bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crossing Disciplinary Borders to Improve Requirements Communication
Authors: Hess Anne
Published: February 2022

Software requirements specifications (SRS) serve as an important source of information for a variety of roles involved in software engineering (SE) projects. This situation poses a challenge to requirements engineers: Different information needs have to be addressed, which are strongly dependent on the particular role(s) that SRS stakeholders have within a project. This chapter summarizes the contributions of a thesis that aimed to address and reduce role-specific defects in SRS that negatively influence the efficient usage and acceptance of these documents. To achieve this goal, we collected empirical data about role-specific information needs in a series of empirical studies that served as a baseline for a secondary analysis toward the definition of role-specific views. Moreover, we realized a proof-of-concept implementation that is capable of generating role-specific views on SRS. The results of a case study revealed that role-specific views have the potential to efficiently support SRS consumers during the analysis of a given SRS. Besides conducting further empirical studies in industry, future work aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and requirements communication, especially in agile teams. Thereby, we are exploring synergy potential with best practices from non-SE disciplines.
DevOpsUse: A Community-Oriented Methodology for Societal Software Engineering
Authors: Koren István
Published: February 2022

The demanded fast innovation cycles of the ongoing digital transformation create an unstable environment in which the demands of heterogeneous professional communities need to be addressed. Moreover, the information systems infrastructure of these professional communities has a strong influence on their practices. However, the evolution of the web as infrastructure is shaped by an interplay of new technologies and innovative applications. It is characterized by contrasts, such as centralized versus peer-to-peer architectures and a large number of end users versus a small number of developers. Therefore, our aim is to stabilize these dichotomies apparent in the web by means of an agile information systems development methodology. The DevOps approach promotes stronger cooperation between development and operations teams. Our DevOpsUse methodology additionally fosters a stronger involvement of end-user communities in software development by including them in the process of infrastructuring, that is, the appropriation of infrastructure during its usage. The developed DevOpsUse methodology and support tools have been successfully validated by the transitions between three generations of technologies: near real-time peer-to-peer web architectures, edge computing, and the Internet of Things. In particular, we were able to demonstrate our methodology’s capabilities through longitudinal studies in several large-scale international digitalization projects. Beyond web information systems, the framework and its open-source tools are applicable in further areas like Industry 4.0. Its broad adaptability testifies that DevOpsUse has the potential to unlock capabilities for sustainable innovation.
The Washington Consensus and the Push for Neoliberal Social Policies in Latin America: The Impact of International Organisations on Colombian Healthcare Reform
Authors: de Carvalho Gabriela , Frisina Doetter Lorraine
Published: February 2022

Starting in 1973, healthcare reforms took place in 20 Latin American countries, as a result of state modernisation and the influence of international organisations. At the same period, the World Bank had become the major healthcare reform advocate in the region, pushing for neoliberal models in line with the Washington Consensus (WC) paradigm. Under these circumstances, Colombia undertook a major change to its system, and existing scholarship suggests that healthcare reform in the country was a product of international influences. This chapter analyses the impact of the principles defined by the WC on the 1993 Colombian healthcare reform. We examine national healthcare legislation to identify how the “neoliberal health model” proposed by the WC translated into the language and measures subsequently adopted in Colombia.
Social Reforms and the Fear of Economic Backlash: Political Debates on Social Policy and Transnational Influences in Argentina in the 1930s
Authors: Gerards Iglesias Simon
Published: February 2022

Since the beginning of modern social policy in Argentina in the early 20th century, concerns about the loss of economic competitiveness of domestic industries had been an important argument against the introduction of labour policies. In the 1930s, however, the Argentinean government acceded to some important international labour conventions while business leaders promoted their own projects to improve labour safety and better working conditions at their facilities. This turnaround by the ruling conservative political elites and economic liberals can only be understood by considering transnational influences, particularly the triangular relationship between Argentina, the US, and the International Labour Organisation. Using the example of occupational accident legislation, this chapter shows how a social policy flagship was used as a tool to project the image of a modern, progressive nation that complied with international labour standards.
Relations Between Germany and China and the Rise of the Social Insurance State in China Since the Economic Reform of 1978
Authors: Liu Tao , Tian Tong
Published: February 2022

Since the economic reform in 1978, the main system of social security in China has gradually transformed from the labour insurance system to the social insurance system. In this transformation process, policy learning and ideas diffusion have become relevant means to influence China’s social policy-making, and Bismarckian social insurance system has become an important reference for China’s legislative and social elites. In this process, Germany has influenced the core ideas and values of social policy experts in China in favour of the emergence and expansion of social insurance system since the 1990s, and the inter-state diffusion has become a powerful driving force for the rise of the new social insurance state in China.
The Cold War and the Welfare State in Western Europe
Authors: Petersen Klaus , Mioni Michele , Obinger Herbert
Published: February 2022

