Revisiting the radiographic assessment of osteoporosis-Osteopenia in children 0-2 years of age. A systematic review

Background Imaging for osteoporosis has two major aims, first, to identify the presence of low bone mass (osteopenia), and second, to quantify bone mass using semiquantitative (conventional radiography) or quantitative (densitometry) methods. In young children, densitometry is hampered by the lack of reference values, and high-quality radiographs still play a role although the evaluation of osteopenia as a marker for osteoporosis is subjective and based on personal experience. Medical experts questioned in court over child abuse, often refer to the literature and state that 20–40% loss of bone mass is warranted before osteopenia becomes evident on radiographs. In our systematic review, we aimed at identifying evidence underpinning this statement. A secondary outcome was identifying normal references for cortical thickness of the skeleton in infants born term, < 2 years of age. Methods We undertook systematic searches in Medline, Embase and Svemed+, covering 1946–2020. Unpublished material was searched in Clinical trials and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Both relevant subject headings and free text words were used for the following concepts: osteoporosis or osteopenia, radiography, children up to 6 years. Results A total 5592 publications were identified, of which none met the inclusion criteria for the primary outcome; the degree of bone loss warranted before osteopenia becomes visible radiographically. As for the secondary outcome, 21 studies were identified. None of the studies was true population based and none covered the pre-defined age range from 0–2 years. However, four studies of which three having a crossectional and one a longitudinal design, included newborns while one study included children 0–2 years. Conclusions Despite an extensive literature search, we did not find any studies supporting the assumption that a 20–40% bone loss is required before osteopenia becomes visible on radiographs. Reference values for cortical thickness were sparse. Further studies addressing this important topic are warranted.publishedVersio

Lean data in manufacturing systems: Using artificial intelligence for decentralized data reduction and information extraction

In the course of digitization, a drastically increased amount of acquired data in production systems can be observed. Nevertheless, only a minor part of the acquired data is practically used for near real-time analysis and optimization within production systems. This paper introduces a concept for the realization of a decentralized data analysis integration. Therefore, an analysis system using artificial neural networks is conducted at the measurement point in the main supply of a production plant, to classify different operating states. The classification accuracy in all evaluation models is at least 99.82% and proves that it is capable to recognize the operating states of a production machinery reliably. The significantly, without loss of information, reduced amount of data is handed over to a superordinate instance of the production system for further use of data

Vertical data continuity with lean edge analytics for industry 4.0 production

Industry 4.0 is characterized by the digitization and networking of machines and systems in production. The amount of data in production is increasing, providing information about processes and thus enables the autonomous monitoring, control and optimization of value creation processes. However, there have been several open challenges and current research questions identified. In particular, new solutions need to be scalable and high-performing to deal with the growing volumes of data close to real-time. The work at hand tackles these research gaps by presenting an approach to realize vertical data continuity by combining signal acquisition and simultaneous data evaluation in a decentralized system without the use of time-consuming external cloud solutions. The approach has been evaluated in laboratory as well as in industrial settings. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Requirements for blockchain applications in manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises

Blockchain technology is rising towards the peak of inflated expectations according to Gartner's 2016 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. A public ledger that enables low cost, near real-time, secure and timestamped transactions in a peer-to-peer network of participants without the need for a trusted third party offers great potentials for networks of cooperating companies of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, in this paper presents a definition and recent developments of the blockchain technology as well as evaluates existing applications with respect to the suitability for manufacturing companies. Furthermore, requirements for implementation of applications in manufacturing SMEs are derived to support the advancing digitization of industries

Implementation of a Blended-Learning Course as Part of Faculty Development

Tolks D, Pelczar I, Bauer D, et al. Implementation of a Blended-Learning Course as Part of Faculty Development. Creative Education. 2014;05(11):948-953

Revisiting the radiographic assessment of osteoporosis-Osteopenia in children 0-2 years of age. A systematic review

