Data Portal @ linkeddatafragments.org

Matches in Ghent University Academic Bibliography for { ?s <http://schema.org/abstract> ?o. }

• 01GT9HNFB8S1MC5TW76HPAMS2M abstract "The Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO, https://www.iddo.org) has launched a clinical data platform for the collation, curation, standardisation and reuse of individual participant data (IPD) on treatments for two of the most globally important neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), schistosomiasis (SCH) and soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs). This initiative aims to harness the power of data-sharing by facilitating collaborative joint analyses of pooled datasets to generate robust evidence on the efficacy and safety of anthelminthic treatment regimens. A crucial component of this endeavour has been the development of a Research Agenda to promote engagement with the SCH and STH research and disease control communities by highlighting key questions that could be tackled using data shared through the IDDO platform. Here, we give a contextual overview of the priority research themes articulated in the Research Agenda—a ‘living’ document hosted on the IDDO website—and describe the three-stage consultation process behind its development. We also discuss the sustainability and future directions of the platform, emphasising throughout the power and promise of ethical and equitable sharing and reuse of clinical data to support the elimination of NTDs.".
• 01GT9HX2GBKPG7N6RDR28J0VCM abstract "The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) is the primary diagnostic tool used for detecting anthelmintic resistance at the farm level. It is therefore extremely important that the experimental design of a FECRT and the susceptibility classification of the result use standardised and statistically rigorous methods. Several different approaches for improving the analysis of FECRT data have been proposed, but little work has been published on how to address the issue of prospective sample size calculations. Here, we provide a complete and detailed overview of the quantitative issues relevant to a FECRT starting from basic statistical principles. We then present a new approach for determining sample size requirements for the FECRT that is built on a solid statistical framework, and provide a rigorous anthelminthic drug efficacy classification system for use with FECRT in livestock. Our approach uses two separate statistical tests, a one-sided inferiority test for resistance and a onesided non-inferiority test for susceptibility, and determines a classification of resistant, susceptible or inconclusive based on the combined result. Since this approach is based on two independent one-sided tests, we recommend that a 90 % CI be used in place of the historically used 95 % CI. This maintains the desired Type I error rate of 5 %, and simultaneously reduces the required sample size. We demonstrate the use of this framework to provide sample size calculations that are rooted in the well-understood concept of statistical power. Tailoring to specific host/parasite systems is possible using typical values for expected pre-treatment and posttreatment variability in egg counts as well as within-animal correlation in egg counts. We provide estimates for these parameters for ruminants, horses and swine based on a re-examination of datasets that were available to us from a combination of published data and other sources. An illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the use of the framework, and parameter estimates are presented to estimate the required sample size for a hypothetical FECRT using ivermectin in cattle. The sample size calculation method and classification framework presented here underpin the sample size recommendations provided in the upcoming FECRT WAAVP guidelines for detection of anthelmintic resistance in ruminants, horses, and swine, and have also been made freely available as open-source software via our website (https://www.fecrt.com).".
• 01GT9JC0SAK54JDCVR32FC5YD9 abstract "The present dissertation is concerned with the study of the intonational variation characterizing neighboring varieties of Italian spoken in Campania: in Naples, Salerno and Cilento. Literature on Italian intonation points to a high degree of inter-variety variability and the impossibility to geographically group them according to prosodic features. This thesis aims at addressing the issue by exploring the relationship between close varieties spoken within the same regional borders, namely local varieties of regional Campanian Italian. The choice of the area and the relative locales to be examined comes from a dialectological approach. Campania is characterized by a strong linguistic polymorphism as a result of the presence of different dialectal groups. The selected locales have as substratum “Campanian” (Naples and Salerno) and “Lucanian” (Cilento) dialects. Such dialects are separated in the area south of Salerno by a bundle of, mainly phonetic, isoglosses, running in the area south of Salerno. The study has the goal of identifying the nature and the degree of intra-regional variation and the role of played by the line of dialectal discontinuity in marking diatopic variation across local varieties of Italian. Results show that the three varieties widely share the phonological inventory, the phonological encoding of prosodic types and tonal contrasts under consideration. Main differences concern the phonetic implementation and the frequency of occurrence of tonal events. Such a picture allows to characterize Campania as a transitional area as far as local varieties of regional Italian are concerned, in which diatopic variation and intonational transition show continuity even at the height of the bundle of isoglosses identified for the relative substratum dialects.".
• 01GT9JEBQPFQ1YJBDD82JNMTSC abstract "Taenia hydatigena is a non-zoonotic worm that has dogs and wild canids as definitive hosts. Its presence induces cross reactions in certain diagnostic tests for porcine cysticercosis caused by T. solium, the occurrence of which has a considerable public health and economic impact. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), T. solium is considered endemic, however, the prevalence of T. hydatigena has not been estimated yet. The objective of the study was therefore to estimate the prevalence of T. hydatigena cysticercosis by serological and molecular diagnostic tools in pigs slaughtered in DR Congo. A total of 480 pigs slaughtered in 6 slaughter slabs in Kinshasa, DR Congo, were examined. The thoracal and abdominal cavity organs were inspected for cysts, which were analyzed using PCR-RFLP. Furthermore, 480 sera were collected, and analyzed for the presence of circu-lating Taenia spp. cysticercus antigens, using the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA. Upon inspection of the carcass, 41 cysts suspected to be metacestodes of Taenia spp. were collected, from the following viscera: spleen (24/41, 59%), liver (13/41, 32%), intestine (3/41, 7%) and lung (1/41, 2%). Molecular analyses revealed a T. hydatigena prevalence of 0.2% (95% CI: 0.0001-0.0116), based on a single lesion (1/480), taken from the spleen. Out of the 480 sera collected, the presence of circulating Taenia spp. cysticerci antigens was detected in 32 (6.7%; 95% CI: 4.5-11.2). The results of this study revealed that T. hydatigena is present in pigs sold in markets in the city of Kinshasa in DR Congo, albeit at a very low prevalence, thus the impact on the interpretation of the B158/B60 seems low in this setting. Detection of circulating antigens in porcine sera by Ag-ELISA, shows that pigs slaughtered in Kinshasa, DR Congo, were infected with viable cysticerci of Taenia spp. which in turn can infect humans.".
• 01GT9MFK551EFW5SBBEGBYG7V4 abstract "Absenteeism in the police: A systematic review There are indications that the Belgian police have higher absence rates compared to private sector organizations. To date, no thorough research has been conducted on the scope or nature of the absence rates within the Belgian police. In order to research this matter quantitatively, a foundation is eligible. Hence, current systematic review forms the essential starting point by identifying factors that can be linked to absenteeism in a police context, and more specifically in which manner they do. A predefined search strategy was used to select scientific studies with research data about absenteeism within a regular police context, collected after 2000, and published in a peer-reviewed journal in English, Dutch, or French. The article seeks to provide a founded overview of factors empirically linked to the phenomenon, critically assess the state-of-the-art, and highlight opportunities for further research regarding absenteeism in a police context.".
• 01GT9MGDWCVMDDYCVADH0P05TQ abstract "This is a study of the tools for describing language-in-context in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and specifically, the way in which dynamic time can be added to this description. Of central importance in this exploration are the concepts of stratification and instantiation and their interaction, and the way in which this interaction is 'achieved' metafunctionally and dynamically through the construction of relevant contexts spanning various time scales. The article proposes a new theorization of context in SFL, in which context is regarded as an interplay of different interfacing semiotic strata, and a meshing of multiple complementary and interacting processes of mediation which are at work at different scales of semogenesis.".
• 01GT9N34HHCWYT7T3WVVGFF9ZD abstract "Infections with the zoonotic liver flukes Fasciola gigantica and Fasciola hepatica may result in severe disease in humans. In Vietnam, an emergence of fascioliasis cases has been observed from the late 1990s onwards. Various diagnostic tools are used in the country, but the agreement between these tools has not been critically evaluated. We aimed to describe the clinical presentation and diagnostic outcomes in fascioliasis patients in Vietnam. A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on the medical records of a group of 145 patients diagnosed with fascioliasis at a tertiary referral hospital in Hanoi. Based on the review, sociodemographic background and clinical presentation were recorded. These patients all received standard routine serologic tests, including internal antibody (Ab)-ELISA, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and commercial coproantigen (cAg)-ELISA. The majority of cases were between 30 and 59 years old (68.3%), and about half of them were male (51.0%). Upper quadrant and epigastric pain were the most commonly reported symptoms (61.4% and 35.2%, respectively). All but one patient had liver lesions upon ultrasound examination (99.3%), and eosinophilia was present in most of the patients (89.7%). A high number of patients were positive in the in-house and the commercial Ab-ELISA (95.9% and 87.4%, respectively), yet only a slight agreement was observed between the two tests (kappa coefficient, 0.06). A further 47.4% of cases were positive for the commercial cAg-ELISA, whereas stool microscopy indicated the presence of Fasciola spp. eggs in 25.7% of patients. The current study emphasizes the challenges related to the diagnosis of human fascioliasis in Vietnam.".
• 01GT9PD0DTE866DMPR8GJZWG0Z abstract " Feature attribution maps are a popular approach to highlight the most important pixels in an image for a given prediction of a model. Despite a recent growth in popularity and available methods, little attention is given to the objective evaluation of such attribution maps. Building on previous work in this domain, we investigate existing metrics and propose new variants of metrics for the evaluation of attribution maps. We confirm a recent finding that different attribution metrics seem to measure different underlying concepts of attribution maps, and extend this finding to a larger selection of attribution metrics. We also find that metric results on one dataset do not necessarily generalize to other datasets, and methods with desirable theoretical properties such as DeepSHAP do not necessarily outperform computationally cheaper alternatives. Based on these findings, we propose a general benchmarking approach to identify the ideal feature attribution method for a given use case. Implementations of attribution metrics and our experiments are available online. ".
• 01GT9PDPME9GT11VN6NANJP7FM abstract " Because of their strong theoretical properties, Shapley values have become very popular as a way to explain predictions made by black box models. Unfortuately, most existing techniques to compute Shapley values are computationally very expensive. We propose PDD-SHAP, an algorithm that uses an ANOVA-based functional decomposition model to approximate the black-box model being explained. This allows us to calculate Shapley values orders of magnitude faster than existing methods for large datasets, significantly reducing the amortized cost of computing Shapley values when many predictions need to be explained. ".
• 01GT9SGSYQMCQZZVPD8MCWFJDR abstract "Just as matrix product states represent ground states of one-dimensional quantum spin systems faithfully, continuous matrix product states (cMPS) provide faithful representations of the vacuum of interacting field theories in one spatial dimension. Unlike the quantum spin case, however, for which the density matrix renormalization group and related matrix product state algorithms provide robust algorithms for optimizing the variational states, the optimization of cMPS for systems with inhomogeneous external potentials has been problematic. We resolve this problem by constructing a piecewise linear parameterization of the underlying matrix-valued functions, which enables the calculation of the exact reduced density matrices everywhere in the system by high-order Taylor expansions. This turns the variational cMPS problem into a variational algorithm from which both the energy and its backwards derivative can be calculated exactly and at a cost that scales as the cube of the bond dimension. We illustrate this by finding ground states of interacting bosons in external potentials and by calculating boundary or Casimir energy corrections of continuous many-body systems with open boundary conditions.".
• 01GT9SZZSNJ4VJ9ZX65HV6TWZ3 abstract "Archival copy of the Open Science survey datasets and processing code in the context of the ENLIGHT university alliance. ENLIGHT RISE collected data from its nine partner universities: Information on research data management (RDM) policies, support services and other activities was collected in November 2021. Information on Open Science (OS) activities, infrastructure and support, skills and knowledge, community activities, policy, recognition and rewards, and environment was collected from 11 December 2021 until 31 January 2022. The related report is available: Schmidt, B., Rettberg, N., Schatz, M., van Ittersum-Leegte, M., Schwamm, H., van Nieuwerburgh, I., Lembinen, L., Laučíková, R., Bennett, C., Lagvik, C., Sagaminaga, A., & Piñeiro Fernández, M. (2022). D7.1 ENLIGHT Open Science Status Quo & Opportunities (Version v0.3). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.7092120".
• 01GT9VHWEN76QY8CSSZ50CXQZX abstract "N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an organic solvent produced in large quantities worldwide. It is considered as a hazardous air pollutant and its emission should be controlled. However, only a limited number of studies have been performed on the removal of gaseous DMF by biological technologies. In this paper, we evaluate the removal of DMF under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions in a lab-scale biofilter for 472 days. The results show that, at ambient temperature, the biofilter achieved an average removal efficiency (RE) of 99.7 ± 0.3 % at Inlet Loads (ILs) up to 297 ± 52 g DFM m−3 h−1 (Empty Bed Residence Time (EBRTs) of 10.7 s). However, a decrease in EBRT (6.4 s) led to an unstable outlet concentration and, thus, to a drop in the biofilter performance (average RE: 90 ± 9 %). Moreover, an increase in temperature up to 65 °C led to a gradual decrease in RE (till 91 ± 7 %). Microbial analysis indicates that once the microorganisms encountered DMF, Rhizobiaceae dominated followed by Alcaligenaceae. Afterwards, a strong decrease in Rhizobiaceae was observed at every increase in temperature, and at 65 °C, the taxa were more heterogeneous. Overall, our experimental results indicate that biofiltration is a promising technique to remove DMF from waste gas streams.".
• 01GT9VQJD252DH4YNH7XKZKKWJ abstract "The biological removal of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is limited by their low water solu-bility and, therefore, low bioavailability. The addition of surfactants is a promising strategy, but to gain un-derstanding and broaden its applicability, its effect on the solubility of hydrophobic VOCs should be investigated. This study evaluates the effect of 2 synthetic surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Tween 80) and 3 biological surfactants (surfactin, rhamnolipid and saponin) on the gas-to-liquid equilibrium partitioning coeffi-cient (KGL) of 7 hydrophobic VOCs at different critical micelle concentrations (CMC). For all VOCs, a decrease in their KGL was observed when a (bio)surfactant was added at 1 and 3 CMC. The highest decrease in KGL (71 - 96 %) was observed for all compounds when SDS was added at 3 CMC, whereas the smallest effect was noticed when Tween 80 or surfactin (5.1 - 75 %) were added at both concentrations. The results are explained in terms of the (bio)surfactant and VOC physical-chemical properties (e.g. CMC and polarity). This is the first study evaluating the effect of biological surfactants on KGL. These fundamental data are essential to improve the design and modeling of air treatment systems using (bio)surfactants.".
• 01GTA03V5WM0H07B2T6SXR3Y4K abstract "In articulating the uses of their art, late-medieval astrologers often invoked the maxim that "the wise man will rule the stars" (sapiens dominabitur astris). However, it is by no means clear whether this invocation sought to emphasize `domination' over the natu-ral and social world, or the ontological self-government that is at stake in the pursuit of `wisdom. Many historians have interpreted the past pursuit of astrology in terms of an interest in dominance over the natural and social world. Taking inspiration from a recent `ascetic turn' in the history of early modern science and philosophy, however, this article argues that late-medieval astrology was approached and appreciated as an art of self-government (both in body and in soul) and uncovers what this entailed. In so doing, we also demonstrate that the undifferentiated view of astrology as a pre-modern counterpart of modern prospective knowledge practices is anachronistic.".
• 01GTBHA36ENF1K9XHJF9YM62FZ abstract "Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) includes the analysis of human metabolic biomarkers of xenobiotics in influent wastewater. WBE complements existing drug utilization approaches and provides objective, spatio-temporal information on the consumption of pharmaceuticals in the general population. This approach was applied to 24-h composite influent wastewater samples from Leuven, Belgium. Daily samples were analysed from September 2019 to December 2019 (n = 76), and on three days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday) from January 2020 to April 2022 (n = 367). Sample analysis consisted of 96-well solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. Measured concentrations of 21 biomarkers for antidepressant and opioid use were converted to population-normalized mass loads (PNML) by considering the flow rate and catchment population. To capture population movements, mobile phone data was used. Amitriptyline, hydroxy-bupropion, norcitalopram, citalopram, normirtazapine, trazodone, O-desmethylvenlafaxine, codeine, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP), methadone, morphine, O-desmethyltramadol, and tramadol were included in the temporal assessment since concentrations were above the lower limit of quantification. The PNML of most biomarkers increased (with 3–119 %) throughout the sampling period. The population disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a major change in the socio-demographics of the catchment area, resulting in temporal differences in the PNML of the different biomarkers. As such, higher PNML were observed during the different lockdown phases, which were characterized by the outflow of university students and a decreasing commuting in and out the catchment area. The effects of the fluctuating socio-demographics of the catchment population were further evidenced by the different week-weekend pattern of PNMLs over the course of the sampling campaign. Mean parent/metabolite ratios (i.e., citalopram/norcitalopram, tramadol/O-desmethyltramadol, venlafaxine/O-desmethylvenlafaxine, and methadone/EDDP) remained relatively stable throughout the entire sampling campaign (RSD% below 25 % for all ratios, except for methadone/EDDP) and therefore were not affected by this population change.".
• 01GTBHYZ43T5849D5WX2KK2K0T abstract "Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol glucoside (DCG) is a phenylpropanoid-derived plant metabolite with reported cytokinin-substituting and cell-division-promoting activity. Despite its claimed activity, DCG did not trigger morphological changes in Arabidopsis seedlings nor did it alter transcriptional shifts in cell division and cytokinin-responsive genes. In reinvestigating the bioactivity of DCG in its original setting, the previously described stimulation of tobacco callus formation could not be confirmed. No evidence was found that DCG is actually taken up by plant cells, which could explain the absence of any observable activity in the performed experiments. The DCG content in plant tissue increased when feeding explants with the DCG aglycone dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, which is readily taken up and converted to DCG by plant cells. Despite the increased DCG content, no activity for this metabolite could be demonstrated. Our results therefore demand a reevaluation of the often-quoted cytokinin-substituting and cell-division-promoting activity that has previously been attributed to this metabolite.".