The Cold War and the growth of the welfare state constitute two major frameworks for understanding politics and society in post-war Western Europe. This chapter discusses how the Cold War shaped the development of welfare states in selected Western European countries in the first decades after 1945. It is argued that two mechanisms were important. First, social policies were used for securing mass loyalty and as an anti-communist strategy in Western Europe. Second, the Cold War strongly impacted political coalition-building in Western countries.
Social Policy and Britain’s 1929 Colonial Development Act
Authors: Shriwise Amanda
Published: February 2022

In 1929, Britain passed the Colonial Development Act (CDA), which represents the first centralised and systematic attempt to allocate development assistance throughout dependencies in the British Empire. This chapter examines social policy in a British colonial development context through the lens of the CDA from 1929 to 1940. It argues that while the CDA was a redistributive mechanism, it was far from progressive in both concept and implementation. Instead, the CDA embodied many of the inherent tensions and contradictions about welfare in the British Empire, with Britain portraying itself as a duty bound and philanthropic colonial power on the one hand while simultaneously pursuing a colonial development agenda that explicitly prioritised metropolitan economic gains over the welfare of local and indigenous populations on the other.
The Colonial Legacy and the Jamaican Healthcare System
Authors: Cassells Elsada Diana , de Carvalho Gabriela , Frisina Doetter Lorraine
Published: February 2022

This chapter explores the role of colonialism as it may come to translate into policy legacy from empire to colony post-independence in social policies. Specifically, we examine the role of British colonialism and its impact on the Jamaican healthcare system, casting an eye to the long-term policy conditions introduced by years of foreign rule. We pose the question: How did British colonialism impact the nature of choices and challenges confronting Jamaican policymakers as they grappled with a national response to healthcare post-independence? To answer this, we follow developments across two periods: the colonial, which concluded in 1962, and the post-colonial periods, which marked the introduction of a state-led healthcare system. Our study concludes by reflecting on the consequences of colonialism and its legacy on the healthcare policy trajectory in Jamaica.
Feminist Peace Research in Europe: A Snapshot
Authors: Haastrup Toni
Published: February 2022

This chapter explores the long trajectory of European feminists’ contributions to peace research. Specifically, the coalescing of knowledge via specific Centers of Excellence has supported the recent development of feminist peace research (FPR) in Europe. FPR has also been influenced by the global normative framework of the Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS), which relies on research conducted outside of Europe. While the diversity of WPS informed research evidences a thriving FPR field in Europe, it also reveals the limitations of what constitutes ‘Europe.’ Ultimately, the chapter shows how FPR remains exclusionary, with implications for knowledge production hierarchies.
Nachhaltigkeit, digitale Medien(-kommunikation) und das „gute Leben“
Authors: Kannengießer Sigrid
Published: February 2022

Das kommunikations- und medienwissenschaftliche Forschungsfeld zu Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation und das interdisziplinäre Forschungsfeld, das sich mit Medien(-kommunikation) und dem „guten Leben“ auseinandersetzt, sind facettenreiche, wenn auch kleine Forschungsbereiche, die in diesem Kapitel aufgearbeitet werden. Skizziert werden die nachhaltigkeitsrelevante Journalismus- und Public-Relations-Forschung sowie das relevante Feld der Wissenschaftskommunikation und der Medieninhalts- und Rezeptionsforschung. Die Aufarbeitung des interdisziplinären Forschungsbereichs, der sich explizit mit dem „guten Leben“ und Medien beschäftigt, zeigt, dass hier das individuelle Wohlbefinden und die Relevanz der Mediennutzung für dieses im Fokus stehen. Argumentiert wird aber, dass, um den Zusammenhang von Medien und dem „guten Lebens“ zu verstehen, auch die sozial-ökologischen Probleme in den Blick genommen werden müssen, die aktuelle Digitalisierung verursacht. Daher werden hier auch die sozial-ökologischen Folgen der Produktion, Aneignung und Entsorgung digitaler Medientechnologien skizziert, die durch den Konsum digitaler Medientechnologien verursacht werden. Der Konsum digitaler Medientechnologien und -inhalte hindert letztendlich viele Menschen und weitere Lebewesen an einem „guten Leben“ und zerstört die Umwelt. Was verschiedene Akteur*innen mit Medien(-technologien) machen, um diese sozial-ökologischen Folgen zu vermeiden und welche alternativen, nachhaltigeren Medienpraktiken sie entwickeln, wird hier als Forschungsdesiderat benannt.
Einleitung
Authors: Kepura Jürgen
Published: February 2022

Diese Forschungsarbeit nimmt die Präventionspraxis der Polizei in den Blick. Es besteht Grund zu der Annahme, dass Handlungen wie unterrichten, trainieren, beraten, helfen mit erzieherischer Absicht in die polizeiliche Präventionsarbeit eingebettet sind. Daher widmet sich diese Untersuchung den Handlungsorientierungen von Polizeibeamtinnen und Polizeibeamten in der Präventionsarbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen und zwar aus erziehungswissenschaftlicher Perspektive.  In diesem Kapitel wird in die Problemstellung, die methodische Verortung und den Aufbau der Arbeit eingeführt.
Empirische Ergebnisse
Authors: Kepura Jürgen
Published: February 2022

