bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tactical Re-appraisals and Digitally Informed Hypotheses About the Treatment for Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Egher Claudia
Published: December 2022

This chapter explores the Internet’s democratizing potential by considering how people diagnosed with bipolar disorder re-appropriate medical perspectives and combine them with personal insights to contribute to the development of new knowledge. Using de Certeau’s theory (1988) of creative tactics in everyday life, it is argued that through their online interactions, people diagnosed move beyond the performance of lay expertise and collectively generate “digitally informed hypotheses” about the effectiveness of treatment for bipolar disorder. Even though the Internet affords individuals diagnosed a voice, it is one which can have a broad epistemic impact only when heard and taken seriously by researchers.
Globalization and Sustainability: De Jure and De Facto Approach
Authors: Nabeshima Kaoru
Published: December 2022

This chapter covers sustainability issues from the industrial development and international trade perspectives. Issues covered can be broadly regarded as Goal 12: “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns” but touches upon various goals. In pursuing the goal of sustainability in economic activities, the society can take two different approaches. One is based on laws (including international agreements), de jure approach. The other is based more on the market force, such as based on Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS), de facto approach. Within the de jure approach, the chapter will cover efforts at global level (international agreements) and efforts at domestic levels. At the international levels, the chapter introduces some of the key areas and the motivations behind these agreements. For the discussions on the domestic levels, the chapter introduces the differences between the production-based environmental regulations and the product-related environmental regulations, and how this has influenced the industrial activities and international trade. In the part for VSS, the chapter will focus mainly on private standards with third-party certification schemes and how these diffuse across countries through trade linkages and implications to producers especially in developing countries. Finally, the chapter touches upon the governance issues related to regulations and private standards.
Defects in scalar field theories, RG flows and dimensional disentangling
Authors: Rodriguez-Gomez D. , Russo J. G.
Published: December 2022

Abstract

We consider defect operators in scalar field theories in dimensions d = 4 − ϵ and d = 6 − ϵ with self-interactions given by a general marginal potential. In a double scaling limit, where the bulk couplings go to zero and the defect couplings go to infinity, the bulk theory becomes classical and the quantum defect theory can be solved order by order in perturbation theory. We compute the defect β functions to two loops and study the Renormalization Group flows. The defect fixed points can move and merge, leading to fixed point annihilation; and they exhibit a remarkable factorization property where the c-dependence gets disentangled from the coupling dependence.
CP violation in η(′) → π+π−μ+μ− decays
Authors: Zillinger Maximilian , Kubis Bastian , Sánchez-Puertas Pablo
Published: December 2022

Abstract

It has been pointed out recently that a certain set of dimension-6 scalar P- and CP-violating light-quark-muon operators may be tested in η and η′ decays to various final states involving μ+μ− pairs, at a level not yet excluded by constraints from electric dipole moments. We here work out the hadronic matrix elements required for the predictions for the decays η, η′ → π+π−μ+μ−. We relate a new asymmetry in the angular distribution between the dipion and dimuon decay planes to the corresponding Wilson coefficients. Despite the advantage of not requiring the measurement of muon polarization, the projected sensitivities are shown to be moderate due to a combination of small phase space and chiral suppression. Such sensitivity studies are most timely in view of upcoming or planned high-statistics η(′) experiments such as the JLab eta factory or REDTOP.
Are trajectories of social isolation from childhood to mid-adulthood associated with adult depression or suicide outcomes
Authors: Lay-Yee Roy , Matthews Timothy , Moffitt Terrie , Poulton Richie , Caspi Avshalom , Milne Barry
Published: December 2022

Purpose

Social isolation has been shown to have negative effects on mental health outcomes though little is known about trajectories across the life course. We examined the relationship between trajectory groups and selected mental health outcomes in mid-adulthood.

Methods

We previously created a typology of social isolation based on onset during the life course and persistence into adulthood, using group-based trajectory analysis of longitudinal data from a New Zealand birth cohort. The typology comprises four groups: ‘never-isolated’, ‘adult-only’, ‘child-only’, and ‘persistent (child–adult) isolation’. We undertook logistic regression analyses of three mental health outcomes with trajectory group as the predictor, adjusting for sex and a range of familial and child-behavioural factors.

Results

Lifetime suicide attempt, and depression and suicide ideation in mid-adulthood were each associated with adult-only but not child-only social isolation. Depression in mid-adulthood was also associated with persistent child–adult social isolation.

