hypothesized that VBF would result in improvement in FI symptoms.

Methods

A single‐arm 10‐week prospective pilot trial in women with FI was conducted using the VBF device. The primary outcome was change in St. Mark's score from baseline to week 10. Secondary outcomes included change in 2‐week bowel diary and FI quality of life (FIQoL). Statistical analysis included paired t test and Wilcoxon's signed‐rank test.

Results

Of 29 enrolled women, 27 had data available for analysis. Mean (±SD) age was 60.9 (±14.4). 63% (17) subjects were White, 33% (9) were Black. Mean St. Mark's score was 14.6 (±4.4) at baseline and 11.6 (±5.1) at 10‐weeks (p = 0.005). Changes in the total FIQol, and three of four subsets of the FIQoL scores were also significantly improved (p < 0.001). Bowel diary showed decrease in FI episodes, baseline 8.4 (±8.73) to 10 weeks 4.8 (±3.79), (p = 0.052).

Conclusions

In this pilot study, there was significant improvement in FI symptom‐specific severity and quality of life using a vaginal, motion‐based device for biofeedback. A larger study is needed to better understand the value of this device, which may be useful for women who prefer a vaginal device, which can be utilized at home compared with standard anal biofeedback for treatment of FI in the clinical setting.
Multiple‐GPU parallelization of three‐dimensional material point method based on single‐root complex
Authors: Dong Youkou , Cui Lan , Zhang Xue
Published: December 2021

As one of the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian methods, the material point method (MPM) owns intrinsic advantages in simulation of large deformation problems by combining the merits of the Lagrangian and Eulerian approaches. Significant computational intensity is involved in the calculations of the MPM due to its very fine mesh needed to achieve a sufficiently high accuracy. A new multiple‐GPU parallel strategy is developed based on a single‐root complex architecture of the computer purely within a CUDA environment. Peer‐to‐Peer (P2P) communication between the GPUs is performed to exchange the information of the crossing particles and ghost element nodes, which is faster than the heavy send/receive operations between different computers through the infiniBand network. Domain decomposition is performed to split the whole computational task over the GPUs with a number of subdomains. The computations within each subdomain are allocated on a corresponding GPU using an enhanced “Particle‐List” scheme to tackle the data race during the interpolation from associated particles to common nodes. The acceleration effect of the parallelization is evaluated with two benchmarks cases, mini‐slump test after a dam break and cone penetration test in clay, where the maximum speedups with 1 and 8 GPUs are 88 and 604, respectively.
Initiation of quarterly palmitate paliperidone in French clinical practice: Results from the observational, cross‐sectional OPTIMUS study
Authors: Gary Charlotte , Déal Cécile , Boursicot‐Beuzelin Jennifer , Falissard Bruno , Giordana Jean‐Yves , Fakra Eric , Samalin Ludovic , Bouju Sophie
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Long‐term antipsychotic treatment is key to a positive clinical outcome in schizophrenia. Recent guidelines recommend the prescription of long‐acting antipsychotic formulations (LAIs) as early as the first episode in patients with schizophrenia. The OPTIMUS study evaluated real‐world use of a new three‐monthly paliperidone palmitate formulation (PP3M) in France.

Methods

For this observational cross‐sectional study, all French psychiatrists were invited to enrol patients who had initiated PP3M in the previous 4 months. Snapshot data were collected at a routine consultation, without any modification of clinical practice.

Results

This population of 350 patients with schizophrenia started on PP3M predominantly included single men, living independently with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for a median of 9.3 years. Demographic characteristics were broadly comparable to those reported in other studies on LAIs. Investigators cited treatment simplification (96.9%) and patient comfort (93.3%) as the most common reasons for switching to PP3M; enhancing adherence was mentioned less often (61.1%) with most patients previously considered as adherent, and a majority of them expressing a positive attitude to their treatment. One‐third of patients accepted the psychiatrist's proposal to initiate PP3M treatment without any discussion, and relatives were involved in the therapeutic decision‐making process in only 23.7% of cases. After initiation, few changes were seen in professional follow‐up frequency or concomitant pharmacological and non‐pharmacological treatment modalities except for a decrease in antipsychotic polytherapy.

