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The Comparative Psychotherapy Process Scale (CPPS) is an instrument designed to measure therapist interventions in a psychotherapy session. The scale includes 20 items divided into two subscales: the PI (psychodynamic-interpersonal) scale, which describes psychodynamic-interpersonal techniques; and the CB (cognitive-behavioural) scale, which includes cognitive-behavioural interventions. The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the CPPS, comparing the PI and CB subscales with the psychodynamic, cognitive and STTP prototypes, as described by the Psychotherapy Process Q-set(PQS). The sample comprised 94 sessions (N = 94) of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioural orientation. Two groups of independent raters with excellent interrater reliability (ICC = .78) evaluated the sessions. The results suggest that the CPPS is a valid and reliable instrument that provides a clinically sensitive and psychometrically robust evaluation of a therapist's techniques. The clinical and research implications of the results are discussed.

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of primary and repeated laboratory examinations of patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.The objective: to evaluate the diagnostic value of cytokines secreting prostate, sperm and post massage urine.Materials and methods. The study included 34 patients with CP/CPPS aged 18–45 years. Healthy volunteers (n=17) formed the control group. The prostatitis symptoms were assessed by NIH-CPSI scale, depressive symptoms – PHQ-9, and anxiety symptoms – GAD-7. All participants were subjected to microscopic and culture analysis of the expressed prostatic secretion, ejaculate and postmassage urine. Cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1, IL-8, IL-10) were determined using enzyme immunoassay.Results. Even with a small number of observations there is no complete coincidence of the results of cultural and microscopic examination of the secretion of prostate, ejaculate and post-massage urine, which may be of clinical significance. Significant correlation between the symptoms of prostatitis, anxiety and depression with the leukocytes count as well as the concentration of cytokines in the ejaculate and prostate secretion was not found.Conclusion. A single laboratory examination of a patient with prostatitis symptoms does not provide sufficient reproducibility of the results and, accordingly, casts doubt on the accuracy of the diagnosis. Developed therapeutic approaches may have an advantage if they take into account the possibility of diagnostic inaccuracies and have a therapeutic effect independently of them., В статье изложены результаты сравнительного анализа первичного и повторного лабораторного обследования пациентов с хроническим простатитом/синдромом хронической тазовой боли (ХП/СХТБ).Цель исследования: оценка диагностической ценности цитокинов секрета предстательной железы, спермы и постмассажной мочи.Материалы и методы. В исследование были включены 34 пациента ГУ «Институт урологии НАМН Украины» c ХП/СХТБ в возрасте 18–45 лет. Здоровые добровольцы (n=17) вошли в контрольную группу. Оценку симптомов простатита проводили с помощью шкалы NIH-CPSI, депрессивных симптомов – PHQ-9, симптомов тревоги –GAD-7. Всем участникам выполняли микроскопический и культуральный анализ секрета предстательной железы, эякулята и постмассажной мочи. Цитокины (TNF-α, IL-1, IL-8, IL-10) определяли с помощью иммуноферментного анализа.Результаты. Даже при небольшом количестве наблюдений нет полного совпадения результатов культурального и микроскопического исследования секрета предстательной железы (ПЖ), эякулята и постмассажной мочи при повторном обследовании. Значимой корреляции между симптомами простатита, тревоги и депрессии с содержанием лейкоцитов, а также концентрацией цитокинов в эякуляте и секрете ПЖ не обнаружено.Заключение. Однократное лабораторное обследование пациента с симптомами простатита не дает достаточной воспроизводимости результатов и, соответственно, ставит под сомнение точность диагноза. Разрабатываемые лечебные подходы могут иметь преимущество, если будут учитывать возможность диагностических неточностей и оказывать лечебный эффект независимо от них., У статті викладені результати порівняльного аналізу первинного та повторного лабораторного обстеження пацієнтів з хронічним простатитом/синдромом хронічного тазового болю (ХП/СХТБ).Мета дослідження: оцінювання діагностичної цінності цитокінів секрету передміхурової залози (ПЗ), сперми та постмасажної сечі.Матеріали та методи. У дослідження були включені 34 пацієнти з ХП/СХТБ віком 18–45 років. Здорові добровольці (n=17) увійшли у контрольну групу. Оцінювання симптомів простатиту проводили за допомогою шкали NIH-CPSI, депресивних симптомів – PHQ-9, симптомів тривоги – GAD-7. Усім учасникам виконували мікроскопічний та культуральний аналіз секрету ПЗ, еякуляту та постмасажної сечі. Цитокіни (TNF-α, IL-1, IL-8, IL-10) визначали за допомогою імуноферментного аналізу.Результати. Навіть при невеликій кількості спостережень немає повного збігу результатів культурального та мікроскопічного дослідження секрету ПЖ, еякуляту та постмассажної сечі, що може мати клінічне значення. Значущої кореляції між симптомами простатиту, тривоги та депресії за наявності лейкоцитів, а також концентрацією цитокінів в еякуляті та секреті ПЗ не знайдено.Заключення. Одноразове лабораторне обстеження пацієнта із симптомами простатиту не дає достатньої надійності результатів та, відповідно, ставить під сумнів точності діагнозу. Лікувальні заходи можуть мати перевагу, якщо будуть враховувати вірогідність діагностичних помилок та мати лікувальний ефект незалежно від них.

The smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) is an acoustic measure that can be calculated in both sustained vowels and continuous speech. The goal of this work is to find out the diagnostic accuracy of CPPS in the detection of dysphonia in Spanish. In this study 136 subjects with dysphonia and 47 healthy subjects participated. For each subject a sustained vowel and the reading of three phonetically balanced sentences were recorded. The CPPS was calculated with Praat using its default configuration (configuration 1), and also with the one used in the calculation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (configuration 2). Five experts perceptively assessed the voice of the subjects in the sample by means of the GRABS scale. The CPPS has a great power of discrimination between the normal and the pathological voice, whether it is calculated from the sustained vowel /a/ (AROC[config. 1] = 0.863 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.841) or whether it is calculated from the sentences (AROC[config. 1] = 0.884 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.866). The results confirm that CPPS is a valid acoustic measurement to detect dysphonia in the Spanish language., Los parámetros derivados de la métrica cepstral son cada vez más utilizados en la evaluación acústica de la voz, ya sea como medidas únicas o como parte de índices multivariados. El pico cepstral de mayor prominencia en el cepstrum suavizado (CPPS) ha demostrado en multitud de estudios ser la única medida acústica con la suficiente validez concurrente en la evaluación de la severidad de las alteraciones de la voz tanto en muestras de vocal sostenida como en muestras de habla continua. El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer la precisión diagnóstica del CPPS en la detección de la disfonía en español. Se utilizó la configuración que viene por defecto en Praat y la usada en el cálculo del Acoustic Voice Quality Index. Los resultados confirman que el CPPS es una medida acústica válida para detectar la disfonía en español tanto con vocal sostenida como con frases.