Conclusion

Although our findings are associational and not causal, they indicate that interrupting persistent social isolation may help to prevent adult depression whereas halting adult social isolation may ameliorate both depression and suicide outcomes.
Reasoning about responsibility in autonomous systems: challenges and opportunities
Authors: Yazdanpanah Vahid , Gerding Enrico H. , Stein Sebastian , Dastani Mehdi , Jonker Catholijn M. , Norman Timothy J. , Ramchurn Sarvapali D.
Published: December 2022

Ensuring the trustworthiness of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence is an important interdisciplinary endeavour. In this position paper, we argue that this endeavour will benefit from technical advancements in capturing various forms of responsibility, and we present a comprehensive research agenda to achieve this. In particular, we argue that ensuring the reliability of autonomous system can take advantage of technical approaches for quantifying degrees of responsibility and for coordinating tasks based on that. Moreover, we deem that, in certifying the legality of an AI system, formal and computationally implementable notions of responsibility, blame, accountability, and liability are applicable for addressing potential responsibility gaps (i.e. situations in which a group is responsible, but individuals’ responsibility may be unclear). This is a call to enable AI systems themselves, as well as those involved in the design, monitoring, and governance of AI systems, to represent and reason about who can be seen as responsible in prospect (e.g. for completing a task in future) and who can be seen as responsible retrospectively (e.g. for a failure that has already occurred). To that end, in this work, we show that across all stages of the design, development, and deployment of trustworthy autonomous systems (TAS), responsibility reasoning should play a key role. This position paper is the first step towards establishing a road map and research agenda on how the notion of responsibility can provide novel solution concepts for ensuring the reliability and legality of TAS and, as a result, enables an effective embedding of AI technologies into society.
Addressing topology optimization with overhang constraints for structures subjected to self-weight loads
Authors: Garaigordobil Alain , Ansola Rubén , Canales Javier , Borinaga Roque
Published: December 2022

This paper investigates the topology optimization of structures subjected to self-weight loads with self-supporting constraints for additive manufacturing. The integration of topology optimization procedures and additive manufacturing techniques can make the most of their advantages, and there is significant interest today in integrating both approaches. Imposing overhang constraints in topology optimization has been addressed, but primarily for classical topology optimization problems with fixed external loads, not design-dependent loads. This work combines an effective numerical procedure for contour evaluation with a modified version of the power-law model for low densities to eliminate the problems that arise when self-weight loads are considered. The overhang edge detection is based on the Smallest Univalue Segment Assimilating Nucleus (SUSAN) method, and a variable mask size technique is used to avoid eventual dripping problems. The proposed constraint function evaluates the overhang globally and allows control of the formation of unsupported contours for maximum stiffness design problems when self-weight loads are present. Several numerical experiments demonstrate the proposed method's effectiveness and robustness.
Mismatch between trochlear coronal alignment of arthritic knees and currently available prosthesis: a morphological analysis of 4116 knees and 45 implant designs
Authors: Rosa Sergio Barroso , Hazratwala Kaushik , Wilkinson Matthew P. R.
Published: December 2022

Purpose

In up to a fifth of total knee replacements (TKR), surgeons are not capable of achieving good clinical and functional results. Despite comprehensive diagnostic workup, an underlying cause is not always identified in these patients. The purpose of this study is to compare native and prosthetic trochlear anatomies, to evaluate a potential source of morphologic mismatch and theoretically, of poor clinical outcomes.

Methods

Native trochlear angles of 4116 knee CTs from 360 Knee Systems database of arthritic pre-operative TKR patients were evaluated. A semi-automated tridimensional analysis was performed to define the native trochlear angle in the coronal plane (NTA) among other 142 parameters. An active search was conducted to identify currently available TKR models; prosthetic trochlear orientation in the coronal plane (PTA) was extracted from the technical data provided by manufacturers.

Results

The mean native trochlear angle (NTA) was 1.6° ± 6.6° (valgus) with a range from − 23.8° (varus) to 30.3°(valgus). A valgus NTA was present in 60.6% of the knees and 39.4% of them had a varus NTA. 89 TKR models were identified; trochlear details were available for 45 of them, of which 93% were designed with a valgus orientation of the prosthetic trochlear angle (PTA) and 6.9% showed a neutral (0°) PTA. Varus alignment of PTA was not present in any system. Angular numeric values for PTA were available for 34 models; these ranged from 0° to 15° of valgus, with a median value of 6.18° (SD ± 2.88°).

Conclusion

This study shows a significant mismatch between native and prosthetic trochlear angles. A relevant proportion of the studied knees (41.45%) fall out of the trochlear angle range of currently available implants; representing a potential source for biomechanical imbalance. While further research is warranted to fully understand the clinical implications of the present study, manufacturers may need to take these findings into account for future implant designs.

Level of evidence

Level III, retrospective cohort study.
Assessment of milling condition by image processing of the produced surfaces
Authors: Carbone Nicolas , Bernini Luca , Albertelli Paolo , Monno Michele
Published: December 2022

The digital industrial revolution calls for smart manufacturing plants, i.e. plants that include sensors and vision systems accompanied with artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics in order to meet the required accuracy, reliability and productivity levels. In this paper, we introduce a surface analysis and classification approach based on a deep learning algorithm. The approach is intended to let machining centres recognise the adequacy of process parameters adopted for the milling operation performed, based on the phenomenological effects left on the machined surface. Indeed, the operator will be able to understand how to change process parameters to improve workpiece quality of subsequent parts by a reverse engineering procedure that reconstructs the process parameters that generated the analysed surface. A shallow convolutional neural network was proposed to work on surface image patches based on a limited training dataset of optimal and undesired cutting conditions. The architecture consists of a series of 3 stacked convolutional blocks. The performance of the proposed solution was validated through 5-fold cross-validation, measuring the mean and standard deviation of the f1-score metric. The algorithm arrived at outperformed the best state-of-the-art approach by 4.8% when considering average classification performance.
Exponential convergence of hp FEM for spectral fractional diffusion in polygons
Authors: Banjai Lehel , Melenk Jens M. , Schwab Christoph
Published: December 2022