Die empirischen Ergebnisse der Handlungspraxis von Polizeibeamtinnen und Polizeibeamten in der Präventionsarbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen sind für diese Forschungsarbeit von zentraler Bedeutung. Mit Hilfe der Dokumentarischen Methode werden kollektive Orientierungen rekonstruiert. Es gelingt Idealtypen zu bilden, die maximale Orientierungsunterschiede in der polizeilichen Arbeit mit Kindern und Jugendlichen zeigen. Dieses Kapitel enthält Portraits der Gruppen des Samples. Den Hauptteil bilden eine Beschreibung der Basistypik und die Darstellung der Orientierungstypen. In einer Zusammenfassung der Typologie und ihrer Basis werden die empirischen Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung kompakt dargestellt. Erste Hinweise auf die Soziogenese der emergierten Orientierungsmuster schließen dieses Kapitel ab.
Ausblick
Authors: Kepura Jürgen
Published: February 2022

In dieser Untersuchung wurden Aporien polizeilicher Präventionsarbeit emergiert. Darauf aufbauend wurden mit einer theoretischen Kontextualisierung der empirischen Ergebnisse Konturen einer Professionalitätstheorie polizeilicher Präventionsarbeit beschrieben. Diese Umrisse bedürfen einer weiteren Ausdifferenzierung. In diesem Kapitel werden Impulse für die Forschung und Anregungen für die Praxis formuliert.
Acceptability of Urine-Diversion Dry Toilets and Resource Values of Excreta in Rural Societies
Authors: Harada Hidenori
Published: February 2022

Global challenges of water scarcity and food insecurity justify sanitation approaches that utilize dry sanitation with the agricultural use of excreta. One such approach is urine-diverting dry toilets (UDDTs) that separate urine and feces at the source at the time of excretion, thereby efficiently sanitizing the feces without liquid by separating the urine. However, in practice, some people have an aversion to the agricultural use of human excreta. Although the resource value of human excreta can potentially drive the spread of sanitation, this can only be achieved when a sanitation system utilizing human excreta for agriculture is accepted and rooted in society. This chapter studies the long-term acceptability of UDDTs that were installed several years ago in Vietnam, Malawi, and Bangladesh, focusing on the fertilizer value of human excreta. The majority of UDDTs were continuously used in all cases. Physical conditions and usability were the primary reasons to use UDDTs. Proportions of the continuous use of urine were low in all cases, and the perceived fertilizer values of urine by UDDT users were significantly lower than those of feces in Malawi. The fertilizer values of feces and urine alone were not always a motivation to use UDDTs although that of feces possibly contributed to the continuous use of UDDTs in Malawi. Religious impurity was a major barrier to use of urine and feces in Bangladesh, although it could be overcome with clean conditions of UDDTs and appropriate socio-cultural context.
Social Relationships and Material Flow in the Co-Creation of Sanitation Systems
Authors: Ushijima Ken , Sintawardani Neni , Ikemi Mayu
Published: February 2022

This chapter describes the challenges of co-creating sanitation system design based on material flow and social network with value flow in urban slums in Indonesia. The challenges are described in three phases: first, to understand and describe the current material flow of sanitation and environment; second, to extend our understanding of the wider meaning of material flow and value flow network; and, third, to evolve the solution through a co-creation process with local players. Through the first phase, we could understand the overall problem of sanitation in the research field by applying material flow analysis; the strength was the ability to catch all the related processes based on a logical mass balance point of view. However, its weakness was too strict rule and it is difficult to describe each player’s motivation; in other words, “driving force” of the system. Therefore, in the second phase, we applied social relationship analysis and could draw reasonable picture of sanitation value flow network. Based on that picture, we had started co-creation approach in order to create new sanitation system with local players, and it is still ongoing. We found that the combination of material flow and social relationship provides reasonable and effective picture of wholistic sanitation system; also, that it is important to validate and update the picture through co-creation process among a team consisting of not only various researchers but also local players.
Ideas and Practices for Restoring the Humanity of Sanitation Workers in India
Authors: Masuki Yui
Published: February 2022

This chapter briefly traces the struggle to restore sanitation workers’ humanity in India since the early twentieth century. Sanitation labor has generally been carried out by people from the Dalit community, a group of castes formerly referred to as “untouchables.” By paying attention to M. K. Gandhi, B. R. Ambedkar, government authorities, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), this chapter examines how humanitarian interventions were made via ideological and practical approaches to address the circumstances of sanitation workers and the limitations thereof. Gandhi’s emphasis on the moral aspect of scavenging and Ambedkar’s stress on the structural inequalities in the division of sanitation labor informed the mainstream ideas in preindependence India. However, efforts after independence were committed to abolishing the specific task of manual scavenging as a sine qua non for the emancipation of sanitation workers. These endeavors primarily entailed abolishing scavengers’ customary rights, the technological invention of low-cost flush toilets, and legal actions taken against the government. However, these attempts have led to dismissing the importance of providing “adequate sanitation” to the bulk of the population (Chaplin, The politics of sanitation in India. Orient Blackswan, New Delhi, 2011: 185, 267), enhancing nonscavenging sanitation workers’ conditions, and developing a more mechanized, holistic human waste disposal system. Further, having underlined the unsanitary, inhuman, or moral dimensions of sanitation labor, these interventions did not necessarily consider the complicated context of actual sanitation workers regarding how they perceive the labor on their own terms.
Gender and Culture Matters: Considerations for Menstrual Hygiene Management
Authors: Sugita Elli W.
Published: February 2022

