Are the results of the groundwater model robust?

De Graaf et al. (2019) suggest that groundwater pumping will bring 42--79\% of worldwide watersheds close to environmental exhaustion by 2050. We are skeptical of these figures due to several non-unique assumptions behind the calculation of irrigation water demands and the perfunctory exploration of the model's uncertainty space. Their sensitivity analysis reveals a widespread lack of elementary concepts of design of experiments among modellers, and can not be taken as a proof that their conclusions are robust.Comment: Comment on the paper by De Graaf et al. 2019. Environmental flow limits to global groundwater pumping. Nature 574 (7776), 90-9

Surgical Options In Oroantral Fistula Treatment

Oral fistula (OAF) is a pathological communication between the oral cavity and maxillary sinus which has its origin either from iatrogenic complications or from dental infections, osteomyelitis, radiation therapy or trauma. OAF closures can be achieved using different flaps which show both advantages and limitations. Therefore they all need careful consideration in order to select the best approach depending on the situation. The most widely employed flaps are of three types: vestibular flap, palatal flap and buccal fat pad Flap(BFP). The authors present three cases of OAF with the different techniques. It is suggested that the buccal flap is best applied in the case of large fistulas located in the anterior region, the palatal flap is suitable to correct premolar defects and the BFP flap for wide posterior OAFs

Virtual and Augmented Reality in Basic and Advanced Life Support Training

The use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for life support training is increasing. These technologies provide an immersive experience that supports learning in a safe and controlled environment. This review focuses on the use of AR and VR for emergency care training for health care providers, medical students, and nonprofessionals. In particular, we analyzed (1) serious games, nonimmersive games, both single-player and multiplayer; (2) VR tools ranging from semi-immersive to immersive virtual and mixed reality; and (3) AR applications. All the toolkits have been investigated in terms of application goals (training, assessment, or both), simulated procedures, and skills. The main goal of this work is to summarize and organize the findings of studies coming from multiple research areas in order to make them accessible to all the professionals involved in medical simulation. The analysis of the state-of-the-art technologies reveals that tools and studies related to the multiplayer experience, haptic feedback, and evaluation of user’s manual skills in the foregoing health care-related environments are still limited and require further investigation. Also, there is an additional need to conduct studies aimed at assessing whether AR/VR-based systems are superior or, at the minimum, comparable to traditional training methods

Multiple teeth replacement with endosseous one-piece yttrium-stabilized zirconia dental implants

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to clinically and radiographically evaluate survival and success rate of multiple zirconia dental implants positioned in each patient during a follow-up period of at least 12 months up to 48 months. Study Design: Eight patients were treated for multiple edentulism with 29 zirconia dental implants. All implants received immediate temporary restorations and 6 months after surgery were definitively restored. 6 months to 4 years after implant insertion, a clinical-radiographic evaluation was performed in order to estimate peri-implant tissues health and peri-implant marginal bone loss. Results: Survival rate within follow-up period was therefore 100%. The average marginal bone loss (MBL) from baseline to 6 months was +1.375±0.388 mm; from 6 months to 1 year was +0.22±0.598 mm; from 1 year to 2 years was -0.368±0.387 mm; from 2 years to 3 years was -0.0669±0.425 mm; from 3 years to 4 years +0.048±0.262 mm. The mean marginal bone loss at 4 years from the implants insertion was +1.208 mm. Conclusions: According to several studies, when using a radiographic criterion for implant success, marginal bone loss below 0.9-1.6 mm during the first year in function can be considered acceptable. In our work, radiographic measurements of MBL showed values not exceeding 1.6 mm during the first year of loading and also 1 year up to 4 years after surgery further marginal bone loss was minimal and not significant. This peri-implant bone preservation may be associated to the absence of micro-gap between fixture and abutment since zirconia dental implants are one-piece implant. Moreover, zirconia is characterized by high biocompatibility and it accumulates significantly fewer bacteria than titanium

