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Geriatric Assessment in Older Patients with Advanced Kidney Disease: A Key to Personalized Care and Shared Decision-Making—A Narrative Review
No full textAs the global population ages, so too does the prevalence of older people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Helping people age well with CKD and supporting older people with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) to make personalized decisions regarding kidney replacement therapy (KRT) or conservative care (CC) are an essential component of care. However, these factors are relatively underreported in both the fields of nephrology and geriatric medicine, and prospective, randomized evidence is lacking. This narrative review article, authored by both nephrologists and geriatricians, discusses specific geriatric issues that arise in older people with CKD and why they matter. The available evidence for KRT or CC in older people with frailty is outlined. The importance of performing a comprehensive geriatric assessment, or a modified nephrogeriatric assessment, to ensure a systematic evaluation of the person’s medical problems and life needs, goals, and values is described. We consider different models of nephrogeriatric care and how they may be implemented. Kidney supportive care—addressing an individual’s symptoms and overall well-being alongside the more traditional nephrological principles of preventing disease progression and optimizing risk—is highlighted throughout the article. We outline ways of identifying the later stages of a person’s disease journey, when transition to palliative care is indicated, and elaborate methods of preparing patients for this through multidisciplinary advance care planning. Finally, we discuss practice and systems for nephrogeriatric care in five different European countries and consider future directions, challenges, and highlights in this rapidly evolving, increasingly relevant field.As the global population ages, so too does the prevalence of older people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Helping people age well with CKD and supporting older people with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) to make personalized decisions regarding kidney replacement therapy (KRT) or conservative care (CC) are an essential component of care. However, these factors are relatively underreported in both the fields of nephrology and geriatric medicine, and prospective, randomized evidence is lacking. This narrative review article, authored by both nephrologists and geriatricians, discusses specific geriatric issues that arise in older people with CKD and why they matter. The available evidence for KRT or CC in older people with frailty is outlined. The importance of performing a comprehensive geriatric assessment, or a modified nephrogeriatric assessment, to ensure a systematic evaluation of the person’s medical problems and life needs, goals, and values is described. We consider different models of nephrogeriatric care and how they may be implemented. Kidney supportive care—addressing an individual’s symptoms and overall well-being alongside the more traditional nephrological principles of preventing disease progression and optimizing risk—is highlighted throughout the article. We outline ways of identifying the later stages of a person’s disease journey, when transition to palliative care is indicated, and elaborate methods of preparing patients for this through multidisciplinary advance care planning. Finally, we discuss practice and systems for nephrogeriatric care in five different European countries and consider future directions, challenges, and highlights in this rapidly evolving, increasingly relevant field.
The Spheroid Light Microscopy Image Atlas for morphometrical analysis of three-dimensional cell cultures
No full textThe application of three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures such as spheroids and organoids is growing in popularity both in academia and industry. However, morphology of the 3D architecture remains remarkably understudied. Here, we introduce an open-access Spheroid Light Microscopy Image Atlas (SLiMIA) that can serve as a training set for morphology studies of 3D cell cultures. We provide images with a variety of metadata: 9 microscopes, 47 cell lines, 8 culture media, 4 spheroid formation methods and multiple cell seeding densities; totalling approximately 8,000 images of spheroids. This comprehensive dataset can guide spheroid researchers and promote economizing of resources by advancing 3D cell culture optimization, standardization and implementation by the community at large. Considering the exponentially growing interest in spheroid morphometrical analyses and the emerging technological possibilities to do so, this atlas can be applied to train and develop image segmentation models to deepen our understanding of 3D spheroid morphometry in biomedical research.The application of three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures such as spheroids and organoids is growing in popularity both in academia and industry. However, morphology of the 3D architecture remains remarkably understudied. Here, we introduce an open-access Spheroid Light Microscopy Image Atlas (SLiMIA) that can serve as a training set for morphology studies of 3D cell cultures. We provide images with a variety of metadata: 9 microscopes, 47 cell lines, 8 culture media, 4 spheroid formation methods and multiple cell seeding densities; totalling approximately 8,000 images of spheroids. This comprehensive dataset can guide spheroid researchers and promote economizing of resources by advancing 3D cell culture optimization, standardization and implementation by the community at large. Considering the exponentially growing interest in spheroid morphometrical analyses and the emerging technological possibilities to do so, this atlas can be applied to train and develop image segmentation models to deepen our understanding of 3D spheroid morphometry in biomedical research.A
Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen-targeted Radionuclide Therapy as Adjunct to Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in an Immunocompetent Murine Model for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
No full textLeading by example : supervisor downward feedback seeking, power distance, and the implications for the feedback environment
No full textThis study explores the relationship between supervisors’ feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) and (1) employees’ FSB and (2) employees’ perceptions of the feedback environment. It examines the moderating role of power distance perceptions in order to study FSB in high power distance contexts. Participants were asked to track feedback exchanges with their supervisor over a two-week period. Surveying 273 employees across 32 diverse organizations, the study reveals a positive correlation between supervisors’ FSB and employees’ FSB and their perceptions of the feedback environment. Employees seemed to mimic their supervisors’ seeking behaviors, emphasizing the importance of positive role modeling. Importantly, the relationship was more pronounced when power distance was high, indicating the significance of supervisors’ FSB in such contexts. The study challenges the traditional employee-centered perspective on FSB by focusing on FSB by individuals in leadership positions. Based on these findings, organizations can develop training interventions that encourage supervisors to model effective behaviors.This study explores the relationship between supervisors’ feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) and (1) employees’ FSB and (2) employees’ perceptions of the feedback environment. It examines the moderating role of power distance perceptions in order to study FSB in high power distance contexts. Participants were asked to track feedback exchanges with their supervisor over a two-week period. Surveying 273 employees across 32 diverse organizations, the study reveals a positive correlation between supervisors’ FSB and employees’ FSB and their perceptions of the feedback environment. Employees seemed to mimic their supervisors’ seeking behaviors, emphasizing the importance of positive role modeling. Importantly, the relationship was more pronounced when power distance was high, indicating the significance of supervisors’ FSB in such contexts. The study challenges the traditional employee-centered perspective on FSB by focusing on FSB by individuals in leadership positions. Based on these findings, organizations can develop training interventions that encourage supervisors to model effective behaviors.A
Endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception : assessment and treatment in people with and without persistent pain
No full textPain (i.e., nociception) is a universal experience, yet this experience varies widely among and even within individuals. Due to internal (i.e., endogenous) pain relieving (i.e., inhibition) and pain enhancing (facilitation) strategies at the spinal cord and brain (i.e., supraspinal), our body is able to modulate pain transmission, consequently modulating the pain experience. In research settings, these strategies are frequently evaluated to determine in which aspects patients with chronic pain differ from healthy, pain-free persons and to evaluate treatment effects. However, endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception are susceptible to influence by individual factors. On the one hand, such factors need to be identified to be taken into account during evaluation of endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception. On the other hand, knowledge of individual modifiable factors influencing endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception might offer potential future treatment strategies for patients with chronic pain.Therefore, this dissertation aimed to determine which individual factors influence endogenous pain modulation, whether patients with chronic pain show alterations in endogenous pain modulation compared to pain-free persons, wether the outcome on the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) correlates with endogenous pain modulation, and which non-conservative and conservative treatments can modulate spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation. To address these aims, six studies were performed and one study-protocol was developed. Consequently, this dissertation is divided in three major parts, each addressing a research objective:Part I of this dissertation comprises two chapters, including one cross-sectional study and one systematic review with meta-analysis, and addresses the following research question: Which individual factors influence measures of endogenous pain modulation?The cross-sectional study described in chapter one showed that up to 10.2% of variation in endogenous pain modulation can be predicted by self-reported physical activity. More precisely, the amount of time an individual reports to spend on physical activity in total, on walking, and on performing moderate physical activity was found predict variation in endogenous pain modulation in healthy persons. However, no significant relation between monitor-based