Die Mastzelle wird zunehmend als eine Entzündung initiierende und moduliernde Zelle beschrieben. So häufen sich die Hinweise, dass sie auch für die Entzündung- und Schmerzentwicklung der Chronischen Prostatitis und des Chronischen Beckenschmerzsyndromes (CP/CPPS) mit verantwortlich ist. Zudem wurden bei Patienten mit CP/CPPS erhöhte Östrogenspiegel im Seminalplasma festgestellt. Änderungen im Östrogenhaushalt ziehen Änderung der Genexpression und der epigenetischen Regulierung nach sich. Dies zeigte sich unter anderem in Mastzelllinien für die Gene BMP2 und BMP7, sowie in Brustkrebszelllinien für TGFB2 (Putnik et al. 2012). Änderungen der Epigenetik und der Expression bestimmter Gene wie ER1, ER2 und CXCR4 wurden auch bereits bei Patienten mit CP/CPPS nachgewiesen. In dieser Arbeit wurde der Frage nachgegangen, ob sich bei Patienten mit CP/CPPS systemisch erhöhte Tryptasewerte als Mastzellmarker nachweisen lassen, und inwieweit diese einen möglichen Zusammenhang mit klinischen Entzündungsparametern, dem PSA und den Hormonen Testosteron und Östradiol zeigen. Epigenetisch wurde untersucht, inwieweit CP/CPPS Änderungen in den Methylierungen der CPIs der Gene BMP2, BMP6, BMP7 und TGFB2 bewirkt. Auch wurden die mit unterschiedlichen Konzentrationen von Östrogen behandelten Mastzelllinien HMC-1 und LAD2 auf Änderungen der Methylierungen der Promotorregionen dieser Gene hin untersucht. Es wurden Proben von 85 Patienten mit CP/CPPS sowie von 40 gesunden Kontrollen untersucht. Die Messung der Tryptasespiegel erfolgte im Blutplasma. Die Messung der Promotormethylierung erfolgte im EDTA-Blut und in den mit Östrogen vorbehandelten Mastzelllinien HMC-1 und LAD2 via Pyrosequenzierung. Systemisch ließen sich mit der gewählten Methode keine Unterschiede zwischen Patienten und Gesunden in den Tryptasespiegeln im Blut aufzeigen. Für Messungen im Exprimaturin war die gewählte Methode offensichtlich nicht sensitiv genug und die Versuche wurden deswegen nicht weitergeführt. Es wurden keine Zusammenhänge der Tryptasewerte und den klinischen Parametern gefunden. Es konnten jedoch epigenetische Signale systemisch nachgewiesen werden. Hier wurde auch geringen Unterschieden der Methylierungen zwischen Gesunden und Erkrankten aufgrund der systemischen Messungen erhöhte Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt: So zeigten die fünften Stellen der untersuchten CPIs von BMP2 und BMP6 eine signifikant höhere Methylierung bei Erkrankten verglichen mit Gesunden. Auch die erste Stelle von BMP7 bei Patienten war signifikant höher methyliert als bei Gesunden. Dies deckt sich mit den in dieser Arbeitsgruppe gemessenen Expressionen der mit Östrogen behandelten Mastzelllinie HMC-1: BMP2 und BMP7 wurden hier minderexprimiert. Auch konnte für die Methylierungen der Mastzelllinie HMC-1 eine Korrelation mit der behandelnden Östrogenkonzentration gefunden werden. Auch für TGFB2 wurden signifikante Unterschiede zwischen Gesunden und Erkrankten in den Methylierungen des untersuchten CPIs an den Stellen 1, 5 und 6 gefunden. Jedoch zeigen diese eine positive Korrelation mit dem Alter der Patienten und eine Altersabhängigkeit ist somit nicht auszuschließen. Mast Cells are increasingly seen as inflammation-triggering and -orchestrating immune cells. As well in CP/CPPS they are described as the possible link between acute and chronic inflammation of the prostate on the one hand and the development of the pain on the other hand. Furthermore, elevated estrogen levels in the seminal plasma of patients with CP/CPPS have been described recently. These changes in the estrogen household can result in variation of gen expression, as reported in mast cell lines (HMC-1, LAD2) for BMP2, BMP7, and in breast cancer lines for TGFB2. In addition epigenetic changes in form of changes in promotor methylation as well as its associated gene expression have been found in patients with CP/CPPS: Elevated estrogen levels have been found to accompany methylated and downregulated ER1 and ER2, as well as a downregulation of CXCR4. We aimed to detect elevated tryptase levels, a protein useable as mast cell marker, in the blood of patients with CP/CPPS and possible correlation with inflammation markers like CRP and leukocytes as well as PSA and hormones like testosterone and estradiol. Furthermore, we investigated if there are differences in promotor methylation of the genes BMP2, BMP6, BMP7 and TGFB2 in patients with CP/CPPS, compared to the healthy control group, detectable. Since there have been found changes in expression of BMP2, BMP7 und TGFB2 in estrogen treated Mast cell lines HMC-1 and LAD2 in this group, promotor methylation of these mast cell lines has been examined as well. 85 patients with chronic prostatitis and 40 healthy probands in total have been examined. Tryptase levels have been measured in plasma. Analysis of promotor methylation for BMP2, BMP6, BMP7 and TGFB2 has been performed in EDTA-blood from patients and voluteers as well as estrogen-treated mast cell lines HMC-1 and LAD2 via pyrosequencing. There have been no differences detected in tryptase levels of patients with CP/CPPS and the healthy control group. Tryptase levels did not correlate neither with inflammation markers, nor PSA, nor the examined hormones estradiol and testosterone. Local measurements of tryptase in post prostatic massage urine have not been successful due to the lack of sensitivity of the chosen procedure of measurement. Epigenetic variation has been found for promotor methylation of BMP2 and BMP6 at CpGs no. 5 and BMP7 CpG no. 1. That finding fits to the predescribed downregulation of BMP2 and BMP7 of the estrogene pretreated mast cell line HMC-1. There has been a correlation of estrogen concentration and promotor methylation of BMP2 in HMC-1. Promotor methylation of CpGs no.1, 5 and 6 of TGFB2 showed differences in patients compared to the control group. There was however acorrelation with the age of the examined men, which could point to an age-related influence.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar as distribuições de CPP e CPPS para a vogal sustentada /a/ e suas estatísticas descritivas como discriminantes entre vozes saudáveis e vozes de pacientes diagnosticados com n´módulos vocais. Além de calcular essas medidas na escala decibel como normalmente realizado na literatura, este trabalho também as calculou na escala linear. Após avaliar 9 estatísticas da distribuição de 4 medidas de CPP e 4 medidas de CPPS para 35 voluntários, o 95-ésimo percentil do CPP, calculado a cada 2ms e na escala decibel, apresentou a maior capacidade discriminante, alcançando um valor-p de 3,58e-05, uma sensibilidade de 88,67%, especificidade de 85% e precisão de classificação igual a 85,71%.

Conférence plénière; International audience; The goal of this keynote speech is to provide insights into various aspects of maintenance and diagnostics within the frame of “Industry of the Future”/CPPS and to discuss directions for future research on these concepts.

