bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Proportion and severity of periodontitis and correlation of periodontal inflamed surface area with glycemic status in patients with type 2 diabetic neuropathy with and without diabetic foot
Authors: Adhenkavil Radhakrishnan Raji , Joseph Vadakkekuttical Rosamma , Radhakrishnan Chandni
Published: August 2021

Background

The association between diabetic neuropathy with and without diabetic foot and periodontitis remains unaddressed in the literature. The present study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of patients with periodontitis and its severity, and to correlate clinical attachment loss (AL) and periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) with HbA1c in Type 2 Diabetic Neuropathy (T2DN) patients with and without diabetic foot.

Methods

In this cross‐sectional study 310 patients with type 2 diabetic neuropathy (T2DN) were randomly selected, and the study comprised of 120 patients with T2DN with diabetic foot and 155 patients with T2DN without diabetic foot. All patients were assessed for periodontal parameters (bleeding on probing, probing depth, clinical AL, oral hygiene index‐simplified), plaque index, and PISA) and systemic parameters (HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, post prandial blood glucose, urinary albumin creatine ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein).Unpaired t‐test and Chi‐Square test were used to analyze quantitative data and qualitative data, respectively.

Results

The frequency of patients with periodontitis in patients with T2DN with and without diabetic foot was 91.7% and 88.4%, respectively. The severity of periodontitis, PISA, and clinical AL were higher in the diabetic foot group. Clinical AL and PISA were significantly related with HbA1c in patients with T2DN with and without diabetic foot.

Conclusions

Percentage of patients with periodontitis and the severity of periodontal destruction were high in type 2 diabetic neuropathy with diabetic foot. A significant correlation of PISA, clinical AL with glycemic status was found in patients with T2DN with and without diabetic foot.
Effects of application of rapeseed cake as organic fertilizer on rice quality at high yield level
Authors: Zhou Tianyang , Chen Liang , Wang Weilu , Xu Yunji , Zhang Weiyang , Zhang Hao , Liu Lijun , Wang Zhiqin , Gu Junfei , Yang Jianchang
Published: August 2021

BACKGROUND

Applying organic fertilizer coupled with chemical fertilizer has been widely adopted to improve crop productivity and quality and develop sustainable agriculture. However, little information is available about the effects of organic fertilizer on the grain quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.), especially nutritional quality and starch quality. In the present study, high yielding ‘super’ rice cultivars were grown in the field with three cultivation practices, including zero nitrogen application (0N), local high yielding practice with chemical fertilizer (T1) and T1 treatment with additional organic fertilizer (T2).

RESULTS

Application of organic fertilizer synergistically improved rice production, nitrogen use efficiency, milling and appearance quality, and nutritional quality, including the contents of glutelin, essential amino acids and microelements, and also increased amylopectin and the ratio of the short chain of amylopectin, leading to a reduction in relative crystallinity, and decreased prolamin content. Application of organic fertilizer also increased the viscosity and breakdown values, whereas it decreased the pasting temperature and gelatinization enthalpy, resulting in better cooking and eating quality.

CONCLUSION

Overall, application of organific fertilizer could synergistically improve nitrogen use efficiency and grain quality, including the structure and physicochemical properties of starch, contents of high value protein and amino acids, contents of microelements, and cooking and eating quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Effect of well chamber altitude pressure corrections for cesium Blu 131Cs and CivaDot 103Pd brachytherapy sources
Authors: Lambeck Jacob , Kennan Wendy , DeWerd Larry A.
Published: August 2021

Purpose

Previous publications have described how the standard temperature and pressure correction will overcorrect measurements with a low‐energy photon low‐dose rate brachytherapy source at low ambient air pressures. To account for this effect, an additional correction factor is applied after the standard temperature and pressure correction. This additional correction is dependent on the source being measured and the chamber it is measured in. Well chamber corrections for two sources and findings regarding aspects that may affect the altitude response of the sources are presented.

Methods

A purpose‐built pressure vessel was constructed previously, which could achieve pressures ranging from 74.661 to 106.66 kPa (560–800 mmHg). Three Cesium Blu sources (131Cs) from Isoray Inc. and three CivaDots (103Pd) from CivaTech Oncology Inc. were tested over this pressure range in increments of 2.7 kPa (20 mmHg) in three HDR 1000 Plus chambers, and the Cesium Blu sources were also tested in two IVB 1000 chambers. Both chamber models are air communicating well‐type ionization chambers produced by Standard Imaging Inc. Multiple runs of each source/chamber combination were completed, corrected with the standard temperature and pressure correction, normalized to the result at 101.325 kPa, and averaged with runs of the same combination. The chamber response was also simulated using MCNP6 to validate the experimental results.

Results

Measurements of both sources in all chambers followed the expected power dependence on ambient pressure as seen in previous studies. The Cesium Blu source, however, demonstrated a significant difference in response in the HDR 1000 Plus chamber versus the IVB 1000 chamber. For an altitude correction factor of the form, PA = k1(P)k2, new coefficients are proposed for both sources for pressure units of kPa and mmHg. The Monte Carlo calculated chamber response agreed with the experimental results within 2% for all sources and chambers at all pressures.