measures of physical activity and endogenous pain modulation were found. These findings are promising, but further research is needed to determine whether physical activity also benefits patients with chronic pain and impaired endogenous pain modulation. Incidentally, this study observed that men exhibited significantly greater endogenous pain modulation than women, despite a lack of significant sex differences in physical activity. Likewise, analysis of the results revealed by chance that endogenous pain modulation significantly improves with age.The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter two provided moderate-quality evidence for the influence of attention on endogenous pain modulation. More precisely, attentional focus directed to the conditioning stimulus results in greater endogenous pain inhibition. Very low quality evidence was found for the influence of intrinsic attention on endogenous pain modulation, demonstrating that more intrinsic attention to pain is associated with less21 | English summaryefficient endogenous pain modulation. Evidence for the influence of distraction on endogenous pain modulation was rather conflicting. Likewise, conflicting evidence was found for the influence of expectations on endogenous pain modulation. Due to the limited number of studies identified using the systematic search and due to the limited and often conflicting nature of evidence found, more research is needed to unravel the relation between psychological factors and endogenous pain modulation.Part II of this dissertation entails two chapters, including one systematic review with meta-analysis and one cross-sectional study, and addresses the following research question: Do patients with chronic pain show alterations in spinal nociception , assessed using the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), compared to pain-free persons and is the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) associated with endogenous pain modulation?The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter three provided low-to-moderate-quality evidence for spinal hyperexcitability as demonstrated by significantly lower NFR threshold, larger NFR area, shorter NFR latency, and lower temporal summation of the NFR in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain or headache. However, no evidence was found for alterations in NFR duration and NFR magnitude.The cross-sectional study described in chapter four found no evidence for a correlation between the CSI and measures of endogenous pain modulation, as only one significant yet negligible positive correlation between the CSI and endogenous pain modulation was found. However, several significant, yet weak to moderate, correlations between CSI and questionnaires of anxiety and depressio (i.e., HADS), illness perception (i.e., IPQ), and health-related quality of life (i.e., RAND-36) were identified. This suggests that the CSI is more closely related to psychological features associated with human-assumed central sensitization (HACS) (i.e., anxiety, depression, sleep, fatigue) than measures endogenous pain modulation .Part III of this dissertation is composed of three chapters, including two systematic reviews with meta-analysis and one study protocol for a randomized controlled trial, and addresses the following research question: Can non-conservative and conservative treatments modulate spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation?The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter five found low quality evidence for an increase in the NFR threshold and decrease in NFR area and very low quality evidence for an increase in NFR latency following non-conservative treatment. This implies that non-conservative treatment can decrease spinal hyperexcitability, as the NFR occurs at higher stimulus intensities, later, and has a smaller muscle response following treatment. More precisely, non-conservative treatments found to decrease spinal hyperexcitability included surgery, medication targeting the musculoskeletal system, medication targeting the alimentary tract and metabolism, and medication targeting the nervous system. Additionally, very low-to-low quality evidence for the absence of an effect of non-conservative treatment on NFR magnitude and temporal summation of the NFR was found.In line with chapter five, the systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter six found low-to-moderate quality evidence showing that conservative therapy decreases the NFR area and NFR magnitude, and22 | English summaryincreases the NFR latency, thereby decreasing spinal hyperexcitability. In contrast, low-to-moderate quality evidence showed no effect of conservative therapy on the NFR threshold in response to single and repetitive stimulation. More precisely, conservative treatments found to decrease spinal hyperexcitability included non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, hypnotic analgesia, progressive muscle relaxation, pain catastrophizing reduction, and repeated eccentric exercise. However, certain treatment effects remained limited to certain subgroups (i.e., either patients or healthy persons) and thus require further research.Chapter seven describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of conservative treatment, namely specific skilled motor training and general exercise training, on endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception (i.e., as a secondary study aim). The results of this study will contribute to our knowledge of immediate and long-term effects of conservative treatment on spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation, as