Produzierende Unternehmen sind heutzutage mit einem Paradigmenwechsel konfrontiert. Die klassische Massenproduktion wird vermehrt durch individuelle Produktion (Mass Customization) abgel��st. Dieser Trend in Kombination mit der immer gr����er werdenden Produktvielfalt und k��rzeren Produktlebenszyklen f��hrt zu sinkenden Losgr����en. Dies stellt herk��mmliche Produktionsanlagen und im speziellen die Automation besondere Anforderungen um flexibel auf die Anforderungen des Marktes reagieren zu k��nnen. Zus��tzlich gibt es durch den vermehrten Einsatz von Informationsund Kommunikationstechnologie (IKT) eine Vielzahl von neuen M��glichkeiten, um die Produktivit��t und Flexibilit��t zu steigern. Das Schlagwort in diesem Zusammenhang sind sogenannte Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). CPS verbinden physische Objekte mit virtuellen Objekten. Ein spezielles Merkmal ist, dass diese Komponenten in vernetzen Systemen, welche global ��ber das Internet verbunden sein k��nnen, miteinander kommunizieren. Umgelegt auf die Produktionstechnik f��hrt der Einsatz von CPS zu Cyber-Physischen Produktions Systemen (CPPS), welche die anfangs genannten Herausforderungen meistern k��nnen. Um diese Kommunikation zwischen CPS realisieren zu k��nnen, ben��tigt diese gewisse Eigenschaften. Die Kommunikation muss einheitlich und mit Bedeutung (Semantik) erfolgen. Im Produktionsumfeld gibt es eine Vielzahl von Kommunikationsl��sungen. Die bekanntesten sind OPC UA, MTConnect und MQTT. Aktuell gibt es nur einen Kommunikationsstandard, der die Anforderungen von CPS erf��llen kann. OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) ist die Weiterentwicklung des klassischen OPC Standards und wird als L��sung f��r diese Kommunikation gesehen. Dies zeigt, dass OPC UA auf zwei wesentlichen Konzepten aufbaut. Einerseits definiert es einen Kommunikationskanal, ��ber den Daten ��bertragen werden k��nnen, anderseits besitzt es eine erweiterbares Metamodell, mit dem die Datenstruktur (Semantik) beschrieben werden kann. Obwohl OPC UA schon seit einigen Jahren im Einsatz ist, ist die weite Verbreitung noch nicht gegeben. Dies ist einerseits den fehlenden Modellen, anderseits der Komplexit��t des Standards geschuldet (aktuell 13 Teile in der Spezifikation). Um die Modellierung von Informationsmodellen zu vereinfachen beschreibt diese Arbeit einen systematischen Ansatz, der Entwickler bei diesem Prozess unterst��tzen soll. Der Ansatz basiert auf Model Driven Architecture (MDA), einem standardisierten Framework zur modellgetriebenen Softwareentwicklung. Grundidee ist es, die Beschreibung des Systems von der zu implementierenden Technologie zu trennen. Dazu gibt es drei Abstraktionsstufen, welche dabei helfen sollen. In der Arbeit wird dieses Prinzip f��r die Entwicklung von OPC UA Informationsmodellen erweitert. Diese Erweiterung erlaubt es den kompletten Entwicklungsprozess vom Engineering, ��ber das Design bis hin zur Implementierung von OPC UA Informationsmodellen zu unterst��tzen. Kern des OPC UA Information Model Design sind UML Modelle, welche f��r die jeweiligen Phasen ausgew��hlt wurden. Im OPC UA Information Model Design werden Komponenten und Use-Case Diagramme f��r die Beschreibung der Systemanforderungen verwendet. F��r das plattformunabh��ngige Design werden Klassenund Zustandsdiagramme verwendet. Somit kann sowohl das statische als auch das dynamische Verhalten des Systems abgebildet werden. Um auf die plattformspezifische Technologie, in diesem Fall OPC UA, zu kommen bedarf es einer Transformation der Modelle, d.h. es m��ssen Modellelemente von UML auf Elemente von OPC UA gemappt werden. Dieses Mapping und die anschlie��ende Transformation werden ebenfalls behandelt. F��r die Transformation wird Atlas Transformation Language (ATL) verwendet, welche erlaubt Elemente der Metamodelle miteinander in Zusammenhang zu bringen. Um eine m��glichst einfache und vollst��ndige Transformation zwischen den Modellen zu erm��glichen, wird das OPC UA Metamodell und das UML Metamodell erweitert. Da UML eine generische Beschreibungsund Modellierungssprache ist, m��ssen die F��higkeiten an OPC UA durch Restriktionen angepasst werden. Ergebnis der Transformation ist ein OPC UA Informationsmodell, welches durch Instanziierung in einen OPC UA Server integriert werden kann und den Adressraum des Servers bildet. Als Evaluierung werde in dier Arbeit die mit dem OPC UA Information Model Design erstellten OPC UA und UML Modelle gegen��bergestellt und der Mehrwert durch Abstraktion aufgezeigt. Die visuelle Gr����e und strukturelle Komplexit��t von Unified Modelling Language (UML) Modellen ist deutlich geringer. Auch bei einigen Design Qualit��tsmerkmalen ist UML vorteilhatft., Today, manufacturing companies are confronted with a paradigm shift. Classic mass production is increasingly being replaced by individual production (mass customization). This trend in combination with the ever-increasing variety of products and shorter product life cycles leads to decreasing batch sizes. This places special demands on conventional production systems and especially on automation in order to be able to react flexibly to the requirements of the market. In addition, the increased use of information and communication technologies (ICT) offers a variety of new possibilities to increase productivity and flexibility. The buzzword in this context are so-called Cyber-physical Systems (CPS). CPS connect physical objects with virtual objects. A special feature is that these components communicate with each other in networked systems that can be globally connected via the Internet. Applied to production engineering, the use of CPS leads to Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS), which can master the challenges mentioned above. In order to realize this communication between CPS, it needs certain properties. Communication must be uniform and with meaning (semantics). In the production environment there are a multitude of communication solutions. The best known are OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), MTConnect and MQTT. Currently, there is only one communication standard that can meet the requirements of CPS. OPC UA is the further development of the classic OPC standard and is seen as a solution for this communication. This shows that OPC UA is based on two essential concepts. On the one hand, it defines a communication channel via which data can be transferred, and on the other hand, it has an extensible metamodel which allow to describe the data structure (semantics). Although OPC UA has been in use for several years, it is not yet widely used. This is due to the lack of models and the complexity of the standard (currently 13 parts in the specification). To simplify the modelling of information models, this thesis describes a systematic approach to support developers in this process. The approach is based on Model Driven Architecture (MDA), a standardized framework for model-driven software development. The basic idea is to separate the description of the system from the technology to be implemented. There are three levels of abstraction that are supposed to help. In this work, this principle is applied for the development of OPC UA Information models extended. This extension allows to support the complete development process from engineering to design to implementation of OPC UA information models. The OPC UA Information Model Design is based on Unified Modelling Language (UML) models selected for the respective phases. The OPC UA Information Model Design uses components and use case diagrams to describe system requirements. Class and state diagrams are used for the platform-independent design. Thus, both the static and dynamic behavior of the system can be mapped. To access the platform-specific technology, in this case OPC UA, the models need to be transformed, i.e., model elements must be mapped from UML to elements of OPC UA. This mapping and the subsequent transformation are also discussed. For the transformation ATLAS transformation language (ATL) is used, which allows to link elements of metamodels. To enable a simple and complete transformation between the models, the OPC UA metamodel and the UML metamodel are extended. Since UML is a generic description and modeling language, the capabilities of OPC UA must be aligned through restrictions. Result of the transformation is an OPC UA information model, which can be integrated into an OPC UA server by instantiation and forms the address space of the server. The work also compares the OPC UA and UML models created with the OPC UA Information Model Design and shows the added value through abstraction.

