scholarly journals Impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic on Radiological Imaging in Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Schmidbauer ◽  
Lars Grenacher ◽  
Markus S. Juchems ◽  
Erik Memmel ◽  
Thomas Lauenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Parts ◽  
Radiological Imaging ◽  
Quick Recovery ◽  
Radiologic Imaging ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Patient Service ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spearman Test ◽  
Retrospective Multicenter Study ◽  
Ct And Mri

Purpose To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on the radiological imaging volume in Germany. Materials und Methods In this retrospective multicenter study, we analyzed CT and MRI examinations of 7 radiology institutes across Germany from January to December 2020. The imaging volume was compared to 2019 (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test). Modality, patient service locations, and examined body parts were assessed in consideration of time periods of the pandemic. In addition, correlation with the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 cases and associated death was performed (Spearman-test). Results In total, in 2020, imaging volume declined by 4 % (n = 8314) compared with 2019 (p < 0.05). The hard lockdown during the first pandemic wave (calendar week 12–16, March 22 – April 19) revealed the highest decrease with 29 % (n = 894, p < 0.01), with the greatest decrease in CT (36 % vs. MRI 26 %), outpatients (38 %, p < 0.01), and imaging of the spine and extremities (51–72 %, < 0.05 – p < 0.01). Examinations referred from the emergency department (–13 %, p < 0.05) and CT of the chest (–16 %, p < 0.05) were least affected. With the end of the first wave, gradual normalization of the imaging volume was observed and persisted until the end of the observation period. A reduction of imaging volume negatively correlated with the incidence of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases and associated deaths (r = 0.28 and 0.49, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a significant temporary decline in imaging volume. After the first lockdown period, a quick recovery was observed with radiologic imaging examinations steadily approaching prior-year figures. Key points:  Citation Format

The impact of cultural factors on attachment dynamics: a view from Irish society

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-223
Author(s):  
Michael O’Toole
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Seamus Heaney ◽  
Irish Society ◽  
Irish Context ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In this article I examine aspects of the relationship between mothers and sons from an attachment perspective in an Irish context. Through the works of Irish writers such as Seamus Heaney, John McGahern, and Colm Tóibín, I focus on particular aspects of this relationship, which fails to support the developmental processes of separation and individuation in the many men who come to me for psychotherapy. I illustrate key points concerning this attachment dynamic through the use of clinical examples of my work with two men from my practice. While acknowledging that many other cultural factors play a significant role in the emotional development of children, integrating the work of our poets, novelists, and scholars with an attachment perspective

scholarly journals Decreased Medical Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Comprehensive Analysis of Radiological Examinations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Aigner ◽  
Bernd Hamm ◽  
Florian Nima Fleckenstein ◽  
Tazio Maleitzke ◽  
Georg Böning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Surrogate Marker ◽  
Medical Specialty ◽  
Case Volume ◽  
Medical Specialties ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Radiological Examinations

Objectives As a cross-section discipline within the hospital infrastructure, radiological departments might be able to provide important information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare. The goal of this study was to quantify changes in medical care during the first wave of the pandemic using radiological examinations as a comprehensive surrogate marker and to determine potential future workload. Methods A retrospective analysis of all radiological examinations during the first wave of the pandemic was performed. The number of examinations was compared to time-matched control periods. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of radiological examinations attributed to various medical specialties was conducted and postponed examinations were extrapolated to calculate additional workload in the near future. Results A total of 596,760 examinations were analyzed. Overall case volumes decreased by an average of 41 % during the shutdown compared to the control period. The most affected radiological modalities were sonography (–54 %), X-ray (–47 %) followed by MRI (–42 %). The most affected medical specialty was trauma and orthopedics (–60 % case volume) followed by general surgery (–49 %). Examination numbers increased during the post-shutdown period leading to a predicted additional workload of up to 22 %. Conclusion This study shows a marked decrease in radiological examinations in total and among several core medical specialties, indicating a significant reduction in medical care during the first COVID-19 shutdown. Key Points: Citation Format

scholarly journals The Epidemiological Characteristics of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe: Focus on Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2942
Author(s):  
Giovanni Gabutti ◽  
Erica d’Anchera ◽  
Francesco De Motoli ◽  
Marta Savio ◽  
Armando Stefanati
Keyword(s):  
Social Structures ◽  
World Population ◽  
European Continent ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Reporting Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Epidemiological Situation