Conclusions

PP3M is mostly prescribed in adherent patients with fairly stable schizophrenia, and the longer dosing interval does not substantially affect patient care.
Activity and substrate specificity of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases: An ATR FTIR‐based sensitive assay tested on a novel species from Pseudomonas putida
Authors: Serra Ilenia , Piccinini Daniele , Paradisi Alessandro , Ciano Luisa , Bellei Marzia , Bortolotti Carlo Augusto , Battistuzzi Gianantonio , Sola Marco , Walton Paul H. , Di Rocco Giulia
Published: December 2021

Pseudomonas putida W619 is a soil Gram‐negative bacterium commonly used in environmental studies thanks to its ability in degrading many aromatic compounds. Its genome contains several putative carbohydrate‐active enzymes such as glycoside hydrolases and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (PMOs). In this study, we have heterologously produced in Escherichia coli and characterized a new enzyme belonging to the AA10 family, named PpAA10 (Uniprot: B1J2U9), which contains a chitin‐binding type‐4 module and showed activity toward β‐chitin. The active form of the enzyme was produced in E. coli exploiting the addition of a cleavable N‐terminal His tag which ensured the presence of the copper‐coordinating His as the first residue. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy showed signal signatures similar to those observed for the copper‐binding site of chitin‐cleaving PMOs. The protein was used to develop a versatile, highly sensitive, cost‐effective and easy‐to‐apply method to detect PMO's activity exploiting attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and able to easily discriminate between different substrates.
The Ca2+ response of a smart forisome protein is dependent on polymerization
Authors: Rose Judith , Brand Izabella , Bilstein‐Schloemer Merle , Jachimska Barbara , Twyman Richard M. , Prüfer Dirk , Noll Gundula A.
Published: December 2021

Forisomes are giant self‐assembling mechanoproteins that undergo reversible structural changes in response to Ca2+ and various other stimuli. Artificial forisomes assembled from the monomer MtSEO‐F1 can be used as smart biomaterials, but the molecular basis of their functionality is not understood. To determine the role of protein polymerization in forisome activity, we tested the Ca2+ association of MtSEO‐F1 dimers (the basic polymerization unit) by circular dichroism spectroscopy and microscale thermophoresis. We found that soluble MtSEO‐F1 dimers neither associate with Ca2+ nor undergo structural changes. However, polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy revealed that aggregated MtSEO‐F1 dimers and fully‐assembled forisomes associate with Ca2+, allowing the hydration of poorly‐hydrated protein areas. A change in the signal profile of complete forisomes indicated that Ca2+ interacts with negatively‐charged regions in the protein complexes that only become available during aggregation. We conclude that aggregation is required to establish the Ca2+ response of forisome polymers.
The performance of filtered leapfrog schemes in benchmark simulations
Authors: Williams Paul D. , Straka Jerry M. , Kanak Katharine M.
Published: December 2021

