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Background: End-stage renal disease is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events. It is unknown, however, whether mild-to-moderate kidney dysfunction is causally related to coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Methods: Observational analyses were conducted using individual-level data from 4 population data sources (Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, EPIC-CVD [European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition–Cardiovascular Disease Study], Million Veteran Program, and UK Biobank), comprising 648 135 participants with no history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline, yielding 42 858 and 15 693 incident CHD and stroke events, respectively, during 6.8 million person-years of follow-up. Using a genetic risk score of 218 variants for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), we conducted Mendelian randomization analyses involving 413 718 participants (25 917 CHD and 8622 strokes) in EPIC-CVD, Million Veteran Program, and UK Biobank. Results: There were U-shaped observational associations of creatinine-based eGFR with CHD and stroke, with higher risk in participants with eGFR values 105 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 , compared with those with eGFR between 60 and 105 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 . Mendelian randomization analyses for CHD showed an association among participants with eGFR –1 ·1.73 m –2 , with a 14% (95% CI, 3%–27%) higher CHD risk per 5 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 lower genetically predicted eGFR, but not for those with eGFR >105 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 . Results were not materially different after adjustment for factors associated with the eGFR genetic risk score, such as lipoprotein(a), triglycerides, hemoglobin A1c, and blood pressure. Mendelian randomization results for stroke were nonsignificant but broadly similar to those for CHD. Conclusions: In people without manifest cardiovascular disease or diabetes, mild-to-moderate kidney dysfunction is causally related to risk of CHD, highlighting the potential value of preventive approaches that preserve and modulate kidney function.

Displacive halite crystals in fine-grained sediments are a common feature of evaporitic sequences worldwide. The crystal habit of halite precipitated from pure aqueous solution under laboratory conditions is a cube: equal side lengths (a = b = c) and rectangular angles (ab = bc = ac = 90°). Crystals with deformed-looking shape appear in mudstone of Permian evaporites of the Eastern Alps. They expose platy, rod-like, parallelepiped-like or rhomb-like shapes. The aim of the study was to explain the origin of these shapes. Samples were taken in the Altaussee, Berchtesgaden, and Hallstatt mines. Representative mudstone samples were scanned by high-resolution X-ray CT, and halite shapes were restored by 3D software. Additionally, 327 euhedral halite crystals were dissected from mudstone and subjected to individual shape analysis. Their sizes range from 3 to 30 mm in thirteen specimens. Crystals are compact, but a slightly platy preference prevails in all samples. Approximately 80% of all objects expose angles > 1° deviating from the right angle, but only ∼ 15% contain angles > 20°. The maximum deviation from the right angle was ca. 33°. Most objects combine a platy shape (a ≈ b ≠ c) with only one angle deviating from the right angle (2× 90°). The acute angle is preferably oriented parallel to the layering. We interpret a primary rectangular crystal growth to platy shapes in the mudstone (reduced fluid circulation). The displacive halite crystals subsequently deformed during compaction of the mudstone. Halite in deformed shapes was replaced by datable polyhalite ca. 15 My after deposition, which rules out deformation during Alpine tectonics.

Ultrasound (US) is a widely used tool to observe musculoskeletal features during movement. US signals provide information about the instantaneous length and activation of muscles, and these signals are used for new prosthetic control strategies, to increase the performance of Human-Machine interfaces, or to improve muscle force predictions. However, existing commercial systems and research platforms are bulky, non-wearable, not supporting high frame rates, or lack configurability. Our work presents an US prototype meeting all key requirements to measure muscle activity during motion: our platform is open (providing access to raw data), flexible (operating in different modalities and channel count), it features wireless connectivity (supporting high frame rates> 100 Hz) and supports low power consumption (

