Visual Grading Analysis of image quality in pediatric abdominal images acquired by Direct Digital Radiography and Computer Radiography Systems

The advent of digital technology allowed for great improvements in radiology and lead the way for digital radiology, leaving behind conventional x-ray techniques, [1]. Digital post-processing of image is the main advantage of digital image systems (e.g., computed radiology and direct digital radiology) over the conventional systems. Image quality can indeed be improved avoiding the increase of patient dose and the number of unnecessary exposures [1-3]. Image quality is directly linked to the dose of radiation applied to the patient. The literature points out the need for appropriate image evaluation in order to reduce the patient dose. Optimization and practice justification are of great relevance in diagnostic radiology. In pediatric patients a good practice justification is even more important as radiation exposure on the first 10 years of life increases the possibility of negative effects on the patient's health compared to an exposure between the ages of 30 to 40 years old [4, 5]. In the past, the main concern of radiology technicians was image quality, leaving radiation dose to a second plan. Nowadays, dose reduction and the cost/benefit ratio represent the main concerns in radiology. The radiographer is responsible for applying the ALARA (As Low As Reasonable Acceptable) concept in every study involving the use of ionizing radiation [4, 6]. According to the ALARA concept, the necessary level of diagnostic image quality should be attained with the lowest patient dose possible. In Pediatric radiology, besides the ALARA principle, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) adds a new concept - the SMART message, also related with optimization and radiation protection when applied to pediatric radiology (Figure 1) [6]

Cosmological Constraints from Multiple Probes in the Dark Energy Survey

The combination of multiple observational probes has long been advocated as a powerful technique to constrain cosmological parameters, in particular dark energy. The Dark Energy Survey has measured 207 spectroscopically confirmed type Ia supernova light curves, the baryon acoustic oscillation feature, weak gravitational lensing, and galaxy clustering. Here we present combined results from these probes, deriving constraints on the equation of state, w, of dark energy and its energy density in the Universe. Independently of other experiments, such as those that measure the cosmic microwave background, the probes from this single photometric survey rule out a Universe with no dark energy, finding w ¼ −0.80þ0.09 −0.11 . The geometry is shown to be consistent with a spatially flat Universe, and we obtain a constraint on the baryon density of Ωb ¼ 0.069þ0.009 −0.012 that is independent of early Universe measurements. These results demonstrate the potential power of large multiprobe photometric surveys and pave the way for order of magnitude advances in our constraints on properties of dark energy and cosmology over the next decade.Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the DOE and NSF (USA), MEC/MICINN/MINECO (Spain), STFC (UK), HEFCE (United Kingdom), NCSA (UIUC), KICP (U. Chicago), CCAPP (Ohio State), MIFPA (Texas A&M), CNPQ, FAPERJ, FINEP (Brazil), DFG (Germany), and the Collaborating Institutions in the Dark Energy Surve

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Should Residual Stresses Be Taken Into Account in Structural Integrity Assessment of Offshore Monopiles?

A key challenge in the Offshore Wind industry is assuring the life-cycle structural integrity of wind turbine foundation monopiles. This is due to harsh environmental aspects as well as the loading regime (i.e. constant exposure to wave and wind forces introducing both fatigue and corrosion damage). Welding is a widely used joining technique for the manufacturing of offshore monopile structures. However, this is an aggressive process that introduces high levels of residual stress, which in turn may lead to reduced fatigue life, corrosion cracking resistance and accelerated degradation mechanisms. This study presents evidence that a measurement-informed strategy could be used towards developing a more reliable structural integrity assessment procedure for offshore monopile structures by taking into account the effect of residual stresses. A welded mock-up, 90 mm thick, 2600 mm wide and 800 mm long plate, was fabricated using a typical double-V welding procedure following current industrial practice. The contour method of residual stress measurement was employed to map residual stresses in the welded mock-up as well as in the CT specimens extracted from the weld region of the plate for future fatigue tests. Residual stress measurement results show that the mock-up plate contained tensile residual stresses above yield in the core of the weld, while the extracted CT specimens had lower though still significant residual stress levels. These results indicate that if the initial residual stresses are not carefully considered during fatigue or corrosion cracking tests, the results from the CT specimens alone will likely result in misleading structural life estimations

Where Brain, Body and World Collide

The production cross section of electrons from semileptonic decays of beauty hadrons was measured at mid-rapidity (|y| &lt; 0.8) in the transverse momentum range 1 &lt; pt &lt; 8 Gev/c with the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC in pp collisions at a center of mass energy sqrt{s} = 7 TeV using an integrated luminosity of 2.2 nb^{-1}. Electrons from beauty hadron decays were selected based on the displacement of the decay vertex from the collision vertex. A perturbative QCD calculation agrees with the measurement within uncertainties. The data were extrapolated to the full phase space to determine the total cross section for the production of beauty quark-antiquark pairs