Starting from December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has forcefully entered our lives and profoundly changed all the habits of the world population. The COVID-19 pandemic has violently impacted the European continent, first involving only some European countries, Italy in particular, and then spreading to all member states, albeit in different ways and times. The ways SARS-CoV-2 spreads are still partly unknown; to quantify and adequately respond to the pandemic, various parameters and reporting systems have been introduced at national and European levels to promptly recognize the most alarming epidemiological situations and therefore limit the impact of the virus on the health of the population. The relevant key points to implement adequate measures to face the epidemic include identifying the population groups most involved in terms of morbidity and mortality, identifying the events mostly related to the spreading of the virus and recognizing the various viral mutations. The main objective of this work is to summarize the epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and Italy almost a year after the first reported case in our continent. The secondary objectives include the definition of the epidemiological parameters used to monitor the epidemic, the explanation of superspreading events and the description of how the epidemic has impacted on health and social structures, with a particular focus on Italy.

scholarly journals Imaging of Bone Sarcomas and Soft-Tissue Sarcomas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasminka Igrec ◽  
Michael H. Fuchsjäger
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
Bone Cancer ◽  
Bone Sarcoma ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Imaging Evaluation ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Bone Sarcomas ◽  
Publication Period ◽  
Ct And Mri

Background In the diagnosis of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, the continuous advancement of various imaging modalities has improved the detection of small lesions, surgical planning, assessment of chemotherapeutic effects, and, importantly, guidance for surgery or biopsy. Method This review was composed based on a PubMed literature search for the terms “bone sarcoma,” “bone cancer” and “soft tissue sarcoma,” “imaging,” “magnetic resonance imaging”, “computed tomography”, “ultrasound”, “radiography”, and “radiomics” covering the publication period 2005–2020. Results and Conclusion As discussed in this review, radiography, ultrasound, CT, and MRI all play key roles in the imaging evaluation of bone and soft-tissue sarcomas. In daily practice, advanced MRI techniques complement standard MRI but remain underused, as they are considered time-consuming, technically challenging, and not reliable enough to replace biopsy and histology. PET/MRI and radiomics have shown promise regarding the imaging of sarcomas in the future. Key Points:  Citation Format

Maximizing Recall of Gruesome Images for Health Effects Advertising: An Experimental Investigation

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brennen W. Mills ◽  
Owen B. J. Carter ◽  
Robert J. Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Body Part ◽  
The Body ◽  
Advertising Effectiveness ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Video Images ◽  
The Impact

The objective of this case study was to experimentally manipulate the impact on arousal and recall of two characteristics frequently occurring in gruesome depictions of body parts in smoking cessation advertisements: the presence or absence of an external physical insult to the body part depicted; whether or not the image contains a clear figure/ground demarcation. Three hundred participants (46% male, 54% female; mean age 27.3 years, SD = 11.4) participated in a two-stage online study wherein they viewed and responded to a series of gruesome 4-s video images. Seventy-two video clips were created to provide a sample of images across the two conditions: physical insult versus no insult and clear figure/ground demarcation versus merged or no clear figure/ground demarcation. In stage one, participants viewed a randomly ordered series of 36 video clips and rated how “confronting” they considered each to be. Seven days later (stage two), to test recall of each video image, participants viewed all 72 clips and were asked to identify those they had seen previously. Images containing a physical insult were consistently rated more confronting and were remembered more accurately than images with no physical insult. Images with a clear figure/ground demarcation were rated as no more confronting but were consistently recalled with greater accuracy than those with unclear figure/ground demarcation. Makers of gruesome health warning television advertisements should incorporate some form of physical insult and use a clear figure/ground demarcation to maximize image recall and subsequent potential advertising effectiveness.