The evaporitic Haselgebirge Formation hosts in many places small occurrences of basaltic rocks. The geochemistry of these basalts can potentially provide information about the tectonic setting of the Haselgebirge Formation and the evolution of the Meliata ocean, respectively. We present here 70 new XRF analyses of these basaltic rocks from various localities (Pfennigwiese, Annaberg, Wienern, Hallstatt, Moosegg, Lammertal) and compare the results with previous data from local studies (GRUBER et al., 1991; KIRCHNER 1979; KIRCHNER 1980a; KIRCHNER 1980b; KRALIK et al, 1984; LEITNER et al., 2017; SCHORN et al., 2013; ZIEGLER, 2014; ZIRKL, 1957). Based on the concentrations of immobile trace elements (Zr, Nb, Y, Ti), a predominance of MORB-like compositions is observed for the Lower Austrian occurrences and for the locality Wienern (Grundlsee). On contrast, basalts from the localities Lammertal, Moosegg and Hallstatt have predominantly within-plate-type compositions.We discuss this striking regional (east-west) difference of basalt types in terms of existing palinspastic models for the Haselgebirge formation (LEITNER et al., 2017; STAMPFLI & BOREL, 2002; McCANN et al., 2006). GRUBER, P., FAUPL, P., KOLLER, F. (1991) Mitt. Österr. Miner. Ges., 84, 77-100.KIRCHNER, E. (1979) Tschermaks Min. Petr. Mitt. 26, 149-162.KIRCHNER, E. (1980a) Mitt. Österr. Miner. Ges.71/72, 385-396.KIRCHNER, E. (1980b) Verh. Geol. Bundesanstalt 1980, 249-279.KRALIK, M., KOLLER, F., POBER, E. (1984) Mitt. Österr. Miner. Ges., 77, 37-55.LEITNER, C., WIESMAIER, S., KÖSTER, M.H., GILG, H.A, FINGER, F, NEUBAUER, F. (2017) GSA Bulletin 129, 1537-1553.McCANN, T., PASCAL, C., TIMMERMAN, M.J., KRZYWIEC, P., LÓPEZ-GÓMEZ, J., WETZEL, L., KRAWCZYK, C.M., RIEKE, H., LAMARCH, J. (2006) Mem. Geol. Soc. London, 32, 355-388.SCHORN A, NEUBAUER F, GENSER J, BERNROIDER M (2013) Tectonophysics 583, 28-48.STAMPFLI G.M., BOREL G.D. (2002) Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 196, 17-33.ZIEGLER, T. (2014) Unpubl. MSc thesis University of Salzburg, p. 174.ZIRKL, E.J. (1957) Jb. Geol. Bundesanstalt 100, 10-137-177.

Extensive scientific and clinical microbiome studies have explored contemporary variation and dynamics of the gut microbiome in human health and disease1–4, yet the role of long-term life-history effects is underinvestigated. Here, we analyzed the current microbiome composition in the elderly Bruneck Study cohort (n = 304; age 65–98) with extensive clinical, demographic, lifestyle, and nutritional data collected over the past 26 years. Combined analysis with the Flemish Gut Flora Project cohort (FGFP; n = 2,215; age 18–85) showed community richness increasing during aging linked to increased observation of low-abundance bacteria. Multivariate analysis of historical variables indicated that medication history, historical physical activity, past dietary habits, and specific past laboratory parameters explain a significant fraction of current elderly quantitative microbiome variation, enlarging the explanatory power of contemporary covariates by 33.4%. Prediction of current enterotype by past host variables revealed good levels of predictability (AUC > 0.7) for the Prevotella and dysbiotic Bacteroides 2 enterotypes with information from up to 15 years past. These findings demonstrate long-term life history effects on the microbiota and provide first insights into lifestyle variables and their role in maintaining a healthy gut microbiota in later life.

There is recent experimental evidence that sarcomere strain behavior is highly heterogeneous across and between muscle structures. Hence, considering the hierarchical architecture of muscles, also the behavior of all acting muscle substructures is effected. However, typical investigations are limited to ex-vivo experiments or pose serious limitations for in-vivo studies. In this work, we investigate in-vivo length changes in human muscle fascicles by means of non-invasive ultrafast ultrasound. To this end, we employ a research ultrasound system and a linear array transducer to image, in plane-wave mode, medial gastrocnemius muscles during electrically-stimulated contractions. The ultrasound-based approach presented in this study allows to measure strain distributions within muscle fascicles during contractions, where the sub-fascicle structures exhibit heterogeneous behaviors.

Until now direct localization of motor endplates for any arbitrary muscle structure was reserved to cadaver studies or restricted to specific muscles in-vivo. Utilizing ultrafast ultrasound we report a versatile in-vivo method for the detection of motor endplate zones. To achieve this goal, we employ a research ultrasound system with a linear array transducer probe to record ultrasound images of electrically-stimulated medial gastrocnemius muscles. An optical flow speckle tracking algorithm is used to track the points along a single fascicle. We localize motor endplates at intersection points where mechanical contraction waves diverge bidirectionally towards the fiber ends. Contrary to common experimental methods, our proposed ultrafast ultrasound-based approach allows to localize motor endplates also in deep and pennate muscles in-vivo. These results open up new applications for ultrasound in neuromuscular research.

Ultrasound imaging enables in-vivo investigations of muscle and tendon behaviour during human movement. Individual contributions of muscles and tendons to the behaviour of the whole muscle-tendon unit during locomotion are versatile. Therefore, movements of distinct landmarks, such as muscle tendon junctions are recorded and tracked in order to investigate internal dynamics of the muscle-tendon complex. In this study, we use a semi-automatic tracking method based on image segmentation and investigate how tracking accuracy can be improved using a sticks filter. We demonstrate that a speckle reduction decreases the root-mean-square error of the tracking result by up to 78.1%, depending on the chosen window size of the sticks filter.

