ALBERT

Description: Background: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is one of the common diseases in urology and gynecology. CPPS is a multifactorial disorder where pain may originate in any of the urogynecological, gastrointestinal, pelvic musculoskeletal, or nervous systems. The symptoms of CPPS appear to result from an interplay between psychological factors and dysfunction in the immune, neurological, and endocrine systems. The aim of this article was to present new insight about CPPS in order to raise awareness of nursing and medical staff in the identification and diagnosis of the syndrome and to promote an appropriate treatment for each woman who suffers from CPPS. Methods: A literature review about the factors associated with CPPS and therapeutic interventions for CPPS was conducted. Results: CPPS represents a chronic pain syndrome that combines anatomic malfunction of the pelvic floor muscles with malfunction of pain perception linked with psychological and cognitive factors. Conclusions: The therapeutic interventions in CPPS cases should, consequently, follow a multidisciplinary approach.

Description: Clinically feasible assessment of self-feeding is important for adults and children with motor impairments such as stroke or cerebral palsy. However, no validated assessment tool for self-feeding kinematics exists. This work presents an initial validation of an instrumented spoon (DataSpoon) developed as an evaluation tool for self-feeding kinematics. Ten young, healthy adults (three male; age 27.2 ± 6.6 years) used DataSpoon at three movement speeds (slow, comfortable, fast) and with three different grips: “natural”, power and rotated power grip. Movement kinematics were recorded concurrently using DataSpoon and a magnetic motion capture system (trakSTAR). Eating events were automatically identified for both systems and kinematic measures were extracted from yaw, pitch and roll (YPR) data as well as from acceleration and tangential velocity profiles. Two-way, mixed model Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were computed to determine agreement between the systems for each kinematic variable. Most variables demonstrated fair to excellent agreement. Agreement for measures of duration, pitch and roll exceeded 0.8 (excellent agreement) for 〉80% of speed and grip conditions, whereas lower agreement (ICC 〈 0.46) was measured for tangential velocity and acceleration. A bias of 0.01–0.07 s (95% LOA [−0.54, 0.53] to [−0.63, 0.48]) was calculated for measures of duration. DataSpoon enables automatic detection of self-feeding using simple, affordable movement sensors. Using movement kinematics, variables associated with self-feeding can be identified and aid clinical reasoning for adults and children with motor impairments.

Description: The distribution of tree species has traditionally been analyzed based on tree diameter (DBH) as a continuous variable. However, this approach does not usually provide information on how species are distributed across the area of interest. In this study, an inverse approach was applied to investigate tree distribution patterns in two Dinaric old-growth forest stands composed primarily of European beech, silver fir, and Norway spruce. Specifically, the variance-to-mean relationship of tree counts based on 80 plots (40 in each old-growth stand) were evaluated by using a dispersion index. Understory trees exhibited clumped and random patterns, whereas canopy trees were mostly distributed in a random manner. A regular pattern was only determined for beech and all trees in the canopy layer (two cases out of ten). The observed discrete variables were further compared with three theoretical distributions. It was found that a Poisson, binomial, and negative binomial model best fitted the observed count data, which, based on the dispersion index, exhibited a random, regular, and clumped pattern, respectively. The frequency of plots with low species presence and complete absence of species was also revealed. Consequently, the analysis and modeling of tree counts can be of practical use for species conservation purposes.

Description: Understanding the cracking behavior during carbonation is of high importance, and the cracks can serve as a shortcut for CO2 diffusion, which can further accelerate the carbonation process itself. In this study, a sliced paste sample was taken for an accelerated carbonation test, and the cracking behavior, as well as its impact on carbonation, was investigated through a novel extended attenuation method based on X-ray (XRAM) which is performed primarily on computed tomography (CT). Surface-opening cracks at different carbonation ages were rendered, based on which a full view on the carbonation-cracking behavior was built. The results reveal that the crack paths can rapidly be occupied by CO2, and that leads to the generation of V-shaped carbonation cusps pervading the carbonation fronts. The V-shaped carbonation cusps were mostly generated at the early carbonation age (within 14 days), attesting to a less intact sample surface as compared to the inside area. Moreover, this study confirms that the carbonated area would split into two independent zones with variant carbonation degree due to the increased humidity level near the sample surface. The current work reveals the interconnection between carbonation and cracking, and the results can be used for the designing of cement-based materials with better carbonation and cracking resistance.

Description: The land reclaimed from the seaside may have a long-term subsidence trend, which poses a potential geohazard in the future land use. Xiamen Xiang’an New Airport (XXNA) is built on reclaimed land since 2016. Based on the spaceborne Sentinel-1 data between January 2018 to April 2019 and the time series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique, this paper analyzed the reclaimed land subsidence evolution at XXNA in this period. InSAR measurements show that XXNA is suffering from severe subsidence, mainly in three regions because of the earth and sand compacting. By analyzing the spatial subsidence characterizations of the main subsiding areas combined with historical land reclamation and future land use planning, we find the potential threat of subsidence to future land use. Correlation between subsidence and the period of reclamation was found, indicating that the consolidation and compression in dredger fill is the main cause of subsidence. By combining subsidence monitoring results with different land use types and adopting the Expectation (Ex) and Entropy (En) methods, we analyzed the key area with potential subsidence geo-hazard. This work shows that with SAR interferometry, it is possible to find the large area ground subsidence in the airport reclaimed area. The areas with potential subsidence geo-hazards are consistent with the deep reclaimed earth, which means high subsidence risk in the future.