Menstruation hygiene management (MHM) is an important factor in gender-sensitive sanitation promotion. MHM is a concept and an approach in international development that gained greater attention in the last decade. This chapter first reviews the development of MHM (also recently referred to as menstrual health and hygiene: MHH) as an international agenda. The second part focuses on the cultural aspects of menstruation. To illuminate the local reality and cultural context of female students in a secondary school, a case study from the Manafwa district in Uganda will be described. The research results show that seemingly simple behaviors associated with menstrual management pass through the filter of cultural norms and girls’ perceptions. Those behaviors include (1) changing menstrual absorbents, (2) using a latrine, (3) discarding used sanitary pads or other sanitary items, (4) washing menstrual items or underwear, and (5) drying them. The chapter will provide some recommendations for MHM interventions.
The significance of direct transportation to a trauma center on survival for severe traumatic brain injury
Authors: Trivedi Dhanisha Jayesh , Bass Gary Alan , Forssten Maximilian Peter , Scheufler Kai-Michael , Olivecrona Magnus , Cao Yang , Ahl Hulme Rebecka , Mohseni Shahin
Published: February 2022

Introduction

While timely specialized care can contribute to improved outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI), this condition remains the most common cause of post-injury death worldwide. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in mortality between regional trauma centers in Sweden (which provide neurosurgical services round the clock) and non-trauma centers, hypothesizing that 1-day and 30-day mortality will be lower at regional trauma centers.

Patients and methods

This retrospective cohort study used data extracted from the Swedish national trauma registry and included adults admitted with severe TBI between January 2014 and December 2018. The cohort was divided into two subgroups based on whether they were treated at a trauma center or non-trauma center. Severe TBI was defined as a head injury with an AIS score of 3 or higher. Poisson regression analyses with both univariate and multivariate models were performed to determine the difference in mortality risk [Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR)] between the subgroups. As a sensitivity analysis, the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method was used to adjust for the effects of confounding.

Results

A total of 3039 patients were included. Patients admitted to a trauma center had a lower crude 30-day mortality rate (21.7 vs. 26.4% days, p = 0.006). After adjusting for confounding variables, patients treated at regional trauma center had a 28% [adj. IRR (95% CI): 0.72 (0.55–0.94), p = 0.015] decreased risk of 1-day mortality and an 18% [adj. IRR (95% CI): 0.82 (0.69–0.98)] reduction in 30-day mortality, compared to patients treated at a non-trauma center. After adjusting for covariates in the Poisson regression analysis performed after IPTW, admission and treatment at a trauma center were associated with a 27% and 17% reduction in 1-day and 30-day mortality, respectively.

Conclusion

For patients suffering a severe TBI, treatment at a regional trauma center confers a statistically significant 1-day and 30-day survival advantage over treatment at a non-trauma center.
Hydrogel-based autologous chondrocyte implantation leads to subjective improvement levels comparable to scaffold based autologous chondrocyte implantation
Authors: Niethammer Thomas Richard , Uhlemann Felix , Zhang Anja , Holzgruber Martin , Wagner Ferdinand , Müller Peter Ernst
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Scaffold-based autologous chondrocyte implantation is a well-established treatment for cartilage defects in the knee joint. Hydrogel-based autologous chondrocyte implantation using an in situ polymerizable biomaterial is a relatively new treatment option for arthroscopic cartilage defects. It is therefore important to determine if there are significant differences in the outcomes. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes (using subjective parameters) of hydrogel-based autologous chondrocyte implantation (NOVOCART® Inject) with the outcomes of scaffold based autologous chondrocyte Implantation (NOVOCART® 3D) using biphasic collagen scaffold.

Methods

The data of 50 patients, which were paired with 25 patients in each treatment group, was analyzed. The main parameters used for matching were gender, number of defects and localization. Both groups were compared based on Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and subjective IKDC scores, both of which were examined pre-operatively and after 6, 12 and 24 months.

Results

Significant benefits in both VAS and IKDC scores after 2 years of follow-up in both groups were found. Comparing the groups, the results showed that in the hydrogel-based autologous chondrocyte implantation group, significant changes in IKDC scores are measurable after 6 months, while it takes 12 months until they are seen in the scaffold based autologous chondrocyte group.

Conclusion

Hydrogel-based autologous chondrocyte and scaffold based autologous chondrocyte show comparable improvements and significant benefits to the patients’ subjective well-being after a 2-year-follow-up.

