Reaching a consensus on research priorities for supporting women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases during pre-conception, pregnancy and early parenting: A Nominal Group Technique exercise with lay and professional stakeholders

Background:Women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) find it difficult to get information and support with family planning, pregnancy, and early parenting. A systematic approach to prioritising research is required to accelerate development and evaluation of interventions to meet the complex needs of this population. Methods:A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) exercise was carried out with lay and professional stakeholders (n=29). Stakeholders were prepared for debate through presentation of available evidence. Stakeholders completed three tasks to develop, individually rank, and reach consensus on research priorities: Task 1 – mapping challenges and services using visual timelines; Task 2 - identifying research topics; Task 3 - individually ranking research topics in priority order. Results of the ranking exercise were fed back to the group for comment. Results:The main themes emerging from Task 1 were the need for provision of information, multi-disciplinary care, and social and peer support. In Task 2, 15 research topics and 58 sub-topics were identified around addressing the challenges and gaps in care identified during Task 1. In Task 3, a consensus was reached on the ten research topics that should be given the highest priority. These were individually ranked, resulting in the following order of priorities (from 1 – highest to 10 – lowest): 1. Shared decision-making early in the care pathway; 2. Pre-conception counseling; 3. Information about medication use during pregnancy/breastfeeding; 4. Personalised care planning; 5. Support for partners/family members; 6. Information about local support/disease specific issues; 7. Shared decision-making across the care pathway; 8. Peer-support; 9. Social inequalities in care, and; 10. Guidance on holistic/alternative therapies. Conclusions:This systematic approach to identification of research priorities from a multi-disciplinary and lay perspective indicated that activities should focus on development and evaluation of interventions that increase patient involvement in clinical decision-making, multi-disciplinary models of care, and timely provision of information

Soil erosion modelling: A global review and statistical analysis

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensivelyreviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and2017. We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the re-gions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv)how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To per-form this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. Theresulting database, named‘Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT)’, includes 3030 indi-vidual modelling records from 126 countries, encompassing all continents (except Antarctica). Out of the 8471articles identified as potentially relevant, we reviewed 1697 appropriate articles and systematically evaluatedand transferred 42 relevant attributes into the database. This GASEMT database provides comprehensive insightsinto the state-of-the-art of soil- erosion models and model applications worldwide. This database intends to sup-port the upcoming country-based United Nations global soil-erosion assessment in addition to helping to informsoil erosion research priorities by building a foundation for future targeted, in-depth analyses. GASEMT is anopen-source database available to the entire user-community to develop research, rectify errors, andmakefutureexpansion

Soil erosion modelling: A global review and statistical analysis

To gain a better understanding of the global application of soil erosion prediction models, we comprehensively reviewed relevant peer-reviewed research literature on soil-erosion modelling published between 1994 and 2017.We aimed to identify (i) the processes and models most frequently addressed in the literature, (ii) the regions within which models are primarily applied, (iii) the regions which remain unaddressed and why, and (iv) how frequently studies are conducted to validate/evaluate model outcomes relative to measured data. To perform this task, we combined the collective knowledge of 67 soil-erosion scientists from 25 countries. The resulting database, named ‘Global Applications of Soil ErosionModelling Tracker (GASEMT)’, includes 3030 individual modelling records from 126 countries, encompassing all continents (except Antarctica). Out of the 8471 articles identified as potentially relevant, we reviewed 1697 appropriate articles and systematically evaluated and transferred 42 relevant attributes into the database. This GASEMT database provides comprehensive insights into the state-of-the-art of soil- erosionmodels and model applicationsworldwide. This database intends to support the upcoming country-based United Nations global soil-erosion assessment in addition to helping to inform soil erosion research priorities by building a foundation for future targeted, in-depth analyses. GASEMT is an open-source database available to the entire user-community to develop research, rectify errors, andmake future expansions

Optimizing Cooperation in Spatial Planning for eGovernment

As a reaction to societal, economic and technological changes, new forms of cooperation are applied in projects of urban and regional development. We argue,that this trend can significantly be amplified by the use of information and communication technologies (ICT): Through ICT more persons can participate in a more open, fairer and more transparent way. More complex information can be analyzed; discussions can become more focused, the process is documented and becomes reproducible and comparable. Methods and media can be combined in a very flexible way to design:more efficient and-effective processes. to the extent that projects are stored in a knowledge base, knowledge management tools can exploit growing - experience in order to continuously improve a methodology for cooperation in spatial development. Our approach aims at exploring the opportunities that new ICT offer for new cooperation methods in e-Government and planning - beyond the extension of traditional methods to electronic communication media. It acknowledges the need for experimentation and an evaluation, not only concerning isolated methods but the combination of methods based on knowledge, management concepts