Conclusions

Altitude correction coefficients for two new low‐energy photon low‐dose rate brachytherapy sources are provided. The directional dependence of the CivaDot has no bearing on its dependence on pressure; however, the difference in construction materials from other 103Pd sources leads to unique correction coefficients. The higher energy of the Cesium Blu source with respect to 103Pd and 125I sources yields a difference in correction factors depending on which model chamber is used for air‐kerma strength calculations. Clinics must be careful to select the correct pair of coefficients for the chamber model they used.
Ontogenetic Dietary Changes and Thiamine Status of Lake Ontario Chinook Salmon, 2005–2006
Authors: Fitzsimons John D. , Honeyfield Dale C. , Rush Scott
Published: August 2021

In the Great Lakes, an Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus diet has been reported to cause thiamine deficiency in salmonines as a result of high thiaminase activity. The ontogeny of thiamine deficiency and its relationship to Alewife consumption have not been determined in Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha within this system. Using stable isotope mixing models along with muscle thiamine, we assessed ontogenetic changes in the diet and corresponding muscle thiamine status of Lake Ontario Chinook Salmon ranging in TL from 100 to 1,000 mm. Thiamine levels were highest in young of the year collected in a tributary of Lake Ontario but declined once Chinook Salmon entered Lake Ontario. In Lake Ontario, the diets of juvenile (200–400 mm; 97–99%) and adult (>400 mm; 97–100%) Chinook Salmon consisted almost entirely of Alewives as estimated using mixing models. This Alewife diet was associated with an ontogenetic decline in muscle thiamine among Chinook Salmon. The asymptotic decline in thiamine concentration with increasing size plateaued at 720–758 pmol/g of muscle. The proportion of individuals below a thiamine threshold of 500 pmol/g (associated with a loss of equilibrium) increased with TL up to 799 mm and then declined between 800 and 1,000 mm. At these muscle concentrations, no outward signs of thiamine deficiency were observed. Calculation of total mass accumulation of body stores of thiamine (muscle concentration times body weight) showed an unexpected and significant increase with size. Although it appears that dietary Alewives affected thiamine status, there were undetermined factors, such as incomplete destruction of thiamine by thiaminase, gut synthesis of thiamine, gill absorption of water thiamine, and/or other factors, that contributed to the overall thiamine status of these Chinook Salmon.
Dispersal Patterns of Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass Following Early-, Mid-, and Late-Season Fishing Tournaments in an Eastern Ontario Lake
Authors: Abrams Alice E. I. , Zolderdo A. J. , Lédée Elodie J. I. , Lawrence Michael J. , Holder Peter E. , Cooke Steven J.
Published: August 2021

Black bass fishing tournaments with conventional weigh-ins tend to displace fish from their capture site and often release fish within close proximity to the weigh-in site. Tournaments often include Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides and Smallmouth Bass M. dolomieu and occur throughout fishing seasons; however, there have yet to be any systematic congeneric comparisons across different seasons. Objectives of our study were to (1) assess post-tournament dispersal of Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass (i.e., short-term stockpiling—accumulation of fish around weigh-in site <1 month after tournament) across seasons, and (2) determine the success of return to the main basin. Research took place on Big Rideau Lake in eastern Ontario and included a preseason control (N = 30) where fish were captured, acoustically tagged, and released at the site of tournament weigh-in (Rideau Ferry). Tournament-caught bass (N = 88 total) were tagged at three tournaments that spanned June (early season), August (midseason), and October (late season). Our results indicated a brief short-term stockpiling (within 300 m) in all seasons, and all detected fish eventually returned to the main basin. Tournament-caught Largemouth Bass tended to take longer to disperse from the release site following the midseason tournament (4.6 d); Smallmouth Bass tended to disperse from release site <1 d following all treatments. Similarly, tournament-caught Largemouth Bass exposed to the midseason tournament tended to take the longest to redistribute to the main basin (238 d) in comparison to other treatments. Although Smallmouth Bass tended to redistribute to the main basin faster than Largemouth Bass, late-season Smallmouth Bass tended to redistribute the slowest (101 d) following tournament release. Although fish do survive and eventually return to the main basin, displacement may have broader ecological consequences (i.e., large-scale displacement of top predators, adverse effects on recruitment) such that there would be merit in more catch–weigh–release formatted events.
Hot‐carrier solar cells and improved types using wide‐bandgap energy‐selective contacts
Authors: Takeda Yasuhiko
Published: August 2021