Level of evidence

III.
Prevalence of Low Serum Alkaline Phosphatase and Hypophosphatasia in Adult Patients with Atypical Femur Fractures
Authors: Tsiantouli Eleni , Biver Emmanuel , Chevalley Thierry , Petrovic Robert , Hannouche Didier , Ferrari Serge
Published: February 2022

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by low serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), its manifestations may include atypical femoral fractures (AFF). However, the prevalence of low serum ALP and HPP in patients with AFF remains unknown. We retrospectively analyzed ALP levels and clinical manifestations compatible with HPP in 72 adult patients with confirmed AFF by chart review. ALP values were compared with those of a control group of patients with prior proximal femoral fracture during antiresorptive treatment (n = 20). Among the AFF patients, 18 (25%) had at least one serum ALP value ≤ 40 IU/L, although in all but one case, at least one ALP value > 40 IU/L was also detected at another time point. Most low ALP values were associated with antiresorptive treatment (P = 0.049) and lowest levels of ALP did not differ between the AFF and the control groups (P = 0.129). However, low ALP values among AFF patients were associated with a higher rate of bilateral AFF (50% vs 22%, P = 0.025), metatarsal fracture (33% vs 7%, P = 0.006), and with trends for more frequent use of glucocorticoid (22% vs 8%, P = 0.089) and proton pump inhibitor (61% vs 44%, P = 0.220). In one AFF patient with low ALP and clinical suspicion of HPP, a rare pathogenic heterozygous variant of the ALPL gene was identified. In conclusion, low ALP values are common among subjects with AFF and mainly related to concomitant antiresorptive medication. Hence, low serum ALP has low specificity for HPP among AFF patients.
Autonomous artificial intelligence in pediatric radiology: the use and perception of BoneXpert for bone age assessment
Authors: Thodberg Hans Henrik , Thodberg Benjamin , Ahlkvist Joanna , Offiah Amaka C.
Published: February 2022

Background

The autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) system for bone age rating (BoneXpert) was designed to be used in clinical radiology practice as an AI-replace tool, replacing the radiologist completely.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate how the tool is used in clinical practice. Are radiologists more inclined to use BoneXpert to assist rather than replace themselves, and how much time is saved?

Materials and methods

We sent a survey consisting of eight multiple-choice questions to 282 radiologists in departments in Europe already using the software.

Results

The 97 (34%) respondents came from 18 countries. Their answers revealed that before installing the automated method, 83 (86%) of the respondents took more than 2 min per bone age rating; this fell to 20 (21%) respondents after installation. Only 17/97 (18%) respondents used BoneXpert to completely replace the radiologist; the rest used it to assist radiologists to varying degrees. For instance, 39/97 (40%) never overruled the automated reading, while 9/97 (9%) overruled more than 5% of the automated ratings. The majority 58/97 (60%) of respondents checked the radiographs themselves to exclude features of underlying disease.

Conclusion

BoneXpert significantly reduces reporting times for bone age determination. However, radiographic analysis involves more than just determining bone age. It also involves identification of abnormalities, and for this reason, radiologists cannot be completely replaced. AI systems originally developed to replace the radiologist might be more suitable as AI assist tools, particularly if they have not been validated to work autonomously, including the ability to omit ratings when the image is outside the range of validity.
Image-level trajectory inference of tau pathology using variational autoencoder for Flortaucipir PET
Authors: Hong Jimin , Kang Seung Kwan , Alberts Ian , Lu Jiaying , Sznitman Raphael , Lee Jae Sung , Rominger Axel , Choi Hongyoon , Shi Kuangyu ,   the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) studies revealed that abnormal deposition of tau spreads in a specific spatial pattern, namely Braak stage. However, Braak staging is based on post mortem brains, each of which represents the cross section of the tau trajectory in disease progression, and numerous studies were reported that do not conform to that model. This study thus aimed to identify the tau trajectory and quantify the tau progression in a data-driven approach with the continuous latent space learned by variational autoencoder (VAE).

Methods

A total of 1080 [18F]Flortaucipir brain positron emission tomography (PET) images were collected from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. VAE was built to compress the hidden features from tau images in latent space. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering and minimum spanning tree (MST) were applied to organize the features and calibrate them to the tau progression, thus deriving pseudo-time. The image-level tau trajectory was inferred by continuously sampling across the calibrated latent features. We assessed the pseudo-time with regard to tau standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) in AD-vulnerable regions, amyloid deposit, glucose metabolism, cognitive scores, and clinical diagnosis.

Results

We identified four clusters that plausibly capture certain stages of AD and organized the clusters in the latent space. The inferred tau trajectory agreed with the Braak staging. According to the derived pseudo-time, tau first deposits in the parahippocampal and amygdala, and then spreads to the fusiform, inferior temporal lobe, and posterior cingulate. Prior to the regional tau deposition, amyloid accumulates first.