• 01GTBKG0KH6BNEBM4XVVFJXHCK abstract "The novelty of this project is to describe how chronic diabetes altered the haematological and uterine indicators in a time dependent-manner that were reversed by camel milk (CM) therapy in pregnant and nonpregnant rat models. Fifty-four female rats were divided into three groups: Placebo (N), diabetic control (DC) and diabetic treated (DT) with CM at 40 ml/kg/24 h for 90 days. A single intact male was introduced into every group for mating at day 60 of the experiment. The sample collection was undertaken at day 30 and 60 of the nonpregnant rats and at day 90 immediately after parturition for the pregnant rats. At every collection, the dam’s blood, as well as the uteri and neonatal kidneys were collected and subjected to a paraffin tissue preparation technique for a histological evaluation. The data revealed that at day 30, the uterine endo- and myometrium remained unaffected by diabetes, but at day 60, a significant reduction in the uterine indicators from diabetes was observed. However, the CM restored the uterine histology in the DT. At 90 day, chronic diabetes showed (P < 0.05) a harmful effect on the pregnant uterus which was reversed (P < 0.05) by the CM. The RBC (red blood cell) indices, platelets, and leucocyte counts were severely affected by the diabetes and protected by the CM at every point of collection. The kidney tissues of the neonate rats, delivered by the dams, in the DC presented a significant (P < 0.05) shrinkage in the cortex and glomeruli while the CM potentially reversed these changes. These results will help to understand the chronic diabetes effects on the uterus and neonate’s renal genesis, and the role of camel milk in the management of chronic pre-gestational diabetes".
• 01GTBNMWFSAPBGCTD45HE8XXKG abstract "Organosilica sol–gel synthesis is an important chemical process to deliver advanced functional network materials with applications such as wound dressings, solar cells and membranes. The chemical kinetics are although poorly understood, due to a lack of Arrhenius parameters and a focus on kinetic data mainly recorded at 298 K. The present work overcomes these shortcomings by reporting Arrhenius parameters for the most important reactions (hydrolysis and condensation), selecting tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) crosslinking with hydrochloric acid (HCl) as reference case. A dedicated 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) protocol applicable at any process temperature, with better relaxation delay optimization, peak identification, and an automated correction for further reaction during analysis at 298 K, is put forward. NMR is the analysis technique of choice to quantitatively follow the reactions in time due to its high specificity. This novel NMR-based protocol enables a more reliable quantification of the contribution of species that have been crosslinked i times (Q1-Q4). The tuned Arrhenius parameters, employing coupled matrixbased Monte Carlo simulations, can describe the isothermal kinetics for temperatures ranging from 298 to 328 K well. Moreover, these Arrhenius parameters are used to better understand the non-isothermal kinetics as utilized to synthesize sol/gel-like precursor solutions for applications including membrane production. Successful model validation under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions is demonstrated, unlocking the door to a better understanding of orthosilicate crosslinking kinetics and associated material properties.".
• 01GTBNZWVVNW986KVN5KT782DC abstract "This longitudinal study investigated Flemish learners' development of L2 English. The participants in this study are a subgroup of the participants in the project 'False Beginners'.".
• 01GTBQGAEYDHD00E7FQ6FYDH1R abstract "Plastic recycling rate in Europe is low, urging developments in recycling technology and strategies to increase circularity. Mechanical recycling (MR) has been the reference recycling technology for years, but in the near future chemical recycling (CR) options are expected to contribute to improve plastic circularity. This study uses a material flow analysis (MFA) at European level to provide quantitative estimates of the contribution of CR technologies to plastic recycling. Ten most used polymer types from five sectors are selected. A status quo 2018 scenario is modelled and compared to five potential future scenarios (in 2030) of plastic waste treatment, including one that only looks at improved waste collection, sorting, and MR technologies and four exploring developments of CR options. The so-called ‘missing plastics’, i.e., plastic waste generated but currently not accounted for in statistics, is considered in one of the future scenarios. The MFA results are compared by calculating four circularity indicators namely end-of-life recycling rate (EoL-RR), plastic-to-plastic rate, plasticto-chemicals rate, and plastic-to-fuels rate. The results indicate that in the most optimistic scenario the EoL-RR in 2030 is 73–80% (sum of plastic-to-plastic and plastic-to-chemical rates, excluding plastic-to-fuel rate), in which 41–46% is plastic-to-plastic from MR, 15–38% is plastic-to-plastic from CR and 19–35% is plastic-to-chemicals. The highest achievable plastic-to-plastic rate is estimated to be 61% (46% from MR and 15% from CR). In all future scenarios, the plastic-to-fuel rate is estimated to be 3–6%. The MFA results are also used to estimate potential recycled content availability in 2030, which suggest that closed-loop recycling and processing the ‘missing plastics’ will be necessary to achieve the targets.".
• 01GTBQP81C96V9MJ2PQMDT0NAT abstract "The brassinosteroid (BR) hormone and its plasma membrane receptor BR INSENSITIVE1 (BRI1) is one of the best-studied receptor-ligand pairs for understanding the interplay between receptor endocytosis and signaling in plants. BR signaling is mainly determined by the plasma membrane pool of BRI1, whereas BRI1 endocytosis ensures signal attenuation. Since BRs are ubiquitously distributed in the plant, the tools available to study BRI1 function without interference from endogenous BRs are limited. Here, we designed a BR-binding-deficient Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutant based on protein sequence-structure analysis and homology modeling of members of BRI1 family. This tool allowed us to re-examine the BRI1 endocytosis and signal attenuation model. We showed that despite impaired phosphorylation and ubiquitination, BR-binding-deficient BRI1 internalizes similarly to the wild-type form. Our data indicate that BRI1 internalization relies on different endocytic machinery. In addition, the BR-binding-deficient mutant provides opportunities to study non-canonical ligand-independent BRI1 functions.".
• 01GTBSB2ACNZ6NPBF3QM9YACVR abstract "Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a molecule generated by plant cells during vital processes such as photosynthesis and photorespiration. This molecule is required for plant development and growth, as well as for coordinating appropriate responses to survive in a changing climate. Much attention has been dedicated to studying the functions of H2O2 in plant abiotic and biotic stress responses, mainly because of its role as a signal and its close interaction with phytohormones and redox-dependent signaling pathways. Like other reactive oxygen species (ROS), H2O2 has a higher energy state than oxygen which facilitate its interactions with cellular components, these include metabolites that are required to control the levels of H2O2 such as ascorbate and glutathione. The functions of H2O2 depend on its intracellular concentrations and these are regulated, among other factors, by enzymes that metabolize H2O2 to water and oxygen such as catalases and ascorbate peroxidases. H2O2 triggers signaling via oxidizing Methionine and Cysteine residues on different proteins, some acting as sensors that help to amplify and transduce H2O2 signals. In this Chapter, I provide a comprehensive overview of cellular components that are involved in H2O2 generation and processing. I also discuss the different ways by which H2O2 can act as a signal and summarize recent discoveries of H2O2 sensors and receptors that link H2O2 to other signal transduction pathways.".
• 01GTBSBBH4118TFH8EE6W9Q3W6 abstract "The nonlinear behaviour of fibre-reinforced polymer composites (FRPC) in transverse loading is mainly induced by the constituent polymer matrix. The thermoset and thermoplastic matrices are typically rate and temperature-dependent, complicating the dynamic material characterization process. Under dynamic compression, the microstructure of the FRPC develops local strains and local strain rates whose values can be much higher than those applied at macroscopic level. The correlation between the local (microscopic) values and the measurable (macroscopic) ones still presents challenges when applying the strain rate in the range 0.001-1000 /s. This paper presents an in-house uniaxial compression testing bench to provide robust stress-strain measurements applying strain rates up to 100 /s. A semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and a toughened thermoset epoxy PR520 are assessed and characterized. The thermomechanical response of the polymers is further modelled using an advanced glassy polymer model, naturally capturing the isothermal to adiabatic transition. A micromechanical model of a unidirectional composite undergoing dynamic compression is developed by using both validated polymers as matrices reinforced by carbon fibres (CF) using Representative Volume Element (RVE) models. These RVEs are used to analyse the correlation between the micro- and macroscopic thermomechanical response of the CF/PR520 and CF/PEEK systems investigated at intermediate to high strain rates. Both systems experience an excessive strain localization with local plastic strain about 19% when a macroscopic strain of 3.5% is applied. The comparison of using a thermoplastic and a thermoset as matrix in composites is discussed with regard to the rate-dependence, interface debonding and self-heating effect".
• 01GTBSGJ5T3ATW3PR24QP8JNRH abstract "Antimicrobial use in pig farming is influenced by a range of risk factors, including herd characteristics, biosecurity level, farm performance, occurrence of clinical signs and vaccination scheme, as well as farmers' attitudes and habits towards antimicrobial use. So far, the effect of these risk factors has been explored separately. Using an innovative method called multi-block partial least-squares regression, this study aimed to investigate, in a sample of 207 farrow-to-finish farms from Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, the relative importance of the six above mentioned categories or 'blocks' of risk factors for antimicrobial use in pig production, Four country separate models were developed; they showed that all six blocks provided useful contribution to explaining antimicrobial use in at least one country. The occurrence of clinical signs, especially of respiratory and nervous diseases in fatteners, was one of the largest contributing blocks in all four countries, whereas the effect of the other Mocks differed between countries. In terms of risk management, it suggests that a holistic and country-specific mitigation strategy is likely to he more effective. However, further research is needed to validate our findings in larger and more representative samples, as well as in other countries.".
• 01GTBSJZ7HM0DJBBV67WA5PQ03 abstract "Recent advances in genome editing have enormously enhanced the effort to develop biotechnology crops for more sustainable food production. CRISPR/Cas, the most versatile genome-editing tool, has shown the potential to create genome modifications that go from gene knockout and gene expression pattern modulations to allele-specific changes in order to design superior genotypes harboring multiple improved agronomic traits. However, a frequent bottleneck is the delivery of CRISPR/Cas to crops that are less amenable to transformation and regeneration. Several technologies have recently been proposed to overcome transformation recalcitrance, including HI-Edit/IMGE and ectopic/transient expression of genes encoding morphogenic regulators. These technologies allow the eroding of the barriers that make crops inaccessible for genome editing. In this review, we discuss the advances in genome editing in crops with a particular focus on the use of technologies to improve complex traits such as water use efficiency, drought stress, and yield in maize.".
• 01GTC15ZCEX38ZDXE3JNFWNYDP abstract "Sterilization (partial or full) is one of the most fundamental tools for studying the ecological roles of soil biota and notably soil fauna, but there is a lack of knowledge on how these techniques affect other soil- inhabiting micro-organisms (non-target), and on their recovery after sterilization. We investigated the effect of a partial soil sterilization with gamma (γ) irradiation (target dose of 6 kGy, proven to selectively remove the entire nematode community and higher soil fauna) on the soil microbial community and its recovery in a microcosm experiment during 12 weeks. We specifically studied the effects, following partial sterilization, of recovery time (4 sampling events after 1, 4, 8 and 12 weeks) on the microbial activity (activities of dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase, and nitrification), microbial biomass and microbial community composition (using PLFA analysis), in two soils of contrasting texture (silt loam and loamy sand). We also studied whether inoculation of finely sieved and homogenized soil powder (SP) from these same soils (containing prokaryotes, fungi and protists, but no metazoan organisms) would stimulate the microbial recovery process. Dehydrogenase activity was strongly reduced by γ-irradiation in the silt loam (and SP did not stimulate its recovery) but not in the loamy sand, whereas there was no effect of γ-irradiation on β-glucosidase activity in either soil. Nitrification was strongly affected in the loamy sand and did not yet recover by the end of the incubation (week12), but the SP inoculation brought nitrification to the level of the unirradiated control by week4. Surprisingly, nitrification rate was not affected by γ-irradiation in the silt loam. The factors “recovery time”, “irradiation” and “SP inoculation” affected the microbial community composition (based on PLFA), but the direction of these changes did not seem to follow a clear pattern. These results urge to carefully consider the re-establishment of microbial activity in studies on the roles of microand mesofauna following selective sterilization, even after several months. Also, SP inoculation can be a useful way to stimulate the recovery of the nitrification process, which would be crucial in studies of the role of soil fauna in N dynamics.".
• 01GTC28ZBJBAQNXJ90T52VKEV3 abstract " Informed consent (IC) is the process of communication between research staff and potential research participants. However, ensuring that participants clearly understand what research participation entails, raises significant challenges. The aim of this study is to provide insight into some communication barriers that research staff are confronted with and make practical recommendations to improve communication between research staff and participants. A qualitative research study using semi-structured interviews ( n = 13) with research staff from Ghent University Hospital was conducted. Data were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically. Our results indicate that communication- and process-related factors affect the IC process. Emergent recommendations include communication training, more interactive information materials and the use of digital alternatives, increasing general knowledge about research participation and patient- and public involvement. ".
• 01GTC2SFJ63JH9NYK6D9WFHN98 abstract "Full edition for scientific use. The EOSC-Pillar ”National Initiatives” Survey is a cross-section study in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. The survey aims at landscaping national initiatives of open research data and services with relevance to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Four target groups are part of the study: e-infrastructures, research infrastructures, universities and funding bodies. The survey contains questions on the perception of EOSC as well as detailed questions assessing e.g. the e-infrastructures’ business models, technical characteristics, access conditions, FAIRness of the data holdings and adopted policies related to open science.".
• 01GTC3H69RDWNSCT2CDYD9F62B abstract "Full edition for scientific use. The survey aimed at understanding researchers' data reuse behavior and was carried out at selected universities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. The survey encompasses researchers' views on 1) the importance of different kinds of data reuse and reuse, 2) the importance of different tools for finding data, and the main aspects influencing whether a researcher reuses data or not, 3) whether reuse is encouraged, and 4) perspectives on different aspects of reusability. The survey also asks how important different services are, how available they are, the relevance of international collaboration and factors that influence data sharing along with potential services that might help with research.".
• 01GTC3TDRAWS7C0QWCRTVKAY21 abstract "Background: The Biopsychosocial (BPS) model is recognized and widely accepted in the field of health care, particularly in rehabilitation. However, in clinical practice the applicability of the BPS model is a challenge for many professionals. Method: This study aimed to explore the factors that impact the perception of rehabilitation professionals about the BPS model in Ukraine. In addition, the job satisfaction assessment was done to measure whether rehabilitation specialists in Ukraine fulfil their professional roles according to their expectations and values. Participants were 346 rehabilitation specialists from Ukraine who completed the Bio-Psycho-Social Scale (BPS) for Use in Healthcare and the Global Job Satisfaction Scale (GJSS). The ANOVA was used to investigate the outcome differences between the two scales. Results: The highest proportion of responders in this study represented state health services. The BPS subscale outcomes on "assessment and reporting " and "professional knowledge and skills " were significantly higher for specialists from a private sector. The global job satisfaction scale outcomes did not differ between responders from the private and state health sector. The perception of professionals networks was associated with greater job satisfaction. Conclusions: The findings suggest that conception of the BPS approach in rehabilitation system of Ukraine varies across the private and state settings. The professional network plays important role in job satisfaction of rehabilitation professionals in Ukraine. Future research focusing on education strategies to effectively train professionals to apply biopsychosocial approach to practice is of critical importance to prepare rehabilitation specialists in Ukraine. ".
• 01GTC488684QF6AVCKDY5QH08H abstract "EOSC-Pillar invited 2,204 organisations (funding bodies, universities, research infrastructures, and e-infrastructures) in five countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy) to participate in the ‘National Initiatives’ Survey. 688 representatives (31%) responded to the survey and answered various questions on business models, sustainability, users, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), access to data and services, FAIRness of data, data management in repositories, regulations on open science and open data as well as on perceptions of EOSC. This document contains the main results in terms of frequency analysis.".
• 01GTC4R9CGVS28QHKXMD4E4KPE abstract "Introduction: Confronted with the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance, the development of alternative strategies to limit the use of antibiotics or potentiate their effect through synergy with the immune system is urgently needed. Many natural or synthetic biological response modifiers have been investigated in this context. Among them, beta-glucans, a type of soluble or insoluble polysaccharide composed of a linear or branched string of glucose molecules produced by various cereals, bacteria, algae, and inferior (yeast) and superior fungi (mushrooms) have garnered interest in the scientific community, with not less than 10,000 publications over the last two decades. Various biological activities of beta-glucans have been reported, such as anticancer, antidiabetic and immune-modulating effects. In vitro, yeast beta-glucans are known to markedly increase cytokine secretion of monocytes/macrophages during a secondary challenge, a phenomenon called immune training.".