Georgia is among the countries which have fresh groundwater distinguished for significant resources and drinking qualities of naturally high quality. Hydrogeological exploration and monitoring works for the purpose of identification, study and protection of fresh groundwater were not conducted in the period of 1990–2013. Considering the long-term termination of centralized researches and the intensively increasing anthropogenic pressures on the environment and on water in particular, the assessment and protection of groundwater resources becomes a very pressing issue. For this purpose, in 2013, on initiative of the Geology Department of LEPL National Environmental Agency of Georgia and the Czech Development Agency, restoration of the hydrogeological monitoring network and research of fresh groundwater using modern methodology began. The modern equipment was gradually installed on the water objects to obtain information about quantitative and qualitative characteristics in "online" mode and taking water samples for chemical and bacterial analysis twice a year. Currently, 56 water points (mainly wells) are being monitored. The database on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of fresh groundwater of Georgia is being expanding based on information received online from water points, fieldwork results, laboratory analyzes (chemical and bacteriological), and on the processing, analyzing and generalizing of the collected actual materials. As the issue concerns fresh groundwater (which is used by at least 90% of the population), it’s necessary to expand the state monitoring network. According to the EU Water Framework Directive, based on the basin management principles of water resources, conduct of researches is granted particular significance in the trans-boundary zone.The „European Union Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership (EaP) Countries (EUWI+)″, which is the biggest commitment of the EU to the water sector in the EaP countries, helps Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to bring their legislation closer to EU policy in the field of water management, as identified by the EU Water Framework Directive. The EUWI+ project addresses existing challenges in both development and implementation of efficient management of water resources.. Monitoring data are an important basis for water management, for risk, status and trend assessment and for the design and implementation of an effective and cost-efficient program of measures .Within the EUWI+ project, the following key activities were undertaken in Georgia: „Delineation and characterization of groundwater bodies and the design of a groundwater monitoring network in the Alazani-Iori and Khrami-Debed River Basin Districts in Georgia“, „Performed hydrogeological preliminary field works in the Alazani-Iori and Khrami-Debed River Basin“. Currently „Geophysical, isotope, hydrochemical, bacteriological and hydrodynamic assessment of twelve selected wells to be included in the national groundwater monitoring network in the Alazani-Iori River Basin District in Georgia“ is in progress. The results of this study are a basis for the improvement of the groundwater monitoring network and the development of River Basin Management Plans. As a part of the EUWI+ project, several new monitoring stations are planned.The results are important in the process of implementation of integrated management of water resources, which should finally ensure sustainable management of water resources and reliable health protection of the population.

The EU-funded European Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+) Program, which is the biggest commitment of the EU to the water sector in the EaP countries, helps Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine to bring their legislation closer to EU policy in the field of water management, with a main focus on the management of trans-boundary river basins. It supports the development and implementation of pilot river basin management plans, building on the improved policy framework and ensuring a strong participation of local stakeholders.The main objective of the project is to improve the management of water resources and groundwater resources in particular, by developing tools to improve the quality of water in the long term, and its availability for all. More specifically, the project aims at supporting the Republic of Armenia in bringing national policies and strategies in line with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and other multilateral environmental agreements.Project funding is provided by the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) and administered by the European Commission (DG NEAR). On a national level, financial support comes from the Austrian Development Agency, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism and from the French Office International de l’Eau. Preparation of management plans for selected Hrazdan and Sevan RBDs is implemented under the leadership of an EUMember State consortium headed by the Environment Agency Austria.The first important step in moving Armenia’s groundwater management system closer to the WFD is to identify and characterize groundwater bodies (GWBs) in the Hrazdan and Sevan River Basin Districts (RBDs), based on which qualitative and quantitative changes in groundwater under the influence of external pressures are determined.Inventory of the existing hydrogeological monitoring network was also carried out with a purpose of equipping and furnishing some of the existing observation points.During GWBs delineation, it was found out that not all GWBs have monitoring points. To fill this gap and extend the hydrogeological monitoring network, additional sampling was conducted in 2018 and 2019.Assessment of the quantitative and qualitive status of groundwater is an essential requirement under the WFD. The methodology for the assessment of the natural groundwater resources and its components in mountainous regions was developed, using the Hrazdan and Sevan RBDs as the case study areas.As a result, the natural groundwater resources of the mentioned districts were assessed, according to the following concepts adopted in Armenia: usable water resources, strategic water resources and the national water reserve.Based on the results of implemented works, the management plans for the Hrazdan and Sevan RBDs will be developed.

Recording muscle tendon junction displacements during movement, allows separate investigation of the muscle and tendon behaviour, respectively. In order to provide a fully-automatic tracking method, we employ a novel deep learning approach to detect the position of the muscle tendon junction in ultrasound images. We utilize the attention mechanism to enable the network to focus on relevant regions and to obtain a better interpretation of the results. Our data set consists of a large cohort of 79 healthy subjects and 28 subjects with movement limitations performing passive full range of motion and maximum contraction movements. Our trained network shows robust detection of the muscle tendon junction on a diverse data set of varying quality with a mean absolute error of 2.55$\pm$1 mm. We show that our approach can be applied for various subjects and can be operated in real-time. The complete software package is available for open-source use via: https://github.com/luuleitner/deepMTJ, Comment: Accepted version to be published in 2020, 42nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), Montreal, Canada