I evaluated conversion efficiency of hot‐carrier solar cells (HC‐SCs) of the original type and two improved types: an HC‐SC with intraband transition (HC‐SC+intra) and an intermediate‐band‐assisted HC‐SC (IB‐HC‐SC) that utilize sub‐bandgap photons. For this purpose, three realistic points of great importance were involved in the newly constructed detailed‐balance model: Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) recombination of photogenerated carriers, characteristics of the energy‐selective contacts (ESCs), and solar spectrum variation. I have revealed that the HC‐SC+intra and IB‐HC‐SC can potentially yield annual electricity production comparable to those of triple‐junction and quad‐junction solar cells (3J‐ and 4J‐SCs) when sub‐bandgap photons are almost perfectly absorbed. The ESCs consisting of wide‐bandgap layers extract the photogenerated carriers more rapidly owing to their larger conductance and consequently yield higher conversion efficiency than the ESCs using resonant tunneling diodes composed of quantum dots and quantum wells. This, in turn, enables the use of an absorber with a short SRH recombination time of the carriers. In other words, the efficiency is less sensitive to SRH recombination than those of the 3J‐ and 4J‐SCs. In particular, for the IB‐HC‐SC, the requisite of the SRH recombination time is 1 ns, and that of the thermalization time is 0.1 ns; the latter is an order of magnitude shorter than the previous requisite. These HC‐SCs are more robust against the solar spectrum variation because they are free from the current‐matching problem unlike the 3J‐ and 4J‐SCs, which also contributes to the large annual electricity production.
The role of depression and other psychological factors in work ability among breast cancer survivors in Australia
Authors: Kim Seon‐Young , Kissane David W. , Richardson Gary , Senior Jenny , Morgan Joanna , Gregory Peter , Birks Sarah , Ooi Corinne , Lipton Lara , Antill Yoland , Vereker Melissa , Michael Natasha , Bobevski Irene
Published: August 2021

Objective

Identifying modifiable factors affecting work ability among cancer survivors is important. The primary aim of the present study was to examine the effects of depression and related psychological factors on work ability among breast cancer survivors in Australia.

Methods

In this cross‐sectional electronic and postal survey, Australian breast cancer survivors were investigated. Work status and conditions before and after cancer treatment were analysed. Work ability was measured using the Work Limitation Questionnaire©‐Short Form (WLQ‐SF) with its four domains (time management, physical tasks, mental‐interpersonal tasks, and output tasks). Three psychological factors were investigated: depression, fear of cancer recurrence, and demoralisation. Sociodemographic and clinical data were also collected. Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify the associations of psychological factors with WLQ‐SF.

Results

Among eligible survivors, 310 (50%) responded to the survey and were analysed. Nearly one third reported their work conditions had changed after cancer treatment. The depressed group reported limited work ability in 35%–44% of the four domains of WLQ‐SF, while the non‐depressed group reported limited work ability in only 8%–13%. At‐work productivity loss was approximately fourfold higher in the depressed group than in the non‐depressed group. In multivariate analysis, at‐work productivity loss was associated with depression, demoralisation, and past history of anxiety.

Conclusions

After breast cancer treatment, work conditions changed toward lower wages and working hours. Depression, demoralisation, and past history of anxiety were associated with lower work ability. Further evaluations of work rehabilitation in breast cancer survivors are warranted.
Quantum‐Gravitational Trans‐Planckian Radiation by a Rotating Black Hole
Authors: Nurmagambetov A. J. , Park I. Y.
Published: August 2021

We recently studied the energy behavior of a quantum‐corrected time‐dependent black hole. The system analyzed was a quantum‐corrected Kerr solution that settles down to a stationary configuration as the time dependence fades out. A trans‐Planckian energy scaling in the vicinity of the event horizon resulted, and we proposed the trans‐Planckian radiation to be the missing link in the glowing mechanism of active galactic nuclei. The main goal of the present work is to examine the scaling and structure of the radiation by analyzing the quantum momentum density. We again observe a trans‐Planckian behavior. Furthermore, the momentum density displays structures that are indicative of a disk‐like configuration near the equator and a collimated outflow of matter from the poles. The bipolar outflow (disk‐like structure) should be an essential part of the underlying mechanism for jets (accretion disks) of active galactic nuclei.
The frequency and types of violence experienced by Australian sonographers from patients and visitors: A pilot study
Authors: Lloyd‐Jones Chelsey , Kennedy Narelle June , Quinton Ann Elizabeth , Bligh Larissa
Published: August 2021

Introduction

There is paucity of literature examining violence against sonographers. The aim of this research was to provide insight into the frequency and types of violence from patients and visitors against sonographers in Australia.

Methods

Australian Accredited Sonographers who had worked clinically in the past 12 months were invited to participate in a cross‐sectional survey. Responses from the closed and open‐ended questions are reported as number (percentage) or grouped into categories based on similarity for analysis.

Results

There were 33 participants in this study, of which 19/33 (57.6%) had experienced at least one form of violence (physical, verbal or threatening behaviour) in the previous 12 months. Verbal abuse was the most frequent form of violence experienced by sonographers 19/33 (57.6%), followed by threatening behaviour 7/33 (21.2%) and physical violence 1/33 (3%). Sonographers attributed the violence to long waiting times, patient stress and anxiety, communication issues and patient mental illness.