For the spectral fractional diffusion operator of order 2s, $$s \in (0,1)$$

s
∈
(
0
,
1
)

, in bounded, curvilinear polygonal domains $$\varOmega \subset {{\mathbb {R}}}^2$$

Ω
⊂

R

2

we prove exponential convergence of two classes of hp discretizations under the assumption of analytic data (coefficients and source terms, without any boundary compatibility), in the natural fractional Sobolev norm $${\mathbb {H}}^s(\varOmega )$$

H

s

(
Ω
)

. The first hp discretization is based on writing the solution as a co-normal derivative of a $$2+1$$

2
+
1

-dimensional local, linear elliptic boundary value problem, to which an hp-FE discretization is applied. A diagonalization in the extended variable reduces the numerical approximation of the inverse of the spectral fractional diffusion operator to the numerical approximation of a system of local, decoupled, second order reaction-diffusion equations in$$\varOmega $$
Ω
. Leveraging results on robust exponential convergence of hp-FEM for second order, linear reaction diffusion boundary value problems in $$\varOmega $$
Ω
, exponential convergence rates for solutions $$u\in {\mathbb {H}}^s(\varOmega )$$

u
∈

H

s

(
Ω
)

of $$\mathcal {L}^s u = f$$

L

s

u
=
f

follow. Key ingredient in this hp-FEM are boundary fitted meshes with geometric mesh refinement towards$$\partial \varOmega $$

∂
Ω

. The second discretization is based on exponentially convergent numerical sinc quadrature approximations of the Balakrishnan integral representation of $$\mathcal {L}^{-s}$$

L

-
s

combined with hp-FE discretizations of a decoupled system of local, linear, singularly perturbed reaction-diffusion equations in$$\varOmega $$
Ω
. The present analysis for either approach extends to (polygonal subsets $${\widetilde{\mathcal {M}}}$$

M
~

of) analytic, compact 2-manifolds $${\mathcal {M}}$$
M
, parametrized by a global, analytic chart $$\chi $$
χ
with polygonal Euclidean parameter domain $$\varOmega \subset {{\mathbb {R}}}^2$$

Ω
⊂

R

2

. Numerical experiments for model problems in nonconvex polygonal domains and with incompatible data confirm the theoretical results. Exponentially small bounds on Kolmogorov n-widths of solution sets for spectral fractional diffusion in curvilinear polygons and for analytic source terms are deduced.
Accelerating the development of implantable neurochemical biosensors by using existing clinically applied depth electrodes
Authors: Macdonald Alexander R. , Charlton Francessca , Corrigan Damion K.
Published: December 2022

In this study, an implantable stereo-electroencephalography (sEEG) depth electrode was functionalised with an enzyme coating for enzyme-based biosensing of glucose and L-glutamate. This was done because personalised medicine could benefit from active real-time neurochemical monitoring on small spatial and temporal scales to further understand and treat neurological disorders. To achieve this, the sEEG depth electrode was characterised using cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) using several electrochemical redox mediators (potassium ferri/ferrocyanide, ruthenium hexamine chloride, and dopamine). To improve performance, the Pt sensors on the sEEG depth electrode were coated with platinum black and a crosslinked gelatin-enzyme film to enable enzymatic biosensing. This characterisation work showed that producing a useable electrode with a good electrochemical response showing the expected behaviour for a platinum electrode was possible. Coating with Pt black improved the sensitivity to H2O2 over unmodified electrodes and approached that of well-defined Pt macro disc electrodes. Measured current showed good dependence on concentration, and the calibration curves report good sensitivity of 29.65 nA/cm2/μM for glucose and 8.05 nA/cm2/μM for L-glutamate with a stable, repeatable, and linear response. These findings demonstrate that existing clinical electrode devices can be adapted for combined electrochemical and electrophysiological measurement in patients and obviate the need to develop new electrodes when existing clinically approved devices and the associated knowledge can be reused. This accelerates the time to use and application of in vivo and wearable biosensing for diagnosis, treatment, and personalised medicine.

