Search

Purpose: To optimize the gypsum mold temperatures for pressed PEEK, and to estimate the impact, tensile strength and flexural properties of pressed and milled PEEK. Where appropriate, these properties were compared with those of PMMA. Materials and Methods: Since the mold temperature could affect the properties of the injected parts, the temperature of 20 gypsum specimens was monitored using the multi-thermocouple system (n = 5). A total of 210 specimens were prepared for mechanical tests according to the ISO standard for denture base polymer (n = 10). The Izod impact, tensile strength, and flexural behavior were assessed. PEEK-OptimaNI1 (PEEK-pressed) was tested after processing via the pressing method at4 different mold temperatures. Machining PEEK-Juvora (PEEK-milled) specimens were prepared using the CAD-CAM production method. Data were analyzed via one-way ANOVA performed at a confidence level of 95% and a significant P-value of (P ≤ 0.05). Results: In comparison to the furnace temperature more heat was required to preheat the gypsum mold up to 100, 150, 175 and 200 °C for pressing purposes. The highest impact strength was 5.7 kJ/m2 for PEEK-pressed at 100 °C mold temperature and 4 kJ/m2 for PEEK-milled. The latter had a higher tensile strength of 118 MPa. The best result for PEEK-pressed was 97 MPa at 200 °C mold temperature. Under a 4-point bending test, Young’s modulus of PEEK-milled was 5591 MPa, while the highest for PEEK-pressed was 4936 MPa at 200 °C mold temperature. Conclusions: Compared to PMMA, given the superior mechanical properties of PEEK, it may become the material of choice for future use. Dentures constructed from PEEK polymer could well be routinely constructed in the near future. Keywords: Polyetheretherketone, Denture base material, Impact strength, 4-point bend, Tensile strength, Mold temperature, Injection molding, CAD-CAM

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement No 772751, RAVEN, “Rapid mass losses of debris covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia”. Ice cliffs play a key role in the mass balance of debris-covered glaciers, but assessing their importance is limited by a lack of datasets on their distribution and evolution at scales larger than an individual glacier. These datasets are often derived using operator-biased and time-consuming manual delineation approaches, despite the recent emergence of semi-automatic mapping methods. These methods have used elevation or multispectral data, but the varying slope and mixed spectral signal of these dynamic features makes the transferability of these approaches particularly challenging. We develop three semi-automated and objective new approaches, based on the Spectral Curvature and Linear Spectral Unmixing of multispectral images, to map these features at a glacier to regional scale. The transferability of each method is assessed by applying it to three sites in the Himalaya, where debris-covered glaciers are widespread, with varying lithologic, glaciological and climatic settings, and encompassing different periods of the melt season. We develop the new methods keeping in mind the wide range of remote sensing platforms currently in use, and focus in particular on two products: we apply the three approaches at each site to near-contemporaneous atmospherically-corrected Pléiades (2 m resolution) and Sentinel-2 (10 m resolution) images and assess the effects of spatial and spectral resolution on the results. We find that the Spectral Curvature method works best for the high spatial resolution, four band Pléaides images, while a modification of the Linear Spectral Unmixing using the scaling factor of the unmixing is best for the coarser spatial resolution, but additional spectral information of Sentinel-2 products. In both cases ice cliffs are mapped with a Dice coefficient higher than 0.48. Comparison of the Pléiades results with other existing methods shows that the Spectral Curvature approach performs better and is more robust than any other existing automated or semi-automated approaches. Both methods outline a high number of small, sometimes shallow-sloping and thinly debris-covered ice patches that differ from our traditional understanding of cliffs but may have non-negligible impact on the mass balance of debris-covered glaciers. Overall these results pave the way for large scale efforts of ice cliff mapping that can enable inclusion of these features in debris-covered glacier melt models, as well as allow the generation of multiple datasets to study processes of cliff formation, evolution and decline. Publisher PDF

