Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Alaska and Experiences and Policy of Other States Regarding its Use

INE/AUTC 09.0

Application of general semi-infinite Programming to Lapidary Cutting Problems

We consider a volume maximization problem arising in gemstone cutting industry. The problem is formulated as a general semi-infinite program (GSIP) and solved using an interiorpoint method developed by Stein. It is shown, that the convexity assumption needed for the convergence of the algorithm can be satisfied by appropriate modelling. Clustering techniques are used to reduce the number of container constraints, which is necessary to make the subproblems practically tractable. An iterative process consisting of GSIP optimization and adaptive refinement steps is then employed to obtain an optimal solution which is also feasible for the original problem. Some numerical results based on realworld data are also presented

Coastal permafrost landscape development since the Late Pleistocene in the western Laptev Sea, Siberia

The palaeoenvironmental development of the western Laptev Sea is understood primarily from investigations of exposed cliffs and surface sediment cores from the shelf. In 2005, a core transect was drilled between the Taymyr Peninsula and the Lena Delta, an area that was part of the westernmost region of the non-glaciated Beringian landmass during the late Quaternary. The transect of five cores, one terrestrial and four marine, taken near Cape Mamontov Klyk reached 12km offshore and 77m below sea level. A multiproxy approach combined cryolithological, sedimentological, geochronological (C-14-AMS, OSL on quartz, IR-OSL on feldspars) and palaeoecological (pollen, diatoms) methods. Our interpretation of the proxies focuses on landscape history and the transition of terrestrial into subsea permafrost. Marine interglacial deposits overlain by relict terrestrial permafrost within the same offshore core were encountered in the western Laptev Sea. Moreover, the marine interglacial deposits lay unexpectedly deep at 64m below modern sea level 12km from the current coastline, while no marine deposits were encountered onshore. This implies that the position of the Eemian coastline presumably was similar to today's. The landscape reconstruction suggests Eemian coastal lagoons and thermokarst lakes, followed by Early to Middle Weichselian fluvially dominated terrestrial deposition. During the Late Weichselian, this fluvial landscape was transformed into a poorly drained accumulation plain, characterized by widespread and broad ice-wedge polygons. Finally, the shelf plain was flooded by the sea during the Holocene, resulting in the inundation and degradation of terrestrial permafrost and its transformation into subsea permafrost

Queries on medication use during pregnancy: characterisation of the Swiss Teratogen Information Service database.

Limited information on medication safety may result in concerns on how to treat pregnant and breast-feeding patients. The Swiss Teratogen Information Service (STIS) provides information to healthcare professionals about medications during pregnancy and breast feeding. Our objective was to describe the queries addressed to the STIS over the past two decades. The STIS maintains a database of queries on pregnancy outcomes after exposure to various substances, which may be a valuable source of information. We initially analysed the general characteristics of all queries. Thereafter, we focused on exposure to medications during singleton pregnancies and associated health-related aspects. From 2000 to 2019, 7148 queries were entered into the database. An increasing number of queries was recorded over the study period, with an average of 357 queries entered into the database per year. Most of the enquirers were physicians; more specifically, gynaecologists/obstetricians (2389/7148; 33.4%) and psychiatrists (1007/7148; 14.1%). Two thirds (4747/7148; 66.4%) of the queries addressed medication intake during pregnancy; the next most frequent queries concerned planned medication in the context of pregnancy (928/7148; 13.0%) or medication use during breast-feeding (873/7148; 12.2%). In more than 50% (3611/7148) of cases, women were treated with more than one drug; altogether, 15193 medications (taken alone or in combination) were identified. The most frequent queries concerned medicines for the nervous system (ATC group N, n = 7042), with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (n = 1271) in the leading position, followed by benzodiazepine derivatives (n = 1102) and other antidepressants (n = 780). The next most frequently mentioned drug classes were anti-infectives for systemic use (J, n = 1586) and drugs for the alimentary tract and metabolism (A, n = 1205). Analysis of follow-up information on cases of medication exposure during singleton pregnancies (n = 2672) revealed an offspring malformation rate of 4.2%. The organ system most often affected was the musculoskeletal system, followed by the circulatory system; congenital malformations of the nervous system and chromosomal abnormalities were also seen. The three most frequently documented congenital diagnoses were malformations of cardiac septa, the brain and major arteries. Healthcare professionals often have concerns regarding the treatment of pregnant women with medication, and require professional counselling in this area. A variety of drugs are mentioned in queries addressed to the STIS, of which psycholeptics and psychoanaleptics are the most frequent. Proper guidelines on their use during pregnancy appear particularly urgent