Introduction Patients with refractory metastatic cancer have been shown to benefit from molecular profiling of tumor tissue. The ONCO-T-PROFILE project was launched in March 2014 at the Innsbruck Medical University. Within 2 years our project aims to recruit 110 patients with stage IV cancer refractory to standard therapy. Our data presented here are based on an interim-analysis. Methods Tumor tissue specimens were submitted for molecular profiling to the certified laboratory (Caris Life Science, USA). Druggable tumor targets were selected based on biomarker status to agents with potential clinical benefit. Clinical benefit was defined as a PFS ratio (=PFS upon treatment according to the molecular profile/ PFS upon the last prior therapy) ≥ 1.3. Results As of April 2015, tumors from 50 patients have been molecularly profiled and one or more targets were detectable in 48 specimens (98%). So far, 19 (38%) patients have been treated according to their molecular tumor profile. To date, 8 (42%) patients have reached a PFS ratio of ≥ 1.3. Conclusions We could show that molecular profiling is feasible in the clinical routine. A proportion of patients might benefit from an individualized treatment approach based on molecular profiling. As a result, we will proceed to enroll patients in ONCO-T-PROFILE.

Le bruit au travail est responsable chaque annee de centaines de surdites professionnelles qui ont des consequences dramatiques sur la qualite de vie des personnes touchees, et representent un cout financier tres important pour la societe. Le bruit n’est pas le seul danger pour l’audition, car des produits chimiques peuvent egalement exercer une action ototoxique. Les plus communs en milieu professionnel sont les solvants aromatiques dont l’ototoxicite a ete bien caracterisee par des etudes experimentales chez l’animal et des etudes epidemiologiques chez l’homme. Il est a noter que les solvants sont souvent presents dans des environnements de travail bruyants, le risque de co-exposition bruit/ototoxique est donc egalement important. L’INRS a montre, chez l’animal, que la plupart de ces solvants exercent egalement une action pharmacologique sur le cerveau se traduisant par une diminution du seuil de declenchement du reflexe acoustique (RA). L’objectif de cette etude, menee en collaboration avec l’AUVA (homologue autrichien de l’INRS) etait de determiner si : – l’effet exerce sur le seuil de declenchement du RA existe chez l’homme ; – s’il est mesurable ; – si sa mesure permet de discriminer les effets du bruit de ceux des solvants. Les mesures auditives ont ete realisees avec EchoScan®, procede brevete par l’INRS et par audiometrie tonale, sur des travailleurs francais et autrichiens exposes a des solvants ototoxiques (concentrations superieures a 10 % de la VLEP) avec ou sans exposition a du bruit (seuil fixe a 80 dBA). Les travailleurs etaient mesures juste avant et jute apres leur journee de travail. Ils etaient carrossiers peintres, ouvriers en ateliers de production de materiaux composites ou anatomopathologistes en secteur hospitalier. Les expositions au bruit et aux solvants etaient determinees parallelement pour chacun de ces travailleurs. Les resultats montrent que la variation de seuil du declenchement du RA permet effectivement de discriminer une exposition au solvant (diminution du seuil de declenchement) d’une exposition au bruit (augmentation du seuil). Logiquement, en cas de co-exposition, la variation de seuil se rapproche de zero. A l’inverse, l’audiometrie tonale n’est sensible qu’a la fatigue auditive due au bruit et ne permet pas de discriminer ces deux types de nuisances. Ces donnees suggerent que le seuil de declenchement du reflexe mesure par EchoScan est un biomarqueur fonctionnel pertinent pour permettre aux services de sante au travail de realiser, de maniere rapide et non invasive, une analyse de terrain des risques auditifs lies aux nuisances physiques (bruit) et chimiques (solvants).

The evaporitic Haselgebirge Formation of the Northern Calcareous Alps was deposited in an evolving rift during the Upper Permian. The Jurassic to Cretaceous Alpine orogenesis caused an overprint of ~200 °C. The aim of the study was to investigate the diagenetic evolution of these evaporite-dominated sediments from intact sandstone lenses. Field work, thin section analysis, SEM and XRD were completed by measurements of organic material and age dating. In this paper, we show that all authigenic minerals developed step by step on a prograding path, but under low temperatures of