The stabilisation of the leapfrog time‐stepping scheme provided by the Robert–Asselin filter has enabled decades of atmospheric and oceanic research and weather and climate predictions. The unfortunate concomitant reduction from second‐order accuracy to first‐order accuracy inflicted by the filter has recently ushered in a new generation of leapfrog time filters that preserve the second‐order accuracy, including the Robert–Asselin–Williams (RAW) filter and its variants. These modern filtered leapfrog schemes have previously been shown to improve numerical simulations made using both simple conceptual models and comprehensive general circulation models. However, their performance in standard benchmark experiments has not previously been assessed. Here we evaluate these filtered leapfrog schemes in four classic benchmark experiments: linear scalar advection; a nonlinear density current in the quasi‐compressible equations; a nonlinear rising warm bubble in the fully compressible equations; and the linked behaviour of nonlinear twin tropical cyclones in the rotating shallow‐water equations. For a given time‐step size, the filtered leapfrog schemes are found to compare favourably with the third‐order Runge–Kutta (RK3) scheme. They are also less computationally expensive than RK3, at roughly one‐third to one‐half the cost per time step. For a given computational expenditure, the filtered leapfrog schemes are found to produce smaller errors with respect to the analytical solution (where available) than RK3. Furthermore, the filtered leapfrog schemes are found to be numerically stable, even when the discretisation method splits the slow advection and diffusion modes from the fast acoustic and gravity‐wave modes. Given that implementing filter upgrades requires only minimally invasive changes to an existing computer code, our results provide support for the continued use of filtered leapfrog schemes in atmosphere and ocean models.
Problemstellung
Authors: Jendreck Annekatrin
Published: December 2021

Die Standardsetzung der International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ist durch einen stetigen Wandel gekennzeichnet, der sich unlängst in der Veröffentlichung neuer Rechnungslegungsregeln, etwa zur Bilanzierung von Umsatzerlösen in IFRS 15 Erlöse aus Verträgen mit Kunden in 2014, zur Leasingbilanzierung in IFRS 16 Leasingverhältnisse in 2016 und zur bilanziellen Erfassung von Versicherungsprodukten in IFRS 17 Versicherungsverträge in 2017, sowie in verschiedenen aktuellen Standardsetzungsaktivitäten, wie bspw. dem Primary-Financial-Statements-Projekt, widerspiegelt.
Standardsetzung als rekursiver Prozess
Authors: Jendreck Annekatrin
Published: December 2021

Zur Beurteilung des Einflusses der Rechnungslegungspraxis auf die Entstehung von Rechnungslegungsvorschriften bedarf es zunächst einer Auseinandersetzung mit der Rechtsnatur von Bilanzierungsnormen sowie der Frage nach der Normermittlung. Als Erklärungsansätze für die Entwicklung von Rechnungslegungsvorschriften werden zunächst die deduktive und induktive Normermittlungstheorie herangezogen. Anschließend wird der Due Process unter Zuhilfenahme der hermeneutischen Methode als diskursiver Normermittlungsprozess betrachtet.
Analyse des Standardsetzungsprozesses von IFRS 15 anhand von Unternehmensstellungnahmen und Standarddokumenten
Authors: Jendreck Annekatrin
Published: December 2021

Für die Analyse des Einflusses von Unternehmen sowie dem IASB auf die Entwicklung von Rechnungslegungsvorschriften bedarf es einer Prozessbetrachtung, die Aufschluss über den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Entscheidungsprozess – in Form der Begründbarkeit verschiedener Bilanzierungsalternativen und ihrer Umsetzungsmöglichkeiten – sowie dem finalen Standardergebnis ermöglicht. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Forschungsbeiträgen werden hierzu nicht kausale Zusammenhänge der Interessenabwägung, sondern der Standardsetzungsprozess als diskursive Auseinandersetzung untersucht.
Thesenförmige Zusammenfassung
Authors: Jendreck Annekatrin
Published: December 2021

In diesem Kapitel werden die Ergebnisse der Arbeit zusammengefasst.
Correction to: Transmedia in Asia and the Pacific
Authors: Gilardi Filippo , Lam Celia
Published: December 2021

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Prospects for Development of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived CAR-Targeted Immunotherapies
Authors: Mazza Roberta , Maher John
Published: December 2021