• 01GTC5BE4D3E0QM8AFKGG9ATB5 abstract "Background Elexacaftor-tezacaftor-ivacaftor has been shown to be safe and efficacious in people with cystic fibrosis and at least one F508del allele. Our aim was to identify a novel cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator combination capable of further increasing CFTR-mediated chloride transport, with the potential for once-daily dosing. Methods We conducted two phase 2 clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of a once-daily combination of vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor in participants with cystic fibrosis who were aged 18 years or older. A phase 2 randomised, double-blind, active-controlled study (VX18-561-101; April 17, 2019, to Aug 20, 2020) was carried out to compare deutivacaftor monotherapy with ivacaftor monotherapy in participants with CFTR gating mutations, following a 4-week ivacaftor monotherapy run-in period. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either ivacaftor 150 mg every 12 h, deutivacaftor 25 mg once daily, deutivacaftor 50 mg once daily, deutivacaftor 150 mg once daily, or deutivacaftor 250 mg once daily in a 1:1:2:2:2 ratio. The primary endpoint was absolute change in ppFEV1 from baseline at week 12. A phase 2 randomised, double-blind, controlled, proof-of-concept study of vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor (VX18-121-101; April 30, 2019, to Dec 10, 2019) was conducted in participants with cystic fibrosis and heterozygous for F508del and a minimal function mutation (F/MF genotypes) or homozygous for F508del(F/F genotype). Participants with F/MF genotypes were randomly assigned 1:2:2:1 to receive either 5 mg, 10 mg, or 20 mg of vanzacaftor in combination with tezacaftor-deutivacaftor or a triple placebo for 4 weeks, and participants with the F/F genotype were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive either vanzacaftor (20 mg)-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor or tezacaftor-ivacaftor active control for 4 weeks, following a 4-week tezacaftor-ivacaftor run-in period. Primary endpoints for part 1 and part 2 were safety and tolerability and absolute change in ppFEV1 from baseline to day 29. Secondary efficacy endpoints were absolute change from baseline at day 29 in sweat chloride concentrations and Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised (CFQ-R) respiratory domain score. These clinical trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03911713 and NCT03912233, and are complete. Findings In study VX18-561-101, participants treated with deutivacaftor 150 mg once daily (n=23) or deutivacaftor 250 mg once daily (n=24) had mean absolute changes in ppFEV1 of 3 & BULL;1 percentage points (95% CI -0 & BULL;8 to 7 & BULL;0) and 2 & BULL;7 percentage points (-1 & BULL;0 to 6 & BULL;5) from baseline at week 12, respectively, versus -0 & BULL;8 percentage points (-6 & BULL;2 to 4 & BULL;7) with ivacaftor 150 mg every 12 h (n=11); the deutivacaftor safety profile was consistent with the established safety profile of ivacaftor 150 mg every 12 h. In study VX18-121-101, participants with F/MF genotypes treated with vanzacaftor (5 mg)-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor (n=9), vanzacaftor (10 mg)-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor (n=19), vanzacaftor (20 mg)-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor (n=20), and placebo (n=10) had mean changes relative to baseline at day 29 in ppFEV1 of 4 & BULL;6 percentage points (-1 & BULL;3 to 10 & BULL;6), 14 & BULL;2 percentage points (10 & BULL;0 to 18 & BULL;4), 9 & BULL;8 percentage points (5 & BULL;7 to 13 & BULL;8), and 1 & BULL;9 percentage points (-4 & BULL;1 to 8 & BULL;0), respectively, in sweat chloride concentration of -42 & BULL;8 mmol/L (-51 & BULL;7 to -34 & BULL;0), -45 & BULL;8 mmol/L (95% CI -51 & BULL;9 to -39 & BULL;7), -49 & BULL;5 mmol/L (-55 & BULL;9 to -43 & BULL;1), and 2 & BULL;3 mmol/L (-7 & BULL;0 to 11 & BULL;6), respectively, and in CFQ-R respiratory domain score of 17 & BULL;6 points (3 & BULL;5 to 31 & BULL;6), 21 & BULL;2 points (11 & BULL;9 to 30 & BULL;6), 29 & BULL;8 points (21 & BULL;0 to 38 & BULL;7), and 3 & BULL;3 points (-10 & BULL;1 to 16 & BULL;6), respectively. Participants with the F/F genotype treated with vanzacaftor (20 mg)-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor (n=18) and tezacaftor-ivacaftor (n=10) had mean changes relative to baseline (taking tezacaftor-ivacaftor) at day 29 in ppFEV1 of 15 & BULL;9 percentage points (11 & BULL;3 to 20 & BULL;6) and -0 & BULL;1 percentage points (-6 & BULL;4 to 6 & BULL;1), respectively, in sweat chloride concentration of -45 & BULL;5 mmol/L (-49 & BULL;7 to -41 & BULL;3) and -2 & BULL;6 mmol/L (-8 & BULL;2 to 3 & BULL;1), respectively, and in CFQ-R respiratory domain score of 19 & BULL;4 points (95% CI 10 & BULL;5 to 28 & BULL;3) and -5 & BULL;0 points (-16 & BULL;9 to 7 & BULL;0), respectively. The most common adverse events overall were cough, increased sputum, and headache. One participant in the vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor group had a serious adverse event of infective pulmonary exacerbation and another participant had a serious rash event that led to treatment discontinuation. For most participants, adverse events were mild or moderate in severity.Interpretation Once-daily dosing with vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor was safe and well tolerated and improved lung function, respiratory symptoms, and CFTR function. These results support the continued investigation of vanzacaftor-tezacaftor-deutivacaftor in phase 3 clinical trials compared with elexacaftor-tezacaftor- ivacaftor.".
• 01GTC7X82B21T1PSHMD89D5GHC abstract "Recent decades have seen regional integration agreements (RIAs) become a dominant feature of international relations. The rapid proliferation of agreements has sparked the need to compile information on the phenomenon. In answer to this call, several projects started gathering data on trade agreements and regional organisations and have become widely used in regional integration studies. Despite these efforts to collect data, some challenges remain. One issue is that no single database offers an exhaustive picture of the current world trading scene owing to limitations in data collection and coding methods. Additionally, when the data sets overlap, they are often inconsistencies and sometimes they provide conflicting information, leading to biased analyses. This paper provides an overview of the five most prominent databases on RIAs. We show how these databases can be combined to create a more comprehensive repository of trade agreements and regional organisations. The final database contains 1,149 trade agreements and regional organisations spanning from the early 1910s to 2020. The database contains information on treaty characteristics, including the year of signature, entry into force, or inactivity of an agreement. We also provide categorisations of the type and region of RIAs. Moreover, we track country membership over time, following late accessions or early withdrawals to RIAs. We provide this detailed country membership data in a both panel and dyadic formats, adjusted for the year of entry into force when available. By linking each treaty to a parent RIA, we can easily study how the content of agreements evolves over time.".
• 01GTCA47ERSWDHESHRBN6KV22N abstract "Studies suggest that popular music genres are increasingly discussed by cultural intermediaries in 'legitimate' or 'highbrow' terms, rather than merely 'lowbrow' commercial entertainment. In addition, popular music discourse as produced by such intermediaries has historically been decidedly masculine-a trait which tends to increase on par with legitimation. However, seeing that women are gradually gaining symbolic and numerical representation in popular music production, this may have been changing over the last decade(s). In this article, we assess how popular music discourse within a key music media outlet (Pitchfork) changed between 1999 and 2021. We use word embedding models-a novel technique in computational social science-to assess legitimacy and gender in the discourses used in 23,992 reviews, and how this varies between genres. We find four notable patterns. First, reviews increasingly use a discourse that legitimates popular music, while, second, also increasingly using more feminine terms. This does not, third, occur simultaneously; however, discourse is either legitimate or feminine. Finally, these patterns also differ based on which popular music genres are discussed. The overall pattern is consistently found in pop, electronic and experimental, but not in historically masculine genres rap/hip-hop, metal and jazz which seem rather resistant to discursive change.".
• 01GTCA47F5HN0J05N93SB08ZE3 abstract "Background: There is an increasing need to organize the care around the patient and not the disease, while considering the complex realities of multiple physical and psycho social conditions, and polypharmacy. Integrated patient-centered care delivery platforms have been developed for both patients and clinicians. These platforms could provide a promising way to achieve a collaborative environment that improves the provision of integrated care for patients via enhanced information and communication technology solutions for semiautomated clinical decision support. Objective: The Collaborative Care and Cure Cloud project (C3-Cloud) has developed 2 collaborative computer platforms for patients and members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and deployed these in 3 different European settings. The objective of this study is to pilot test the platforms and evaluate their impact on patients with 2 or more chronic conditions (diabetes mellitus type 2, heart failure, kidney failure, depression), their informal caregivers, health care professionals, and, to some extent, health care systems. Methods: This paper describes the protocol for conducting an evaluation of user experience, acceptability, and usefulness of the platforms. For this, 2 "testing and evaluation" phases have been defined, involving multiple qualitative methods (focus groups and surveys) and advanced impact modeling (predictive modeling and cost-benefit analysis). Patients and health care professionals were identified and recruited from 3 partnering regions in Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom via electronic health record screening. Results: The technology trial in this 4-year funded project (2016-2020) concluded in April 2020. The pilot technology trial for evaluation phases 3 and 4 was launched in November 2019 and carried out until April 2020. Data collection for these phases is completed with promising results on platform acceptance and socioeconomic impact. We believe that the phased, iterative approach taken is useful as it involves relevant stakeholders at crucial stages in the platform development and allows for a sound user acceptance assessment of the final product. Conclusions: Patients with multiple chronic conditions often experience shortcomings in the care they receive. It is hoped that personalized care plan platforms for patients and collaboration platforms for members of MDTs can help tackle the specific challenges of clinical guideline reconciliation for patients with multimorbidity and improve the management of polypharmacy. The initial evaluative phases have indicated promising results of platform usability. Results of phases 3 and 4 were methodologically useful, yet limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.".
• 01GTCDE16RHGJDR363K7YYC3DH abstract "Owing to ever-increasing complexity of engineering structures, developing a methodology for the early detection of defects has become crucial to ensure their long-term safety and reliability with the least amount of expense. There are always discrepancies between experimental and numerical modal data because of unknown structural parameters and uncertainties. The finite element (FE) model updating techniques attempt to minimize the dif-ferences by adjusting the unknown parameters of the FE model. Therefore, the FE model updating methods are essential for developing a baseline model and accurate damage identifications in subsequent steps. This paper employs the semi-rigidly connected frame element (S-RCFE) instead of the standard Euler-Bernoulli beam element for assembling the FE model of the experimental beam and establishing a high-fidelity numerical model. The S-RCFE with extra design parameters, including the end fixity factor of all connections, enables us to achieve a reasonable agreement between experimental and numerical models through the optimization-based procedure. In FE model updating step, two objective functions based on modified total modal assurance criterion (MTMAC) and changes in natural frequencies are used to minimize by three optimization algorithms, viz, grey wolf opti-mizer (GWO), gradient-based optimization (GBO), and an improved version of GWO (IGWO). The influence of the S-RCFE and standard Euler-Bernoulli beam on the model updating accuracy is also examined, and the effi-ciency of S-RCFE is evaluated. The statistical results reveal that GWO-MTMAC and IGWO-MTMAC can be suc-cessfully implemented for FE model updating with almost the same performance. However, IGWO provides the most reliable results with a relatively extensive computation time for damage identification in all scenarios. In some damage scenarios, the GWO and GBO perform comparably with very similar running time. Data used in this article can be found at https://github.com/Samir-Khatir/Data-modal-analysis-of-healthy-and-cracked-beam.git".
• 01GTCE21C8MJBQWZT56GRQ2B3T abstract "PurposeInvestigating the use of the EORTC bladder cancer (BC) modules by evaluating: (a) study contexts/designs; (b) languages/countries in which the modules were administered; (c) their acceptance by patients/investigators; and (d) their psychometric properties.MethodsA systematic review was performed with studies from 1998 until 20/10/2021 in five databases. Articles/conference abstracts using the EORTC-QLQBLM30 (muscle invasive BC) and the EORTC-QLQNMIBC24 (previously referred to as QLQ-BLS24; non-muscle invasive BC) were included. Two authors independently screened titles/abstracts/full-texts and performed data extraction.ResultsA total of 76 eligible studies were identified. Most studies included the BLM30 (n = 53), were in a urological surgery context (n = 41) and were cross-sectional (n = 35) or prospective (n = 30) in design. The BC modules were administered in 14 languages across 19 countries. Missing data were low-moderate for all non-sex related questions (< 1% to 15%). Sex-related questions had higher rates of missing data (ranging from 6.9% to 84%). Most investigators did not use all scales of the questionnaires. One validation study for the original BLS24 led to the development of the NMIBC24, which adopted a new scale structure for which good structural validity was confirmed (n = 3). Good reliability and validity was shown for the NMIBC24 module, except for malaise and bloating/flatulence scales. Psychometric evidence for BLM30 is lacking.ConclusionThese results provide insight into how the EORTC BC quality of life modules could be further improved. Current work is ongoing to update the modules and to determine if the two modules can be combined into a single questionnaire that works well in both the NMIBC and MIBC settings.".
• 01GTCEDQTTYD5KDXAGD21T0B5M abstract "Purpose Evidence supports the role of prescribed exercise for cancer survivors, yet few are advised to exercise by a healthcare practitioner (HCP). We sought to investigate the gap between HCPs' knowledge and practice from an international perspective. Methods An online questionnaire was administered to HCPs working in cancer care between February 2020 and February 2021. The questionnaire assessed knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding exercise counselling and referral of cancer survivors to exercise programs. Results The questionnaire was completed by 375 participants classified as medical practitioners (42%), nurses (28%), exercise specialists (14%), and non-exercise allied health practitioners (16%). Between 35 and 50% of participants self-reported poor knowledge of when, how, and which cancer survivors to refer to exercise programs or professionals, and how to counsel based on exercise guidelines. Commonly reported barriers to exercise counselling were safety concerns, time constraints, cancer survivors being told to rest by friends and family, and not knowing how to screen people for suitability to exercise (40-48%). Multivariable logistic regression models including age, gender, practitioner group, leisure-time physical activity, and recall of guidelines found significant effects for providing specific exercise advice (chi(2)(7) = 117.31, p < .001), discussing the role of exercise in symptom management (chi(2)(7) = 65.13, p < .001) and cancer outcomes (chi(2)(7) = 58.69, p < .001), and referring cancer survivors to an exercise program or specialist (chi(2)(7) = 72.76, p < .001). Conclusion Additional education and practical support are needed to equip HCPs to provide cancer survivors with exercise guidelines, resources, and referrals to exercise specialists.".
• 01GTCEJF3SWQ498H1YS4H6HT6Z abstract "Aim: To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the well-being of cancer staff and determine the uptake of opt-in mitigation strategies. Materials & methods: Staff at Guy's Cancer Centre (London, UK) participated in an anonymized survey between May and August 2021. Results: Of 1182 staff, 257 (21.7%) participated. Ethnicity (p = 0.020) and comorbidity burden (p = 0.022) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection status. Of 199 respondents, seven (3.6%) were vaccine-hesitant, which was associated with low flu vaccine uptake (p < 0.001). Greater stress was associated with younger age (p = 0.030) and redeployment (p = 0.012). Lack of time and skepticism were barriers to using mental well-being resources. Conclusion: Albeit cautious, numerous trends the authors observed echo those in the published literature. Improved accessibility, awareness and utility of mental well-being resources are required. Plain language summary: COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The pandemic has applied immense pressure to healthcare workers, putting their physical and mental well-being at risk. However, the impact for cancer staff, specifically, is less known. In a survey of 257 cancer staff at Guy's Cancer Centre (London, UK; May-August 2021), the authors found that staff of particular ethnic groups, or with preexisting illnesses, appeared more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2. Few staff were hesitant about SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, appearing more common among those not receiving the flu vaccine. For many, stress increased over time. However, barriers prevent staff from using mental well-being resources. With findings from larger studies, this work will be useful for strategies protecting cancer staff well-being.".
• 01GTCEPS064P5WFEQYQG3ZJRNK abstract "Objectives Investigating associations between self-efficacy, social support and quality of life (HRQoL) and mediating effects of coping among bladder cancer (BC) patients treated with radical cystectomy (RC). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2012 to December 2014 with 99 BC patients. An online survey assessed patient characteristics, HRQoL, coping strategies, self-efficacy and social support. A stepwise multiple linear regression model was used. Results Self-efficacy and social support were significantly associated with HRQoL. Complete mediation effects of adaptive/maladaptive coping strategies emerged for the associations between self-efficacy and social support with functional well-being (B = 0.247, 95% CI 0.119-0.374, p < 0.001; B = -0.414, 95% CI -0.526 to -0.302, p < 0.001) and total Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bladder (FACT-BI) (B = 0.779, 95% CI 0.351-1.207, p < 0.001; B = -1.969, 95% CI -2.344 to -1.594, p < 0.001). Maladaptive coping mediated the associations of self-efficacy and social support with physical well-being (B = -0.667, 95% CI -0.752 to -0.516, p < 0.001) and disease-specific symptoms (B = -0.413, 95% CI -0.521 to -0.304, p < 0.001). A partial mediation effect of adaptive coping was found for the association between self-efficacy and social well-being (B = 0.145, 95% CI 0.016-0.273, p < 0.05). Social support was significantly associated with emotional (B = 0.067, 95% CI 0.027-0.108, p < 0.001) and social well-being (B = 0.200, 95% CI 0.146-0.255, p < 0.001). Conclusion Interventions should tackle self-efficacy, social support and coping strategies to improve BC patients' HRQoL.".
• 01GTCF8D3TZQVNA5HC43JJT5EH abstract "Syncope or "blackout" (BO) in breath-hold diving (freediving) is generally considered to be caused by hypoxia. However, it has been suggested that cardiac arrhythmias affecting the pumping effectivity could contribute to BO. BO is fairly common in competitive freediving, where athletes aim for maximal performance. We recorded heart rate (HR) during a static apnea (STA) competition, to reveal if arrhythmias occur. Four male freedivers with STA personal best (PB) of 349 +/- 43 s, volunteered during national championships, where they performed STA floating face down in a shallow indoor pool. A non-coded Polar T31 chest strap recorded R-R intervals and a water- and pressure-proof pulse oximeter arterial oxygen saturation. Three divers produced STA near their PB without problems, whereas one diver ended with BO at 5 min 17s, which was 12 s beyond his PB. He was immediately brought up by safety divers and resumed breathing within 10 s. All divers attained similar lowest diving HR (47 +/- 4 beats/min), but HR recordings displayed a different pattern for the diver ending with BO. After a short tachycardia, the three successful divers developed bradycardia, which became more pronounced during the second half of the apnea. The fourth diver developed pronounced bradycardia earlier, and at 2.5 min into the apnea, HR started alternating between approximately 50 and 140 beats/min, until the diver lost consciousness. At resumed breathing, HR returned to baseline. Nadir oxygen saturation was similar for all divers. We speculate that arrhythmia could have contributed to BO, by lowering stroke volume leading to a systolic blood pressure drop, affecting brain perfusion. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Heart rate during prolonged breath-holding until the point of loss of consciousness has not previously been published. The recordings show that blackout was preceded by a period of persistent alterations in R-R intervals, whereby an ectopic beat followed every normal heartbeat. Explanations for this deviating heart rate pattern could be either premature atrial contractions or premature ventricular contractions following every atrial beat, i.e., bigeminy, which could have compromised cardiac pumping function and caused/contributed to blackout.".