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most common hematologic malignancy in Europe. Although remaining an incurable disease, substantial progress has been made within the last two decades. However, until recently, improvement in overall survival (OS) was only documented in younger, transplant-eligible patients. In this analysis, we retrospectively investigated the outcome of older patients with newly diagnosed MM in an unselected patient population with a special focus on the use of novel agents in a routine care community-based, non-university setting. A total of 107 patients older than 65 years of age or patients aged 60-65 years with relevant comorbidities precluding the use of autologous stem cell transplantation diagnosed with MM between 2000 and 2011 at the two largest non-university hospitals of Eastern Switzerland were analyzed. Patients were grouped into two six-year periods by date of initial diagnosis, 2000-2005 and 2006-2011. The median follow-up was 6.9 (range of 2.1 to 9.4) years. The median OS for the entire cohort was 3.0 years (95% confidence interval, 2.4-4.4). The median OS was significantly longer for patients in the 2006-2011 group (4.3 years) compared with the 2000-2005 group (2.6 years, p = 0.04). The 5-year estimated OS improved from 26% to 38%; 1-year survival was similar in both groups (86% in the 2000-2005 group and 84% in the 2006-2011 group respectively). The use of novel agents showed a statistically significant correlation with OS, whereas the impact of age was only of borderline significance. In conclusion, we demonstrate improved OS outcomes in an unselected population of older patients with MM during the last decade. This improvement is associated with an increased use of novel agents for the treatment of transplant-ineligible MM patients in daily clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) is an established method for analyzing multiscale and multidimensional imagery in a range of disciplines. In the present study this method was used for the 3D reconstruction of halite hopper crystals in a mudrock sample, based on Computed Tomography data. To quantitatively assess the reliability of OBIA results, they were benchmarked against a corresponding "gold standard", a reference 3D model of the halite crystals that was derived by manual expert digitization of the CT images. For accuracy assessment, classical per-scene statistics were extended to per-object statistics. The strength of OBIA was to recognize all objects similar to halite hopper crystals and in particular to eliminate cracks. Using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier on top of OBIA, unsuitable objects like halite crystal clusters, polyhalite-coated crystals and spherical halite crystals were effectively dismissed, but simultaneously the number of well-shaped halites was reduced. Object Based Image Analysis was used for 3D reconstruction of halite hopper crystals.A support vector machine classifier on top of OBIA dismissed unsuitable objects.The result was benchmarked against a corresponding "gold standard".For accuracy assessment, per-scene statistics were extended to per-object statistics.

The Permian Haselgebirge Formation of the eastern Alps is among the most highly deformed evaporites worldwide. In underground salt mines, it is composed of a melange of halite, anhydrite, and mudstone, with a subordinate amount of magmatic rocks. The only potassium mineral is polyhalite [K2Ca2Mg(SO4)(4)center dot 2H(2)O]. Its extreme tectonic deformation provides a challenge for reconstructing the tectono-sedimentary environment. In this context, we were able to compile a set of characteristic sedimentary and early diagenetic features of the non-halite components. In particular, mudstone and anhydrite pseudomorphs after gypsum preserve synsedimentary structures. While mudstone represents the overall background sedimentation, sulfate precipitated mainly at the brine surface under pelagic conditions. The large amount of mudstone (50%) was probably trapped as mud in a quiet lagoonal basin. Its magnesium-dominated mineral composition is in accordance with coeval halite precipitation from seawater. Earthquake-induced deformation structures formed in the semiductile mud sediment as mostly ramified, centimeter-scale sedimentary dikes, which originated intrastratally by liquefaction. Permian volcanism is documented by a basaltic body from the Hallstatt salt mine, which exhibits a sedimentary contact with the mudstone. Its immobile trace-element composition favors an intraplate origin consistent with a rift stage. During subsequent burial, authigenic minerals such as quartz and feldspar started to grow. The origin of polyhalite relates to the mobilization of complex fluids and roughly coincides with the final, late Middle Triassic opening of the Meliata Ocean. All evidence from syn-sedimentary deformation and early diagenesis confirms the deposition of the evaporites in a late thinning stage of an ancient rift.

Systemic therapy options for small cell lung cancer patients with extensive disease remain poor. After an initial response on first-line therapy, virtually all patients develop disease progression. For those who showed an initial response only few therapy options with low response rates are currently available. Until now, many experimental and targeted agents have failed to yield convincing clinical benefits, and new therapy options are clearly warranted for these patients. In this year's oncological congresses, several new therapy strategies, including checkpoint inhibition, showed promising results in ongoing trials. Furthermore, a potential benefit of new agents targeting DLL3, Aurora A kinase and PARP-inhibitor was reported. In this review we summarize new developments and critically highlight the most important and promising data in the relapsed small cell lung cancer disease.

Polyhalite rocks of the evaporitic Haselgebirge Formation are emplaced within a rocksalt-mudrock tectonite. The rheologically weak series served as a major detachment level during nappe stacking of the Northern Calcareous Alps (Eastern Alps). To test the mineral polyha- lite (K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4 .2H2O) as a useful geochronometer for various diagenetic and deformation fabric types, 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age dating was combined with microstructural analysis. Vein infills, poly- halite intergrown with anhydrite and polyhalite within mudrock, crystallized in several stages between c. 235 and 210 Ma. Mylonites of fine-grained polyhalite rock indicate subsequent stages of tectonothermal overprint between c. 155 and 105 Ma, which is roughly consistent with previously measured feldspar and muscovite 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data from the region. Illite crystallinity points to temperatures of c. 200 8C. The peak temperature of overprint was at c. 180 8C in the Berchtesgaden mine (vitrinite reflectance, fluid inclusions) and .240 8C in the Altaussee mine (fluid inclusions). These temperatures are below the value of 255 8C, where polyhalite starts to dehydrate. Disturbed age spectra patterns result from multiphase polyhalite growth; however, single phases and comple- tely recrystallized fabrics yield good results. As in the Alpine test case, polyhalite may character- istically serve as a geochronometer for diagenetic and very-low-grade metamorphic processes. Supplementary material: A table of used materials and methods and the detailed 40 Ar/ 39 Ar step