Synergy of light harvesting and energy transfer as well as short-range charge shift reactions in multicomponent conjugates

We report herein on the design, the synthesis, and the characterization of a panchromatic, charge stabilizing electron donor-acceptor conjugate: (BBPA)3-ZnPor-ZnPc-SubPc 1. Each component, that is, bis(biphenyl)phenylamine (BBPA), Zn(ii) porphyrin (ZnPor), Zn(ii) phthalocyanine ZnPc, and subphthalocyanine (SubPc), has been carefully chosen and modified to enable a cascade of energy and charge transfer processes. On one hand, ZnPor, has been functionalized with three electron-donating BBPA as primary and secondary electron donors and to stabilize the final charge-separated state, and, on the other hand, a perfluorinated SubPc has been selected as ultimate electron acceptor. In addition, the ZnPc unit contains several trifluoromethylphenyl moieties to match its energy levels to those of the other components. In fact, irradiation of the heteroarray 1 triggers a cascade of light harvesting across the entire visible range, unidirectional energy transfer, exergonic charge separating, and short-range charge shifting to afford in 14% quantum yield a (BBPA)3+-ZnPor-ZnPc-SubPc- charge-separated state. The lifetime of the latter reaches well into the range of tens of nanosecondsFinancial support from Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (S2013/MIT-2841, FOTOCARBON), and MINECO, Spain (CTQ2017-85393-P), and the “Solar Energy goes Hybrid” Initiative of the Bavarian Ministry for Science, Culture and Education (SolTech) is acknowledge

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swiss pregnant and breastfeeding women - a cross-sectional study covering the first pandemic wave.

Information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy and breastfeeding experiences, as well as on perinatal mental health in Switzerland is limited. In Switzerland, there are few national studies and little information. Using an anonymous online survey accessible after the first wave of the outbreak in Switzerland, we have investigated how this pandemic affected pregnant and breastfeeding women. Among women who completed the survey, 69.0% (1050/1518) indicated the first wave of the pandemic affected their personal habits, 61.0% (689/1131) were affected in their work and 40.0% (632/1573) reported impaired relations with healthcare services (different denominators correspond to the number of participants who answered the question). 36.8% (110/299) of women reported an impact of the pandemic on their current pregnancy experience or breastfeeding experience (8.2%, 46/555). Overall, 11.6% (170/1467) of participants who completed the validated screening tests for mental health symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7, Perceived Stress Scale) presented a score compatible with symptoms of major depression, severe anxiety or high perceived stress, which is higher than in the pre-pandemic period according to literature. Risk factors independently associated with impaired mental health were being hospitalized, having symptoms of COVID-19, living with a person with COVID-19 symptoms, having comorbidities, having experienced reduced healthcare services, having restricted usual activities and being a housewife. Protective factors independently associated were a high level of education and living with a partner. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic might have significantly affected the well-being and mental health of pregnant and breastfeeding women, directly in the case of exposure, and indirectly as a result of the potential modifications in their life habits and in healthcare facilities