• 01GTCMWPKSKGQE9SJRBP9M6WKC abstract "Fine-grained sentiment analysis, known as Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA), establishes the polarity of a section of text concerning a particular aspect. Aspect, sentiment, and emotion categorisation are the three steps that make up the configuration of ABSA, which we looked into for the dataset of English reviews. In this work, due to the fuzzy nature of textual data, we investigated machine learning methods based on fuzzy rough sets, which we believe are more interpretable than complex state-of-the-art models. The novelty of this paper is the use of a pipeline that incorporates all three mentioned steps and applies Fuzzy-Rough Nearest Neighbour classification techniques with their extension based on ordered weighted average operators (FRNN-OWA), combined with text embeddings based on transformers. After some improvements in the pipeline’s stages, such as using two separate models for emotion detection, we obtain the correct results for the majority of test instances (up to 81.4%) for all three classification tasks. We consider three different options for the pipeline. In two of them, all three classification tasks are performed consecutively, reducing data at each step to retain only correct predictions, while the third option performs each step independently. This solution allows us to examine the prediction results after each step and spot certain patterns. We used it for an error analysis that enables us, for each test instance, to identify the neighbouring training samples and demonstrate that our methods can extract useful patterns from the data. Finally, we compare our results with another paper that performed the same ABSA classification for the Dutch version of the dataset and conclude that our results are in line with theirs or even slightly better.".
• 01GTCPB6W0P5VKG0ZQYVHA9XVG abstract "The COVID-19 pandemic and related physical distancing measures have disproportionally affected older adults living alone due to their greater social isolation. Unlike previous studies on the subject, the current research recognizes the diversity amongst older adults living alone by considering the impact of marital history. Combining information from Wave 8 of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement (SHARE), with data of SHARELIFE and the SHARE Corona survey, we investigated the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on loneliness in older men (N = 1504) and women (N = 4822) living alone. Logistic multilevel analyses were performed on data from 26 European countries and Israel. For men, we found that the short-term widowed were more likely to report increased loneliness than the medium- and long-term widowed and those living apart together (LAT). For women, the results indicated that the short- and medium-term widowed and the divorced were at greater risk for increased loneliness than those in a LAT relationship. Also, medium-term widowed women were more likely to report increased loneliness than their long-term widowed counterparts. The three hypothesized underlying mechanisms - i.e., (i) the opportunity mechanism, (ii) the expectation mechanism, and (iii) the vulnerability mechanism - only played a small role in explaining the observed differences. In sum, our study highlights the importance of recognizing the diversity within the group of older adults living alone when investigating the effects of the pandemic on loneliness, yet the mechanisms behind the stratifying role of marital history are not fully understood.".
• 01GTCPJJRR66DXYCKK7SAVZA3Y abstract "Several organisations have introduced a new leadership role, the Chief Digital Officer (CDO), as a centralised role in their top management team (TMT), tasked with accelerating and coordinating their digital transformation. While previous research proposes a complementary, tight alignment between the CDO and the Chief Information Officer (CIO), role redundancies and the fight for recognition and resources also suggest an inherent tension. We provide insights into the CIO-CDO collaboration quality based on role, TMT cooperation, conflict theory, and a dyadic design approach of 11 CIO-CDO relationships with 33 expert interviews in two waves. Our findings indicate that the CIO-CDO relationship may not always be as complementary as proposed in the literature; instead, in the vast majority of our dyads, there is too much role conflict to achieve tight alignment, leading to separation behaviour between the roles. We identify the involvement in the introduction of the other role, the CIO demand-side orientation, and the CDO supply-side orientation as important contingency factors determining the quality of the CIO-CDO relationship. Finally, unless the CIO-CDO relationship resembles a perfect match, a unified Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) role may better resolve the challenges we identify in our sample’s dyads. Our insights extend the understanding of the CIO-CDO relationship. ".
• 01GTCY2F1EP0QDQYHDEM62WBF1 abstract "Over the last decades, issues related to gender and sexuality came to the center of public and political debates in Europe. Right-wing parties and actors across Europe are gaining popularity while increasingly drawing on gender and sexuality in their anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric (e.g. Mayer, Ajanovic and Sauer 2014, Meret and Siim 2013). This Special Issue results from an international workshop organised by the Network for the Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality (NAGS), part of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA), and held at VU University Amsterdam in December 2019. The workshop interrogated entanglements of anti-migration and gender discourses, including anti-gender movements across Europe. Its overall aim was to discuss different ‘uses and abuses of gender’ in relation to migration and Islamophobia as deployed by right-wing discourse (Scott 2013).".
• 01GTCYQ71AMBKWWZJ25TA4Q957 abstract "This paper discusses the socio-economic integration and marriage prospects of young Syrian refugee men in Jordan. Linguistic, cultural and religious similarities with Syrian culture in Jordanian border towns such as Ramtha and Irbid hold the promise of social inclusion and offer emotional comfort. Yet, this familiarity is combined with experiences of social alienation and labour exploitation. Based on qualitative research and ethnography, I propose the notion of ‘double waithood’ to capture the two main socio-economic axes that structure opportunities and the activities young men engage in. Apart from the time spent waiting for regulated residency status, young men wait to fulfil the economic requirements that enable them to marry and have a family of their own. While waiting for certainty, many are driven to informal and underage labour to help provide for their families. At the same time, migration as a rite of passage can enable young adolescents to transition to adulthood earlier, as many aspire to fulfil the criteria of the hegemonic figure of the economically self-sufficient male refugee.".
• 01GTD0GWC3HA742KMJY860FR0E abstract "De Slag om de Ardennen staat gekend als het laatste grote offensief van de Duitsers tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deze gebeurtenissen zorgden voor een grootschalige militaire operatie in de oostelijke Ardennen, die een impact achterliet op het landschap. Hierdoor zijn vandaag nog steeds sporen zichtbaar aan het oppervlak in de vorm van gedegradeerde veldfortificaties en bomkraters. In dit artikel worden delen van het slagveld onderzocht met behulp van LiDAR met lage resolutie en zeer hoge resolutie verkregen via de UAV SLAM-techniek. De analyse bracht een complex en uitgebreid conflictlandschap aan het licht, aangezien de uitgestrekte bossen van de Ardennen een schat aan bewaarde relicten van dit conflict bevatten. Tijdens het onderzoek werden maar liefst 1.152 sporen geïdentificeerd, waarvan een groot aantal ook op het terrein werd waargenomen. De omvang en complexiteit van dit conflictlandschap versterken de noodzaak om een debat te openen over het beheer van dit soort erfgoed.".
• 01GTD40E54RNJ6P63D2Q2KNZTW abstract "The Final Neolithic and the Bronze Age (3000-800 BC) are periods of great transformations in the communities inhabiting the area of modern-day Belgium, as testified by archaeological evidence showing an increasing complexity in social structure, technological transformations, and large-scale contacts. By combining 599 available radiocarbon dates with 88 new C-14 dates from 23 from funerary sites, this paper uses kernel density estimates to model the temporality in the use of inhumation vs. cremation burials, cremation deposits in barrows vs. flat graves, and cremation grave types. Additionally, by including 78 dates from settlements, changes in population dynamics were reconstructed. The results suggest a phase of demographic contraction around ca. 2200-1800 BC highlighted by a lack of dates from both settlements and funerary contexts, followed by an increase in the Middle Bronze Age, with the coexistence of cremation deposits in barrows and, in a lower number, in flat graves. At the end of the 14th-13th century BC, an episode of cultural change with the almost generalized use of flat graves over barrows is observed. Regional differentiations in the funerary practices and the simultaneous use of different grave types characterize the Late Bronze Age.".
• 01GTDZCT91K3AG01VF4V1H3TP1 abstract "Objective Forward bending of the back is common in many jobs and a risk factor for sickness absence. However, this knowledge is based on self-reported forward bending that is generally imprecise. Thus, we aimed to investigate the dose-response relation between device-measured forward bending at work and prospective register-based risk of long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Methods At baseline, 944 workers (93% from blue-collar jobs) wore accelerometers on their upper back and thigh over 1-6 workdays to measure worktime with forward bending (>30 degrees and >60 degrees) and body positions. The first event of LTSA (>= 6 consecutive weeks) over a 4-year follow-up were retrieved from a national register. Compositional Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to model the association between worktime with forward bending of the back in an upright body position and LTSA adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), occupational lifting/carrying, type of work, and, in an additional step, for leisure time physical activity (PA) on workdays. Results During a mean worktime of 457 minutes/day, the workers on average spent 40 and 10 minutes on forward bending >30 degrees and >60 degrees in the upright position, respectively. Five more minutes forward bending >30 degrees and >60 degrees at work were associated with a 4% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.07] and 8% (95% CI 1.01-1.16) higher LTSA risk, respectively. Adjustment for leisure-time PA did not influence the results. Conclusion We found a dose-response association between device-measured forward bending of the back and prospective LTSA risk. This knowledge can be integrated into available feasible methods to measure forward bending of the back for improved workplace risk assessment and prevention.".
• 01GTDZKH8E3BVYJYK9XKY233W5 abstract "Exposure to work-related stressors is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes for workers. The role of chronic stressors on health outcomes has been explored, but less is known about the potential role of exposure to day-to-day stressors on health. This paper describes the protocol for a study that aims to collect and analyze day-to-day data on work-related stressors and health outcomes. Participants will be workers engaged in predominantly sedentary work at a university. Self-report data on work-related stressors, musculoskeletal pain, and mental health will be collected three times per day for 10 work days through ecological momentary assessment via online questionnaires. These data will be combined with physiological data collected continuously via a wristband throughout the working day. The feasibility and acceptability of the protocol will be assessed via semi-structured interviews with participants and adherence to the study protocol. These data will inform the feasibility of using the protocol in a larger study to investigate the relationship between exposure to work-related stressors and health outcomes.".
• 01GTDZRHFTT0SNRRR4CYSH3D4R abstract "ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the associations between day-to-day work-related stress exposures (i.e., job demands and lack of job control), job strain, and next-day work engagement among office workers in academic settings. Additionally, we assessed the influence of psychological detachment and relaxation on next-day work engagement and tested for interaction effects of these recovery variables on the relationship between work-related stressors and next-day work engagement. MethodsOffice workers from two academic settings in Belgium and Slovenia were recruited. This study is based on an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) with a 15-working day data collection period using our self-developed STRAW smartphone application. Participants were asked repeatedly about their work-related stressors, work engagement, and recovery experiences. Fixed-effect model testing using random intercepts was applied to investigate within- and between-participant levels. ResultsOur sample consisted of 55 participants and 2710 item measurements were analysed. A significant positive association was found between job control and next-day work engagement (beta = 0.28, p < 0.001). Further, a significant negative association was found between job strain and next-day work engagement (beta = -0.32, p = 0.05). Furthermore, relaxation was negatively associated with work engagement (beta = -0.08, p = 0.03). ConclusionsThis study confirmed previous results, such as higher job control being associated with higher work engagement and higher job strain predicting lower work engagement. An interesting result was the association of higher relaxation after the working day with a lower next-day work engagement. Further research investigating fluctuations in work-related stressors, work engagement, and recovery experiences is required.".
• 01GTE2E4HPBGZTAKFRWTGRJS92 abstract "This article considers Mulvey's male gaze in today's postfeminist media culture in the latest remake of Charlie's Angels. Male gaze is analyzed as form, as production ecology, and as narrative. Since the inception of Charlie's Angels in the 1970s, the TV and feature film franchise has tried to balance feminist concerns with notions of femininity, in more and less successful ways. Although the 2000 remake of Charlie's Angels could be considered as an exemplar of objectifying and sexualizing women, the 2019 film barely presents such instances. Instead, it offers a male gaze directed at a female audience and internalized as a measure of success for its female protagonists and the implied female audience. Through practices of othering, and by placing male characters in morally inferior positions, the female audience is presented with hegemonic conceptions of white, middle-class femininity as an ideal that female viewers can and should aspire to be.".
• 01GTE3PJDGW0MTXBECN6W35Y5Y abstract "Ozone-based processes are effectively used for e.g. removing organic (micro)pollutants from municipal secondary effluent and oxidizing contaminants from industrial wastewater. Nevertheless, the practical application of the ozonation technique is still facing some challenges. The first one is the formation of oxidation intermediates owing to the low mineralization efficiency during ozonation. Second, the low ozone gas/liquid mass transfer limits the overall oxidation reaction efficiency. As ozone gas generation is an energy-intensive process, this also reduces the cost-effectiveness. As such, enhancing the ozone mass transfer and achieving high ozonation efficiency at low energy consumption is essential for expanding the practical application of ozonation. The third challenge is related to the elimination of micropollutants by ozonation. It is difficult to monitor the removal efficiency of micropollutants in real-time because frequent (chromatography based) analysis of each compound with low concentrations is costly and time-consuming. As such, developing reliable and efficient online-monitoring methods for micropollutants removal during ozonation is needed. Based on these challenges, the first chapter gives a critical literature review on the ozonation process and ozone mass transfer enhancement techniques. According to this review, applying granular mineral solids as active packing materials in a packed ozone reactor, which has not yet been studied, is proposed to be a promising method to improve the ozone mass transfer and oxidation efficiency. Additionally, the research progress in surrogate-based monitoring and control strategies of micropollutants ozonation is reviewed in Chapter 1. The removal of dissolved organic matters (DOM, mainly represent by UV254) can be used as a reliable and robust surrogate to monitoring the removal of micropollutants in a conventional bubble column. However, its feasibility in the application of packed columns has not yet been investigated. Based on these research gaps, this thesis is mainly working on using mineral-packed bubble columns to enhance the ozone mass transfer, achieve high target organic (micro)pollutants removal, and reduce oxidation intermediates generation with low energy consumption. The feasibility of combining ozonation in packed bubble columns with other treatments was also studied. The specific research aims are listed in Chapter 2. The outline of this thesis is also shown in Chapter 2. The details of the experiment setups, materials, and methods are given in Chapter 3. In this thesis, lava rock, metal pall rings and expanded clay aggregates (ECA) were used as packing materials to build packed bubble column (LBC, MBC, and EBC, respectively) and compared with non-packed bubble column (BC). In Chapter 4, the ozone gas/liquid mass transfer efficiency in BC, MBC and LBC was determined in a countercurrent continuous mode by calculating the height of packing equivalent to one transfer unit (HOG), where a lower HOG represents a higher mass transfer efficiency. Compared with the HOG value of BC (17 m), that of LBC (6 m) and MBC (11 m) was 65% and 35% lower. Furthermore, in Chapter 5 and 6, ozone mass transfer tests were conducted in semi-batch mode to determine their volumetric mass transfer coefficient values k_L a of ozone at pH=7 and T=20 °C. The LBC had the highest value 0.62 min-1, followed by EBC (0.58 min-1), MBC (0.42 min-1) and BC (0.24 min-1), showing the packed bubble columns increased the ozone gas-liquid mass transfer efficiency and lava rock had the best promoting performance. Meanwhile, the effect of these packing materials on the organic pollutants (focusing on DOM and specific micropollutants) degradation by ozonation was studied. In Chapter 4 humic acids (HA) were used as model pollutant to evaluate the ozonation performance of different columns since HA is widely present in natural water and various types of wastewater and has adverse effects on water quality. The use of LBC and MBC increased the HA removal efficiency by 19%~26% at 33.3 mg/(Lcolumn h) (i.e. 0.8 g O3/g COD) of ozone dose, compared to BC. The O3 utilization efficiency was improved by up to 42% and the energy consumption (EEO) for HA removal was decreased by 5%~51%. In Chapter 5 and 6, LBC, MBC and BC were used to ozonate real wastewater (bio-treated landfill leachate) which contains bio-refractory organic compounds including DOM and micropollutants. In Chapter 5 mainly the DOM removal from bio-treated landfill leachate was investigated. Insight into the formation of oxidation intermediates from DOM in the leachate during ozonation was provided. At an O3 dose of 0.6 g O3/g COD, the COD removal efficiency was 32% in MBC and 46% in LBC, which was 6% and 20% higher than that in BC (26%). The presence of lava rock decreased the energy consumption for COD removal by about 53%, i.e. from 38 kWh/m3 in BC to 18 kWh/m3 in LBC. The lowest operating cost for per kilogram COD removal (2.53 €/kg COD) was achieved in LBC. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that MBC and LBC improved the further oxidation efficiency of DOM from the bio-treated landfill leachate and reduced intermediate products during ozonation. In Chapter 6 the abatement of micropollutants from biotreated landfill leachates was investigated, as well as the correlation between micropollutant removal and the reduction of DOM represent by UV254 absorbance (ΔUV254). Results showed both mineral materials (lava rock and ECA) had a comparable beneficial effect towards micropollutants ozonation and their intermediates degradation. The removal efficiency of O3-recalcitrant compounds (diuron, atrazine (ATZ) and alachlor (ALA)) increased by 20%-40% and the ΔUV254 increased by over 20% in LBC and EBC in comparison with that in BC. In view of process control, a two-stage linear correlation between the O3-recalcitrant compounds (ATZ and ALA) removal and ΔUV254 was observed. In addition to a single stage ozonation process, the packed bubble column was used as a pre- or post- treatment unit in a treatment train in Chapter 7 and 8. In Chapter 7, the ozonation process was followed by an adsorption process to recover Ortho-phosphate (Ortho-P) from a phosphonate, i.e. 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) containing waste water. Mineral packed bubble columns including LBC (86%) and EBC (72%) showed higher net Ortho-P production efficiency than BC (59%). Afterwards, the produced Ortho-P in the ozonated effluents was adsorbed and recovered by a waste product, i.e. iron coated sand (ICS) granules. The highest Ortho-P recovery efficiency (66 %) was achieved by ICS adsorption after ozonation in the LBC column, followed by EBC (62 %) and BC (38 %). Furthermore, in Chapter 8, the ozonation process following a biological treatment process was studied. Considering that microorganisms might have some tolerance to ozone, chapter 8 investigated the feasibility to combine the biological treatment process with the in-situ ozonation process in the same bioreactor unit. An ECA-packed biofilm column (EBC) was run and operated for 150 days. In the first experimental period, a biodegradation process was operating at a residence time of 48 h. About 85% of the total inorganic nitrogen can be removed from the raw landfill leachate biologically. About 90% of the biodegradable micropollutants (bisphenol A, 17α-ethinylestradiol and alachlor) could be removed as well, while a large percentage of recalcitrant compounds such as carbamazepine (CBZ, around 70%) and atrazine (ATZ, about 30%) remained in the effluent. In a second experimental period, ozone gas was gradually introduced into the biofilm reactor in situ to further remove the bio-refractory micropollutants. At an ozone dose of 0.4 g O3/g COD, the residual target micropollutants (ATZ, CBZ) were completely removed. Meanwhile, the high nitrogen removal efficiency can be maintained at 85%, which was attributed to the high abundance of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria in the reactor indicated by the results of the 16S rRNA analysis. Overall, this PhD research provides comprehensive insights into the enhanced ozone mass transfer and removal of the organic (micro)pollutants by ozonation in minerals packed bubble columns. The findings and results were discussed in Chapter 9. Some perspectives on potential future research are provided as well.".
