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Standard seismic acquisition and processing require appropriate source–receiver offsets. P-cable technology represents the opposite, namely, very short source–receiver offsets at the price of increased spatial and lateral resolution with a high-frequency source. To use this advantage, a processing flow excluding offset information is required. This aim can be achieved with a processing tuned to diffractions because point diffractions scatter the same information in the offset and midpoint direction. Usually, diffractions are small amplitude events and a careful diffraction separation is required as a first step. We suggest the strategy to use a multiparameter stacking operator, for example, common-reflection surface, and stack along the midpoint direction. The obtained kinematic wave-front attributes are used to calculate time-migration velocities. A diffractivity map serves as a filter to refine the velocities. This strategy is applied to a 3-D P-cable data set to obtain a time-migrated image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radar interferometry measurements were used to determine the dynamic response of two bridges. The dynamic excitation was performed via trucks crossing the road bumps placed upon each structure. From the relevant records we then determined the spectral values of the bridges. Detailed mathematical models enabled us to compute the natural frequencies and modes (shapes), and these were subsequently compared with their measured counterparts.

Introduction: Studies have shown that pregnant women with COVID-19 have a higher risk of intensive care unit admission and invasive mechanical ventilation support than non-pregnant women. Pregnancy-associated physiological changes in respiratory function may contribute to the elevated risk. Alteration in lung volumes and capacities are attributed to the mechanical impediment caused by the growing fetus. Multiple pregnancies may therefore compromise functional lung capacity earlier than singleton pregnancies and contribute to severe respiratory symptoms of COVID-19., Materials and Methods: A total of 5514 women with a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy registered in the COVID-19 Related Obstetric and Neonatal Outcome Study were included. The COVID-19-related adverse maternal outcomes were compared in 165 multiple versus 5349 singleton pregnancies. Combined adverse maternal outcome was defined as presence of COVID-19-related hospitalization and/or pneumonia and/or oxygen administration and/or transfer to ICU and/or death. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated., Results: The frequency of dyspnea, likelihood of developing dyspnea in a defined pregnancy week and duration of the symptomatic phase of the COVID-19 infection did not differ between the two groups. On average, COVID-19-related combined adverse outcome occurred earlier during pregnancy in women expecting more than one child than in singleton pregnancies. The overall incidence of singular and combined COVID-19-associated adverse maternal outcomes was not significantly different between groups. However, regression analysis revealed that multiple gestation, preconceptional BMI > 30 kg/m 2 and gestational age correlated significantly with an increased risk of combined adverse maternal outcome. Conversely, maternal age and medically assisted reproduction were not significant risk factors for combined adverse maternal outcome., Conclusion: Our data show that multiple gestation alone is a risk factor for COVID-19-associated combined adverse maternal outcome. Moreover, severe courses of COVID-19 in women expecting more than one child are observed earlier in pregnancy than in singleton pregnancies., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is the most common respiratory pathogen in patients with chronic obstructive disease. Limited data is available investigating the impact of NTHi infections on cellular re-differentiation processes in the bronchial mucosa. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of stimulation with NTHi on the bronchial epithelium regarding cellular re-differentiation processes using primary bronchial epithelial cells harvested from infection-free patients undergoing bronchoscopy. The cells were then cultivated using an air-liquid interface and stimulated with NTHi and TGF-β. Markers of epithelial and mesenchymal cells were analyzed using immunofluorescence, Western blot and qRT-PCR. Stimulation with both NTHi and TGF-ß led to a marked increase in the expression of the mesenchymal marker vimentin, while E-cadherin as an epithelial marker maintained a stable expression throughout the experiments. Furthermore, expression of collagen 4 and the matrix-metallopeptidases 2 and 9 were increased after stimulation, while the expression of tissue inhibitors of metallopeptidases was not affected by pathogen stimulation. In this study we show a direct pathogen-induced trans-differentiation of primary bronchial epithelial cells resulting in a co-localization of epithelial and mesenchymal markers and an up-regulation of extracellular matrix components.

Background: Incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) leads to motor and sensory deficits. Even in ambulatory persons with good motor function an impaired proprioception may result in an insecure gait. Limited internal afferent feedback (FB) can be compensated by provision of external FB by therapists or technical systems. Progress in computational power of motion analysis systems allows for implementation of instrumented real-time FB. The aim of this study was to test if individuals with iSCI can normalize their gait kinematics during FB and more importantly maintain an improvement after therapy., Methods: Individuals with chronic iSCI had to complete 6 days (1 day per week) of treadmill-based FB training with a 2 weeks pause after 3 days of training. Each day consists of an initial gait analysis followed by 2 blocks with FB/no-FB. During FB the deviation of the mean knee angle during swing from a speed matched reference (norm distance, ND) is visualized as a number. The task consists of lowering the ND, which was updated after every stride. Prior to the tests in patients the in-house developed FB implementation was tested in healthy subjects with an artificial movement task., Results: Four of five study participants benefited from FB in the short and medium term. Decrease of mean ND was highest during the first 3 sessions (from 3.93 ± 1.54 to 2.18 ± 1.04). After the pause mean ND stayed in the same range than before. In the last 3 sessions the mean ND decreased slower (2.40 ± 1.18 to 2.20 ± 0.90). Direct influences of FB ranged from 60 to 15% of reduction in mean ND compared to initial gait analysis and from 20 to 1% compared to no-FB sessions., Conclusions: Instrumented kinematic real-time FB may serve as an effective adjunct to established gait therapies in normalizing the gait pattern after incomplete spinal cord injury. Further studies with larger patient groups need to prove long term learning and the successful transfer of newly acquired skills to activities of daily living.