Wimbledon is one of the most popular annual sports tournament. In the Men’s Single 2009 the top seeded and defending champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament due to injury days prior to the tournament. Here, we try to analyze the effects of Nadal’s withdrawal especially on the ability/strength of the main competitor Roger Federer by using bookmakers expectancies to estimate the unknown abilities of the players and comparethem for two different odds sets. The comparison shows that the bookmakersdid not incorporate Nadal’s withdrawal adequately, assigning too high expected winning probabilities to Federer and Murray.

The salt of the late Permian Haselgebirge Fm. exposes large proportions of mudrock. The mud was trapped in a basin without a connection to the open sea. The mudrock comprises earthquake structures. An enrichment of magnesium minerals (mainly magnesite and chlorite) and “deep water” anhydrite point to a residual brine basin. Pre-saturation happened in the surroundings represented by the gypsum/anhydrite deposits of the Haselgebirge Fm. The basin itself was probably narrow (tens to fifties of kilometers), but elongated (>1000 km). Igneous rocks with an intermediate chemistry are in sedimentological contact with the salt. A late syn-thinning stage is assumed for the deposition of the Haselgebirge Fm., due to low diapiric activity and the paleogeographic arrangement of the salt rocks in the context of the Northern Calcareous Alps. Heating was probably enhanced by the overlapping processes of orogenic collapse of the Variscan mountain belt and the formation of a rift. The first occurrence of polyhalite [K2Ca2Mg(SO4)4.2H2O], which represents a mineralogic peak of the diagenetic history coincides with the final opening of the Meliata Ocean.

Bookmakers odds are an easily available source of ``prospective" information that is thus often employed for forecasting the outcome of sports events. To investigate the statistical properties of bookmakers odds from a variety of bookmakers for a number of different potential outcomes of a sports event, a class of mixed-effects models is explored, providing information about both consensus and (dis)agreement across bookmakers. In an empirical study for the UEFA Champions League, the most prestigious football club competition in Europe, model selection yields a simple and intuitive model with team-specific means for capturing consensus and team-specific standard deviations reflecting agreement across bookmakers. The resulting consensus forecast performs well in practice, exhibiting high correlation with the actual tournament outcome. Furthermore, the teams' agreement can be shown to be strongly correlated with the predicted consensus and can thus be incorporated in a more parsimonious model for agreement while preserving the same consensus fit.

Different methods for assessing the abilities of participants in a sports tournament, and their corresponding winning probabilities for the tournament, are embedded in a common framework and their predictive performances compared. First, ratings of abilities (such as the Elo rating) are complemented with a simulation approach which yields winning probabilities for the full tournament. Second, tournament winning probabilities are extracted from bookmakers’ odds using a consensus model, and the underlying abilities of the competitors are then derived by an “inverse” application of the tournament simulation. Both techniques are employed for forecasting the results of the European football championship 2008 (UEFA EURO 2008), for which the consensus model based on bookmakers’ odds outperforms methods based on both the Elo rating and the FIFA/Coca Cola World rating. Moreover, the bookmaker consensus model correctly predicts that the final will be played by the teams from Germany and Spain (with a probability of about 20.5%), while showing that both finalists profit from being drawn in groups with relatively weak competitors.