• 01GTE3Z74HM9D1BW595M8FJR1Y abstract "Data collection on consumer perceptions of sustainable fashion".
• 01GTE4PE58CCJF2AD224Z0MWEG abstract "Intro: Thiel embalmed human cadavers are considered as a high-fidelity simulator for teaching several surgical procedures including Chest Tube Insertion (CTI). To ensure that learners are proficient in a simulated procedure before transitioning to the clinical setting, validated assessment tools must be used. Validity can be established using Messick’s framework, which collects evidence from five sources. The ACTION tool is a novel assessment tool for CTI consisting of a procedure-specific rating scale and an error checklist. This tool was developed using a Delphi panel, which ensures content evidence. This study evaluates the feasibility of a validation study for the ACTION tool on Thiel embalmed human cadavers. Methods: A convenience sample of four medical undergraduates and one PhD candidate was recruited. All participants provided informed consent and demographic information. Each participant was scored and recorded while performing a CTI. Each recording was then later scored by three raters. Rater agreement was evaluated by calculating a two-way mixed effects, absolute agreement, single unit of measurement intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) model. Internal consistency of the assessment was evaluated using Cronbach’s Alpha. Feasibility was evaluated using structured questions regarding recruitment and data outcomes. Results: Recruitment capability and data collection procedures were evaluated as being feasible and suitable for the target study participants. All necessary resources are available and data analysis can be carried out successfully. Preliminary results for the procedural steps indicate an ICC of 0.62, indicating moderate rater agreement, and a Cronbach Alfa of 0.94, indicating excellent internal consistency. For the errors, an ICC of 0.63 and a Cronbach Alfa of 0.68 was observed. Conclusion: Validation of the ACTION tool following Messick’s framework is feasible. A rater training session can increase reliability. After validation, the assessment tool can be used to evaluate learners’ proficiency in CTI on Thiel embalmed human cadavers, prior to patient contact.".
• 01GTE5NSW97VSWFS5SN5FHY534 abstract "The present study investigates the often observed higher scores on psychopathology in detained girls compared to boys from a maladaptive trait perspective, as conceived by age-specific criterion B assessment of the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders. Participants were detained youth (N = 237; 122 boys; 115 girls, mean age = 15.8 years) from two youth detention centers in Belgium, who completed self-reports on maladaptive traits and psychopathology. Results confirm that the higher rates of psychopathology in incarcerated girls extend to the maladaptive trait level, with particularly higher levels of Emotional Instability and Oddity. In addition, a stronger co-occurrence of psychopathology with maladaptive traits was found for girls, especially for anxious-depressed, angry-irritable and post-traumatic symptoms. These findings suggest that mental health problems in detained girls appear to be much more related to personality difficulties compared to detained boys, and advocate the inclusion of comprehensive maladaptive trait assessment and gender-sensitive intervention programs for mental health problems in detained youth. Keywords: juvenile justice, adolescence, gender differences, mental health problems, maladaptive personality traits".
• 01GTE5TZM8DH5S086DSY1GFF8F abstract "The significance of early maladaptive traits for understanding the roots of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is increasingly endorsed. Given the interpersonal nature of BPD and fluctuations in phenotypic symptomatology, this study aims to test the assumption that a situation-contingent contextualized assessment of borderline traits is a viable avenue to more fully capture the way underlying traits are reflected in socioaffective behavior that occurs in age-relevant situations. We aimed to explore the extent to which the variability on these responses represents a meaningful construct for understanding the clinical richness of BPD. Toward this end, a contextualized measure of DSM-5 BPD traits was developed along a situational judgment test (SJT) format, allowing us to explore both between-person and within-person variability in a more economic format than repeated measurement does. Examination of the psychometric properties of the SJT revealed distinctive correlational patterns of the situation-based traits with symptom scales of a youth BPD measure, but also indicated that for certain traits consistency in trait level across different situations is more maladaptive, whereas for other traits a greater degree of variability in trait expression is more maladaptive. Overall, this work could set the stage for further research on the potential of SJTs for understanding personality vulnerabilities both at the dispositional and the dynamic level.".
• 01GTE5YZBYMDQ21DM3E6JCGFH8 abstract "Concrete is intrinsically one of the greenest construction materials and is widely used in a myriad of applications. Also, concrete is one of the most economical, robust, easy-to-use and widely available materials around the world. It is estimated that the annual consumption of concrete is almost 25 gigatons. Even though the concrete itself is greener compared to other alternative construction materials, 8 % of the total global CO2 emission is caused by the cement and concrete industry. This is because of the tremendous use of concrete around the world. Therefore, one of the ways to reduce CO2 emissions is to minimize concrete consumption. In this regard, extrusion-based concrete 3D printing is a promising technology and has the potential to be a sustainable construction solution by utilizing structural optimization and reducing material usage. However, concrete mixtures used for 3D printing processes require a higher amount of binder and chemical admixtures to meet the stringent rheological requirements. Therefore, one of the main objectives of this thesis is to develop 3D printable concrete mixtures with lower environmental impact. This thesis outlines different strategies to improve the sustainability of 3D printable concrete mixtures. Sustainability can be improved by lowering the binder content and increasing the aggregate content, as the binder phase is the highest CO2-intensive phase. Also, the use of natural and recycled coarse aggregate in the granular skeleton can reduce the environmental impact. A set of 3D printable mixtures were developed with increasing aggregate content and changing the granular skeleton by incorporating natural and recycled coarse aggregates. However, such changes in the granular skeleton can influence the fresh and hardened state performance of the 3D printable mixtures. The increasing aggregate content resulted in increased plastic viscosity, yield stress, pumping pressure and also improved buildability. On the other hand, the incorporation of coarse aggregates and changing the granular skeleton reduced these parameters due to the lower specific surface area and better packing as the paste film thickness increased. Another strategy explored through the thesis is the use of a low CO2 alternative binder system for Portland cement. In this regard, 3D printable mixtures with calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement were designed. Two major challenges for the mixtures with CSA cement were the extremely fast hydration and significantly high plastic viscosity compared to Portland cement. Using a suitable retarder, the rapid hydration was controlled, and the plastic viscosity was lowered by replacing part of the CSA cement with limestone powder. Though the use of a retarder was beneficial in providing the sufficient open time needed for the pumping phase, buildability was adversely affected due to the suppression of hydration. Using a two-stage mixing strategy, i.e., the hydration of a retarded CSA cement mixture with borax was re-initiated at the nozzle/print head with a static mixer, and the conflicting requirements for pumping and stiffening control were eliminated. To understand the extent of sustainability improvement by the abovementioned strategies, a detailed quantitative assessment of the environmental and economic impact of the 3D printable mixtures developed in this study for the production of one cubic meter volume was performed. 3D printable concrete mixtures satisfying a set of performance criteria were evaluated. Increasing the aggregate content decreases the environmental impact. However, incorporating natural and recycled coarse aggregates does not significantly reduce the environmental impact at a lower replacement level. The study provides insights into the environmental and economic impact of extrusion-based 3D concrete printing materials satisfying the same functional requirements. It was observed that the calcium sulfoaluminate-limestone binder systems have significantly lower global warming potential. However, the depletion of fossil resources indicator is much higher than the Portland cement-based mixtures. A significant portion of the material cost (even up to half of the cost) is contributed by the chemical admixtures in the 3D printable concrete mixtures, while the cost contribution by the chemical admixtures was much lower in the case of conventional mould-cast concrete mixtures. The thesis also focuses on the performance assessment of 3D printable concrete mixtures in fresh and hardened states. To assess the drying shrinkage a novel rheometer-based shrinkage measurement technique was developed. The method enables the measurement of shrinkage strains from the onset of preparation of the mixtures. It was found that the incorporation of about 3 wt% shrinkage-reducing agents significantly reduces the early-age shrinkage strain. The effect of early-age drying-induced pore structure changes was investigated using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), loss on ignition and electrical resistivity measurements. When subjected to early-age drying, the porosity of the samples was found to increase significantly, and the assessment of chemically bound water revealed that the degree of hydration was not uniform but varied as a gradient, with the minimum occurring at the drying surface. Also, other shrinkage mitigating strategies were explored, which include the use of polypropylene fibers and the use of coarse aggregates. The effect of polypropylene fibers, shrinkagereducing agent and incorporation of natural or recycled coarse aggregates on the shrinkage cracking potential was assessed by restrained ring tests. The mixtures with the shrinkage-reducing agent and coarse aggregates prolong the time for cracking significantly due to the reduced shrinkage strain, while the addition of fibers increases the time to cracking marginally by enhancing the tensile strength of the mixtures. The study also focused on the porosity and pore structure of 3D-printed concrete elements, as the durability of the concrete is closely linked to its pore structure. The porosity characterisation was done with MIP and X-ray computed micro-tomography (X-ray μCT). Using the MIP data, surface fractal dimension and tortuosity parameters were calculated. It was observed that the CSA-limestone blended system has higher pore complexity and tortuosity than the Portland cement-slag blended mixture. The study revealed that the interlayer region contains larger and interconnected pores with low tortuosity, which could lead to enhanced transport of ions. Significantly higher open porosity and the presence of elongated pores with a high aspect ratio were observed in the interlayer compared to the bulk region. Also, the durability performance of the 3D printable mixtures was assessed by measuring the resistance against chloride migration and salt scaling. It was observed that the chloride migration coefficients were higher due to interconnected pores at the interlayer region and the application of fresh cement paste between the layers enhances the resistance to chloride migration. 3D-printed concrete elements showed much higher resistance to salt scaling as compared to mould-cast concrete due to the compensation of the glue spall stress by suction created from the ice formation at the interlayers. The practical feasibility of one of the most promising 3D printable mixtures developed was demonstrated by 3D printing a 1:4 scale breakwater element (8 kN weight). From the static mechanical tests, it was observed that the peak load at failure of the 3D printed breakwater element was lower than that of a mould-cast breakwater element with the same shape and dimensions. Also, the hydraulic stability of the 3D printed breakwater units was assessed and compared with a practically used breakwater element (ACCROBERMTM II) with wave flume tests at a 1:45 scale. The hydraulic performance of 3D printed breakwater elements was similar to that of the ACCROBERMTM II.".
• 01GTE6VBF5J8AZ4MM99B2CRY65 abstract "Pheochromocytomas (PHEO) and paragangliomas (PGL) can occur sporadic or within genetic predisposition syndromes. Despite shared embryology, there are important differences between PHEO and PGL. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical presentation and disease characteristics of PHEO/PGL. A retrospective analysis of consecutively registered patients diagnosed with or treated for PHEO/PGL in a tertiary care centre was performed. Patients were compared according to anatomic location (PHEO vs PGL) and genetic status (sporadic vs hereditary). In total, we identified 38 women and 29 men, aged 50 ± 19 years. Of these, 42 (63%) had PHEO, and 25 (37%) had PGL. Patients with PHEO presented more frequently with sporadic than hereditary disease (45 years vs 27 (77%) vs 8 (23%)) than patients with PGL (9 (36%) vs 16 (64%), respectively) and were older at diagnosis (55 ± 17 vs 40 ± 18 years, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.001), respectively). About half of the cases in both PHEO and PGL were diagnosed due to disease-related symptoms. In patients with PHEO, tumour diameter was larger (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.001), metanephrine levels higher (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.02), and there was more frequently a history of cardiovascular events than in patients with PGL. In conclusion, we found that patients with PGL more frequently have a hereditary predisposition than those with PHEO, contributing to the fact that diagnosis is generally made earlier in PGL. Although diagnosis in both PHEO and PGL was mostly due to related symptoms, patients with PHEO more often presented with cardiovascular comorbidities than those with PGL which might relate to a higher number of functionally active tumours in the former.".
• 01GTE8DWDMAXG6GPK052710K74 abstract "We aim to investigate early developmental trajectories of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as indexed by the pupillary light reflex (PLR) in infants with (i.e. preterm birth, feeding difficulties, or siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder) and without (controls) increased likelihood for atypical ANS development. We used eye-tracking to capture the PLR in 216 infants in a longitudinal follow-up study spanning 5 to 24 months of age, and linear mixed models to investigate effects of age and group on three PLR parameters: baseline pupil diameter, latency to constriction and relative constriction amplitude. An increase with age was found in baseline pupil diameter (F(3,273.21) = 13.15, p < 0.001, eta(2)(p) = 0.13), latency to constriction (F(3,326.41) =3.84, p = 0.010,eta(2)(p) = 0.03) and relative constriction amplitude(F(3,282.53) =3.70, p = 0.012,eta(2)(p)= 0.04). Group differences were found for baseline pupil diameter (F(3,235.91) = 9.40, p < 0.001,eta(2)(p) = 0.11), with larger diameter in preterms and siblings than in controls, and for latency to constriction (F(3,237.10) = 3.48, p = 0.017, eta(2)(p) = 0.04), with preterms having a longer latency than controls. The results align with previous evidence, with development over time that could be explained by ANS maturation. To better understand the cause of the group differences, further research in a larger sample is necessary, combining pupillometry with other measures to further validate its value.".
• 01GTE96H3JY37JVDFWEZ10YB2J abstract "In deze cross-sectionele studie onderzoeken we zowel het effect van fysiek zware arbeid op lage rugpijn en nek-schouderpijn als de effecten van autonomie en sociale steun op dezelfde types van pijn. Daarnaast wordt het effect van musculoskeletale pijn op het gepercipieerde werkvermogen ook onderzocht. De 332 deelnemers aan de studie waren werknemers gerekruteerd in 7 Vlaamse bedrijven uit de diensten- en productiesector. We vonden geen significante associaties tussen onze objectieve metingen van verschillende soorten fysieke activiteiten, zoals zitten, staan en wandelen en de verschillende mogelijke pijngroepen. We vonden daarentegen wel een significante associatie van zelf-gerapporteerde fysiek belastende taken met nek-schouderpijn afzonderlijk en met de combinatie van lage rugpijn en nek-schouderpijn. Bij de psychosociale factoren bleek job controle negatief geassocieerd te zijn met lage rugpijn en de combinatie van lage rugpijn en nek-schouderpijn. Ten slotte toonde onze studie aan dat werknemers met musculoskeletale pijn zich vaker niet meer in staat zien om gedurende de komende 5 jaar en zeker op een leeftijd van 60 jaar hun huidige job nog uit te voeren t.o.v. de groep werknemers die niet aan dergelijke pijnen lijdt. Onze resultaten tonen het belang aan van specifieke fysiek belastende taken op het werk in de gaten te houden om zo lage rugpijn en nek-schouderpijn te kunnen verminderen. Ook is het belangrijk om in te zetten op duurzaamheid op de werkvloer in de vorm van meer job controle, zodat werknemers meer autonomie kunnen krijgen over hun taken en rustpauzes, aangezien dit pijn gerelateerd aan musculoskeletale problemen mogelijk kan verminderen.".
• 01GTE9P0ARBJ6YJDJ0BM3MZ4GC abstract "In the present article, we aim to contribute to further progress in the field of personality disorder (PD) development by highlighting several recent methodological innovations related to (a) the measurement of personality pathology, (b) the modeling of typical features of personality pathology, and (c) the assessment of processes that characterize PD development. For each of those issues, we discuss key points of attention and methodological strategies, illustrated with recent publications in the PD research field as potential resources for future research.".
• 01GTE9XY4RYNXF71BVJ2QD0VVW abstract "The present study addresses the need for short and accessible maladaptive trait measures that cover all relevant aspects of developmental trait pathology, in order to comprehensively assess potential antecedents of personality pathology. From this perspective, we present a 98-item version of the well-established Dimensional Personality Symptom Item Pool (DIPSI) measure (DIPSI-B), that is fully age-neutral across the developmental stages of childhood and adolescence, and further includes those items from the original measure with the most optimal coverage of the latent traits. Relying on a large community-based sample of Flemish children and adolescents (N = 1873) randomly split and balanced in terms of age and gender, a precise selection of items was performed followed by an inspection of psychometric properties. The final item-set appears to be reliable, structurally stable, and invariant across both gender and age. We hope that its feasibility stimulates the integration of the DIPSI-B in ongoing prospective designs examining developmental antecedents of personality disorders.".
• 01GTEAA3MPGXNMCEQ4MJSHWY3Z abstract "Objectives To examine whether sexual and gender minority (SGM) emerging adults perceived their SGM status was linked to suicidal ideation, and to explore if their responses fell within tenets of the minority stress framework. Method Open text (survey) responses of Dutch and Flemish SGM emerging adults (n = 187) were thematically analysed using the constant comparative comparison method for qualitative analysis. Results We identified 8 themes in our qualitative analysis. Two themes fell within the scope of the minority stress framework that has received little attention: (1) concerns about relationships and family planning and (2) feeling different (internal stressor). Two additional themes emerged largely beyond the scope of existing minority stress framework studies on suicidality: (3) SGM-related questioning; (4) negativity in LGBT communities. Four established minority stress framework themes emerged: (5) gender identity stress; (6) victimization; (7) coming-out stress; (8) psychological difficulties linked to SGM status. Conclusion Suicide prevention needs to focus on supporting SGM emerging adults who worry about feeling "different", or who have concerns over their romantic and family life, on reducing gender minority stress, as well as on caring for those who are victimized due to their sexual or gender identity.".