Improving the reliability of cohesion policy databases

In this contribution, we present an innovative data-driven model to reconstruct a reliable temporal pattern for time-lagged statistical monetary figures. Our research cuts across several domains regarding the production of robust economic inferences and the bridging of top-down aggregated information from central databases with disaggregated information obtained from local sources or national statistical offices. Our test bed case study is the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The application we discuss deals with the reported time lag between the local expenditures of ERDF by beneficiaries in Italian regions and the corresponding payments reported in the European Commission database. Our model reconstructs the timing of these local expenditures by back-dating the observed European Commission reimbursements. The inferred estimates are then validated against the expenditures reported from the Italian National Managing Authorities (NMAs) in terms of cumulative monetary difference. The lower cumulative yearly distance of our modelled expenditures compared to the official European Commission payments confirms the robustness of our model. Using sensitivity analysis, we also analyse the relative importance of the modelling parameters on the cumulative distance between the modelled and reported expenditures. The parameters with the greatest influence on the uncertainty of this distance are the following: first, how the non-clearly regionalised expenditures are attributed to individual regions; and second, the number of backward years that the residuals of the yearly payments are spread onto. In general, the distance between the modelled and reported expenditures can be further reduced by fixing these parameters. However, the gain is only marginal for some regions. The present study paves the way for modelling exercises that are aimed at more reliable estimates of the expenditures on the ground by the ultimate beneficiaries of European funds. Additionally, the output databases can contribute to enhancing the reliability of econometric studies on the effectiveness of European Union (EU) funds

Feature importance measures to dissect the role of sub-basins in shaping the catchment hydrological response: a proof of concept

Understanding the response of a catchment is a crucial problem in hydrology, with a variety of practical and theoretical implications. Dissecting the role of sub-basins is helpful both for advancing current knowledge of physical processes and for improving the implementation of simulation or forecast models. In this context, recent advancements in sensitivity analysis tools could be worthwhile for bringing out hidden dynamics otherwise not easy to distinguish in complex data driven investigations. In the present work seven feature importance measures are described and tested in a specific and simplified proof of concept case study. In practice, simulated runoff time series are generated for a watershed and its inner 15 sub-basins. A machine learning tool is calibrated using the sub-basins time series for forecasting the watershed runoff. Importance measures are applied on such synthetic hydrological scenario with the aim to investigate the role of each sub-basin in shaping the overall catchment response. This proof of concept offers a simplified representation of the complex dynamics of catchment response. The interesting result is that the discharge at the catchment outlet depends mainly on 3 sub-basins that are consistently identified by alternative sensitivity measures. The proposed approach can be extended to real applications, providing useful insights on the role of each sub-basin also analyzing more complex scenarios

Case Report Infection Related Inferior Alveolar Nerve Paresthesia in the Lower Premolar Teeth

Introduction. The aim of this paper was to describe two cases of IAN infection-induced paresthesia and to discuss the most appropriate treatment solutions. Methods. For two patients, periapical lesions that induced IAN paresthesia were revealed. In the first case, the tooth was previously endodontically treated, whereas in the second case the lesion was due to pulp necrosis. Results. For the first patient, a progressive healing was observed only after the tooth extraction. In the second patient, the paresthesia had resolved after endodontic treatment. Conclusions. The endodontic-related paresthesia is a rare complication that can be the result of a combination of etiopathogenic mechanisms such as mechanical pressure on the nerve fibers due to the expanding infectious process and the production of microbial toxins. Paresthesia resulting from periapical lesions usually subsides through elimination of infection by root canal treatment. However, if there are no signs of enhancement, the immediate extraction of the tooth is the treatment of choice in order to prevent irreversible paresthesia because it was demonstrated that there is a correlation between the duration of mechanical or chemical irritation and the risk of permanent paresthesia

Adjuvant chemotherapy for resected triple negative breast cancer patients: A network meta-analysis

The current standard of care for resected early-stage triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who did not receive systemic preoperative therapy is adjuvant anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy (CT). A network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials (phase III) enrolling patients with resected stage I-III TNBC comparing adjuvant regimens was performed. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) data were extracted. A total of 27 phase III clinical trials were selected including 15,242 TNBC patients. This NMA showed an OS benefit from the incorporation of capecitabine into classic anthracycline/taxane-based combinations compared to anthracyclines with or without taxanes alone

Production of polyclonal antiserum for the detection of cymbidium mosaic virus and odontoglossum ringspot virus in orchids.