Conclusion

The spatiotemporal trajectory of tau progression inferred in this study was consistent with Braak staging. The profile of other biomarkers in disease progression agreed well with previous findings. We addressed that this approach additionally has the potential to quantify tau progression as a continuous variable by taking a whole-brain tau image into account.
Farmers’ Intended Weed Management after a Potential Glyphosate Ban in Austria
Authors: Matousek Teresa , Mitter Hermine , Kropf Bernadette , Schmid Erwin , Vogel Stefan
Published: February 2022

Glyphosate is controversially discussed because of its alleged harmful effects on human health and the environment. Although it is approved until December 2022 in the European Union, the Austrian government discusses a national ban. Research on farmers’ intentions to deal with upcoming pesticide policy changes is limited and planned responses to a national glyphosate ban may inform accompanying measures and the development of weed management alternatives. Therefore, we have conducted 41 qualitative semi-structured interviews with farmers to explore their intended weed management if glyphosate-based herbicides were no longer available in Austria. The interviews were systematically analyzed, whereby the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with its three social-psychological constructs served as guidance, i.e., attitude toward the planned behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control toward the planned behavior. We grouped farmers based on differences in their behavioral intentions toward glyphosate-free weed management, and identified four types of farmers by assigning group-specific attributes of the TPB constructs to the groups of farmers with similar behavioral intentions. Given a national glyphosate ban, the farmers intend to implement either mechanical or chemical alternatives, which would be solely applied or combined with changes in cultivation. Attitude toward the planned behavior, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control affect behavioral intentions, whereas injunctive norms do not differ much between the interviewed farmers. What unites the four types of farmers is that they would rather accept a glyphosate ban, if weed management alternatives with similar effectiveness and costs were available.
MRI as a screening tool for prostate cancer: current evidence and future challenges
Authors: Würnschimmel Christoph , Chandrasekar Thenappan , Hahn Luisa , Esen Tarik , Shariat Shahrokh F. , Tilki Derya
Published: February 2022

Purpose

Prostate cancer (PCa) screening, which relies on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, is a contentious topic that received negative attention due to the low sensitivity and specificity of PSA to detect clinically significant PCa. In this context, due to the higher sensitivity and specificity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), several trials investigate the feasibility of “MRI-only” screening approaches, and question if PSA testing may be replaced within prostate cancer screening programs.

Methods

This narrative review discusses the current literature and the outlook on the potential of MRI-based PCa screening.

Results

Several prospective randomized population-based trials are ongoing. Preliminary study results appear to favor the “MRI-only” approach. However, MRI-based PCa screening programs face a variety of obstacles that have yet to be fully addressed. These include the increased cost of MRI, lack of broad availability, differences in MRI acquisition and interpretation protocols, and lack of long-term impact on cancer-specific mortality. Partly, these issues are being addressed by shorter and simpler MRI approaches (5–20 min bi-parametric MRI), novel quality indicators (PI-QUAL) and the implementation of radiomics (deep learning, machine learning).

Conclusion

Although promising preliminary results were reported, MRI-based PCa screening still lack long-term data on crucial endpoints such as the impact of MRI screening on mortality. Furthermore, the issues of availability, cost-effectiveness, and differences in MRI acquisition and interpretation still need to be addressed.
The role of an interactive Greenland ice sheet in the coupled climate-ice sheet model EC-Earth-PISM
Authors: Madsen M. S. , Yang S. , Aðalgeirsdóttir G. , Svendsen S. H. , Rodehacke C. B. , Ringgaard I. M.
Published: February 2022

Ice sheet processes are often simplified in global climate models as changes in ice sheets have been assumed to occur over long time scales compared to ocean and atmospheric changes. However, numerous observations show an increasing rate of mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet and call for comprehensive process-based models to explore its role in climate change. Here, we present a new model system, EC-Earth-PISM, that includes an interactive Greenland Ice Sheet. The model is based on the EC-Earth v2.3 global climate model in which ice sheet surface processes are introduced. This model interacts with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) without anomaly or flux corrections. Under pre-industrial climate conditions, the modeled climate and ice sheet are stable while keeping a realistic interannual variability. In model simulations forced into a warmer climate of four times the pre-industrial CO2 concentration, the total surface mass balance decreases and the ice sheet loses mass at a rate of about 500 Gt/year. In the climate warming experiments, the resulting freshwater flux from the Greenland Ice Sheet increases 55% more in the experiments with the interactive ice sheet and the climate response is significantly different: the Arctic near-surface air temperature is lower, substantially more winter sea ice covers the northern hemisphere, and the ocean circulation is weaker. Our results indicate that the melt-albedo feedback plays a key role for the response of the ice sheet and its influence on the changing climate in the Arctic. This emphasizes the importance of including interactive ice sheets in climate change projections.
Readmissions due to hyperemesis gravidarum: a nation-wide Finnish register study
Authors: Nurmi Miina , Rautava Päivi , Gissler Mika , Vahlberg Tero , Polo-Kantola Päivi
Published: February 2022

Purpose

To evaluate the burden of illness caused by hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and association of readmissions due to HG with maternal, environmental and pregnancy-related factors, and different pregnancy outcomes.