The evaluation of postural stability using posturography could be both a valuable functional diagnostic and treatment outcome monitoring tool in rehabilitation practice of patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP). No evidence, however, seems to exist, whether or not such posturographic measures are reliable in these patients and therefore clinically and scientifically useful. The aims of this study were manifold and aimed at investigating (1) differences of posturographic measures between cLBP patients and healthy controls (HCs), (2) short- (intrasession-) and long-term (intersession-) reliability of these measurements, and (3) the relationship between both pain intensity and test-related feelings and significant learning effects of the posturographic measures in cLBP. A total of 32 cLBP patients and 19 non-sportive HCs completed (1) comprehensive clinical examination, (2) quantitative posturographic testing (SMART EquiTest, Neurocom International, Clackamas, Oregon) that included all the sensory organisation test (SOT), the motor control test (MCT) and the adaptation test (ADT) and (3) psychological ratings of pain as well as posturographic test related personal feelings and fear associated beliefs. Of these, 22 cLBP patients who received no therapy repeated all measurements and examinations on a second day, 2–3 weeks later. Results revealed significant differences between cLBP patients and HCs in the more demanding postural test conditions of the SOT and the SOT composite score only. Intra-session reliability testing demonstrated significant improvements of the SOT and ADT measures for both HCs and cLBP patients. Results of long-term reliability testing showed significant improvements of the more challenging SOT conditions and SOT composite score. VAS ratings of pain, feelings and fear associated beliefs were not associated with such longitudinal changes. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the significant learning effects observed for the SOT conditions may limit the clinical application of SMART EquiTest postural stability measures for cLBP patients in rehabilitation everyday practice. Further development in software processing will be necessary to identify new postural parameters that are less prone to learning effects.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is the most common hematologic malignancy in Europe. Although remaining an incurable disease, substantial progress has been made within the last two decades. However, until recently, improvement in overall survival (OS) was only documented in younger, transplant-eligible patients. In this analysis, we retrospectively investigated the outcome of older patients with newly diagnosed MM in an unselected patient population with a special focus on the use of novel agents in a routine care community-based, non-university setting. A total of 107 patients older than 65 years of age or patients aged 60-65 years with relevant comorbidities precluding the use of autologous stem cell transplantation diagnosed with MM between 2000 and 2011 at the two largest non-university hospitals of Eastern Switzerland were analyzed. Patients were grouped into two six-year periods by date of initial diagnosis, 2000-2005 and 2006-2011. The median follow-up was 6.9 (range of 2.1 to 9.4) years. The median OS for the entire cohort was 3.0 years (95% confidence interval, 2.4-4.4). The median OS was significantly longer for patients in the 2006-2011 group (4.3 years) compared with the 2000-2005 group (2.6 years, p = 0.04). The 5-year estimated OS improved from 26% to 38%; 1-year survival was similar in both groups (86% in the 2000-2005 group and 84% in the 2006-2011 group respectively). The use of novel agents showed a statistically significant correlation with OS, whereas the impact of age was only of borderline significance. In conclusion, we demonstrate improved OS outcomes in an unselected population of older patients with MM during the last decade. This improvement is associated with an increased use of novel agents for the treatment of transplant-ineligible MM patients in daily clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 John WileySons, Ltd.

Spontaneous necrotizing soft tissue lesions of the face are seen rarely in a maxillofacial surgeon’s daily practice. Depending on the type of tissue involved, they can be differentiated into necrotizing cellulitis, fasciitis, and myonecrosis. Necrotizing cellulitis affects the skin and is usually caused by monomicrobial infection. Group A Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, aerobic coliforms, and Clostridia are known to be the main causal agents. Necrotizing fasciitis affects primarily the subcutaneous tissues, with little initial effect on the skin but necrosis in advanced stages of the disease. It occurs as the result of polymicrobial synergistic aerobic and anerobic gas-producing infection with streptococci and, less often, the mucormycosiscausing agents Rhizopus, Mucor, or Absidia. Myonecrosis primarily affects the muscle and is caused by Clostridium perfringens, Streptococcus pyogenes, or group B Streptococcus. Clinical differentiation between these types can cause problems because they can appear to be very similar. Although necrotizing soft tissue lesions are seen in healthy individuals, they most commonly occur in patients who are immunocompromised by degenerative diseases, abnormal metabolic states, malignant diseases, major burns, immunosuppressive drugs, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or prolonged antibiotic therapy.1 Necrotizing soft tissue infections are characterized by a high mortality rate, because many of these lesions are rapidly progressive infections that cause extensive necrosis of the subcutaneous tissues followed by gangrene of the skin and systemic toxicity.1 We present the case of a rarely seen spontaneous necrotic soft tissue lesion of the face caused by the mucormycosis-causing agent Absidia corymbifera in a patient who had undergone bone graft transplantation after she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

Four years after the last European football championship (EURO) in Austria and Switzerland, the two finalists of the EURO 2008 - Spain and Germany - are again the clear favorites for the EURO 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine. Using a bookmaker consensus rating - obtained by aggregating winning odds from 23 online bookmakers - the forecast winning probability for Spain is 25.8% followed by Germany with 22.2%, while all other competitors have much lower winning probabilities (The Netherlands are in third place with a predicted 11.3%). Furthermore, by complementing the bookmaker consensus results with simulations of the whole tournament, we can infer that the probability for a rematch between Spain and Germany in the final is 8.9% with the odds just slightly in favor of Spain for prevailing again in such a final (with a winning probability of 52.9%). Thus, one can conclude that - based on bookmakers' expectations - it seems most likely that history repeats itself and Spain defends its European championship title against Germany. However, this outcome is by no means certain and many other courses of the tournament are not unlikely as will be presented here. All forecasts are the result of an aggregation of quoted winning odds for each team in the EURO 2012: These are first adjusted for profit margins ("overrounds"), averaged on the log-odds scale, and then transformed back to winning probabilities. Moreover, team abilities (or strengths) are approximated by an "inverse" procedure of tournament simulations, yielding estimates of all pairwise probabilities (for matches between each pair of teams) as well as probabilities to proceed to the various stages of the tournament. This technique correctly predicted the EURO 2008 final (Leitner, Zeileis, Hornik 2008), with better results than other rating/forecast methods (Leitner, Zeileis, Hornik 2010a), and correctly predicted Spain as the 2010 FIFA World Champion (Leitner, Zeileis, Hornik 2010b). Compared to the EURO 2008 forecasts, there are many parallels but two notable differences: First, the gap between Spain/Germany and all remaining teams is much larger. Second, the odds for the predicted final were slightly in favor of Germany in 2008 whereas this year the situation is reversed.