Conférence plénière; International audience; L'objectif de cette plénière est de présenter les concepts clés pour mieux comprendre le périmètre de l'industrie du futur mais aussi ses avantages, ses limites, ses conséquences par rapport aux différentes perspectives industrielles, sociales et environnementales. Un accent particulier sera mis sur la prise en compte de la sécurité en lien avec l’ humain mais aussi avec les capacités de la numérisation.

Background Chronic pelvic pain with various etiologies and mechanisms affects men and women and is a major challenge. Monotherapy is often unsuccessful for chronic pelvic pain, and combinations of different classes of medications are frequently prescribed, with the expectation of improved outcomes. Although a number of combination trials for chronic pelvic pain have been reported, we are not aware of any systematic reviews of the available evidence on combination drug therapy for chronic pelvic pain. Objective We have developed a protocol for a systematic review to evaluate available evidence of the efficacy and safety of drug combinations for chronic pelvic pain. Methods This systematic review will involve a detailed search of randomized controlled trials investigating drug combinations to treat chronic pelvic pain in adults. The databases searched will include the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, and EMBASE from their inception until the date the searches are run to identify relevant studies. The primary outcome will be pain relief measured using validated scoring tools. Secondary outcomes, where reported, will include the following: adverse events, serious adverse events, sexual function, quality of life, and depression and anxiety. Methodological quality of each included study will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Results The systematic review defined by this protocol is expected to synthesize available good quality evidence on combination drug therapy in chronic pelvic pain, which may help guide future research and treatment choices for patients and their health care providers. Conclusions This review will provide a clearer understanding of the efficacy and safety of combination pharmacological therapy for chronic pelvic pain. Trial Registration PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42020192231; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=192231 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/21909

This work deals with an investigation on the Cepstral Peak Prominence Smoothed (CPPS) as a discriminator of vocal health in continuous speech. Individual CPPS distribution and its descriptive statistics in reading and free speech acquired with a headworn microphone were investigated. Two groups of subjects were involved: 72 dysphonic and 39 control volunteers according to videostroboscopy examinations. The 95th percentile showed the highest diagnostic precision in both the speech materials (Area Under Curve of 0.86), with lower values indicating a pathological status of voice. Similar best thresholds were found for both reading and free speech (18.1 dB and 17.9 dB, respectively), but the identical phonemic contents of the reading task allowed higher sensitivity and specificity to be obtained. The voice self-assessment was also evaluated in the healthy and pathological groups by means of a questionnaire, namely the Italian version of the Voice Activity And Participation Profile. Significantly different scores were obtained by the two groups in all the sections of the questionnaire, thus highlighting that vocal problems are actually perceived by dysphonic people. Moreover, the 95th percentile resulted in a strong correlation with the sections of self-perceived voice problem and daily communication.