• 01GTEAT62BAKZYQVZ9GVT3CBSX abstract "Objective This study examined associations of minority stressors (i.e., victimization, internalized homonegativity, and stigma consciousness), and coping styles (i.e., active, avoidant, and passive) with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts (suicidality) among sexual and gender minority (SGM) young adults, and whether coping style moderated these associations. Methods Logistic regression analyses examined these associations among 1432 SGM young adults (ages 18-29). Results Minority stressors and passive coping were associated with a higher likelihood of suicidality. Avoidant coping was associated with a lower likelihood of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts among sexual minority participants, and active coping with a lower likelihood of past-year suicidal ideation among sexual minority participants. Moderation analyses among sexual minority participants showed that when avoidant coping was high, associations between low victimization (compared with no victimization) and lifetime suicide attempts, and stigma consciousness and lifetime suicide attempts became non-significant, and the association between internalized homonegativity and lifetime suicide attempts became significant. Among gender minority participants, when passive coping was high the association between low victimization and lifetime suicidal ideation became significant. Conclusion This study underlines the importance of minority stress and coping for suicidality among SGM young adults and the need for more research regarding the role of coping.".
• 01GTEBSJGCJSYBB0SBK92WDD8B abstract "Simple Summary In recent years, there has been an increasing scientific interest in the interaction between anaesthesia and cancer development. Retrospective studies show that the choice of anaesthetics perioperatively may influence cancer outcome and cancer recurrence; however, these studies show contradictory results. Reviewing the recent and relevant literature for the biological effects of anaesthetics on cancer cells in comparison to the clinical effects, it was found that sevoflurane, propofol, opioids and lidocaine are likely to display direct biological effects on cancer cells. However, significant effects are only found in studies with exposure to high concentrations of anaesthetics for longer than practical durations, therefore incomparable to their clinical use. In recent years, there has been an increasing scientific interest in the interaction between anaesthesia and cancer development. Retrospective studies show that the choice of anaesthetics may influence cancer outcome and cancer recurrence; however, these studies show contradictory results. Recently, some large randomized clinical trials have been completed, yet they show no significant effect of anaesthetics on cancer outcomes. In this scoping review, we compiled a body of in vivo and in vitro studies with the goal of evaluating the biological effects of anaesthetics on cancer cells in comparison to clinical effects as described in recent studies. It was found that sevoflurane, propofol, opioids and lidocaine are likely to display direct biological effects on cancer cells; however, significant effects are only found in studies with exposure to high concentrations of anaesthetics and/or during longer exposure times. When compared to clinical data, these differences in exposure and dose-effect relation, as well as tissue selectivity, population selection and unclear anaesthetic dosing protocols might explain the lack of outcome.".
• 01GTECDB6Z2G88RHB6ZDDJM91A abstract "Background: Intraoperative sympathetic stimulation induces a cascade of metabolic and hormonal changes. It increases perfusion of vital organs, but also causes vasoconstriction of blood vessels supplying less vital organs, potentially leading to organ injury. To date, it is unknown how an endogenous stress reaction affects the spinal cord blood supply. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be applied paravertebrally to monitor the oxygenation of the collateral network, which contributes to the spinal cord blood supply. It has already been demonstrated that regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rS(c)O(2)) increases following sympathetic stimulation.Objectives: We hypothesized that laryngoscopy would cause an increase in cerebral and paraspinal regional tissue saturations (rS(c)O(2) and rS(ps)O(2), respectively).Design: Retrospective analysis of a previous conducted randomized trial.Setting: Laryngoscopy in the operating room.Methods: Data of 28 patients, scheduled for arterial dilation of the lower limb, were retrospectively analyzed. Before induction of anesthesia, standard monitoring, BIS and 8 NIRS sensors were applied (two on the forehead, six bilaterally on the back at T3-T4, T9-T10 and L1-L2). Sympathetic stimulation was induced by laryngoscopy.Main outcome measures: Changes in rS(t)O(2) following sympathetic stimulation induced by laryngoscopy. Results: Following laryngoscopy, rS(c)O(2) significantly increased and rS(ps)O(2) significantly decreased at T9-T10 and L1-L2. The relative changes (regional tissue oxygen saturation (rS(c)O(2)) after intubation-rS(t)O(2) before intubation)/rS(t)O(2) before intubation), at cerebral level, T9-T10 and L1-L2 were 9%,-5% and-3%, respectively (p < 0.01). rS(ps)O(2) at T3-T4 did not change significantly. Changes (delta) in mean arterial pressure following laryngoscopy were weakly correlated with delta rS(c)O(2) and moderately correlated with delta rS(ps)O(2) at T9-T10 and L1-L2.Conclusions: Intraoperative sympathetic stimulation may decrease the oxygen supply to the spinal cord.".
• 01GTECV30GCTPZBMRSP5QXBC5R abstract "In this cross-sectional study including a heterogeneous Belgian community sample of adults (N = 1,930), two central questions were addressed pertaining to age differences of self-reported Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) maladaptive personality traits: (a) What kind of mean-level changes occur in the PID-5 traits from age 21 to 65? and (b) What kind of variance-level changes occur in the PID-5 traits from age 21 to 65? In exploring these research questions, we also aimed to examine potential sex differences. With regard to latent mean-level age differences of the PID-5 traits, changes across adulthood were overall small to moderate and included a mix of decreasing, flat, and increasing age trends. Regarding the decreasing trends, quadratic regressions showed that the initial downward trend often either stagnated at a certain age, or subtly started increasing again from a certain age onwards. In more than half of the PID-5 traits (15/25), small but significant sex differences were found in the latent mean-level changes across adulthood. In these cases, men tended to score overall higher, except for the negative affectivity facets, on which women tended to score higher. Furthermore, variance stability was found for the majority of the PID-5 personality traits (17/25), indicating that the magnitude of individual differences in PID-5 traits is relatively stable across adulthood. Implications for individual assessment and evaluation of PID-5 scores are discussed".
• 01GTEDAKXB5CAG3YVQ7GTTE70F abstract "BACKGROUND: Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeters produce a signal linear to the dose, which fades with time due to the spontaneous recombination of energetically unstable electron/hole traps. When used for radiotherapy (RT) applications, fading affects the signal-to-dose conversion and causes an error in the final dose measurement. Moreover, the signal fading depends to some extent on treatment-specific irradiation conditions such as irradiation times. PURPOSE: In this work, a dose calibration function for a novel OSL film dosimeter was derived accounting for signal fading. The proposed calibration allows to perform dosimetry evaluation for different RT treatment regimes. METHODS: A novel BaFBr:Eu(2+) -based OSL film (Z(eff) (, 6 MV) = 4.7) was irradiated on a TrueBeam STx using a 6 MV beam with setup: 0 degrees gantry angle, 90 cm SSD, 10 cm depth, 10 x 10 cm(2) field. A total of 86 measurements were acquired for dose-rates ( D ) of 600, 300, and 200 MU/min for irradiation times (t(ir) ) of 0.2, 1, 2, 4.5, 12, and 23 min and various readout times (t(scan) ) between 4 and 1440 min from the start of the exposure (beam-on time). The OSL signal, S(D, tir, tscan) , was modeled via robust nonlinear regression, and two different power-law fading models were tested, respectively, independent (linear model) and dependent on the specific tir (delivery-dependent model). RESULTS: After 1 day from the exposure, the error on the dose measurement can be as high as 48% if a fading correction is not considered. The fading contribution was characterized by two accurate models with adjusted-R(2) of 0.99. The difference between the two models is <4.75% for all tir and tscan . For different beam-on times, 3, 10.5, and 20 min, the optimum tscan was calculated in order to achieve a signal-to-dose conversion with a model-related error <1%. In the case of a 3 min irradiation, this condition is already met when the OSL-film is scanned immediately after the end of the irradiation. For an irradiation of 10.5 and 20 min, the minimum scanning time to achieve this model-related error increases, respectively, to 30 and 90 min. Under these conditions, the linear model can be used for the signal-to-dose conversion as an approximation of the delivery-dependent model. The signal-to-dose function, D(M(i) (,) (j) , tscan ), has a residual mean error of 0.016, which gives a residual dose uncertainty of 0.5 mGy in the region of steep signal fading (i.e., tscan = 4 min). The function of two variables is representable as a dose surface depending on the signal (M(i) (,) (j) ) measured for each i,j-pixel and the time of scan ( tscan ). CONCLUSIONS: The calibration of a novel OSL-film usable for dosimetry in different RT treatments was corrected for its signal fading with two different models. A linear calibration model independent from the treatment-specific irradiation condition results in a model-related error <1% if a proper scanning time is used for each irradiation length. This model is more practical than the delivery-dependent model because it does not need a pixel-to-pixel fading correction for different tir .".
• 01GTEDAKXGZ6HTHSHKZ4SPS5CA abstract "Micro cone-beam computed tomography (microCBCT) imaging is of utmost importance for carrying out extensive preclinical research in rodents. The imaging of animals is an essential step prior to preclinical precision irradiation, but also in the longitudinal assessment of treatment outcomes. However, imaging artifacts such as beam hardening will occur due to the low energetic nature of the X-ray imaging beam (i.e., 60 kVp). Beam hardening artifacts are especially difficult to resolve in a 'pancake' imaging geometry with stationary source and detector, where the animal is rotated around its sagittal axis, and the X-ray imaging beam crosses a wide range of thicknesses. In this study, a seven-layer U-Net based network architecture (vMonoCT) is adopted to predict virtual monoenergetic X-ray projections from polyenergetic X-ray projections. A Monte Carlo simulation model is developed to compose a training dataset of 1890 projection pairs. Here, a series of digital anthropomorphic mouse phantoms was derived from the reference DigiMouse phantom as simulation geometry. vMonoCT was trained on 1512 projection pairs (= 80%) and tested on 378 projection pairs (= 20%). The percentage error calculated for the test dataset was 1.7 +/- 0.4%. Additionally, the vMonoCT model was evaluated on a retrospective projection dataset of five mice and one frozen cadaver. It was found that beam hardening artifacts were minimized after image reconstruction of the vMonoCT-corrected projections, and that anatomically incorrect gradient errors were corrected in the cranium up to 15%. Our results disclose the potential of Artificial Intelligence to enhance the microCBCT image quality in biomedical applications. vMonoCT is expected to contribute to the reproducibility of quantitative preclinical applications such as precision irradiations in X-ray cabinets, and to the evaluation of longitudinal imaging data in extensive preclinical studies.".
• 01GTEDAKXMVB9YSJ4GNBMD5Y1M abstract "Objective.External beam radiotherapy is aimed to precisely deliver a high radiation dose to malignancies, while optimally sparing surrounding healthy tissues. With the advent of increasingly complex treatment plans, the delivery should preferably be verified by quality assurance methods. Recently, online ultrasound imaging of vaporized radiosensitive nanodroplets was proposed as a promising tool forin vivodosimetry in radiotherapy. Previously, the detection of sparse vaporization events was achieved by applying differential ultrasound (US) imaging followed by intensity thresholding using subjective parameter tuning, which is sensitive to image artifacts.Approach. A generalized deep learning solution (i.e. BubbleNet) is proposed to localize vaporized nanodroplets on differential US frames, while overcoming the aforementioned limitation. A 5-fold cross-validation was performed on a diversely composed 5747-frame training/validation dataset by manual segmentation. BubbleNet was then applied on a test dataset of 1536 differential US frames to evaluate dosimetric features. The intra-observer variability was determined by scoring the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) on 150 frames segmented twice. Additionally, the BubbleNet generalization capability was tested on an external test dataset of 432 frames acquired by a phased array transducer at a much lower ultrasound frequency and reconstructed with unconventional pixel dimensions with respect to the training dataset.Main results.The median DSC in the 5-fold cross validation was equal to approximately 0.88, which was in line with the intra-observer variability (=0.86). Next, BubbleNet was employed to detect vaporizations in differential US frames obtained during the irradiation of phantoms with a 154 MeV proton beam or a 6 MV photon beam. BubbleNet improved the bubble-count statistics by approximately 30% compared to the earlier established intensity-weighted thresholding. The proton range was verified with a -0.8 mm accuracy.Significance.BubbleNet is a flexible tool to localize individual vaporized nanodroplets on experimentally acquired US images, which improves the sensitivity compared to former thresholding-weighted methods.".
• 01GTEDAKXW04M4SECK62C4FEQ0 abstract "Proton radiography imaging was proposed as a promising technique to evaluate internal anatomical changes, to enable pre-treatment patient alignment, and most importantly, to optimize the patient specific CT number to stopping-power ratio conversion. The clinical implementation rate of proton radiography systems is still limited due to their complex bulky design, together with the persistent problem of (in)elastic nuclear interactions and multiple Coulomb scattering (i.e. range mixing). In this work, a compact multi-energy proton radiography system was proposed in combination with an artificial intelligence network architecture (ProtonDSE) to remove the persistent problem of proton scatter in proton radiography. A realistic Monte Carlo model of the Proteus((R))One accelerator was built at 200 and 220 MeV to isolate the scattered proton signal in 236 proton radiographies of 80 digital anthropomorphic phantoms. ProtonDSE was trained to predict the proton scatter distribution at two beam energies in a 60%/25%/15% scheme for training, testing, and validation. A calibration procedure was proposed to derive the water equivalent thickness image based on the detector dose response relationship at both beam energies. ProtonDSE network performance was evaluated with quantitative metrics that showed an overall mean absolute percentage error below 1.4% +/- 0.4% in our test dataset. For one example patient, detector dose to WET conversions were performed based on the total dose (ITotal), the primary proton dose (IPrimary), and the ProtonDSE corrected detector dose (ICorrected). The determined WET accuracy was compared with respect to the reference WET by idealistic raytracing in a manually delineated region-of-interest inside the brain. The error was determined 4.3% +/- 4.1% forWET(ITotal),2.2% +/- 1.4% forWET(IPrimary),and 2.5% +/- 2.0% forWET(ICorrected).".
• 01GTEDAKXZCBR8J3JXB38BG3NA abstract "X-ray imaging plays a crucial role in the confirmation of COVID-19 pneumonia. Chest X-ray radiography and CT are two major imaging techniques that are currently adopted in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia. However, dual-energy subtraction radiography is hardly discussed as potential COVID-19 imaging application. More advanced X-ray radiography equipment often supports dual-energy subtraction X-ray radiography. Dual-energy subtraction radiography enables the calculation of pseudo-radiographs, in which bones are removed and only soft-tissues are highlighted. In this commentary, the author would like to draw the attention to the potential use of dual-energy subtraction X-ray radiography (i.e. soft-tissue pseudo-radiography) for the assessment and the longitudinal follow-up of COVID-19 pneumonia.".
• 01GTEDAKY3W98QJW504E7TP9CH abstract "Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide. The development of orthotopic mouse models of lung cancer, which recapitulates the disease more realistically compared to the widely used subcutaneous tumor models, is expected to critically aid the development of novel therapies to battle lung cancer or related comorbidities such as cachexia. However, follow-up of tumor take, tumor growth and detection of therapeutic effects is difficult, time consuming and requires a vast number of animals in orthotopic models. Here, we describe a solution for the fully automatic segmentation and quantification of orthotopic lung tumor volume and mass in whole-body mouse computed tomography (CT) scans. The goal is to drastically enhance the efficiency of the research process by replacing time-consuming manual procedures with fast, automated ones. A deep learning algorithm was trained on 60 unique manually delineated lung tumors and evaluated by four-fold cross validation. Quantitative performance metrics demonstrated high accuracy and robustness of the deep learning algorithm for automated tumor volume analyses (mean dice similarity coefficient of 0.80), and superior processing time (69 times faster) compared to manual segmentation. Moreover, manual delineations of the tumor volume by three independent annotators was sensitive to bias in human interpretation while the algorithm was less vulnerable to bias. In addition, we showed that besides longitudinal quantification of tumor development, the deep learning algorithm can also be used in parallel with the previously published method for muscle mass quantification and to optimize the experimental design reducing the number of animals needed in preclinical studies. In conclusion, we implemented a method for fast and highly accurate tumor quantification with minimal operator involvement in data analysis. This deep learning algorithm provides a helpful tool for the noninvasive detection and analysis of tumor take, tumor growth and therapeutic effects in mouse orthotopic lung cancer models.".
• 01GTEDAKY6XGQCX02H8F9X619C abstract "The loss of skeletal muscle mass is recognized as a complication of several chronic diseases and is associated with increased mortality and a decreased quality of life. Relevant and reliable animal models in which muscle wasting can be monitored noninvasively over time are instrumental to investigate and develop new therapies. In this work, we developed a fully automatic deep learning algorithm for segmentation of micro cone beam computed tomography images of the lower limb muscle complex in mice and subsequent muscle mass calculation. A deep learning algorithm was trained on manually segmented data from 32 mice. Muscle wet mass measurements were obtained from 47 mice and served as a data set for model validation and reverse model validation. The automatic algorithm performance was ~150 times faster than manual segmentation. Reverse validation of the algorithm showed high quantitative metrics (i.e., a Dice similarity coefficient of 0.93, a Hausdorff distance of 0.4 mm, and a center of mass displacement of 0.1 mm), substantiating the robustness and accuracy of the model. A high correlation (R(2) = 0.92) was obtained between the computed tomography-derived muscle mass measurements and the muscle wet masses. Longitudinal follow-up revealed time-dependent changes in muscle mass that separated control from lung tumor-bearing mice, which was confirmed as cachexia. In conclusion, this deep learning model for automated assessment of the lower limb muscle complex provides highly accurate noninvasive longitudinal evaluation of skeletal muscle mass. Furthermore, it facilitates the workflow and increases the amount of data derived from mouse studies while reducing the animal numbers.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This deep learning application enables highly accurate noninvasive longitudinal evaluation of skeletal muscle mass changes in mice with minimal requirement for operator involvement in the data analysis. It provides a unique opportunity to increase and analyze the amount of data derived from animal studies automatically while reducing animal numbers and analytical workload.".