Conclusion

Violence is a concern for sonographers. Awareness of violence against sonographers may provide a safer working environment for sonographers and patients. Further research with larger numbers is required to validate the results of this study.
Methods of pretreatment and their impacts on anaerobic codigestion of multifeedstocks: A review
Authors: Rabii Anahita , Koupaie Ehssan Hosseini , Aldin Saad , Dahman Yaser , Elbeshbishy Elsayed
Published: August 2021

Anaerobic codigestion (AnCoD) has attracted attention owing to its advantages over conventional anaerobic digestion, and attempts are still going on to develop methods for improving the efficiency of this technology. Mostly, addition of cosubstrates without applying a proper pretreatment cannot adequately enhance the performance of the digestion. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive study on different pretreatment methods specific to the wide range of cosubstrates. This review aimed to (i) categorize pretreatment techniques that have been developed for improving AnCoD, (ii) present the results of the studies on the effect of pretreatment on improving AnCoD, and (iii) provide a comparison between pretreatment methods and their application for different types of cosubstrates. The findings primarily validated the influence of pretreatment to enhance the process by increasing biodegradability, improved hydrolysis, reduced hydraulic retention time (HRT), and improved methane production. The five main categories of pretreatment employed in codigestion included the following: mechanical, thermal, chemical, biological, and hybrid pretreatment. Among them, mechanical and biological pretreatment have the most and least application in codigestion, respectively. Greater efforts are required on the application of biological pretreatment and cost–benefit analysis of different pretreatment options on the variety of the cosubstrates.

Practitioner Points

Pretreatment can significantly enhance biomethane production in anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic codigestion along with pretreatment can further enhance the conventional anaerobic digestion of single feedstock

Mechanical and biological methods have been the most and least practiced pretreatment options

Selection of applicable pretreatment option to enhance methane production is subject to the type of cosubstrates in the system

There is a research gap in evaluating the application of biological pretreatment for various types of cosubstrates
A fast and reliable method for monitoring genomic instability in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Nicolai Merle Marie , Witt Barbara , Hartwig Andrea , Schwerdtle Tanja , Bornhorst Julia
Published: August 2021

The identification of genotoxic agents and their potential for genotoxic alterations in an organism is crucial for risk assessment and approval procedures of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. Classically, testing strategies for DNA or chromosomal damage focus on in vitro and in vivo (mainly rodent) investigations. In cell culture systems, the alkaline unwinding (AU) assay is one of the well-established methods for detecting the percentage of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). By establishing a reliable lysis protocol, and further optimization of the AU assay for the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), we provided a new tool for genotoxicity testing in the niche between in vitro and rodent experiments. The method is intended to complement existing testing strategies by a multicellular organism, which allows higher predictability of genotoxic potential compared to in vitro cell line or bacterial investigations, before utilizing in vivo (rodent) investigations. This also allows working within the 3R concept (reduction, refinement, and replacement of animal experiments), by reducing and possibly replacing animal testing. Validation with known genotoxic agents (bleomycin (BLM) and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBOOH)) proved the method to be meaningful, reproducible, and feasible for high-throughput genotoxicity testing, and especially preliminary screening.
Identification of 20 polymer types by means of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and chemometrics
Authors: Gajarska Zuzana , Brunnbauer Lukas , Lohninger Hans , Limbeck Andreas
Published: August 2021

Over the past few years, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has earned a lot of attention in the field of online polymer identification. Unlike the well-established near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), LIBS analysis is not limited by the sample thickness or color and therefore seems to be a promising candidate for this task. Nevertheless, the similar elemental composition of most polymers results in high similarity of their LIBS spectra, which makes their discrimination challenging. To address this problem, we developed a novel chemometric strategy based on a systematic optimization of two factors influencing the discrimination ability: the set of experimental conditions (laser energy, gate delay, and atmosphere) employed for the LIBS analysis and the set of spectral variables used as a basis for the polymer discrimination. In the process, a novel concept of spectral descriptors was used to extract chemically relevant information from the polymer spectra, cluster purity based on the k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) was established as a suitable tool for monitoring the extent of cluster overlaps and an in-house designed random forest (RDF) experiment combined with a cluster purity–governed forward selection algorithm was employed to identify spectral variables with the greatest relevance for polymer identification. Using this approach, it was possible to discriminate among 20 virgin polymer types, which is the highest number reported in the literature so far. Additionally, using the optimized experimental conditions and data evaluation, robust discrimination performance could be achieved even with polymer samples containing carbon black or other common additives, which hints at an applicability of the developed approach to real-life samples.

