e-Social Science and Evidence-Based Policy Assessment : Challenges and Solutions

Peer reviewedPreprin

Nightmare disorder and REM sleep behavior disorder in inflammatory arthritis: Possibility beyond neurodegeneration.

OBJECTIVES:To investigate the prevalence of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) to ascertain if RBD could be an internal red flag signaling a fluctuating state of inflammation based on the theory of "protoconsciousness". MATERIALS & METHODS:One hundred and three patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IA were consecutively recruited. The patients underwent general (IA activity, functional status, laboratory tests) and neurological evaluations. A neurologist investigated RBD and REM sleep parasomnias in a semi-structured interview. Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, while the risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) was evaluated with the Berlin questionnaire. Beck Depression Inventory II and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory investigated depression and anxiety. RESULTS:Patients had a mean age of 53.7 ± 14.6 years, 65% were women; 57.3% were in a clinically active phase of IA. Two women fulfilled ICSD-3 criteria for RBD appearing 11 years after and 20 years before IA onset respectively. 31 patients scored positive for nightmare disorder (ND), 8 for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis. 65 (63.1%) patients reported poor sleep quality and 25 (24.3%) resulted at high risk for OSAS. 32 (31.0%) patients scored positively for depression or anxiety. CONCLUSIONS:The prevalence of RBD in patients with IA did not differ from that in the general population, whereas ND presented a 2-fold increased prevalence. Whether RBD can be considered a red flag signaling an internal danger remains an open question, while ND may be a new player in this intriguing relation

How old are you? Newborn gestational age discriminates neonatal resuscitation practices in the Italian debate

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multidisciplinary study groups have produced documents in an attempt to support decisions regarding whether to resuscitate "at risk" newborns or not. Moreover, there has been an increasingly insistent request for juridical regulation of neonatal resuscitation practices as well as for clarification of the role of parents in decisions regarding this kind of assistance. The crux of the matter is whether strict guidelines, reference standards based on the parameter of gestational age and authority rules are necessary.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The Italian scenario reflects the current animated debate, illustrating the difficulty intrinsic in rigid guidelines on the subject, especially when gestational age is taken as a reference parameter for the medical decision.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Concerning the decision to interrupt or not to initiate resuscitation procedures on low gestational age newborns, physicians do not need rigid rules based on inflexible gestational age and birth weight guidelines. Guidance in addressing the difficult and trying issues associated with infants born at the margins of viability with a realistic assessment of the infant's clinical condition must be based on the infant's best interests, with clinicians and parents entering into what has been described as a "partnership of care".</p

Advanced Dissection Lab for Neuroanatomy Training

No abstract avaibl

Development of a digital tool to overcome the challenges of rural food SMEs

It has been recognised that throughout the UK, rural economies have a significant potential for growth but despite the potential for growth, many rural businesses face barriers that prohibit their expansion. In this study, we focus on one particular group of rural small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): food and drink producers. Through user engagement activities, we identify the issues and needs associated with distributing products to the market, in order to understand the main issues which prevent rural food and drink SMEs from expansion, and to establish the requirements for a digital solution to this challenge

A novel comprehensive clinical stratification model to refine prognosis of glioblastoma patients undergoing surgical resection

Despite recent discoveries in genetics and molecular fields, glioblastoma (GBM) prognosis still remains unfavorable with less than 10% of patients alive 5 years after diagnosis. Numerous studies have focused on the research of biological biomarkers to stratify GBM patients. We addressed this issue in our study by using clinical/molecular and image data, which is generally available to Neurosurgical Departments in order to create a prognostic score that can be useful to stratify GBM patients undergoing surgical resection. By using the random forest approach [CART analysis (classification and regression tree)] on Survival time data of 465 cases, we developed a new prediction score resulting in 10 groups based on extent of resection (EOR), age, tumor volumetric features, intraoperative protocols and tumor molecular classes. The resulting tree was trimmed according to similarities in the relative hazard ratios amongst groups, giving rise to a 5-group classification tree. These 5 groups were different in terms of overall survival (OS) (p < 0.000). The score performance in predicting death was defined by a Harrell\u2019s c-index of 0.79 (95% confidence interval [0.76\u20130.81]). The proposed score could be useful in a clinical setting to refine the prognosis of GBM patients after surgery and prior to postoperative treatment

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

A Multi-Site Analysis of the Prevalence of Food Insecurity in the United States, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic profoundly affected food systems including food security. Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted food security is important to provide support and identify long-term impacts and needs. Objective: The National Food Access and COVID research Team (NFACT) was formed to assess food security over different US study sites throughout the pandemic, using common instruments and measurements. This study presents results from 18 study sites across 15 states and nationally over the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A validated survey instrument was developed and implemented in whole or part through an online survey of adults across the sites throughout the first year of the pandemic, representing 22 separate surveys. Sampling methods for each study site were convenience, representative, or high-risk targeted. Food security was measured using the USDA 6-item module. Food security prevalence was analyzed using ANOVA by sampling method to assess statistically significant differences. Results: Respondents (n = 27,168) indicate higher prevalence of food insecurity (low or very low food security) since the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with before the pandemic. In nearly all study sites, there is a higher prevalence of food insecurity among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), households with children, and those with job disruptions. The findings demonstrate lingering food insecurity, with high prevalence over time in sites with repeat cross-sectional surveys. There are no statistically significant differences between convenience and representative surveys, but a statistically higher prevalence of food insecurity among high-risk compared with convenience surveys. Conclusions: This comprehensive study demonstrates a higher prevalence of food insecurity in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. These impacts were prevalent for certain demographic groups, and most pronounced for surveys targeting high-risk populations. Results especially document the continued high levels of food insecurity, as well as the variability in estimates due to the survey implementation method

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30