Las orquídeas (familia Orchidaceae) son susceptibles a diversos factores bióticos y abióticos que afectan su desarrollo y calidad. Entre ellos, Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV) y Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) son los patógenos más frecuentes y de mayor importancia económica a nivel mundial. La transmisión mecánica de estos virus y la multiplicación principalmente agámica de las orquídeas hacen necesario contar con material madre libre de virus. El objetivo de este trabajo fue elaborar reactivos de diagnóstico para la detección de CymMV y ORSV. Se elaboró un antisuero policlonal contra CymMV+ORSV que se tituló 1:10000 mediante NC-ELISA. El antisuero fue procesado y se obtuvieron IgG e IgG-conjugada anti CymMV+ORSV dilución 1:500 para su utilización en DAS-ELISA. La capacidad inmunodiagnóstica de esta técnica se evaluó mediante el análisis de muestras provenientes de orquídeas con síntomas característicos de infección viral, recolectadas en viveros comerciales de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina. La presencia de virosis se detectó en el 22 % de las muestras estudiadas y en el 75 % de los establecimientos relevados. La capacidad de estos reactivos para identificar CymMV, ORSV e infecciones mixtas en orquídeas permitirá agilizar y economizar los análisis. Esto representaría una ventaja para las detecciones a gran escala.Orchids (family Orchidaceae) are susceptible to several biotic and abiotic factors that affect their development and quality. Among them, Cymbidium mosaic virus (CymMV) and Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) are the most frequent pathogens, with the greatest economic impact worldwide. The mechanical transmission of these viruses in addition to the predominantly agamic multiplication of orchids, make it necessary to work with virus-free plant material. The objective of this work was to develop diagnostic reagents for the detection of CymMV and ORSV. A polyclonal antiserum against CymMV + ORSV was made with a titer of 1:10000 determined by NC-ELISA. The antiserum was processed generating IgG and IgG-conjugated” anti CymMV+ORSV were obtained for use in DAS-ELISA in a dilution of 1:500. The immunodiagnostic capacity of this technique was evaluated by analyzing samples from orchids with characteristic viral symptoms, collected from commercial nurseries in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Viral infections were detected in 22 % of the samples analyzed and in 75 % of the nurseries surveyed. The ability of these reagents to identify CymMV, ORSV and mixed infections in orchids, will speed up analyzes and reduce their costs. This would represent an advantage for large-scale detections.Fil: Dottori, Carolina Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: de Breuil, Soledad. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Tuma Borgonovo, Maria Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Nome, Sergio Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola; Argentin

Clinical Study Evaluation of the Success Criteria for Zirconia Dental Implants: A Four-Year Clinical and Radiological Study

Objectives. The aim was to evaluate survival and success rates, soft tissue health, and radiographic marginal bone loss (MBL) of zirconia implants placed in the esthetic and posterior areas of the jaws and in association with multiple or single implant restorations after at least 6 months of definitive restoration. Material and Methods. 35 one-piece zirconium implants were utilized for single or partially edentulous ridges rehabilitation. All implants received immediate temporary restorations and six months after surgery were definitively restored. Every 6 months after implant placement, a clinical-radiographic evaluation was performed. For each radiograph, the measurements of MBL were calculated. Results. The results showed that the mean MBL at 48-month followup was 1.631 mm. The mean MBL during the first year of loading was not more significant for implants placed in the first molar regions than for those positioned in other areas. Moreover, no differences in marginal bone level changes were revealed for multiple and single implants, whereas MBL in the first year was observed to be slightly greater for implants placed in the maxilla than for those placed in the mandible. Conclusion. Zirconia showed a good marginal bone preservation that could be correlated with one-piece morphology and characteristics of zirconia implants