well as whether this influence is mediated by physical and psychological factors.In conclusion, this dissertation provided a clear overview of the individual factors influencing endogenous pain modulation. These factors should be taken into account when performing assessments of endogenous pain modulation. Additionally, these factors might provide potential treatment strategies for patients suffering from chronic pain. Therefore, future research should continue to explore their influence on endogenous pain modulation, including populations with chronic pain. Further research is needed to unravel the constructs of the CSI. A comprehensive update of the evidence was provided for the presence of spinal hyperexcitability in patients with chronic pain. Moreover, measures of spinal nociception were found to be responsive to conservative and non-conservative treatments and can thus be used to monitor treatment effects. More research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the identified conservative and non-conservative treatments when it comes to modulating spinal nociception in patients with chronic pain.Public defense: 2025-02-03Pain (i.e., nociception) is a universal experience, yet this experience varies widely among and even within individuals. Due to internal (i.e., endogenous) pain relieving (i.e., inhibition) and pain enhancing (facilitation) strategies at the spinal cord and brain (i.e., supraspinal), our body is able to modulate pain transmission, consequently modulating the pain experience. In research settings, these strategies are frequently evaluated to determine in which aspects patients with chronic pain differ from healthy, pain-free persons and to evaluate treatment effects. However, endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception are susceptible to influence by individual factors. On the one hand, such factors need to be identified to be taken into account during evaluation of endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception. On the other hand, knowledge of individual modifiable factors influencing endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception might offer potential future treatment strategies for patients with chronic pain.Therefore, this dissertation aimed to determine which individual factors influence endogenous pain modulation, whether patients with chronic pain show alterations in endogenous pain modulation compared to pain-free persons, wether the outcome on the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) correlates with endogenous pain modulation, and which non-conservative and conservative treatments can modulate spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation. To address these aims, six studies were performed and one study-protocol was developed. Consequently, this dissertation is divided in three major parts, each addressing a research objective:Part I of this dissertation comprises two chapters, including one cross-sectional study and one systematic review with meta-analysis, and addresses the following research question: Which individual factors influence measures of endogenous pain modulation?The cross-sectional study described in chapter one showed that up to 10.2% of variation in endogenous pain modulation can be predicted by self-reported physical activity. More precisely, the amount of time an individual reports to spend on physical activity in total, on walking, and on performing moderate physical activity was found predict variation in endogenous pain modulation in healthy persons. However, no significant relation between monitor-based measures of physical activity and endogenous pain modulation were found. These findings are promising, but further research is needed to determine whether physical activity also benefits patients with chronic pain and impaired endogenous pain modulation. Incidentally, this study observed that men exhibited significantly greater endogenous pain modulation than women, despite a lack of significant sex differences in physical activity. Likewise, analysis of the results revealed by chance that endogenous pain modulation significantly improves with age.The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter two provided moderate-quality evidence for the influence of attention on endogenous pain modulation. More precisely, attentional focus directed to the conditioning stimulus results in greater endogenous pain inhibition. Very low quality evidence was found for the influence of intrinsic attention on endogenous pain modulation, demonstrating that more intrinsic attention to pain is associated with less21 | English summaryefficient endogenous pain modulation. Evidence for the influence of distraction on endogenous pain modulation was rather conflicting. Likewise, conflicting evidence was found for the influence of expectations on endogenous pain modulation. Due to the limited number of studies identified using the systematic search and due to the limited and often conflicting nature of evidence found, more research is needed to unravel the relation between psychological factors and endogenous pain modulation.Part II of this dissertation entails two chapters, including one systematic review with meta-analysis and one cross-sectional study, and addresses the following research question: Do patients with chronic pain show alterations in spinal nociception , assessed using the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR), compared to pain-free persons and is the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) associated with endogenous pain modulation?The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter three provided low-to-moderate-quality evidence for spinal hyperexcitability as demonstrated by significantly lower NFR threshold, larger NFR area, shorter NFR latency, and lower temporal summation of the NFR in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain or headache. However, no evidence was found for alterations in NFR duration and NFR magnitude.The cross-sectional study described in chapter four found no evidence for a correlation between the CSI and measures of endogenous pain modulation, as only one significant yet negligible positive correlation between the CSI and endogenous pain modulation was found. However, several significant, yet weak to moderate, correlations between CSI and questionnaires of anxiety and depressio (i.e., HADS), illness perception (i.e., IPQ), and health-related quality of life (i.e., RAND-36) were identified. This suggests that the CSI is more closely related to psychological features associated with human-assumed central sensitization (HACS) (i.e., anxiety, depression, sleep, fatigue) than measures endogenous pain modulation .Part III of this dissertation is composed of three chapters, including two systematic reviews with meta-analysis and one study protocol for a randomized controlled trial, and addresses the following research question: Can non-conservative and conservative treatments modulate spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation?The systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter five found low quality evidence for an increase in the NFR threshold and decrease in NFR area and very low quality evidence for an increase in NFR latency following non-conservative treatment. This implies that non-conservative treatment can decrease spinal hyperexcitability, as the NFR occurs at higher stimulus intensities, later, and has a smaller muscle response following treatment. More precisely, non-conservative treatments found to decrease spinal hyperexcitability included surgery, medication targeting the musculoskeletal system, medication targeting the alimentary tract and metabolism, and medication targeting the nervous system. Additionally, very low-to-low quality evidence for the absence of an effect of non-conservative treatment on NFR magnitude and temporal summation of the NFR was found.In line with chapter five, the systematic review and meta-analysis described in chapter six found low-to-moderate quality evidence showing that conservative therapy decreases the NFR area and NFR magnitude, and22 | English summaryincreases the NFR latency, thereby decreasing spinal hyperexcitability. In contrast, low-to-moderate quality evidence showed no effect of conservative therapy on the NFR threshold in response to single and repetitive stimulation. More precisely, conservative treatments found to decrease spinal hyperexcitability included non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, hypnotic analgesia, progressive muscle relaxation, pain catastrophizing reduction, and repeated eccentric exercise. However, certain treatment effects remained limited to certain subgroups (i.e., either patients or healthy persons) and thus require further research.Chapter seven describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of conservative treatment, namely specific skilled motor training and general exercise training, on endogenous pain modulation and spinal nociception (i.e., as a secondary study aim). The results of this study will contribute to our knowledge of immediate and long-term effects of conservative treatment on spinal nociception and endogenous pain modulation, as well as whether this influence is mediated by physical and psychological factors.In conclusion, this dissertation provided a clear overview of the individual factors influencing endogenous pain modulation. These factors should be taken into account when performing assessments of endogenous pain modulation. Additionally, these factors might provide potential treatment strategies for patients suffering from chronic pain. Therefore, future research should continue to explore their influence on endogenous pain modulation, including populations with chronic pain. Further research is needed to unravel the constructs of the CSI. A comprehensive update of the evidence was provided for the presence of spinal hyperexcitability in patients with chronic pain. Moreover, measures of spinal nociception were found to be responsive to conservative and non-conservative treatments and can thus be used to monitor treatment effects. More research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the identified conservative and non-conservative treatments when it comes to modulating spinal nociception in patients with chronic pain.D
The parity judgment SNARC effect: The role of response mapping order and the nature of the instruction
