Pure point diffraction implies zero entropy for Delone sets with uniform cluster frequencies

Delone sets of finite local complexity in Euclidean space are investigated. We show that such a set has patch counting and topological entropy 0 if it has uniform cluster frequencies and is pure point diffractive. We also note that the patch counting entropy is 0 whenever the repetitivity function satisfies a certain growth restriction.Comment: 16 pages; revised and slightly expanded versio

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

A global research priority agenda to advance public health responses to fatty liver disease

Background & aims An estimated 38% of adults worldwide have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). From individual impacts to widespread public health and economic consequences, the implications of this disease are profound. This study aimed to develop an aligned, prioritised fatty liver disease research agenda for the global health community. Methods Nine co-chairs drafted initial research priorities, subsequently reviewed by 40 core authors and debated during a three-day in-person meeting. Following a Delphi methodology, over two rounds, a large panel (R1 n = 344, R2 n = 288) reviewed the priorities, via Qualtrics XM, indicating agreement using a four-point Likert-scale and providing written feedback. The core group revised the draft priorities between rounds. In R2, panellists also ranked the priorities within six domains: epidemiology, models of care, treatment and care, education and awareness, patient and community perspectives, and leadership and public health policy. Results The consensus-built fatty liver disease research agenda encompasses 28 priorities. The mean percentage of ‘agree’ responses increased from 78.3 in R1 to 81.1 in R2. Five priorities received unanimous combined agreement (‘agree’ + ‘somewhat agree’); the remaining 23 priorities had >90% combined agreement. While all but one of the priorities exhibited at least a super-majority of agreement (>66.7% ‘agree’), 13 priorities had 90% combined agreement. Conclusions Adopting this multidisciplinary consensus-built research priorities agenda can deliver a step-change in addressing fatty liver disease, mitigating against its individual and societal harms and proactively altering its natural history through prevention, identification, treatment, and care. This agenda should catalyse the global health community’s efforts to advance and accelerate responses to this widespread and fast-growing public health threat. Impact and implications An estimated 38% of adults and 13% of children and adolescents worldwide have fatty liver disease, making it the most prevalent liver disease in history. Despite substantial scientific progress in the past three decades, the burden continues to grow, with an urgent need to advance understanding of how to prevent, manage, and treat the disease. Through a global consensus process, a multidisciplinary group agreed on 28 research priorities covering a broad range of themes, from disease burden, treatment, and health system responses to awareness and policy. The findings have relevance for clinical and non-clinical researchers as well as funders working on fatty liver disease and non-communicable diseases more broadly, setting out a prioritised, ranked research agenda for turning the tide on this fast-growing public health threat

The Impact of Full-Scale Substitution of Ca2+ with Ni2+ Ions on Brushite’s Crystal Structure and Phase Composition

Because the impact of the full-scale substitution of Ca2+ in brushite (CaHPO4·2H2O) with Ni2+ ions has never been systematically explored, it is the focus of this investigation, as it holds potential for use in CaxNi1−xHPO4·nH2O production. These biomaterials have many beneficial characteristics that can be modified to suit diverse applications, including bone tissue regeneration and pharmaceutics. For the present study, NaH2PO4·2H2O, Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, and Ni(NO3)2·6H2O were used in various molar concentrations to obtain the required starting solutions. Previous studies have shown that adding Ni ions in the initial solution below 20% results in the precipitation of monophasic brushite with slight changes in the crystal structure. However, this study confirms that when the Ni ions substitution increases to 20%, a mixture of phases from both brushite and hexaaquanickel(II) hydrogenphosphate monohydrate HNiP (Ni(H2O)6·HPO4·H2O) is formed. The results confirm that the full replacement (100%) of Ca ions by Ni ions results in a monophasic compound solely comprising orthorhombic HNiP nanocrystals. Therefore, a novel technique of HNiP synthesis using the precipitation method is introduced in this research work. These materials are subsequently analyzed utilizing powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results confirm that the material microstructure is controlled by the Ni/Ca ratio in the starting solution and can be modified to obtain the desired characteristics of phases and crystals

Factors associated with amputation among patients with diabetic foot ulcers in a Saudi population

Abstract Objectives A prospective study was conducted at the Armed Forces Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, between January 2015 and December 2016 to identify the risk factors associated with amputation among diabetic foot ulcers DFUs patients. Results In total, 82 patients were recruited. Fifty-five of the patients were males (67.07%), the mean (SD) age of the participants was 60 (± 11.4) years, the mean duration of diabetes was 8.5 (± 3.7) years, and the mean haemoglobin A1c was 4.8 (± 2.8)%. In Univariate analysis, older age and high white blood cell count (WBC) were factors associated with amputation (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1–1.1, P = 0.012; and OR = 383, 95% CI = 7.9–18,665, P = 0.003, respectively). On the other hand, an ischaemic ulcer was half as likely as a neuropathic ulcer to lead to amputation (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3–0.9, P = 0.036), and a higher Wagner’s grade was found to be protective against amputation OR = 14.5, 95% CI = 4.3–49.4, P < 0.001. In conclusion, the current study showed that although a number of factors have been described to complicate diabetic ulcers by different researchers, none of those factors were identified in our study apart from older age and high WBC

Cluster of human parechovirus infections as the predominant cause of sepsis in neonates and infants, Leicester, United Kingdom, 8 May to 2 August 2016.

We report an unusually high number of cases (n = 26) of parechovirus infections in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neonates and infants admitted with sepsis in the United Kingdom during 8 May to 2 August 2016. Although such infections in neonates and infants are well-documented, parechovirus has not been routinely included in many in-house and commercial PCR assays for CSF testing. Clinicians should consider routine parechovirus testing in young children presenting with sepsis