D4.1 Draft air interface harmonization and user plane design

The METIS-II project envisions the design of a new air interface in order to fulfil all the performance requirements of the envisioned 5G use cases including some extreme low latency use cases and ultra-reliable transmission, xMBB requiring additional capacity that is only available in very high frequencies, as well as mMTC with extremely densely distributed sensors and very long battery life requirements. Designing an adaptable and flexible 5G Air Interface (AI), which will tackle these use cases while offering native multi-service support, is one of the key tasks of METIS-II WP4. This deliverable will highlight the challenges of designing an AI required to operate in a wide range of spectrum bands and cell sizes, capable of addressing the diverse services with often diverging requirements, and propose a design and suitability assessment framework for 5G AI candidates.Aydin, O.; Gebert, J.; Belschner, J.; Bazzi, J.; Weitkemper, P.; Kilinc, C.; Leonardo Da Silva, I.... (2016). D4.1 Draft air interface harmonization and user plane design. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.24542.0288

The Global Burden of Alveolar Echinococcosis

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE), caused by the larval stage of the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, is amongst the world's most dangerous zoonoses. Transmission to humans is by consumption of parasite eggs which are excreted in the faeces of the definitive hosts: foxes and, increasingly, dogs. Transmission can be through contact with the definitive host or indirectly through contamination of food or possibly water with parasite eggs. We made an intensive search of English, Russian, Chinese and other language databases. We targeted data which could give country specific incidence or prevalence of disease and searched for data from every country we believed to be endemic for AE. We also used data from other sources (often unpublished). From this information we were able to make an estimate of the annual global incidence of disease and disease burden using standard techniques for calculation of DALYs. Our studies suggest that AE results in a median of 18,235 cases globally with a burden of 666,433 DALYs per annum. This is the first estimate of the global burden of AE both in terms of global incidence and DALYs and demonstrates the burden of AE is comparable to several diseases in the neglected tropical disease cluster

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Turkish Student Science Teachers' Conceptions of Sustainable Development: A phenomenography

WOS: 000316717600002In creating a society whose citizens have sustainable lifestyles, education for sustainable development (ESD) plays a key role. However, the concept of sustainable development (SD) has developed independently from the input of educators; therefore, ESD presents current teachers with many challenges. At this point, understanding how stakeholders in the education sector (school students, student teachers, and teachers) view SD is of great importance. We selected a sample of 113 Turkish student science teachers from this body of stakeholders and distributed a questionnaire to them that included two separate sections. In the first section, questions regarding personal information such as gender, age, and year group were asked, whereas the meaning of SD was the focus of the second part. A phenomenographic approach was used to analyse student teachers' descriptions of SD. The results showed that student teachers had a variety of ideas about SD that could be collected under headings such as environment, technology, society, economy, politics, energy, and education. In addition, we thought that gender, context-based issues, and informal experiences might be responsible for the variety of the responses

Characterization of eggshell-derived hydroxyapatite on Ti6Al4V metal substrate coated by sol-gel method

The aim of this work was to synthesize hydroxyapatite (HAp) by sol-gel route using eggshell and triethyl phosphite as calcium and phosphorus precursors, respectively. After the preparation of homogeneous solution with aging period for 24 h, hydroxyapatite (HAp) sol-gel coatings were made on Ti6Al4V substrate. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and triethanolamine (TEA) were added to HAp solution to enhance morphological structure of coatings. PEG- and TEA-added solutions and coatings were labeled as P-Hap and T-Hap, respectively. The coating process was carried out by spin coating method, and the coated samples were heated up to 600 degrees C for 1 h. Phase development of coatings and dried powder and morphologies of coatings upon heat treatment were detected by XRD and SEM, respectively. Thermal behavior of obtained powder were investigated with DTA/TGA. Surface roughness was determined by XP2 surface profilometer. It was found that all the samples at RT showed amorphous structure and transformed at 600 degrees C to well-crystallized HAp-phase with no beta-TCP. Morphological results indicated that T-HAp coating showed the best morphology with crack-free uniform porous structure, which is necessary for biocompatible implants. P-HAp coating showed non-uniform porous structure with large cracks, whereby HAp coatings had similar structure to T-HAp coatings but with much less porosity

In situ atom trapping of Bi on W-coated slotted quartz tube flame atomic absorption spectrometry and interference studies

WOS: 000327367000003Analytical performances of metal coated slotted quartz tube flame atomic absorption spectrometry (SQT-FAAS) and slotted quartz tube in situ atom trapping flame atomic absorption spectrometry (SQT-AT-FAAS) systems were evaluated for determination of Bi. Non-volatile elements such as Mo, Zr, W and Ta were tried as coating materials. It was observed that W-coated SQT gave the best sensitivity for the determination of Bi for SQT-FAAS and SQT-AT-FMS. The parameters for W-coated SQT-FAAS and W-coated SQT-AT-FAAS were optimized. Sensitivity of FAAS for Bi was improved as 4.0 fold by W-coated SQT-FAAS while 613 fold enhancement in sensitivity was achieved by W-coated SQT-AT-FAAS using 5.0 min trapping with respect to conventional FAAS. MIBK was selected as organic solvent for the re-atomization of Bi from the trapping surface. Limit of detection values for W-coated SQT-FAAS and W-coated SQT-AT-FAAS was obtained as 0.14 mu g mL(-1) and 0.51 ng mL(-1), respectively. Linear calibration plot was obtained in the range of 2.5-25.0 ng mL(-1) for W-coated SQT-AT-FAAS. Accuracy of the W-coated SQT-AT-FAAS system was checked by analyzing a standard reference material, NIST 1643e. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.University of Dicle (DUBAP) [10-FF-31]; TUBITAK-BIDEPThe present work was carried out under the financial support of University of Dicle (DUBAP; 10-FF-31) and TUBITAK-BIDEP. The authors thank Dr. Murat Kaya from METU for his help in Raman studies

Sensitive determination of bismuth by flame atomic absorption spectrometry using atom trapping in a slotted quartz tube and revolatilization with organic solvent pulse

Sensitivity of flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for Bi determination was improved by slotted quartz tube (SQT) that was used also for atom trapping (AT). The trapped analyte was released by aspirating a small volume of organic solvent after a reasonable analyte collection time. Sensitivity was improved by 2.9 times by SQT-FAAS and 256 times by SQT-AT-FAAS with respect to FAAS. Optimum trapping period was found to be 6.0 min (36.0 mL of solution). Limit of detection (LOD) for SQT-AT-FAAS was found to be 1.6 ng mL(-1). %RSD was calculated as 4.0% for five replicate measurements of 7.5 ng mL(-1) Bi by SQT-AT-FAAS. Accuracy of the method developed was checked by analyzing a standard reference material of simulated fresh water (NIST 1643e) and result found was in good agreement with the certified one. The method can be applied in any laboratory equipped with a flame AA spectrometer. The consumption of time and sample volume is fairly low and application is simple and easy

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Non-Puerperal Complete Uterine Inversion

Uterine inversion is shortly described as the indentation and depression of the fundic area extending downwards up to the different levels of the birth canal till vaginal opening. Clinical diagnosis of uterine inversion is difficult due to its non-specific symptoms and physical examination. Ultrasonography is the most practical modality for radiological evaluation, but it is inadequate to determine the exact nature of this condition and making the differential diagnosis. In this case, we present the main MRI findings of non-puerperal complete uterine inversion caused by a giant leiomyoma