No full textPrevious research has investigated the Spatial Numerical Associations of Response Codes (SNARC) effect as a measure of spatial number coding in relation to mathematics (Cipora et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14355). An issue that arises if one wants to correlate mathematical performance with the SNARC effect, is how individual differences in the SNARC effect are measured. Specific design choices might have an impact on the size of the SNARC effect as an individual difference measure. In the present study we investigated two design choices that have previously been neglected as possible determinants of the size of the SNARC effect as obtained in the parity judgment task. The first determinant that we investigated is mapping order. The odd-even left-right response assignments can be congruent (even-right and odd-left) or incongruent (even-left and odd-right) in terms of linguistic markedness (MARC effect: markedness association of response codes) and might be presented in two different orders (congruent first or incongruent first) possibly affecting the size of the SNARC effect. A second possible determinant is task instruction. Instructions can emphasize parity (judge numbers as odd or even) or emphasize two categories (classify numbers as 1-3-7-9 versus 2-4-6-8) as the basis for responding, perhaps requiring different levels of semantic processing. To investigate the potential impact of these variables, this study used a 2x2 between subject design, resulting in four conditions to verify the effect of mapping order and instructions. The results show that the SNARC effect is not influenced by mapping order or by the nature of the instructions, revealing the parity judgment SNARC effect as a robust marker of spatial number coding useful for individual difference research.Previous research has investigated the Spatial Numerical Associations of Response Codes (SNARC) effect as a measure of spatial number coding in relation to mathematics (Cipora et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14355). An issue that arises if one wants to correlate mathematical performance with the SNARC effect, is how individual differences in the SNARC effect are measured. Specific design choices might have an impact on the size of the SNARC effect as an individual difference measure. In the present study we investigated two design choices that have previously been neglected as possible determinants of the size of the SNARC effect as obtained in the parity judgment task. The first determinant that we investigated is mapping order. The odd-even left-right response assignments can be congruent (even-right and odd-left) or incongruent (even-left and odd-right) in terms of linguistic markedness (MARC effect: markedness association of response codes) and might be presented in two different orders (congruent first or incongruent first) possibly affecting the size of the SNARC effect. A second possible determinant is task instruction. Instructions can emphasize parity (judge numbers as odd or even) or emphasize two categories (classify numbers as 1-3-7-9 versus 2-4-6-8) as the basis for responding, perhaps requiring different levels of semantic processing. To investigate the potential impact of these variables, this study used a 2x2 between subject design, resulting in four conditions to verify the effect of mapping order and instructions. The results show that the SNARC effect is not influenced by mapping order or by the nature of the instructions, revealing the parity judgment SNARC effect as a robust marker of spatial number coding useful for individual difference research.
A seq-to-seq temporal convolutional network for volleyball jump monitoring using a waist-mounted IMU
No full textJump monitoring for volleyball players during training or a match can be crucial to prevent injuries, yet the measurement requires considerable workload and cost using traditional methods such as video analysis. Also, existing methods do not provide accurate differentiation between different types of jumps. In this study, an unobtrusive system with a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) on the waist was proposed to recognize the types of volleyball jumps. A Multi-Layer Temporal Convolutional Network (MSTCN) was applied for sequence-to-sequence (seq-to-seq) classification without using the sliding window technique. The model was evaluated on volleyball players during a lab session with a fixed protocol of jumping and landing tasks, and during four volleyball training sessions, respectively. The MS-TCN model achieved better performance than a state-of-the-art deep learning model but with lower computational cost. In the lab sessions, most jump counts showed small differences between the predicted jumps and video- annotated jumps, with an overall count showing a Limit of Agreement (LoA) of 0.1 +/- 3.40 (r = 0.884). For comparison, the proposed algorithm showed slightly worse results than VERT (a commercial jumping assessment device) with a LoA of 0.1 +/- 2.08 (r = 0.955) but the differences were still within a comparable range. In the training sessions, the recognition of three types of jumps exhibited a mean difference from observation of less than 10 jumps: block, smash, and overhead serve. These results showed the potential of using a single IMU to recognize the types of volleyball jumps. The proposed architecture provided high resolution of recognition and required fewer parameters compared with state-of-the-art models.Jump monitoring for volleyball players during training or a match can be crucial to prevent injuries, yet the measurement requires considerable workload and cost using traditional methods such as video analysis. Also, existing methods do not provide accurate differentiation between different types of jumps. In this study, an unobtrusive system with a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) on the waist was proposed to recognize the types of volleyball jumps. A Multi-Layer Temporal Convolutional Network (MSTCN) was applied for sequence-to-sequence (seq-to-seq) classification without using the sliding window technique. The model was evaluated on volleyball players during a lab session with a fixed protocol of jumping and landing tasks, and during four volleyball training sessions, respectively. The MS-TCN model achieved better performance than a state-of-the-art deep learning model but with lower computational cost. In the lab sessions, most jump counts showed small differences between the predicted jumps and video- annotated jumps, with an overall count showing a Limit of Agreement (LoA) of 0.1 +/- 3.40 (r = 0.884). For comparison, the proposed algorithm showed slightly worse results than VERT (a commercial jumping assessment device) with a LoA of 0.1 +/- 2.08 (r = 0.955) but the differences were still within a comparable range. In the training sessions, the recognition of three types of jumps exhibited a mean difference from observation of less than 10 jumps: block, smash, and overhead serve. These results showed the potential of using a single IMU to recognize the types of volleyball jumps. The proposed architecture provided high resolution of recognition and required fewer parameters compared with state-of-the-art models.A