scholarly journals Sustainable Site System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorden J. S. Lefler
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Site Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

This thesis discusses a method of analysing the input of interventions in a building's site design, all of which affect the heat island effect, bio-diversity and hydrology of urban areas. Existing standards from Toronto, Vancouver and Berlin have been researched and analysed. This paper presents an evolution of a method called biotope area factor used in Berlin, Germany. A synthesis of the approach of all three systems was considered and distilled into the key points which were then incorporated into the proposed method. In addition to the impact of an individual building, it also includes the impact from the adjacent street area. The final components of this thesis are the application of the method developed to an urban area in the city of Toronto and results showing the impacts on architectural design from site rating systems.

scholarly journals Development of a daily gridded precipitation data set for the Middle East

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 165-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Yatagai ◽  
P. Xie ◽  
P. Alpert
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Daily Precipitation ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Fertile Crescent ◽  
Precipitation Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. We show an algorithm to construct a rain-gauge-based analysis of daily precipitation for the Middle East. One of the key points of our algorithm is to construct an accurate distribution of climatology. One possible advantage of this product is to validate high-resolution climate models and/or to diagnose the impact of climate changes on local hydrological resources. Many users are familiar with a monthly precipitation dataset (New et al., 1999) and a satellite-based daily precipitation dataset (Huffman et al., 2001), yet our data set, unlike theirs, clearly shows the effect of orography on daily precipitation and other extreme events, especially over the Fertile Crescent region. Currently the Middle-East precipitation analysis product is consisting of a 25-year data set for 1979–2003 based on more than 1300 stations.

scholarly journals Surging virtual reference services: COVID-19 a game changer

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Marie L. Radford ◽  
Laura Costello ◽  
Kaitlin Montague
Keyword(s):  
Academic Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
User Interactions ◽  
Virtual Reference ◽  
Longitudinal Surveys ◽  
Reference Services ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Academic Librarian ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The Impact

In March 2020, academic libraries across the United States closed and sent everyone home, some destined to not reopen for months. University offices closed. Classes were moved online. Suddenly, librarians and staff pivoted to working from home and to all remote services, without time for planning logistics or training. To study the impact of this extraordinary and sweeping transition on virtual reference services (VRS), we conducted a major study of academic library responses to the pandemic that focused on librarian perceptions of how services and relationships with users morphed during this COVID-19 year.Academic librarians rallied to our call, and we collected a total of 300 responses to two longitudinal surveys launched at key points during the pandemic. Data collection focused on two phases in 2020: 1) shutdown and immediate aftermath (mid-March to July), and 2) fall ramp up and into the semester (August to December). Via Zoom, we also interviewed 28 academic librarian leaders (e.g., heads of reference and/or VRS, associate directors for User Services) from September to November. Surveys and interviews centered on adaptations and innovations to reference services, especially VRS and perceptions of changes in user interactions.

NIMG-13. RESPONSE ASSESSMENT IN GLIOBLASTOMA PATIENTS TREATED WITH DENDRITIC CELL-BASED IMMUNOTHERAPY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MACDONALD, RANO, MRANO, IRANO AND VOLUMETRIC MEASUREMENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_6) ◽  
pp. vi130-vi130
Author(s):  
Johanna Heugenhauser ◽  
Malik Galijasevic ◽  
Stephanie Mangesius ◽  
Johanna Buchroithner ◽  
Friedrich Erhart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dendritic Cell ◽  
Progression Free Survival ◽  
Response Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
Newly Diagnosed ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Different Response ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spearman Test