Methods

Data of women with HG diagnosis in Finland, 2005–2017, were retrieved from health-care registers. Associations between readmissions due to HG and age, gravidity, parity, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking, marital status, socioeconomic status, municipality population, assisted reproductive technology (ART), and number and sex of fetuses were analyzed in pregnancies resulting in delivery. Admissions and readmissions due to HG in deliveries, gestational trophoblastic disease, ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages and pregnancy terminations were calculated.

Results

10,381 pregnancies with HG diagnosis were identified: 9518 live births, 31 stillbirths, 8 cases of gestational trophoblastic disease, 16 ectopic pregnancies, 299 miscarriages, and 509 pregnancy terminations. Both outpatients and inpatients were included. Readmission occurred in 60% of pregnancies, inpatient readmission in 17%. Parity of ≥ 5, multiple gestation and female sex of fetus were associated with higher odds of readmission, maternal age 36–40 years, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2, smoking and ART with lower odds of readmission. Of the 9549 pregnancies resulting in delivery, 33% involved at least one outpatient visit or inpatient episode after the first trimester, and 8% in the third trimester.

Conclusion

The majority of women suffering from HG needed repeated medical care, often persisting after the first trimester. Our results provide practical information allowing clinicians to prepare for symptom duration beyond the first trimester and emphasize the importance of planning for eventual long-term treatment.
Scalar position, dislocation analysis and outcome in CI reimplantation due to device failure
Authors: Beck R. , Shiraliyev K. , Arndt S. , Rauch A. K. , Aschendorff A. , Hassepass F. , Ketterer M. C.
Published: February 2022

Objective

Due to increasing indication for cochlear implantation (CI), reimplantation and technical upgrades their consequences are a special focus in CI surgery research. The aim of this study is to examine the indication and influences on both morphological position of the electrode array and audiological outcome following reimplantation.

Design

This is a retrospective analysis of adult CI patients reimplanted between 2004 and 2019. We evaluated the scalar position in pre- and postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) after CI and reimplantation and examined the indication for and the audiological outcome following reimplantation.

Results

The reimplanted patients showed stable and comparable audiological results for monosyllables and numbers for best fitted situation before and following reimplantation. Technical upgrades did not result in a significant improvement of speech perception. CBCT scans of reimplanted ears did not show significant increased rates of scalar dislocation or partial insertion.

Conclusion

Even with a technical upgrade, reimplantation does not improve speech perception outcome in CI patients. Therefore, the indication to reimplant should be approved critically. Reimplantation does not lead to a significantly increased risk for partial insertion, scalar dislocation or diminished electrode array insertion angle.
Forensic biomarkers of lethal traumatic brain injury
Authors: Zwirner Johann , Kulakofsky Rachel , Fitzek Antonia , Schröder Ann Sophie , Bohnert Simone , Franke Heike , Renné Thomas , Tse Rexson , Ondruschka Benjamin
Published: February 2022

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and its accurate diagnosis is an important concern of daily forensic practice. However, it can be challenging to diagnose TBI in cases where macroscopic signs of the traumatic head impact are lacking and little is known about the circumstances of death. In recent years, several post-mortem studies investigated the possible use of biomarkers for providing objective evidence for TBIs as the cause of death or to estimate the survival time and time since death of the deceased. This work systematically reviewed the available scientific literature on TBI-related biomarkers to be used for forensic purposes. Post-mortem TBI-related biomarkers are an emerging and promising resource to provide objective evidence for cause of death determinations as well as survival time and potentially even time since death estimations. This literature review of forensically used TBI-biomarkers revealed that current markers have low specificity for TBIs and only provide limited information with regards to survival time estimations and time since death estimations. Overall, TBI fatality-related biomarkers are largely unexplored in compartments that are easily accessible during autopsies such as urine and vitreous humor. Future research on forensic biomarkers requires a strict distinction of TBI fatalities from control groups, sufficient sample sizes, combinations of currently established biomarkers, and novel approaches such as metabolomics and mi-RNAs.
Pure laparoscopic major liver resection after yttrium90 radioembolization: a case-matched series analysis of feasibility and outcomes
Authors: Aliseda Daniel , Martí-Cruchaga Pablo , Zozaya Gabriel , Benito Alberto , Lopez-Olaondo Luis , Rodríguez-Fraile Macarena , Bilbao José I. , Hidalgo Francisco , Iñarrairaegui Mercedes , Ciria Rubén , Pardo Fernando , Sangro Bruno , Rotellar Fernando
Published: February 2022

Background

Liver surgery after radioembolization (RE) entails highly demanding and challenging procedures due to the frequent combination of large tumors, severe RE-related adhesions, and the necessity of conducting major hepatectomies. Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) and its associated advantages could provide benefits, as yet unreported, to these patients. The current study evaluated feasibility, morbidity, mortality, and survival outcomes for major laparoscopic liver resection after radioembolization.

Material and methods

In this retrospective, single-center study patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma or metastases from colorectal cancer undergoing major laparoscopic hepatectomy after RE were identified from institutional databases. They were matched (1:2) on several pre-operative characteristics to a group of patients that underwent major LLR for the same malignancies during the same period but without previous RE.

