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Soil dynamic parameters such as shear wave velocity and damping ratio are of major interest in earthquake engineering. While the shear wave velocity, directly linked to the shear modulus, can be determined by a number of laboratory and in-situ tests with satisfying accuracy the damping ratio is much more difficult to obtain. Especially the results of in-situ experiments show often large variations. This is in general due to the troublesome determination of precise signal amplitudes whether in time or frequency domain related with these techniques. The paper presented comes back to a relationship between attenuation and velocity dispersion of body waves which replaces the measurement of the amplitude characteristics of seismic signals by a frequency dependent velocity function. The implementation of this method has previously shown to be difficult because of the very small levels of dispersion observed in seismic data. Our approach aims to overcome the problem by applying a multi-channel spectral analysis which is widely used in surface wave testing to calculate a velocity dispersion. Multi-channel measurements have shown to be more tolerant to erroneous phase characteristics of single seismic traces than the more common two station measurements. The velocity dispersion curve is extracted from a phase velocity–frequency spectrum and the damping ratio is calculated by fitting a theoretical dispersion curve to the extracted curve. The method is demonstrated on correlated data of a seismic downhole test performed using a S-wave vibrator source. The obtained results show a reasonable agreement with damping ratios found in the literature for similar soils. • Multi-channel spectral analysis of seismic data provides access to damping ratio. • Seismic data in a broad frequency range required for reliable damping parameters. • Phase velocities at boundaries of frequency range have high leverage on damping ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives The utility of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL13 for diagnosis of acute Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) has been debated and the test is not yet routinely performed. This study's aim was to evaluate its overall diagnostic accuracy through meta-analysis. Methods Electronic searches in PubMed MEDLINE and Web of Science were performed to identify relevant articles published before January 2018. A summary receiver operating characteristic curve and an optimal cut-off were estimated modelling multiple cut-offs. Publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and the associated regression test. Results A total of 18 studies involving 618 individuals with acute LNB and 2326 individuals with other neurological disorders meeting the eligibility criteria were identified. The pooled sensitivity for CSF CXCL13 was 89% (95% CI 85%–93%) and the pooled specificity was 96% (95% CI 92%–98%), using the identified optimal cut-off value of 162 pg/mL. There was marked heterogeneity between studies, caused by differences in the designs of the study populations and age distribution. The optimal cut-off in the seven studies with a cross-sectional design was 91 pg/mL (sensitivity 96%, 95% CI 92%–98%; specificity 94%, 95% CI 86%–97%) and in the 11 case–control studies it was 164 pg/mL (sensitivity 85%, 95% CI 78%–91%; specificity 95%, 95% CI 90%–98%). CSF CXCL13 values above the optimal cut-off level (determined in this meta-analysis) were also detectable in some other central nervous system disorders, namely neurosyphilis and central nervous system lymphoma. Conclusions Our meta-analysis shows that CSF CXCL13 has the potential to become a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of acute LNB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives Therapy with antibiotics, dexamethasone, and supportive intensive care has improved the prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis, but mortality remains high. Here, we investigated an adjunctive combination therapy of the non-bacteriolytic antibiotic daptomycin plus several anti-inflammatory agents to identify the currently most promising adjunctive combination therapy for pneumococcal meningitis. Methods C57BL/6 mice were infected by injection of pneumococci into the cisterna magna. Treatment was begun 21 h after infection, and consisted of ceftriaxone plus (a) dexamethasone, (b) dexamethasone plus daptomycin, (c) daptomycin, (d) daptomycin plus an anti-IL1 antibody, (e) daptomycin plus roscovitine, or (f) daptomycin plus an anti-C5 antibody. Animals were followed until 45 h after infection. Furthermore, adjunctive daptomycin plus anti-C5 antibodies were assessed in a long-term follow-up. Results Adjunctive treatment with daptomycin and an anti-C5 antibody was superior to adjunctive dexamethasone and reduced disease symptoms (clinical score 1.1 ± 1.1 versus 5.0 ± 2.7, p < 0.0083), improved explorative activity (open field test 17.8 ± 8.2 versus 7.4 ± 4.3 crossed fields/2 minutes, p < 0.0083), and reduced hearing impairment (thresholds for click stimulus 96.1 ± 14.7 versus 114.8 ± 9.3 dB SPL, p < 0.0083) in the acute stage. Furthermore, explorative activity (14.4 ± 7.3 crossed fields/2 minutes versus 6.3 ± 7.2, p < 0.05) and cognitive function (t-maze test, exploration time previously unknown alley 72.4 ± 14.3 versus 48.7 ± 25.6%, p < 0.05) was improved at 2 weeks after infection. Treatment with daptomycin plus an anti-IL-1β antibody or roscovitine was not of significant benefit in comparison to adjunctive therapy with dexamethasone. Conclusions An adjunctive combination of the non-lytic antibiotic daptomycin plus an anti-C5 antibody was superior to standard therapy with adjunctive dexamethasone in the treatment of pneumococcal meningitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]