Description: In recent years, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs)-based illumination processing of facial images has made favorable achievements. However, some GANs-based illumination-processing methods only pay attention to the image quality and neglect the recognition accuracy, whereas others only crop partial face area and ignore the challenges to synthesize photographic face, background and hair when the original face image is under extreme illumination (Image under extreme illumination (extreme illumination conditions) means that we cannot see the texture and structure information clearly and most pixel values tend to 0 or 255.). Moreover, the recognition accuracy is low when the faces are under extreme illumination conditions. For these reasons, we present an elaborately designed architecture based on convolutional neural network and GANs for processing the illumination of facial image. We use ResBlock at the down-sampling stage in our encoder and adopt skip connections in our generator. This special design together with our loss can enhance the ability to preserve identity and generate high-quality images. Moreover, we use different convolutional layers of a pre-trained feature network to extract varisized feature maps, and then use these feature maps to compute loss, which is named multi-stage feature maps (MSFM) loss. For the sake of fairly evaluating our method against state-of-the-art models, we use four metrics to estimate the performance of illumination-processing algorithms. A variety of experimental data indicate that our method is superior to the previous models under various illumination challenges in illumination processing. We conduct qualitative and quantitative experiments on two datasets, and the experimental data indicate that our scheme obviously surpasses the state-of-the-art algorithms in image quality and identification accuracy.

Description: Efforts to shape the food environment are aimed at reducing diet-related co-morbidities. Front-of-package labeling (FOPL) may support the consumers to make an informed decision at the point of purchase and encourage industry to reformulate food products. The Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented a unique FOPL system, using two colors: A mandatory warning (red) label alongside a voluntary positive (green) label. An independent Scientific Committee, from academia, the healthcare system, and MOH was appointed to determine the core principles for the positive FOPL. The criteria were based on the Mediterranean diet principles, with adjustments to the Israeli dietary habits, focusing on the health advantages of the food and considering its processing level. The food products eligible for positive FOPL are foods in their natural form or with added spices or herbs, or those that underwent minimal processing, with no food additives. Based on population consumption data, 19.8% of food products were eligible for positive FOPL; of them, 54% were fruits and vegetables, 20% dairy, and 14% grains. An evaluation plan is needed to assess the degree of acceptance of the positive FOPL by the industry, retailers, and the public, and its impact on food consumption and on public health.

Description: Interactions between grape seed tannin and either a mannoprotein or an arabinogalactan in model wine solutions of different ethanol concentrations were characterized with nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), UV-visible spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). NTA results reflected a shift in particle size distribution due to aggregation. Furthermore, the light scattering intensity of each tracked particle measured by NTA demonstrated the presence of aggregates, even when a shift in particle size was not apparent. Mannoprotein and arabinogalactan behaved differently when combined with seed tannin. Mannoprotein formed large, highly light-scattering aggregates, while arabinogalactan exhibited only weak interactions with seed tannin. A 3% difference in alcohol concentration of the model solution (12 vs. 15% v/v) was sufficient to affect the interactions between mannoprotein and tannin when the tannin concentration was high. In summary, this study showed that NTA is a promising tool for measuring polydisperse samples of grape and wine macromolecules, and their aggregates under wine-like conditions. The implications for wine colloidal properties are discussed based on these results.

Description: PEGylated nanomedicines are known to induce infusion reactions (IRs) that in some cases can be life-threatening. Herein, we report a case study in which a patient with rare mediastinal and intracardiac IgG4-related sclerosing disease received 8 treatments of intravenously administered PEGylated liposomal methylprednisolone-succinate (NSSL-MPS). Due to the ethical requirements to reduce IRs, the patient received a cocktail of premedication including low dose of steroids, acetaminophen and H2 blockers before each infusion. The treatment was well-tolerated in that IRs, complement activation, anti-PEG antibodies and accelerated blood clearance of the PEGylated drug were not detected. Prior to the clinical study, an in vitro panel of assays utilizing blood of healthy donors was used to determine the potential of a PEGylated drug to activate complement system, elicit pro-inflammatory cytokines, damage erythrocytes and affect various components of the blood coagulation system. The overall findings of the in vitro panel were negative and correlated with the results observed in the clinical phase.

Description: Astaxanthin was encapsulated in nanoliposomes by a film dispersion-ultrasonic technique using soybean phosphatidyl choline. The astaxanthin-loaded nanoliposomes displayed advantages in the aspects of high encapsulation efficiency and less particle size with a remarkably homodisperse size distribution. Based on X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry the analysis, it has been demonstrated that there could be interactions of astaxanthin with the lipid bilayer, resulting in the forming of astaxanthin-loaded nanoliposomes. The thermal gravimetric analysis revealed that the thermal stability of astaxanthin after encapsulation in nanoliposomes was remarkably enhanced as compared to astaxanthin alone. Furthermore, encapsulation could greatly enhance the water dispersibility of astaxanthin. This study also confirmed that encapsulation of astaxanthin in nanoliposomes could be an effective way to supply astaxanthin continuously in the body. The effects of astaxanthin incorporation on structural changes of the liposomal membrane were investigated through steady-state fluorescence measurements. This study revealed that the incorporation of astaxanthin into the lipid bilayer decreased membrane fluidity, but increased micropolarity in the membrane within a certain range of astaxanthin concentrations. Additionally, it indicated that the encapsulation of astaxanthin in the lipid bilayer could be applied to modulate the structural properties of membranes.