Graphical abstract
Ethik in der agilen Software-Entwicklung
Authors: Pretschner Alexander , Zuber Niina , Gogoll Jan , Kacianka Severin , Nida-Rümelin Julian
Published: August 2021

Nicht erst seit der anstehenden EU-Gesetzgebung zur Regulation von Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) spielt die Berücksichtigung und Verwirklichung von Normen und Werten in technischen Systemen eine wesentliche Rolle. In diesem Aufsatz zeigen wir, dass, warum und wie agile Entwicklungsmethoden wie Scrum hervorragend geeignet sind, Werte in die Softwareentwicklung und in Softwareprodukte einzubetten; wie ein Entwickler so seine individuelle Verantwortung wahrnehmen kann; und wie die Diskussion um Ethik in der KI, auf Software allgemein erweitert, letztlich einen nächsten Schritt auf dem europäischen Weg zur digitalen Souveränität bedeuten kann.
NPP-ID: Non-Pollen Palynomorph Image Database as a research and educational platform
Authors: Shumilovskikh Lyudmila S. , Shumilovskikh Elena S. , Schlütz Frank , van Geel Bas
Published: August 2021

Non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) form a large group of biological objects found in palynological slides besides pollen grains. This includes various remains of algae and fungi, shells, resting stages and eggs of invertebrates, among others. Publications of NPP-types started in the 1970s with studies of BvG and colleagues, and large numbers of new types continue to be published every year. For an overview of this diverse world of “extra fossils”, we created the Non-Pollen Palynomorph Image Database (NPP-ID) to gather NPP knowledge, structured by acronyms and known taxonomy to assist identification and palaeoecological interpretation (https://nonpollenpalynomorphs.tsu.ru/). An integral part is a database of illustrations, descriptions and ecological background of NPPs. While numerical data are routinely stored in open access repositories, the NPP-ID enables the definitions, identification and interpretation of the NPP taxa to be shared. The NPP-ID operates as an open research project aiming to provide open access to descriptions and illustrations of NPPs. However, due to publication rights, access to some original images is restricted and registration by users is required. We encourage palynologists to contribute to the further growth of the database by uploading their own microphotographs or drawings under an open access license. Contributors will be acknowledged by co-authorship in publications on updates of the NPP-ID.
Evaluation of a new 12 km regional perturbed parameter ensemble over Europe
Authors: Tucker Simon O. , Kendon Elizabeth J. , Bellouin Nicolas , Buonomo Erasmo , Johnson Ben , Murphy James M.
Published: August 2021

We evaluate a 12-member perturbed parameter ensemble of regional climate simulations over Europe at 12 km resolution, carried out as part of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP) project. This ensemble is formed by varying uncertain parameters within the model physics, allowing uncertainty in future projections due to climate modelling uncertainty to be explored in a systematic way. We focus on present day performance both compared to observations, and consistency with the driving global ensemble. Daily and seasonal temperature and precipitation are evaluated as two variables commonly used in impacts assessments. For precipitation we find that downscaling, even whilst within the convection-parameterised regime, generally improves daily precipitation, but not everywhere. In summer, the underestimation of dry day frequency is worse in the regional ensemble than in the driving simulations. For temperature we find that the regional ensemble inherits a large wintertime cold bias from the global model, however downscaling reduces this bias. The largest bias reduction is in daily winter cold temperature extremes. In summer the regional ensemble is cooler and wetter than the driving global models, and we examine cloud and radiation diagnostics to understand the causes of the differences. We also use a low-resolution regional simulation to determine whether the differences are a consequence of resolution, or due to other configuration differences, with the predominant configuration difference being the treatment of aerosols. We find that use of the EasyAerosol scheme in the regional model, which aims to approximate the aerosol effects in the driving model, causes reduced temperatures by around 0.5 K over Eastern Europe in Summer, and warming of a similar magnitude over France and Germany in Winter, relative to the impact of interactive aerosol in the global runs. Precipitation is also increased in these regions. Overall, we find that the regional model is consistent with the global model, but with a typically better representation of daily extremes and consequently we have higher confidence in its projections of their future change.
Giant cell tumor of bone in an eighteenth-century Italian mummy
Authors: Ventura Luca , Petrella Enrico , Piciucchi Sara , Cilli Elisabetta , Luiselli Donata , Feeney Robin N. M. , Traversari Mirko
Published: August 2021

Giant cell tumor (GCT) of the bone is a locally aggressive and rarely metastasizing neoplasm. It is composed of neoplastic mononuclear stromal cells with a monotonous appearance admixed with macrophages and osteoclast-like giant cells. In a small subset of cases, GCT is malignant. Terminology previously related to this entity, and which is no longer supported by the World Health Organization, includes osteoclastoma and benign fibrous histiocytoma (BFH). Giant cells occur in numerous other pathologic conditions of the bone, which accounts for the misrepresentation of these non-GCT tumors in the early literature. Non-ossifying fibroma (NOF), aneurysmal bone cyst, and chondroblastoma have been erroneously labeled GCT for this reason. A single description of an ancient GCT was reported by Brothwell and Sandison and subsequently mentioned by Aufderheide and Rodrìguez-Martìn who were astonished that more of these tumors had not been identified in archaeological cases. To the best of our knowledge, no other cases of ancient GCT have been cited in the paleopathology literature. The study of this type of neoplasm in antiquity can be used as a means to better understand its characteristics and behavior and to expand the depth of time of the etiology of these lesions. We report a case of GCT of the left femur observed following the total body CT imaging of a partially mummified adult female, dating to eighteenth century.
Peritumoral edema status of glioblastoma identifies patients reaching long-term disease control with specific progression patterns after tumor resection and high-dose proton boost
Authors: Liang Hsiang-Kuang Tony , Mizumoto Masashi , Ishikawa Eiichi , Matsuda Masahide , Tanaka Keiichi , Kohzuki Hidehiro , Numajiri Haruko , Oshiro Yoshiko , Okumura Toshiyuki , Matsumura Akira , Sakurai Hideyuki
Published: August 2021