To examine the efficacy and safety of tadalafil in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia with chronic pelvic pain syndrome, we treated 23 Japanese men with tadalafil 5 mg once daily for 4 weeks. The mean age of the participantswas58.7 yearsand the prostate volume was25. 2 ml. Significant improvementsin total International Prostatic Symptom Score, International Prostatic Symptom Score Quality of Life Index, total National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index score, pain subscore, urinary symptom subscore, and quality of life impact subscore, were observed for tadalafil versus before treatment. These findings confirm that tadalafil is a valuable new treatment option for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia complicated by chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Experimental autoimmune prostatitis (EAP) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the prostate characterized by peripheral prostate-specific autoimmune responses associated with prostate inflammation. EAP is induced in rodents upon immunization with prostate antigens (PAg) plus adjuvants and shares important clinical and immunological features with the human disease chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). METHODS: EAP was induced in young NOD, C57BL/6, and BALB/c male mice by immunization with PAg plus complete Freund́s adjuvant. Tactile allodynia was assessed using Von Frey fibers as a measure of pelvic pain at baseline and at different time points after immunization. Using conventional histology, immunohistochemistry, FACS analysis, and protein arrays, an interstrain comparative study of prostate cell infiltration and inflammation was performed. RESULTS: Chronic pelvic pain development was similar between immunized NOD and C57BL/6 mice, although the severity of leukocyte infiltration was greater in the first case. Coversely, minimal prostate cell infiltration was observed in immunized BALB/c mice, who showed no pelvic pain development. Increased numbers of mast cells, mostly degranulated, were detected in prostate samples from NOD and C57BL/6 mice, while lower total counts and resting were observed in BALB/c mice. Prostate tissue from NOD mice revealed markedly increased expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, vascular endothelial growth factor, and metalloproteinases. Similar results, but to a lesser extent, were observed when analyzing prostate tissue from C57BL/6 mice. On the contrary, the expression of the above mediators was very low in prostate tissue from immunized BALB/c mice, showing significantly slight increments only for CXCL1 and IL4. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide new evidence indicating that NOD, C57BL/6, and BALB/c mice develop different degrees of chronic pelvic pain, type, and amount of prostate cell infiltration and secretion of inflammatory mediators. Our results corroborate and support the notion that mice with different genetic background have different susceptibility to EAP induction. Fil: Breser, Maria Laura. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Villa María. Universidad Nacional de Villa María. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Motrich, Ruben Dario. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentina Fil: Sanchez, Leonardo Rodolfo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentina Fil: Rivero, Virginia Elena. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; Argentina

The smoothed cepstral peak prominence (CPPS) is an acoustic measure that can be calculated in both sustained vowels and continuous speech. The goal of this work is to find out the diagnostic accuracy of CPPS in the detection of dysphonia in Spanish. In this study 136 subjects with dysphonia and 47 healthy subjects participated. For each subject a sustained vowel and the reading of three phonetically balanced sentences were recorded. The CPPS was calculated with Praat using its default configuration (configuration 1), and also with the one used in the calculation of the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (configuration 2). Five experts perceptively assessed the voice of the subjects in the sample by means of the GRABS scale. The CPPS has a great power of discrimination between the normal and the pathological voice, whether it is calculated from the sustained vowel /a/ (AROC[config. 1] = 0.863 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.841) or whether it is calculated from the sentences (AROC[config. 1] = 0.884 and AROC[config. 2] = 0.866). The results confirm that CPPS is a valid acoustic measurement to detect dysphonia in the Spanish language. Los parámetros derivados de la métrica cepstral son cada vez más utilizados en la evaluación acústica de la voz, ya sea como medidas únicas o como parte de índices multivariados. El pico cepstral de mayor prominencia en el cepstrum suavizado (CPPS) ha demostrado en multitud de estudios ser la única medida acústica con la suficiente validez concurrente en la evaluación de la severidad de las alteraciones de la voz tanto en muestras de vocal sostenida como en muestras de habla continua. El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer la precisión diagnóstica del CPPS en la detección de la disfonía en español. Se utilizó la configuración que viene por defecto en Praat y la usada en el cálculo del Acoustic Voice Quality Index. Los resultados confirman que el CPPS es una medida acústica válida para detectar la disfonía en español tanto con vocal sostenida como con frases.

Internet of Things (IoT) is extending quite rapidly into the physical and virtual manufacturing worlds. IoT facilitates digitalization of manufacturing systems, which are considered vitally important to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency in the future manufacturing era. In order to compete globally and to meet the rapid market changes, manufacturing companies should consider implementation of manufacturing systems that are self-organized and decreasing constant human intervention to a minimum, still keeping the process under human control. In this paper, authors used the concept of Industry 4.0 to upgrade the manufacturing system according to the modern manufacturing needs. Manufacturing systems of Industry 4.0 are called cyber-physical production systems (CPPSs). On the other hand, modelling technologies such as process and data modelling, help to establish and understand the performance of a production system, as the evaluation of the control of an automated production system helps to make it reconfigurable and leads to grasping the idea behind the control mechanism of a CPPS. The aim of the paper is to develop a CPPS based on modelling technologies and to propose a concept of upgrading a relatively traditional production system.

Modulating signaling pathways for research and therapy requires either suppression or expression of selected genes or internalization of proteins such as enzymes, antibodies, nucleotide binding proteins or substrates including nucleoside phosphates and enzyme inhibitors. Peptides, proteins and nucleotides are transported by fusing or conjugating them to cell penetrating peptides or by formation of non-covalent complexes. The latter is often preferred because of easy handling, uptake efficiency and auto-release of cargo into the live cell. In our studies complexes are formed with labeled or readily detectable cargoes for qualitative and quantitative estimation of their internalization. Properties and behavior of adhesion and suspension vertebrate cells as well as the protozoa Leishmania tarentolae are investigated with respect to proteolytic activity, uptake efficiency, intracellular localization and cytotoxicity. Our results show that peptide stability to membrane-bound, secreted or intracellular proteases varies between different CPPs and that the suitability of individual CPPs for a particular cargo in complex formation by non-covalent interactions requires detailed studies. Cells vary in their sensitivity to increasing concentrations of CPPs. Thus, most cells can be efficiently transduced with peptides, proteins and nucleotides with intracellular concentrations in the low micromole range. For each cargo, cell type and CPP the optimal conditions must be determined separately.