Technologies required to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) were first described 15 years ago, providing a strong impetus to the field of regenerative medicine. In parallel, immunotherapy has finally emerged as a clinically meaningful modality of cancer therapy. In particular, impressive efficacy has been achieved in patients with selected haematological malignancies using ex vivo expanded autologous T cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). While solid tumours account for over 90% of human cancer, they currently are largely refractory to this therapeutic approach. Nonetheless, given the considerable innovation taking place worldwide in the CAR field, it is likely that effective solutions for common solid tumours will emerge in the near future. Such a development will create significant new challenges in the scalable delivery of these complex, costly and individualised therapies. CAR-engineered immune cell products that originate from iPSCs offer the potential to generate unlimited numbers of homogeneous, standardised cell products in which multiple defined gene modification events have been introduced to ensure safety, potency and reproducibility. Here, we review some of the emerging strategies in use to engineer CAR-expressing iPSC-derived drug products.
Boundary value problems for second order differential equations with $$\varphi $$-Laplacians
Authors: Sȩdziwy Stanisław
Published: December 2021

A new method for solving the boundary value problems for the second order ODEs with bounded nonlinearities and singular $$\varphi $$
φ
–Laplacians is presented.
Relaxation of the Boussinesq system and applications to the Rayleigh–Taylor instability
Authors: Gebhard Björn , Kolumbán József J.
Published: December 2021

We consider the evolution of two incompressible fluids with homogeneous densities $$\rho _{-}<\rho _+$$

ρ
-

<

ρ
+

subject to gravity described by the inviscid Boussinesq equations and provide the explicit relaxation of the associated differential inclusion. The existence of a subsolution to the relaxation allows one to conclude the existence of turbulently mixing solutions to the original Boussinesq system. As a specific application we investigate subsolutions emanating from the classical Rayleigh-Taylor initial configuration where the two fluids are separated by a horizontal interface with the heavier fluid being on top of the lighter. It turns out that among all self-similar subsolutions the criterion of maximal initial energy dissipation selects a linear density profile and a quadratic growth of the mixing zone. The subsolution selected this way can be extended in an admissible way to exist for all times. We provide two possible extensions with different long-time limits. The first one corresponds to a total mixture of the two fluids, the second corresponds to a full separation with the lighter fluid on top of the heavier. There is no motion in either of the limit states.
Penalized wavelet estimation and robust denoising for irregular spaced data
Authors: Amato Umberto , Antoniadis Anestis , De Feis Italia , Gijbels Irène
Published: December 2021

Nonparametric univariate regression via wavelets is usually implemented under the assumptions of dyadic sample size, equally spaced fixed sample points, and i.i.d. normal errors. In this work, we propose, study and compare some wavelet based nonparametric estimation methods designed to recover a one-dimensional regression function for data that not necessary possess the above requirements. These methods use appropriate regularizations by penalizing the decomposition of the unknown regression function on a wavelet basis of functions evaluated on the sampling design. Exploiting the sparsity of wavelet decompositions for signals belonging to homogeneous Besov spaces, we use some efficient proximal gradient descent algorithms, available in recent literature, for computing the estimates with fast computation times. Our wavelet based procedures, in both the standard and the robust regression case have favorable theoretical properties, thanks in large part to the separability nature of the (non convex) regularization they are based on. We establish asymptotic global optimal rates of convergence under weak conditions. It is known that such rates are, in general, unattainable by smoothing splines or other linear nonparametric smoothers. Lastly, we present several experiments to examine the empirical performance of our procedures and their comparisons with other proposals available in the literature. An interesting regression analysis of some real data applications using these procedures unambiguously demonstrate their effectiveness.
Prevalence of diabetes mellitus among 80,193 gastrointestinal cancer patients in five European and three Asian countries
Authors: Roderburg Christoph , Loosen Sven H. , Hoyer Laura , Luedde Tom , Kostev Karel
Published: December 2021

Background

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has recently been associated with an increased incidence of such digestive tract malignancies as gastric or colorectal cancer. However, systematic data on the prevalence of DM among digestive tract cancer entities, especially in terms of geographic distributions, are lacking.

Methods

We used the Oncology Dynamics database (IQVIA) to identify a total of 80,193 patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer (5845 esophagus, 20,806 stomach, 38,138 colon, and 15,414 rectum cancer patients) from eight European and Asian countries.