Background

Glioblastoma peritumoral edema (PE) extent is associated with survival and progression pattern after tumor resection and radiotherapy (RT). To increase tumor control, proton beam was adopted to give high-dose boost (> 90 Gy). However, the correlation between PE extent and prognosis of glioblastoma after postoperative high-dose proton boost (HDPB) therapy stays unknown. We intend to utilize the PE status to classify the survival and progression patterns.

Methods

Patients receiving HDPB (96.6 GyE) were retrospectively evaluated. Limited peritumoral edema (LPE) was defined as PE extent < 3 cm with a ratio of PE extent to tumor maximum diameter of < 0.75. Extended progressive disease (EPD) was defined as progression of tumors extending > 1 cm from the tumor bed edge.

Results

After long-term follow-up (median 88.7, range 63.6–113.8 months) for surviving patients with (n = 13) and without (n = 32) LPE, the median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 77.2 vs. 16.7 months (p = 0.004) and 13.6 vs. 8.6 months (p = 0.02), respectively. In multivariate analyses combined with factors of performance, age, tumor maximum diameter, and tumor resection extent, LPE remained a significant factor for favorable OS and PFS. The rates of 5-year complete response, EPD, and distant metastasis with and without LPE were 38.5% vs. 3.2% (p = 0.005), 7.7% vs. 40.6% (p = 0.04), and 0% vs. 34.4% (p = 0.02), respectively.

Conclusions

The LPE status effectively identified patients with relative long-term control and specific progression patterns after postoperative HDPB for glioblastoma.
Behandlungserwartungen bei postoperativen Schmerzen
Authors: Stuhlreyer Julia , Klinger Regine
Published: August 2021

Hintergrund

Präoperative Behandlungserwartungen haben einen deutlichen Einfluss auf die postoperativen Schmerzen und Behandlungsergebnisse. Positive Erwartungen sind ein wichtiger Mechanismus von Placeboeffekten und negative Erwartungen ein wichtiger Mechanismus von Noceboeffekten.

Fragestellung

Welchen Einfluss haben Behandlungserwartungen, wie werden diese im klinischen Setting erhoben und wie können diese Erkenntnisse in der klinischen Praxis umgesetzt werden?

Material und Methoden

Es wurde eine Literatursuche für klinische Studien mit den Schlagwörtern „expectation“ AND („postoperative“ OR „surgery“) durchgeführt. Ausgewählt wurden alle aktuellen englischen und deutschen Artikel. Zusätzlich wurden die Literaturverzeichnisse der gefundenen Artikel untersucht und mit aufgenommen.

Ergebnisse

Insgesamt 158 Artikel wurden gefunden, von denen 49 Artikel Erwartungen erheben und ein postoperatives Behandlungsergebnis einbeziehen. Die meisten Artikel untersuchen Erwartungen in der Baseline-Erhebung, um nachzuweisen, dass sich Gruppen in Gruppenvergleichen präoperativ nicht voneinander unterscheiden. Die Studien, die den Einfluss von Erwartungen prospektiv untersuchen, verwenden sehr unterschiedliche Messverfahren, um das Konstrukt „Erwartung“ zu erheben. Somit ist ein Vergleich zwischen den Studien schwer möglich. Es gibt wenige Studien, die untersuchen, ob und wie die Erwartungen perioperativ beeinflusst werden können, und die praxisrelevante Interventionen zu deren Veränderung entwickelt haben.

Schlussfolgerung

Für eine fundierte Untersuchung der Behandlungserwartung sollten in klinischen Studien valide und reliable Messverfahren verwendet werden. Weitere Studien sollten sich mit Interventionsmöglichkeiten auseinandersetzen, damit Behandlungserwartungen auch in die klinische Standardbehandlung einbezogen werden können.
Validity and interobserver agreement of a new radiographic grading system for intervertebral disc degeneration: Part III. Thoracic spine
Authors: Liebsch Christian , Tao Youping , Kienle Annette , Wilke Hans-Joachim
Published: August 2021

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the validity and objectivity of a new quantitative radiographic grading system for thoracic intervertebral disc degeneration.

Methods

The new grading system involves the measurement variables “Height loss” and “Osteophyte formation”, which are determined from lateral radiographs, resulting in the “Overall degree of degeneration” on a four-point scale from 0 (no degeneration) to 3 (severe degeneration). Validation was performed by comparing the radiographic degrees of degeneration of 54 human intervertebral discs to the respective macroscopic degrees, which were defined as the “real” degrees of degeneration. Interobserver agreement was examined using radiographs of 135 human thoracic intervertebral discs. Agreement was quantified by means of quadratically weighted Kappa coefficients with 95% confidence limits (CL).