For the past 20 years, we have witnessed an unprecedented and, indeed, rather miraculous event of how cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), the naturally originated penetrating enhancers, help overcome the membrane barrier that has hindered the access of bio-macromolecular compounds such as genes and proteins into cells, thereby denying their clinical potential to become potent anti-cancer drugs. By taking the advantage of the unique cell-translocation property of these short peptides, various payloads of proteins, nucleic acids, or even nanoparticle-based carriers were delivered into all cell types with unparalleled efficiency. However, non-specific CPP-mediated cell penetration into normal tissues can lead to widespread organ distribution of the payloads, thereby reducing the therapeutic efficacy of the drug and at the same time increasing the drug-induced toxic effects. In view of these challenges, we present herein a review of the new designs of CPP-linked vehicles and strategies to achieve highly effective yet less toxic chemotherapy in combating tumor oncology.

The inability of most drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier and/or plasma membrane limits their use for biomedical applications in the brain. Cell Permeable Peptides (CPPs) overcome this problem and are effective in vivo, crossing the plasma membrane and the blood-brain barrier. CPPs deliver a wide variety of compounds intracellularly in an active form. In fact, many bioactive cargoes have neuroprotective properties, and due to their ability to block protein-protein interactions, offer exciting perspectives in the clinical setting. In this review we give an overview of the Cell Permeable Peptides strategy to deliver neuroprotectants against neurodegeneration in the CNS.

Chronic prostatitis is a disease with an unknown etiology that affects a large number of men. The optimal management for category III chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is unknown. The recent years have seen a significant increase in research efforts to understand, classify and treat CP/CPPS. Standard treatment usually consists of prolonged courses of antibiotics, even though well-designed clinical trials have failed to demonstrate their efficacy. Recent treatment strategies with some evidence of efficacy include: alpha-blockers, anti-inflammatory agents, hormonal manipulation, phytotherapy (quercetin, bee pollen), physiotherapy and chronic pain therapy. A stepwise, multimodal approach can be successful for the majority of patients who present with this difficult condition.

Consulta en la Biblioteca ETSI Industriales (Riunet), [EN] Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are in the focus of research, politics and industry. They are the key-enabling technology for the named Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS), a highly decentralized flexible manufacturing system called to be the production system of the industry of the future. Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are considered the unifying technology between the cyber and the physical world. They rely on the most modern integration of computation, networking and physical processes where embedded devices monitor, control and manage data from the physical processes. This paper aims to collect an updated general overview and the state-of-the-art of this forward-looking trend by going through different aspects that are related to the application of Cyber-Physical Systems in manufacturing; for instance significant matters regarding its potential, characteristics, the newest advances, challenges and future research guidelines. The main reason behind this work is the interest in being modernized and familiarized in the latest findings and future directions in the manufacturing and production systems. After reading this paper, one may realize that the already labelled as 4th Industrial Revolution could be not that far.