The hydrological characteristics of debris-covered glaciers are known to be fundamentally different from those of clean-ice glaciers, even within the same climatological, geological, and geomorphological setting. Understanding how these characteristics influence the timing and magnitude of meltwater discharge is particularly important for regions where downstream communities rely on this resource for sanitation, irrigation, and hydropower, such as High Mountain Asia. The hydrology of debris-covered glaciers is complex: rugged surface topographies typically route meltwater through compound supraglacial-englacial systems involving both channels and ponds, as well as pathways that remain unknown. Low-gradient tongues that extend several kilometres retard water conveyance and promote englacial storage. Englacial conduits are frequently abandoned and reactivated as water supply changes, new lines of permeability are exploited, and drainage is captured due to high rates of surface and subsurface change. Seasonal influences, such as the monsoon, are superimposed on these distinctive characteristics, reorganising surface and subsurface drainage rapidly from one season to the next. Recent advances in understanding have mostly come from studies aimed at quantifying and describing supraglacial processes; little is known about the subsurface hydrology, particularly the nature (or even existence) of subglacial drainage. In this review, we consider in turn the supraglacial, englacial, subglacial, and proglacial hydrological domains of debris-covered glaciers in High Mountain Asia. We summarise different lines of evidence to establish the current state of knowledge and, in doing so, identify major knowledge gaps. Finally, we use this information to suggest six themes for future hydrological research at High Mountain Asian debris-covered glaciers in order to make timely long-term predictions of changes in the water they supply.

Background: Characterization of the mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) safety profile is important as this novel therapy continues to be evaluated in clinical trials for various inflammatory conditions. Due to an increase in published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from 2012–2019, we performed an updated systematic review to further characterize the MSC safety profile. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Web of Science (to May 2018) were searched. RCTs that compared intravascular delivery of MSCs to controls in adult populations were included. Pre-specified adverse events were grouped according to: (1) immediate, (2) infection, (3) thrombotic/embolic, and (4) longer-term events (mortality, malignancy). Adverse events were pooled and meta-analyzed by fitting inverse-variance binary random effects models. Primary and secondary clinical efficacy endpoints were summarized descriptively. Findings: 7473 citations were reviewed and 55 studies met inclusion criteria (n = 2696 patients). MSCs as compared to controls were associated with an increased risk of fever (Relative Risk (RR) = 2·48, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1·27–4·86; I2 = 0%), but not non-fever acute infusional toxicity, infection, thrombotic/embolic events, death, or malignancy (RR = 1·16, 0·99, 1·14, 0·78, 0·93; 95% CI = 0·70–1·91, 0·81–1·21, 0·67–1·95, 0·65–0·94, 0·60–1·45; I2 = 0%, 0%, 0%, 0%, 0%). No included trials were ended prematurely due to safety concerns. Interpretations: MSC therapy continues to exhibit a favourable safety profile. Future trials should continue to strengthen study rigor, reporting of MSC characterization, and adverse events. Funding: Stem Cell Network, Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Ontario Research Fund Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells, Safety, Adverse events, Systematic review