Results

The overall prevalence of DM among all digestive tract cancer patients was 14.8% (11,866/80,193). In terms of cancer site, DM prevalence was highest in patients with colon (15.5%) or rectal (15.3%) cancer and lowest in patients with esophageal cancer (12.0%). Interestingly, we observed significant differences in DM prevalence between countries. Spain (27.8%, 31.3%) and South Korea (21.0%, 27.9%) had the highest prevalence of DM among gastric and colon cancer patients, while DM prevalence in esophageal (18.8%) and rectal (38.0%) cancer patients was highest in Germany.

Conclusion

Our data revealed a high prevalence of DM among digestive tract cancer patients in Europe and Asia, and showed that DM prevalence varies among digestive tract cancer sites as well as countries.
Low blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are positively associated with cancer
Authors: Loosen Sven H. , Kostev Karel , Luedde Mark , Luedde Tom , Roderburg Christoph
Published: December 2021

Purpose

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a decisive involvement of the human lipid metabolism in cancer development. However, clinical data on the association between blood triglyceride or cholesterol levels including the cholesterol transporters high-density and low-density lipoproteins (LDL, HDL) and cancer incidence have remained inconclusive. Here, we investigated the association between blood triglyceride as well as total, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels and cancer among outpatients from Germany.

Methods

61,936 patients with available blood lipid values were identified from the IQVIA Disease Analyzer database and followed up between 2005 and 2019. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to study the association between lipid values and cancer.

Results

The probability of cancer was significantly lower among patients with elevated total cholesterol concentrations and higher in patients with decreased HDL serum levels. In contrast, serum concentrations of LDL and triglycerides had no impact on cancer risk. In cancer site-stratified analyses, we observed a trend towards higher rates of cancers from digestive organs, breast, skin cancer, urinary tract and cancers from lymphoid and hematopoietic tissue in patients with HDL values < 35 mg/dl, while a negative association between total cholesterol > 250 mg/dl and respiratory organ as well as urinary tract cancers was observed.

Conclusion

Our data strongly support the hypothesis that serum-specific lipid profiles are positively associated with cancer.
A simplified fluid structure interaction model for the assessment of ship hard grounding
Authors: Kim Sang Jin , Sohn Jung Min , Kujala Pentti , Hirdaris Spyros
Published: December 2021

The structural damage of ships in navigational accidents is influenced by the hydrodynamic properties of surrounding water. Fluid structure interactions (FSI) in way of grounding contact can be idealized by combining commercial FEA tools and specialized hydrodynamic solvers. Despite the efficacy of these simulations, the source codes idealizing FSI are not openly available, computationally expensive and subject to limitations in terms of physical assumptions. This paper presents a unified FSI model for the assessment of ship crashworthiness following ship hard grounding. The method uses spring elements for the idealization of hydrostatic restoring forces in 3 DoF (heave, pitch, roll) and distributes the added masses in 6 DoF on the nodal points in way of contact. Comparison of results against the method of Kim et al. (2021) for the case of a barge and a Ro–Ro passenger ship demonstrate excellent idealization of ship dynamics. It is concluded that the method could be useful for rapid assessment of ship grounding scenarios and associated regulatory developments.
Association of COVID-19 mortality with COVID-19 vaccination rates in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany) from calendar week 1 to 20 in the year 2021: a registry-based analysis
Authors: Wollschläger Daniel , Gianicolo Emilio , Blettner Maria , Hamann Ruben , Herm-Stapelberg Nils , Schoeps Melissa
Published: December 2021