Results

Validation revealed almost perfect agreement between the radiographic and the macroscopic overall degrees of degeneration (Kappa 0.968, CL 0.944–0.991), while the macroscopic grades tended to be underestimated in low degeneration grades. Radiographic grading of two independent observers also exhibited almost perfect agreement (Kappa 0.883, CL 0.824–0.941) as well as tendencies towards rater-dependent differences in low degeneration grades.

Conclusion

The new quantitative radiographic grading scheme represents a valid, reliable, and almost objective method for assessing the degree of degeneration of individual thoracic intervertebral discs. Potential effects of interindividual variations and the radiographic superimposition of anatomical structures represent a limitation of this method should be taken into account when using the grading system for clinical and experimental purposes, especially with regard to specific morphological as well as patient- and donor-specific characteristics.
Cost-effectiveness evidence on approved cancer drugs in Ireland: the limits of data availability and implications for public accountability
Authors: Almajed Suaad , Alotaibi Nora , Zulfiqar Sana , Dhuhaibawi Zahraa , O’Rourke Niall , Gaule Richard , Byrne Caoimhe , Barry Aaron M. , Keeley Dylan , O’Mahony James F.
Published: August 2021

Background

We surveyed evidence published by Ireland’s National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) on the cost-effectiveness of cancer drugs approved for funding within the Irish public healthcare system. The purpose is threefold: to assess the completeness and clarity of publicly available cost-effectiveness data of such therapies; to provide summary estimates of that data; to consider the implications of constraints on data availability for accountability regarding healthcare resource allocation.

Methods

The National Cancer Control Programme lists 91 drug-indication pairs approved between June 2012 and July 2020. Records were retrieved from the NCPE website for each drug-indication pair, including, where available, health technology assessment (HTA) summary reports. We assessed what cost-effectiveness data regarding approved interventions is available, aggregated it and considered the consequences of reporting constraints.

Results

Among the 91 drug-indication pairs 61 were reimbursed following full HTA, 22 after a rapid review process and 8 have no corresponding NCPE record. Of the 61 where an HTA report was available, 41 presented costs and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) estimates of the interventions compared. Cost estimates and corresponding incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) are based on prices on application for reimbursement. Reimbursed prices are not published. Aggregating over the drug-indication pairs for which data is available, we find a mean incremental health gain of 0.85 QALY and an aggregate ICER of €100,295/QALY, which exceeds Ireland’s cost-effectiveness threshold of €45,000/QALY.

Conclusion

Reimbursement applications by pharmaceutical manufacturers for cancer drugs typically exceed Ireland’s cost-effectiveness threshold, often by a considerable margin. On aggregate, the additional total net cost of new drugs relative to current treatments needs to be more than halved for the prices sought on application to be justified for reimbursement. Commercial confidentiality regarding prices and cost-effectiveness upon reimbursement compromises accountability regarding the fair and efficient allocation of scarce healthcare resources.
A Reliable Large Distributed Object Store Based Platform for Collecting Event Metadata
Authors: Fernández Casaní Álvaro , Orduña Juan M. , Sánchez Javier , González de la Hoz Santiago
Published: August 2021

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is about to enter its third run at unprecedented energies. The experiments at the LHC face computational challenges with enormous data volumes that need to be analysed by thousands of physics users. The ATLAS EventIndex project, currently running in production, builds a complete catalogue of particle collisions, or events, for the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The distributed nature of the experiment data model is exploited by running jobs at over one hundred Grid data centers worldwide. Millions of files with petabytes of data are indexed, extracting a small quantity of metadata per event, that is conveyed with a data collection system in real time to a central Hadoop instance at CERN. After a successful first implementation based on a messaging system, some issues suggested performance bottlenecks for the challenging higher rates in next runs of the experiment. In this work we characterize the weaknesses of the previous messaging system, regarding complexity, scalability, performance and resource consumption. A new approach based on an object-based storage method was designed and implemented, taking into account the lessons learned and leveraging the ATLAS experience with this kind of systems. We present the experiment that we run during three months in the real production scenario worldwide, in order to evaluate the messaging and object store approaches. The results of the experiment show that the new object-based storage method can efficiently support large-scale data collection for big data environments like the next runs of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC.
Ideological polarization and government debt
Authors: Melki Mickael , Pickering Andrew
Published: August 2021

Models of strategic debt predict that public debt increases with polarization, measured by the ideological distance between the government and its likely successor. Conversely if voters are both short-termist and also more likely to switch their vote for parties offering higher spending and public good provision when the electorate is ideologically concentrated, then debt can fall with polarization, measured by dispersion of ideological preferences in the electorate. Using time-varying polarization measures generated from ideology data from party manifestos, we find a sizable and statistically significant negative association between debt levels in OECD countries and ideological polarization in the electorate.
Levels of Self-representation and Their Sociocognitive Correlates in Late-Diagnosed Autistic Adults
Authors: Moseley R. L. , Liu C. H. , Gregory N. J. , Smith P. , Baron-Cohen S. , Sui J.
Published: August 2021