Prognostic impact of Claudin 18.2 in gastric and esophageal adenocarcinomas

INTRODUCTION: The tight junction molecule Claudin 18.2 is selectively expressed in healthy and malignant gastric epithelial tissue and is a promising therapy target for high Claudin 18.2 expressing adenocarcinomas of the esophagogastric junction and stomach (AEG/S). METHODS: This study analyzed the prevalence, characteristics and prognostic impact of Claudin 18.2 expression in primary tumor, lymph node and distant metastasis in a large Caucasian AGE/S cohort with 414 patients. RESULTS: Claudin 18.2 was highly expressed in 17.1% of primary tumors, 26.7% of lymph node metastasis and 16.7% of distant metastasis. High Claudin 18.2 expression in lymph node metastasis and primary tumors correlated significantly (p < 0.001). High expression of Claudin 18.2 was neither associated with histomorphogical subtype, or tumor state, nor with overall survival. CONCLUSION: In Caucasian AEG/S patients, 17.1% appeared to be eligible for an anti-Claudin 18.2 therapy. Claudin 18.2 expression itself has no impact on prognosis and is not related to any tumor subtype

Vaccine Willingness and Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Perinatal Experiences and Practices-A Multinational, Cross-Sectional Study Covering the First Wave of the Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic may be of particular concern for pregnant and breastfeeding women. We aimed to explore their beliefs about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccine willingness and to assess the impact of the pandemic on perinatal experiences and practices. A multinational, cross-sectional, web-based study was performed in six European countries between April and July 2020. The anonymous survey was promoted via social media. In total, 16,063 women participated (including 6661 pregnant and 9402 breastfeeding women). Most responses were collected from Belgium (44%), Norway (18%) and the Netherlands (16%), followed by Switzerland (11%), Ireland (10%) and the UK (3%). Despite differences between countries, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was identified among 40-50% of the respondents at the end of the first wave of the pandemic and was higher among pregnant women. Education level and employment status were associated with vaccine hesitancy. The first wave had an adverse impact on pregnancy experiences and disrupted access to health services and breastfeeding support for many women. In the future, access to health care and support should be maintained at all times. Evidence-based and tailored information on COVID-19 vaccines should also be provided to pregnant and breastfeeding women to avoid unfounded concerns about the vaccines and to support shared decision making in this population

Antiepileptika bei Frauen im gebärfähigen Alter und in der Schwangerschaft: Vergleich der Fachinformationen in Deutschland und der Schweiz mit dem aktuellen Wissensstand

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Viele Heilberufler nutzen Fachinformationen als eine von verschiedenen möglichen Informationsquellen zu Risiken einer Arzneimittelanwendung bei Frauen im gebärfähigen Alter und in der Schwangerschaft. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, eine Übersicht über das teratogene Potenzial verschiedener Antiepileptika zu präsentieren und mit den Angaben ausgewählter Fachinformationen zu vergleichen. Methoden: Es wurde eine Literaturrecherche zum teratogenen Risiko von 19 Antiepileptika durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit den Angaben der Fachinformationen von 38 in der Schweiz und in Deutschland erhältlichen Fertigarzneimitteln verglichen. Ergebnisse: In allen Fachinformationen wird das teratogene Risiko anhand epidemiologischer Daten diskutiert. Eine Quantifizierung des Fehlbildungsrisikos und die Anzahl dokumentierter Schwangerschaften fehlen jedoch meistens. Angaben zur Notwendigkeit der Überwachung von Plasmaspiegeln während der Schwangerschaft mit etwaiger Dosisanpassung fehlen in fünf schweizer und zwei deutschen Fachinformationen. Diskussion: Die Angaben in den Fachinformationen der untersuchten Antiepileptika zur Anwendung bei Frauen im gebärfähigen Alter und in der Schwangerschaft sind heterogen und entsprechen überwiegend nicht dem aktuellen Kenntnisstand. Eine durch die zuständigen Behörden angestoßene Überarbeitung der Fachinformationen scheint notwendig zu sein, damit diese Dokumente für Heilberufler tatsächlich von Nutzen sein können