• 01GTEDAKYB6ACJHV188YYQRCW3 abstract "The primary cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging beam scatters inside the patient and produces a contaminating photon fluence that is registered by the detector. Scattered photons cause artifacts in the image reconstruction, and are partially responsible for the inferior image quality compared to diagnostic fan-beam CT. In this work, a deep convolutional autoencoder (DCAE) and projection-based scatter removal algorithm were constructed for the ImagingRing(TM) system on rails (IRr), which allows for non-isocentric acquisitions around virtual rotation centers with its independently rotatable source and detector arms. A Monte Carlo model was developed to simulate (i) a non-isocentric training dataset of approximately 1200 projection pairs (primary + scatter) from 27 digital head-and-neck cancer patients around five different virtual rotation centers (DCAE(NONISO)), and (ii) an isocentric dataset existing of approximately 1200 projection pairs around the physical rotation center (DCAE(ISO)). The scatter removal performance of both DCAE networks was investigated in two digital anthropomorphic phantom simulations and due to superior performance only the DCAE(NONISO) was applied on eight real patient acquisitions. Measures for the quantitative error, the signal-to-noise ratio, and the similarity were evaluated for two simulated digital head-and-neck patients, and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was investigated between muscle and adipose tissue in the real patient image reconstructions. Image quality metrics were compared between the uncorrected data, the currently implemented heuristic scatter correction data, and the DCAE corrected image reconstruction. The DCAE(NONISO) corrected image reconstructions of two digital patient simulations showed superior image quality metrics compared to the uncorrected and corrected image reconstructions using a heuristic scatter removal. The proposed DCAE(NONISO) scatter correction in this study was successfully demonstrated in real non-isocentric patient CBCT acquisitions and achieved statistically significant higher CNRs compared to the uncorrected or the heuristic corrected image data. This paper presents for the first time a projection-based scatter removal algorithm for isocentric and non-isocentric CBCT imaging using a deep convolutional autoencoder trained on Monte Carlo composed datasets. The algorithm was successfully applied to real patient data.".
• 01GTEDAKYEAYCTCPNE439RTZAM abstract "X-ray tubes for medical applications typically generate x-rays by accelerating electrons, emitted from a cathode, with an interelectrode electric field, towards an anode target. X-rays are not emitted from one point, but from an irregularly shaped area on the anode, the focal spot. Focal spot intensity distributions and off-focal radiation negatively affect the imaging spatial resolution and broadens the beam penumbra. In this study, a Monte Carlo simulation model of an x-ray tube was developed to evaluate the spectral and spatial characteristics of off-focal radiation for multiple photon energies. Slit camera measurements were used to determine the horizontal and vertical intensity profiles of the small and the large focal spot of a diagnostic x-ray tube. First, electron beamlet weighting factors were obtained via an iterative optimization method to represent both focal spot sizes. These weighting factors were then used to extract off-focal spot radiation characteristics for the small and large focal spot sizes at 80, 100, and 120 kV. Finally, 120 kV simulations of a steel sphere (d = 4 mm) were performed to investigate image blurring with a point source, the small focal spot, and the large focal spot. The magnitude of off-focal radiation strongly depends on the anode size and the electric field coverage, and only minimally on the tube potential and the primary focal spot size. In conclusion, an x-ray tube Monte Carlo simulation model was developed to simulate focal spot intensity distributions and to evaluate off-focal radiation characteristics at several energies. This model can be further employed to investigate focal spot correction methods and to improve cone-beam CT image quality.".
• 01GTEDAKYJJ4T7FWH2EDATJ87K abstract "Monte Carlo proton dose calculations requires mass densities calculated from the patient CT image. This work investigates the impact of different single-energy CT (SECT) and dual-energy CT (DECT) to density conversion methods in proton dose distributions for brain tumours.Material and methods: Head CT scans for four patients were acquired in SECT and DECT acquisition modes. Commercial software was used to reconstruct DirectDensity() images in Relative Electron Densities (RED, [Formula: see text]) and to obtain DECT-based pseudo-monoenergetic images (PMI). PMI and SECT images were converted to RED using piecewise linear interpolations calibrated on a head-sized phantom, these fits were referred to as "PMI2RED" and "CT2RED". Two DECT-based calibration methods ("Hunemohr-15it" and "Saito-15it") were also investigated. [Formula: see text] images were converted to mass-densities ([Formula: see text]) to investigate [Formula: see text]differences and one representative patient case was used to make a proton treatment plan. Using CT2RED as reference method, dose distribution differences in the target and in five organs-at-risk (OARs) were quantified.Results: In the phantom study, Saito-15it and Hunemohr-15it produced the lowest [Formula: see text]root-mean-square error (0.7%) and DirectDensity() the highest error (2.7%). The proton plan evaluated in the Saito-15it and Hunemohr-15it datasets showed the largest relative differences compared to initial CT2RED plan down to -6% of the prescribed dose. Compared to CT2RED, average range differences were calculated: -0.1 +/- 0.3 mm for PMI2RED; -0.8 +/- 0.4 mm for Hunemohr-15it, and -1.2 +/- 0.4 mm for Saito-15it.Conclusion: Given the wide choice of available conversion methods, studies investigating the density accuracy for proton dose calculations are necessary. However, there is still a gap between performing accuracy studies in reference [Formula: see text]phantoms and applying these methods in human CT images. For this treatment case, the PMI2RED method was equivalent to the conventional CT2RED method in terms of dose distribution, CTV coverage and OAR sparing, whereas Hunemohr-15it and Saito-15it presented the largest differences.".
• 01GTEDAKYPN9HEVNC25NVBYDHT abstract "BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In radiotherapy, automatic organ-at-risk segmentation algorithms allow faster delineation times, but clinically relevant contour evaluation remains challenging. Commonly used measures to assess automatic contours, such as volumetric Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) or Hausdorff distance, have shown to be good measures for geometric similarity, but do not always correlate with clinical applicability of the contours, or time needed to adjust them. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of new and commonly used evaluation measures with time-saving during contouring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty lung cancer patients were used to compare user-adjustments after atlas-based and deep-learning contouring with manual contouring. The absolute time needed (s) of adjusting the auto-contour compared to manual contouring was recorded, from this relative time-saving (%) was calculated. New evaluation measures (surface DSC and added path length, APL) and conventional evaluation measures (volumetric DSC and Hausdorff distance) were correlated with time-recordings and time-savings, quantified with the Pearson correlation coefficient, R. RESULTS: The highest correlation (R = 0.87) was found between APL and absolute adaption time. Lower correlations were found for APL with relative time-saving (R = -0.38), for surface DSC with absolute adaption time (R = -0.69) and relative time-saving (R = 0.57). Volumetric DSC and Hausdorff distance also showed lower correlation coefficients for absolute adaptation time (R = -0.32 and 0.64, respectively) and relative time-saving (R = 0.44 and -0.64, respectively). CONCLUSION: Surface DSC and APL are better indicators for contour adaptation time and time-saving when using auto-segmentation and provide more clinically relevant and better quantitative measures for automatically-generated contour quality, compared to commonly-used geometry-based measures.".
• 01GTEDAKYSKKXGP41AQVM7YW8R abstract "OBJECTIVE: This work aims to analyse the effect of respiratory motion on optimal irradiation margins for murine lung tumour models. METHODS: Four-dimensional mathematical phantoms with different lung tumour locations affected by respiratory motion were created. Two extreme breathing curves were adopted and divided into time-points. Each time-point was loaded in a treatment planning system and Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculations were performed for a 360 degrees arc plan. A time-resolved dose was derived, considering the gantry rotation and the breathing motion. Radiotherapy metrics were derived to assess the final treatment plans. An interpolation function was investigated to reduce calculation cost. RESULTS: The effect of respiratory motion on the treatment plan quality is strongly dependent on the breathing pattern and the tumour position. Tumours located closer to the diaphragm required a compromise between tumour conformity and healthy tissue damage. A recipe, which considers collimator size, was proposed to derive tumour margins and spare the organs at risk (OARs) by respecting constraints on user-defined metrics. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to add a target margin, especially on sites where movement is substantial. A simple recipe to derive tumour margins was developed. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This work is a first step towards a standard planning target volume concept in pre-clinical radiotherapy.".
• 01GTEDAKYX2ZXG9T8MXTDXEWD6 abstract "OBJECTIVE: To analyse the effect of different image reconstruction techniques on image quality and dual energy CT (DECT) imaging metrics. METHODS: A software platform for pre-clinical cone beam CT X-ray image reconstruction was built using the open-source reconstruction toolkit. Pre-processed projections were reconstructed with filtered back-projection and iterative algorithms, namely Feldkamp, Davis, and Kress (FDK), Iterative FDK, simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART), simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique and conjugate gradient. Imaging metrics were quantitatively assessed, using a quality assurance phantom, and DECT analysis was performed to determine the influence of each reconstruction technique on the relative electron density (rho(e)) and effective atomic number (Z(eff)) values. RESULTS: Iterative reconstruction had favourable results for the DECT analysis: a significantly smaller spread for each material in the rho(e)-Z(eff) space and lower Z(eff) and rho(e) residuals (on average 24 and 25% lower, respectively). In terms of image quality assurance, the techniques FDK, Iterative FDK and SART provided acceptable results. The three reconstruction methods showed similar geometric accuracy, uniformity and CT number results. The technique SART had a contrast-to-noise ratio up to 76% higher for solid water and twice as high for Teflon, but resolution was up to 28% lower when compared to the other two techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced image reconstruction can be beneficial, but the benefit is small, and calculation times may be unacceptable with current technology. The use of targeted and downscaled reconstruction grids, larger, yet practicable, pixel sizes and GPU are recommended. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: An iterative CBCT reconstruction platform was build using RTK.".
• 01GTEDAKZ1TF07FE7VP6PD8524 abstract "In radiotherapy, computed tomography (CT) datasets are mostly used for radiation treatment planning to achieve a high-conformal tumor coverage while optimally sparing healthy tissue surrounding the tumor, referred to as organs-at-risk (OARs). Based on CT scan and/or magnetic resonance images, OARs have to be manually delineated by clinicians, which is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the clinical workflow. Recent multi-atlas (MA) or deep-learning (DL) based methods aim to improve the clinical routine by an automatic segmentation of OARs on a CT dataset. However, so far no studies investigated the performance of these MA or DL methods on dual-energy CT (DECT) datasets, which have been shown to improve the image quality compared to conventional 120 kVp single-energy CT. In this study, the performance of an in-house developed MA and a DL method (two-step three-dimensional U-net) was quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated on various DECT-derived pseudo-monoenergetic CT datasets ranging from 40 keV to 170 keV. At lower energies, the MA method resulted in more accurate OAR segmentations. Both the qualitative and quantitative metric analysis showed that the DL approach often performed better than the MA method.".
• 01GTEDAKZ43P9AM0131YYXMMVB abstract "OBJECTIVE: During the treatment planning of a preclinical small animal irradiation, which has time limitations for reasons of animal wellbeing and workflow efficiency, the time consuming organ at risk (OAR) delineation is performed manually. This work aimed to develop, demonstrate, and quantitatively evaluate an automated contouring method for six OARs in a preclinical irritation treatment workflow. METHODS: Microcone beam CT images of nine healthy mice were contoured with an in-house developed multiatlas-based image segmentation (MABIS) algorithm for six OARs: kidneys, eyes, heart, and brain. The automatic contouring was compared with the manual delineation using three quantitative metrics: the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), 95th percentile Hausdorff Distance, and the centre of mass displacement. RESULTS: A good agreement between manual and automatic contouring was found for OARs with sharp organ boundaries. For the brain and the heart, the median DSC was larger than 0.94, the median 95th Hausdorff Distance smaller than 0.44 mm, and the median centre of mass displacement smaller than 0.20 mm. Lower DSC values were obtained for the other OARs, but the median DSC was still larger than 0.74 for the left eye, 0.69 for the right eye, 0.89 for the left kidney and 0.80 for the right kidney. CONCLUSION: The MABIS algorithm was able to delineate six OARs with a relatively high accuracy. Segmenting OARs with sharp organ boundaries performed better than low contrast OARs. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: A MABIS algorithm is developed, evaluated, and demonstrated in a preclinical small animal irradiation research workflow.".
• 01GTEDAKZ8AH26H2K1CW6Y3MD1 abstract "METHODS: Dual energy CT (DECT) images of 9 female mice were used to extract the effective atomic number Z(eff) and the relative electron density rho(e) for each voxel in the images. To investigate the influence of the tissue compositions on the absorbed radiation dose for a typical kilovoltage photon beam, mass energy-absorption coefficients mu(en)/rho were calculated for 10 different tissues in each mouse. RESULTS: Differences between human and murine tissue compositions can lead to errors around 7.5 % for soft tissues and 20.1 % for bone tissues in mu(en)/rho values for kilovoltage photon beams. When considering the spread within tissues, these errors can increase up to 17.5 % for soft tissues and 53.9 % for bone tissues within only a single standard deviation away from the mean tissue value. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the need for murine reference tissue data. However, assigning only a single mean reference value to an entire tissue can still lead to large errors in dose calculations given the large spread within tissues of mu(en)/rho values found in this study. Therefore, new methods such as DECT and spectral CT imaging need to be explored, which can be important next steps in improving tissue assignment for dose calculations in small animal radiotherapy. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This is the first study that investigates the implications of using human tissue compositions for dose calculations in mice for kilovoltage photon beams.".
• 01GTEDAKZBS0GCQ9VY73PAYA2W abstract "OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the Mevion S250i with HYPERSCAN clinical proton system could be used for pre-clinical research with millimetric beams. METHODS: The nozzle of the proton beam line, consisting of an energy modulation system (EMS) and an adaptive aperture (AA), was modelled with the TOPAS Monte Carlo Simulation Toolkit. With the EMS, the 230 MeV beam nominal range can be decreased in multiples of 2.1 mm. Monte Carlo dose calculations were performed in a mouse lung tumour CT image. The AA allows fields as small as 5 x 1 mm(2) to be used for irradiation. The best plans to give 2 Gy to the tumour were derived from a set of discrete energies allowed by the EMS, different field sizes and beam directions. The final proton plans were compared to a precision photon irradiation plan. Treatment times were also assessed. RESULTS: Seven different proton beam plans were investigated, with a good coverage to the tumour (D95 > 1.95 Gy, D5 < 2.3 Gy) and with potentially less damage to the organs at risk than the photon plan. For very small fields and low energies, the number of protons arriving to the target drops to 1-3%, nevertheless the treatment times would be below 5 s. CONCLUSION: The proton plans made in this study, collimated by an AA, could be used for animal irradiation. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This is one of the first study to demonstrate the feasibility of pre-clinical research with a clinical proton beam with an adaptive aperture used to create small fields.".
• 01GTEDAKZFSWETG69EW9E570D8 abstract "PURPOSE: This report presents the methods and results of the Thoracic Auto-Segmentation Challenge organized at the 2017 Annual Meeting of American Association of Physicists in Medicine. The purpose of the challenge was to provide a benchmark dataset and platform for evaluating performance of autosegmentation methods of organs at risk (OARs) in thoracic CT images. METHODS: Sixty thoracic CT scans provided by three different institutions were separated into 36 training, 12 offline testing, and 12 online testing scans. Eleven participants completed the offline challenge, and seven completed the online challenge. The OARs were left and right lungs, heart, esophagus, and spinal cord. Clinical contours used for treatment planning were quality checked and edited to adhere to the RTOG 1106 contouring guidelines. Algorithms were evaluated using the Dice coefficient, Hausdorff distance, and mean surface distance. A consolidated score was computed by normalizing the metrics against interrater variability and averaging over all patients and structures. RESULTS: The interrater study revealed highest variability in Dice for the esophagus and spinal cord, and in surface distances for lungs and heart. Five out of seven algorithms that participated in the online challenge employed deep-learning methods. Although the top three participants using deep learning produced the best segmentation for all structures, there was no significant difference in the performance among them. The fourth place participant used a multi-atlas-based approach. The highest Dice scores were produced for lungs, with averages ranging from 0.95 to 0.98, while the lowest Dice scores were produced for esophagus, with a range of 0.55-0.72. CONCLUSION: The results of the challenge showed that the lungs and heart can be segmented fairly accurately by various algorithms, while deep-learning methods performed better on the esophagus. Our dataset together with the manual contours for all training cases continues to be available publicly as an ongoing benchmarking resource.".
• 01GTEDAKZK84HXT54Z4CVYQEPM abstract "BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dedicated CT simulation models have the potential to investigate several acquisition, reconstruction, or post-processing parameters without giving any radiation dose to patients. A software program was developed for the simulation and the analysis of single-energy and dual-energy CT images. Simulation and analysis functionalities of the software are described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the software, named VOXSI (VOXelized CT SImulator), the X-ray source, user specified simulation geometry, CT setup and the detector energy response can be varied. CT image reconstructions can be performed with an implementation of the ASTRA toolbox. In the DECT post processing toolkit, GUI tools are provided to calculate effective atomic number, relative electron density, pseudo-monoenergetic images, and material map images. Quantitative CT number validation, based on a RMI 467 tissue characterization phantom model, was performed between experimental and simulated CT scans at three different X-ray tube potentials (80, 120, and 140 kVp) with a third generation CT scanner. RESULTS: Overall, a good agreement was found for the mean CT numbers of the RMI 467 inserts. For all energies, the maximum difference in CT numbers between experimental and simulated data was below 17 HU for the soft tissues and below 48 HU for the osseous tissues. CONCLUSION: The software's simulation algorithm showed a good agreement between the CT measurements and CT simulations of the RMI 467 phantom at different energies. The capabilities of the software are demonstrated by an elaborated dual-energy CT research example.".
• 01GTEDAKZPGZMQAPSJDWM7XQTH abstract "Proton beam ranges derived from dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) images from a dual-spiral radiotherapy (RT)-specific CT scanner were assessed using Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculations. Images from a dual-source and a twin-beam DECT scanner were also used to establish a comparison to the RT-specific scanner. Proton ranges extracted from conventional single-energy CT (SECT) were additionally performed to benchmark against literature values. Using two phantoms, a DECT methodology was tested as input for Geant4 MC proton dose calculations. Proton ranges were calculated for different mono-energetic proton beams irradiating both phantoms; the results were compared to the ground truth based on the phantom compositions. The same methodology was applied in a head-and-neck cancer patient using both SECT and dual-spiral DECT scans from the RT-specific scanner. A pencil-beam-scanning plan was designed, which was subsequently optimized by MC dose calculations, and differences in proton range for the different image-based simulations were assessed. For phantoms, the DECT method yielded overall better material segmentation with >86% of the voxel correctly assigned for the dual-spiral and dual-source scanners, but only 64% for a twin-beam scanner. For the calibration phantom, the dual-spiral scanner yielded range errors below 1.2 mm (0.6% of range), like the errors yielded by the dual-source scanner (<1.1 mm, <0.5%). With the validation phantom, the dual-spiral scanner yielded errors below 0.8 mm (0.9%), whereas SECT yielded errors up to 1.6 mm (2%). For the patient case, where the absolute truth was missing, proton range differences between DECT and SECT were on average in -1.2 +/- 1.2 mm (-0.5% +/- 0.5%). MC dose calculations were successfully performed on DECT images, where the dual-spiral scanner resulted in media segmentation and range accuracy as good as the dual-source CT. In the patient, the various methods showed relevant range differences.".