Graphical abstract
Asymptotic State Transformations of Continuous Variable Resources
Authors: Ferrari Giovanni , Lami Ludovico , Theurer Thomas , Plenio Martin B.
Published: December 2022

We study asymptotic state transformations in continuous variable quantum resource theories. In particular, we prove that monotones displaying lower semicontinuity and strong superadditivity can be used to bound asymptotic transformation rates in these settings. This removes the need for asymptotic continuity, which cannot be defined in the traditional sense for infinite-dimensional systems. We consider three applications, to the resource theories of (I) optical nonclassicality, (II) entanglement, and (III) quantum thermodynamics. In cases (II) and (III), the employed monotones are the (infinite-dimensional) squashed entanglement and the free energy, respectively. For case (I), we consider the measured relative entropy of nonclassicality and prove it to be lower semicontinuous and strongly superadditive. One of our main technical contributions, and a key tool to establish these results, is a handy variational expression for the measured relative entropy of nonclassicality. Our technique then yields computable upper bounds on asymptotic transformation rates, including those achievable under linear optical elements. We also prove a number of results which guarantee that the measured relative entropy of nonclassicality is bounded on any physically meaningful state and easily computable for some classes of states of interest, e.g., Fock diagonal states. We conclude by applying our findings to the problem of cat state manipulation and noisy Fock state purification.
Optimization of the outcome of percutaneous nephrolithotomy regarding urinary leakage, what should we do?
Authors: Abdelgawad Esam , Kadry Ahmed M. , Abdelhalim Khaled M. , Abdelwahab Hassan A.
Published: December 2022

To evaluate the factors affecting urinary leakage post percutaneous nephrolithotomy. To define those at high risk in whom a double J stent for 4 weeks or external ureteral catheter fixation for at least 3 days is indicated at the end of procedure. A total of 140 patients who underwent single-stage Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL) with single or multiple accesses were included between February 2014 and March 2019. A detailed history, laboratory and radiological investigations were performed on all patients. All patients were classified according to postoperative urinary leakage into three groups. We defined leakage as a leakage from percutaneous puncture site. Group 1 (90 patients), No leakage was defined as leakage < 12 hours. In group 2 (32 patients), short-term leakage was defined as leakage 12-48 hours, and in Group 3 (18 patients), prolonged urinary leakage > 48 hours. Patients with short-term and prolonged urinary leakage had a significantly shorter access tract. Most patients (93.8%) with short-term leakage had an access tract of 71-90 mm, while > 50% of patients (55.6) with prolonged leakage had an access tract of 51-70 mm (p <0.001). Multivariate ordinal regression revealed that Operative time, length of the access tract and parenchymal thicknesses significantly predict short-term and prolonged leakage. For predicting the prolonged urinary leakage, the length of access tract and parenchymalthickness showed significant areas under the curve (AUC); 78% (95% CI: 69 – 85, p = 0.002) and 94% (95% CI: 87 – 97, p <0.001), respectively. Operative time, length of the access tract and parenchymal thickness significantly predict short-term and prolonged leakage.
Global Analyses and Latest Research Hot Spots of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in Fat Grafting: A Bibliometric and Visualized Review
Authors: Li Tian-Hao , Li Zi-Ming , Qin Xiao-Han , Yu Nan-Ze , Huang Jiu-Zuo , Long Xiao
Published: December 2022

Background

Fat grafting is one of the most effective treatments for soft tissue restoration and augmentation. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) supplementation is one of the foremost concerns to improve its efficiency. There have been several studies aiming at adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in fat grafting, but no relevant bibliometric research has conducted.

Methods

Articles about fat grafting and ASCs were retrieved in Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Using VOSviewer 1.6.10.0 (Leiden University, the Netherlands) and CiteSpace 6.1.R2 (Drexel University, USA), the information of national distribution, institutions, journals, authors and keywords were evaluated and calculated.

Results

A total of 1166 papers in the field of ASCs in fat grafting were retrieved from 2002 to 2021. The USA produced the most articles, and the top 2 productive institutions were all from the USA. Researchers and institutions conducting ASCs in fat grafting research have shown a widespread and close connection. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery published the most article on ASCs in fat grafting, and professor Rubin Peter is the most productive author. The top 10 references with the highest LCS mainly focused on applying ASCs to assist fat transplantation in plastic surgery. The most cited keywords formed 4 clusters, and “mesenchymal stem,” “mesenchymal stromal cell,” “stromal vascular fraction” and “long term” were the most recently trending keywords.

Conclusions

This article provides a summary of the current research status focusing on fat grafting and ASCs. More efforts will be made to promote the application of ASCs in fat grafting.

Level of Evidence V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.
Biotic Interactions in Soil are Underestimated Drivers of Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency
Authors: Iven Hélène , Walker Tom W. N. , Anthony Mark
Published: December 2022

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE)—the balance between microbial growth and respiration—strongly impacts microbial mediated soil carbon storage and is sensitive to many well-studied abiotic environmental factors. However, surprisingly, little work has examined how biotic interactions in soil may impact CUE. Here, we review the theoretical and empirical lines of evidence exploring how biotic interactions affect CUE through the lens of life history strategies. Fundamentally, the CUE of a microbial population is constrained by population density and carrying capacity, which, when reached, causes species to grow more quickly and less efficiently. When microbes engage in interspecific competition, they accelerate growth rates to acquire limited resources and release secondary chemicals toxic to competitors. Such processes are not anabolic and thus constrain CUE. In turn, antagonists may activate one of a number of stress responses that also do not involve biomass production, potentially further reducing CUE. In contrast, facilitation can increase CUE by expanding species realized niches, mitigating environmental stress and reducing production costs of extracellular enzymes. Microbial interactions at higher trophic levels also influence CUE. For instance, predation on microbes can positively or negatively impact CUE by changing microbial density and the outcomes of interspecific competition. Finally, we discuss how plants select for more or less efficient microbes under different contexts. In short, this review demonstrates the potential for biotic interactions to be a strong regulator of microbial CUE and additionally provides a blueprint for future research to address key knowledge gaps of ecological and applied importance for carbon sequestration.
Low-rank tensor methods for Markov chains with applications to tumor progression models
Authors: Georg Peter , Grasedyck Lars , Klever Maren , Schill Rudolf , Spang Rainer , Wettig Tilo
Published: December 2022