Plotinus on individuation : a study of Ennead V. 7 [18] /
No full textOriginally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Cologne
Diversity of mycotoxins in stored paddy rice : contamination patterns in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
No full textRice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food in Vietnam. However, rice is often lost in post-harvest due to fungal growth and mycotoxins contamination. This study aimed to evaluate mycotoxin contamination in stored paddy rice collected in 2018, 2019, and 2022 in six provinces in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, using LC-MS/MS. The results revealed that 47% of the samples were contaminated with 12 types of mycotoxins. The prevalence of these mycotoxins was 30% (ZEN), 10% (FUS/MON), 6% (BEA/AFB2), 2-4% (AFG1, AFB1, AFG2), 2% (FB1), and 1% (OTA/AME/ENB). Among the provinces, stored paddy rice from Kien Giang had the highest contamination, followed by Ben Tre, Long An, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Can Tho. Remarkably, paddy rice collected in 2022 was usually contaminated with emerging mycotoxins with a higher incidence of co-occurrence ranging from 2-6% of the samples. Additionally, five stored paddy rice samples were contaminated with levels of AFB1, OTA, and ZEN exceeding Vietnamese regulatory limits for unprocessed rice. Our findings provide valuable insights into mycotoxin contamination across different years and growing regions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. This study could give essential information to stakeholders, including policy-makers or food safety authorities, etc., to inform strategies to mitigate these toxins in the near future and underscores the importance of monitoring rice production.Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food in Vietnam. However, rice is often lost in post-harvest due to fungal growth and mycotoxins contamination. This study aimed to evaluate mycotoxin contamination in stored paddy rice collected in 2018, 2019, and 2022 in six provinces in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, using LC-MS/MS. The results revealed that 47% of the samples were contaminated with 12 types of mycotoxins. The prevalence of these mycotoxins was 30% (ZEN), 10% (FUS/MON), 6% (BEA/AFB2), 2-4% (AFG1, AFB1, AFG2), 2% (FB1), and 1% (OTA/AME/ENB). Among the provinces, stored paddy rice from Kien Giang had the highest contamination, followed by Ben Tre, Long An, An Giang, Dong Thap, and Can Tho. Remarkably, paddy rice collected in 2022 was usually contaminated with emerging mycotoxins with a higher incidence of co-occurrence ranging from 2-6% of the samples. Additionally, five stored paddy rice samples were contaminated with levels of AFB1, OTA, and ZEN exceeding Vietnamese regulatory limits for unprocessed rice. Our findings provide valuable insights into mycotoxin contamination across different years and growing regions in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. This study could give essential information to stakeholders, including policy-makers or food safety authorities, etc., to inform strategies to mitigate these toxins in the near future and underscores the importance of monitoring rice production.A
Degradation of micropollutants in water by O atoms produced by an atmospheric pressure He/O2 plasma jet
No full textAn atmospheric pressure He/O2 COST reference microplasma jet was used to study interactions of O atoms with four different organic micropollutants used as target compounds treated by plasma in water (atrazine, carbamazepine, 1,7-alpha-ethinylestradiol, and bisphenol A). Various ratios of O2 to He were used to achieve different exposures of reactive oxygen species to the plasma-treated micropollutants, and their degradation efficiencies were determined. The degradation of all four micropollutants was merely associated with the variable exposure to the O atom, whereas the role of O3 was minimal. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the degradation pathways and toxicity reduction assessment of atrazine after the treatment by plasma.An atmospheric pressure He/O2 COST reference microplasma jet was used to study interactions of O atoms with four different organic micropollutants used as target compounds treated by plasma in water (atrazine, carbamazepine, 1,7-alpha-ethinylestradiol, and bisphenol A). Various ratios of O2 to He were used to achieve different exposures of reactive oxygen species to the plasma-treated micropollutants, and their degradation efficiencies were determined. The degradation of all four micropollutants was merely associated with the variable exposure to the O atom, whereas the role of O3 was minimal. A comprehensive investigation was conducted on the degradation pathways and toxicity reduction assessment of atrazine after the treatment by plasma.A