Results

From March 2011 to November 2020, 9 patients underwent a major LLR after RE. No differences were observed in intraoperative blood loss (50 vs. 150 ml; p = 0.621), operative time (478 vs. 407 min; p = 0.135) or pedicle clamping time (90.5 vs 74 min; p = 0.133) between the post-RE LLR and the matched group. Similarly, no differences were observed on hospital stay (median 3 vs. 4 days; p = 0.300), Clavien–Dindo ≥ III complications (2 vs. 1 cases; p = 0.250), specific liver morbidity (1 vs. 1 case p = 1.000), or 90 day mortality (0 vs. 0; p = 1.000).

Conclusion

The laparoscopic approach for post radioembolization patients may be a feasible and safe procedure with excellent surgical and oncological outcomes and meets the current standards for laparoscopic liver resections. Further studies with larger series are needed to confirm the results herein presented.
Dhurrin increases but does not mitigate oxidative stress in droughted Sorghum bicolor
Authors: Sohail M. N. , Quinn A. A. , Blomstedt C. K. , Gleadow R. M.
Published: February 2022

Main conclusion

Droughted sorghum had higher concentrations of ROS in both wildtype and dhurrin-lacking mutants. Dhurrin increased in wildtype genotypes with drought. Dhurrin does not appear to mitigate oxidative stress in sorghum.

Sorghum bicolor is tolerant of high temperatures and prolonged droughts. During droughts, concentrations of dhurrin, a cyanogenic glucoside, increase posing a risk to livestock of hydrogen cyanide poisoning. Dhurrin can also be recycled without the release of hydrogen cyanide presenting the possibility that it may have functions other than defence. It has been hypothesised that dhurrin may be able to mitigate oxidative stress by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) during biosynthesis and recycling. To test this, we compared the growth and chemical composition of S. bicolor in total cyanide deficient sorghum mutants (tcd1) with wild-type plants that were either well-watered or left unwatered for 2 weeks. Plants from the adult cyanide deficient class of mutant (acdc1) were also included. Foliar dhurrin increased in response to drought in all lines except tcd1 and acdc1, but not in the roots or leaf sheaths. Foliar ROS concentration increased in drought-stressed plants in all genotypes. Phenolic concentrations were also measured but no differences were detected. The total amounts of dhurrin, ROS and phenolics on a whole plant basis were lower in droughted plants due to their smaller biomass, but there were no significant genotypic differences. Up until treatments began at the 3-leaf stage, tcd1 mutants grew more slowly than the other genotypes but after that they had higher relative growth rates, even when droughted. The findings presented here do not support the hypothesis that the increase in dhurrin commonly seen in drought-stressed sorghum plays a role in reducing oxidative stress by scavenging ROS.
Mismatch repair deficiency, chemotherapy and survival for resectable gastric cancer: an observational study from the German staR cohort and a meta-analysis
Authors: Stolze T. , Franke S. , Haybaeck J. , Moehler M. , Grimminger P. P. , Lang H. , Roth W. , Gockel I. , Kreuser N. , Bläker H. , Wittekind C. , Lordick F. , Vieth M. , Veits L. , Waidmann O. , Lingohr P. , Peitz U. , Schildberg C. , Kruschewski M. , Vassos N. , Goni E. , Bruns C. J. , Ridwelski K. , Wolff S. , Lippert H. , Schumacher J. , Malfertheiner P. , Venerito M.
Published: February 2022

Purpose

In a post hoc analysis of the MAGIC trial, patients with curatively resected gastric cancer (GC) and mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency (MMRd) had better median overall survival (OS) when treated with surgery alone but worse median OS when treated with additional chemotherapy. Further data are required to corroborate these findings.

Methods

Between April 2013 and December 2018, 458 patients with curatively resected GC, including cancers of the esophagogastric junction Siewert type II and III, were identified in the German centers of the staR consortium. Tumor sections were assessed for expression of MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 by immunohistochemistry. The association between MMR status and survival was assessed. Similar studies published up to January 2021 were then identified in a MEDLINE search for a meta-analysis.

Results

MMR-status and survival data were available for 223 patients (median age 66 years, 62.8% male), 23 patients were MMRd (10.3%). After matching for baseline clinical characteristics, median OS was not reached in any subgroup. Compared to perioperative chemotherapy, patients receiving surgery alone with MMRd and MMRp had a HR of 0.67 (95% CI 0.13–3.37, P = 0.63) and 1.44 (95% CI 0.66–3.13, P = 0.36), respectively. The meta-analysis included pooled data from 385 patients. Compared to perioperative chemotherapy, patients receiving surgery alone with MMRd had an improved OS with a HR of 0.36 (95% CI 0.14–0.91, P = 0.03), whereas those with MMRp had a HR of 1.18 (95% CI 0.89–1.58, P = 0.26).

Conclusion

Our data support a positive prognostic effect for MMRd in GC patients treated with surgery only and a differentially negative prognostic effect in patients treated with perioperative chemotherapy. MMR status determined by preoperative biopsies may be used as a predictive biomarker to select patients for perioperative chemotherapy in curatively resectable GC.