Cancer progression can be described by continuous-time Markov chains whose state space grows exponentially in the number of somatic mutations. The age of a tumor at diagnosis is typically unknown. Therefore, the quantity of interest is the time-marginal distribution over all possible genotypes of tumors, defined as the transient distribution integrated over an exponentially distributed observation time. It can be obtained as the solution of a large linear system. However, the sheer size of this system renders classical solvers infeasible. We consider Markov chains whose transition rates are separable functions, allowing for an efficient low-rank tensor representation of the linear system’s operator. Thus we can reduce the computational complexity from exponential to linear. We derive a convergent iterative method using low-rank formats whose result satisfies the normalization constraint of a distribution. We also perform numerical experiments illustrating that the marginal distribution is well approximated with low rank.
Impact of energy density on energy intake in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Klos Bea , Cook Jessica , Crepaz Letizia , Weiland Alisa , Zipfel Stephan , Mack Isabelle
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The energy density (ED) of a diet can be leveraged to prevent weight gain or treat overweight and obesity. By lowering the ED of the diet, energy intake can be reduced while maintaining portion size. However, a reliable meta-analysis of data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is missing. Therefore, this meta-analysis synthesized the evidence of ED manipulation on energy intake in RCTs.

Methods

The systematic literature search of multiple databases according to PRISMA criteria considered RCTs investigating the objectively measured energy intake from meals with different ED (lower ED (median 1.1 kcal/g) versus higher ED (median 1.5 kcal/g)) under controlled conditions. Subgroup analyses for age (children versus adults), meal type (preload versus entrée design), and intervention length (1 meal versus > 1 meal) were performed to achieve the most homogeneous result.

Results

The meta-analysis of 38 included studies demonstrated that lowering ED considerably reduced energy intake – 223 kcal (95% CI: – 259.7, – 186.0) in comparison to the higher ED interventions. As heterogeneity was high among studies, subgroup analyses were conducted. Heterogeneity decreased in subgroup analyses for age and meal type combined, strengthening the results. An extended analysis showed a positive linear relationship between ED and energy intake. Dietary ED did not affect the amount of food intake.

Conclusion

Manipulating ED substantially affects energy intake whereas food intake remains constant. Thus, this approach can be regarded as a powerful tool for weight management through nutrition therapy. Registration on 08/08/2021: CRD42021266653.
Change in 1-year mortality after hip fracture surgery over the last decade in a European population
Authors: Miralles-Muñoz Francisco A. , Perez-Aznar Adolfo , Gonzalez-Parreño Santiago , Sebastia-Forcada Emilio , Mahiques-Segura Gerard , Lizaur-Utrilla Alejandro , Vizcaya-Moreno M. Flores
Published: December 2022

Objective

There are scarce data on the mortality after hip fracture surgery for patients treated in the most recent years. The objective of this study was to analyze whether the overall initiatives introduced over the last decade for elderly patients with hip fractures had a positive impact on the 1-year mortality.

Methods

Patients treated during 2010–2012 were compared with patients treated during 2018–2020 for all-cause 1-year mortality. Variables influencing mortality were collected based on the literature, including demographic, comorbidity, cognitive status, and preinjury physical function. Crude mortalities were compared between periods, as well as with the expected mortality in the general population adjusted for age, gender, and year of surgery using the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). A multivariate model was used to identify mortality risk factors.

Results

591 patients older than 65 years were treated during 2010–2012 and 642 patients during 2018–2020. The mean age increased significantly between periods (78.9 vs. 82.6 years, respectively, p = 0.001) in both genders, together with an increase in comorbidity (p = 0.014). The in-hospital mortality risk had no significant difference between periods (2.5 vs. 2.0%, p = 0.339), but the 30-day mortality risk (8.3 vs. 5.5%, p = 0.031) and 1-year mortality risk (16.1 vs. 11.9%, p = 0.023) declined significantly. However, 1-year mortality in 2020 had an excess of 1.33 in SMR. Age older than 80 years, male gender, and Charlson comorbidity index > 2 were significant predictors of 1-year mortality.