Background Diagnosis of chronic low back pain (CLBP) is traditionally predicated on identifying underlying pathological or anatomical causes, with treatment outcomes modest at best. Alternately, it is suggested that identification of underlying pain mechanisms with treatments targeted towards specific pain phenotypes may yield more success. Differentiation between nociceptive and neuropathic components of CLBP is problematic; evidence suggests that clinicians fail to identify a significant neuropathic component in many CLBP patients. The painDETECT questionnaire (PDQ) was specifically developed to identify occult but significant neuropathic components in individuals thought to have predominantly nociceptive pain. Methods Using the PDQ, we classified 50 CLBP patients into two distinct groups; those with predominantly nociceptive pain (Group 1) and those with a significant neuropathic component (Group 2). We characterised these two distinct CLBP sub-groups using a) questionnaire-based behavioural evaluation measuring pain-related function and quality of life, pain intensity and psychological well-being and b) sensory examination, using two-point and tactile threshold discrimination. Objective We sought to determine if differences in the pain phenotype of each CLBP sub-group would be reflected in sensory and behavioural group profiles. Results We report that Group 1 and Group 2 sub-groups demonstrate unique clinical profiles with significant differences in sensory tactile discrimination thresholds and in a wide range of behavioural domains measuring pain intensity, disability and psychological well-being. Conclusion We have demonstrated distinct clinical profiles for CLBP patient sub-groups classified by PDQ. Our results give diagnostic confidence in using the PDQ to characterise two distinct pain phenotypes in a heterogeneous CLBP population., Highlights • Identification of underlying CLBP pain phenotypes is challenging. • We used painDETECT to identify nociceptive and neuropathic CLBP subgroups. • We demonstrate unique sensory and behavioural clinical profiles for each group. • More accurate identification of CLBP pain phenotypes may improve treatment outcomes.

One of the major challenges for food research is to understand how molecules interact with each other to give food its structure and resulting texture. We wish to know how different food macromolecules, proteins and polysaccharides, interact. Clearly the interactions are not extensive because solid foods that result provide excellent examples of the fast developing field of soft matter (if the interactions were extensive a rigid solid would result, which would likely be unpalatable and indigestible). As a model system we have chosen to work with two macromolecules that are not found together in basic foods, but are likely to mix together in a manufacturing process. They are β-lactoglobulin, the most abundant whey protein and pectins which originate from plant cell walls (dietary fibres) and are available in a range of sizes and charges. A knowledge of how they interact will help us understand texture and other properties of foods. This should lead to improvements in food manufacture and possibly novel foods. Remembering we eat a mixed diet, this knowledge is relevant to food digestion. Further, such complexes can be used to deliver bioactive compounds and nutrients such as polyphenolics, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals to targeted regions of the human gut.

Highlights • Analysis of complete capsule loci in all 18 serovars of A. pleuropneumoniae. • Novel insights into evolution of capsule loci in A. pleuropneumoniae. • Development of two mPCRs for comprehensive capsule typing., Problems with serological cross-reactivity have led to development of a number of PCRs (individual and multiplex) for molecular typing of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. Most of these assays were developed for detection of specific amplicons within capsule biosynthetic genes before the availability of complete sequences for the different serovars. Here we describe comparative analysis of the complete capsular loci for all 18 serovars of A. pleuropneumoniae, and development of two multiplex PCRs for comprehensive capsule typing of this important pig pathogen.

We present the results of a process to attempt to identify 100 questions that, if answered, would make a substantial difference to terrestrial and marine landscape restoration in Europe. Representatives from a wide range of European governmental and non-governmental conservation organisations, universities, independent ecologists and land managers compiled 677 questions relating to all aspects of European landscape restoration for nature and people. The questions were shortlisted by an email vote, followed by a two-day workshop, to produce the final list of 100 questions. Many of the final questions evolved through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into eight sections: conservation of biodiversity; connectivity, migration and translocations; delivering and evaluating restoration; natural processes; ecosystem services; social and cultural aspects of restoration; policy and governance; and economics. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and policy-makers and assist funders and programme managers in allocating funds and planning projects, resulting in improved understanding and implementation of landscape-scale ecological restoration in Europe. This exercise was funded by Arcadia (as is WJS), a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, through the Endangered Landscapes Programme.