Objective Dynamometric trunk muscle strength and endurance tests are performed widely within the rehabilitation management of chronic low back pain. The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy and long-term reliability of these measurements in patients with chronic low back pain. Design Cross-sectional study. Subjects Thirty-two patients with chronic low back pain, 19 healthy controls and 15 patients with chronic headache matched for age, sex and body mass index. Methods Both patient groups and healthy controls performed isokinetic and isometric trunk extensor and flexor tests on a Biodex 2000 dynamometer. The Biering-Sorensen test served to examine back muscle endurance. Borg-Category-Ratio-Scales CR-10 rated participants' body experience immediately before and after the testing. Patients with chronic low back pain repeated measurements after 3 weeks. Results Among dynamometric tests, isokinetic measurements revealed the best area under the curve (AUC = 0.89) for the discrimination between patients with chronic low back pain and healthy controls. Reliability testing revealed highly significant learning effects for isometric trunk flexion and isokinetic measurements. The Biering-Sorensen test demonstrated excellent accuracy (AUC = 0.93) and no learning effects. Borg-category-ratio-scale ratings were not associated with the observed changes. Conclusion In chronic low back pain dynamometric trunk muscle measures are limited to muscle function assessment purposes. Monitoring treatment outcome in these patients with these measures appears to be problematic because of learning effects. Based on our findings, we recommend the Biering-Sorensen test for management of chronic low back pain rehabilitation.

Objective: The Brief International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for chronic low-back pain (cLBP) have included the three body functional categories sensation of pain, muscle functions, and emotional functions. As the latter two categories represent umbrella terms, the objective of this research was to identify those clinical tests that most expediently substantiate these two categories. Design: This case–control study included 32 consecutive cLBP patients and 19 nonathletic healthy controls (HC), matched in age, body mass index, and sex. All patients and HCs underwent a comprehensive standardized clinical examination, with objective muscle functions tests that measured trunk muscle strength, endurance, and postural performance. Assessment of the category emotional functions included the Symptom Checklist 90–Revised, the Beck depression inventory, the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ-D), and body experience (Borg category ratio scales about exertion, tension, fear of harm, and (re-)/injury). Results: Logistic regression analyses revealed back muscle endurance and somatization to explain 50% of the between-group variances. Furthermore, the variables of Sensory Organization Test (SOT) composite score and FABQ were best associated with disablement in cLBP. Conclusions: In the Brief ICF Core Set for cLBP, back muscle endurance tests best examined the category muscle functions, whereas somatization best examined that of emotional functions. Furthermore, both the SOT and the FABQ would, in addition to the aforementioned tests, optimize the functional diagnostic relevance of the two ICF categories for cLBP.

Background Serum protein S-100B determinations have been widely proposed in the past as markers of traumatic brain injury and used as a predictor of injury severity and outcome. The purpose of this prospective observational case series was therefore to determine S-100B serum levels in patients with isolated injuries to the back. Methods Between 1 February and 1 May 2008, serum samples for S-100B analysis were obtained within 1 hour of injury from 285 trauma patients. All patients with a head injury, polytrauma, and intoxicated patients were excluded to select isolated injuries to the spine. 19 patients with isolated injury of the back were included. Serum samples for S-100B analysis and CT spine were obtained within 1 hours of injury. Results CT scans showed vertebral fractures in 12 of the 19 patients (63%). All patients with fractures had elevated S-100B levels. Amongst the remaining 7 patients without a fracture, only one patient with a severe spinal contusion had an S-100B concentration above the reference limit. The mean S-100B value of the group with fractures was more than 4 times higher than in the group without fractures (0.385 vs 0.087 μg/L, p = 0.0097). Conclusion Our data, although limited due to a very small sample size, suggest that S-100B serum levels might be useful for the diagnosis of acute vertebral body and spinal cord injury with a high negative predictive power. According to the literature, the highest levels of serum S-100B are found when large bones are fractured. If a large prospective study confirms our findings, determining the S-100B level may contribute to more selective use of CT and MRI in spinal trauma.

We suggest a new parametric framework to assess the accuracy of estimated default probabilities (PDs). Whereas the traditional methods to validate credit rating systems focus primarily on the discriminatory power, recent advances in credit risk management and banking regulation has shifted the focus of rating validation to the accuracy of PD estimates. In this paper we introduce bank and obligor specific error terms which are additive to a suitably transformed latent variable, which in our approach has the interpretation of the "true", unobservable PD of the underlying obligor. Provided with rating information from different sources (e.g., banks, rating tools, or rating agencies) and an appropriate model for the distribution of the latent PDs the parameters of the errors distribution can be obtained. In a specific application we assume the error terms to be jointly normal and estimate this model for a data set provided by the Austrian central bank where we observe PD estimates for 2090 obligors provided by 13 banks.