Conclusion

The important evolution achieved in the last decade for the management of patients with hip fracture surgery has led to a significant decline in 1-year mortality, but the 1-year mortality remains significantly higher compared to the general population of similar age and gender.
Clinical and therapeutic course in head variants of linear morphea in adults: a retrospective review
Authors: Fan Winnie , Obiakor Bianca , Jacobson Rebecca , Haemel Anna , Gandelman Jocelyn
Published: December 2022

Parry Romberg Syndrome (PRS) and en coup de sabre (ECDS) are head variants of linear morphea with functional and structural implications. This study describes the clinical course, autoimmune co-morbidities, complications, and treatment of adults with PRS/ECDS at a tertiary referral center. We retrospectively reviewed the records of all 34 adult patients with PRS/ECDS identified through billing code search and seen by dermatologists at our institution between 2015 and 2021. Eight patients (23.5%) had ECDS, 8 (23.5%) had PRS, and 18 (52.9%) had overlap. Twenty-six patients (76.5%) reported ocular, oral, and/or neurologic symptoms, and 8 (23.5%) had concomitant autoimmune/inflammatory conditions. Sixteen patients (47.1%) had a skin biopsy, and 25 (73.5%) had imaging. Forty-six MRIs were obtained, of which 6 (13.0%) reported intracranial findings and 25 (54.3%) reported disease-related connective tissue damage. Twenty-four patients (70.6%) underwent systemic treatment during their disease course per available clinical records. Seventeen patients (70.8%) had improved or stable disease upon treatment completion, with an average duration of 22.2 months. Ten patients (41.7%) reported recurrence of disease following the treatment course. To address changes to facial contour, 6 patients (17.6%) opted for procedural treatments. One patient (16.7%) experienced morphea reactivation following a filler injection performed off-immunosuppression. Compared to findings in children, our study suggests adults with PRS/ECDS are more likely to have oral and ocular complications but experience less severe neurologic symptoms. While systemic treatments appear beneficial in most adult patients with PRS/ECDS, disease may recur following discontinuation.
The trends for the “trend toward significance” in the pediatric literature
Authors: Rallis Dimitrios , Baltogianni Maria , Balomenou Foteini , Dermitzaki Niki , Kosmeri Chrisoula , Giannakopoulos Spyridon , Giapros Vasileios
Published: December 2022

Purpose
This study is to examine whether the term “trend toward statistical significance” is used to describe statistically nonsignificant results in biomedical literature. We examined articles published in five high-impact pediatric journals, including The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, The Journal of Pediatrics, Early Human Development, Frontiers in Pediatrics, and BMC Pediatrics to identify manuscripts where a “trend” was used to describe a statistically nonsignificant result, from January 2020 to December 2021, and, furthermore, for The Journal of Pediatrics, Early Human Development, and BMC Pediatrics from January 2010 to December 2011. We detected that a “trend toward significance” was used to describe a statistically nonsignificant result at least once in 146 articles (2.7%) during the period between 2020 and 2021 and in 97 articles (4.0%) during the period between 2010 and 2011. We found no significant difference in the proportion of published articles with inappropriate use of “trend” across journals belonging to the first quartile of impact compared to the second quartile or across journals publishing under the subscription model or open access policy compared to journals publishing solely under the open access policy, in any period. The overall proportion of the inappropriate use of “trend” declined significantly between 2010 and 2011 to 2020 and 2021 (p = 0.002, RR 0.66 95% CI 0.51–0.86).

Conclusion: “Trend” statements were sporadically used to describe statistically nonsignificant results across pediatric literature. The inappropriate use of “trend” to describe almost significant differences could be misleading, and “trend” should be reserved only when a specific statistical test for trend has been performed, or in relation to appropriate scientific definitions.

What is Known:

•Previously, researchers have reported inappropriate use of “trend” in articles across anaesthesia or major oncology journals.

•In many cases, hypothesized results that are close but not lower than the statistical significance threshold are emphasized as “almost” significant.

What is New:

•“Trend” statements were sporadically used to describe statistically nonsignificant results across pediatric literature.

•Inappropriate use of  “trend” was similar in journals with a subscription model compared to those having an open access policy and decreased within a 10-year period.
Kinesiophobie bei Schulterbeschwerden
Authors: Pagels Larissa , Lüdtke Kerstin , Schäfer Axel
Published: December 2022

Hintergrund

Schulterbeschwerden bilden mit einer Prävalenz von 7 bis 30 % die drittgrößte muskuloskeletale Beschwerdegruppe. Ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung wird u. a. durch psychische Faktoren beeinflusst. Die Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) ist international das gängigste Messinstrument zur Erhebung bewegungsbezogener Angst.

Ziel der Arbeit

Untersuchung der Reliabilität und Validität der TSK-GV in einer Population mit Schulterbeschwerden.

Material und Methoden

Im Rahmen einer multizentrischen Querschnittsstudie wurden Proband*innen mit Schulterschmerzen eingeschlossen. Es wurden neben der Kinesiophobie die Schmerzintensität, die subjektive Beeinträchtigung im täglichen Leben sowie die Angst-Vermeidungs-Überzeugungen erfasst.