Background Imaging for osteoporosis has two major aims, first, to identify the presence of low bone mass (osteopenia), and second, to quantify bone mass using semiquantitative (conventional radiography) or quantitative (densitometry) methods. In young children, densitometry is hampered by the lack of reference values, and high-quality radiographs still play a role although the evaluation of osteopenia as a marker for osteoporosis is subjective and based on personal experience. Medical experts questioned in court over child abuse, often refer to the literature and state that 20–40% loss of bone mass is warranted before osteopenia becomes evident on radiographs. In our systematic review, we aimed at identifying evidence underpinning this statement. A secondary outcome was identifying normal references for cortical thickness of the skeleton in infants born term, < 2 years of age. Methods We undertook systematic searches in Medline, Embase and Svemed+, covering 1946–2020. Unpublished material was searched in Clinical trials and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Both relevant subject headings and free text words were used for the following concepts: osteoporosis or osteopenia, radiography, children up to 6 years. Results A total 5592 publications were identified, of which none met the inclusion criteria for the primary outcome; the degree of bone loss warranted before osteopenia becomes visible radiographically. As for the secondary outcome, 21 studies were identified. None of the studies was true population based and none covered the pre-defined age range from 0–2 years. However, four studies of which three having a crossectional and one a longitudinal design, included newborns while one study included children 0–2 years. Conclusions Despite an extensive literature search, we did not find any studies supporting the assumption that a 20–40% bone loss is required before osteopenia becomes visible on radiographs. Reference values for cortical thickness were sparse. Further studies addressing this important topic are warranted

Revisiting the radiographic assessment of osteoporosis-Osteopenia in children 0-2 years of age. A systematic review

Background Imaging for osteoporosis has two major aims, first, to identify the presence of low bone mass (osteopenia), and second, to quantify bone mass using semiquantitative (conventional radiography) or quantitative (densitometry) methods. In young children, densitometry is hampered by the lack of reference values, and high-quality radiographs still play a role although the evaluation of osteopenia as a marker for osteoporosis is subjective and based on personal experience. Medical experts questioned in court over child abuse, often refer to the literature and state that 20–40% loss of bone mass is warranted before osteopenia becomes evident on radiographs. In our systematic review, we aimed at identifying evidence underpinning this statement. A secondary outcome was identifying normal references for cortical thickness of the skeleton in infants born term, < 2 years of age. Methods We undertook systematic searches in Medline, Embase and Svemed+, covering 1946–2020. Unpublished material was searched in Clinical trials and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Both relevant subject headings and free text words were used for the following concepts: osteoporosis or osteopenia, radiography, children up to 6 years. Results A total 5592 publications were identified, of which none met the inclusion criteria for the primary outcome; the degree of bone loss warranted before osteopenia becomes visible radiographically. As for the secondary outcome, 21 studies were identified. None of the studies was true population based and none covered the pre-defined age range from 0–2 years. However, four studies of which three having a crossectional and one a longitudinal design, included newborns while one study included children 0–2 years. Conclusions Despite an extensive literature search, we did not find any studies supporting the assumption that a 20–40% bone loss is required before osteopenia becomes visible on radiographs. Reference values for cortical thickness were sparse. Further studies addressing this important topic are warranted

Strategien und Methoden der ressourceneffizienten Produktion: Green Factory Bavaria

Zur Reduktion des Ressourcenbedarfs der Industrie und somit zur Unterstützung der bayerischen Energiewende ist ein bedarfsgerechter Wissenstransfer aus der angewandten Forschung in produzierende Unternehmen von großer Bedeutung. Deshalb wurden im Projekt Green Factory Bavaria von 2012 bis 2017 Strategien und Methoden zur Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz in der Produktion erforscht und entwickelt. Hierfür entstand an den Standorten Augsburg und Bayreuth jeweils eine Demonstrations-, Lern- und Forschungsplattform. Ziel dieses Buches ist es, einen Überblick über die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse zu geben und durch einen flächendeckenden Wissenstransfer einen signifikanten Beitrag zur Energiewende zu leisten

Phytotoxicity and Innate Immune Responses Induced by Nep1-Like Proteins

We show that oomycete-derived Nep1 (for necrosis and ethylene-inducing peptide1)–like proteins (NLPs) trigger a comprehensive immune response in Arabidopsis thaliana, comprising posttranslational activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase activity, deposition of callose, production of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen intermediates, ethylene, and the phytoalexin camalexin, as well as cell death. Transcript profiling experiments revealed that NLPs trigger extensive reprogramming of the Arabidopsis transcriptome closely resembling that evoked by bacteria-derived flagellin. NLP-induced cell death is an active, light-dependent process requiring HSP90 but not caspase activity, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, or functional SGT1a/SGT1b. Studies on animal, yeast, moss, and plant cells revealed that sensitivity to NLPs is not a general characteristic of phospholipid bilayer systems but appears to be restricted to dicot plants. NLP-induced cell death does not require an intact plant cell wall, and ectopic expression of NLP in dicot plants resulted in cell death only when the protein was delivered to the apoplast. Our findings strongly suggest that NLP-induced necrosis requires interaction with a target site that is unique to the extracytoplasmic side of dicot plant plasma membranes. We propose that NLPs play dual roles in plant pathogen interactions as toxin-like virulence factors and as triggers of plant innate immune responses