Abstract INTRODUCTION Response assessment in the treatment of glioblastoma (GB) based on MR-imaging is still challenging, in particular for immunotherapeutic strategies. Several assessment tools have been proposed. In this post-hoc analysis we compared response assessment criteria (MacDonald, RANO, mRANO, Vol.-mRANO, iRANO) in newly diagnosed GB patients treated with tumor lysate-charged autologous dendritic cells (Audencel) and determined the differences in prediction of progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). METHODS 76 patients with newly diagnosed GB enrolled in a multicenter randomized phase II trial receiving standard of care (SOC, n= 40) or SOC + Audencel vaccine (n= 36) were included. Tumor volumes were calculated by semiautomatic segmentation. To detect differences in PFS among the assessment criteria Kruskal-Wallis-test, for correlation analysis Spearman test was used. RESULTS There was a significant difference in median PFS based on the different assessments (mRANO 8.55 months [9.10-14.03], Vol.-mRANO 8.61 months [9.72-14.92] compared to MacDonald 4.04 months [5.21-8.75] and RANO 4.16 months [5.28-8.61]. For the vaccination arm only, median PFS by iRANO was 5.95 months [5.70-11.54]). There was no difference in PFS between SOC and SOC + Audencel using the different response criteria. The best correlation between PFS and OS was detected for mRANO (r= 0.65, p&lt; 0.001) and Vol.-mRANO (r= 0.69, p&lt; 0.001). At an 8-month landmark, the impact of progressive disease on median OS was best shown for mRANO (13.70 months [13.13-18.98], and Vol.-mRANO 12.03 months [12.51-17.94]) compared to MacDonald 17.97 months [15.45-20.92], RANO 17.97 months [15.92-20.95] and iRANO 17.34 months [14.99-22.73]. CONCLUSION When comparing different response assessments in GB patients treated with dendritic cell-based immunotherapy the best correlation between PFS and OS was observed for mRANO and Vol.-mRANO. Overall, no difference in PFS and OS was seen between the two treatment arms. iRANO was not superior for predicting OS in patients treated with Audencel.

Carcass Traits and Meat Quality Characteristics of Malabari Male Kids Reared under Different Production System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chikkagoudara Kotresh Prasad ◽  
John Abraham ◽  
Balusami Chinnappan ◽  
Roshin Anie Jose ◽  
Senthil Murugan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Meat Quality ◽  
Production System ◽  
Carcass Traits ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Quality Characteristics ◽  
Cooking Loss ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Final Body Weight ◽  
The Impact

Background: The intensive rearing systems of goats needs dietary formulations that will meet animal requirements, mainly the protein and energy to allow optimum growth rate. Alternative systems to attain 15-20 kg body weight by three months of age with better meat quality is need of the hour. Broiler goat production system is most suitable system of rearing for meat goat production. The current study was conducted to examine the impact of broiler goat production system on the carcass traits and meat quality characteristics of Malabari male kids. Methods: Fourteen pre-weaned kids were randomly allotted to two treatments. Treatment-I (T1) kids were allowed to suckle thrice a day during four weeks and twice in a day during consequent weeks. Whereas in Treatment-II (T2), kids were reared intensively by providing finely ground concentrate feed mixed with equal quantity of rice gruel from a feeding bottle after 7 days of colostrum feeding from the mother. The animals were slaughtered at an age of three months and the final body weight, carcass traits like dressing percentage, weight of different body parts and meat quality parameters like pH, color, cooking loss and shear force were analysed. The proximate composition and sensory evaluation was performed. Result: Broiler goat production system could produce significantly (P less than 0.01) higher final average body weight compared to natural system. All the carcass traits were significantly (P less than 0.01) higher in T2. The broiler goat production system could double the net live weight during the same period compared to natural suckling system with higher dressing % and the chevon produced was tender with less cooking loss. Hence, this system can be recommended for chevon production in shorter period with higher dressing % and lesser cooking loss in Malabari male kids.

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