Ergebnisse

Insgesamt konnten 49 Proband*innen (24 Frauen und 25 Männer) mit einem mittleren Alter von 41,8 Jahren (SD = 12,8) eingeschlossen werden. Die deskriptive Auswertung auf Itemebene zeigte eine gute interne Konsistenz (Cronbachs α = 0,81). Die Homogenität der Skala ist schwach (Loevingers H = 0,35). Die Korrelationsberechnungen ergaben keine deutliche Konvergenz der TSK-GV mit dem FABQ (r = 0,3501; p = 0,0137). Die divergente Validität konnte sowohl zur NRS (r = 0,1216; p = 0,4052) als auch zum SPADI (r = 0,2571; p = 0,0745) bestätigt werden. Die Hypothesentestung ergab 28,57 % angenommener Hypothesen. Es zeigte sich ein signifikanter Einfluss der TSK-GV und des FABQ auf die Beschwerdedauer (R2 = 0,3652; p ≤ 0,0001) sowie eine erklärte Varianz der Beschwerdedauer auf die TSK-GV von R2 = 0,1834 (p = 0,0021). Die Subgruppenanalyse zeigte einen signifikant höheren Grad der Kinesiophobie bei den männlichen Probanden (t = 3,8084/df = 47; p = 0,0002).

Diskussion

Die TSK-GV ist ein reliables Messinstrument. Die Konstruktvalidität sollte in zukünftigen Studien weiter untersucht werden. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie zeigen vergleichbare Werte zu vorangegangenen Studien in anderen Populationen. Die TSK-GV ist das bislang einzige validierte deutschsprachige Messinstrument zur Erhebung der bewegungsbezogenen Angst bei Schulterbeschwerden und zeigt akzeptable Werte für diese Population.
Temperature and urban heat island effect in Lublin city in Poland under changing climate
Authors: Sachindra D. A. , Ullah S. , Zaborski P. , Nowosad M. , Dobek M.
Published: December 2022

This study investigates the characteristics of the temperature regimes at an urban station (Litewski square) in Lublin city in Poland and a nearby rural station (Radawiec), and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in Lublin city. In winter, spring, summer, and autumn at both urban and rural stations frequency distributions of daily minimum (Tmin), and maximum (Tmax) air temperature in 1998–2020 have shifted towards a warmer climate compared to the frequency distributions in 1974–1997. At both stations in 1974–2020, in all seasons, the annual Tmin and Tmax display increasing trends. At Litewski square and Radawiec, Tmax shows increasing trends of 0.083 and 0.088 ºC/year in summer, respectively. This is the largest increase in all four seasons. Furthermore, it is revealed that the heatwaves at both the urban and rural stations have increased in number over time. However, cold waves at both stations show a declining trend. The UHI effect in Lublin city has not increased significantly during 1974–2020. Population in Lublin city has declined over the period 1995–2020, but the population in the surrounding rural counties has increased. It is speculated that this is one of the causes of no clear increase in the UHI intensity. Apart from that, the city’s large green coverage (about 40%) is probably acting as a heating inhibitor. The annual Tmin and Tmax projected by 15 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) GCMs indicate that the temperature regimes at both urban and rural stations show significant increasing trends during 2015–2100 under the selected SSPs, with the highest increase under high emission scenario (SSP5-8.5) and the lowest increase under the low emission scenario (SSP1-2.6). During 2015–2100, the UHI effect in Lublin city does not show any significant increasing or decreasing trends for the majority of the GCM–SSP combinations.
Enhancing user interaction with context-awareness in cultural spaces
Authors: Michalakis Konstantinos , Caridakis George
Published: December 2022

The emergence of the Internet of Things has fueled a proliferation of smart things in many fields, including cultural spaces. Context-awareness addresses the production of large volumes of context by analyzing raw data and adding a meaning to them. Middleware systems have emerged, which perform context modelling and reasoning, supporting context-aware applications. The services provided by such applications can be personalized, automated and adapted to the current situation, thus enhancing the user interaction with the devices and the digital environment. In this work, a context-aware middleware system is presented, based on a hybrid reasoning schema, which combines multiple techniques to efficiently address each problem. The proposed middleware system is evaluated in a cultural space, where scenarios were designed and tested, using a mixture of real and artificial data. The experiments measured the accuracy, performance in terms of reaction time and scalability and the interactivity enhancement, achieved by the proposed middleware.
Systematic design of particle dampers for transient vertical vibrations
Authors: Meyer Niklas , Seifried Robert
Published: December 2022

A multilevel design toolchain is used for the development of particle dampers for vertical transient vibrating structures. Thereby various experimental tests and numerical models are combined. The design toolchain consists of three levels. The first level deals with the micro-mechanical behavior of single particle–particle and particle–wall impacts. The resulting coefficient of restitution is then used on the second level. Within, the second level the properties of vertical vibrated granular matters inside a container under harmonic motion are analyzed. The resulting motion modes and energy dissipation of the granular matter strongly depend on the excitation conditions, i. e. the excitation amplitude and excitation frequency. Multiple analytical formulations for the different motion modes, i. e. solid-like state and collect-and-collide motion mode, are derived to describe the energy dissipation within the particle damper. These analytical descriptions are in good agreement with numerical discrete element simulations. Finally, the third level of the design toolchain deals with designing a damper for a desired structure. The analytical formulations describing the energy dissipation within the particle damper are used to optimize a particle damper configuration for a simple beam-like structure undergoing a vertical transient vibration. The efficiency of the optimized particle damper dissipation is proven experimentally.
Immersive virtual reality for upper limb rehabilitation: comparing hand and controller interaction
Authors: Juan M.-Carmen , Elexpuru Julen , Dias Paulo , Santos Beatriz Sousa , Amorim Paula
Published: December 2022