The cognitive representation of oneself is central to other sociocognitive processes, including relations with others. It is reflected in faster, more accurate processing of self-relevant information, a “self-prioritisation effect” (SPE) which is inconsistent across studies in autism. Across two tasks with autistic and non-autistic participants, we explored the SPE and its relationship to autistic traits, mentalizing ability and loneliness. A SPE was intact in both groups, but together the two tasks suggested a reduced tendency of late-diagnosed autistic participants to differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar others and greater ease disengaging from the self-concept. Correlations too revealed a complex picture, which we attempt to explore and disentangle with reference to the inconsistency across self-processing studies in autism, highlighting implications for future research.
Cutoff Thermalization for Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Systems with Small Lévy Noise in the Wasserstein Distance
Authors: Barrera G. , Högele M. A. , Pardo J. C.
Published: August 2021

This article establishescutoff thermalization(also known as thecutoff phenomenon) for a class of generalized Ornstein–Uhlenbeck systems$$(X^\varepsilon _t(x))_{t\geqslant 0}$$(Xtε(x))t⩾0with$$\varepsilon $$ε-small additive Lévy noise and initial valuex. The driving noise processes include Brownian motion,$$\alpha $$α-stable Lévy flights, finite intensity compound Poisson processes, and red noises, and may be highly degenerate.Window cutoff thermalizationis shown under mild generic assumptions; that is, we see an asymptotically sharp$$\infty /0$$∞/0-collapse of the renormalized Wasserstein distance from the current state to the equilibrium measure$$\mu ^\varepsilon $$μεalong a time window centered on a precise$$\varepsilon $$ε-dependent time scale$$\mathfrak {t}_\varepsilon $$tε. In many interesting situations such as reversible (Lévy) diffusions it is possible to prove the existence of an explicit, universal, deterministiccutoff thermalization profile. That is, for generic initial dataxwe obtain the stronger result$$\mathcal {W}_p(X^\varepsilon _{t_\varepsilon + r}(x), \mu ^\varepsilon ) \cdot \varepsilon ^{-1} \rightarrow K\cdot e^{-q r}$$Wp(Xtε+rε(x),με)·ε-1→K·e-qrfor any$$r\in \mathbb {R}$$r∈Ras$$\varepsilon \rightarrow 0$$ε→0for some spectral constants$$K, q>0$$K,q>0and any$$p\geqslant 1$$p⩾1whenever the distance is finite. The existence of this limit is characterized by the absence of non-normal growth patterns in terms of an orthogonality condition on a computable family of generalized eigenvectors of$$\mathcal {Q}$$Q. Precise error bounds are given. Using these results, this article provides a complete discussion of the cutoff phenomenon for the classical linear oscillator with friction subject to$$\varepsilon $$ε-small Brownian motion or$$\alpha $$α-stable Lévy flights. Furthermore, we cover the highly degenerate case of a linear chain of oscillators in a generalized heat bath at low temperature.
Animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2: calculable COVID-19 risk for older adults from animal to human transmission
Authors: Valencak Teresa G. , Csiszar Anna , Szalai Gabor , Podlutsky Andrej , Tarantini Stefano , Fazekas-Pongor Vince , Papp Magor , Ungvari Zoltan
Published: August 2021

The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the highly contagious respiratory pathogen SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), has already claimed close to three million lives. SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic disease: it emerged from a bat reservoir and it can infect a number of agricultural and companion animal species. SARS-CoV-2 can cause respiratory and intestinal infections, and potentially systemic multi-organ disease, in both humans and animals. The risk for severe illness and death with COVID-19 significantly increases with age, with older adults at highest risk. To combat the pandemic and protect the most susceptible group of older adults, understanding the human-animal interface and its relevance to disease transmission is vitally important. Currently high infection numbers are being sustained via human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Yet, identifying potential animal reservoirs and potential vectors of the disease will contribute to stronger risk assessment strategies. In this review, the current information about SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals and the potential spread of SARS-CoV-2 to humans through contact with domestic animals (including dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters), agricultural animals (e.g., farmed minks), laboratory animals, wild animals (e.g., deer mice), and zoo animals (felines, non-human primates) are discussed with a special focus on reducing mortality in older adults.
Key Ideas on Mobility and Social Security after Brexit
Authors: Carrascosa Bermejo Dolores
Published: August 2021

This article provides a general understanding of the main aspects of mobility (no longer referred to as free movement) and social security coordination, in the Brexit international agreements that govern the relationship of the EU with the United Kingdom: the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The article shows that both topics, mobility (or migration) and social security coordination, were relevant to the origins of Brexit. Before analysing both Brexit Agreements, the article gives a comparative overview of them, considering their principal features and their relationship. The article then analyses the mobility and coordination of social security in each agreement from a practical perspective, giving examples and highlighting the significant differences in coverage that they generate for the different citizens included in their personal scope.