Highlights • Identification of two new serovars of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. • Serological confirmation of specific reactivity with homologous antisera. • Characterization of the capsule loci of serovars 17 and 18. • Development of PCRs for molecular diagnostics., The aim of this study was to investigate isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae previously designated serologically either as non-typable (NT) or as ‘K2:07’, which did not produce serovar-specific amplicons in PCR assays. We used whole genome sequencing to identify the capsule (CPS) loci of six previously designated biovar 1 NT and two biovar 1 ‘K2:O7’ isolates of A. pleuropneumoniae from Denmark, as well as a recent biovar 2 NT isolate from Canada. All of the NT isolates have the same six-gene type I CPS locus, sharing common cpsABC genes with serovars 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 13. The two ‘K2:O7’ isolates contain a unique three-gene type II CPS locus, having a cpsA gene similar to that of serovars 1, 4, 12, 14 and 15. The previously NT isolates share the same O-antigen genes, found between erpA and rpsU, as serovars 3, 6, 8, and 15. Whereas the ‘K2:O7’ isolates, have the same O-antigen genes as serovar 7, which likely contributed to their previous mis-identification. All of the NT and ‘K2:O7’ isolates have only the genes required for production of ApxII (apxIICA structural genes, and apxIBD export genes). Rabbit polyclonal antisera raised against representative isolates with these new CPS loci demonstrated distinct reactivity compared to the 16 known serovars. The serological and genomic results indicate that the isolates constitute new serovars 17 (previously NT) and 18 (previously ‘K2:O7’). Primers designed for amplification of specific serovar 17 and 18 sequences for molecular diagnostics will facilitate epidemiological tracking of these two new serovars of A. pleuropneumoniae.

Neighborhood environmental attributes have been found to be associated with residents' time spent walking and in physical activity, in studies from single countries and in multiple-country investigations. There are, however, mixed findings on such environmental relationships with sedentary (sitting) time, which primarily have used evidence derived from single-country investigations with self-reported behavioral outcome measures. We examined potential relationships of neighborhood environmental attributes with objectively-assessed sedentary time using data from 5712 adults recruited from higher and lower socio-economic status neighborhoods in 12 sites in 10 countries, between 2002 and 2011. Ten perceived neighborhood attributes, derived from an internationally-validated scale, were assessed by questionnaire. Sedentary time was derived from hip-worn accelerometer data. Associations of individual environmental attributes and a composite environmental index with sedentary time were estimated using generalized additive mixed models. In fully adjusted models, higher street connectivity was significantly related to lower sedentary time. Residential density, pedestrian infrastructure and safety, and lack of barriers to walking were related to higher sedentary time. Aesthetics and safety from crime were related to less sedentary time in women only. The predicted difference in sedentary time between those with the minimum versus maximum composite environmental index values was 71 min/day. Overall, certain built environment attributes, including street connectivity, land use mix and aesthetics were found to be related to sedentary behavior in both expected and unexpected directions. Further research using context-specific measures of sedentary time is required to improve understanding of the potential role of built environment characteristics as influences on adults' sedentary behavior. All authors declare financial support for the submitted work from the National Cancer Institute of the United States National Institutes of Health. Data collection in Hong Kong was supported by the HK Research Grants Council GRF grants (#HKU740907H and #747807H) and HKU URC Strategic Research Theme (Public Health). US data collection and Coordinating Center processing was supported by the NIH grants R01 HL67350 (NHLBI) and R01 CA127296 (NCI). The study conducted in Bogota was funded by Colciencias grant 519_2010, Fogarty International Center (NIH) and CeiBA. The contributions of Neville Owen were supported by NHMRC Program Grant #569940, NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship #1003960, and by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. The Danish study was partly funded by the Municipality of Aarhus. Data collection in the Czech Republic was supported by the grant MEYS (# MSM 6198959221). Data collection in New Zealand was supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand grant # 07/356. Data collection in Mexico was supported by the CDC Foundation which received an unrestricted grant from The Coca-Cola Company. The UK study was funded by the Medical Research Council under the National Preventive Research Initiative. Deborah Salvo was supported by a training grant from the CDC Foundation. James F Sallis received grants and personal fees from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation outside of submitted work, grants and non-financial support from Nike, Inc. outside of submitted work, and is a consultant and receiver of royalties from SPARK Programs of School Specialty, Inc.