Virtual reality shows great potential as an alternative to traditional therapies for motor rehabilitation given its ability to immerse the user in engaging scenarios that abstract them from medical facilities and tedious rehabilitation exercises. This paper presents a virtual reality application that includes three serious games and that was developed for motor rehabilitation. It uses a standalone headset and the user's hands without the need for any controller for interaction. Interacting with an immersive virtual reality environment using only natural hand gestures involves an interaction that is similar to that of real life, which would be especially desirable for patients with motor problems. A study involving 28 participants (4 with motor problems) was carried out to compare two types of interaction (hands vs. controllers). All of the participants completed the exercises. No significant differences were found in the number of attempts necessary to complete the games using the two types of interaction. The group that used controllers required less time to complete the exercise. The performance outcomes were independent of the gender and age of the participants. The subjective assessment of the participants with motor problems was not significantly different from the rest of the participants. With regard to the interaction type, the participants mostly preferred the interaction using their hands (78.5%). All four participants with motor problems preferred the hand interaction. These results suggest that the interaction with the user’s hands together with standalone headsets could improve motivation, be well accepted by motor rehabilitation patients, and help to complete exercise therapy at home.
NES cell
Authors: Ding Hu , Shao Yufei
Published: December 2022

A broadband adaptive vibration control strategy with high reliability and flexible versatility is proposed. The high vibration damping performance of nonlinear energy sink (NES) has attracted attention. However, targeted energy transfer may cause severe vibration of NES. Besides, it is difficult to realize pure nonlinear stiffness without the linear part. As a result, the reliability of NES is not high. The low reliability of NES has hindered its application in engineering. In addition, the performance of NES depends on its mass ratio of the primary system, and NES lacks versatility for different vibration systems. Therefore, this paper proposes the concept of NES cell. The advantages of the adaptive vibration control of NES are applied to cellular NES. By applying a large number of NES cells in parallel, the reliability of NES and its versatility to complex vibration structures are improved. An elastic beam is used as the primary vibration structure, and a limited NES is used as the cell. The relationship between the vibration suppression effect of NES cells and the number of NES cell is studied. In addition, the effect of the distribution of NES cells on the multi-mode resonance suppression of the beam is also studied. In summary, the mode of the primary structure can be efficiently controlled by a large number of lightweight NES cell. Therefore, the lightweight NES cell is flexible for vibration control of complex structures. In addition, it improves the reliability of NES applications. Therefore, the distributed application of NES cells proposed in this paper is a valuable vibration suppression strategy.
The IAS-MEEG Package: A Flexible Inverse Source Reconstruction Platform for Reconstruction and Visualization of Brain Activity from M/EEG Data
Authors: Calvetti Daniela , Pascarella Annalisa , Pitolli Francesca , Somersalo Erkki , Vantaggi Barbara
Published: December 2022

We present a standalone Matlab software platform complete with visualization for the reconstruction of the neural activity in the brain from MEG or EEG data. The underlying inversion combines hierarchical Bayesian models and Krylov subspace iterative least squares solvers. The Bayesian framework of the underlying inversion algorithm allows to account for anatomical information and possible a priori belief about the focality of the reconstruction. The computational efficiency makes the software suitable for the reconstruction of lengthy time series on standard computing equipment. The algorithm requires minimal user provided input parameters, although the user can express the desired focality and accuracy of the solution. The code has been designed so as to favor the parallelization performed automatically by Matlab, according to the resources of the host computer. We demonstrate the flexibility of the platform by reconstructing activity patterns with supports of different sizes from MEG and EEG data. Moreover, we show that the software reconstructs well activity patches located either in the subcortical brain structures or on the cortex. The inverse solver and visualization modules can be used either individually or in combination. We also provide a version of the inverse solver that can be used within Brainstorm toolbox. All the software is available online by Github, including the Brainstorm plugin, with accompanying documentation and test data.
Distributed-Memory FastFlow Building Blocks
Authors: Tonci Nicolò , Torquati Massimo , Mencagli Gabriele , Danelutto Marco
Published: December 2022

We present the new distributed-memory run-time system (RTS) of the C++-based open-source structured parallel programming library FastFlow. The new RTS enables the execution of FastFlow shared-memory applications written using its Building Blocks () on distributed systems with minimal changes to the original program. The changes required are all high-level and deal with introducing distributed groups (dgroup), i.e., logical partitions of the BBs composing the application streaming graph. A dgroup, which in turn is implemented using FastFlow’s , can be deployed and executed on a remote machine and communicate with other dgroups according to the original shared-memory FastFlow streaming programming model. We present how to define the distributed groups and how we faced the problem of data serialization and communication performance tuning through transparent messages’ batching and their scheduling. Finally, we present a study of the overhead introduced by dgroups considering some benchmarks on a sixteen-node cluster.