• 01GTEDAKZTG8FYRMV8N42RF79M abstract "BACKGROUND: To investigate the feasibility of using dual-energy CT (DECT) for tissue segmentation and kilovolt (kV) dose calculations in pre-clinical studies and assess potential dose calculation accuracy gain. METHODS: Two phantoms and an ex-vivo mouse were scanned in a small animal irradiator with two distinct energies. Tissue segmentation was performed with the single-energy CT (SECT) and DECT methods. A number of different material maps was used. Dose calculations were performed to verify the impact of segmentations on the dose accuracy. RESULTS: DECT showed better overall results in comparison to SECT. Higher number of DECT segmentation media resulted in smaller dose differences in comparison to the reference. Increasing the number of materials in the SECT method yielded more instability. Both modalities showed a limit to which adding more materials with similar characteristics ceased providing better segmentation results, and resulted in more noise in the material maps and the dose distributions. The effect was aggravated with a decrease in beam energy. For the ex-vivo specimen, the choice of only one high dense bone for the SECT method resulted in large volumes of tissue receiving high doses. For the DECT method, the choice of more than one kind of bone resulted in lower dose values for the different tissues occupying the same volume. For the organs at risk surrounded by bone, the doses were lower when using the SECT method in comparison to DECT, due to the high absorption of the bone. SECT material segmentation may lead to an underestimation of the dose to OAR in the proximity of bone. CONCLUSIONS: The DECT method enabled the selection of a higher number of materials thereby increasing the accuracy in dose calculations. In phantom studies, SECT performed best with three materials and DECT with seven for the phantom case. For irradiations in preclinical studies with kV photon energies, the use of DECT segmentation combined with the choice of a low-density bone is recommended.".
• 01GTEDAKZXG9SNCVXV4JPX2VA4 abstract "OBJECTIVE: During precision irradiation of a preclinical lung tumour model, the tumour is subject to breathing motion and it can partially move out of the irradiation field. This work aimed to perform a quantitative analysis of the impact of respiratory motion on a mouse lung tumour irradiation with small fields. METHODS: A four-dimensional digital mouse whole body phantom (MOBY) with a virtual 4-mm spherical lung tumour at different locations in both lungs is used to simulate a breathing anaesthetized mouse in different breathing phases representing a full breathing cycle. The breathing curve is determined by fluoroscopic imaging of an anaesthetized mouse. Each MOBY time frame is loaded in a dedicated treatment planning system (small animal radiotherapy-Plan) and is irradiated by a full arc with a 5-mm circular collimator. Mean and time-dependent organ doses are calculated for the tumour, heart and spinal cord. RESULTS: Depending on the location of the lung tumour, an overestimation of the mean tumour dose up to 11% is found. The mean heart dose could be both overestimated or underestimated because the heart moves in or out of the irradiation field depending on the beam target location. The respiratory motion does not affect the mean spinal cord dose. A dose gradient is visible in the time-dependent tumour dose distribution. CONCLUSION: In the future, new methods need to be developed to track the lung tumour motion before preclinical irradiation to adjust the irradiation plan. Margins, collimator diameter and target dose could be changed easily, but they all have their drawbacks. State-of-the-art clinical techniques such as respiratory gating or motion tracking may offer a solution for the cold spots in the time-dependent tumour dose. Advances in knowledge: A suitable method is found to quantify changes in organ dose due to respiratory motion in mouse lung tumour image-guided precision irradiation.".
• 01GTEDBGJB61SZP9552KMP2A3F abstract "Muscle atrophy is an extra-pulmonary complication of acute exacerbations (AE) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The endogenous production and therapeutic application of glucocorticoids (GCs) have been implicated as drivers of muscle loss in AE-COPD. The enzyme 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11beta-HSD1) activates GCs and contributes towards GC-induced muscle wasting. To explore the potential of 11betaHSD1 inhibition to prevent muscle wasting here, the objective of this study was to ascertain the contribution of endogenous GC activation and amplification by 11betaHSD1 in skeletal muscle wasting during AE-COPD. Emphysema was induced by intra-tracheal (IT) instillation of elastase to model COPD in WT and 11betaHSD1/KO mice, followed by vehicle or IT-LPS administration to mimic AE. microCT scans were obtained prior and at study endpoint 48h following IT-LPS, to assess emphysema development and muscle mass changes, respectively. Plasma cytokine and GC profiles were determined by ELISA. In vitro myonuclear accretion and cellular response to plasma and GCs were determined in C2C12 and human primary myotubes. Muscle wasting was exacerbated in LPS-11betaHSD1/KO animals compared to WT controls. RT-qPCR and western blot analysis showed elevated catabolic and suppressed anabolic pathways in muscle of LPS-11betaHSD1/KO animals relative to WTs. Plasma corticosterone levels were higher in LPS-11betaHSD1/KO animals, whilst C2C12 myotubes treated with LPS-11betaHSD1/KO plasma or exogenous GCs displayed reduced myonuclear accretion relative to WT counterparts. This study reveals that 11beta-HSD1 inhibition aggravates muscle wasting in a model of AE-COPD, suggesting that therapeutic inhibition of 11beta-HSD1 may not be appropriate to prevent muscle wasting in this setting.".
• 01GTEGWW21T5HMX3BTGYCRNC5T abstract "Recently, controlling a wind energy conversion system (WECS) under fluctuating wind speed and enhancing the quality of power delivered to the grid has been a demanding challenge for many researchers. This paper provides a comprehensive review of synchronous generator-based WECSs. This paper will investigate the growth of wind energy in Egypt and throughout the world, as well as the technological and financial significance of wind energy. The block diagram of a typical grid-connected WECS, power control techniques, characteristic power curve-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT), and MPPT techniques are also presented in this study. Moreover, this study compares different power converter topologies for grid-connected and independent WECSs that use a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG).".
• 01GTEHEKR917DHZR1DB8JE8DTV abstract "Introduction Physical activity (PA) is reduced in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Evidence about the PA pattern of patients with ILD is scarce. If PA of patients with ILD would be comparable to COPD, it is tempting to speculate that existing interventions focusing on enhancing PA could be as effective in ILD as already shown in COPD. Therefore, we aimed to compare PA and the correlates with PA in matched patients with ILD, COPD, and healthy subjects. Materials and methods Patients with ILD (n = 45), COPD (n = 45) and healthy subjects (n = 30) were propensity matched. PA level, pattern, and PA correlations with lung function and physical performance (6-minute walking distance and quadriceps force) were compared between groups. Results Daily number of steps was similar in both patient groups (meanSE: 5631 +/- 459 for ILD, 5544 +/- 547 for COPD, p = 0.900), but significantly lower compared to healthy subjects (10031 +/- 536, p<0.001 for both). Mean intensity of PA tended to be lower in the ILD group (mean +/- SE metabolic equivalents of task per day: 1.41 +/- 0.04) compared to COPD (1.52 +/- 0.05, p = 0.074) and healthy individuals (1.67 +/- 0.04, p<0.001). The pattern of PA over one day was found to be similar between the three groups. Lastly, the correlation between PA and 6-minute walking distance was significantly weaker in patients with ILD compared to patients with COPD (respectively r = 0.348 and r = 0.739; p<0.05 for both). Conclusions For a given functional reserve, patients with ILD perform an equal amount of steps but perform PA at lower intensity compared to patients with COPD. Both groups are less active compared to healthy control subjects. Functional exercise capacity was shown to be only moderately related to PA. This can potentially influence the effectiveness of PA interventions that can be expected.".
• 01GTEKB52D0FX83KWDTS32AYDV abstract "The radiosensitivity of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) to neutron radiation remains largely underexplored, notwithstanding their potential role as target cells for radiation-induced leukemogenesis. New insights are required for radiation protection purposes, particularly for aviation, space missions, nuclear accidents and even particle therapy. In this study, HSPCs (CD34(+)CD38(+) cells) were isolated from umbilical cord blood and irradiated with Co-60 gamma-rays (photons) and high energy p(66)/Be(40) neutrons. At 2 h post-irradiation, a significantly higher number of 1.28 +/- 0.12 gamma-H2AX foci/cell was observed after 0.5 Gy neutrons compared to 0.84 +/- 0.14 foci/cell for photons, but this decreased to similar levels for both radiation qualities after 18 h. However, a significant difference in late apoptosis was observed with Annexin-V+/PI+ assay between photon and neutron irradiation at 18 h, 43.17 +/- 6.10% versus 55.55 +/- 4.87%, respectively. A significant increase in MN frequency was observed after both 0.5 and 1 Gy neutron irradiation compared to photons illustrating higher levels of neutron-induced cytogenetic damage, while there was no difference in the nuclear division index between both radiation qualities. The results point towards a higher induction of DNA damage after neutron irradiation in HSPCs followed by error-prone DNA repair, which contributes to genomic instability and a higher risk of leukemogenesis.".
• 01GTEMT5N18DNED1F4AS5DBW9P abstract "Among the dairy sector's current concerns, the as-sessment of global animal health status is a complex challenge. Its multidimensionality means that global monitoring tools are rarely considered. Instead, specific disease detection is often studied separately and, due to financial and ethical issues, uses small-scale data sets focusing on few biomarkers. Several studies have already been conducted using milk Fourier transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectroscopy to detect mastitis and lameness or to quantify health-related biomarkers in milk or blood. Those studies are relevant but they focus mainly on one biomarker or disease. To solve this issue and the small-scale data set, in this study, we proposed a holistic approach using big data obtained from milk recording, including milk yield, somatic cell count, and 27 FT-MIR-based predictors related to milk composition and animal health status. Using 740,454 records collected from 114,536 first-parity Holstein cows in southern Belgium, we performed repeated unsupervised learning algorithms based on Ward's agglomerative hierarchical clustering method to find potential interesting patterns. A divide-and-conquer approach was used to overcome the limitation of computational resources in clustering a relatively large data set. Five groups of records were identified. Differences observed in the fourth group suggested a relationship to metabolic disorders. The fifth group seemed to be related to mastitis. In a second step, we performed a partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) to predict the probability of belonging to those specific groups for the entire data set. The obtained global ac-curacy was 0.77 and the balanced accuracy (i.e., the mean between sensitivity and specificity) of discrimi-nating the fourth and fifth groups was 0.88 and 0.96, respectively. Then, a validation of the interpretation of those groups was performed using 204 milk and blood reference records. The predicted probability associated with the metabolic disorders issue had significant cor-relations of 0.54 with blood beta-hydroxybutyrate, 0.44 with blood nonesterified fatty acids, -0.32 with blood glucose, -0.23 with milk glucose-6-phosphate, and 0.38 with milk isocitrate. In contrast, the predicted prob-ability of belonging to the mastitis group had correla-tions of 0.69 with milk lactate dehydrogenase, 0.46 with milk N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, -0.18 with milk free glucose, and 0.16 with milk glucose-6-phosphate. Consequently, these results suggest that the obtained quantitative traits indirectly reflect some of the main health disorders in dairy farming and could be used to monitor dairy cows on a large scale. By using unsuper-vised learning on large-scale milk recording data and then validating the pattern using reference laboratory measures, we propose a new approach to quickly assess dairy cow health status.".
• 01GTEPV0YTQW84YCWTK9BHNCDR abstract "Objectives Dental diseases are a major problem in cats and often necessitate tooth extraction. Medical-grade honey (MGH) has antimicrobial and wound-healing properties, and therefore the aim of this study was to investigate whether intra-socket application improved healing after tooth extraction. It was postulated that applying MGH would reduce inflammation, improve the viability of the surgical flap and enhance healing following tooth extraction. Methods A prospective randomised controlled trial was performed in client-owned cats undergoing bilateral tooth extractions of the same element of the canine or (pre)molar tooth. A split-mouth design was used in which every animal served as its own control. After surgical extraction of the elements, the sockets on one side were filled with an MGH-based ointment (L-Mesitran Soft), whereas the contralateral side received no treatment (control). A mucoperiosteal flap was used on both sides, and simple interrupted monofilament sutures were placed. No antimicrobial drugs were administered. Clinical parameters (inflammation/redness, flap viability and wound healing) were subjectively analysed on days 3 and 7 post-extraction by a veterinarian blinded to the treatment. Results Twenty-one cats were included. MGH significantly decreased signs of inflammation (P <0.01), improved mucoperiosteal flap viability (P <0.01) and promoted wound healing (P = 0.01), at both time points. MGH was easy to apply and there were no adverse events. Conclusions and relevance Intra-socket application of MGH after tooth extraction positively affects the surgical wound, as it reduces redness, improves flap viability and enhances wound healing. Applying MGH represents a potent adjuvant therapy to support intra-oral wound healing after tooth extraction.".
• 01GTEPV0Z1B7BYD08FDQ92BFEP abstract "Background Canine intrarenal cystic lesions (ICLs) are infrequently reported in the veterinary literature. Several treatment options have been described including cyst fenestration (partial nephrectomy/deroofing) +/- omentalization, sclerotherapy using alcohol as a sclerosing agent, percutaneous cyst drainage (PCD), and ureteronephrectomy. Information regarding presenting clinical signs, physical examination findings, histologic diagnosis and outcomes of dogs with ICLs treated by different methods is limited. Medical records of 11 institutions were retrospectively reviewed to identify dogs that underwent PCD, sclerotherapy, surgical deroofing +/- omentalization, or ureteronephrectomy for management of ICLs from 2004 to 2021. Six weeks postoperative/post-procedural follow-up was required. Cases suspected to represent malignancy on preoperative imaging were excluded. The study objective was to provide information regarding perioperative characteristics, complications, and outcomes of dogs undergoing treatment of ICLs. Results Eighteen dogs were included, with 24 ICLs treated. Ten had bilateral. There were 15 males and 3 females, with crossbreeds predominating. PCD, sclerotherapy, deroofing and ureteronephrectomy were performed in 5 (5 ICLs treated), 7 (11 ICLs), 6 (6), and 7 (7) dogs, respectively, with 5 dogs undergoing > 1 treatment. Seven dogs experienced 8 complications, with requirement for additional intervention commonest. PCD, sclerotherapy and deroofing resulted in ICL resolution in 0/5, 3/11 and 3/6 treated ICLs, respectively. Histopathology identified renal cysts (RCs) in 7/13 dogs with histopathology available and neoplasia in 6/13 (4 malignant, 2 benign). Of 5 dogs diagnosed histopathologically with neoplasia, cytology of cystic fluid failed to identify neoplastic cells. Among 7 dogs with histologically confirmed RCs, 4 had concurrent ICLs in ipsilateral/contralateral kidney, compared with 2/6 dogs with histologically confirmed neoplasia. Conclusions Benign and neoplastic ICLs were approximately equally common and cystic fluid cytology failed to differentiate the 2. Among renal-sparing treatments, deroofing most commonly resulted in ICL resolution. Presence of concurrent ICLs in ipsilateral/contralateral kidney does not appear reliable in differentiating benign from malignant ICLs.".
• 01GTEPV0Z585QSAJVSH5FVMZ29 abstract "After surgical resection of a solid tumor in dogs and humans, local recurrence is an important risk. The standard techniques to determine intraoperative margins, visual inspection and palpation are not very accurate. Fluorescence-guided surgery can play an important role in oncologic surgery. Tumor-specific ligands, conjugated to a fluorescent dye, can accurately stain cancer cells by binding to their target protein, thereby increasing the chance of complete surgical removal of the tumor. In this comparative study, a comparison is made between two potentially interesting target proteins for their use in fluorescence-guided oncologic surgery in veterinary medicine. The main evaluation criteria for a suitable target protein are tumor-specificity, with a high expression in tumor tissue and little or no expression in the surrounding normal tissues, and accessibility of the protein to the ligand, with expression on the celmembrane being preferred above intra-cellular expression. Due to the heterogeneity in protein expression between different tumor types, it is important that the expression of a ligand in a certain tumor type is investigated before its use as a target for fluorescence-guided surgery.".
• 01GTEPV0Z585QSAJVSH5FVMZ29 abstract "Na chirurgische resectie van een solide tumor bij honden en mensen is lokaal recidief een belangrijk risico. De klassieke technieken voor visuele inspectie, palpatie en de bepaling van intraoperatieve tumormarges zijn weinig nauwkeurig. Fluorescentie-geleide chirurgie kan een belangrijke rol spelen in de oncologische chirurgie. Tumor-specifieke liganden, gekoppeld aan een fluorescente stof, kunnen tumorcellen op een accurate manier aankleuren door te binden aan hun doelwitproteïne, en daardoor de kans op volledige chirurgische verwijdering van de tumor verhogen. In deze literatuurstudie werd een vergelijking gemaakt tussen twee potentieel interessante doelwitproteïnen voor gebruik bij fluorescentie-geleide oncologische chirurgie in de diergeneeskunde, zijnde cycline D1 en “epidermal growth factor receptor” (EGFR). Het voornaamste evaluatiecriterium is tumorspecificiteit, waarbij er hoge expressie is in het tumorweefsel en weinig tot geen expressie in het omliggende, gezonde weefsel. Ook de bereikbaarheid van het proteïne voor de ligand, waarbij expressie op de celmembraan de voorkeur geniet ten opzichte van intracellullaire expressie, is een evaluatiecriterium. Door zijn betere beschikbaarheid en betere specificiteit lijkt EGFR meer aangewezen voor fluorescentie-geleide oncologische chirurgie bij honden dan cycline D1. Door de grote diversiteit in eiwitexpressie tussen verschillende tumoren is het echter belangrijk om resultaten inzake toepasbaarheid niet te veralgemenen voor andere types tumoren. Hoewel studies en toepassingen uit de humane geneeskunde richtinggevend kunnen zijn voor toepassingen in de diergeneeskunde, mogen onderzoeksresultaten niet rechtstreeks vertaald worden naar andere species.".

• first
• previous
• next