Ranibizumab in neovascular age-related macular degeneration: a 5-year follow-up

Nadezhda P Cvetkova, Kristina Hölldobler, Philipp Prahs, Viola Radeck, Horst Helbig, David Märker Department of Ophthalmology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate an optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual acuity (VA)-guided, variable-dosing regimen with intravitreal ranibizumab injection for treating patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) from 2007 to 2012. Design: This was a retrospective clinical study of 5 years follow-up in a tertiary eye center. Patients and methods: In this study, 66 patients with neovascular AMD (mean age of 74 years, SD 8.7 years) were included. We investigated the development of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the number of intravitreal injections, and the central retinal thickness measured with OCT (OCT Spectralis) over 5 years of intravitreal treatment. Results: The mean number of intravitreal ranibizumab injections over 5 years was 8.8. The mean BCVA before therapy was 0.4 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR). After 5 years of therapy, the mean BCVA was 0.6 logMAR. In all, 16% of treated patients had stable VA over 5 years and 10% of study eyes approved their VA. The mean OCT-measured central retinal thickness at the beginning of this study was 295 µm; after 5 years of treatment, the mean central retinal thickness was 315 µm. There was an increase in central retinal thickness in 47.5% of examined eyes. Conclusion: Other studies showed VA improvement in OCT-guided variable-dosing regimens. Our study revealed a moderate decrease in VA after a total mean injection number as low as 8.8 injections over 5 years. In OCT, an increase in central retinal thickness over 5 years could be observed. Probably, this is due to deficient treatment when comparing the total injection number to other treatment regimens. Anti-VEGF therapy helps to keep the VA stable for a period of time, but cannot totally stop the progression of the disease completely. Patients with late stages of neovascular AMD can maintain VA even if they are relatively undertreated. Keywords: AMD, neovascular, OCT, ranibizumab, retin

Effect of Annealing on the Structure, Composition, and Electrochemistry of NMC811 Coated with Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> Using an Alkoxide Precursor

Nickel-rich layered oxides are promising positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries due to their high capacity and decreased cobalt content. The application of surface coatings is a common approach to slowing or potentially stopping deleterious reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface of lower-Ni content layered oxides. However, their efficacy on Ni-rich LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) is less certain and knowledge on how to design effective coatings with favorable properties is sparse. In this work, we develop a convenient solution-based deposition method for the synthesis of aluminum oxide coatings NMC811 secondary particles and we study the effects of annealing temperature on their structure and electrochemical lifetime in lithium-ion batteries. Using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), we quantify the amount and distribution of aluminum oxide on the cathode particles. Changes in the coating phase and composition as a function of annealing temperature are tracked with solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SS-NMR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). 27Al NMR spectroscopy at very high field (23.5 T) provides direct evidence that after annealing up to 400 °C, 4-, 5- and 6-coordinate aluminum is present, here assigned to an amorphous alumina coating, but after annealing to 600 ºC, a γ-LiAlO2-like coating is observed. We further differentiate between Al in the bulk and surface phase and identify, for the first time, the critical temperature at which doping occurs in NMC811. Surface/bulk doping starts to occur in the range 500 – 600 °C, with considerable bulk doping being found at 800 °C. The onset of Al diffusion coincides with the decrease in capacity retention, contradicting previous studies and giving new insight into the relationship between lifetime and lithium-ion conductivity

Scenarios of freshwater fish extinctions from climate change and water withdrawal

Reductions in river discharge (water availability) like those from climate change or increased water withdrawal, reduce freshwater biodiversity. We combined two scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change with a global hydrological model to build global scenarios of future losses in river discharge from climate change and increased water withdrawal. Applying these results to known relationships between fish species and discharge, we build scenarios of losses (at equilibrium) of riverine fish richness. In rivers with reduced discharge, up to 75% (quartile range 4-22%) of local fish biodiversity would be headed toward extinction by 2070 because of combined changes in climate and water consumption. Fish loss in the scenarios fell disproportionately on poor countries. Reductions in water consumption could prevent many of the extinctions in these scenarios. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Graphite anodes for li-ion batteries: an electron paramagnetic resonance investigation

Graphite is the most commercially successful anode material for lithium (Li)-ion batteries: its low cost, low toxicity, and high abundance make it ideally suited for use in batteries for electronic devices, electrified transportation, and grid-based storage. The physical and electrochemical properties of graphite anodes have been thoroughly characterized. However, questions remain regarding their electronic structures and whether the electrons occupy localized states on Li, delocalized states on C, or an admixture of both. In this regard, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for characterizing the electronic states generated during electrochemical cycling as it measures the properties of the unpaired electrons in lithiated graphites. In this work, ex situ variable-temperature (10–300 K), variable-frequency (9–441 GHz) EPR was carried out to extract the g tensors and line widths and understand the effect of metallicity on the observed EPR spectra of electrochemically lithiated graphites at four different states of lithiation. We show that the increased resolution offered by EPR at high frequencies (>300 GHz) enables up to three different electron environments of axial symmetry to be observed, revealing heterogeneity within the graphite particles and the presence of hyperfine coupling to Li nuclei. Importantly, our work demonstrates the power of EPR spectroscopy to investigate the local electronic structure of graphite at different lithiation stages, paving the way for this technique as a tool for screening and investigating novel materials for use in Li-ion batteries