Vaccination is among the measures implemented by authorities to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, real-world evidence of population-level effects of vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 are required to confirm that positive results from clinical trials translate into positive public health outcomes. Since the age group 80 + years is most at risk for severe COVID-19 disease progression, this group was prioritized during vaccine rollout in Germany. Based on comprehensive vaccination data from the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate for calendar week 1–20 in the year 2021, we calculated sex- and age-specific vaccination coverage. Furthermore, we calculated the proportion of weekly COVID-19 fatalities and reported SARS-CoV-2 infections formed by each age group. Vaccination coverage in the age group 80 + years increased to a level of 80% (men) and 75% (women). Increasing vaccination coverage coincided with a reduction in the age group’s proportion of COVID-19 fatalities. In multivariable logistic regression, vaccination coverage was associated both with a reduction in an age-group’s proportion of COVID-19 fatalities [odds ratio (OR) per 5 percentage points = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.82–0.96, p = 0.0013] and of reported SARS-CoV-2 infections (OR per 5 percentage points = 0.82, 95% CI 0.76–0.88, p < 0.0001). The results are consistent with a protective effect afforded by the vaccination campaign against severe COVID-19 disease in the oldest age group.
ProAna Worlds: Affectivity and Echo Chambers Online
Authors: Osler Lucy , Krueger Joel
Published: December 2021

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterised by self-starvation. Accounts of AN typically frame the disorder in individualistic terms: e.g., genetic predisposition, perceptual disturbances of body size and shape, experiential bodily disturbances. Without disputing the role these factors may play in developing AN, we instead draw attention to the way disordered eating practices in AN are actively supported by others. Specifically, we consider how Pro-Anorexia (ProAna) websites—which provide support and solidarity, tips, motivational content, a sense of community, and understanding to individuals with AN—help drive and maintain AN practices. We use C. Thi Nguyen’s work on epistemic “echo chambers”, along with Maria Lugones’ work on “worlds” and “ease”, to explore the dynamics of these processes. Adopting this broader temporal and intersubjective perspective, we argue, not only helps to further illuminate the experiential character of AN but also has important clinical and therapeutic significance.
Mars Explorers: A Science Inquiry-Based Learning Project in Preschool
Authors: Zudaire Isabel , Buil Raquel , Uriz Irantzu , Napal María
Published: December 2021

Inquiry-based science education has become one of the most effective methodologies to learn science; however, proposals in preschool are scarce. Different factors are responsible for this situation, such as the low self-confidence of teachers to teach science and the belief that young children are unable to develop certain reasoning skills. This study reports the implementation of an inquiry-based science project in a preschool setting, in the context of a preservice teacher’s school placement. The project aimed to promote the development of basic and integrated scientific skills, enhance acquisition of conceptual knowledge and make the students enjoy while learning science. The intervention is described thoroughly and illustrated with examples from the real implementation of the theoretical IBSE sequence. At the beginning of the proposal, the students received a hypothetical letter from the astronaut Pedro Duque, in which they were asked for help to plan his trip to living on Mars, a cold planet, with only frozen and saltwater. After some introductory POE (predict, observe, and explain) experiences on the perception of temperature and activities with fresh and saline water, the students performed a piece of research: growing lettuce in four different conditions, combining two variables: temperature and the salinity of water. As the project developed, the students progressively gave better descriptions and justifications, and also showed great interest in performing more “research experiments”. For the preservice teacher, the project provided an excellent opportunity to implement academic knowledge in school practice.
Modified transmission eigenvalues for inverse scattering in a fluid–solid interaction problem
Authors: Monk Peter , Selgas Virginia
Published: December 2021

Target signatures are discrete quantities computed from measured scattering data that could potentially be used to classify scatterers or give information about possible defects in the scatterer compared to an ideal object. Here, we study a class of modified interior transmission eigenvalues that are intended to provide target signatures for an inverse fluid–solid interaction problem. The modification is based on an auxiliary problem parametrized by an artificial diffusivity constant. This constant may be chosen strictly positive, or strictly negative. For both choices, we characterize the modified interior transmission eigenvalues by means of a suitable operator so that we can determine their location in the complex plane. Moreover, for the negative sign choice, we also show the existence and discreteness of these eigenvalues. Finally, no matter the choice of the sign, we analyze the approximation of the eigenvalues from far field measurements of the scattered fluid pressure and provide numerical results which show that, even with noisy data, some of the eigenvalues can be determined from far field data.