Context: Progress in the science of pain has led pain specialists to move away from an organ-centred understanding of pain located in the pelvis to an understanding based on the mechanism of pain and integrating, as far as possible, psychological, social, and sexual dimensions of the problem. This change is reflected in all areas, from taxonomy through treatment. However, deciding what is adequate investigation to rule out treatable disease before moving to this way of engaging with the patient experiencing pain is a complex process, informed by pain expertise as much as by organ-based medical knowledge.Objective: To summarise the evolving changes in the management of patients with chronic pelvic pain by referring to the 2012 version of the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines on chronic pelvic pain.Evidence acquisition: The working panel highlights some of the most important aspects of the management of patients with chronic pelvic pain emerging in recent years in the context of the EAU guidelines on chronic pelvic pain. The guidelines were completely updated in 2012 based on a systematic review of the literature from online databases from 1995 to 2011. According to this review, levels of evidence and grades of recommendation were added to the text. A full version of the guidelines is available at the EAU office or Web site (www.uroweb.org).Evidence synthesis: The previously mentioned issues are explored in this paper, which refers throughout to dilemmas for the physician and treatment team as well as to the need to inform and engage the patient in a collaborative empirical approach to pain relief and rehabilitation. These issues are exemplified in two case histories.Conclusions: Chronic pelvic pain persisting after appropriate treatment requires a different approach focussing on pain. This approach integrates the medical, psychosocial, and sexual elements of care to engage the patient in a collaborative journey towards self-management. (C) 2013 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Calcium phosphate stabilization by fetuin-A represents a model system for biomineralization research. Fetuin-A is well known as inhibitor for soft tissue calcification in vertebrates. The inhibitory effect is based on two simultaneously occurring mechanisms of protein-mineral complex formation. On the one hand, prenucleation clusters are stabilized by fetuin-A. This process is known as formation of calciprotein monomers (CPMs). The second and longerknown stabilization mechanism is based on the formation of larger calciprotein particles (CPPs). CPPs have been object of different research since their discovery in 2003 as they exhibit a reproducible, time-dependent change in morphology. Upon formation, first-state CPPs are spherical particles consisting of an amorphous fetuin-A-mineral-phase with a hydrodynamic radius of 50 - 80 nm. After a distinct lag time, first-state (or primary) CPPs transform into second-state (or secondary) CPPs, that is ellipsoidal particles consisting of a crystalline core surrounded by a fetuin-A monolayer. Second-state CPPs exhibit a hydrodynamic radius of 90 - 120 nm and stability at least for several days. Research in the field of the CPP-fetuin-A system combines the interests of researchers from different disciplines ranging from medical scientists via life scientists up to material scientists. The medical relevance is given by the fact, that pathological calcium phosphate colloids reminiscent of CPPs have been found in the ascites of a peritoneal dialysis patient. Furthermore, recent studies indicate that hemodialysis patients exhibit a reduced intrinsic property to inhibit calcification accompanied by a higher risk for morbidity and mortality. The mechanisms of mineral stabilization are barely understood so far although the importance of the system for various disciplines is known. In the present work, different questions concerning the CPP-fetuin-A system were addressed using in particular scattering methods and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The main focus was set on the CPPs. However, a second focus laid on the elucidation of the three-dimensional structure of the native fetuin-A molecule in solution. Time-resolved dynamic light scattering revealed the influence of different parameters (temperature, fetuin-A- and mineral concentration) on the transformation time and the CPP radii in first and second state. The measurements additionally showed that the basic mechanism of CPP formation and transformation is not influenced by changes in the mentioned conditions. Furthermore, the process of CPP transformation was addressed using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicating that the transition from first to second state is a continuous process rather than an abrupt change. However, those investigations revealed high polydispersity of the particles. FCS revealed that the mechanism of mineral stabilization by fetuin-A is based on several equilibria forming in the system. The dynamic exchange of fetuin-A bound to second-state CPPs with free fetuin-A in solution could be unambiguously proven. The structure of the fetuin-A molecule in solution was investigated using a synchrotron SAXS setup aligned for the investigation of biological samples (‘BioSAXS’). Those measurements provided the first three-dimensional model of the fetuin-A structure in solution. Altogether, the findings concerning the fetuin-A and CPP structure and their interaction greatly contribute to a deeper understanding of the mineral stabilization by fetuin-A.

International audience; Transfers of cargoes into cells by means of carrier peptides are multi-steps biological phenomenon the mechanisms of which are unclear. We here discuss bases of realistic in silico molecular modeling approaches of the formation of non-covalent complexes considering CPPs and cargo diversities.

Como parte del Plan de Acción para la Protección del Medio Marino y las Áreas Costeras del Pacífico Sudeste suscrito en 1981, se acordó el Convenio para la Protección del Medio Marino y la Zona Costera del Pacífico Sudeste, conocido como el Convenio de Lima. En la aplicación de este, se creo el Programa Coordinado de Investigación, Vigilancia y Control de la Contaminación Marina en el Pacífico Sudeste, conocido como CONPACSE, durante la Reunión de la Autoridad General del Plan de Acción realizada el 22 de julio de 1983, en Quito, Ecuador. Dentro de la tercera fase del Programa CONPACSE (Programa de Actividades 2010), y tomando en cuenta que en los diferentes países, se ha estado generando gran cantidad de información, sobre diversos aspectos relacionados con la contaminación marina, en forma de informes, monografías, tesis y otras fuentes, cuyo acceso en muchas ocasiones es restringido. Se determino realizar la presente consultoría, con el fin de sintetizar la información existente, de manera que el producto de la misma, pueda ser utilizado como una herramienta para la planificación y verificación de éxito de las políticas ambientales y medidas de fiscalización, para los tomadores de decisiones. El objetivo principal de la presente consultaría, es la elaboración de un informe nacional de Panamá, sobre el estado actual de la contaminación marina, el cual será presentado en un formato estandarizado que permita visualizar y comparar los avances alcanzados por los distintos países en la implementación del Convenio de Lima y del Programa CONPACSE. La información se obtuvo de diferentes trabajos (publicaciones, informes, trabajos de investigación, tesis, etc.) realizados a nivel nacional e internacional; siempre que los mismos, contaran con información de importancia, para el presente trabajo. La búsqueda de información incluyo la revisión de distintas bibliotecas y centros de documentación (ARAP, ANAM, UP, ACP, ANCON, Mar Viva, STRI, etc.), en adición a la biblioteca particular del autor y de otros colegas. Así como la revisión de los sitios WEB de distintas instituciones (ARAP, ANAM, UP, ACP, ANCON, Mar Viva, STRI, CPPS, OMI, EPA, FAO, etc.), además de distintos motores de búsqueda de información (Google, Copernic, etc.) y finalmente se consulto a expertos nacionales, en temas relacionados con la contaminación marina, en el Pacífico de Panamá. Finalmente en la bibliografía, se incluyen todas las referencias que aparecen en el texto y en adición, citas bibliográficas de trabajos, que pudieran ser de interés e importancia, pues están relacionados con el tema tratado. Comisión Permanente del Pacifico Sur CPPS Published