Background: Legislation and practice of involuntary hospital admission vary substantially among European countries, but differences in outcomes have not been studied., Aims: To explore patients' views following involuntary hospitalisation in different European countries., Method: In a prospective study in 11 countries, 2326 consecutive involuntary patients admitted to psychiatric hospital departments were interviewed within 1 week of admission; 1809 were followed up 1 month and 1613 3 months later. Patients' views as to whether the admission was right were the outcome criterion., Results: In the different countries, between 39 and 71% felt the admission was right after 1 month, and between 46 and 86% after 3 months. Females, those living alone and those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia had more negative views. Adjusting for confounding factors, differences between countries were significant., Conclusions: International differences in legislation and practice may be relevant to outcomes and inform improvements in policies, particularly in countries with poorer outcomes.

This article systematically reviews the literature on the outcome of acute hospitalization for adult general psychiatric patients admitted involuntarily as compared to patients admitted voluntarily. Inclusion and exclusion criteria qualified 41 out of 3,227 references found in Medline and PSYNDEXplus literature searches for this review. The authors independently rated these articles on six pre-defined indicators of research quality, carried out statistical comparisons ex-post facto where not reported, and computed for each adequate result the effect size index d for the comparison of means, and the Phi- or contingency coefficient for cross-tabulated data. Methodological quality of the studies, coming mostly from North American and European countries, showed significant variation and was higher concerning service-related than clinical or subjective outcomes. Main deficits appeared in sample size estimation, lack of clear follow-up time-points, and the absence of standardized instruments used to assess clinical outcomes. Length of stay, readmission risk, and risk of involuntary readmission were at least equal or greater for involuntary patients. Involuntary patients showed no increased mortality, but did have higher suicide rates than voluntary patients. Further, involuntary patients demonstrated lower levels of social functioning, and equal levels of general psychopathology and treatment compliance; they were more dissatisfied with treatment and more frequently felt that hospitalization was not justified. Future methodologically-sound studies exploring this topic should focus on patient populations not represented here. Further research should also clarify if the legal admission status is sufficiently valid for differentiating the outcome of acute hospitalization.

Previous national research has shown significant variation in several aspects of coercive treatment measures in psychiatry. The EUNOMIA project, an international study funded by the European Commission, aims to assess the clinical practice of these measures and their outcomes. Its naturalistic and epidemiological design is being implemented at 13 centres in 12 European countries. This article describes the design of the study and provides preliminary data on the catchment areas, staff, available facilities and modalities of care at the participating centres.

Objective: As the use of "day hospitals" increases, conceptual models of these services are changing dramatically across Europe. Therefore, the need arises for mental health services research to assess this process cross-nationally in a standardised and systematic way. Such research approaches should seek to maximise the generalisability of results from high-quality (e.g. randomised controlled) single- or multi-site trials assessing specific models of day hospital care., Method: Using a self-developed structured questionnaire, the European Day Hospital Evaluation (EDEN) study group carried out national surveys of the characteristics of day hospitals for general psychiatric patients in Germany, England, Poland, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, during the period 2001--2002., Results: Response rates varied from 52 to 91 %. Findings show that day hospitals have no consistent profile of structural and procedural features. Similarities across countries focus on three main issues: on average, consideration of concepts oriented toward providing acute treatment are equivalent; disorders associated with disabled functioning in everyday life, high risk of somatic complications, and need for behaviour control are excluded to a comparable degree; and some core therapeutic activities are consistent with the main approaches of social psychiatry. Identified according to self-rated conceptions and extended with data from individual hospital's statistics on the clientele in 2000, three clusters of limited selectivity subdivide the services. One category focuses mainly on rehabilitative tasks; two categories are oriented toward providing acute treatment as an alternative to inpatient care, but combine this either with rehabilitative tasks or with equal additional functions of shortening inpatient treatment and providing psychotherapy. The distribution of services across these three clusters varies significantly in the five European countries., Conclusion: Future day hospital studies should always clarify the type of services being assessed. To fully consider the impact of their results, the current national and international health policy environment of these services should be taken into account. Such surveys require enhanced methodology, however, in order to identify clear, distinct categories of services characterised by overlapping programme functions, and to increase the generalisability of valid results from single- or multi-site trials.